Beside the pool, a mass of mist was thrown into a hazy splash.
The white daoist robe on Xiao Rong was already stained with large patches of blood.
He fell to the ground, blood water seeping into the grassy and muddy earth, leaving pale red marks.
"Jiao Teng! Are you crazy!!?"
A roar of anger from Zhao Dacong rose behind him, followed closely by the fierce sounds of punching and kicking.
Xiao Rong struggled to turn his head back incredulously, just in time to see Jiao Teng dealing with Zhao Dacong's frenzied attacks with difficulty, left and right.
"Attack!" Several people charged out from the forest beside him.
Among them, leading the charge, was none other than Chen Wuyou, whom he had always suspected!
"Master, long time no see, hope you've been well." Chen Wuyou smiled, clasped his fists towards Xiao Rong, then gestured with his hand.
The other two immediately joined the group assaulting Zhao Dacong.
Since he had already been exposed, he was too lazy to hide it. Now that the game was set, everything was fated.
Xiao Rong's face twisted, he struggled to prop up his body.
"So...it really is you!!"
Chen Wuyou laughed.
"It was indeed me, disciple. It couldn't be helped, who told your daughter to be so easy to deceive? My father warned you before, but you didn't listen and insisted on siding with the Supervisor. That's it then...."
"It seems...Jiao Teng, Zhang Rongfang, they were all arranged by you...." Xiao Rong nodded and smiled bitterly, "A clever plan, sacrificing Zhang Rongfang, then winning my trust in Jiao Teng, only to end up like this...."
Chen Wuyou couldn't hold back his laughter again, not bothering to explain, letting the old man think whatever he wanted.
Indecisiveness, fear of offending one or the other, just yielding doubt, no matter where, this type of person is the first to be dealt with.
"Wait, that Zhang Rongfang, earlier the one who killed my two brothers, also your man?"
At that moment, a change appeared on Huang Jude's face among the mountain bandits not far away, he shouted loudly.
He kicked Xiao Qingying, making her roll on the ground twice.
"Chen kid, are you playing tricks on me?"
Chen Wuyou frowned.
"Didn't we agree to deal with this after my father controls Qinghe Palace? Besides, that man wasn't under me, he's disrupted my plans several times too."
"Truly!?" Huang Jude frowned.
"Of course, afterward that person will be under your charge." Chen Wuyou said indifferently.
"Hey, alright!" Huang Jude nodded satisfactorily.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Rong was dumbfounded.
Where now did he not understand, that all of this was from him trusting the wrong person, taking Jiao Teng with malintent as the most trusted....
And it was he himself who brought his beloved daughter to such a tragic state.
Suddenly, everything made sense to him; he comprehended it all.
From the beginning, Jiao Teng had been secretly moving, collaborating with Chen Wuyou's design.
Only to have it disrupted several times by Zhang Rongfang, causing them to fail at crucial moments, leading to Zhang Rongfang being driven away according to plan.
They even pinned previous matters on Zhang Rongfang to contrast themselves gaining his trust.
Now....
He had believed lies...misjudged Jiao Teng...driven away Zhang Rongfang who truly protected his daughter....
It was simply....
Simply....
Xiao Rong's eyes filled with blood, his heart increasingly angry, feeling suffocated unable to let it out.
Countless regrets, pain, sorrow, overwhelming emotions gathered together.
Finally.
Puff!
He sprayed another mouthful of blood, his spirit and energy rapidly drained.
"Father!!" Xiao Qingying, tearing the cloth from her mouth, cried out painfully, her tears blurring her vision, wetting her cheeks.
Just as her cries rang out.
"Go!!" Suddenly, Xiao Rong launched himself, fists pounding towards Jiao Teng with all his might.
Bang!
Caught off guard, Jiao Teng was hit on the arm. Then Zhao Dacong punched his left shoulder.
"Dacong, go!!" Xiao Rong shouted again, sustaining a rapid string of attacks, furiously beating against Jiao Teng.
For a moment, Jiao Teng was suppressed, unable to breathe.
No matter what, Xiao Rong was still a third-grade master. Although now wounded and old, he could still explode if desperate.
The other two mountain bandits, seeing this, unconsciously retreated a few steps, avoiding confrontation with his frenzy.
This old man was as good as dead, as long as they waited, dragging time, they could kill without harm, no need to clash head-on now.
Their retreat conveniently gave Zhao Dacong an opening.
She was tearful, trembling all over, watching her master's final struggle.
"Go!!" Xiao Rong's voice rang out again.
Zhao Dacong shook her body, immediately no longer hesitating, turned and ran.
"Get her." Chen Wuyou's expression unchanged, as more than ten people quickly emerged from the woods, surrounding Zhao Dacong from all directions.
"Out of my way!!" Zhao Dacong's body tightened, her legs exerted force, sprinting forward.
The two people in front, intimidated by her desperate momentum, raised their rusty knives trying to block her path.
But Zhao Dacong didn't care at all, staggering her steps to narrowly avoid vital spots, crashing into them.
Bang-bang!
The two mountain bandits were toppled aside by her impact, arms and shoulders somewhat dislocated.
Though their obstruction left her arms with two fresh cuts.
She yelled and charged forward, slowed down momentarily by their hindrance, her back slashed twice again.
Blood soaked through her clothes in an instant.
She had no time to care anymore, needing urgently to return to Qinghe Palace for help, otherwise....Master....Junior sister...
*
*
*
Qinghe Palace.
Zhang Rongfang carried a hemp bag, face solemn, watching a group of short-coat daoists and martial cultivators quickly walking out from the mountain gate.
He had just approached Hong Da, who was unwilling to speak truthfully, quite on guard against him.
Then encountered Zhang Xintai and several other martial cultivators, who were preparing to descend the mountain to rescue someone, as Hong Da had already informed the Supervisor of the situation in advance.
Only then did Zhang Rongfang understand the incident this time.
At that moment, he felt that the situation might be dire.
Others might not be clear, but having experienced the last mountain bandit incident, he understood that Chen Wuyou and his group were very likely colluding with the bandits.
Now, with only Xiao Rong among them going down the mountain, Zhang Rongfang had a bad feeling.
Immediately, he wanted to go with Zhang Xintai and other martial cultivators to provide rescue at the foot of the mountain.
But Zhang Xintai refused, thinking his strength was insufficient and would not make much of a difference, and that he might end up putting himself in danger instead.
Zhang Rongfang couldn't openly say anything and had to let Zhang Xintai and his group go down the mountain.
At this moment, he stood at the mountain gate, watching the solemn-faced Zhang Xintai, Qi Mountain Daoist, and others descending the mountain, with an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"That Qi Mountain Daoist... his actions that night seemed somewhat off."
Zhang Rongfang had mentioned something to Zhang Xintai, but didn't know whether Zhang Xintai had paid attention at that moment.
Once the team of martial cultivators totaling eight people rapidly descended the mountain,
Zhang Rongfang quickly walked out of the mountain gate, carrying a burlap sack, and silently headed towards the direction Hong Da had provided.
Both from the front and back, they were heading towards the location given by Hong Da.
'There are only so many martial cultivators on the mountain. If Qi Mountain is also problematic, then... the situation really might be dire....'
Zhang Rongfang calculated in his mind, unconsciously using the newly acquired Dragon and Snake Ascension Skill, quietly following the team of martial cultivators from behind.
*
*
*
Zhao Dachong was covered in blood, raising her hand to block a strategic knife that slashed sideways.
The blade deeply cut a bloody gash but was stopped by the bone.
She took the opportunity to crash forward.
Her shoulder crashed full force into the opponent's chest bone, making a crack sound.
The person fell to the ground instantly, unable to rise again.
Taking advantage of this, Zhao Dachong continued to dash towards the distant thick forest.
Her vision was already blurred.
Her mouth was full of a rusty taste, wounds everywhere on her body, almost turning her dark red.
But in exchange, two bandits were killed consecutively.
In just two brief encounters, she forcefully killed two men.
The way she fought was exchanging injury for injury, making her extremely dangerous in a deadly fight.
More than ten mountain bandits, at this point, dared not approach, just threw stones and big blocks of wood from afar to block her.
Zhao Dachong was fleeing ahead, more than ten mountain bandits pursued relentlessly.
"A bunch of trash!"
Within the bandit team, Sima Guangtu held a short bow, chasing Zhao Dachong along with the team.
No matter how he shouted, the others dared not rush up desperately.
Everyone could see that Zhao Dachong was heavily injured; as long as they dragged out the time, they could make her bleed to death.
Thus, no one rushed headlong to fight anymore.
After all, they were bandits, not a death squad. Most of those unafraid of death had died during the early days of the uprising.
Those left were more inclined to protect themselves.
At this point, with the chase and escape, the group had already run over a hundred meters.
Sima Guangtu worried further delay might cause changes, so he finally couldn't hold back any longer, slowly drew the arrow, set it on the short bow, chased while pulling the bowstring.
He squinted one eye, aiming at Zhao Dachong, who was stumbling ahead.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a sharp sound of breaking through the air came from behind, followed by an explosion of fireworks above the forest.
Sima Guangtu's hand shook, the bowstring tilted, causing the arrow to fly out, embedding in the tree trunk next to Zhao Dachong.
His face looked grim, turning to look at the direction the fireworks sound came from.
Vaguely, sounds of physical combat could be heard from that direction.
"Someone from Qinghe Palace has come. Ha, just knew that brat Chen Wuyou wasn't reliable."
Yet he wasn't flustered; with Xiao Rong basically incapacitated, even if Qinghe Palace sent people, they had to face the combined strength of the leader and Chen Wuyou.
Plus, there were more than ten people ambushed outside, truly fighting, unless Qinghe Palace came in full force, no matter how many came, they were here to be served.
The soldiers they couldn't defeat; these young Daoists surely wouldn't win against us.
Now, ignoring what's behind, he aimed again at Zhao Dachong's back ahead, lifting the bow, setting the arrow.
"Second leader, should we go back?" a small bandit leader asked in a low voice beside him.
"Go back for what? Our task isn't over, we haven't killed her yet, going back now is a waste of effort," Sima Guangtu said coldly.
He wasn't so stupid; going back to join the fight was too dangerous. With his modest skills, going back might end up getting hurt, isn't that a loss?
He's a craftsman, not just a reckless fighter.
Rather than going back, bullying the heavily injured was way easier.
He lifted the bow, aimed at Zhao Dachong.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew out, steadily piercing Zhao Dachong's right shoulder.
Zhao Dachong fell with a scream, the sudden pain and impact disturbed her mind, tripping her to the ground.
A bandit quickly approached, holding the knife, aiming at Zhao Dachong's nape, chopping down.
Slash!
Suddenly, his vision blurred.
A vague shadow leaped from the side bush like a gray python, sliding past from behind.
In an instant, the knife fell, but the person stopped.
The bandit stood stiff without moving.
The gray shadow spun swiftly, dashing behind a large tree, revealing only a side face.
It was Zhang Rongfang, who had arrived just in time.
Droplets of fresh blood slowly dripped from his fingertips.
Zhang Rongfang's face was cold, shaking off the blood, looking at the semi-conscious Zhao Dachong on the ground.
If he hadn't arrived timely, his senior sister might have....
Thump.
At that moment, the bandit fell back, revealing his face.
His eyes were pierced through, two blood holes. The throat was crushed inward, broken and sunken.
In just a brief moment, the person was stealthily killed, without even making a sound.