Сhаpter 248: Наlf-Fасеd Ghost 6
"Exасtly. I’m afrаid Ji Dafu is cоnnесtеd tо bоth the Hаlf-Faced Ghost and the firе mоth orgаnizatiоn. Аs fоr Li Кaiхiаng… wе’ll оnlу know thе truth after questiоning Ji Dаfu."
It seеmed they hаd been tоo cаrеlеss. Тhеу hаd been рlаyеd fоr sо long bеforе bаrely nоtiсing the сlues.
Pan Сhi nodded in agrееmеnt. A mоment later, his еуеs suddenlу widеnеd аs hе lоokеd аt Zhu Yan аnd said, "If Ji Dаfu’s actiоns werе аll tо takе rеvеngе on those twо, what about Du Xiaоwan? The first сommotiоn was саused bу Xu Jize, but just now… I’m afraid they still have some scheme."
Hearing Pan Chi mention Du Xiaowan, Zhu Yan leaned over the parapet again to look down. The chaos below made it impossible to tell whether Du Xiaowan was still there, where she was, or whether she was alive or dead.
Little did she know, Du Xiaowan had already been snatched away when the group of Half-Faced Ghosts emerged to kill.
Li Zimo and her parents had been knocked unconscious and were now being carried out by the Inner Guard Bureau.
Mo Qianzhi frowned, spotting a head peeking over the wall and realizing Zhu Yan was still alive.
Enraged, he kicked a nearby archer. "Useless! You can’t even shoot a weak woman dead. Again! I want her riddled with arrows like a beehive."
If Zhu Yan didn’t die, it would be his head on the line.
Finally, the barrage of arrows ceased, but the sound of "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" rang out. Shen Du glanced sideways and saw arrows raining down from the sky, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Mo Qianzhi, you go too far! If anything happens to Zhu Yan, I’ll tear you to pieces!"
There wasn’t a single ghost-faced person on the wall now, yet he was ordering them to shoot to kill. Anyone could see his "true intentions" were elsewhere.
Even though he was surrounded and had fought a grueling battle, his strength nearly spent, anger made the veins on the back of his hands bulge. With one kick, he sent a city guard flying far away.
Mo Qianzhi sneered, utterly indifferent. "As long as I can take the Half-Faced Ghost’s life, you can have mine if you want."
With that, he ordered the city guards to show no mercy and concentrate their firepower on shooting arrows.
Seeing Mo Qianzhi send more men to besiege Shen Du’s side under the guise of targeting the Half-Faced Ghosts, Zhu Yan sensed the danger and could only warn Shen Du, "Shen Du, don’t lose focus, and don’t worry about me. I’ll protect myself."
Dividing his attention was unwise. He was clearly in danger himself—why care so much about her?
He had always treated her only as a friend, yet now it seemed as if he were deeply in love with her.
Thinking this, Zhu Yan shook her head fiercely, trying to clear away the messy thoughts.
"Zhu Yan, get out of the way!"
Suddenly, Pan Chi cried out in alarm.
Zhu Yan’s heart tightened, and she obediently dodged to the side, falling heavily to the ground with a painful thud that made her grimace.
Looking up, she saw a ghost-faced man towering over her, a sharp sword in hand, clearly intent on taking her life.
At the same time, Pan Chi ignored the injury on his left shoulder, mustering his strength to pick up a nearby sword and attack the Half-Faced Ghost.
The Half-Faced Ghost hadn’t expected Pan Chi to still have any fight left and was stabbed in the arm. Enraged, he turned his attention to Pan Chi.
Already injured, Pan Chi was no match for the Half-Faced Ghost. In just a few moves, he was beaten until he spat blood, slashed several times, and fell to the ground in a wretched heap.However, precisely while the Half-Faced Ghost was fighting Pan Chi, Zhu Yan seized the opportunity to stealthily draw the Corpse-Dissecting Knife she had used earlier to extract Pan Chi’s arrowhead and aimed it at the Half-Faced Ghost’s right knee.
Though she knew neither martial arts nor much about medicine, her years of dissecting corpses had given her a decent familiarity with human anatomy.
There is a tendon in the right knee that is particularly vulnerable; injuring it feels like being struck by lightning, causing the entire body to go numb.
Commonly referred to as hitting the "numb tendon," in medical texts it is described as injuring the sciatic nerve.
Fortunately, Zhu Yan had good aim and struck true, piercing the Half-Faced Ghost’s numb tendon with the Corpse-Dissecting Knife.
The Half-Faced Ghost convulsed all over, even losing his grip on his sword.
Coincidentally, this Half-Faced Ghost was rather unlucky—struck by stray arrows, though none hit his heart, it was still enough to give him a hard time.
With a muffled groan and his breathing growing heavy, Zhu Yan kicked him to the ground and took the chance to sever the tendons in his hands and feet.
Whether one practices martial arts or not, once the tendons of the hands and feet are severed, they become nothing but a cripple.
Pan Chi had thought death was certain and had already closed his eyes, awaiting his fate.
Unexpectedly, he heard a "thud," and when he opened his eyes, the Half-Faced Ghost was already collapsed to the side, with Zhu Yan holding a bloodied knife and working on him.
Hearing the Half-Faced Ghost’s piercing screams, he inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.
The saying "the hearts of women are the most venomous" was not without reason.
After finishing all this, Zhu Yan didn’t even bother to lift the mask to see if the Half-Faced Ghost was Ji Dafu before turning back to check on Pan Chi.
This fellow was also unlucky today, dragged into this mess for no reason. If he were to die here, it would truly be unjust.
Fortunately, though the wounds looked horrifying, they were only superficial and not fatal.
Zhu Yan sighed and pulled out the cinnabar and other items she had used earlier. After treating Pan Chi before, she had stored them in her sleeve pocket. This guy’s medicinal powder was quite effective, and since Shen Du was also injured, it would surely come in handy.
Who would have thought that before Shen Du could use it, this guy would need it again.
While treating him, Zhu Yan noticed his mournful expression and couldn’t help but ask with concern, "Did I hurt you?"
She hadn’t been raised as a delicate lady, so her wound treatment was inevitably a bit rough, and causing pain was not uncommon.
Pan Chi’s body was already numb with pain, so he just shook his head and said, "No, it’s just that I’m injured again, and with so many scars, I’ve become ugly. If I’m ugly, what if my future wife dislikes me?"
Pan Chi said this with a probing intent, as feelings were not a matter of one-sided enthusiasm.
Zhu Yan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth and poured cold water on him: "Given the situation, whether we can even survive is uncertain, and you’re still hoping to marry?"
Though just a few hours earlier, he had forcefully exchanged tokens with her, she only felt friendship toward him, not romantic love.
Naturally, she wouldn’t say sweet words to comfort him.
Zhu Yan didn’t take the bait, and Pan Chi tactfully changed the subject: "Earlier you said I have a tough life, that the King of Hell doesn’t want me. Today, we’re sure to survive."
"Let’s hope so!" Zhu Yan muttered, her hands never stopping.
As the two spoke, Shen Du, with Jing Lin’s help, had made progress and broken through the encirclement.
However, both the Half-Faced Ghost and the government soldiers were systematically trained, far from being small fry, and proved to be quite troublesome.Both men were wounded to varying degrees, and even though utterly exhausted, they had no chance to catch their breath.
At this moment, Jing Lin gritted his teeth and led several Inner Guard Bureau members in holding back the enemy, preventing them from interfering with Shen Du's task. Meanwhile, Shen Du rushed toward Mo Qianzhi's side.
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