I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 134: Flaying Alive

Duan Rong quickly retreated, standing thirty feet away, watching Liu Ao from a distance.

The Corpse Rot Poison on the poison needle was extremely potent. Within moments, Liu Ao was completely blinded, his eyes gradually turning into a layer of pus, flowing down from his sockets...

"You little thief, come here, and watch me chop you down!"

Liu Ao was now enveloped by immense terror. Holding the Cow Tail Saber, he infused it with Inner Breath and kept swinging it wildly in front of him. The blade’s edge emitted a faint explosive sound in the air, resembling the subtle sound of bubbles popping underwater.

This was a phenomenon achieved after reaching the Minor Success Realm of the Third Level of Inner Breath...

Duan Rong stood thirty feet away, observing carefully but not approaching. His last two poison needles had indeed worked!

Duan Rong watched for a while. Seeing Liu Ao continuously waving his saber and moving erratically, and his eyes completely rotten and blackened, leaving only empty sockets...

Duan Rong suddenly used the Cloud Serpent Step, silently approaching Liu Ao, and suddenly sliced a large chunk of meat off Liu Ao’s thigh!

Liu Ao cried out in pain, swinging his saber even more frantically. "You little thief! Come! I’m not afraid of you!"

Duan Rong didn’t want to take Liu Ao down with one strike because there were risks involved. Liu Ao’s Saber Technique was honed between life and death; he seemed to have a natural muscular reaction to protect his vital spots...

And in this state of the battle, Duan Rong no longer needed to take risks...

Every few moments, Duan Rong would silently approach Liu Ao and slice off a piece of his flesh...

After half an incense stick’s time, Liu Ao was covered in blood, with bones showing in several places, as if he had been skinned alive...

Yet he still breathed heavily, refusing to collapse, his saber still weakly waving...

Duan Rong no longer approached. Liu Ao’s wounds continued to bleed profusely. Liu Ao had lost too much blood and couldn’t hold on much longer...

Sure enough, not long after, Liu Ao crashed to the ground!

He lay face down, the whole person resembling a gourd of blood...

Duan Rong stood there, his eyes flickering. After a while, with a whoosh, he threw his Cow Tail Saber through the air. The sharp blade stabbed into Liu Ao’s body from behind, directly where the heart was located!

The Cow Tail Saber pierced through, and Liu Ao twitched twice before finally lying still!

Duan Rong felt a weight lift from his heart, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The effort to kill Liu Ao had been substantial.

Duan Rong walked over slowly, pulled the Cow Tail Saber out of Liu Ao’s body, shook off the blood, and sheathed it again.

Looking at the black mole the size of a copper coin behind Liu Ao’s neck, Duan Rong spat and said, "The fortune-telling was right, a monkey riding the neck is a sign of great misfortune!"

While speaking, Duan Rong lightly kicked Liu Ao’s body with his foot, preparing to turn him over to search the corpse.

However, as soon as Liu Ao’s body was moved, an unexpected crossbow arrow shot out diagonally from underneath the corpse, with a whoosh, breaking through the air, narrowly missing Duan Rong’s temple, cutting off a few strands of his hair, which floated in midair...

Duan Rong froze on the spot, a chill running from his heels to the top of his head...

That was so damn close! Another inch and that crossbow arrow would have gone straight through his head!

Liu Ao’s eye sockets, already rotted away, stared emptily at the sky. The left hand that had been pressed under his body still held a small crossbow, his thumb rigidly pressed on the trigger!

Liu Ao was dead as can be, but before dying, he had set a trap using his corpse. If Duan Rong had been a bit less lucky, he would’ve met his end there.

Duan Rong touched his temple as the fear in his eyes slowly faded. He kicked Liu Ao’s body and cursed, "You damned bastard, even in death, you can’t be at peace! Trying to drag me with you!"

Despite his anger, Duan Rong glanced at the sky and didn’t dare to waste any more time. He immediately squatted and rifled through Liu Ao’s coat, first taking the undelivered Sealed Letter Dart, then pulling out two hundred taels in silver notes and some Broken Silver. There was nothing else of value.

"It seems life as an Escort Master is quite impoverished!" Duan Rong sighed, glancing at the crossbow in Liu Ao’s hand.

Duan Rong didn’t take the crossbow. Although it was a fine hidden weapon, it paled compared to his Plum Blossom Needle!

Duan Rong quickly searched the battlefield, only retrieving about a dozen Plum Blossom Needles. After all, this was a desolate wilderness filled with withered grass, making it difficult to recover all of them easily.

Putting the cork stopper with a dozen Plum Blossom Needles back in his pocket, Duan Rong could only refill his lost needles at the Yuan Shun Escort Agency later.

Duan Rong stood in a patch of wild grass, his eyes flickering as he looked at Liu Ao’s corpse. Suddenly, he picked up some dry wood, piled it on Liu Ao’s body, and took out a Flint from his coat, setting the wood ablaze!

Under the bright sunlight, the dry wood crackled as it burned. Soon, the faint aroma of roasting meat mixed with the smell of smoke wafted over...

Seeing the fire ignite, Duan Rong deployed the Cloud Serpent Step once more, his figure drifting as he quickly left the scene.

Although killing Liu Ao was risky, it was worth it. With a month’s journey ahead on the escort route, having Liu Ao lurking around, looking for a chance to strike from the shadows, was worse than dealing with him directly and decisively.

With this thorn removed, at least he could sleep soundly in the Escort Team!

Duan Rong walked back to Wancheng County Town along the main road!

In the bustling streets of Wancheng County Town, Duan Rong looked at the Sealed Letter Dart in his hand. The address read, addressed to Su Tianyun, Su Family Dye Workshop, Wancheng County.

Duan Rong strolled to the street side, bought a sesame pancake, and casually asked, "Uncle, how do I get to the Su Family Dye Workshop?"

The middle-aged man, his face smudged with charcoal, was kneading dough. He pointed with his chin toward the street ahead and said, "Just go straight along this street, and it’s at the corner of the second intersection on the east side!"

Duan Rong thanked him with a smile, biting into the pancake as he made his way to the Su Family Dye Workshop!

At the Su Family Dye Workshop, Duan Rong delivered the Sealed Letter Dart, collected the silver coins in return, and headed to the inn where the Escort Team was staying!

In the inn’s lobby, Xiao Yu limped to the entrance, looking anxiously out onto the street. At that moment, Sun Huang came over from the backyard, glanced at Xiao Yu, and asked, "Isn’t Liu Ao back yet?"

Xiao Yu turned back and replied, "It’s been over an hour. Could something have happened?"

"Don’t overthink it." Sun Huang said, "Even if something happens, that kid Liu Ao would be able to handle it."

Although Sun Huang said this, he was puzzled: What on earth was that kid doing? Two Sealed Letter Darts and taking so long; could it be he sneaked off to a tavern for a drink?

Drinking was prohibited during escort tasks, but Liu Ao enjoyed drinking and had been caught twice before, receiving severe punishments from Sun Huang each time before finally curbing his habit.

As they spoke, Duan Rong walked into the lobby. He gave Xiao Yu a glance, then, as if nothing had happened, handed over the silver coins from the Sealed Letter Darts to Sun Huang.

Sun Huang took the silver coins, looking at Duan Rong, and asked, "Why did it take so long? Where’s Liu Ao? Didn’t he come back with you?"

Seeing Duan Rong return, Xiao Yu’s heart settled, and she sat down at a table in the lobby, pouring herself a cup of tea, feigning leisurely calm as she sipped the tea.