Druid Fairy

Chapter 14 Poisonous Centipede

The originally unified shouts instantly turned into a noisy market.

The group of teenagers was divided into three groups: one led by Li Fang, the son of Li the wealthy man; another centered around Li Pingfu; and the rest of the children stood by and watched the spectacle.

Li Yuan, standing next to Li Pingfu, angrily exclaimed, "Why did you trip Brother Pingfu?!"

Li Fang sneered, "Who tripped him? You need evidence to prove it!" He then turned to his men and asked, "Did you see me trip someone?"

"No, that's a rumor!"

"Watch your mouth, people over there!"

"Brother Fang is upright and honest; he would never resort to such underhanded tactics as that despicable and treacherous Li Pingfu!"

……

Li Pingfu pulled Li Yuan, who was stomping his feet in anger, back down. The two were about the same age and were good partners who had been through thick and thin together.

The friendship between teenagers grows from spending time together, which is precious. The prejudices of elders cannot extinguish the pure friendship between children.

But prejudice is also a formidable obstacle.

Just like how, under the influence of Li the wealthy, the arrogant Li Fang looked down on people from other places, not to mention Li Pingfu's amazing martial arts talent.

He was only twelve years old, but he was already showing signs of surpassing his teacher, and he was even more favored by Master Zhou.

The proud and arrogant Li Fang could not tolerate it, so he deliberately tripped Li Pingfu to vent his anger.

Unexpectedly, this lucky kid managed to dodge it.

……

"What's all this commotion about! Go run ten laps around the village!"

Zhou Enxian declared that both sides should be punished equally.

Because Li the wealthy had a cousin who was a minor official, and Li Fang was eccentric and a troublemaker to him.

Right or wrong is not important; suppressing this matter is the safest thing to do for Li Pingfu.

"Master, I accept the punishment." But Li Pingfu stubbornly insisted, "But I want to challenge Li Fang first!"

He stared coldly at Li Fang, and provoked him, "Brother Fang, you're two years older than me, you're not afraid to compete, are you?"

Young and impetuous people can't possibly listen to sarcastic "I dare not" words.
Li Fang traced a perfect half-zhang circle on the ground with his toes, "Who's afraid of you!"

Now that things had come to this, Zhou Enxian couldn't stop them. Practical combat was a way for the children to improve their skills.

Rather than letting them fight amongst themselves in private, it's better to keep them under our watchful eyes to prevent any accidents from happening.

However, there was a vague worry in his heart that Li Pingfu would suffer a loss in secret. Li Fang came from a wealthy family and had been taking nourishing soups and medicines every day. Moreover, he had been practicing for two more years.

“Pingfu is still too competitive.” Zhou Enxian’s furrowed brows slowly relaxed. “Well, it’s better to suffer a loss now than to lose his life later.”

……

"start!"

Within the circle, at a command, two teenagers suddenly clashed, like fighting cocks, exchanging blows and kicking up dust.

Because they were all driven by righteous indignation, the Black Tiger Fist, already known for its ferocity, became even more ruthless. The clash of fists and feet caused bones to crack, which made some warmongers' blood boil.

Meanwhile, Li Fang's companions kept shouting, trying to disrupt Li Pingfu's attack rhythm.

This is permitted behavior.

The onlookers initially thought Li Pingfu would be defeated quickly, but to their surprise, he fought Li Fang to a standstill.

A smile appeared in Zhou Enxian's eyes. "I don't know what good fortune he has encountered, but Pingfu's martial arts training has improved even more. No wonder he has the confidence to challenge us."

Inside the arena, Li Pingfu suddenly shouted, seemingly eager to win, and threw a clumsy straight punch, leaving his defenses slightly open.

"I won!" A glint flashed in Li Fang's eyes as he was about to intercept the punch, but Li Pingfu changed his move halfway through, feinting with a spear!
Before Li Fang could react, his body was already leaning forward due to inertia, and he was startled by Li Pingfu's grab of his groin from behind, causing him to lose his balance and roll out of the circle.

"I won!" Li Pingfu, despite being younger, struck a victorious pose, looking down at Li Fang from his superior position. At that moment, his intense competitive spirit was satisfied beyond measure.

But no one noticed the shadowy glint in Li Fang's eyes as he rolled through the dust.

…………

"Big brother's martial arts talent is amazing!"

Li Pingcan, who sensed the entire process through the little mushroom, couldn't help but sigh.

The old man had previously taught his eldest brother to conceal his true intentions in battle, so he deliberately exposed a weakness to lure Li into a trap, thus securing victory in one fell swoop.

Two years younger, the elder brother is indeed inferior to Li Fang in martial arts cultivation, but the gap is not so large that it cannot be made up for through tactics.

"It's easy to understand," what does that mean?
This is a natural-born martial arts prodigy!
"But that Li Fang..."

Li Pingcan didn't miss Li Fang's ugly expression. He felt that the kid was sinister and needed to be kept an eye on.

Thinking of this, he grew five more gray mushrooms and gave them to Xiao Hei, setting up a comprehensive control over the training ground. The LV6 [Spore Sensing] could only deploy six "cameras".

Sure enough, three days later, Li Fang was seen sneaking close to his elder brother's change of clothes and pouring out a large centipede, as thick as a finger and as long as a forearm, from a bamboo tube!
Black back, red feet, and blackish-purple chelicerae that gleam with a lustrous, jet-black light!

"This is too poisonous!"

Li Pingcan gasped.

What's more venomous than a centipede is Li Fang's cunning!
Driven by a moment of anger, he deliberately plotted to murder his elder brother.

Even if you get an antidote in time after being bitten by a centipede, you will still feel a stinging pain for more than ten days.

If you're unlucky and can't get the antidote, your hand might be ruined, and even worse, you could go into toxic shock!

That could kill people!
…………

"Centipedes like dark and quiet environments. As long as my brother doesn't touch the clothes on the way home, nothing will happen!"

"I live not far from the Zhou family; I can run there in five minutes."

"My older brother is also coming at the same time, which will shorten the time by two minutes."

In the moment of crisis, Li Pingcan instantly devised a plan and immediately put it into action, dashing off with his short legs towards his older brother.

He also urged Xiao Hei to find his father—if his older brother really got bitten by the centipede, he would have to find his father to find medicine to cure the poison.

To increase his running speed, he also used the "Dancing Wind" technique, where part of the wind propelled him forward while another part countered wind resistance in advance.

A fully leveled [Dance Style] allows for precise micro-management.

Li Pingcan was panting heavily. It was the first time he had ever run so fast, but it felt incredibly slow to him!

It was probably the continuous casting of [Nature's Gift] that brought good luck, because the centipede in the mushroom's monitoring was indeed motionless, which was reassuring. The figure of the elder brother then appeared on the field path.

"Little brother, what brings you here to pick me up?"

Li Pingfu, who had just defeated Li Fang, was in a very good mood and said with a grin.

Li Pingcan's face tightened as he shouted, "Big brother, throw away your clothes and belongings!"

Li Pingfu's smile faltered. He had never seen his younger brother with such a serious expression before, and he recalled his father's words.

“Your brother has some special abilities. In critical moments, you must trust him. Remember, we are a family.”

Thinking of this, he dropped the bundle without hesitation.

After rolling around twice on the muddy path, revealing the disheveled clothes, Li Pingfu stared intently and saw a large, purplish-black centipede emerge.

A chill ran down his spine. "How could there be a poisonous centipede in my clothes?"

Before he could even think, the centipede was startled and quickly crawled straight towards Li Pingcan.

Li Pingfu's eyes widened in horror, "Brother!"

(End of this chapter)