As it turned out, before Fang Xing could be proud of himself for too long, Lyu had quietly caught up to him as well; although Lyu’s speed might not be as fast as Hou Qing’s, he was not slower by much. He was at stumped at first by the sight of Hou Qing being coiled up by the giant serpent before Hou Qing commanded him to continue on, “Don’t worry about me, it’s just a tier two serpent and I’ll catch up with you once I kill it. Do not let the kid get away again!”

　　“Sh*t!” Cursing, Fang Xing ran at his top speed.

　　Fang Xing knew that someone at the peak of tier three like Hou Qing would not even have to break a sweat for a tier two beast, but it was far less stressful when the person chasing after him became Lyu instead. Although both men were in the third tier of the Spirit Stage, Lyu was just at the beginning of tier three—only a small step ahead of Fang Xing—and most importantly did not have expertise in physical movements. Lyu was slowed down when faced with the curious plants and entangled vines, and Fang Xing took advantage of his small stature to zigzag through the woods.

　　Seeing the distance between the two begin to widen, Lyu’s pupils focused and he made up his mind. ‘The speed of this kid is faster than what I’d imagined, but I can’t let him get away again.’ As Lyu was thinking, he took out a jade talisman from his pockets.

　　All outer court disciples would have at least one Spirit Tool they would only use on very rare occasions, and this was Lyu’s. It was mysterious and rarely shown to others in the daylight, and as Lyu chased after Fang Xing, he also frantically sent large amounts of Qi into the jade talisman until it began to shine.

　　‘Good, as long as I can get rid of him, I’ll be safe….’ Fang Xing raised a hopeful thought as he saw a thorny forest ahead of him.

　　It was at this exact moment that Lyu let out a deep howl and his figure disappeared into a gust of sudden wind. Within a blink of an eye, he had reappeared less than ten yards behind Fang Xing, and in another, he had grabbed hold of Fang Xing’s arm from behind and had already pushed him firmly to the ground.

　　“You can’t run anymore, little Shidi Fang….” Lyu exclaimed, still gasping for breath. Lyu’s right hand held Fang Xing tightly as his left hand clutched onto the jade talisman, its light gradually fading. Lyu’s arms were slightly shaking as he caught his breath: a sign that he had used up nearly all of his Qi.

　　‘How did he suddenly catch up to me in such a short time?’ Fang Xing wondered in surprise as he felt his arm locked from behind and his mind descended into sudden chaos.

　　Lyu felt a sense of relief; if he hadn’t had this item, the kid would likely have really gotten away.

　　No one knew that Lyu had this item. It was a gift given to him by an elder of the Qing-Yun Sect after Lyu had helped him before joining the sect, and this jade talisman was called the [Talisman of Shrinking Earth]. When it was filled with enough Qi, the user would be able to skip up to forty yards of distance in a heartbeat, and the only downside was that it not only consumed a substantial amount of Qi, but that there was also a time limit to use it once it had been activated.

　　Lyu had used this talisman to get close to Fang Xing and take him by surprise and—despite having used up almost all of his stored Qi—Lyu was able to successfully capture the boy. All Lyu had to do now was wait until Hou Qing caught up with him after sorting it out with the serpent.

　　Lyu thought it through and let out a long shout. The sound of his voice would let Hou Qing locate his whereabouts and also let him know that Lyu had already captured their target.

　　“Shixiong Lyu, are you really going to use me as bait?” Amazingly, Fang Xing had calmed down. Since his arm was locked from behind, he could only speak to Lyu with his back to him.

　　Lyu seemed to be slightly remorseful, but he quickly covered it up. “I’m sorry, but if we don’t catch you, Shixiong Hou will be using Qian for the bait. Qian might have a bad temper, but I am in debt to him.”

　　Fang Xing laughed. “So you’re going to kill me? How about before coming to this stupid place? Why did you force me to come?”

　　“This is what sects are like. There’s no use saying such things now!” Lyu replied after a few moments of silence.

　　Fang Xing shook his tiny head. “Yes there is!”

　　Startled, Lyu question in return, “How?”

　　With a deep breath, Fang Xing forcibly turned his body around.

　　Fang Xing’s left arm was tightly held by Lyu. It was a technique used often in martial arts, and it was also one that Lyu had always used during his time as a bailiff; once a prisoner was captured in this position, there was no method of escape. Fang Xing, however, had forced Lyu to change his understanding, as he managed to forcefully turn his entire body around with his left arm still locked in the same exact location.

　　CRACKKK

　　As Fang Xing turned, his left arm immediately snapped with hair-raising crackles.

　　Lyu was dumbstruck. He looked at Fang Xing’s tiny arm twisted like a pretzel in his hands. The sensation of holding on to something like that was beyond strange.

　　Breaking one’s own arm, how cruel did one have to be to do such a thing to themselves? Lyu might have seized numerous infamous bandits in the past, but none of them had shown such brutality.

　　While Lyu was still frozen in shock, Fang Xing turned to face him completely, and a faint smile emerged from his tiny pale face. He had his right hand holding on to a small dagger and—like a venomous snake—he plunged it straight into Lyu’s abdomen.

　　SLLLLLP

　　In went the dagger’s blade.

　　Lyu was astounded as he looked down at his wound, his face painted with a complex emotion comprised of horror, amazement, and pain. Fang Xing, on the other hand, wasted no time and pulled the dagger out for a second stab right into Lyu’s chest.

　　Without much Qi remaining, Lyu had no method of retaliation, especially since it was a surprise attack.

　　Fang Xing then took a leap followed by a kick to send Lyu flat on the ground. When he leapt, it was a strange sight: his left arm was like a stringed marionette thrown into the air.

　　“I’m sorry, Shixiong Lyu. I know you must have known that I wasn’t completely asleep that night next to the bonfire. You intentionally wanted me to know what might happen to me so that I could run away….” Fang Xing kneeled down towards Lyu, gazing directly into Lyu’s terrified gaze as he muttered, “You know, for a moment, I thought you were good. I was going to keep you alive after killing everyone else.”

　　As if Lyu wanted to say something, both of his lips and Adam’s apple moved slightly.

　　“I don’t know why you changed your mind, though. To wholeheartedly track me down. But of course, none of that matters now.” Fang Xing did not want to hear Lyu’s explanation. With a sleek movement devoid of hesitation, he slit Lyu’s throat.

　　Fresh blood erupted like a fountain.

　　Lyu looked on with nothing more than despair and regret. He was a third-tiered cultivator, yet he had no way of retaliating against a child, Fang Xing.

　　But was this really a child?

　　In his misery, Lyu had realized that Fang Xing was perhaps more ruthless and cunning than any bandit he had ever seen, yet this entire trip he had treated him like a child. This was perhaps the biggest failure as a bailiff in his entire life.

　　Fang Xing no longer paid him any further attention. He picked up Lyu’s jade talisman while holding on to his limp left arm before running deeper into the forest.

　　He could not afford to waste any more time here.

　　—

　　Within minutes, Hou Qing had hurriedly arrived at the exact same location only to be greeted with the unpleasant sight of Lyu’s dead body.

　　Despite not having any visible wounds, Hou Qing and his sword were covered in blood; it clearly belonged to that of the giant serpent. As Hou Qing focused on the scene in front of him, his pupils dilated as though he had been stabbed by the wide-open eyes of Lyu’s corpse. It took only a few moments before he came back to his senses and swept past it all while coldly muttering, “Useless!”

　　Looking back up, he could see a clear path leading to Fang Xing’s escape route, as the branches were freshly broken and there was also a clear sign of footprints. Shaking the serpent blood off of his sword, Hou Qing followed onward.

　　It did not take long before he felt a sharp wind blowing towards him. Before he was able to take his Flying Sword out of his waist sack, his [Qin’fen Sword] in his hands flew up automatically. Crisp noises could be heard coming from tens of needles fended off by the [Qin’fen Sword], followed by a dazzling ray of silver light.

　　With a cold laugh, Hou Qing curled all five of his fingers in mid-air to form an invisible shield around him with his Qi. After being blocked by the barrier, the silver light lost its force and fell loudly to the ground.

　　Hou Qing began to slowly walk forward with a smile. “This was the Flying Sword I gifted to you, and now you want to kill me with it?”

　　In front of Hou Qing stood a great banyan tree, its size so great that it would take two grown men to surround it completely. Fang Xing’s tiny body was leaning against the branches of the tree as he looked at Hou Qing with a wide grin. His right hand held an empty metal tube while his left hand hung limply next to his body, as though it had already given up on life.

　　Hou Qing checked Fang Xing from head to toe. “I admit, you’re a lot more difficult than I imagined you would be. If I had known, I would not have done more than was required to capture you at the Recruitment Ceremony. I mean, it would be easier to just wait in the line a bit longer than to have a tough little cookie like you as an enemy. And if I had known, I would have slapped Liu stupid when he recommended using you as bait.”

　　As Hou Qing spoke, he extended all five of his fingers and commanded his Flying Sword from his waist sack into the air.

　　“But since we’re already here, I may as well give you a clean end. To be honest, I’m scared of what you might grow up into….” Hou Qing’s murderous intent was very clear. His Flying Sword was also waving lightly in the air like a snake, the blade eagerly waiting for the command to take the head of a helpless Fang Xing.

　　“You’re going to kill me just like that?” Fang Xing broke out into an abrupt laugh before using his right arm as a pillow, making himself comfortable between the branches. “I thought you said you wanted to teach me how to spell ‘misery’ ”?

　　Not suspecting anything, Hou Qing’s expression had also changed as he ordered his Flying Sword to return to his waist sack. Then, he grabbed hold of his smaller [Qin’fen Sword].

　　“You are right.”

　　With one step at a time, Hou Qing closed in on the banyan tree. Simultaneously, Fang Xing clutched tightly on the storage ring he had tied into his ponytail.