For some reason, Mu Dai suddenly thought of her master, causing a momentary lapse in concentration. Ya Feng’s hand instantly landed on her shoulder, a powerful force striking from her shoulder blade. Mu Dai felt a sudden shock, but fortunately, her reaction was quick, and with a shift of her elbow and a drop of her shoulder, she slipped away.
After escaping, cold sweat ran down her back. Cao Yanhua’s warning was correct—Ya Feng’s strength was terrifyingly great, and she truly couldn’t be confronted head-on.
She quickly glanced down into the pit; it was pitch black and she couldn’t see anything, but the hanging rope was constantly swaying.
Luo Ren and Hong Sha were certainly hurrying up as fast as they could.
Cao Jinhua held the trapdoor, Cao Yanhua was more than capable of handling Qing Shan, and as for herself, as long as she could keep Ya Feng occupied, once the two people below came up, things would be manageable.
Mu Dai let out a breath, dusted off her hands, and smiled at Ya Feng: “Little sister, is that all you’ve got? Come on, try again.”
Verbal provocation to make the opponent lose composure was also a dirty trick.
Ya Feng’s gaze quickly swept over the constantly swaying rope, and she began to realize the situation wasn’t good: clearly, there was help coming from below.
She looked again at the cave entrance. She was now forced by Mu Dai into a position farther inside, and if she wanted to escape, she would need to get past Mu Dai.
Mu Dai didn’t miss Ya Feng’s glance and watched her vigilantly. Ya Feng smiled meaningfully and slowly retreated.
Mu Dai thought to herself: Damn it, she must be plotting something!
Ya Feng, in this situation, should be considered actively cooperating with the cursed scroll, her thinking clear, taking advantage of others’ misfortune. The only thing worth being grateful for was that Ya Feng herself might just be an ordinary girl, so although she had gained extra power from the cursed scroll, in direct combat, she still couldn’t gain the upper hand.
Now, what new trick was she planning?
Ya Feng had retreated as far as she could, her back already pressed against the stone wall. Just at this moment, Luo Ren’s voice suddenly came from below the trap, and judging by the sound, he was at most four or five meters away.
Ya Feng’s expression changed. She reached out to grip the stone wall, suddenly twisted her body to climb up, instantly reaching the top, and then, using all four limbs, rapidly crawled along the ceiling toward the outside.
The cave ceiling was some distance from the ground, and Mu Dai couldn’t possibly jump up to reach it. Fearing that Ya Feng might crawl directly from the ceiling to the entrance and escape, she rushed toward the entrance to block her. Unexpectedly, when Ya Feng had crawled above Cao Yanhua and Qing Shan’s heads, she laughed coldly and dropped straight down like a heavy hammer.
In an instant, the three became entangled. Poor Cao Yanhua was quickly pinned at the bottom, his chubby face nearly flattened.
Mu Dai thought, “This is bad!” and rushed over in a few steps. She first grabbed Qing Shan and shoved him forcefully outward, then reached to pull Ya Feng’s hair. Ya Feng roared in anger and reached out to scratch Mu Dai’s face, but just before making contact, she suddenly let out a scream of agony.
A dagger, cutting through the air, had ruthlessly pierced through her palm.
Mu Dai felt a surge of joy, swept Ya Feng’s legs with a kick, knocking her to the ground, and then pounced on her entirely, her knee firmly pressing against Ya Feng’s back. By this time, Luo Ren had already grasped the edge of the trap and climbed up.
Ya Feng was struggling. Mu Dai’s hand was merciless; she bunched her right hand’s knuckles together and struck hard at the acupuncture points beneath Ya Feng’s ribs—acupuncture points are where energy and blood converge, and even occasional pressure can cause pain. Such targeted strikes were far more vicious than heavy punches.
Qing Shan, his face covered in dirt, had picked up two stones in his hands, prepared to fight to the death. Seeing Luo Ren climb up, he knew the battle was lost. Fear flashed across his face as he retreated a couple of steps hesitantly. He glanced once more at Ya Feng, then suddenly turned and ran. His position was closest to the cave entrance, and amidst stumbling and tripping, he quickly disappeared.
This greatly surprised everyone. Although abandoning comrades and fleeing from battle wasn’t anything new, witnessing it live was still somewhat startling. Cao Yanhua spat out the sand in his mouth as he got up, feeling that as a relative, he had lost face, and muttered under his breath: “Coward.”
Cao Jinhua, supporting the trapdoor, stared blankly at Luo Ren: Isn’t this person the one who…
Luo Ren walked over to Mu Dai and crouched down. Ya Feng had stopped struggling, her face buried in the ground, her right hand a bloody mess.
For the moment, they couldn’t find extra rope to tie her. Luo Ren gestured for Mu Dai to stand up. Mu Dai was uneasy, fearing that during this transition, Ya Feng might try something underhanded. Cao Yanhua also spoke up to stop him: “Brother Luo, she’s very strong…”
Before he could finish, Luo Ren’s hands had already pressed down on Ya Feng’s shoulders on both sides. Before Mu Dai could react, she heard two closely spaced cracking sounds, followed by Ya Feng’s screams.
Luo Ren had dislocated both of Ya Feng’s arms.
Cao Yanhua was so frightened that he forcibly swallowed the second half of his sentence. Mu Dai was also somewhat shocked, and after exchanging a glance with Luo Ren, silently stood up. Luo Ren said, “For someone who wants to take my life, I have no reason to be polite.”
Mu Dai didn’t immediately respond. But Luo Ren was like that—he showed no mercy to certain people and things. Ya Feng’s screams assaulted their eardrums, and Mu Dai felt some pity: “Well, dislocating one arm would have been enough…”
“You also said her strength is formidable. If we only dislocated one arm, leaving her with one hand to move, what if she forcibly resets the dislocated one?”
That was true. Ya Feng had the cursed scroll with her, and she might instantly recover. One couldn’t judge her by normal standards.
In the silence, Cao Yanhua suddenly asked: “Brother Luo, what do we do next… Qing Shan… won’t go bring reinforcements, will he?”
Ya Feng began to laugh. She turned her head, breathing heavily, her eyes half-closed, her pupils extraordinarily bright: “Yes, this entire village is filled with my people. When the time comes, you may not even be able to get down this mountain.”
Luo Ren stared at her for a while and spoke calmly: “If the entire village consists of your people, why did you only bring Qing Shan up here? Wouldn’t bringing more people have given you a better chance of success? Or is it that Qing Shan is the only one you can control?”
Ya Feng’s lips quivered, and a fierce light appeared in her eyes. Luo Ren smiled slightly, suddenly reached out, and pulled the dagger from her palm. Ya Feng shuddered in pain and nearly passed out.
From below, the trap came Yan Hong Sha’s voice came.
“Hey, are you done fighting up there? Is it over? Come on, pull me up…”
Yan Hong Sha could also climb ropes, just not as quickly. He climbed halfway up, panting, and was pulled up by Cao Yanhua. Cao Jinhua could finally let go, and the trapdoor closed again, fitting perfectly.
Next, they just needed to rendezvous with Yi Wansan, who was waiting in the car, use the blood of all five people to force the cursed scroll out of Ya Feng’s body, and everything would be settled.
Mu Dai and Yan Hong Sha stood on either side of Ya Feng, helping her to stand up. Ya Feng remained silent, not even crying out in pain. After standing, she suddenly stared at Mu Dai, with a strange smile at the corner of her lips, and said: “You won’t get anything.”
Mu Dai was startled, a sense of unease sweeping through her mind. Yan Hong Sha impatiently pushed Ya Feng’s back, leading her out first. Cao Yanhua hesitated for a moment, secretly gesturing to Mu Dai about Cao Jinhua, meaning: What about her?
Before Mu Dai could answer, Luo Ren had already stepped in front of Cao Jinhua.
Although Cao Jinhua had helped earlier, she was still an outsider, and Luo Ren didn’t want to explain to her: “Miss Cao, please go back first. Today’s events are rather sensitive, so I would appreciate it if you could avoid mentioning them to others.”
He spoke politely, but emphasized certain words, making no effort to hide the threatening tone. Cao Jinhua had dealt with Luo Ren before and knew he meant business when he changed his attitude, so she said nothing and nodded silently.
Luo Ren smiled. For some reason, he felt somewhat at ease with Cao Jinhua. On the other hand, Mu Dai felt a bit awkward. As she followed Luo Ren toward the exit, she looked back at Cao Jinhua several times.
She stood alone, forlorn, in the open space of the cave, her clothes still showing the wrinkles from the recent fight, dismissed with just a single “please go back first.”
Mu Dai couldn’t describe what she felt, but Luo Ren’s actions were reasonable. Just as they were about to reach the cave entrance, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and said: “Um, Cao… Jenny, we’ll contact you to buy insurance in the future.”
Luo Ren was startled, then somewhat amused. He reached out to hold her hand and said softly, “Let’s go.”
Mu Dai smiled at Cao Jinhua and followed Luo Ren out with light steps.
Cao Jinhua didn’t move for a long time. After a while, she looked down at the toe of her shoe, her mind suddenly flashing back to the moment when Luo Ren had held Mu Dai’s hand.
They make a good couple, she thought, feeling a bit envious, and also a bit… melancholic.
The rain was still falling. As they approached the foot of the mountain, Cao Yanhua hesitantly looked toward the village and muttered: “Did Qing Shan run back home?”
Mu Dai noticed that Ya Feng, who had been expressionless, suddenly smiled.
That sense of unease grew stronger, and her steps became increasingly slower.
Luo Ren noticed: “What’s wrong?”
Mu Dai said softly: “Something’s not right.”
In a flash of insight, she suddenly remembered something, abruptly stopped, and called out: “Cao Yanhua, come here.”
Cao Yanhua was startled, leaving Hong Sha to watch Ya Feng as he jogged over: “Little Master, what is it?”
Mu Dai lowered her voice, her tone strange: “At that time, when Ya Feng dropped from the ceiling, you were fighting with the two of them. Did you feel anything unusual then?”
Cao Yanhua said: “I was very heroic, fighting desperately, one against two…”
Luo Ren didn’t doubt the “desperately” part; Cao Yanhua’s face was covered in bruises, clearly showing he had exerted himself fully.
Mu Dai interrupted him: “I’m talking about Ya Feng. Did you feel anything unusual about her?”
Cao Yanhua half-opened his mouth and scratched his hair: “Unusual? When I was fighting her… There was something. She seemed to…”
Mu Dai pressed: “Was she not as formidable as before?”
Cao Yanhua quickly nodded.
Yan Hong Sha waited impatiently, hesitated for a moment, and began walking toward them with Ya Feng.
Mu Dai grew tense and grabbed Luo Ren’s arm: “When I was fighting with Ya Feng, she was really fast and strong. I didn’t dare confront her directly. But later, after your flying dagger wounded her, I took advantage and flipped her over…”
She hadn’t noticed it then, but thinking back now, flipping her over had been too easy, like flipping over an ordinary and frail young girl.
She murmured, “And then Qing Shan left. What if we’ve all been wrong, and he didn’t flee out of fear? What if Ya Feng told him to leave?”
Luo Ren looked at her: “What do you mean?”
Mu Dai raised her head, looking past Luo Ren, directly meeting Ya Feng’s gaze.
Mu Dai pointed at Ya Feng: “The cursed scroll was indeed on her before, but after that collision, she transferred it to Qing Shan. That’s why Qing Shan ran away—not out of fear, but to move the cursed scroll. You know what we’re after is the cursed scroll, don’t you? Don’t you?”
Her tone grew increasingly stern.
Ya Feng lowered her eyelashes, a self-satisfied smile appearing at the corner of her lips: “I told you long ago, you won’t get anything.”