Chapter 194 - 147: Rendezvous
"Hahaha, you’ve lost your chance!"
Hearing the voices of his brothers from the stronghold drawing nearer, Niu Jin panted heavily, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly in Fang Yue’s direction.
Although he couldn’t see the man hunting him, he knew he had to be nearby.
A vicious smile spread across his face as he shouted toward the direction he sensed his pursuer:
"Starting today, I’ll find out who you are. You have parents, don’t you? Brothers and sisters? I’ll find them. I’ll break their bones, one by one. I’ll gouge out their eyes. The men, I’ll feed to the dogs. The women, I’ll send to the slave camps. I’ll make them regret ever giving birth to you!"
"Heheheh..."
With rescue imminent and his own safety seemingly assured, hatred surged through Niu Jin.
He frantically vented his resentment.
And he was a man of his word. Anyone who had ever crossed him had suffered brutal retaliation.
In his early years, his family was poor, and he had no choice but to become a live-in son-in-law, where he endured endless scorn from his wife’s parents.
He endured it all. Later, after mastering his skills, he slaughtered his entire family-in-law—dozens of people.
It was from that time on that he came to the Boundary Mountain region, established his own stronghold, and became a Bandit King.
Later, he was subdued by the current Chieftain and became the Fifth Master of Tenglong Stronghold. To this day, the number of people who had died by his hand was well over a thousand.
This was the first time he had ever been forced into such a desperate situation, so close to death.
Only then did Niu Jin realize that he, too, was afraid to die.
At that moment, in the darkness not far away, Fang Yue, who was holding his bow and had already turned to leave, stopped in his tracks.
’Sigh... Isn’t it good enough to stay alive? Why did you have to force my hand?’
Fang Yue had already decided to retreat. After all, he didn’t know if there were any experts among the reinforcing bandits.
If he were to get tied down, even he would be in grave danger.
But he never expected this bandit chief to be so foolishly defiant. Since the man had threatened his family, Fang Yue had no choice but to kill him right here.
His body moved with his thoughts. As he turned, Fang Yue took a long, deep breath, like a great whale inhaling the sea, stirring up a small whirlwind around him.
His heart pounded violently as blood coursed through his veins, and wisps of steam began to rise from his body.
In an instant, Fang Yue strode forward. His steps seemed slow, but in just a few breaths, he had crossed several dozen yards.
He clenched one hand into a fist. The next moment, an incredibly fierce whistling sound exploded through the air.
Then, he threw a punch, smashing it down viciously toward the blood-soaked Niu Jin.
At that moment, Niu Jin was about to spit out more vile words to vent his malicious fury.
But in just a few breaths’ time, he saw a figure charge out of the darkness and attack him!
’He couldn’t hold back after all! He actually showed himself to kill me!’
’Giving up the advantage of his bow to fight me in close quarters? How ridiculous!’
After all, from his opponent’s aura, he could tell that this Martial Scholar who had pursued him and nearly killed him with an arrow was merely a Martial Artist who had reached Great Success in Marrow Transformation.
’Does he really think he can just crush me because I’m injured?’
’Naive. Truly, utterly naive!’
"Good! So you finally decided to show yourself. You’re still too green! Since you dared to come out, let me beat you to death!"
Niu Jin let out a furious roar and instantly detonated the few wisps of Primordial Qi within his body.
In an instant, Niu Jin’s body was filled with power once more.
Although one of his arms was temporarily useless, he still had the other one and could throw a punch.
He immediately used this explosive burst of power to meet the attacking Fang Yue head-on.
A sinister sneer appeared on his face as he struck out with all his might.
BOOM!
As the two collided, a terrifying sound erupted.
Niu Jin’s entire body was sent flying by the force of the punch.
"How... How is this possible?"
Niu Jin’s eyes bulged as he stared at his own body in disbelief, a look of intense indignation in their depths.
He was still frozen in the posture of throwing a punch, but his good arm had been completely shattered. A shard of his own arm bone was now viciously embedded in his torso.
It was an incredibly gruesome sight!
A roar filled Niu Jin’s mind.
Then, his entire body felt light as the last ounce of his strength vanished completely.
His eyes were wide as he gushed a final mouthful of blood.
Then, his body collapsed limply to the ground.
THUD!
Niu Jin’s corpse fell heavily into the grass, and bright red blood flowed across the ground.
A dozen or so breaths later, a group of bandits finally arrived!
When they saw Niu Jin lying on the ground, his head severed from his body, their expressions changed drastically.
"The Fifth Master! The Fifth Master’s been killed!"
"What?!" At that moment, an armored bandit leader rushed to Niu Jin’s headless corpse. After examining it, his expression changed dramatically, his eyes filling with rage.
He erupted in fury and immediately led his men in pursuit, following the direction Fang Yue had fled.
...
「Meanwhile.」
After finishing off Niu Jin, Fang Yue fled the scene without a moment’s hesitation.
He knew very well that the bandits had come out in full force and were now conducting a massive search of the mountain forest.
There were large numbers of Martial Artists, led by several Qi Sensing Martial Masters.
If the Martial Scholars like him were to unite, they might stand a chance in a direct confrontation. But scattered as they were, it was impossible to face these bandits head-on.