Chapter 68: Assassination [PART 2]
As Wang Wei slowly pulled something from his pocket, a triumphant anticipation filled him. Just one more second was all he needed. When his fingers finally grasped the object, his pleading expression transformed completely, morphing into a malicious grin. He stretched his hand toward Xiang Yu.
"Hahaha, you really thought I was serious, die!" he screamed out.
But something was terribly wrong. A strange sensation made him pause. His eyes darted to his outstretched arm, only to discover with horror that it only ended at the elbow. Turning his head, he spotted the severed half of his limb several meters away, the cut was so clean and precise he didn’t even realize when it happened.
When he realized what had happened, his face contorted in excruciating pain as he started to scream. Before the sound could fully escape, Xiang Yu swiftly pressed his sword against Wang Wei’s lips, then forced the blade into his mouth.
"Quiet! Are you trying to announce to everyone?" Xiang Yu hissed in a low but threatening voice.
With the cold steel pressing against his tongue, Wang Wei could only swallow his cries, tears welling in his eyes as the pain continued to pulse through him.
Xiang Yu had been watching his opponent’s every move carefully. He had already noticed him trying to retrieve something from his pocket—there was no way he would allow him to turn the situation around. When he noticed that he had calmed down, he removed the sword from Wang Wei’s mouth and flipped him over, pressing his face against the ground.
Taking Wang Wei’s remaining arm, Xiang Yu twisted it behind his back and pinned it in place with his knee. The position was excruciating, ensuring Wang Wei couldn’t attempt any further tricks. Face down in the dirt, each breath Wang Wei took kicked up small clouds of dust. The tears streaming from his eyes mixed with the earth, creating muddy tracks down his cheeks.
Xiang Yu placed his sword next to Wang Wei’s head, the proximity causing him to instantly stop squirming.
"I’m going to ask a few questions," Xiang Yu stated matter-of-factly. He moved his sword closer to Wang Wei’s exposed throat, the edge just grazing the skin. "The questions are optional, so you don’t have to answer."
Wang Wei cursed inwardly at the transparent threat. "Who would believe that?" he thought bitterly, but he dared not voice his thoughts aloud, fearing he might indeed lose his head.
"First question, who sent you?" Xiang Yu asked directly.
Despite his precarious position, Wang Wei managed a defiant smirk. "Hmph, do you think that just a few threats will make me speak?"
Xiang Yu regarded him silently for a moment before nodding. "I guess that’s true." Without hesitation, he swung his sword, ready to end the man’s life in one clean strike.
Only when the blade was mere inches from his neck did Wang Wei’s resolve crumble. "Wait, stop! I’ll answer!" he shouted, panic evident in his voice.
"You should’ve just said that sooner," Xiang Yu replied calmly, halting his attack.
Wang Wei thought to himself that this guy was really a mad man. He didn’t even attempted to extract information through other means; he had simply decided to kill him outright.
"I was sent by Mei Zhiyuan," he confessed, his voice trembling.
Xiang Yu processed this information, searching through his memories. The name belonged to the Elder of the Scripture Pavilion. He wondered what he could have possibly done to offend such a powerful figure.
"Why does he want to kill me?" he asked.
"Because you and your junior sister killed one of his pawns," Wang Wei responded, his voice weak from pain and fear.
Xiang Yu frowned, trying to recall. "You mean Gu Hanming?" he asked, putting the pieces together.
"Yes, yes," Wang Wei confirmed hastily.
"What do you mean by pawn?" Xiang Yu pushed further, sensing there was more to this story.
Wang Wei hesitated, clearly weighing his options. Only when Xiang Yu pressed his sword closer to his throat, breaking the skin just enough to draw a thin line of blood, did he begin to speak.
"Wu-Wuming—" But before he could finish the name, dark veins suddenly appeared on his forehead, spreading rapidly across his face like a sinister web. His eyes widened in terror as he realized what was happening.
"No! Noooo!" he screamed, a sound filled with genuine horror.
Recognizing what was happening, Xiang Yu instantly backed away, putting several meters between them in a blur of movement. In the next second, Wang Wei’s body exploded violently, the force tearing him apart and leaving nothing but scattered remains and a dark stain on the ground where he had been.
...
Xiang Yu cautiously approached the explosion site, scanning for any remains. Nothing was left—not flesh, not bone, not even a scrap of fabric. He recognized that this was likely a curse designed to prevent information leakage.
Though Wang Wei’s final message was cut short, Xiang Yu had heard enough. "Wuming." The name echoed in his mind as he searched his memories. The Wuming Cult was one of the greatest demonic sects in the eastern region, infamous for their ruthless methods. What business did such a powerful organization have in their small sect? And if Wang Wei was working for Elder Mei Zhiyuan, did that mean the elder himself was a demonic sect spy?
How many more spies had infiltrated their sect? What should he do with this information? Reporting it presented its own problems—he would need to explain how he discovered this information, which meant revealing his true strength. He wasn’t ready to expose himself just yet.
He let out a deep sigh as he sheathed his sword and placed it back in his spatial pouch. He decided that he would let the matter be for now. There wasn’t much he could do anyway.
Something caught his eye amidst the debris—Wang Wei’s severed hand remained intact, having been cut off before the curse activated. Xiang Yu walked over and picked it up, noting that the lifeless fingers still clutched a small paper. He could tell that it was a talisman, though he didn’t know the specific effect of the talisman.
More importantly, he noticed a spatial ring on one of the fingers. His eyes widened slightly at the discovery. Spatial rings were significantly more expensive than spatial pouches and offered greater storage capacity. Since the owner was already dead, Xiang Yu could easily access its contents.
Slipping the ring onto his own finger, he mentally connected with it, immediately sensing the storage within—ten cubic meters of space, far larger than his mere two-cubic-meter spatial pouch.
Probing the contents, he found a qi refining scripture, which he promptly set aside. His physique already granted him those abilities naturally. Several other scrolls and books caught his attention, but upon closer inspection, he realized they were mostly demonic techniques.
The only truly useful technique he found was a [High-grade Fire Palm] manual. As he examined the details of the manual, he couldn’t help but feel that the manual was really impressive. Wang Wei must not have mastered it yet; otherwise, he wouldn’t have defeated him that easily.
Xiang Yu decided to keep the Fire Palm technique and the talisman. As for the demonic texts, he summoned his void flame and burned them along with the severed hand. Though not particularly righteous himself, he had no desire to be labeled a devil and hunted for cultivating forbidden techniques.
The talisman from Wang Wei’s hand remained a mystery. Examining it, Xiang Yu reflected on the importance of secondary professions. His fifth-grade cooking skill, seemingly mundane, was probably a thousand times more valuable than his qi gathering cultivation—even when considering his foundation establishment combat prowess.
He resolved to study more secondary professions in the future. Such skills might prove invaluable in unexpected situations. Carefully, he placed the talisman in his new spatial ring for later examination.
"But first, I need a new house..."
...
A/N - Yippee, new house
Last Chapter this month, see y’all next month ♥️