Chapter 28 Trickery

"What's the situation?"

Watching the small hands gather above, forming a cage-like shape that swallowed the bandit leader whole, Fang Yue was momentarily stunned.

He was almost out of Gui Value and internal energy, unable to continue fighting the bandit leader. He had been thinking of creating some distance, recovering some strength before finishing him off, or even just retreating.

Fang Yue could handle five people at once. Now that there was only one left, he could kill him whenever he wanted.

But then the strange entity acted, swallowing the man. It was something he hadn't expected.

Looking at the small fingers undulating on the ground around him, Fang Yue's expression darkened slightly.

This strange entity had grown all the way here, devouring the corpses of strong individuals. He didn't know how strong it was now. If he could, Fang Yue didn't want to get entangled with this thing.

*Boom!!*

Just as Fang Yue was thinking this, the 'birdcage' in front of him suddenly exploded.

Black blood splattered, and multi-colored arm and leg fragments flew everywhere.

The bandit leader emerged from the 'birdcage' in a leaping posture. His body was covered with bite marks and was dripping with blood. His expression was terrified and frantic.

As he flew through the air, his eyes met Fang Yue's for a split second.

When he landed, the bandit leader's legs bent slightly, and he ran as fast as he could toward the exit of the secret passage.

Slightly taken aback, Fang Yue immediately realized that the injured bandit leader was in worse shape than he was.

His eyes narrowed, and without hesitation, Fang Yue claimed the heads of the others, swallowed some pills, and chased after him.

Due to insufficient [Gui Value], he could only rely on his internal energy to drive the Dark Shadow Steps, causing him to be unable to catch up with the bandit leader for a while.

Behind Fang Yue, the broken birdcage merged into the ground, disappearing as the ground rippled.

Soon, multi-colored small hands covered the door of the final exit of the secret passage like a tide.

"Get… out of my way!!"

The bandit leader's sword glowed faintly, his speed increased dramatically, and he pierced forward with unstoppable momentum.

But when the sword struck the small, strange hands covering the door, and his sword technique exploded, he was shocked to discover that this time, the [Slapping Hands] were not as tough or terrifying as the previous 'birdcage'. With a light strike and a bit of force, he easily shattered them piece by piece, wasting a lot of internal energy.

The remaining power struck the stone door of the secret passage exit, cutting it in half with a single blow.

"It has learned to 'deceive'…"

A terrifying thought flashed through his mind as the bandit leader crashed through the stone door and out of the secret passage.

"This [Nuomian Ghoul] is getting smarter and smarter! It's growing quickly!"

Like a sponge, it rapidly absorbed moisture, becoming full and plump.

From not understanding anything at first, the [Nuomian Ghoul] had learned more and more as it came into contact with people, becoming increasingly fearsome.

Fang Yue's heart grew cold.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the [Nuomian Ghoul] had been following him all this time, seeming harmless.

The problem was that it was still a ghoul, and it was only a matter of time before a ghoul attacked someone.

He followed the bandit leader out of the secret passage.

*Whoosh, whoosh…*

Fang Yue was taken aback. When did the wind become so strong at night? He didn't feel this way on the mountaintop earlier.

Also, wasn't this… the foot of Dongliu Mountain? The exit of the secret passage was actually not far from the foot of the mountain.

Squinting, he searched for the bandit leader, only to see small hands emerge from the ground, pointing in a direction as if guiding him.

Fang Yue's expression froze as he stared at the things on the ground with suspicion.

At the same time, more small fingers appeared around him, cautiously observing the male mother's reaction, as if hoping to be praised.

Fang Yue didn't speak, remaining vigilant.

Silently conjuring a black blade, Fang Yue hesitated before following the direction guided by the small hands.

Soon, he spotted the bandit leader, or rather… the bandit leader's back as he mounted a horse.

He had stolen… Fang Yue's [Scarlet Red Horse] hidden nearby!

"Giddy up!!"

The bandit leader turned his head and saw Fang Yue. The bandit leader slapped the horse's rear and galloped away.

You son of a…

"Leave the horse!"

Roaring, Fang Yue, with his rage meter maxed out, immediately poured all of his newly recovered [Gui Value] into his legs.

Surrounded by black mist, Fang Yue's speed exploded!

The [Scarlet Red Horse] was fast, but it was far from matching Fang Yue's explosive speed.

Mounts were only good for one thing compared to a martial artist's speed, and that was endurance!

In terms of stamina, martial artists were far inferior to mounts.

That was why Fang Yue was furious when he saw the bandit leader steal the [Scarlet Red Horse].

If he couldn't catch up with the bandit leader with his current burst of speed,

then the bandit leader could really fly away wherever he wanted.

With the burst, the distance between Fang Yue and the bandit leader rapidly closed.

But the [Gui Value] was also rapidly decreasing.

From the looks of it, it seemed like his Gui Value would run out before he could catch up.

Just as he was getting anxious, he saw multi-colored small hands suddenly emerge from the [Scarlet Red Horse]'s body.

His pupils constricted.

"Don't touch my Scarlet Red Horse!"

As if frightened, the small hands retracted into the horse's body.

At the same time, the bandit leader on horseback saw this scene, and his body trembled in fear, slowing his speed slightly.

With that opening, Fang Yue had completely closed the distance by the time he sped up again.

Sensing the aggressive aura behind him, which was getting closer and closer, the bandit leader panicked and shouted.

"Ye Niuniu, do you really want to fight me to the death! Lord Rat Seat is dead, I no longer have any stake in this with you. If you want to find the Phoenix Organization, go find them yourself. Why do you have to be so…"

"Feather Shatter!"

*Swish, swish, swish—*

The black blade shattered, flying towards the bandit leader like a dense rain of hidden weapons, cutting off his words.

*Clang, clang, clang—*

A series of blocking sounds rang out, and as the bandit leader was busy deflecting the attacks, a crescent-shaped black glow suddenly appeared in the fragments!

"Dark Moon Saber Art!"

*Buzz!!*

It was too late for the bandit leader to block.

The black blade struck his chest, and as blood sprayed out, he flew backward, crashing into a tree by the side of the road. A large number of small hands suddenly emerged from the tree, covering his mouth and sealing his hands and feet.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh!"

Struggling, the bandit leader quickly tore apart the restraints of the [Mouth-Opening Hands], but just as he was about to get up, he heard a 'whinny'.

Fang Yue had already ridden the horse back. In the dark of night, the two-meter black blade pointed at him from above, and his face was cold.

Seeing this scene, the bandit leader's face was filled with despair.