Chapter 15: Kill Him
“It seems you had already expected us to join forces.”
As Qiu Qianhai spoke, his gaze casually swept past Liu the Leper to glance at the distant Turtle Rest Island.
By this point, he had fully confirmed Ji Yuan’s suspicions.
Liu the Leper, clearly aware that he and Ji Yuan would team up, still dared to sit there so openly. It was obvious that he had something to rely on.
He had also called for backup.
“If you really intended to kill Ji Yuan, why would you bring him here for me to do it? With his cultivation only at the early stage of Qi Refinement, you could have dealt with him on the way.”
“Since you dared to openly bring him here to Turtle Rest Island, you’re probably planning to kill me instead.”
The moment Liu the Leper’s words fell, three water balls shot out from behind Qiu Qianhai.
“Hah—”
They were already close, and with Ji Yuan launching the ambush, Liu the Leper had no time to cast any spell. He could only crush a talisman in his hand.
A water-blue tortoise shell materialized in front of him.
The water balls slammed into the tortoise shell.
With a loud “pa”, the three water balls exploded, sending droplets flying in all directions.
Qiu Qianhai quickly maneuvered the magic boat to retreat slightly. It seemed like he was afraid of Liu the Leper’s counterattack, but in fact, he was simply avoiding the flying droplets.
Liu the Leper also used the recoil to retreat some distance. He wiped the water off his face, glaring furiously at Ji Yuan.
“Vile, treacherous dog!”
“Attacking me in secret like a coward, what skill is that?”
Ji Yuan finally stood up from the magic boat. He ignored Liu the Leper and spoke to Qiu Qianhai instead, “Press forward. Two against one. Kill him first, then talk.”
Who cared if Liu the Leper had called for backup? If no one was here yet, that meant no one was coming!
Kill him first.
“Alright!”
Qiu Qianhai was just as decisive.
The magic boat pressed forward, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them had already set foot on the shore.
Liu the Leper retreated frantically while shouting, “You treacherous bastard! Are you trying to kill me too?!”
From the reed-covered area of Turtle Rest Island, a middle-aged man wearing a straw raincoat stepped out. He was slightly hunched and held a bamboo pole in his hand, grinning as he said:
“How could I? If I killed you, the Qin family wouldn’t let me off.”
The moment this man appeared, Qiu Qianhai’s expression changed.
“Old Boatman Wu… a seasoned cultivator at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. Leave him to me. You go kill Liu the Leper.”
Old Boatman Wu… Ji Yuan had naturally heard of this man.
Among the rogue cultivators of Zengtou Market, Old Boatman Wu was infamous for his ruthlessness.
He never fished, nor did he come ashore often, drifting for years in the Yunyu Marshlands.
Whenever he encountered a lone cultivator at the early or even fourth layer of Qi Refinement, he would attack without hesitation.
Many had tried to hunt him down, but he knew Yunyu Marshlands too well and had always managed to escape.
In terms of sheer strength, he was indeed far superior to the wounded Liu the Leper.
“Kill me?”
Upon hearing this, Liu the Leper did not lower his guard. Instead, he cautiously glanced at Ji Yuan. “Mid-stage Qi Refinement?!”
“Good, very good. Looks like I was right to try killing you.”
If he let Ji Yuan’s cultivation improve any further, he might come seeking revenge later… As soon as he finished speaking, Liu the Leper beckoned with his right hand. A black-gold short blade flew from his waist, growing larger in the wind and slashing toward Ji Yuan in the blink of an eye.
Ji Yuan had just stepped ashore and instinctively wanted to use his Golden Body Talisman, but he forced himself to hold back.
With a thought, spiritual energy surged in his dantian.
Liu the Leper thought Ji Yuan was frozen in fear, but just as the blade reached him, Ji Yuan raised his hand and fired two streaks of spiritual light.
One deflected the incoming blade.
The other knocked it to the ground.
“What?!”
Liu the Leper was stunned.
It was his first time seeing such a spell with such overwhelming power. If that hit him directly, wouldn’t it punch a hole through him?
From the distance, while fighting Qiu Qianhai, Old Boatman Wu glanced over and muttered, “That’s the Water Drip Finger. This Ji Yuan is ruthless. Be careful, don’t let him catch you off guard.”
Liu the Leper had of course heard of the Water Drip Finger’s infamous reputation.
But he had never seen anyone actually use it. Rumor had it that using this technique came with tremendous pain. Yet, Ji Yuan seemed to handle it with ease.
“Good, good, good.”
Liu the Leper summoned his short blade again, but before he could act, Ji Yuan had already pointed toward his head.
The Water Drip Finger shot out at great speed, but Liu the Leper was an experienced fighter. He quickly conjured four or five water shields in front of him.
The water droplet pierced through the shields.
Ji Yuan raised his hand again, pointing at the hovering short blade.
The water droplet struck, sending the blade flying.
The two had only exchanged a few moves, yet Ji Yuan had already gained the upper hand.
Liu the Leper could feel it too. His face itched slightly as he grew increasingly cautious… Today, he had to kill Ji Yuan.
Otherwise, anyone who could endure the backlash of the Water Drip Finger was destined for greatness!
He stopped relying on his weapon and instead pulled out three Water Arrow Talismans from his storage pouch. Crushing them instantly, three water arrows appeared around him.
“Hm?”
Ji Yuan, with a spell in each hand, instantly cast two water arrows of his own.
But compared to Liu the Leper’s, they were slightly weaker.
“Go!”
Liu the Leper waved his hand, launching three water arrows. He quickly summoned another three.
Suddenly, he couldn’t help scratching his face—it itched terribly.
At the same time, just as Ji Yuan’s water arrows collided with his, he suddenly noticed the sandy ground beneath his feet had turned into sticky mud. When he lifted his foot, he stumbled and fell.
Opposite him, Liu the Leper redirected his three summoned water arrows, aiming them straight down at Ji Yuan.
“Not good!”
Ji Yuan panicked and used his only mid-grade defensive talisman—the Golden Body Talisman.
A golden light instantly enveloped him. The three water arrows slammed into him, unable to break through the golden defense.
But the immense force still sent him flying several meters. He felt a sharp pain in his internal organs, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Damn it… Luckily, his body was tempered. Otherwise, even with the Golden Body Talisman, he would have been seriously injured from that blow…
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Ji Yuan noticed the short blade flying toward him again. He quickly rolled to the side, firing two more Water Drip Fingers to knock the troublesome blade away.
Though it was a genuine magic weapon, unfortunately for Liu the Leper, Ji Yuan’s Water Drip Finger perfectly countered it.
If not for knowing this technique, Ji Yuan might have already fallen here.
Across from him, Liu the Leper felt his face itching unbearably. If not for this, he was confident he could have used the blade to break through Ji Yuan’s Golden Body Talisman earlier.
He cursed in his heart.
Where the hell had this brat gotten so many spirit stones, to even afford a mid-grade talisman?!
He summoned the short blade again, but the itching had become unbearable. He finally realized—
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
He recalled Ji Yuan’s sneak attack at the start and the water droplets that had splashed onto his face… That must have been when he was poisoned!
“Despicable sneak! Demonic scum!”
Liu the Leper cursed furiously, pulling out a Detoxification Pill from his storage pouch and swallowing it.
At the same time, he couldn’t stop scratching both sides of his face… even his hands itched now.
“Crack—”
In a daze, he suddenly heard a clap of thunder above his head.
His heart sank. I
n his panic, he had no time to dodge. A bolt of purple lightning struck him squarely on the head, sending him flying over ten meters.
He landed flat on his back in the sand, motionless, completely silent.
In the distance, Qiu Qianhai and Old Boatman Wu, who had been locked in battle, couldn’t help but turn their heads.
They saw a young man covered in mud slowly rising to his feet.
His body was still faintly glowing with dim golden light. He raised both hands, conjuring two water arrows.
Pointing the arrows at Old Boatman Wu, Ji Yuan spoke in a deep voice:
“Surrender or die. The choice is yours.”