Chapter 79 - 79 76 Crisis The Disappearance of Ye Luo

79: Chapter 76 Crisis, The Disappearance of Ye Luo 79: Chapter 76 Crisis, The Disappearance of Ye Luo In the dark, dense forest, three men and three dogs were silently making their way through the woods. Xiao Jie was walking while observing the map, which was not transparent in this game, revealing only the areas players had traversed; therefore, most of the Ginkgo Valley was still shrouded in fog to him. However, the broken-down wagon was clearly marked on the map; he had passed by there when he went to rescue I Want to Be Immortal. “Alright, we’ll head west from here, then south, and we’ll be able to circle around to behind Ximen Wuhen. The time now is 9:20, and we should expect to encounter the enemy in about ten minutes, remember the plan I laid out earlier, and be ready.” “Got it, Feng,” replied I Want to Be Immortal, his voice tinged with both tension and excitement. “No worries,” Ye Luo said, seemingly unconcerned. As the trio drew closer to the ambush zone, Xiao Jie’s heart began to race. “Cheng Xian, you’ve got everything prepared, right?” Although he had already checked that morning, Xiao Jie instinctively asked again. “Rest assured, Feng, everything’s ready.” Xiao Jie nodded. Although the plan was perfect, gambling with one’s life was different from fighting monsters, so it was natural to feel some nerves. Luckily, he had a few aces up his sleeve. Besides Feeding Pigs, the only thing he had been doing the last two days was practicing the Blade Reflection skill, and he was now quite skilled at it. The Power of Demon Talisman in I Want to Be Immortal’s hands could also produce amazing results if used well. But these were all fallbacks in case of an emergency; if everything went smoothly, they wouldn’t be necessary. They could end the fight with a barrage of attacks from the three dogs and three men launching a surprise attack. To enhance his damage output, he even purchased a Snake Spine Longbow for a whole 680 copper. Surely Ximen Wuhen was about to show up. Xiao Jie looked up to see three crows circling in the sky. Suddenly, a crow cawed. Caw caw caw! It’s from the south! Another crow also cried out. Caw caw! Huh? Is it the west? Caw caw caw! Caw caw! Xiao Jie froze, why were there five caws? One caw for east, two for west, three for south, four for north, but what about five? Xiao Jie quickly activated the Beast Language Skill and entered a state of Concentration. Caw caw! Caw caw caw! West! South! West! South! Xiao Jie suddenly shuddered, this wasn’t good, there were two people here! Ximen Wuhen had an accomplice! Thank goodness he had arranged for three crows in advance, or else today would have been troublesome. “I Want to Be Immortal, Ye Luo, retreat quickly, the enemy has a comrade—eh, where’s Ye Luo?” I Want to Be Immortal was also stunned; just a moment ago Ye Luo was right there, “Sister Ye Luo!” he called out in a hushed voice. No response, the surrounding forest was utterly silent. Xiao Jie hurriedly sent a private message. Hidden Moon Following Wind: Retreat quickly, the enemy has a comrade. Ye Luo: I know, I’m dealing with it, stall them for a bit, I’ll come help you after I take care of this one. Caw caw! Caw caw! Caw caw! The urgent cawing caused Xiao Jie’s heart to lurch. He’s coming! In the woods, a figure was rapidly approaching, and Xiao Jie and I Want to Be Immortal immediately hid behind the trees. However, a cold snicker made both of them feel uneasy. “You guys trying to ambush me? Heh, I am a Ranger, you’re thinking too much.” Ximen Wuhen casually walked around to face the two of them. Surprised to see the duo coming from the northeast when Ginkgo Village was clearly to the south, Ximen Wuhen quickly realized what was going on. Sanbing… that moron. “Good afternoon, gentlemen, what a coincidence,” Ximen Wuhen said nonchalantly, twin blades in hand. The disparity in equipment, blood volume, and levels made Xiao Jie slightly nervous. “Good afternoon, indeed quite a coincidence. You’re out hunting too? We’re just passing by; if it’s not too much trouble, could you please make way?” Xiao Jie wanted to ramble a bit to buy time, but Ximen Wuhen cut straight to the point. “Did Sanbing tell you my location? That idiot really has no brains to think that you could defeat me by relying on sheer numbers. But never mind, since you’re already here, that saves me the trouble. To tell you the truth, with my current level, killing you would be like child’s play. But I’m a businessman, I don’t take life lightly, so how about this, your lives for one million each. It’s a good deal. I keep my word; just pay up, and I’ll let you walk away alive.” “Wow, one million, I have to think about this—Cheng Xian, what do you think?” I Want to Be Immortal immediately caught on to the coded message previously arranged by him and Xiao Jie. “I think it’s worth a good think too.” As he spoke, he pulled out the corpse of a mountain bandit from his bag. The effect of the Demon Talisman was to “resurrect a lifeless unit of up to Level 10.” Meaning it had to be dead but needed to have had a Life Value. Straw men in the fields, wooden dummies used for Martial Arts Arena practice, and of course, the bodies of monsters all met this criterion. Having killed quite a few mountain bandits the previous days, Xiao Jie had I Want to Be Immortal carry a corpse in his bag just in case. They had initially thought to save it if Ye Luo was in the fight, but now they couldn’t afford to hold back. “What are you guys up to?” Ximen Wuhen asked, looking at the body of the bandit suspiciously. “Oh, nothing, my brother here’s just sorting out his bag to see if he can scrape together a million.” “I’m talking about RMB!” “Oh, I thought you meant copper coins——now’s the time!” Power of Demon Talisman! I Want to Be Immortal suddenly raised his hand, and a stream of dark demonic power instantly infused into the corpse; the next second, the corpse sprang to life. “Seeking death!” How could Ximen Wuhen not realize he had been tricked? He charged forward in a rage. Let’s all attack together! Xiao Jie’s strategy was simple: the main tactic was to launch a righteous group beating. Two men, two dogs, and a demonized mountain bandit—if they could surround and beat Ximen Wuhen, his 350 blood volume would definitely not withstand several rounds of attack. The mountain bandit charged ahead, but the two hunting dogs leaped ahead of him and pounced on the enemy. Whoosh whoosh! Xiao Jie and I Want to Be Immortal released two arrows, which Ximen Wuhen dodged with an easy roll. Broken Teeth and Rou Qiu made a flying pounce. Combat Skills——Helical Flying Kick! A 360-degree spinning flying kick in place kicked both hunting dogs away. Two more arrows shot out. This time they finally hit their mark. -12! -13! By this time, the mountain bandit had already charged up to Ximen Wuhen, his broadsword swinging down from above. Ximen Wuhen, however, rolled away again, easily dodging the strike. His agility was obviously higher than Xiao Jie’s; he rolled several meters at a time and instantly closed the distance between them. The two men had already switched to melee weapons by then. “I got this!” roared I Want to Be Immortal, swinging his battle axe, while Xiao Jie kept his saber charged, ready to burst forth. Sweeping Strike! “Too slow!” Ximen Wuhen said with disdain. He rolled behind I Want to Be Immortal, ready to strike, but Xiao Jie, who was in a charged state, suddenly unleashed a saber cut. One Cut, Two Pieces! Xiao Jie timed this strike perfectly, making it unavoidable even with a roll. Unexpectedly, Ximen Wuhen’s figure flashed and he sidestepped. Qinggong——Grass Flying! Xiao Jie’s blade cut through thin air. Not good! Xiao Jie tensed inside. As soon as he retracted his saber, Ximen Wuhen came slashing over. Saber Skill——Gale Nine Styles! His dual blades interweaved in an attack, faintly making the sound of tearing through the air. Xiao Jie rolled back in a hurry to dodge, but this saber skill wasn’t over after just one strike; it was like a sword dance, continuous and unyielding, and with inner strength infused, its power far surpassed that of ordinary saber techniques—in gaming terms, it could add special effects to ordinary attacks. At this moment, Ximen Wuhen’s dual blades were like a gale flurry, each strike following closely on the heels of the last, cutting while rapidly closing in. What a fast blade! Xiao Jie had just managed to stand when he was struck by the incoming moves, the saber technique striking exceedingly fast, -18! -19! -23! In an instant, Xiao Jie was hit by three strikes. With the fourth strike bearing down, Xiao Jie quickly used Blade Reflection. Under normal circumstances, this maneuver would not be easy to time correctly to deflect an enemy’s attack due to the short judgment window; it required choosing the right moment. However, Ximen Wuhen was at full attack speed now, leaving no need to consider the timing of Blade Reflection—any deflection would strike true. Clang—a metallic clashing sounded, interrupting Ximen Wuhen’s saber technique. Off to the side, I Want to Be Immortal took the opportunity to land an axe blow on Ximen Wuhen. -19! Xiao Jie also landed a strike. -17! By the time both men wanted to combine saber and axe for a joint attack, seizing the chance to pursue, Ximen Wuhen quickly rolled away, widening the gap. Xiao Jie immediately took out a blood bottle and was about to drink. But Ximen Wuhen launched another attack without delay, leaping into the air, reaching a height of over two meters, and bringing his dual blades down in a plunging chop. This move was easy to defend against because it could only come from above. Deflection! Clang! The moment he blocked the attack, Ximen Wuhen used the rebounding force to quickly retract his blades and follow up with a sweeping leg. Bang! Xiao Jie was directly swept off his feet. “Die!” Ximen Wuhen moved to execute him. Lazy Donkey Roll! Xiao Jie quickly rolled to dodge the blow. Meanwhile, I Want to Be Immortal swung his axe again. Ximen Wuhen had no choice but to retreat. At that moment, the demonized mountain bandit attacked from behind, while Xiao Jie stood up, and Broken Teeth and Rou Qiu flanked from both sides—unexpectedly forming an encirclement. Yet Ximen Wuhen did not panic. Qinggong——Grass Flying! Once again, his figure flashed, escaping the circle. Xiao Jie took the opportunity to down a Life Potion, inwardly surprised; these few rounds of combat had introduced him to the strength of a Level 14 ranger. Indeed, the gap in attributes was significant, and the skills were of an entirely different caliber. However, to his relief, the situation hadn’t escalated to a full-blown crush; outnumbered as they were, they still had a fight on their hands. “I didn’t expect you guys to be somewhat competent.” Ximen Wuhen drank down a potion, eyeing the trio and two dogs huddled together, seemingly at a loss for where to strike next. A Level 6 newbie shouldn’t be this strong, able to lead dogs and summon mountain bandits, and possess so many skills. He certainly didn’t have a dog back in his day. That’s right, these two must be rich, cash-spending players who learned these skills and bought these pieces of equipment with real money. If he could take down these two, it would definitely yield a big profit. Fighting one against five was a bit troublesome, but——he just needed to break them down one by one. With that thought, Ximen Wuhen once again charged at the two men.