Chapter 62: Frost Formed on His Nose

All along the way, He Chuan asked me three times where I was taking him. Later, probably because he had lost too much blood, he grew weak and collapsed unconscious against my shoulder.

When he woke up, he let out a piglike howl, for all ten of his fingers had been broken by me while he was unconscious.

Without his fingers, he was as helpless as a toothless tiger.

He was also tied to a stone pillar like a piglet, and the knife wound on his shoulder had been crudely stitched up by me with needle and thread.

When he finally took in his surroundings, he realized with a start that he was in the ancient Baolian Temple.

Suddenly, the sound of someone chewing drifted to his ears.

He turned his head slowly and saw me sitting by the temple entrance, munching dry crab-flavored Lucky Instant Noodles in one hand, and holding a bottle of Nongfu Spring water in the other. I had to admit, it tasted rather sweet.

“What do you want from me? Let me go! Whatever you want, money, I’ll give you everything!”

I swallowed the noodles and water in my mouth, burped, and frowned as I turned to look at He Chuan.

“Give me money?”

“That’s right! Name your price, I’ll give you whatever you want! As long as you say the word!”

When I heard him say ‘the word’, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “What, so if I don’t have a wife, and I say the word, will you even get me a wife?”

He Chuan struggled desperately.

I could understand—survival is a primal instinct. After escaping the police, he thought he might have a chance to live if he was in my hands.

I ignored him and continued to sit at the entrance. When he wore himself out and realized I wouldn’t let him go, he quieted down.

“What… what do you want from me…” he asked again.

I sat on the ground, gazing at the azure sky outside. Without turning my head, I replied, “I’m waiting for someone. Whether it’s your accomplices, or Yu Nie, it doesn’t matter to me.”

My eyes flickered as I turned to look at He Chuan. “He Chuan, if your accomplice comes and manages to beat me, maybe you’ll survive. But if Yu Nie comes, you’re as good as dead.”

I folded my hands behind my head, making myself comfortable against the wall.

“Oh, and if you make another sound, I’ll chop off all ten of your toes as well.”

If looks could kill, He Chuan’s glare would have murdered me a hundred times over. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t Superman.

My threat worked. Once He Chuan quieted down, the whole world seemed to fall silent.

From dawn to dusk is a long time, but to me it felt as if it passed in the blink of an eye.

The moon rose high, and a scattered array of stars shimmered in the night sky.

The night was beautiful, but now was not the time to appreciate it.

At eleven o’clock, I doubted Wang Zihao could ever guess I’d brought someone here.

I stood up, my backside numb from sitting so long. I brushed the dust from my pants and walked step by step to stand before He Chuan.

His head drooped, eyes half-shut, as if he had fallen asleep.

I nudged him with my foot, but he didn’t respond. His head lolled limply to one side.

I frowned, suddenly sensing something was wrong.

I crouched down. The moment I touched him, I realized his body was as cold as ice from a cellar.

Looking closer, I saw a thin layer of frost forming at the tip of his nose.

Damn! This was a classic case of sinister energy invading the body. Coupled with his grave injuries and depleted vitality, the effect was even more severe—just the frost on his nose was proof enough.

Since there were no corpses or lingering spirits in this old temple, there was only one explanation for him being invaded by sinister energy—someone wanted him dead.

But who? Yu Nie?

Though He Chuan deserved to die a thousand times over, I couldn’t let him die just yet.

I took out a talisman and slapped it onto his chest, drew a deep breath, bit open my forefinger, and let a drop of blood fall onto the charm.

Then, forming a sword gesture with one hand, I pointed at the charm and chanted, “By urgent command of the law!”

As soon as I finished, the talisman burst into flames.

With my sword fingers, I smeared the burning charm’s ashes, drawing a great banishment sigil across He Chuan’s body.

“Break!”

At my command, the flames from the charm surged into He Chuan’s body.

In moments, every pore on his body began to emit white steam.

“Wake up! Wake up!”

I slapped his face over and over until He Chuan finally opened his eyes. His face was ashen, his lips trembling uncontrollably. “He… he’s here…”

My brow knotted. “What did you say? Who’s here?”

With a dead man’s pallor, He Chuan stared hollow-eyed into space.

“He… he’s come to kill me… not to save me…”

“He Chuan, if you want to live, tell me who’s come. Who wants your life?”

Even as I finished speaking, I sensed a malicious wind at my back.

I jerked my head aside instinctively, just as three sharp, rapid ‘thud thud thud’ sounds rang past my ear.

Glancing to the side, I saw three silver needles, exuding genuine black miasma, stuck in the stone pillar.

I looked toward the temple entrance. There, where I’d been sitting earlier, stood a thin, indistinct figure.

He crushed the half-empty bottle of Nongfu Spring underfoot. “He Chuan… If I were you, I wouldn’t let someone else come all this way for nothing… Have you forgotten what you should do after being captured?”

He Chuan’s face changed. He started to struggle, shaking his head desperately. Blood soon oozed from his wrists and ankles where the hemp rope chafed his skin.

The terror on his face was not feigned; it was utter, genuine fear. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I never leaked a single word about the society, I swear I didn’t!”

“Oh, you didn’t?” The man at the entrance shook his head. He pointed at me. “If you didn’t, would he be using you to draw me out?”

“No! I really didn’t! He’s waiting for Yu Nie—he’s using me to find Yu Nie! It has nothing to do with me!” He Chuan was babbling in panic.

But the man had no patience for his explanations. “Only your death will set everyone’s mind at ease—so, off you go…”

As he spoke, black miasma erupted from the three silver needles, rising and gathering overhead into a thick mass above both He Chuan and me.

The churning cloud slowly took on the shape of a skull. Its jaws opened wide and lunged straight toward He Chuan!

Chapter 62: Frost on the Tip of the Nose