Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 22 A glimmer of hope in the eyes

When Qingyang saw the dark 'Soul Requiem Stone', his eyes almost turned green. He had seen it more than 20 years ago, and finally saw it again today. For a moment, he seemed to forget everything, and flew up, rushing towards the obstacle. Unexpectedly, the stone drew a curve and flew down the cliff. At that time, he was like a dog, seeing the bone thrown by the master over his head, and turned around to chase after it.

Wanjiao heard the heart-wrenching cry, took a last look, clenched her teeth, a line of tears still lingered in the air, the white shadow had already flown down the cliff, the tears slowly fell, wetting the rocks.

……

The sky was so blue, the air was so cool, Wuzhai lay on the tree, looking up at the sky, "I still haven't completed my master's request, failed to preserve the 'Requiem Stone', and let my master die in vain. I struggled to hold on, but in the end I was still helpless. Mother, you let me live, but my body really can't hold on. If I had known this would happen, I would rather die with you then. Why did I have to endure so much pain before leaving."

Wuzhan knew that Qingyang would definitely find the 'Requiem Stone' and would definitely come back to kill him. The next time he saw Qingyang would be the day of his death. He did that to create more time for Wanjiao to escape. This was the best possibility he could achieve. "She should have escaped. She won't come back. She must be very sad when I said such cruel words. Let her be sad. It may only take a few days for her."

Qingyang really came back and stood on the tree. His clothes were tattered. Under his feet was Wuzhan, who was lying on the tree and breathing hard.

He had found the 'Requiem Stone' at the foot of the mountain, for the stone was in his hand.

Qingyang said in a deep voice: "I will not kill nameless people! Who are you and where have we seen you before?" Although he had asked this question many times, this time was different. He would not be threatened in any way, and if he wanted to figure out something, he had to figure it out. This was both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Wuzhan snorted softly and said weakly: "Then I can only make an exception for you."

Qingyang jumped in front of Wuzhan, grabbed the front of his shirt, and hung him in the air, saying coldly: "Tell me who you are, or I'll kill you or I'll torture you to death!"

Wuzhan hung his head, "What else can you do?"

Qingyang said fiercely: "Then I have no choice but to cut you into pieces. Let's see if you will tell me. If you want to die, it's not that easy!" As he said that, he picked up the hand holding the 'Soul Requiem Stone', glanced at it, put it in his arms, and stretched out his hand to slowly pull out the long sword behind him.

When Wuzhan lowered his head, he kept looking at the "Soul Stone" in his hand. When Qingyang glanced at the stone, Qingyang's gaze was caught by Wuzhan, and Wuzhan remembered the look of his master.

The tip of the sword landed in front of Wuzhe's eyes, "Start with your eyes. Your eyes make me uncomfortable, and when you can't see, other pains are felt more deeply."

Wuzhe's mouth twitched slightly, and a hint of smile appeared again. "You no longer have a chance. I don't want to die yet, and you still can't kill me."

Qingyang narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice: "What tricks are you playing? I have already got the things. You are worthless. If you really don't want to say it, I will kill you now!" The tip of the sword was about to touch Wuzhan's eyeball.

"Do you know why Master gave the 'Soul Requiem' to me?" Although the voice was faint, it did make Qingyang's heart tremble. This was indeed the question that had always puzzled Qingyang.

Qingyang asked: "Then why do you say that?"

"Put me down. I don't feel comfortable being talked to like this."

Qingyang glared at Wuzhan and said, "If you lie to me again, I will tear you to pieces!" After that, he grabbed Wuzhan and jumped down, brought him back to the cave, threw him on the ground, and said, "Hurry up and tell me, I have no patience anymore!"

Wuzhe sat up, leaned against the cave wall, and whispered: "Because I know how to refine the 'Requiem Stone'."

"Hu Yan, how can you, a person without any cultivation, refine the 'Soul Requiem Stone'? Your master has been studying it for twenty years and still hasn't figured it out, how do you know?"

"This has nothing to do with time or the level of cultivation. Although I don't know magic, it doesn't mean I don't understand. Why did Master come to find you? Would he come to find you if he didn't understand it?"

Qingyang frowned as he thought about what Wuzhan said. He knew that Wuzhan was cunning and could easily be fooled again. But what Wuzhan said did explain why Zitan gave the "Requiem Stone" to him. Apart from that, there was no other reasonable explanation.

Qingyang also has a strange stone called the 'Soul-stealing Stone'. He has been studying it for more than 20 years but has not been able to comprehend it. Zitan asked him to go with him because he wanted him to take the 'Soul-stealing Stone' to Huashan and go to that place with Xuanqing to try again. Qingyang didn't want to go there because it was too dangerous and it was very likely that he would never come back. More importantly, Mayor Xu had already ordered Qingyang to get the 'Soul-stealing Stone' and comprehend the mysteries of the two stones for future use. So when Qingyang saw Zitan, he first tried to persuade him with kind words, but when he saw that Zitan was determined to go, he killed him and took the Soul-stealing Stone.

Qingyang thought about it and finally believed that Wuzhan was very smart and might know the method. He thought: "If he really knows the method and I missed the opportunity, it may take a long time for me to comprehend it in the future. There is no rush to kill him. He still wants to live, which is easier than before." Thinking of this, he said in a deep voice: "Okay, I will trust you for once. You tell me the formula and I will verify its authenticity. If you lie to me again, I will kill you immediately!"

"I want to stay alive now, so of course I can't lie to you. It's just that I don't have the internal energy to practice magic. I only know the theory, not the feeling. There are some places that you need to figure out on your own."

Qingyang took out the 'Requiem Stone', sat cross-legged on the ground, held the 'Requiem Stone' in front of him with his right hand, and said: "Begin. If it is true, I will not kill you."

Although Wuzhan didn't know what spell his master used or which meridians he activated when he went astray, he still remembered every movement and finger technique clearly. Fortunately, Qingyang had a high level of cultivation, so he knew what spell Wuzhan was talking about and which meridians were activated just by listening to Wuzhan's narration.

What Wuzhan described was the magic that Zitan had spent more than twenty years to comprehend. It was naturally very profound, with layers of mystery linked together. As Qingyang continued to use the magic, he believed in what Wuzhan said and his vigilance gradually disappeared. Later, after each step, he would say to Wuzhan: "Please continue!" and praise the exquisiteness of the magic. As time passed, the 'Soul Requiem Stone' gradually emitted a faint blue light, and Wuzhan led Qingyang into the path of magic step by step.

Regardless of which sect, cultivators have a persistent belief and a spirit of not admitting defeat. They are unwilling to give up even if they fail, just like moths to a flame. They will try even if they know the danger. Here, there is no distinction between magic and Taoism, good and evil, but only different pursuits. Therefore, when encountering a bottleneck, it is easy to go astray and lose all previous efforts. Qingyang is just an ordinary one among these people, and he is also one of the most obsessed ones. It is difficult for him to extricate himself. His eyes are getting redder and more lovely. His hair is standing up high, and his veins are bulging. The sound of his breathing drives the stalagmites to hum. The light of the "soul-soothing stone" is flickering. The cave is like lightning in the dark night, and it seems that the cave will collapse in the next moment.

……

A pale hand stretched out, like a ghost's claw in the flickering light, extremely terrifying, grabbing the ground, moving the limp body out of the cave.

"Keep living!" Wuzhan, who was almost fainting, had only this voice in his mind. It was his mother's call, his father's scolding, his brother's back, and his master's eyes.

There was a deafening roar, and the stalagmites shattered and fell down with a crackling sound. Wuzhan lowered his head and covered it with his hands. He was only ten feet away from the cave entrance and he had no strength left.

Qingyang went crazy. Holding the dazzling Requiem Stone in one hand, he waved it wildly in the cave, roared, and slapped everything he could see. He smashed the stalagmites one by one and gradually approached the cave entrance. Suddenly, his eyes flashed blood and he spotted Wuzhan at the cave entrance. He leaped up, landed in front of Wuzhan, grabbed Wuzhan, and swung the arm holding the Requiem Stone, wanting to beat Wuzhan to death.

Wuzhan had closed his eyes, waiting for death to come, but at this moment, Qingyang's raised arm stopped in the air, and he shouted timidly, "Terrible eyes!" He threw Wuzhan away, shouting, "Terrible eyes!..." Clutching the dazzling requiem stone, he disappeared at the entrance of the cave in an instant.

……

A white figure quickly came to the cave entrance, leaned over to look at the unconscious Wuzhan with tearful eyes, and hurriedly gave Wuzhan a pill. After a long time, seeing that there was still no improvement, she used her delicate body to carry Wuzhan on her back, left the cave entrance, grabbed the cracks in the rocks with her claws, and climbed down the cliff with Wuzhan on her back with difficulty.

……

When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they checked Wuzhan's breath again and found it was extremely weak. Wanjiao bit her lip and carried Wuzhan on her back again. Her tears blocked the way and she almost moved forward.

Wanjiao was extremely anxious. She wanted to take Wuzhan to find a doctor to save him, but this desolate mountain area was too far away from the village and she didn't know where to find a doctor. Also, she couldn't carry Wuzhan's increasingly heavy body. She didn't step firmly and fell to the ground with Wuzhan on her back. Her foot was sprained. Wanjiao looked at Wuzhan who was unconscious beside her and wailed.

Suddenly she stopped crying, stood up, dragged Wuzhe to the tree, and said breathlessly: "Wait for me here, I'll go find a doctor, you must wait for me to come back!"

After saying this, he clenched his teeth, endured the pain under his feet, and rushed desperately towards the official road. Once he reached the official road, he continued to run desperately towards the direction of the post station.

About an hour passed, and her legs were moving unconsciously when she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the opposite side. Wanjiao hurriedly hid behind a tree, quickly steadied her breathing, and prepared to launch a surprise attack to seize the horse.

I saw two big men, each riding a horse, walking side by side, and a coachman driving a carriage following behind.

There were two big men, both about twenty years old. One was wearing black and had a sturdy build, while the other was wearing a grey robe and looked heroic. One could tell from their faces that they were not ordinary people.

Wanjiao had no time to care about all that. She suddenly jumped up and stabbed the gray-clothed man with her claws. The gray-clothed man saw someone suddenly flying over to kill him, so he quickly leaned over to avoid it. Wanjiao missed.

The big man in gray saw that the person who assassinated him was a beautiful woman with extraordinary skills, and he hurriedly shouted: "Girl, why do you want to assassinate me?"

Wanjiao was not willing to say anything. She jumped up again and stabbed the man. This time, Wanjiao stabbed very low. The big man could not avoid it by leaning down, so he could only roll off the horse to avoid the stab. Wanjiao jumped onto the horse and was about to ride away, but the big man grabbed the reins and refused to let go. "Girl, why are you trying to take my horse?" Wanjiao blew out a breath, and the big man quickly covered his mouth and nose, and the fragrance was blown away by the wind after a while.

Wan Jiao shouted anxiously: "Let me go, I want to save people!"

The big man in black laughed and said, "Girl, you are so confident in robbing someone else's horse!"

The big man in gray asked, "Who do you want to save?"

Wan Jiao pleaded with tears in her eyes: "I beg you, let me go, there is no time!"

The big man in gray saw Wanjiao's tear-stained face and her white clothes were covered in dirt and blood. He knew what she said was true and handed Wanjiao the reins, "Go and save them!"

Wanjiao took the reins and said, "Thank you, young master!" She turned the horse's head, shook the reins, and rode away.

After Wanjiao left, the big man in black said with a smile, "I think you should stop calling me Zhang Liang tomorrow and call me Zhang Shanliang. What do you think?"

Zhang Liang sighed and said, "Seeing the tears in the girl's eyes, she must have gone to save the most important person. If she hadn't had to, why would she risk her life to snatch my horse?"

The big man in black laughed and said, "We haven't even had time to assassinate Ying Zheng's son, but he was stabbed by a woman first. But you, your horse was also taken away by someone, haha!"

(End of this chapter)