Chapter 16: Dividing the Spoils
Old Wu on the boat did not rush to make a move. Instead, he glanced at the already dead Liu the Leper, his expression shifting several times.
As for Qiu Qianhai, who stood opposite him, his face had already been beaten black and blue by the bamboo pole.
Originally, he had intended for the two of them to attack together and then finish off Old Wu. But since Ji Yuan had spoken those words, he did not say anything more.
"Heh, hehe... Truly, heroes emerge from the youth."
Old Wu let out a dry laugh a few times. "Who would have thought that Liu the Leper, who had roamed Zengtou Market for more than ten years, would end up dying at the hands of Little Brother Ji."
"He deserved to die."
The Water Arrow Technique in Ji Yuan's hand had not yet dissipated.
In fact, it even looked like he was ready to release it at any moment.
"Indeed, he deserved it... Fine!"
Old Wu threw away the bamboo pole in his hand. "Liu the Leper is already dead. There’s no point in me holding on any longer. Today, it seems Old Wu has lost. I admit defeat."
"You should have done that earlier."
Ji Yuan dispersed the Water Arrow Technique and appeared to let out a breath of relief.
"But I must admit, Little Brother Ji, you are truly formidable. You even endured the pain of the Water Drop Finger, and you carry two mid-grade talismans with you. Remarkable indeed."
After speaking, Old Wu even clasped his hands toward Ji Yuan in a formal gesture.
But just as he stood up, Qiu Qianhai's expression changed drastically. He did not even have time to speak before he hurriedly tossed out a Water Ball.
Even so, his first thought was still… too late.
Because at the moment when Old Wu clasped his hands, a streak of blood-red light had already shot out from his chest, heading straight for Ji Yuan.
This old fox had never intended to surrender from the beginning!
Damn it!
Although Ji Yuan was strong, in the end, he still suffered from the inexperience of youth. How could anyone trust such a sly and treacherous robber cultivator?!
Just as this thought flashed through Qiu Qianhai's mind, he caught sight of a faint blue glow.
It was the Water Drop Finger.
It was even faster than the streak of blood light—not in terms of speed, but… it had struck first!
From the moment Old Wu lowered his head, Ji Yuan had already made his move!
"Shhh—"
At such close range, the blue spiritual light shot directly into Old Wu’s forehead and exited through the back of his skull.
"Bang—"
His body fell heavily to the ground, and along with him fell the embroidered needle that had already pierced through Ji Yuan's protective golden light, nearly stabbing into his forehead.
"Son of a bitch!"
Qiu Qianhai stepped forward and unleashed a Water Arrow Technique, bursting Old Wu's head like a watermelon. Bits of red and white matter even splattered onto his own body.
Ji Yuan, who had seemed fine just a moment ago, turned pale when he saw the headless corpse.
Qiu Qianhai glanced at him and couldn’t help but squeeze out a grin from his swollen face.
"Get used to it. There’ll be plenty more killing in your future."
After speaking, he walked toward Liu the Leper’s corpse, clearly intending to finish him off as well.
But to his surprise…
"You’re still alive, you son of a bitch?!"
Ji Yuan, who had just been dry heaving, immediately stood up and leaped to Qiu Qianhai’s side, both hands already gathering another Water Drop Finger.
At this moment, Liu the Leper’s forehead was split open, and blood was flowing from all seven orifices.
Although still alive, he was clearly on the brink of death. He looked at Ji Yuan, curled his lips, and let out a faint voice.
"Back then, I used the same trick to kill your parents. Do you know who helped me lure them out?"
"Who?"
Ji Yuan was genuinely curious about this.
"Come closer, and I’ll tell you," Liu the Leper said with effort.
Ji Yuan flicked his right index finger, sending a Water Drop Finger piercing through the base of Liu the Leper’s right thumb. Liu the Leper groaned, his face flashing with an unnatural flush.
"Heh, you… really have… guts."
"Fine… it was Old Huang."
Liu the Leper revealed the answer, then stared blankly at the clouds in the sky.
Who knew what a dying man like him was thinking in his final moments?
It turned out to be him… Ji Yuan felt both surprised and not.
The surprising part was that Ji Qingyun had once had a pretty good relationship with Old Huang.
Every New Year or festival, he would even prepare special food for Old Huang.
Who would have thought that Old Huang would be the one to harm Ji Qingyun?
But thinking about it again, it wasn’t that surprising. Old Huang really was that kind of person.
Judging by how he treated Lin Hu’s family, it was clear what kind of character he had.
"He’s dead."
Qiu Qianhai stared into Liu the Leper’s eyes for a while before speaking.
Ji Yuan responded with a grunt and sent another Water Drop Finger through Liu the Leper’s forehead.
Qiu Qianhai then bent down to remove the storage pouch from Liu the Leper’s waist.
After that, he took out a small porcelain bottle from his own storage pouch, poured out a drop of black liquid, and let it drip onto the corpse.
In an instant, the corpse dissolved and corroded away.
Even the clothing disappeared.
This was certainly effective in covering their tracks—truly an essential tool for wandering the Jianghu… Ji Yuan couldn’t help but take note of it in his heart.
Before Ji Yuan could ask, Qiu Qianhai took the initiative to explain, "Corpse Dissolving Water. Go to Room Xu-9 in Zengtou Market and tell them Qiu Qianhai sent you. That cripple Li will sell it to you. One bottle for one spirit stone."
"Got it."
Afterward, Qiu Qianhai used the same method to dissolve Old Wu’s body, then gathered the bamboo pole and short blade, the two magic artifacts from the ground. Ji Yuan picked up the embroidered needle that Old Wu had tried to use to assassinate him.
"This place isn’t safe. Let’s go somewhere else to divide the spoils."
Qiu Qianhai was clearly very experienced with this kind of robbery and murder.
"Alright."
Before long, a magic boat sailed straight north, heading deeper into the Yunyu Marshlands.
Turtle Rest Island was northeast of Zengtou Market.
After an hour, they reached a small reed marsh to the northwest of Zengtou Market. There, Qiu Qianhai dumped out the contents of the two storage pouches.
Right in front of them were several pink undergarments for female cultivators, clearly worn before.
"That bastard Old Wu."
Qiu Qianhai threw them aside and began sorting the spoils.
Liu the Leper, perhaps having just gone through a major battle in the Yunyu Marshlands, did not have much on him. He only had five spirit stones.
The remaining pills were just two Detoxification Pills, and all his Healing Hundred Herb Pills had been consumed. His talismans were nearly used up as well, leaving only low-grade ones like Water Shield and Water Ball Talismans.
As for magic artifacts, there was only the black-gold short blade and a dark green magic boat.
"That old bastard must have suffered quite a loss over at Maple Leaf Island."
Qiu Qianhai muttered to himself.
Ji Yuan’s gaze then shifted to Old Wu’s belongings.
With just a glance, a thought popped into his head—Killing and looting really pays off!
Just the pile of spirit stones alone seemed to number around forty. There were also four bottles of pills: two bottles of Hundred Herb Pills, one bottle of Detoxification Pills, and one bottle of Blood Ignition Pills.
As for talismans, there were over a dozen low-grade ones.
There were also two mid-grade talismans: one Thunderstrike Talisman and one Water Shadow Talisman for escaping.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t even had the chance to use them before meeting his end.
As for magic artifacts, there was one more compared to Liu the Leper: a magic boat, the bamboo pole artifact, and the embroidered needle that Ji Yuan had just picked up.
"There are even techniques here."
Qiu Qianhai added as he shook out three jade slips, each engraved with the name of a technique.
Ji Yuan, with his sharp eyes, picked up one…
Artifact Manipulation Technique.