Twilight Boundary

Chapter 331 - 329: Talent is a Treasure

The Five Evil Altar Envoys wreaked havoc everywhere, engaging in Evil Creation. In just a few days, they had harmed countless people. Possessing great skill, ordinary people from the jianghu would likely face death if they encountered them.

However, with the Reincarnator involved, Hu Ma wasn't worried at all. He believed that once they took action, the Five Evil Altar Envoys would meet their doom.

But when it came to sweet potato, he was still slightly worried. After all, sweet potato was young and not particularly skilled. Although she was eager to participate, she only had a treasure passed down from her Master to rely on. Could she really deal with an Evil Envoy on her own? In terms of influence, her highest title was a rich lady at the rice shop, followed by being the Sect Leader of the Jiaguan Sect. But as the Sect Leader, she only had one disciple—her husband—and he had now become her puppet.

And just as Hu Ma was worried about this, sweet potato had already led people to surround the woman holding the child. Around her was a group of vicious ruffians. Crouched behind some hay, she whispered, "Mrs. Lu, is that really a fat sheep ahead?"

"What else could it be?" sweet potato replied with a solemn face, whispering, "I've got a good feel for this. There's at least over a hundred taels of Silver on her, along with some Blood Food Pills!

"Have you heard of Blood Food Pills? They're a wonderful treasure for prolonging life. If you take one, your skills will improve by at least thirty percent.

"This little lady originally intended to come to our rice shop to exchange these Blood Food Pills for money, and then have us escort her to Shangjing to find relatives. But can we do that? Why invest capital when a no-cost venture is so much more profitable?"

sweet potato's pretty face looked very smug as she continued, "So I immediately invited Old Master Hei Gouzi and several brothers from the Path over to make quick work of this fat sheep and split the spoils. By the way, do you have enough brothers with you? Someone daring enough to travel alone must have some tricks up her sleeve. Jianghu women, children, and old men are not to be underestimated."

"Then you can rest assured!" Old Master Hei Gouzi, a man with a naturally ferocious appearance, glanced at sweet potato's graceful figure crouched on the hay and chuckled quietly. "I've brought half the men from my village, all of them with blood on their hands. Capturing a little lady like her will be a piece of cake."

sweet potato laughed. "Then just hold steady. Once you capture her, the gold is all yours. I'll take two Blood Food Pills, and you take one. Is that a deal?"

"It's a deal!" Old Master Hei Gouzi agreed with a sinister smile.

This was truly a great windfall. Old Master Hei Gouzi was a notorious figure, a local tyrant in his village. He farmed during the busy agricultural season and led his village brothers to commit robbery on the roads when work was slow. But they were different from other robbers; they wouldn't just let someone go with a pittance like a common beggar. Instead, they would swarm their victims, throwing lime and setting traps. They seized all the goods, killed all the men, and even killed unattractive women to feed the pigs. The pretty ones were taken back to the village for the men to amuse themselves with until they grew tired of them, at which point they too were killed.

He had become acquainted with the rich lady from the rice shop because his group had once robbed a grain shipment from the Lu Family. The rich lady had then sought him out. One thing led to another, and they somehow became "brothers," occasionally teaming up for a heist or two. Old Master Hei Gouzi understood nothing of jianghu affairs because he wasn't fundamentally part of the jianghu. Theoretically, he was just a farmer. But he wasn't stupid; he knew this was a golden opportunity. The rich lady from the rice shop was bold and had a witty way of speaking. Unfortunately for her, she was a fool who genuinely considered him a brother. With such a lucrative job presenting itself, she had sought him out, wanting to make a big score. Too bad for her, her good fortune had just run out. After this job, he'd have leverage over her. Then, wouldn't all the Silver Coin from the rice shop belong to his men? Even she, whom he'd coveted for so long, would finally be his.

His mind made up, sweet potato had already rushed out. She blocked the woman holding the child and loudly shouted the classic bandit proclamation, "This mountain is mine, this road I pave!" This even surprised Old Master Hei Gouzi. How could this rich lady from the rice shop spout underworld slang even more fluently than him?

"A roadblock?" The woman holding the child seemed startled at first, then laughed. "Whose little girl is this, not staying home to embroider but learning such a trade instead?" She hadn't failed to notice another group of bandits hiding behind the haystack. She was puzzled, though. They were clearly just a bunch of ignorant peasants; why would they think they could block her path?

"What's wrong with this line of work?" The limping little lady blocking the road wasn't pleased by her comment and retorted, "Must a woman stay cooped up at home, serving her husband and raising children? Can't a woman go out and build a career for herself?" With that, she shouted, "Brothers, attack!"

Before her words had even faded, handfuls of lime suddenly flew out, aimed at the woman's face. The vicious bandits, having thrown the lime, charged forward, brandishing all sorts of crude weapons. Normally, they wouldn't have needed so many men to deal with a single woman. They had brought them because they knew she possessed some skills and didn't dare be careless. Since they couldn't afford to be careless, there was no need to exchange pleasantries; they resorted directly to the black hand.

The woman hadn't expected them to resort to violence so suddenly. She smiled, flicked her sleeves to brush the lime away, and laughed. "So you're completely disregarding jianghu rules? Don't you first check identities? Aren't you afraid of accidentally offending someone you can't afford to provoke?" Before she finished speaking, a dark, foul-smelling concoction suddenly flew at her. She hurriedly waved her sleeve again but was still drenched. An overwhelming stench assaulted her nostrils—it was a bucket of feces and urine.

Her anger surged. "You're courting death!" As a Five Evil Altar Envoy, she had never suffered such humiliation and was instantly ready to kill.

But unexpectedly, those men charged at her first, wielding ropes, nets, hooks, and dung forks. They swarmed her, jabbing and thrusting. The woman was so enraged she almost laughed. Letting out a fierce shout, she brandished her weapon and immediately struck down two of them. Normally, when encountering such bandits, killing two of them would terrify the others into kneeling and begging for mercy. But she hadn't expected that even after she retaliated and killed two, the rest were completely unfazed and continued to charge and fight. Even the two she had just killed scrambled up from the ground. Their movements were wooden, but they continued to encircle her, desperately trying to attack. Crucially, the others around them seemed to notice nothing unusual about the two, simply continuing to surround her, shouting for her death.

A soul hanging spell? The woman instantly realized that the limping little girl was probably no ordinary bandit. While dodging attacks, she scanned her surroundings but could no longer see any trace of her. Only a faint, delicate laugh echoed from the nearby forest.

"Truly courting death." I'd like to see which Path you belong to, daring to scheme against me like this. The woman no longer held back. She tossed the "baby" she was holding into the air. It turned out to be a little ghost, controlled by a red thread, which leaped and bounded above the crowd's heads, biting through several necks.

"Oh dear..." An exclamation of surprise came from the little girl's direction. Then, the grass rustled as she turned to flee, limping but moving surprisingly fast.

"Little sister, leaving so soon? Why not stay and chat with your big sister?" This woman, of course, had no intention of letting her escape. Chuckling softly, she recalled the little ghost, cradled it back in her arms, and her figure drifted after the girl, like a phantom carried by the wind, following unhurriedly.

One chasing, the other fleeing, they soon arrived at a village. The limping girl vanished in a flash, only her playful laugh echoing from within the village. "Be careful now! All my relatives are in here. If you dare come in, they'll strip you naked and marry you off to one of the village's old bachelors!"

"Is that so?" the woman sneered. "I'd quite like to meet the family of such a daring girl and see who was responsible for raising you." The woman naturally knew there was something odd about the village, but surrounded by her Spiritual Treasure, she wasn't concerned. Smiling faintly, she floated into the village, glancing around.

Immediately, her expression froze. Every house in the village had an oil lamp lit, but they were all deserted; not a single person was to be seen. Instead, the strong stench of blood assaulted her nostrils. Then, a piercing whistle suddenly shrieked. Countless figures emerged from all directions within the village. Each was hunched over, wielding farm tools. Like a horde of Evil Ghosts, they swarmed toward her, the rushing yin qi so intense it made it difficult for her to keep her eyes open. The doors and windows of the village houses began to open and close eerily on their own. Behind them, one paper man after another could be vaguely seen, staring blankly at her. Their mouths moved, chanting, as if countless Evil Ghosts were simultaneously calling her name.

"Stop struggling..." Amidst the panicked cries, only one voice laughed delicately. "With such a massive Blood Altar here, it can block all Magic and break all Skills. You won't even have time to summon ghosts, let alone send a message..."

"A Blood Sacrificial Altar?" The woman holding the little ghost was horrified. She tried to float backward but was immediately repelled by a wave of bloody qi, her face paling. "You sacrificed everyone in this entire village?"

"Not quite..." That playful voice rang out again.

"After all, you're an incense-burning subordinate of the Five Evil Master. Using just one village to deal with you would be disrespectful to the Five Evil Master, wouldn't it?

"So, I used three villages...

"I told them a rich lady was giving away eggs and distributing rice in this village. So, the people from those three bandit villages all came flocking over..."

As the voice spoke, the limping girl appeared from behind the crowd, giggling. Leaning on a crutch, she hopped forward, smiling teasingly at the woman. "You go around engaging in Biebao everywhere, collecting so many fine things. But if they can't all be used for Evil Creation and killing enemies, what's the point?

"Haven't you ever heard that people are the real treasures? Used well, they can be even more formidable than Master Tai Sui himself!"

The woman felt a chill grip her heart. Utterly terrified, she used all her strength to scream, "Madman! You evil fiend! You demon! What kind of wicked creature are you, spawned from where?"

"Nonsense, don't slander good people," the limping girl said, her face turning stern. "It was clearly you incense-burning subordinates of the Five Evil Master who harmed so many people for the sake of your Biebao. I was just passing by and picked up a treasure. You can't make me take the blame for your massive wrongdoings, now can you..."