"Kid, dealing with men like you—"
"What's wrong with men like me?" Xu Mu asked calmly.
"What?"
The blonde woman's face suddenly changed; she stumbled back several meters, staring at Xu Mu in utter terror.
How could this be?
Just now she hadn't held back—she'd used Hidden Force and struck straight at his heart. Yet the man hadn't even flinched, much less retreated.
Xu Mu brushed his clothes lightly; his expression grew colder.
In fact, the killer who had once been called "God of Assassins" had already anticipated the attack. Xu Mu could have struck first to end her, or he could have stepped back to avoid it. But her realm was clearly only the initial stage of Hidden Force. Xu Mu wanted to take the hit to test his current constitution.
He shook his body slightly — there was no wound, only some pain.
"Spare me! Big brother, I know I was wrong. I'm a woman—I'll certainly make you satisfied…"
Before the blonde woman could finish, Xu Mu was already in front of her. Tears filled her eyes. "Big brother—"
Boom!
Xu Mu's fist struck her chest. The woman flew backward; blood turned to mist as it gushed from her mouth. She smashed through several large trees before collapsing—motionless.
"Sorry. I'm a passive type: whatever others do to me, I'll do back to them." Xu Mu flexed his wrist lightly.
The woman had clearly tried to kill him. An ordinary person whose heart suffered Hidden Force would be dead for sure. Since she had attempted to assassinate him, Xu Mu naturally returned the favor—fairness, he thought.
He walked over and took the small backpack from behind the woman. Xu Mu's eyes brightened—she seemed to know her spiritual treasures. There were no low-grade herbs: the worst were third-grade, the best sixth-grade.
He put the items into his storage space and continued up the mountain.
Along the way he felt his mouth grow dry and drank half a bottle of mineral water.
…
At the same time, Dai Xingluo and Dai Xiao also stepped into the dense fog. Dai Xiao, at mid-stage Internal Force, grabbed the chain and came here easily. He carried a backpack and held a bottle of cola, taking a few swigs.
"Xingluo, this place is so hot," Dai Xiao wiped sweat from his brow and drank some more. "Where should we go?"
Dai Xingluo scanned the surroundings and pointed to the peak above. "Up the mountain first."
"More climbing," Dai Xiao groaned, finishing his cola and tossing the bottle away. But it was worth it for the spiritual treasures. Though he was the eldest son at home, he was not favored—his father's second wife's two sons were each stronger than him. If he could find powerful spiritual treasures, the situation might turn around.
"Wtf is with this place? Is it always this hot?" Dai Xiao asked, puzzled. Even in the shade the heat hit his face like a slap. He took out a bottle of mineral water and poured half over his head to cool down.
At that moment, a middle-aged man burst from the trees. His lips were cracked and black blood showed in the fissures. He stared at Dai Xiao and shouted hoarsely, "Give me your water!"
"You know who I am?" Dai Xiao frowned.
Whoosh!
The middle-aged man produced a dagger and lunged at Dai Xiao. Dai Xiao panicked and hid behind Dai Xingluo.
"Hahaha! Not only water, there's also a pretty one—my luck's good," the man laughed as he eyed Dai Xingluo.
"You wanna play with me?" Dai Xingluo's lips curled into a sickly smile. She immediately moved in. Just as she closed the distance, the ground under the middle-aged man suddenly collapsed.
In an instant, Dai Xingluo slipped to the man's side. With a powerful chop she severed the hand holding the dagger.
Clap!
A crisp smack echoed as Dai Xingluo grabbed the man's face with one hand. Swish! The dagger plunged into his ear. Blood sprayed everywhere—the man died on the spot.
"Boring."
Dai Xingluo crouched and wiped the dagger clean on the man's clothes. Dai Xiao, who'd been trailing behind, took a step back—this sister was indeed fierce. He also exhaled in relief that he'd been smart enough to bring her along, knowing how dangerous this place was.
Dai Xingluo opened the man's waist satchel and her face lit up—several spiritual treasures were inside, the lowest second-grade, the highest fourth-grade. Clearly, this place really did have valuable finds. She wished she'd brought Li Zizai too.
"Xingluo sis, remember—we split the spiritual treasures fifty-fifty," Dai Xiao said as he came over.
"Shut up and pack them," she snapped, handing the bag over. She noticed his mouth and reminded him, "We only bought six bottles of water—ration them."
"But I'm thirsty."
Dai Xiao pouted.
"Say one more word and I'll kill you," Dai Xingluo's eyes went cold. "Six bottles total—three each. Drink yours, touch mine and I'll cut you!"
Dai Xiao paled. Others might not know, but he did—if Dai Xingluo got angry, she would act.
…
Xu Mu pushed on toward the summit, his senses constantly scanning the surroundings. Finally he reached the top and jumped onto a huge boulder to observe. From here he could already see the mist's boundary. The whole area roughly matched the size of an ordinary county seat. Beyond that lay the area shrouded by fog.
On the other side of the mountain the trees thinned and grass and flowers were occasionally visible. Logically, Xu Ningbing would likely head that way, so he rushed off in that direction. He still had plenty of water, but he worried about Xu Ningbing. People on long treks tend to minimize weight—even if she'd brought water, it probably wouldn't be much.
…
Meanwhile, back at the hotel where Xu Mu had parked, a BMW X7 pulled up. Lin Yan stepped out and walked to the reception desk. He looked the staff over with a smile. "Miss, do you have a boyfriend?"
"Yes." the receptionist said with a polite smile.
"Good—having a boyfriend is great. I like people with boyfriends. I want to be your kindred spirit." Lin Yan lingered on the words "kindred spirit," saying them slowly on purpose. The woman's face cooled.
"Boss!" A youth in a baseball cap came running in. "Come with me."
Lin Yan turned and followed him outside.
"Boss! This is Xu Mu's car!" the youth pointed at the Cadillac.
"What?" Lin Yan frowned. Why was he here too? Their plan targeted only Dai Xiao—hence the heavy bribe and the fake relic location to lure him here. Killing Xu Mu didn't require such fuss.