Luo Zhengnan returned to the farmhouse and gathered everyone together.
Among his ten subordinates, three were Traveling Cultivators: one of the Fourth Layer and two of the Third Layer. All were considered elite in the Jiang Xiang Gang.
Luo Zhengnan took out a Long Spear and handed it to the Fourth Layer Traveling Cultivator, Chen Weiqin. "Old Chen, take the item and head straight for Greenwater City. Report back to the Gang Leader. If pursuers catch up, don’t engage in battle. Make a run for it, as fast as you can."
"Hall Master Luo, what about you?"
Luo Zhengnan said calmly, "We will try to hold the pursuers back. This is a major affair for the Gang; even if it costs all our lives, we must accomplish this task!"
"Hall Master Luo, Everyone, take care!" Chen Weiqin took the Long Spear, brought two Third Layer Traveling Cultivators with him, and left the village immediately, running like the wind.
Wan Jinxian was at the entrance of the village, still pretending to tell fortunes.
He saw the three Traveling Cultivators leave the village and also saw the Long Spear in Chen Weiqin’s hand.
Although the Long Spear was wrapped in oilcloth, judging from its outline, it looked exactly the same as the Long Spear Wan Jinxian had seen in the fort.
More importantly, this Long Spear had a chilling murderous aura, reminiscent of the scene when Han Juncheng was nailed in front of the annex door.
Wan Jinxian sent away the fortune-telling client and drove a nail into his shoe heel.
This nail was a Magical Treasure, made from the Soul of an Eighth Layer Traveling Cultivator. After driving in the nail, Wan Jinxian’s figure blurred, and he followed the three Traveling Cultivators onto the mountain path.
Chen Weiqin rushed along the mountain road, suddenly feeling an intense itching in his calf.
At first, he could bear it, but after walking more than ten li, it was so intolerably itchy that he squatted down, rolled up his trouser leg, and scratched fiercely.
Not only did Chen Weiqin feel itchy, but the two Third Layer Traveling Cultivators did as well. Their legs showed neither swelling nor blisters, yet they felt an itch so intense they wanted to peel off their own skin.
All three scratched their calves until they bled. Chen Weiqin realized something was amiss and said to the other two Traveling Cultivators, "Stop scratching! Let’s move quickly!"
Enduring the itch, they took a few steps forward when Chen Weiqin suddenly felt a tightness in his throat, followed by a bout of coughing.
The two Third Layer Traveling Cultivators coughed even more severely, and one coughed up blood.
They were sick.
Chen Weiqin gasped for breath for a long time, then looked up. He saw a middle-aged man with dark sunglasses, holding a blind man’s cane, standing in the distance on the mountain road, smiling at them.
Chen Weiqin whispered to the other two Traveling Cultivators, "Don’t engage in battle! Take any opportunity to escape!"
Wan Jinxian heard Chen Weiqin’s voice and chuckled. "No use running; you won’t escape. In half an hour, you’ll be dead."
Chen Weiqin was an old hand in the Jianghu. The men Luo Zhengnan selected were all competent and capable of handling crises.
Knowing his physical condition was poor, he tried to find a chance to escape. "Friend, do we know each other?"
Wan Jinxian shook his head. "No, we don’t."
"If we don’t know each other, why did you harm us in secret?"
"Let’s not beat around the bush," Wan Jinxian said. "I want to borrow something from you. I’ve been using this blind man’s cane for a long time, and the bamboo tip has split. I’d like to get a new one, and I think the one you have is quite good. Can you name a price and sell it to me?"
Chen Weiqin put the Long Spear behind him and said to Wan Jinxian, "Friend, you’re mistaken. This is no blind man’s cane. We are Touts in the Jianghu; this is our tool for making a living, and I can’t give it to you."
Wan Jinxian frowned but then smiled. "I’ve made my intentions clear. Are you still trying to stall me with words? Trying to use delaying tactics? Fine. Feel free to delay, but like I said, in half an hour, you’ll be dead."
While Wan Jinxian was speaking, Chen Weiqin suddenly rushed forward. His move, Trample Over Thousands of Rivers, kicked up a swath of pebbles.
Wan Jinxian swiftly retreated to avoid the flying stones.
This was the advantage of Traveling Cultivators: as long as they found a gap, they had a chance to escape. Taking advantage of Wan Jinxian’s momentary distraction, Chen Weiqin took the two Traveling Cultivators and kept running forward.
Wan Jinxian followed them calmly. He knew Traveling Cultivators were exceedingly fast. Even if his cultivation level was superior enough to crush the three of them, he didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.
After ten minutes, the three eventually stopped; they could run no more.
Wan Jinxian gave them one last chance. "Gentlemen, I don’t want to make lifelong enemies. Give me the item, I’ll treat your sickness, and we can still be friends when we meet another day."
Chen Weiqin nodded, unhitching the Long Spear from his back.
The two Traveling Cultivators watched silently, not saying a word.
With things having come to this point, the Gang’s concerns were set aside. Everyone just wanted to live.
Wan Jinxian smiled. "Place the Long Spear on the ground, and you are free to go. Just walk a hundred steps, and your illness will naturally heal."
Chen Weiqin did as instructed, placing the Long Spear on the ground. He then began to leave shakily with the two Traveling Cultivators.
After walking more than a hundred steps, they indeed felt much better.
No coughing, no gasping for breath, and their heads had cleared.
Chen Weiqin glanced back at Wan Jinxian, who was still standing in the same spot.
He smiled at Chen Weiqin, his meaning evident. *If you’re not convinced, you can come back and try again.*
Chen Weiqin did not dare to provoke Wan Jinxian and continued walking forward with the two Traveling Cultivators.
As for how to explain the matter to the Gang, that would have to wait. If it came down to it, they might not return to the Jiang Xiang Gang. With their cultivation level, the three of them could find a living elsewhere...
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Chen Weiqin felt a tickle in his nose and sneezed.
With the sneeze, saliva and snot flew everywhere.
Closing one’s eyes when sneezing is an instinct.
When Chen Weiqin opened his eyes, he found that everything was still pitch black.
He had sneezed out his eyeballs.
The two Traveling Cultivators beside him were stunned.
Sneezing out both eyeballs—they had never encountered such an occurrence in their lifetime.
The sockets throbbed with intense pain, and Chen Weiqin couldn’t help but howl in agony.
No sooner had he opened his mouth than the next sneeze followed close behind.
Anyone who sneezes often knows that sneezes typically come in pairs.
This sneeze, even stronger than the first, expelled a mass of blood from his mouth, nostrils, and the hollow sockets of his eyes, followed by brain matter.
Chen Weiqin staggered and fell to the ground. He had sneezed himself to death with two sneezes.
The other two Traveling Cultivators still didn’t understand what was happening. Feeling the itch in their noses, they quickly covered their mouths with their hands, trying to hold the sneezes in.
"Don’t hold it in, it’s too uncomfortable," laughed Wan Jinxian. "A good sneeze, even if it kills you, lets you die content."
The eyes of the two Traveling Cultivators were bloodshot, tears streaming nonstop.
After a minute, they could bear it no longer and sneezed in succession.
The longer a sneeze is held in, the more forceful it becomes.
After that sneeze, the skulls of the two men shattered, red and white matter splattering in all directions.
Wan Jinxian was always cautious in his actions.
Picking up the Long Spear from the ground, Wan Jinxian sensed the rolling Spirit Attribute and killing intent emanating from it.
He sent a message to He Jiaqing using the blind man’s cane: "Jia Qing, I have the item."
He Jiaqing was overjoyed. "Old Wan, check it carefully! Make sure you haven’t mistaken it."
"The item is correct," Wan Jinxian replied. "The shaft is one zhang and two chi long, the spearhead seven cun and seven fen. It’s heavy with killing intent and filled with Spirit Attribute, just like the one I saw at Iron Gate Fort."
"How formidable is the Long Spear?" This was what He Jiaqing cared about the most, as its fierceness—distinct from killing intent and Spirit Attribute—was the biggest characteristic of "Zhao Xiaowan."
Speaking strictly of its fierceness, it indeed didn’t quite match what he saw at Iron Gate Fort.
Wan Jinxian explained, "The fierceness is greatly reduced. It must’ve been sealed by Luo Zhengnan using some method."
"It doesn’t matter! No matter what method he used, I have ways to undo it!" He Jiaqing praised, "Old Wan, you’ve done well. Hurry back to the Outside Provinces. Don’t let the Jiang Xiang Gang catch up to you."
Wan Jinxian ended the communication and brandished the Long Spear a few times, its one-chi red tassel fluttering in the wind.
Wan Jinxian clutched the Long Spear, his heart tightening.
He had guessed correctly.
To pull off this task, Luo Zhengnan had spared no expense, staking two high-level Spiritual Objects.
One of the Spiritual Objects was a Long Spear named Cloud Jiao. It was a relic of an ancient general, its killing intent extremely heavy from taking too many lives. Any ordinary weapon that made contact with it would be destroyed. Yet, this was different from fierceness.
Wan Jinxian removed the red tassel from the Long Spear and discovered the torn edge of Lizard Skin.
He finally understood why Luo Zhengnan had added a tassel to the spear.
The Long Spear was wrapped in a layer of Lizard Skin.
This piece of Lizard Skin was also a Spiritual Object.
Luo Zhengnan had wrapped the "Exploding Tiger" Long Spear with the Lizard Skin, then did the same to the Cloud Jiao Spear. Within a day, the Cloud Jiao Spear would look exactly like the "Exploding Tiger" Long Spear. After a day passed, the Lizard Skin would shed, and the disguise would vanish.
Moreover, the "Exploding Tiger" Long Spear looked identical to Hong Ying, which had fooled Wan Jinxian.
Upon tearing off the Lizard Skin, a completely different Long Spear was revealed.
The Long Spear in Iron Gate Fort had a dark shaft, while this spear was entirely gleaming white.
Wan Jinxian dropped the Long Spear to the ground and clutched his forehead.
Wan Jinxian jammed the nail into his shoe heel again and hurried after Luo Zhengnan. After traveling more than ten li, his right foot faltered, and he tumbled to the ground.
This was the real cost of using the nail. It not only had to be stabbed into the shoe but also into the flesh, devouring the user’s flesh and blood.
Wan Jinxian had used the Magical Treasure once to enter Iron Gate Fort and again when he left. He used it a third time while chasing Chen Weiqin. This time, when he tried to use it again, Wan Jinxian’s foot could no longer bear it.
But even if it could, it was no use; he had no idea which way Luo Zhengnan might have fled.
Luo Zhengnan hadn’t headed to Greenwater City. He didn’t count on the Hall Entrance there being able to keep this treasure safe.
He dived into Peach Blossom Lake, wandered at the bottom for a while, and then surfaced through an unknown route.
The lake water was cold, bone-chillingly so.
Luo Zhengnan sneezed twice as he walked through the dark, endless wilderness for a day and a night.
A shimmer of light appeared ahead—not sunlight or moonlight, but the flickering reflections of a lake.
Another lake.
Luo Zhengnan dived into the lake again. When he emerged, a villa came into view.
Yuedong Province, Yue State City, the villa in Flower Lake Park.
PS: After writing this Chapter, even Shala is afraid to sneeze!
My dear readers, Shala has an extra update for you! Please give your guaranteed monthly tickets to Shala!