Chapter 28: Insatiable (Please follow, bookmark, and vote for monthly tickets)

Chapter 28: Insatiable (Please follow, collect, and vote with monthly tickets and recommendation votes)

"I want to see if I can kill you."

Su Mu said with a serious expression.

Before the words had even settled and before the Chief of Black Dragon Fortress could react, Su Mu dropped the severed head and, in a swift motion, threw something out.

Bang!

A pellet struck the Chief of Black Dragon Fortress squarely in the forehead.

Severely wounded, the Chief was powerless to dodge; the impact sent stars dancing before his eyes.

Like a mountain collapsing, his burly body toppled backward uncontrollably.

He had not fallen during a great battle, yet now he was being knocked down by a mere stone thrown by a boy who hadn't even grown his hair in yet?

What a humiliation!

Fury surged in the Chief's heart, but in the next instant, that rage turned into terror.

Because his vision was filled with a pink haze.

"Pink Wolf, Du Qian..."

A name flashed through the Chief's mind. In the next moment, his consciousness began to waver and blur, and then he plunged into darkness.

The mountain wind was strong, and the pink mist was scattered in an instant.

Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu blinked, seeing the Chief of Black Dragon Fortress—whom they had fought desperately but could not defeat—now lying spread-eagled on the ground, looking like a victim waiting to be slaughtered.

Before they could even react, they saw Su Mu charge forward in two quick strides.

With his legs braced and hands gripping his spear, he thrust downward with all his might.

Puchi!

Blood splattered.

The Chief of Black Dragon Fortress snapped his eyes open, and a violent surge of strength sent Su Mu flying backward.

He leaped up, his hair and beard bristling, his eyes wide and piercing like those of a leopard.

"Second Brother—"

Two words escaped his lips as his hands gripped the ironwood shaft of the spear; the spearhead had pierced through his chest from behind.

"Ah!"

With a great roar, he actually pulled the long spear out of himself.

Su Mu was thrown several yards by the Chief's strength, slamming into the trunk of a large tree with a heavy thud. Dazed and seeing stars, he nearly lost his soul when he witnessed the Chief's movement.

Enduring the pain, he scrambled up and immediately drew his blade, preparing for a fight to the death.

Holding the spear, the Chief stared fixedly at him and took a sudden step forward.

After that single step, blood gushed from the piercing wound in the Chief's chest, and he fell straight down.

Thud!

Su Mu felt the ground vibrate.

Gripping his long saber, he remained hyper-vigilant, not daring to relax for a second.

After several breaths had passed, the Chief of Black Dragon Fortress showed no sign of movement.

Still uneasy, Su Mu cautiously approached. He first poked the Chief twice with the tip of his blade before quickly jumping back.

Only after several tests, confirming that the Chief was truly dead, did he let out a long sigh of relief.

To have his heart pierced by a spear and still be able to leap up and take a step—he was truly a monster.

A wave of lingering fear washed over Su Mu. He finally realized how much luck had been involved in his ability to kill the Second Chief and the Chief of Black Dragon Fortress.

As a precaution, Su Mu swung his blade several times at the Chief's neck, only stopping when the head was nearly severed.

Watching Su Mu's actions, Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu instinctively touched their own necks, a chill running down their spines.

"Yang Jin, where are the others?"

Su Mu wiped his long saber clean on the Chief's body and turned to Yang Jin, intending to ask where the other constables, bailiffs, and hunters had gone.

However, seeing Yang Jin's appearance, a look of shock crossed his face. "How did you become like this?"

It had only been half a day since he was being hunted by the Second Chief; how did Yang Jin look as if decades had passed?

Originally, Yang Jin had looked to be in his thirties, in the prime of his life, but now he looked at least fifty, with a head of white hair and deep, striking wrinkles etched into his face.

"I used a Blood-Burning Pill," Yang Jin said weakly. "It's fine. I won't die for now."

Though Su Mu didn't know what a Blood-Burning Pill was, he assumed it was some kind of secret medicine used to stimulate potential. Yang Jin's appearance was likely the aftereffect of the drug.

"The Second Chief is dead?"

Yang Jin caught sight of the long spear that had pierced the Chief; he remembered that it was the Second Chief's weapon.

Since the Second Chief's weapon was in Su Mu's hands, the Second Chief's fate was easy to imagine.

"Pure luck," Su Mu said sincerely.

"Earlier, Brother Wei and I fought desperately to lure the Chief away, while the others were still clashing with the bandits," Yang Jin said, his face pale. "If you still have strength left, take the Chief's head over there. The leader is dead; the rest are just a disorganized mob. Once they see the Chief's head, they will naturally collapse."

"Then you two—"

Su Mu looked at Yang Jin, then at Wei Yongfu.

"We can still hold on. Just go and come back quickly," Yang Jin said.

"Alright."

After a brief hesitation, Su Mu grabbed the heads of the Chief and the Second Chief and ran toward the direction of the shouting and fighting.

A moment later, a roar echoed through the mountain forest.

"The Chief and the Second Chief have been executed! Their heads are here! Those who surrender shall not be killed!"

***

About half an hour later, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps, a group of people appeared before Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu.

The two had recovered some strength, but they were still far from being able to move freely.

Seeing so many people, they were initially startled, but once they saw the attire of the newcomers, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"So they really are here!"

Among the crowd, a middle-aged man dressed in fine silks didn't even glance at Yang Jin or Wei Yongfu. He walked straight to the corpse of the Black Dragon Chief.

"Well done," the middle-aged man said. "You may return to the city now. I will handle the rest here."

With a wave of his hand, several others stepped out from the crowd, lifted the Chief's body, and walked away.

The middle-aged man did not linger; he led the group away, but they were heading up the mountain rather than down.

The group arrived and departed quickly. By the time Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu realized what had happened, only a scattered dozen or so people remained on the field.

One of them was Su Mu.

"This is—"

Seeing Su Mu, Yang Jin felt a secret sense of relief.

"He Chang, the steward of the He family," Su Mu said as he approached Yang Jin. "He came to pluck the fruit. So, can you still walk?"

His expression was calm, showing none of the anger one would expect from someone whose credit had been stolen.

"The He family?"

Yang Jin muttered the name twice, a cold sneer appearing on his face. "Truly greedy. They eat the meat and don't even leave a drop of soup for anyone else."

That He Chang had clearly gone to the Black Dragon Fortress stronghold.

They had fought a bloody battle and nearly lost their lives, yet when it came time to seize the fortress, they were left behind.

"As long as you're alive, it's fine," Su Mu comforted him.

Because Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu were too heavily injured to descend the mountain on their own, Su Mu had pleaded with several hunters—who had also been abandoned by He Chang—to fashion a simple stretcher to carry them back to Wuling City.

The South City Bureau had not been entirely heartless; all the wounded were sent to a medical clinic, with the medical expenses covered by the Bureau.

Su Mu did not see Sima Heyuxing. After leaving word at the yamen, he returned to his own courtyard.

After locking the doors and windows, Su Mu pulled a small silk bundle from his bosom.

(End of Chapter)