Chapter 40040 "Your sister will avenge you."
"Help me...help me!"
Beside the lake, a disheveled peasant woman was running frantically. Yang's house was located in a remote area, and it was already dusk. The villagers had long since returned home with their hoes, so no one could be found on the vast field path.
The peasant woman had no choice but to run towards Granny Yang's house, the only farmhouse she could see in the vicinity. In her frantic run, someone suddenly grabbed her arm. The peasant woman trembled, then began to frantically pound on the person behind her!
"You lecherous thief! Let me go! Let me go! Help! Help me!"
"I'm not..." The one who grabbed the peasant woman was Jiang Ling'er, who came galloping like a horse galloping across the sky.
This peasant woman was used to farm work; her hands were calloused and she was quite strong. Jiang Ling'er took several heavy punches from her. Seeing that she was yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs and no one was listening, she couldn't bear it any longer and gritted her teeth in her ear, "Shut up if you don't want to die!"
A distinctly female voice rang in her ears. The peasant woman froze, turned around, and saw Jiang Ling'er. Her eyes lit up, and as if grasping at a last straw, she clung tightly to Jiang Ling'er, blurting out in a panic, "You are...you are Madam Yang! Save me, save me!" She then burst into tears, "I...I was about to go back, and I kindly gave him directions because he was a stranger who didn't know the way. Who would have thought...who would have thought he'd grab me and try to do that kind of thing! If I hadn't broken his head and escaped..."
Jiang Ling'er got closer and realized that although the peasant woman was dressed in simple clothes and a plain hairpin, her face was still very young, and she looked a few years younger than Jiang Ling'er. Her outer clothes were torn to shreds, and her body was covered with bruises and welts...
With Di Qing's methods and abilities, he couldn't do anything to a simple country woman.
This time, it seems more like intentional abuse.
The peasant woman appeared agitated, as if she were about to drown herself in the lake.
"I...I don't want to live anymore!"
"We've survived so many hardships, how can we just die like this!"
Jiang Ling'er immediately scolded her, and the peasant woman choked, her tears welling up in her eyes, too frightened to cry anymore.
It looks smaller.
Jiang Ling'er released her grip on her hand and said coldly, "Change your clothes."
The peasant woman sniffed, and seeing Jiang Ling'er begin to undress her, she dared not delay any longer and quickly undressed herself as well. But after exchanging clothes with Jiang Ling'er, she hesitated:
"Madam Yang, what...why is this?"
Jiang Ling'er quickly helped the peasant woman put on her clothes, then looked around and pulled her into the bushes, saying, "Don't go any further. There are poisonous snakes ahead, and people will die." As she spoke, she gathered up the fallen leaves and piled them tightly over the peasant woman, covering her completely. "Hide well, and no matter what happens, don't come out, understand?"
The peasant woman vaguely knew what she was about to do and quickly said, "You mustn't..."
Suddenly pausing, Jiang Ling'er's gaze lingered on her disheveled hair for a moment, then she reached out and pulled the hairpin from her hair, tucking it into her own. Her almond-shaped eyes seemed to burn with two flames; though she appeared even thinner than her, she inexplicably commanded respect. Staring intently at her, she made a fist with her right hand, raised her thumb, and swiftly drew a throat-slitting gesture across her own neck, baring her teeth; her almond-shaped eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.
"Your sister will avenge you."
——
"Damn it, a little girl with this much strength, and she even dares to throw stones at people, I underestimated her."
Di Qing spat on the ground and strode over. He was already unusually tall, a full nine feet on his horse, and in the dark of dusk, he looked like a walking, towering mountain. A noticeable red, swollen mark on his forehead, throbbing slightly, reminded him of something, and his face darkened further as he cursed:
"That old vile woman, Huo Wu, won't even let me relieve my lust with a child, forcing me to search for a woman in this desolate wilderness..."
Ever since Di Qing had one eye destroyed by the Little Poisoner at the inn, he had harbored a grudge and searched for the Little Poisoner relentlessly. Unfortunately, he was misled by the traces deliberately left by the Little Poisoner and could not find the source of his search. Fortunately, the commotion caused by Ji Yunshu and the people of Sun Moon Fortress was quite extensive, and almost everyone knew about it. Although it was unclear why the people of Sun Moon Fortress had issued a kill order against the Little Poisoner, which of these unorthodox sects did not have a few kill orders and bounties on their hands? Especially since he was a disciple of the old poisoner Gongye Chi, it was indeed worthy of a kill order from Sun Moon Fortress, one of the four major sects of the martial arts world.
It doesn't disgrace the old poisoner's reputation.
Although there was no news of the little poisoner being captured, the commotion that Sun Moon Fortress caused in the small Yangjia Village was too great. The news of the capture of a strange puppet spread like wildfire. Others might think of small sects such as Thousand Machines Sect, but Di Qing immediately thought of his old friend Huo Wu.
The puppets created by that old vile woman, Huo Wu, are all exquisitely crafted, and few in the martial arts world know of them. There's no reason for them to be found everywhere like trash. There's only one reason why these puppets could appear in this obscure, desolate mountain valley—
The Secret to Longevity.
Fire Dance's puppet must have found the "Longevity Manual".
For six years, they have traveled all over the country in search of the "Longevity Manual." If they can seize the "Longevity Manual" before that old poisonous woman...
Small poisonous creatures have plenty of time to seek revenge; even if they can't catch the small ones, they can catch the old ones. But the "Longevity Mantra" is something that can't be obtained by chance. Thinking of this, a ball of evil fire suddenly ignited in Di Qing's belly. It was an old problem; once he got excited, he couldn't control himself. He'd put the Longevity Mantra or the Short Life Mantra aside for now and find a woman first... no, as long as she was female. He didn't even care if she was alive or dead, real or fake. As long as she could vent this evil fire, anything would do!
Fortunately, they met earlier than expected, before Huo Wu had even obtained the "Longevity Manual". He only hated that this old poisonous woman never trusted anyone but her wooden doll. Firstly, she was unwilling to travel with him, and secondly, she wouldn't allow him to touch a single finger of her doll. He had nowhere to vent his lustful anger, so he actually turned his lewd gaze to Huo Wu.
Although Huo Wu has an aged face like dried orange peel, the skin below her neck is young and delicate. In fact, when she wears a fiery red dress, she looks no different from the doll pushing her behind her. It is said that when she was young, she was so good at poisoning that she not only poisoned others but also poisoned herself, crippling her legs and causing her to wither overnight.
But they're all women, old or young, alive or dead, they're all the same once you lift up their skirts, aren't they?
Di Qing's gaze was naked and undisguised, and Huo Wu's aged face paused for a moment before she actually laughed.
I laughed in exasperation.
The wrinkles around his eyes and brows slowly widened like ripples, and his cloudy yet insightful eyes seemed to glance at Di Qing's left eye, which had been blinded and bound with bandages. He coughed lightly and said softly:
"Cough cough... lust is a dangerous thing, you'll die here sooner or later."
If you only listen to Huo Wu's voice, it's no different from the voice of an ordinary elderly woman in her sixties. It can even be described as earnest advice, kind and gentle. But the murky yet shrewd gaze that scrutinizes him inch by inch is like a venomous snake lurking and licking his injured left eye. His left eye, which was just a hole and had long since stopped feeling pain, suddenly felt a sharp pain, and a rare sliver of clarity was poured in.
Di Qing hurriedly raised his hands and retreated repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was just joking, hahaha, who would dare to have any thoughts about the tail needle? Are you out of your mind! You and I are both the seven great killers of the Sanzang Dharma Numbers - Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Space, Insight, and Knowledge. I am ranked seventh, while you are ranked fifth. This ranking has not changed for many years. How could I dare to cause you any trouble?"
Although his actions and words were meant to show weakness, there was not a trace of respect on his arrogant face; instead, there was only mockery and provocation.
Huo Wu didn't react upon hearing this; she merely chuckled and shook her head, letting the puppet push her wooden wheelchair further and further away, until a soft sigh accompanied by a cough drifted from afar.
"Cough cough... Beasts are shameless but still have some restraint when they are lewd; humans are shameless but lack restraint when they are lewd, cough cough cough..."
Di Qing stared at Huo Wu and her group as they walked further and further away, then spat on the ground:
"You old vile woman, you're indirectly calling me worse than a beast!"
However, he didn't give chase. He figured she could run away, but the temple couldn't. Now that he'd found the old vile woman, he wasn't afraid she'd abscond with the "Longevity Manual." She was just a frail, elderly woman in her sixties, her legs failing her, where could she possibly go? Ideally, she'd find the "Longevity Manual" first, and then he could stalk her like a mantis catching a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind… Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Besides, the rankings haven't changed for years; it's time for them to change.
"I've had enough of being the seventh-ranked guy all the time!"
Di Qing spat on the ground again as he thought about it. His memories gathered, and his already gloomy face became even more somber. Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a delicate figure who had fallen by the lake not far away. Only then did his gloomy face lighten slightly.
The petite figure seemed to have tripped over a stone and was struggling to get up from the ground, but unfortunately, she failed several times. Martial arts practitioners have sharp ears and eyes, and even though it was twilight and she only had one eye left, Di Qing could clearly see that the frail figure was disheveled and her clothes were in disarray.
Di Qing's single eye suddenly gleamed, and his aura became intensely hot.
"You damn bitch, I've been looking all over for you!"
He strode toward the figure, walking faster and faster until he couldn't wait to run. In just a few steps, he reached the delicate woman. His tall figure loomed over her like a dark cloud. The woman trembled violently, and before she could move, Di Qing grabbed her by the neck with one hand and her right wrist with the other, twisting it behind her back and pressing it against the cobblestone ground!
"Shhhhh—good girl, calm down if you don't want to die!" He buried his head in the peasant woman's slightly messy black hair, nervously and greedily inhaling the fragrance of her hair. Only after feeling the woman beneath him trembling like a leaf in the wind and no longer struggling did he release his grip on her. "That's right."
He grabbed the peasant woman's shoulders with his large hand. Seeing her covering her face with her hands, terrified of seeing him, he felt a sense of relief after the anger he had suffered at Huo Wu's hands. He grinned, his thick lips parting slightly, and his fingertips caressed the peasant woman's soft, damp scalp as if teasing a cub beneath his palms. His smile was both mocking and cruel.
"Run for what? Do you think you can escape? If you had been smarter earlier, would you have suffered like this?"
The so-called "warm and fragrant jade" naturally implies that the living are better, more fragrant, and softer than the dead, right? Who would rather face a pile of dead flesh than enjoy themselves with the living? There's no energy left to struggle.
The more his rough, calloused fingertips caressed the soft, damp scalp of the peasant woman beneath him, the more uneasy he felt. He trailed down her soft hair, reaching the expected softness of her neck, but then stopped, muttering:
Why is it so cold?
It could even be described as ice-cold, not the body temperature a normal person should have.
The peasant woman did not answer, still covering her face with her hands in extreme fear. Di Qing quickly looked at the woman beneath him. Not only her hair, but her body was also soaking wet. And there was a stream and lake not far away, making it easy to imagine what had happened.
"You feel humiliated and want to die?"
The large hand that had been roughly grinding against her neck suddenly stopped, and instead became gentler, showing a hint of tenderness. He caressed the skin on the side of her neck and even brushed the stray hairs stuck to her neck behind her ears.
The peasant woman seemed to be bewitched by this rare, albeit barely tangible, "tender affection." She paused, hesitated, and slowly lowered her hands from her face. However, before she could move, a sharp, tearing pain shot through her scalp. Without warning, Di Qing suddenly grabbed her long hair and lifted her up, his sinister, single eye looming close before her.
"I love your fiery personality, the fieryer the better!"
The peasant woman let out a soft cry, her face drained of color, and she was forced to raise her head, revealing a pale yet beautiful face with a touch of heroism.
"...Wait a minute." Di Qing's fierce face showed a moment of surprise. His turbid and ruthless single eye moved closer to the beautiful face in front of him, and his thick eyebrows furrowed. "Master, have I... seen you somewhere before?"
When he was driven by lust, he only sought pleasure and had not seen what the peasant woman looked like. He vaguely knew she was a rough, dark-skinned, and thin country woman, certainly not as beautiful and captivating as the woman in front of him.
This woman seems strangely familiar; where have I seen her before...?
He would never forget such a beautiful woman once he saw her.
As Di Qing pondered, a slender white hand quietly stroked her wet hair, pulling out the hairpin from her hair and tucking it into her palm.
"Hey." Di Qing grabbed the wet hair in his large hand and shook it, his one eye narrowing so much it was almost touching the peasant woman's delicate face, emitting a foul odor. "I'll only ask once, have we met before...?"
Suddenly, a hairpin was plunged into Di Qing's throat, and blood splattered everywhere!
Blood splattered all over Jiang Ling'er's face. She even held the hairpin in her bleeding wound and turned it around, staring at Di Qing's bloodshot, single eye that was bulging out of its socket, and then laughed:
"Do you remember who I am?"
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Author's note: I'll continue tomorrow night at 6 PM. It's already in my drafts!
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