I didn't gain any advantage in fighting or wits, so I started trying to communicate with the ghosts on the paper figures.

Gradually, I discovered that each of the nine notorious bandits had their own story. However, no one had ever stepped into their inner world.

I spent a month becoming friends with the nine ghosts, but when I fought them for the third time, I was mercilessly thrown into the river by the paper figures. I was only pulled out by Qu Mo after I passed out.

Qu Mo sneered at me, "Did you think that if you became friends with them, they wouldn't kill you?"

"There are many kinds of friends. Don't think that just because someone is your friend, they won't kill you. Especially when you touch their interests, it's normal for friends to turn against each other. Think about it carefully!"

I thought for a long time before realizing one thing: the nine notorious bandits revealed their identities to me, but didn't mention their famous skills at all. They were guarding against me.

Besides that, I also discovered something even more interesting, which was that there were also contradictions between the nine of them, and they looked down on each other.

From then on, I began to learn the nine people's special skills, using the eldest's abilities to fight the third, and then using the third's abilities to fight the fourth, which allowed me to escape their pursuit time and time again.

Besides teaching me kung fu, Qu Mo rarely talked to me, sometimes not saying an extra word for days.

But I increasingly felt that he wasn't my enemy.

He was like a stern teacher to me, silent, strict, but never hiding anything.

However, I also discovered that Qu Mo was making wooden figures while practicing.

Qu Mo's wooden figures were extremely detailed, even to the extent of every joint. It wasn't until he finished making nine wooden figures that he told me, "Before, it was one person fighting you, now it's nine people fighting you. You can wait to die."

I was deceived by Qu Mo again!

Qu Mo kept his word. The nine wooden figures launched a pursuit against me that night, and in less than an hour, they forced me into a mountain cave. This time, the wooden figures really went for the kill, even setting the cave on fire.

The fire completely sealed the entrance of the cave, and I was trapped inside with no way to escape.

When Qu Mo arrived, the rocks at the entrance of the cave had already been burned red.

When Qu Mo directed the wooden figures to pour water on the fire, the burned rocks crackled and exploded under the cold water.

Before the smoke from the fire had dissipated, Qu Mo stepped on the water-soaked firewood and rushed into the cave, sweeping the ground with his feet twice, "Li Po, get out of here, I know you're not dead. Don't think you can hide underground, I won't be able to find you."

Qu Mo shouted a few times but didn't see anyone respond. He quickly squatted down, raised his hand, and clawed at the ground. Half of his arm disappeared into the soil, and with a sudden force, he grabbed my collar and pulled me out of the ground.

While Qu Mo was testing my breath, I suddenly opened my eyes wide, flipped a steel needle from under my tongue, and used a burst of true qi (true energy) to spray the needle towards Qu Mo's throat.

Qu Mo caught the steel needle between two fingers, but the tip of the needle left a blood spot on his forehead.

I smiled and looked at Qu Mo, "I won!"

Qu Mo's expression darkened slightly, "You didn't win, I'm still alive. The Nine Ghosts are also not dead. When you kill us, you can go down the mountain."

Qu Mo stood up and turned towards the entrance of the cave, but I said behind him, "Is there any meaning to this game?"

"Killing people is always the most interesting game. If you want to live, kill us. Otherwise, I'll kill you." After Qu Mo finished speaking, he strode out of the cave.

After that day, Qu Mo and the others seemed to really want to kill me, and their attacks were more ruthless each time. Several times, they almost took my life. But I miraculously survived their pursuit.

Until one day, when I had set up a trap and was waiting for Qu Mo to come, Xiao Jiu (Little Nine) of the Nine Ghosts appeared in front of me in the form of a ghost. That was the first time I saw his true face.

Xiao Jiu stood at the edge of my trap and said, "We're going out with Master Qu for a while, you can have two days of peace."

My first reaction was that Qu Mo was playing tricks again, but Xiao Jiu left without looking back.

What I didn't expect was that Xiao Jiu suddenly ran back, "Master Qu said, if he doesn't come back in three months, you can go down the mountain yourself!"

"Li Po, I want to say don't blame Master Qu. If he didn't treat you like this, you wouldn't be able to become a top expert in a short time."

"Master Qu is deliberately making you resent him, hate him. Master Qu he... Never mind, it's not convenient for me to talk nonsense about Master Qu's affairs. In short, Master Qu is a man of loyalty. It's just that he only wants people to hate him."

What does Xiao Jiu mean? Is he trying to trick me?

I thought about the treacherousness of the martial world, but I didn't expect that Qu Mo really left.

After living alone on the mountain for a while, I began to worry about Qu Mo, just like I worried about my dad back then.

I waited on the mountain for two full months before finally waiting for Qu Mo to come back.

Qu Mo came back, but the Nine Ghosts were nowhere to be found.

I could tell that Qu Mo was seriously injured. When I went to meet Qu Mo, he spoke first, "I'm seriously injured. You'd better kill me before I recover, otherwise, you won't have a chance."