The next day, when other jailers came to relieve the shift, they finally noticed something amiss. The third level was littered with corpses, all with missing limbs and internal organs, none left intact.
“He died from poisoning,” Wang Butou said, crouching beside the jailer’s body to examine the cause of death.
Those invited to the scene, including Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan, wore solemn expressions. None had expected Duan Rui to have such potent poison hidden!
Before being locked up, Wang Butou had conducted a thorough search of Duan Rui, confirming that he carried no poison, fog agents, or hidden weapons—standard Six Gates protocol to prevent escape attempts.
Moreover, after Meng Qi’s conversation with Duan Rui, he had specifically requested another jailer to recheck the prisoner. It wasn’t an attempt to distance themselves, but rather a standard procedure: every time a prisoner met someone, a similar search was required to prevent the visitor from passing anything useful to the prisoner. Therefore, Wang Butou and others did not suspect Meng Qi or Qi Zhengyan of intentionally letting Duan Rui escape.
“His acupoints were sealed, his limbs bound. Even with extraordinary strength, without poisoning the jailer, it would have been difficult for him to escape,” said Lin Baozhi, a renowned martial artist, objectively.
The jailer had come specifically to reinforce Duan Rui’s acupoint sealing. It would have been foolish to wait until the last moment when the acupoints were nearly unblocked, risking his own life. Therefore, the possibility of Duan Rui having partially regained his abilities at that time could be ruled out.
“But the real question is, where did he get such potent poison?” Huang Huafeng said in frustration. After finally capturing his father’s killer, the man had escaped from the heavily guarded Six Gates dungeon!
Wang Butou looked slightly embarrassed. Was this an accusation of his and the Six Gates’ failure in body searches?
Meng Qi mused, “Wang Butou is an experienced investigator. He searched every possible hiding place on Duan Rui’s body, even checking whether he had a poison sac in his mouth. Logically, there shouldn’t have been any poison.”
If not for the prior search and confidence in its results, would the jailer have approached a dangerous prisoner so casually?
As Huang Huafeng and Xiao Liang were about to ask further questions, Meng Qi crouched down and lifted the jailer’s body, “He came to reinforce Duan Rui’s acupoints. The posture at the time should have been like this… Duan Rui was chained; he couldn’t have stood up…”
He tried to reconstruct the scene: “It’s quite possible the jailer was killed by poison sprayed from Duan Rui’s mouth. Ruling out the poison sac, this suggests Duan Rui’s martial arts allow him to turn his own saliva into deadly poison…”
Wang Butou nodded in agreement: “That’s quite possible. But with his acupoints sealed, could his martial arts still function?”
“Sealing acupoints mainly restricts movement and the flow of inner energy. If transforming saliva requires less energy, acupoint sealing might not be effective,” said Sha Wanhao, the eldest and most experienced martial artist present.
“What matters now is not how Duan Rui’s martial arts work, but capturing him!” Huang Huafeng was becoming emotionally agitated.
Wang Butou immediately said, “Duan Rui possesses ‘Evil Arts.’ Even if he hasn’t committed murder, we can’t let him roam free. I’ll issue wanted notices to the prefecture and city right away!”
“I’ll help with the pursuit,” Meng Qi said solemnly.
If Duan Rui’s escape route didn’t pass through Yingcheng, Meng Qi would have to temporarily abandon his plan to challenge the Azure Lotus Messenger.
Firstly, although Meng Qi was not directly responsible for Duan Rui’s escape, he had initially proposed treating the soul-departure syndrome before considering other measures. He owed an explanation to the Gathering Flower Sect.
Secondly, Duan Rui might have practiced the《Muscle Changing Classic》. He and his adoptive father might be connected to the past incident of Zhen Chang stealing the scriptures. This might offer clues to uncovering a hidden spy. Although Meng Qi had left Shaolin and lacked a sense of belonging, his master and younger apprentice brother were still there. Catching the spy would prevent them from being framed or harmed.
Thirdly, Duan Rui had revealed nine postures to Meng Qi, many of which still required careful study.
Qi Zhengyan, who was on a journey to hone his skills, wasn’t necessarily bound for Yingcheng either. After Meng Qi’s declaration, he also pledged his support.
Huang Huafeng knew this couldn’t be blamed on “Furious Blade” Su Meng. Who could have predicted Duan Rui’s martial arts would be so bizarre?
“Master Su, Master Qi, your loyalty and righteousness are truly admirable,” Huang Huafeng said, bowing in gratitude.
After leaving the cell and inspecting the other corpses, martial artist Lin Baozhi sighed, “This demon is cruel. Even if he kills with one palm strike, he still tears off limbs or removes internal organs…”
Looking at the mutilated bodies, everyone remained silent.
…
After escaping from the cell, “Duan Rui” climbed over the city wall and fled frantically toward nearby mountains, running without direction.
He kept running until the sun was high in the sky, its golden rays illuminating his body, before collapsing exhausted against a dead tree, panting heavily.
After catching his breath, his eyes, which had been as dark and deep as pitch-black, gradually returned to normal. He looked around in confusion:
“Where… where am I?”
He had clearly been in the cell before falling asleep. How had he ended up in this remote wilderness?
Could someone have rescued me?
Impossible… Could it be that my dissociative fugue flared up, allowing the evil spirit to possess me, making me kill the jailer and escape from prison?
(Note: “离魂” is translated as “dissociative fugue,” a psychological term referring to a state of dissociation where a person may wander or behave unusually without awareness. “邪魔” is translated as “evil spirit,” a common term for malevolent supernatural entities.)
The more Duan Rui pondered, the more certain he became of this truth. Unable to contain his anguish, he clutched his head and let out a pained groan. He had voluntarily confined himself to prevent harming others before his soul-separation syndrome was cured, yet he still ended up putting the jailer in danger…
“Why are you crying? Show some courage!” Duan Rui suddenly heard a familiar voice.
Startled, he stood up and looked around, but saw no one.
“What are you staring at? I’m the demon you’re been talking about!” Duan Rui’s face contorted.
Then, he returned to normal: “Evil spirit? I have no money or treasures, and my martial arts are weak. Please, don’t possess me anymore!”
He almost begged.
His face twisted again: “Haha! I am you, and you are me. What ‘letting go’ are you talking about? Actually, we are one. After being bullied, doesn’t everyone want revenge? Only you, the coward, refuse to face it. You have powerful abilities but refuse to kill. I had no choice but to act myself!”
“Liar! When I was a hunter, I never hesitated, but you killed my master, leaving me unable to explain myself and losing my peaceful life…” As Duan Rui spoke, tears streamed down his face. “My master rescued me from suffering, treating me like his own son. Whenever there was something good in the sect, he thought of me first. When I made mistakes in practice, he never scolded me, always correcting me patiently.”
“He treated us with the kindness of a father. You murdered him. If you’re not a demon, then what are you?”
Duan Rui threw his head back and laughed, tears trembling with his laughter: “Fool! Idiot! This world is full of bad people. Only yourself won’t harm you. We are one. What I do is for your benefit.”
“For my benefit? If you were really for my benefit, you wouldn’t have killed my master!” Duan Rui shouted.
He curled his lips into a sneer: “Why did he rescue you? Wasn’t it because he saw our talent, suspecting we possessed secret martial arts? That day, he already suspected the origin of our martial arts. If we had revealed everything, he would have killed us to keep the secret. I had no choice but to strike first!”
“That’s just your baseless guess!” Duan Rui roared.
“And what’s wrong with the origin of our martial arts?” he asked, his face full of contempt.
“Don’t you remember how he always subtly inquired about that body-strengthening technique? Wasn’t he coveting our martial arts?” he sneered.
Still young and inexperienced, Duan Rui was momentarily at a loss, unable to find a rebuttal: “Master… Master just cared about me…”
Still wearing that mocking expression, he said, “You really think that’s just a body-strengthening technique? Do you think the old madman really took you in out of kindness?”
“Yi, Father Yi means no harm!” Duan Rui became increasingly alarmed.
“The old madman dared not practice it himself, using you as a scapegoat. Fortunately, I was alert, hiding it from him and deliberately misleading him. That’s why he eventually went mad…” He laughed proudly.
His expression then turned grave: “Do you really believe ‘Furious Blade’ Su Meng had good intentions? Wasn’t he also after our martial arts techniques? In prison, did he ever bring up treating your Soul-Separation Syndrome? All he ever inquired about was that ‘Body-Fortifying Technique’!”
Duan Rui had no reply, his mind in chaos.
“The world is full of treachery. The only one we can trust is ourselves. I am you, and you are me. How could I harm you? It’s the others! They all covet our martial arts, wanting to harm us!” His expression became frenzied, filled with hatred toward others. “With such powerful martial arts, how can we remain obscure in a small city forever? Now that we’ve escaped, don’t think about going back. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live gloriously?”
Duan Rui became increasingly wary of Meng Qi, Wang Butou, and the others. Though he still couldn’t bring himself to accept the demonic forces, he ultimately clenched his teeth, his expression turning grim as he stood up and made his way toward a main road.
“I can find a famous physician myself!”
Sometimes walking the main road, sometimes crossing mountains, three days later, he had already left the area of Yingcheng.
Suddenly, he heard tiger roars and cries for help ahead. He strode forward, passing through the forest before him.
At the foot of the mountain, a tiger twice the normal size was attacking an elderly servant dressed in livery, completely ignoring the long knife being swung at it.
Behind the old servant, a carriage had overturned. Beside it stood a young woman with injuries preventing her from moving. Dressed in white robes with a yellow cloak, her collar lined with fur, she was beautiful and composed. Beside her lay several corpses, men and women alike. The one crying for help was indeed her.
Feng Yuanjing watched helplessly as her old servant faced imminent danger, her own legs injured and unable to escape. Feeling powerless to help, she could only instinctively cry for aid.
With a hint of resentment towards heaven, she wondered why she had encountered a tiger on the verge of becoming a demon. In the Jiangdong region, apart from deep mountains and remote wilderness, how long had it been since any demonic creatures or monsters had appeared near the main roads?
Just then, she saw a boy with a tiger-like appearance approaching. At first, she felt relieved, but soon became discouraged, shouting loudly, “Don’t come closer! The tiger demon is dangerous!”
Duan Rui took a deep breath, quickened his pace, and rushed to the tiger’s side, delivering a powerful punch with his right fist.
The tiger, confident in its imperviousness to blades, continued biting the old servant’s shoulder while swiping at Duan Rui with one paw.
Suddenly, blood flowed from its eyes and nose, its body went limp, and it collapsed, dead.
Feng Yuanjing stared in disbelief. Could the mighty, fearsome tiger demon really be killed so easily? Her servants included several experts at the Qiao Realm and many at the Opening Qiao Realm, all slain by the tiger demon’s claws. Yet this boy had killed it with a single punch?
“Miss, are you alright?” Duan Rui helped the old servant over, his face showing genuine concern.
Feng Yuanjing suppressed her shock and astonishment: “Thank you, young sir, for rescuing us. May I ask your honorable name?”
“Duan… Duan Fusheng,” Duan Rui gave a false name.
Like a rebirth after that day.
“Sir, your loyalty and righteousness are admirable, and your martial arts are extraordinary…” Feng Yuanjing slightly lowered her head, her face blushing faintly. She found the Duan Fusheng before her powerful yet simple, completely different from the young noblemen she usually encountered.
This was the first time Duan Rui had been so praised and appreciated by a beautiful girl, the first time being looked at with such sparkling eyes. He scratched his head, saying, “A martial artist should naturally come to the aid of those in danger.”
For some reason, he felt joy. Never before had a girl looked at him like this.
“Are you heading to Changchuan, Master Duan?” Feng Yuanjing asked.
Duan Rui had long since lost his sense of direction and answered casually, “Yes.”
“My family happens to be in Changchuan. Master Duan, why don’t you…” Before Feng Yuanjing could finish speaking, she saw Duan Rui’s expression suddenly change. “Master Duan, what’s wrong?”
Duan Rui felt an ominous premonition and said anxiously, “Perhaps my enemies have come chasing…”
Could the enemies of the young man who killed the tiger demon with one punch be that terrifying? Feng Yuanjing instinctively asked, “Master Duan, how did you come to have this enmity?”
“Being framed, having my martial arts coveted…” Duan Rui still lacked much worldly experience. Facing Feng Yuanjing’s concern, he recounted his “suspicions” about Meng Qi and others.
Thinking back to what had just happened and looking at the simple Duan Rui, Feng Yuanjing gritted her teeth and said, “Master Duan, I believe you. Quickly hide in the carriage. If anyone comes asking, I’ll help cover for you.”
Duan Rui’s eyes stung slightly, deeply moved. There were still good people in this world!
He hid in the overturned carriage, activated his martial arts to conceal his presence and energy fluctuations. Not long after, two horses arrived together.
Clippity-clop, the horses approached. Feng Yuanjing saw two young men dressed as martial artists. The leader wore black martial attire, carried a sword, and had a handsome, masculine face.
So young? These were the enemies that frightened the young man who killed the tiger demon with one punch? Feng Yuanjing found it hard to believe.
“Miss, have you seen a young man pass by?” Meng Qi asked, briefly describing Duan Rui’s appearance while scanning the surroundings.
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