Chapter 242 Each with their own ulterior motives
Ouyang Rong and A Qing were both tied up, their hands and feet bound.
Ouyang Rong looked down at his hands, which were tightly bound by hemp rope, and felt that he could easily pull his hands out.
For some reason, Ouyang Rong's intuition told him just that.
So he moved.
His hands, as if boneless, easily slipped from the ropes binding his wrists.
The ropes on other parts of the body were also like that.
No matter how tightly he was bound, he could easily shrink his bones and slip out.
It was as casual as drinking water or eating. All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Even two servants in blue robes who were watching the strange fighting on the mountaintop with fear didn't react immediately when they saw Ouyang Rong's actions out of the corner of their eyes. Their first reaction was to freeze for a moment.
Ouyang Rong, who was sitting on the ground, picked up the sharp waist knife at the feet of a servant in blue before the servant could bend down and reach out.
Then a silent counterattack began.
It came to a complete end within ten breaths.
Ah Qing stared wide-eyed, completely mesmerized. She even closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, wondering if she was hallucinating.
Could a frail, scholarly old man really take on eight people at once?
Even with the elements of surprise attack and a sudden ambush, as well as two cowards running away, it's still a one-against-eight situation!
They saw the two servants in blue flee into the mountains.
Ouyang Rong didn't waste time chasing after him.
At that moment, he first stood up from the body of the runaway servant who was lying furthest from the edge of the cliff, and used the blue robe on the corpse to wipe the blood off his waist knife.
He turned back to the edge of the cliff, came to Aqing's side, and finished off the three blue-clad servants who were still clutching their ankles and wailing for mercy on the lawn.
Around Ouyang Rong and A Qing, there were five corpses of servants in blue robes lying haphazardly.
The corpses all had severed tendons at their ankles.
Ouyang Rong had forgotten where he learned this trick, but in his previous life he had seen plenty of indecent things related to staying up late.
After dealing with the servant in blue with swift and efficient movements, Ouyang Rong silently walked over, knelt down, and helped the stunned, pretty young girl cut the ropes and untie her.
This was not the first time Ouyang Rong had killed someone.
Once you kill someone, you'll do it again. And right now it seems like he saved Aqing, and the person he killed wasn't exactly a good person. The clear sound of the wooden fish is still ringing in his ears, and he's even gained merit. What kind of burden is that?
Previously, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Ouyang Rong had also experienced a life-or-death moment, and strangely discovered that he was able to remain remarkably calm and have an exceptionally large heart during the life-or-death struggle.
Later, he told his junior sister about this, and she said that not everyone is like that; he has a talent for killing and a naturally strong mental fortitude.
This made Ouyang Rong quite embarrassed, as he felt this wasn't some kind of legitimate talent.
But today, this unorthodox talent has saved him.
"The most crucial thing is that the strange ninth rank I've advanced to allows me to have a certain degree of meticulous control over the muscles and bones throughout my body."
"Besides being able to shrink and deform bones, his control over his body balance seems to have reached a new level. With proper manipulation, he could even function as a sophisticated killing machine..."
Ouyang Rong lowered his head, uttering a barely audible murmur, a thoughtful expression on his face:
"I heard from my junior sister that the Jade Cup Fairy was able to escape from her the first time because she had some kind of sorcery, like bone shrinking. Could it be that I really am..."
Ouyang Rong was speechless, shook his head, and didn't want to think about it in detail for the time being.
Now that Aqing has finally been untied, Ouyang Rong is preparing to help her up.
But just then...
"What are you doing?"
A chilling male voice came from the woods behind the two.
Ouyang Rong turned around abruptly, his face filled with horror.
It was Liu Zilin, who had returned after leaving!
Ouyang Rong pulled Aqing aside to block her, staring at Liu Zilin ahead, without replying for a moment.
He also glanced sideways to observe the forest path behind Liu Zilin, but fortunately found nothing unusual.
Wei Shaoxuan, Liu Fu, and the others were nowhere to be seen. It seems that only Liu Zilin has returned, but the reason is unknown.
"Hey, where's your master?"
Ouyang Rong moved silently, his hand behind his back gesturing for A Qing to run away.
But to his surprise, Liu Zilin, who had previously seemed hesitant and indecisive, suddenly drew his Moonlight Sword from his waist and charged straight at him with a cold expression.
Ouyang Rong had no time to think and quickly drew his sword to fight back.
Despite his severe injuries, he turned his muscles to face the enemy.
But after several dazzling moonlight sword lights flashed across the field, Ouyang Rong realized... he seemed to have overestimated himself.
After a brief exchange, the two separated and stood facing each other.
Ouyang Rong felt his arm go numb from the shock and suddenly said:
"When did you reach the ninth rank? Who taught you Qi Refining Technique, Liu Fu? Or the Wei family? So you were just faking it all along, right? You're even better at hiding it than your second brother..."
Liu Zilin snorted coldly and glanced at the sky above the mountaintop. The battle between the gods was happening there, a spectacle that was a hundred times better than the fighting among us small fry.
"Ouyang Lianghan, you've got a lot of nonsense to say too." His voice was cold.
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Previously, the destruction of the Mirage Beast Mask had caused him severe internal injuries from the backlash.
Although he had been promoted to the ninth rank, he was in a slump. Facing Liu Zilin, who had been hiding until now and was at full strength at the ninth rank, he was powerless and gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.
However, thanks to the strange ninth-rank technique's control over muscles and bones, its ability to survive and escape is exceptionally strong.
For the time being, Liu Zilin was unable to do anything about Ouyang Rong, or at least he couldn't catch him.
The two were locked in a stalemate.
Just then, Ah Qing seemed to seize the opportunity and hurriedly ran towards the woods on the side.
Ouyang Rong suddenly sprang forward, charging ahead and recklessly attacking Liu Zilin, who was preparing to pursue him, thus slowing him down.
On the lawn, the two began to wrestle.
A moment later, Aqing's figure disappeared into the woods.
Ouyang Rong breathed a sigh of relief, immediately broke free from the entanglement, clutched the sword wound on his arm, and retreated, panting.
He was already in a weak position, and this time his initiative to entangle him only resulted in more injuries to his body.
But it was worth it.
Liu Zilin looked at Ouyang Rong with a cold eye.
With no more worries, Ouyang Rong prepared to disappear into the woods and make his escape.
Just then.
"master……"
From the woods not far away, a familiar sobbing voice came.
Turning around, I saw a dozen or so servants in blue robes emerge from the woods, and Ah Qing, with her hands tied behind her back, was being led out.
Among the dozen or so servants in blue robes who suddenly appeared, there were two rather familiar faces. They were the ones who had escaped earlier and had obviously called for reinforcements.
Ouyang Rong fell silent.
"Surrender or kill her."
Liu Zilin said calmly.
Ouyang Rong nodded, spread his arms, and gestured to give up.
Liu Zilin tilted his head slightly, and two servants in blue robes went over to disarm Ouyang Rong.
The next instant.
Two more bodies lay on the ground, their throats covered.
Ouyang Rong squatted down, picked up the corpse in blue, and wiped the blade.
Liu Zilin narrowed his eyes: "Ouyang Lianghan, what do you mean?"
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and said:
"If you dare to touch a single hair on A Qing's head, you will all die. My men are down the mountain, and my junior sister is there too. I can go down the mountain to find them anytime."
"If you dare to go for reinforcements, I'll kill her right now."
"If you dare kill her, I'll go find her right now, and none of you will live. You'd better pray that your junior sister's seventh-grade cultivation can't catch up with you."
Liu Zilin stared at Ouyang Rong for a long while, his face grim.
In an instant, he drew his sword and charged out.
Ouyang Rong countered each move with a counter-move.
The two began to fight.
At this moment, the dozen or so servants in blue exchanged glances and stepped forward in unison, gradually surrounding Ouyang Rong.
However, Ouyang Rong used his flexibility to switch moves, shake off Liu Zilin, and ran into the woods, escaping the encirclement.
"Don't try anything funny."
Ouyang Rong chuckled.
Liu Zilin's facial muscles twitched slightly as he looked at the cunning and elusive young magistrate, a conflicted expression flashing in his eyes.
Even if Ouyang Rong surrendered, he wouldn't release A Qing.
But to everyone's surprise, the man was completely unfazed by the trap.
"Hmph, madman."
Liu Zilin ignored Ouyang Rong.
He glanced at Aqing, who was tied up, and then suddenly turned away.
"Don't pay too much attention to this madman. Be careful and follow me."
Liu Zilin led his servants away from the lawn and headed towards a certain place.
Ouyang Rong's smile slowly faded, and he followed at a distance.
Liu Zilin arrived at the ruins of the Jia-character sword furnace.
While keeping a close watch on Ouyang Rong, he directed his servants to move the broken pieces.
His expression was serious, as if he were searching for something in the ruins.
A short while later.
Ouyang Rong saw that Liu Zilin suddenly showed joy and pulled a broken corpse with sword hilts stuck in its chest from the ruins.
Liu Zilin quickly squatted down, casually pulled out the several troublesome swords from the corpse's chest, and silently reached his right hand into the arms of the dead Liu Zian.
Before long, he pulled out a bloodstained Buddhist scripture with three short swords stuck in it.
Ouyang Rong frowned.
Upon seeing the Buddhist scriptures, Liu Zilin breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile immediately appeared on his lips.
He glanced at Liu Zian, who was lying dead with his eyes wide open, and smiled as he put the Buddhist scripture, which he had deliberately stabbed three times to conceal its position, into his robes.
Then he squatted down again, casually touched Liu Zian's corpse, and suddenly stopped. He took out a brand new bronze mask from the corpse's sleeve. Liu Zilin curled his lips in disgust, but after lowering his eyes for a moment, he still put it into his sleeve.
Liu Zilin stood in the ruins of the Jia-character sword furnace, clapped his hands, turned around with satisfaction, and returned to the edge of the cliff.
He walked up to Aqing.
"Hand over the items."
Liu Zilin suddenly spread his hands, squinting his eyes as if asking for it.
"Give me what?" Ouyang Rong replied coldly from afar, "The urns containing the ashes of you three brothers?"
Liu Zilin ignored him.
Ouyang Rong frowned even more.
Liu Zilin stared intently at a pale-faced, pretty girl: "I'm asking you a question."
Aqing shook her head, puzzled.
Liu Zilin smirked and commanded:
"Where is the gift the old gentleman sent you? Hand it over!"
Aqing was stunned.
Ouyang Rong sighed softly.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
