Chapter 6: Master Pan and the Greedy Ghost
Chapter 6: Master Pan and the Greedy Ghost
"Clop, clop, clop..."
As You Longsheng made his way through the forest, he heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching from the other side. Peering through the trees, he caught sight of a horse turning off the official road.
With his exceptional eyesight, You Longsheng could clearly see that it was a fine steed, but the figure on its back...
If a meatball with a broken leg could be considered a person, then the rider certainly qualified. He clung tightly to the horse's neck, cradling a bundle in his arms. Facing the wind and snow, his messy hair and mouthful of yellow teeth were exposed as he laughed heartily, as if he had just encountered the most delightful thing in the world.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
A rain of hidden weapons flew toward him.
The meatball-like figure let out a startled cry and struck the horse's back with both palms, pushing off with his buttocks. He leaped an impressive six feet into the air, flipping off the horse's back and narrowly dodging the barrage of weapons.
The warhorse let out a long whinny, its body pierced by the hidden weapons, and collapsed to the ground.
The meatball-like figure hugged his bundle with one arm and propped himself up with the other, rolling like an actual ball into the pine forest with a "guruguru" sound.
"Miaolang Jun, also known as Flower Bee, has just left Sun Kui's shop. This means that Li Xinhuan has been poisoned. More importantly..."
You Longsheng clicked his tongue, shook his head, and sighed, "I actually missed the famous scene where Lin Xian'er seduced Li Xinhuan by stripping naked. What a pity, such a shame..."
As You Longsheng lamented, a perilous situation was unfolding for Flower Bee on the other side.
He had rolled into the pine forest, using the trees as cover, and was now fleeing at full speed in the opposite direction of the hidden weapon attack.
It was unclear what Purple Face Erlang Sun Kui and Madame Rose were thinking, keeping Flower Bee locked up for over a decade, feeding him bowl after bowl of pork fat mixed with rice, turning him into a rotund ball, yet not disabling his martial arts.
However, it didn't seem to matter much, as Flower Bee's martial arts were never that impressive to begin with. At the very least, he was no match for the Thousand-Handed Rakshasa.
"Swish!"
The Thousand-Handed Rakshasa did not land. Her light work was also quite remarkable as she leaped from branch to branch in the pine forest, quickly catching up to Flower Bee within a few breaths.
"Wait, I'm willing to give you the Golden Silk Armor!"
Flower Bee, of course, heard the rustling of the pine branches and the shaking off of snow behind him. He knew that the hidden weapon expert had arrived above him.
So he rolled over, holding the bundle in front of him, and begged for mercy.
At the same time, his right thumb, which was pressed against the back of the bundle, was holding down a small wooden bottle. His thumb was positioned on the mouth of the bottle, ensuring that he could flick it open at any moment.
This was the poison that Sun Kui and Madame Rose had forced him to make, but now it belonged to him.
As long as the attacker gave in to greed and underestimated him, daring to come within three feet, Flower Bee was confident he could take their life!
However, the Thousand-Handed Rakshasa seemed only interested in taking things from a dead man. Flower Bee, lying in the snow, saw his final sight—a rain of hidden weapons enveloping him.
Flower Bee had become a porcupine.
Watching Flower Bee's eyes widen in terror, now lifeless and gray, the Thousand-Handed Rakshasa, standing on the pine branch, let out a cold laugh. She lightly leaped, ready to land on the ground.
The next moment, a sudden change occurred.
"Swish!"
The sound of cutting through the wind was swift and fierce, arriving in an instant.
The Thousand-Handed Rakshasa's expression changed from contempt to shock and despair in an instant.
Because, as she had just left the treetop, hanging in the air, she was completely unable to borrow any force.
A short spear, as thick as an egg, had already reached her chest, following the sound of the wind.
"Puff!"
"Ah!"
"Thud!"
The sound of the spear piercing flesh, the woman's painful cry, and the metal embedding into the tree trunk rang out almost simultaneously. The famous Thousand-Handed Rakshasa had been impaled through the chest and nailed to the tree.
The other was a bald, robust man with a menacing air about him, his face devoid of eyebrows and mustache.
They were none other than Pan Xiao'an, the dandy heir of Jin Yutang, and Shi Yaoxian, infamously known as "Reaching for Money in a Coffin."
"That short spear is stained with blood. It's worthless now. Leave it," Pan Xiao'an said, rushing towards Flower Bee's corpse and picking up the bundle that had fallen from his body. Without sparing a glance at the other man, he made his way out of the forest.
"I've been hiding in this forest for so long, freezing to death. When have I ever endured such hardship?" Pan Xiao'an shivered as he spoke, quickly darting out of the forest. Outside, a lavish carriage, nearly eight feet wide, awaited them by the official road.
Pan Xiao'an climbed into the carriage, while Shi Yaoxian, still in the forest, leaped onto a pine tree and made his way over to the Thousand-Handed Rakshasa's corpse.
Gazing at the fear etched on her face before her death, her exquisite features now frozen in terror, Shi Yaoxian let out a sinister laugh. He kissed her cheek, then began stripping her of her clothes while groping her body.
"Who would've thought this crazy woman had such a nice figure? Dead, she's much more agreeable than when she was alive. It's a shame it's too cold, and there are already two beautiful women in Pan's carriage, or I would've enjoyed a taste of her," Shi Yaoxian said, having stripped the Thousand-Handed Rakshasa of her clothes. Admiring the exquisite garment in his hands, he nodded in satisfaction. "Well, you won't be needing this anymore. Consider it my consolation for your unfortunate demise."
"Let's go, Old Shi!" Pan Xiao'an's voice called out from outside the forest. Shi Yaoxian responded with a quick acknowledgment, his eyes lingering on the emerald embedded in the short spear lodged in the Thousand-Handed Rakshasa's chest before jumping down from the pine tree and making his way back.
...
Inside the carriage, a charming young girl had warmed some wine and snuggled up to Pan Xiao'an, offering him a cup.
Pan Xiao'an turned, and the wine was brought to his lips. He sipped, and the fragrant liquid slid down his throat.
Pan Xiao'an smacked his lips and then opened the bundle, revealing the Golden Silk Armor within.
"Hahaha! It is indeed the Golden Silk Armor! That old turtle in the Dragon God Temple sure has his ears to the ground!" Pan Xiao'an caressed the armor, his eyes gleaming with greed. "A million in wealth and the most beautiful woman in the martial world... Hehehe..."
Although Jin Yutang was a renowned jeweler in the Central Plains, Pan Xiao'an, the young master, had extravagant tastes and spent lavishly. The more wealth in his hands, the better.
Moreover, he was known as a notorious playboy, and Lin Xian'er's fame as a beauty had reached his ears long ago.
"I heard that the Plum Blossom Thief has appeared in Baoding Prefecture. Let's go there now so I can see for myself just how beautiful this number one beauty of the martial world truly is," Pan Xiao'an said with a smile. "Old Shi, after we kill the Plum Blossom Thief, you'll get your share of the rewards."
Shi Yaoxian, with his arms around another charming young girl, his hands wandering inappropriately, nodded and bowed obsequiously. "Of course, of course! With Pan taking action, capturing that Plum Blossom Thief will be as easy as pie. I'm counting on you, Pan, for my livelihood."
Pan Xiao'an burst into loud laughter and then instructed the man outside the carriage, "There's a fork in the road up ahead. Turn there. It leads to the tomb of a relative from my mother's clan. Since we're here, we might as well pay our respects."
"Yes!"
(End of Chapter)
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