Chapter 87, Betrayal
At Qi Ganglie’s order, the nine elders pounced. The tremendous pressure had the Song siblings frozen in panic, unable to move an inch. Yet Zhuo Fan smiled as he flipped the table.
Boom!
Among the splinters, there was no shadow of Zhuo Fan around.
The elders looked around in a daze.
“He-he-he, here I am!”
The ridicule came from behind. They didn’t even have time to turn as an elder’s skull blew up in a spray of blood and gore.
Zhuo Fan dusted a piece off his hand as he jeered, “The first!”
The elders were speechless from the show of strength Zhuo Fan displayed. He was in the same stage as them and was attacked from every direction, yet he still managed to pull off a kill.
“The rumors were true, you really are a monster. No wonder seventh elder died at your hands.” Qi Ganglie’s eyes shivered as he watched Zhuo Fan in fear.
Zhuo Fan looked down on him with a smile, “And you chose to attack anyway! h.e.l.l Valley can’t hold me and you think you have what it takes?”
“He-he-he, fortune favors the bold. The bigger the danger, the greater the reward.” Qi Ganglie grinned as he charged with a crazed look. An image of a tiger appeared behind him as he charged.
“Mid spirit ranked martial art, Tiger Fist!”
Roar!
The tiger’s image superimposed on Qi Ganglie’s movements, but Zhuo Fan stood there with a sneer and punched out.
Bam!
The noise was jarring to the ears and the Song siblings were forced to curl up on the ground while hugging their heads.
The tiger pushed Zhuo Fan ten meters back, his legs leaving two trails in the floor while the tiger itself turned into golden motes of energy and died out.
Then a blood-curdling scream resounded as Qi Ganglie’s hand was split open.
“Clan Head!” The elders cried out in panic, yet the man only had eyes for Zhuo Fan, watching him in fear.
[G.o.d dammit, what kind of freak is he? How is he so d.a.m.n hard?]
From their exchange, he knew he had the upper hand in terms of Yuan Qi, but Zhuo Fan’s body was as hard as a rock as if it was freakin’ refined to be a spiritual weapon!
“What the h.e.l.l are you?” Qi Ganglie panted, “You’re no human!”
Smirking, Zhuo Fan’s eyes gleamed with savagery, “Regardless, it doesn’t concern you.”
He then took a step forward, Mystifying Phantom Step!
He appeared before three elders and struck before they could react, burying his fist into their chests.
The elders were still baffled as to what happened to their Clan Head’s hand, but now they finally figured out this little devil was inhuman.
Where could one find a man who could casually punch through three Bone Tempering experts?
The Song siblings were dumbstruck. Although they had some semblance of knowledge about Zhuo Fan’s abilities, this went beyond their wildest imaginations. Zhuo Fan’s power allowed him to be in control despite surrounded by experts, even squashing them like bugs.
This was absolute power!
Everyone present there looked at him with grave faces and terrified minds.
“Zhuo Fan, I was rash and overconfident in provoking you. Please, on account of Qian’er and Xiao Yu, let us go and we will never cross paths again.”
Qi Ganglie knew the matter was only going to get worse and capitulated. However, Zhuo Fan wasn’t someone who was soft when it came to punishing his enemies. He mocked, “Qi Clan Head, I warned you to think twice about the consequences. And as for those two…”
Zhuo Fan turned to the siblings, “Since when do traitors have any value? Qi Ganglie, are you looking down on me, or do you really expect too much from them?”
Song Qian and Song Yu felt deep regret.
“Luo, uhm, no, brother Zhuo, we were forced to do it, please…”
“Talk is cheap.” Zhuo Fan cut off Song Qian with his frosty tone, “Actions are louder than words. Leave! And make sure we never meet again.”
Pursing her lips, Song Qian hung her head in regret while Song Yu sighed.
Qi Ganglie saw Zhuo Fan unwilling to compromise and blew a gasket, “Zhuo Fan, you will regret pitting yourself against my entire clan!”
“Oh, I’m looking forward to it. Can you take me down with you?” Zhuo Fan sneered.
Qi Ganglie’s face alternated between green and white, spatting through gritted teeth, “Elders, altogether!”
“Yes, Clan Head!”
The remaining five elders jumped at Zhuo Fan in unison, each of them resigned to death, executing their best moves.
Zhuo Fan knew they wanted to exchange their lives for his, but it mattered little. With a crackle, lightning flashed and his wings unfolded, flying around them.
The five elders’ moves hadn’t even finished before they were split in two, splattering the ground in blood and painting it red.
“Humph, barely worth the effort.” Zhuo Fan scoffed.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a faint streak of blue rushed at Zhuo Fan.
Zhuo Fan discovered Qi Ganglie sporting a sly grin. He used the elders as bait in releasing his true killing move, this dagger.
[You think you can beat me with this lousy trick?] Zhuo Fan sneered as he flew. Yet just then, a tender cry followed by a graceful figure came right before him.
“Watch out!”
Following a grunt, blood splattered, and Song Qian struggled to stand with black blood flowing from her mouth.
“Sister!”
With a wail, Song Yu rushed to catch her weak body. But Song Qian only had eyes for Zhuo Fan, working hard to muster the strength to look at him.
“Forgive us, we didn’t want it to come to this!”
Zhuo Fan just sighed.
“d.a.m.n b.i.t.c.h, you ruined everything! I will kill you!”
Having his plan thwarted, Qi Ganglie flew into a rage and charged at the siblings.
Snorting, Zhuo Fan’s wings flickered like swords.
In a blink, Qi Ganglie stopped and fell to pieces, with blood and viscera oozing.
The Qi clan experts were vanquished!
Zhuo Fan then started inspecting Song Qian’s wound. He noticed the dagger stuck in her shoulder, and black blood seeping around its blade.
He pulled it out and frowned, “It’s poisonous.”
“Poison?” Song Yu grew frantic and was close to tears, “It must be one of the Qi clan’s poisons. I will check their stores to see if they have an antidote. Sister, you must hold on.”
Song Yu wiped his tears and left.
“Wait!” Zhuo Fan jumped to his feet to stop Song Yu but a frail hand caught his arm. He looked down at the pale Song Qian.
“Don’t go!” Song Qian’s faint voice came.
Zhuo Fan gave a curt nod and steadied her by placing his palm on her back, “Uh, I only wanted to tell your brother this poison can be removed with Yuan Qi.”
“Ha-ha-ha, he is always impulsive, unlike you…”
A faint smile adorned Song Qian’s wane face and her delicate hand touched his. A pair of glistening eyes locked his own in an unshakable gaze that unnerved Zhuo Fan. He felt as if they were back in the carriage.
Worried about her state, he rushed to clear the poison.
However, when his Yuan Qi entered her body he found a problem, “Why can’t I find its source?”
This hardly ever happened. Based on his experience, there were two reasons. One, because she never got poisoned, and two, this type of poison couldn’t be sensed with Yuan Qi.
He found Song Qian’s health deteriorating and came to a decision.
Since Yuan Qi was useless, the second method implied drawing out the poison.
But the wound’s close position to her chest made it hard not to encroach upon her dignity.
[This will make it terribly awkward…]