Twenty-two: The Crescent Moon Like a Hook - Part Two
Chai Wang and Zhou Wei, who were a little further away, were thrown together by the impact. They reacted faster. Although the landscape was almost instantly shattered into dust, they quickly regained consciousness after lying on the ground for a while. In addition, both of them were skilled in medicine. By the time Chen Du rushed over, Zhou Wei had already stood up first, his blood-stained hand still gripping his sword, his eyes darting around searching for traces of the fleeing evil spirit.
"Changqi, are you alright?" Chen Du asked worriedly, looking at Zhou Wei's face covered in blood.
"I have to catch up."
It's unclear who he was saying this to, but Zhou Wei's eyes were bloodshot, a sight no one else could match at the time, as he gritted his teeth and spoke.
"You are injured now."
“That evil spirit, the one who injured Alin at my master’s house, and later shot me with an arrow outside Juxia City, and was driven away by Tianguang, is nearby,” Zhou Wei said viciously. “It might even know about my master. We can’t let it get away!”
After saying that, Zhou Wei walked past Shen Du and chased after the forest. Shen Du was still at a loss, but seeing Duan Shuxuan and Zhang Xu lying on the ground, he guessed that the evil spirit was probably trying to escape rather than harm people. So he ran to Chai Wang's side and knelt down to help him treat Duan Shuxuan, who still had a breath left.
If things had gone according to plan, Fuxia and Wu Rang would have already disappeared into the forest with Pinghe, vanishing without a trace. However, the forest had been ravaged by Zhegui's thunder, and in the drizzle, Zhou Wei spotted the three of them. He then conjured a bow and arrows and fired three arrows at them simultaneously.
"Fuxia, I'm leaving her to you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Fuxia knew what to do. When Wu Rang released Pinghe, she took over all of Pinghe's weight, but she had no choice but to continue moving forward at a slightly slower pace.
Wu Rang drew a long, all-black sword from his sleeve, and with a flash in mid-air, three arrows fell to the ground.
Then, from the woods behind Wu Rang, more than a dozen arrows shot out from the sky, heading straight for Zhou Wei.
"Wu Rang, let's go quickly."
Take care.
Hearing Lu Yuzhu's command, Wu Rang sheathed his sword, turned, and hurried away, preparing to catch up with Fu Xia. But before he could take a step, a spear fell from above, sweeping across his chest and breaking several of his useless bones. The sound of bones breaking was still clear in Wu Rang's ears as he flew through the air.
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to wait until he landed. While flying in mid-air, he adjusted his body, used his lightness skill to take a few steps back in the air, and looked at the hostile approacher.
Seeing that reinforcements had arrived, Zhou Wei didn't have time to say anything. He put away his bow, grabbed his sword, and chased after the arrows that had flown from the forest.
"Ya-zai, go after them and see."
Hearing Mu Ning give him such an order, Ya Zai didn't take it seriously. But thinking that if Ming Jin were here, he would probably give the same order, Ya Zai, who had flown countless kilometers back and forth, had no choice but to accept his fate and continue chasing after her.
When Mu Ning arrived, he saw the lightning strike on the horizon and was startled. However, he knew the purpose of the evil spirit's arrival, and since the unconscious cultivators from Huicheng had regained consciousness and were helping to treat Duan Shuxuan and Zhang Xu, he did not want to get entangled with the evil spirit in front of him. He gently stepped back, and a long spear appeared behind Ping He's head.
"Thump!" Three times in a row.
Flames, almost bluish-purple, burned on the blade.
Three figures appeared beneath the gun, finally stopping Mu Ning's killing intent. Upon seeing these three figures, Mu Ning was initially surprised that so many evil spirits were lurking in the shadows, ready to rescue her. However, as she took another step forward with the gun, Mu Ning looked closely and realized that the three figures belonged to the same evil spirit—the one who was now holding a sword and waiting to ambush her from behind.
“Interesting,” Mu Ning noticed the flash behind him out of the corner of his eye, turned around nimbly, blocked the attack with his gun, and sent the evil spirit flying again. He adjusted his bamboo hat and found himself surrounded by nine evil spirits, and wondered if there were any more lurking in the dark forest. “I’ve never seen this kind of ghost technique before.”
As soon as Mu Ning finished speaking, Wu Rang waved his hand, and a group of evil spirits immediately attacked him. Mu Ning gripped his spear and fought them off one by one, but after repeating this action a few times, he noticed something was wrong. No matter how he fought, one evil spirit after another disappeared in a puff of black smoke. These evil spirits seemed endless, following him one after another from where he couldn't see them.
Wu Rang mingled among the evil spirits. Seeing that Mu Ning couldn't be identified for the time being, he had the evil spirits transformed by his ghost magic provide cover for him. He also sent two other evil spirits to help Fu Xia. He was just waiting for Fu Xia and Ping He to escape, and then he would act according to the situation.
As for Mu Ning, he found that although the evil spirits were troublesome, each evil spirit had limited abilities and could not withstand two shots from him before disappearing into nothingness. So he swung his spear and swept around, driving back the evil spirits that were close by, and then chanted incantations to cast spells.
"There is no way for souls to escape."
Using wind magic to disperse the evil spirits, ice magic gradually froze each one entangled around him, aided by raindrops. Mu Ning had exchanged blows with Wu Rang before arriving, and knew what force was enough to dissipate the evil spirits while only severely injuring him. As the wind slowed the evil spirits' movements, Wu Rang shook his hands twice in the darkness, realizing something was wrong. He quickly sheathed his sword and prepared to leave, but the next second, Mu Ning's spearhead shattered the surrounding evil spirit magic and pierced Wu Rang's back.
Unfortunately, Mu Ning only used half her strength, managing to pierce a hole in Wu Rang's back. She had to divert her energy to deal with a volley of arrows flying from the side.
Wu Rang staggered a couple of steps, seized the opportunity, and prepared to plunge into the woods with the other two.
Mu Ning stopped and focused her gaze, then gathered her strength and transformed the spear in her hand into a feathered arrow that flew out. With a faint green light, the spear pierced someone's back and pushed three evil spirits into the forest.
Standing on the tree, Lu Yuzhu saw that the three of them had finally arrived in the forest after many twists and turns. Just as they were preparing to retreat, an arrow pinned her right forearm to the tree trunk.
Initially, Lu Yuzhu thought that if the enemy was also an archer, she would be fine. However, seeing Zhou Wei standing under the tree with a sword in one hand and a bow in the other, Lu Yuzhu became less at ease. She was indeed skilled at hitting a target from a hundred paces, but her close combat ability was currently almost zero. In the current situation, retreating as soon as possible was the best option.
Lu Yuzhu pulled her hand out, and the wound healed instantly.
"stop."
They were now inside the forest. Zhou Wei didn't know the way through the forest, but he heard Lu Yuzhu walking lightly among the branches. Zhou Wei jumped up and followed her through the forest, stepping on the branches as well.
The trees were tall, and with only a light drizzle outside, the forest felt damp. Lu Yuzhu sensed someone chasing her and quickened her pace, creating distance before nocking her bow and firing five arrows at Zhou Wei. Lu Yuzhu guessed that this man had definitely been struck by Zhegui's lightning earlier; even if he had recovered temporarily, a minor injury, such as a graze from an arrow, would be enough to cause him panic.
Erasing the accumulated lightning, the arrow left only a sound in the darkness.
Seeing this, Zhou Wei had no choice but to hide behind a tree trunk.
As Lu Yuzhu retreated, she drew her bow and fired an arrow, making it difficult for Zhou Wei, who was still unable to use magic freely after being injured, to move an inch. Hearing the sound of the arrow flying by, he was anxious that the evil spirit was about to get far away. In his dizziness, he suddenly heard a crisp cry in the distance.
The arrows also stopped flying temporarily.
"What is that?!"
In the darkness, the vision of evil spirits is less affected than that of ordinary people, but it's not entirely unaffected. For example, in this situation, Lu Yuzhu, holding a bow and arrow, couldn't recognize what kind of magical artifacts the cultivators were using to cause trouble beside her.
"Well done, Ya Zai." Hearing this, Zhou Wei quickly followed the sound.
Ya-zai can change her size at will. Now, she has shrunk to her smallest form, like a caterpillar, and is using the strange cries of a bird to disrupt Lu Yu-zhu's stance, who is not good at close combat. Under normal circumstances, Ya-zai has no place to appear near ordinary ghosts, and she wouldn't dare to show off. But on this dark and stormy night, when it's so dark you can barely see your hand in front of your face, Ya-zai can still manage to slightly disrupt the enemy's mindset.
Unfortunately, this only distracted Lu Yuzhu for a moment. Then, she used her internal energy to make the surroundings tremble. The miniature Ya Zai sensed something was wrong and decisively flapped its wings and ran away. Fortunately, Zhou Wei seized this opportunity and, following only the slightest movement in the forest, reached Lu Yuzhu's side.
After finding her, Zhou Wei swung his sword and slashed down.
Hearing the sounds of others moving, Lu Yuzhu realized that the enemy was behind her. Unable to turn around in time, she used the feathered arrow in her hand to block Zhou Wei's sword.
Suddenly, a series of snapping sounds echoed through the forest.
Unable to confront them head-on, Lu Yuzhu flipped down from the tree. Thinking the other three had probably already fled far away and there was no need to linger, she prepared to retreat quickly. Zhou Wei, however, had no intention of letting this rare close-quarters combat opportunity slip by. As the wood magic descended, stiff vines rushed in from all directions through the dense forest, flying through the air and simultaneously reaching for their primary target: the bow in Lu Yuzhu's hand.
The vines entwined, twisting and contorting along with Lu Yuzhu's tightly clenched hand. Lu Yuzhu used her cultivation to sever more than a dozen vines, but facing Zhou Wei, who effortlessly wielded wood magic, she gradually lost the upper hand in this pure battle of attrition.
Her bow was taken away. Her hands and feet were also bound to the ground by vines, leaving her standing in a stiff position.
Having completed its task, the vine snaked its way back to its master.
Zhou Wei climbed down from the tree and walked up to Lu Yuzhu.
By a twist of fate, they found themselves in a rare little clearing in the woods.
“You probably don’t remember me,” Zhou Wei said, looking at Lu Yuzhu. “We met outside Juxia City once, and you shot me with an arrow back then.”
“It’s you,” Lu Yuzhu stared at Zhou Wei. “What, you want to retaliate by shooting me first?”
“No need. I want all of you ghosts dead,” Zhou Wei said bluntly. “But before you die, I have a question for you. Why did you go to the Xiang residence outside Juxia City? How did you find it?”
"No comment!"
Lu Yuzhu snapped the vines binding her hands again and thrust the arrow she held at Zhou Wei's neck. However, her movement was too sudden, alerting Zhou Wei. Before the arrow could reach his neck, Zhou Wei grabbed Lu Yuzhu's wrist and used wood magic to completely lock her limbs with the vines.
The vines tightened their grip, and in the silence, both of them could hear the sound of Lu Yuzhu's leg bones snapping. Only held steady by the vines, Lu Yuzhu remained still despite the pain.
"Speak quickly!"
Zhou Wei pulled Lu Yuzhu's arm and lifted it high.
“Your life is in my hands now,” Zhou Wei tightened his grip on Lu Yuzhu’s wrist. “Even if you don’t tell us, we have ways to make you spit it out.”
“My life is long gone,” Lu Yuzhu sneered at Zhou Wei, “and this fake one is none of your business.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the bow that had recognized its master broke free from Zhou Wei's restraints. After spinning in the air, it slammed down towards the corner of Zhou Wei's right eye. Instantly, Zhou Wei's vision went black, blood covering his right eye, and he collapsed to his knees, powerless. Zhou Wei gritted his teeth, bracing himself on the ground with his hands, and couldn't help but let out a cry of pain.
Of course, Lu Yuzhu was also under Zhou Wei's control. Fueled by both old and new grudges, the vines binding Lu Yuzhu, carrying Zhou Wei's resentment, climbed up Lu Yuzhu's ankles, binding her tightly. The pain was excruciating, causing Lu Yuzhu to hiss involuntarily.
The bow might work once, but not twice. The vine followed the bow, pulling it from both sides until it snapped in two, shattering into several pieces that fell to the ground with a "crack." The bow was broken, but the string remained intact, slipping through the gaps to escape the vine's pursuit and climbing directly up to Zhou Wei's neck. Zhou Wei clung to the bowstring coiled around his neck, his hands and neck bleeding from the constriction, a faint smell of rust emanating from him.
"hateful."
Zhou Wei's fingertips gripped the bowstring, his eyes only able to see the back of his hand. Helpless, he silently chanted a fire spell. He wasn't skilled in magic, especially in such delicate situations. He was severely injured and his magic was impaired, which also meant his fire spells were ineffective. Soon, the bowstring gave way, leaving only a pile of black dust.
"What else can you do but wait for them to come and rescue you?" Zhou Wei asked, disregarding his minor injury.
Lu Yuzhu's eyes were bloodshot, her vision blurred as she stared at her surroundings. She was no match for her opponents in close combat, and in her desperate attempt to save herself, she had damaged her bow and arrows, only to find herself gaining nothing, and...
"I am willing to save others, but I do not want others to save me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Yuzhu pierced her own neck with the arrow she was holding. Normally, such a minor wound wouldn't have been enough to kill a demon like her, but earlier, when saving Pinghe, she had used her cultivation to shield Pinghe from some of the excess lightning strikes that broke through the barrier. She was resigned to her fate, and before she could finish, she deliberately dispersed the remaining cultivation within her.
Under Zhou Wei's astonished gaze, Lu Yuzhu's body turned into black smoke and dissipated among the vines.
Terrified and still reeling from his serious injuries, a metallic taste rose in his throat. Just as Zhou Wei was about to lose his grip on his sword and fall to his knees, Ya Zai, who had been nearby, quickly flew out, grabbed Zhou Wei's left shoulder with his claws, and lifted him up.
"Damn it, we didn't get any information and she died." Zhou Wei, still not fully conscious, muttered with drooping eyelids.
"Changqi!" Mu Ning's voice came over, along with the sound of his footsteps breaking twigs.
"Ya Zai," Zhou Wei said with his last shred of consciousness, "Don't tell Tian Guang what happened today."
Although Ya-zai couldn't sweat, she felt as if she were drenched in sweat. Although she couldn't lie to Ming-jin, she could just pretend to be stupid and not be able to say anything.
Mu Ning jumped over a clump of low trees, took Zhou Wei from Ya Zai's hands, and carried him outside.
"How did you get hurt like this?" Although Mu Ning couldn't turn around to look, Zhou Wei was almost unconscious, his head resting on her neck, so she quickly smelled the blood on his neck and face. "What just happened, Ya Zai?"
“The evil spirit has been exorcised,” Ya Zai said, but not wanting to lie, “it’s gone.”
Its tail feathers flashed with a silver light as it flapped its wings and flew high, heading to find Mingjin.
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