In the grove.
The Young Servant kept closing in, about to catch him again.
However, Jiang Che sensed that the man wasn't moving as fast as before.
'The poison is starting to work,' he thought.
Just as the man was about to catch up, Jiang Che timed it perfectly and threw another handful of Lime Powder over his shoulder!
"ARGH!!"
Another cloud of Lime Powder hit the Young Servant in the eyes, blinding him once more.
Forcing himself to ignore the searing pain, he seized a sliver of an opening Jiang Che exposed while turning and threw a punch.
Although the poison had drained much of his stamina and he was already injured, this was still a full-power strike from a Stone Skin Realm expert.
Jiang Che couldn't dodge it and was forced to meet the punch with his own fist.
He channeled all the Qi Blood from his Dantian into his right fist.
At the same time, waves of Strength surged up from his ankles, traveling layer by layer until they finally converged in his fist.
This was the fifth form of the Cloud-Stacking Fist: Mountain Shattering!
It was also, by far, Jiang Che's most powerful move.
If even this attack failed to stop his opponent, he would die here today!
SQUELCH!
The sound of a sharp object piercing flesh rang out.
"AAAAAAAGH!!!"
The Young Servant let out a shriek ten times more bloodcurdling than before.
His middle finger was half-severed, hanging on by just a flap of skin, and a bloody hole had been punched through his palm.
'I blocked it!'
Jiang Che's right fist trembled faintly.
'Good thing I have this…'
A sharp blade protruded from between his knuckles!
It was the Fine Steel Hand Spike he had forged previously.
He had secretly gripped it in his hand long before their fists met!
The Young Servant endured the pain and wiped at his eyes, his face twisted like a Demon's.
"I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you! AAAAAAGH!!!"
His eyes were terribly red and swollen; he could only make out a blurry black silhouette.
Not wanting a direct confrontation, Jiang Che decisively turned and fled.
The chase resumed.
The Young Servant's pace grew slower and slower.
Jiang Che sensed that the poison would take full effect any moment now.
'Just a little longer…'
Jiang Che ran with all his might, but he could feel his Heart Stream wouldn't last much longer!
And while the Young Servant's speed had greatly diminished, the Power of a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist was profound.
He drew closer and closer, on the verge of catching him!
Jiang Che's mind raced, desperately searching for a way out.
'Calm down, stay calm…'
Suddenly, up ahead to his left, he saw the abandoned well he'd passed earlier.
A daring idea sparked in his mind.
He abruptly changed direction, making a beeline for the abandoned well!
When the Young Servant saw the blurry figure change direction, he hastily used his Qinggong to pursue!
By now, he resembled a vengeful ghost.
His eyes were streaming blood, his hands were all but ruined.
Animalistic roars erupted from his throat as he chased Jiang Che like a madman.
As he neared the abandoned well,
Jiang Che suddenly dropped into a crouch.
The Young Servant vaguely saw Jiang Che crouch and, assuming he was about to counterattack, used his Qinggong to leap into the air.
But then he realized there was no ground beneath him. He was falling!
'This is bad!'
He panicked and immediately tried to use a technique to gain purchase in mid-air.
Normally, even after he had started to fall, he could have leaped back out of the well.
But with the poison now coursing through him, his movements were sluggish and his legs stiff; he couldn't muster any Strength at all.
"Aaaah—"
SPLASH!
With a dull, heavy splash, the Young Servant slammed into the murky water of the well!
"COUGH, COUGH... help... GLUG, GLUG..."
As the cold, foul-smelling water filled his mouth, the Young Servant clawed at the walls of the well, trying to climb out.
But the walls were covered in slick, greasy moss, and his grip failed again and again.
Suddenly, his fingers found a protruding rock.
He used the last of his energy to grip it tightly, stopping himself from sinking any further.
Just then, he felt something falling from above.
He instinctively looked up.
But his eyes were too badly damaged; all he could perceive was a dark shadow rapidly approaching.
THUMP!
A large rock smashed into the Young Servant's face, knocking him loose and sending him plunging deep into the well.
"NO!!!"
A desperate howl echoed up from the bottom of the well.
Leaving nothing to chance, Jiang Che hauled over another large rock and threw it in as well.
THUMP!
THUMP!
...
Jiang Che threw in almost every large rock he could find nearby.
At last, the bottom of the well fell silent.
Confident that the Young Servant was as dead as could be, Jiang Che collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
'A Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist... they're this terrifying!'
A wave of fear washed over Jiang Che.
If he hadn't been so well-equipped, if he hadn't had the poison from Zhang Xiong...
...and if there hadn't happened to be a well nearby.
He would have been dead long ago!
'I'm still too weak…'
The thought that a mere gatekeeper possessed such strength gave him a chilling, firsthand sense of just how terrifying Li Yuanwai's Mansion truly was.
'This is bad. I have to get out of here, now!'
The thought that others might be in pursuit spurred him to his feet.
As he turned to leave, he suddenly spotted something on the ground.
He moved closer and saw it was a small, leather-bound booklet.
'The Young Servant must have dropped this!'
An idea struck Jiang Che.
He glanced in the direction of Li Yuanwai's Mansion but saw no one in pursuit.
He crouched down and used his Hand Spike to flip the booklet open.
He didn't dare touch it with his bare hands, fearing it might be poisoned or trapped in some other way.
The pages were filled with tiny, densely packed characters, along with diagrams of the human body's meridians!
'This is... a Qinggong manual!'
Jiang Che's heart leaped in shock.
He recalled the Body Technique the Young Servant had used earlier; it was identical to the movements of the small figures drawn on the pages. This had to be the technique the man had been practicing!
Jiang Che's heart pounded. This was an incredible find!
He had the Skill Proficiency Panel.
Furthermore, when meditating in his Heart Stream State, he didn't need a Cultivation Technique's corresponding Secret Medicine to suppress his Qi Blood.
That meant he could practice it all the way to the Perfection realm!
At that thought, he quickly used the Hand Spike to flick the Secret Manual into his pack and turned to leave.
But then he noticed the messy state of the area.
'Can't do that. I have to clean up the scene!'
He found a branch and began sweeping away all the footprints.
The ground was already thick with leaves, so a light sweep was all it took for the tracks to vanish completely.
Next, he gathered armfuls of dead branches and fallen leaves and tossed them into the well.
He kept going until the water's surface was completely blanketed, concealing whatever was below.
'That should do it. It's not like this world has surveillance cameras or fingerprinting…'
His mind at ease, Jiang Che departed swiftly.
「Roughly half an incense stick later.」
A middle-aged man in black martial attire with narrow, upturned eyes arrived in the grove.
'Where is he?'
He carefully inspected the area and found signs of a struggle.
But the footprints were muddled, making it impossible to tell which way they went.
Suddenly, he noticed the well up ahead. Something stirred in his mind, and he walked over to take a look.
However, he only saw a thick layer of fallen leaves floating on the water, nothing more.
'Did he chase him far away? Or... was he killed by his target?'
But he quickly dismissed that thought.
The notion of a Stone Skin Realm expert skilled in Qinggong being killed by a kid who just broke through to the Bull Skin Realm...
He found the idea utterly absurd and laughable.
'Could it be... another expert came and took him?'
He muttered to himself.
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
'To easily capture a Stone Skin Realm expert skilled in Qinggong…'
'The other party must be at the Iron Skin Realm, no... perhaps even a Force Integration Expert!'
'Who could it be... The Seven Stars Gang? Yes, it must have been the Seven Stars Gang!'
The man grew uneasy at this possibility.
'This is bad. I have to report back immediately!'
He decisively turned and sped back toward Li Yuanwai's Mansion.