Chapter 48

Huh~

Carrying the Taoist who was left with only half a body, Yang Yu quickly moved away, not stopping until the screams from the village could no longer be heard.

With a shake of his hand, he threw the unconscious half-Taoist onto the snow and turned to look at the old man who had followed him.

The old man was dressed in tattered clothes, with disheveled hair and a haggard appearance, and his steps were unsteady. After a while, he finally approached.

"Thud!"

The old man knelt in the snow, and before Yang Yu could help him up, he had already bowed three times, his head hitting the ground heavily.

"Old man..."

Yang Yu helped the old man, who was sobbing, to his feet.

"Your great kindness, I cannot repay even if I were to die a thousand deaths..."

The old man, speaking with tears, began to wail and recount the grievances with the Liansheng Sect.

The old man's name was Yan Shoutian, and he was the elder of Yan Family Village, twenty miles away. He knew some martial arts and was somewhat literate, and was well-respected in the nearby villages.

Originally, he was neither wealthy nor poor.

Until the Liansheng Sect arrived.

"... A year ago, the Liansheng Sect came to Yan Family Village. At that time, they treated illnesses and gave out talisman water, gaining the trust of the villagers. But who would have known, who would have known..."

Pointing to the bamboo basket on the ground, Yan Shoutian's face twisted.

"Do you know what these 'Yang Pills' and 'Yin Pills' are?"

Yang Yu glanced at the bamboo basket, and even from over ten feet away, he could smell a faint, pungent, and foul odor.

"These evil drugs are made from the essence of poisonous herbs, shaped with mercury. If that were all, it would be fine..."

Yan Shoutian's eyes were filled with tears.

"Those beasts use humans to neutralize the toxicity! Anyone in the village who didn't believe in the Liansheng Sect was made into a 'medicine person'!"

"Medicine person?"

Yang Yu felt a chill in his heart, remembering the villagers with yellowish faces and looks of despair.

"These drugs are divided into Yin and Yang. The Yang Pills are buried in a man's abdomen using secret methods... and women, they are sewn up, leaving only a small opening for the pills to be taken out!"

Yan Shoutian almost couldn't continue, trembling as he spoke.

"My son, my son, refused to be humiliated and died right in front of me! These beasts, these beasts!"

He seemed to go mad, kicking over the bamboo basket and stomping on it, crying and shouting wildly, as if he had gone insane.

Perhaps from not resting for days, or perhaps from avenging his great enemy, after his wild shouts, he collapsed in the snow.

Soon, his snores could be heard.

"Beasts!"

Yang Yu almost ground his teeth to pieces.

He had vaguely guessed that the drugs were strange, but he never imagined they were made this way.

Are these even human?!

Bang!

With one kick, he sent the Taoist rolling several feet away, his expression cold and stern.

"Tell me, where is the Liansheng Sect's branch?"

"Ha, ha!"

The Taoist, coughing blood from the pain, still laughed maniacally.

"The Great Mother's body descends upon the world, spreading the Dharma to all beings!

On the first day, Pangu was born, and the world was divided into clear and turbid.

On the second day, Nüwa was born, and wisdom descended upon the world.

On the third day, Yuanshi was born, and all things found their origin..."

"What is this?"

Yang Yu's eyelids twitched.

Truly, a toad yawning, what a big mouth!

Whoosh!

At the moment he spoke, Yang Yu decisively drew his knife and, with one strike, smashed the Taoist's mouth and half his face into a bloody mess.

Squish~

The bloody teeth rolled onto the snow, instantly emitting thick smoke as if scalded by boiling oil, followed by a pungent smell.

What shocked Yang Yu was that even in this state, the Taoist seemed to feel no pain at all.

His mouth full of blood, he continued to recite the mad and bizarre scriptures:

"... On the fourth day, Morality was born... Crack!"

His voice abruptly stopped as Yang Yu struck him hard, dislocating his jaw and both arm joints, yet he still writhed in agony.

It was extremely terrifying.

"Indeed, a cult..."

Yang Yu's expression was grave, and he no longer had the intention to interrogate.

Although he could execute, he did not know how to extract information, especially from a mad and possessed cultist.

This matter should be left to professionals.

...

Building a bonfire, they spent the night in the snowy forest. The next morning, they took Yan Shoutian to find Wang Wu.

Although Yan Shoutian was not a hunter, he had spent most of the past year in the mountains and was more familiar with the mountain paths than they were.

"Indeed, he is a Liansheng Sect's scripture-reading Taoist..."

In the hall, Wang Wu's face was very grim, especially when he heard about the 'Yang Pills' and 'Yin Pills,' he wanted to cut the Taoist down with a single stroke.

After listening to Yan Shoutian's account, Wang Wu barely suppressed his anger, his face turning extremely ugly:

"Liu Wenpeng, what a good official, what a good job!"

Seeing Yang Yu and others' confusion, he suppressed his anger and said, "These so-called 'Yang Pills' and 'Yin Pills' are a blood-replacement drug that has been discontinued!"

"Anyone who continuously takes these pills, if they don't die, will successfully replace their blood within three months!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Tan Hong and others, who already had grim faces, turned even paler: "Then, how many blood-replaced warriors are there in the Liansheng Sect's branch?!"

They had all replaced their blood and knew the difficulties involved.

Replacing blood was extremely costly, and not everyone could succeed, even if they did, it often took a year or more.

They dared to leave the city to fight bandits, believing that most of the thirty bandits on Black Mountain had been killed, and the remaining ones were not a threat.

But who would have thought that there was such a method of blood replacement in the world?

"This is troublesome..."

Yang Yu's breath caught in his throat.

The Liansheng Sect had been making these drugs for half a year. Even if half of those who took the pills died, there would still be a large number of blood-replaced warriors.

What made him even more uneasy was that...

Previously, to lure out the Liansheng Sect, they did not deliberately hide their tracks...

"Liu Wenpeng, you truly deserve to die..."

Wang Wu's chest heaved.

If the Liansheng Sect's human sacrifices for their drugs were reported, it would soon shock the entire Qingzhou.

But for half a year, no one knew about it!

"These bandits, we might as well not fight them!"

Tan Hong and others completely gave up the idea of fighting the bandits.

Ordinary bandits were one thing; with their skills, they could always retreat safely if they were careful.

But now...

"We can't fight them anymore."

Wang Wu sighed.

In this situation, not just Tan Hong, but even he himself had no desire to fight the bandits anymore.

He even had the thought of staying far away from Black Mountain.

He originally thought that although the Liansheng Sect was deeply rooted, the number of true scripture-reading Taoists might not be many, and they could be eliminated.

But now, it seemed this was beyond his ability to solve.

"We can only wait for the Six-Fan Gate to come..."

Wang Wu was reluctant.

The last time, they caught Shi Kai off guard and severely injured him, but they couldn't follow up on their victory. There would be no such good opportunity again.

"The people you are waiting for will never come!"

Suddenly, a cold and stern voice echoed through the bandit camp.

"Wang Wu, I heard you want to see me?"

The man's voice was strong, and his cold shout echoed throughout the camp: "I'm here, why don't you come out?"

"Shi Kai..."

Wang Wu deeply exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Before today, he was desperately eager to find Shi Kai, even going to great lengths to lure him out.

But...

Yang Yu's expression hardened as he saw a tall and imposing man standing on the gate of the camp, his face mocking and violent.

People were moving inside and outside the fence, seemingly surrounding the place.

"Sir..."

Tan Hong hesitated, and the other three militiamen's eyes flickered. Yan Shoutian, however, showed no worry, even seeming somewhat relieved.

Thud~

On the gate, the man clapped his hands, and several bodies were thrown onto the snow.

"Qian Wu, Zhao Yan, Jiang Chuliu!"

Yang Yu recognized the bodies as the other militiamen who had gone down the mountain with him to find the hunters.

"They're all... dead."

Tan Hong's heart turned cold.

The other militiamen were even more frightened, thinking that if they had returned later, they would have been dead by now.

"I've brought back your people. Some were too rotten to carry, so I fed them to the dogs!"

His voice echoed throughout the camp:

"Listen, the few inside, kill Wang Wu, and I'll consider letting you live!"

"Shi Kai!"

Wang Wu's veins bulged with anger, but he restrained himself.

"Whoosh!"

He deeply exhaled a breath of turbid air and said in a low voice:

"I'll take a risk. If you can escape, do so!"

"If you can't..."

"I don't want to hear any more nonsense! I only want to know one thing..."

Yang Yu interrupted Wang Wu.

He tightened his sleeves, held his knife, and looked at Wang Wu, his lips curling:

"If you die, where can I claim the reward?"