I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 144: Duty

Yu Wenlong was startled, immediately brandishing his saber to block. As their weapons clashed, Yu Wenlong felt his palm tremble, nearly losing his grip. The opponent’s inner breath was clearly superior to his.

The opponent’s figure flickered, even leaving behind an afterimage, but merely flashed past him. The two only exchanged blows once before immediately separating...

It was only then that Yu Wenlong realized the person had already passed by him, taking Ruan Jing away.

Yu Wenlong’s eyelid twitched. "Such fast skills!"

Duan Rong reached out and took Ruan Jing, placing him against the wall behind him. Ruan Jing still had his eyes closed, tears streaming down, resembling an ostrich burying its head in the sand, thinking if he couldn’t see, he wouldn’t be as scared.

Duan Rong turned around. The oil lamp in the corner of the wall illuminated Duan Rong’s face.

"Is it you?" Yu Wenlong’s face distorted slightly, as if he’d seen a ghost. He said in fear, "Aren’t you already dead?"

Duan Rong glanced at Yu Wenlong expressionlessly, his gaze cold as ice, with no intention of speaking. He directly unleashed the master-level Cloud Serpent Step, his figure flickered as he attacked Yu Wenlong with his saber!

Duan Rong’s figure was elusive. Under the dim light, his shadow was even harder to discern, and his saber technique grew increasingly bizarre and cunning. In just a couple of breaths, Yu Wenlong’s shoulder, shin, and lower back were struck several times, and the palm gripping his saber felt numb from the shock!

Yu Wenlong’s saber already bore several notches, yet the blade of the cow tail saber in Duan Rong’s hand remained as pristine as ever.

This clearly demonstrated the strength disparity in their inner breath cultivation. Although Duan Rong hadn’t reached the third level of inner breath, making it impossible to disarm Yu Wenlong in one encounter, his third level of inner breath still afforded him a certain combat strength. With each clash of their weapons, Yu Wenlong’s blade gained another notch.

At that moment, Duan Rong finally realized how those abandoned weapons in the courtyard where the servant disciples practiced came to have broken blades.

With his shin injured, Yu Wenlong’s movements slowed slightly. Duan Rong, like a phantom, suddenly appeared behind him. Yu Wenlong was shocked, turning swiftly like a top, only to see Duan Rong’s cold gaze as the cow tail saber flashed with a cold light, slashing toward his neck...

A single slash beheads the foe!

Yu Wenlong’s head flew into the air, the severed neck wriggling with flesh and blood, sending blood spraying, hitting the curved arch of the ceiling in the cave...

After slaying Yu Wenlong, Duan Rong immediately moved to Ruan Jing’s side by the wall. Duan Rong used his saber to cut the ropes binding Ruan Jing’s hands and feet and pulled the rag from Ruan Jing’s mouth. Yet, Ruan Jing still dared not open his eyes, his small body trembling incessantly...

"Young Master! Young Master Ruan Jing!"

Duan Rong softly called Ruan Jing twice, gently patting his chubby, tender face.

Ruan Jing then opened his large, tear-filled eyes. He had never seen Duan Rong before but recognized the escort master uniform Duan Rong was wearing, making him feel a sudden sense of closeness...

Ruan Jing immediately threw himself onto Duan Rong, exclaiming, "Big Brother, are you here to save me?"

"Young Master, I’m here to save you. Don’t speak! There are still bad people outside!" Duan Rong explained to Ruan Jing.

Ruan Jing seemed to understand Duan Rong’s meaning immediately, closing his rosy little mouth, looking at Duan Rong with anticipation, but his small hands clutched Duan Rong’s sleeve tightly, unwilling to let go.

Duan Rong picked up Ruan Jing but noticed that Ruan Jing’s crotch was thoroughly soaked, clearly having been scared to wet himself earlier.

Duan Rong glanced at Ruan Jing, and Ruan Jing understood what Duan Rong meant, his face turning beet red. He was already three years old; his mother often punished him for wetting the bed...

Duan Rong carried Ruan Jing out of the cave and wilderness, heading toward Chaotic Tomb Ridge. Over there, more than a dozen gang members remained, and the gold buried in the graves had to be taken back.

Duan Rong hid with Ruan Jing in the shadow of a tree, looking towards the area in Chaotic Tomb Ridge where a faint light shone.

Duan Rong focused his gaze, suddenly taken aback, his scalp tingling as if shocked by electricity. He saw the miserable end of more than a dozen Bitter Fate Gang members lying by the graves, lifeless. Only a lonely escort vehicle and its lantern stood alone next to the tombs...

"This..." A flash of fear crossed Duan Rong’s mind. "Is there someone still here?"

Just then, a figure descended behind Duan Rong like a large bird. Duan Rong tensed, springing up like a coil, his right hand in the pocket ready to shoot out Plum Blossom Needles.

At this critical moment, Ruan Jing suddenly sweetly called out, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Duan Rong focused his gaze as he landed, finally seeing the visitor’s face clearly under the alternating bright and dark light from afar!

The person was none other than Ruan Fengshan who had hurried over!

Duan Rong lowered Ruan Jing, respectfully bowing with clasped fists, "Shopkeeper!"

As Ruan Jing landed, he immediately ran towards Ruan Fengshan, who caught Ruan Jing rushing towards him in one swift motion...

Ruan Jing buried his head into Ruan Fengshan’s embrace, happily calling out, "Daddy! Daddy..."

"Jing’er..."

Ruan Fengshan, for a moment, shed tears of relief.

Holding Ruan Jing, Ruan Fengshan looked at Duan Rong in the shadow of the trees. Duan Rong had a bandage on his shoulder with blood faintly seeping through.

"Duan Rong, we father and son can be reunited thanks to you!"

Duan Rong replied sincerely, "Shopkeeper, I am a member of the Yuan Shun Escort Agency. Rescuing the young master is my duty. It doesn’t deserve a word of thanks!"

Even Ruan Fengshan, with his hardened heart, felt a ripple of emotion. After all, he had arrived a step too late. Without Duan Rong, his son Jing’er would have been dead by now.

Ruan Fengshan studied Duan Rong’s face intently and asked, "Did you discover who these people were?"

"I heard them call their chief the Gang Leader!"

"Gang Leader?" An expression crossed Ruan Fengshan’s face, indicating a realization of some sort.

"I’ve already killed the man, in the cave deep in the wilderness."

"Let’s go, take me to see!"

Duan Rong led the way, taking Ruan Fengshan to the abandoned cave deep in the wilderness. Ruan Fengshan covered Ruan Jing’s eyes and used his foot to flip over the head lying in the corner, casting a glance at it before spitting on the ground. He recognized the man at once as Yu Wenlong, the Gang Leader of the Bitter Fate Gang.

"To think scum like you would dare target Yuan Shun Escort Agency. Truly mad!"

After that, Ruan Fengshan, carrying Ruan Jing, returned to Chaotic Tomb Ridge with Duan Rong. Duan Rong, with a shovel, reopened the grave mounds the Bitter Fate Gang had buried. After digging for a while, he unearthed the remains once more. Upon seeing the bone remains, Ruan Jing quickly buried his head in Ruan Fengshan’s neck, crying out in fear, while Ruan Fengshan gently patted Ruan Jing’s back, soothing him softly...

Duan Rong continued to dig, and soon exposed the steel box crafted from refined steel buried beneath the soil.

He tossed aside the shovel, channeling his inner breath into his hands, and lifted the thousand-pound iron box out of the pit.

The weight of a thousand pounds strained Duan Rong’s arms, despite the surging breath, he still felt the strain!

Staggering slightly, Duan Rong left several deep footprints on the ground beside the grave as he moved, eventually placing the iron box onto the escort vehicle.

Duan Rong brushed off the dirt clods from his hands and clothes, looking at Ruan Fengshan. "Shopkeeper, shall we go?"

"Wait!" Ruan Fengshan suddenly placed Ruan Jing on the escort vehicle. In a flash, he grabbed two unconscious people from atop a grave mound and threw them onto the escort vehicle. "We’re bringing these two scoundrels back as well!"