One person: Longhushan security guard, stopped the Ten Elders until they cried!

The night wind was bone-chilling.

Xia He ran wildly through the woods, her steps erratic and disordered.

Along the way, the entire Celestial Master's Mansion was filled with joy, showing no sign of having just been "attacked at night".

No need to think...

Gong Qing's plan this time has been completely botched!

Recalling the figure of the security guard in the black uniform carrying a banner, Xia He still felt a lingering fear.

Going down the mountain...

Hurry down the mountain!

Xia He ran wildly all the way.

Suddenly, a tall, thin figure appeared on the bluestone steps ahead.

Black wide-brimmed hat—white gloves, black leather boots!

Damn it...

What a coincidence!

"How embarrassing... Hey? It's you!"

Xia He slammed on the brakes, her muscles tensing to their limit instantly!

How incredibly embarrassing!

You bastard, you got the benefit and then you mocked yourself!

Zhou Yan stopped, grinned, and revealed a set of white teeth:

"Isn't this the 'scratching' lady?"

"It's so late, where are you in such a hurry to go?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it reverberated across the deathly silent mountain path.

Xia He clenched her fists, her brow throbbing!

Scratching...scratching a lady?

I'm so damn angry!

Anger is anger.

She felt both curious and afraid of this man who could completely ignore her allure.

Without a doubt, this was the last person she wanted to run into on her way down the mountain...

none of them!

"First of all, my surname isn't Gua..."

She put her hands on her hips and pointed to herself:

"My name is Xia He!"

Xia He gritted her teeth and stared intently at him. "Secondly, it was the Old Celestial Master who personally released me; I didn't sneak away!"

"Now, can I leave?"

Zhou Yan shrugged and stepped half a step to the side.

"Please go ahead, Ms. Scratching~"

He raised his hand and pointed down the mountain.

"The road down the mountain is slippery, be careful."

Oh, and while you're at it, please take away the trash you left at the entrance of the scenic area.

Xia He ran forward at full speed without looking back!

Behind him, Zhou Yan's voice drifted softly:

Come visit anytime!

Xia He's body stiffened slightly, and she ran even faster...

call--

I had just rushed out of the Longhushan archway and arrived at the asphalt road under the dim streetlights.

An intense, overwhelming smell of blood, mixed with the stench of burning, suddenly filled my nostrils!

Xia He's pupils contracted sharply as she stared intently at the open space in front of the streetlight.

"this..."

"Is this what he meant by...utterly shameful?"

She staggered toward the towering, haphazardly piled-up pile of 'trash'...

Bloodstained fingers, shattered glasses, a mangled, bloody thigh...

Xia He felt a wave of nausea and vomiting, but she forced herself to endure it and went forward to rummage through her stomach.

At the very top is Gao Ning, who always has a smile on his face.

Half of his face was charred, his head was tilted at a bizarre angle, and his eyes were bulging out!

Shen Chong's body was twisted into a bizarre triple fold, his spine broken into countless segments...

Old Yuantou has lost all his teeth.

A two-finger-wide hole can be vaguely seen in his chest, and blood is still gushing out!

Further inside... a charred remains, almost unrecognizable as human.

But that tattered Taoist robe... without a doubt—

Acting Sect Leader, Gong Qing!

Xia He collapsed onto the side of the pool of blood, her mind completely blank.

All dead!

The high-ranking members of the Quanxing sect who led the attack on the mountain tonight were slaughtered like ants at the foot of the mountain!

Suddenly, her gaze swept to the far corner of the pile of corpses.

A young man with blond hair had his eyes closed and his face was deathly pale.

His left arm was severed at the elbow, and his right leg disappeared below the knee...

"Little...Little Lü Liang..." Xia He's eyes reddened, and she reached out with trembling hands to check his breath.

Just as my fingertips were about to touch my cheek—

"ah--!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream, so piercing it seemed to tear the throat, echoed through the night sky!

Lu Liang, who had seemed to be dead, suddenly sat bolt upright!

His eyes bulged out and were bloodshot, like a dying fish desperately sucking in air!

Xia He was so frightened that her scalp tingled, and she scrambled back three meters!

"You little bastard! Are you trying to get yourself killed?! Trying to scare me like a zombie!!"

But as soon as she uttered the curse, she went silent.

Lu Liang trembled like a leaky motor, cold sweat pouring down his face.

The excruciating pain from losing an arm and a leg caused him to curl up like a shrimp.

The rather messy wound was still gushing blood!

*Sizzle!*

Xia He forced herself to remain calm, tore a relatively clean strip of cloth from the old man's corpse, and used it to tightly strangle Lü Liang's severed wound to stop the bleeding.

"Ouch! Sister Xia...it hurts!"

"Tell me... what exactly happened..." Xia He's voice trembled.

"The security guard... that security guard wasn't even human!"

Lu Liang gritted his teeth, tears mixed with snot and blood streaming down his face.

"He outwardly complied with the old Celestial Master's words but inwardly defied him!"

They said they'd take us down the mountain, but once we got to the foot of the mountain, they started killing us!

"No...or rather, this was originally instructed by the Old Master...how could a mere security guard dare to do this!"

Lu Liang said with lingering fear.

"Then you..." Xia He wanted to ask, "How did you survive?"

I also feel a little embarrassed to talk about it...

He simply carried Lü Liang on his back.

"No matter what, let's get out of here first."

Lu Liang swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva, his eyes filled with madness and lingering fear.

"He...he dragged us down the stone steps with a rope. Many people didn't make it to the bottom and died from their injuries..."

Xia He paused in her steps.

Lü Liang continued, "The second he slit Gao Ning's throat, I... I suddenly had a wild idea..."

"I used the Soul Enlightenment Technique on myself!"

"I tried to manipulate my consciousness... to tell myself that I was already dead! I was a corpse without any vital signs!"

"You're not allowed to wake up until ten minutes later..."

Xia He was struck dumb... She'd been brainwashed into being dead?!

However... it seems that only this explanation makes sense.

"That's terrifying!" Lu Liang, who was on his back, suddenly became agitated and burst into tears.

"When that bastard cut off my hands and feet... I almost woke up from the pain!"

But I don't dare... Sister Xia, I... Waaah...!"

"Alright, Xiao Lü Liang, stop crying, it's all over now."

"He...he was cutting my arm while he was saying..."

"What did you say?"

Lu Liang recalled his recent "encounter" and Zhou Yan's "harmless" smile, and shuddered from the bottom of his heart.

"I...can't remember..."

"Xia girl! Little Lü Liang!!!"

From afar, an old voice called out.

Xia He stared intently...

He appeared to be a withered old man wearing a tattered hat and a tank top.

The other person was also lying on someone else's back.

Fortunately, his hands and feet are still intact...

"Old Man Xia?"

Xia Liuqing saw Lü Liang's bloodied severed arm and narrowed her eyes: "Why are there only the two of you? Where are the others?"

Xia He shook her head. "Some of them were taken away by the company."

"The rest are dead."

"You little bastard!"

Xia Liuqing, furious, climbed onto the back of the foreigner Barron and spat as she spoke:

"That little security guard actually dared to threaten me with Jin Feng?!"

"They ambushed me, an octogenarian! They have no sportsmanship!"

Recalling the battle on the mountain, Baron curled his lip:

"Even without a sneak attack, you still can't win."

"Bullshit! I haven't even put on my godhood mask yet..."

"Yes! This is outrageous!"

Lu Liang was filled with righteous indignation and said fiercely.

"Old Xia, can we just let this go?"

Xia Liuqing stiffened her neck:

"Forget it?! No way!"

"Come on! I'll take you to find Xiao Ding!"