190: Regret
Whoosh!
A phantom flashed by, its body rubbing against the air at high speed, leaving behind trails of afterimages.
Bang!
It was just an ordinary kick, without using any Strength, yet in the illusion, the wooden puppet that had transformed into a Fairy of flowers instantly shattered into pieces like crumbled tofu.
In the distance, a human head made of rotten branches and leaves fell to the ground with a "thud," its eyeless sockets staring intently at Han Yi, seemingly revealing a hint of disbelief and confusion!
Of course, as Han Yi approached the fiend at close range, an invisible Strength subtly flowed over his face, sealing off any potential external foreign objects. This was a precautionary measure to prevent any strange smells from pulling him into an illusion again.
Then, Han Yi turned his palm into a blade, cutting off the Qi roots wrapped around Bai Sanren and Qian Xue, and swiftly flew away.
He took a slight sniff and, fortunately, while in the illusion, he had managed to snatch the Qi roots from their hands in time. The Yin Qi they had absorbed was not too much, and at this moment, there was still a glimmer of hope!
As for Huang An and the other two...
He looked at the three men hanging high in the tree canopy, suspended by black qi roots, and silently shook his head, feeling that these three were likely beyond saving...
But at least he could let them rest in peace and, incidentally, test the power of Evil Breaking Force!
Swish, swish, swish!
Han Yi's fists and palms were covered with a thin layer of invisible force. Evil Breaking Force seemed to possess a high temperature akin to a scorching sun, causing the light around his hands to twist. Any Qi root that brushed or touched it would instantly shrivel and turn black, as if scorched by a raging fire.
Above the tree canopy, countless Qi roots instantly withered and broke off, falling to the ground, after Han Yi swept through them. The Old Peach Tree's canopy also became bare, leaving only branches, thus exposing the sky outside.
"This Evil Breaking Force seems to have a strong restraining effect on such Yins!"
Han Yi carried Huang An and the other two to the ground, his heart filled with uncontrollable joy.
During the process of using Evil Breaking Force to completely clear the Qi roots, it was as easy and effortless as a mop absorbing water.
It seemed as if Evil Breaking Force was born to be the natural nemesis of such Yins.
"From now on, please call me the Demon Hunter, Han Yi!"
Rustle!
Perhaps scared by Han Yi, this Yin killer, the Old Peach Tree actually cowered after Han Yi's frantic hacking and slashing!
The tree canopy, like a dark inverted bowl, suddenly twitched as its branches rustled, shrinking back towards the main peach tree in the center of the village!
Suddenly, the courtyard became clear. It was still deep night outside, but a faint glimmer of light was already moving in the distance, as if the night was about to recede and dawn was approaching.
"Trying to run..."
A sinister smile crept onto Han Yi's lips. Wanting to run after hitting someone, and not wanting to pay any price? How could there be such a good thing in the world!
He activated Flying Swallow Kick, and with the enhancement of Strength, his speed was extremely fast. In just a brief moment, he was about to dart out of the courtyard.
However, just as he got up to pursue, he suddenly remembered something else and immediately stopped.
"Sanren Bai... Qian Xue..."
After much thought, Han Yi decided to check on their condition first.
Bai Sanren's chest was wrapped in a bandage, with fresh red blood seeping through, and his face was black and weak as if covered by a veil. But strangely, a faint pink peach blossom mark was imprinted on his glabella, creating a strong contrast.
Qian Xue was also similar; her face was covered in black qi, her body was stiff, her hands and feet were cold, and she also had a peach blossom mark on her glabella, though its color was slightly darker than Bai Sanren's.
Fortunately, their chests still showed some movement, and there was still a faint breath!
But how should he save them now...
Han Yi frowned deeply, his thoughts racing. The marks on their heads were clearly due to eating the so-called "immortal peach," and their blackened faces were likely due to absorbing too much Yin Qi, which had entered their bodies.
Therefore, he only needed to remove the Yin Qi from their bodies!
But at this moment, where could he find a "Yin Dispelling Talisman"...
"Right, I wonder if my Evil Breaking Force can remove the Yin Qi from their bodies!"
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Han Yi. The Evil Breaking Force generated by Qianyang Skill had a special effect on Yin Qi, capable of easily dispelling it. So, could it also remove Yin Qi from others' bodies?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible this method seemed, with high feasibility. When the peach tree's Qi roots had entangled him earlier, some Yin Qi had also lingered on his body, but as long as he used Evil Breaking Force... everything was easily dispersed like shredded paper!
"But, introducing Strength into their bodies to remove Yin Qi is just an idea of mine... If I experiment on close acquaintances for the first time..."
Han Yi hesitated. To remove Yin Qi, he would have to condense Evil Breaking Force and transfer it into their bodies, then circulate it throughout their entire being with their Qi and blood.
However, he had just entered Connecting Veins and was new to Strength. He couldn't precisely control its power or speed. What if, by accident, when removing Yin Qi from Bai Sanren's glabella, he misjudged the Strength and used too much, turning a rescue into a funeral? Then...
But fortunately, he had another test subject here...
At this moment, Han Yi felt a bit fortunate for his good intentions earlier. When he was preparing to lay Huang An and the others to rest, he discovered something...
Perhaps because Huang An was a Martial Artist in the Lianxue Stage and possessed strong vitality, there was still a faint breath in his nostrils, suggesting he might still be salvageable.
As for the remaining two, the peach blossom marks on their glabella had already fully bloomed into vibrant red peach blossoms, and their vital signs had long since returned to zero, losing all signs of life.
Of course, Huang An's glabella also had a reddish mark, but it was still a tiny bit away from full bloom. Perhaps, in a moment, he too would enter another world.
"Whoosh..."
Han Yi took a deep breath. The active Qi and blood in his body circulated through his Meridians according to the operation pattern of Qianyang Skill in his mind. Immediately, strands of Strength coiled around his palm.
Qianyang Skill can generate two types of Strength: Returning Spring Force and Evil Breaking Force. Both types of Strength have different Qi and blood circulation patterns, but perhaps because he had just started, at this moment, he could only generate one type of Strength at a time. Later, as his Cultivation Technique and Realm deepened, perhaps multiple types of Strength could be released and superimposed simultaneously.
Clap!
Han Yi's palm rested on Huang An's back, and the invisible and intangible Evil Breaking Force was transmitted inward: to the back, the heart, the five viscera...
Finally, this Strength followed the spine and ultimately settled at the peach blossom mark on his glabella...
This was also the place where the Yin Qi was most concentrated!
Hiss, hiss!
When Evil Breaking Force encountered Yin Qi, it made a sound like a raging fire boiling water, with steam turning into mist.
As the Yin Qi receded, the blackness on Huang An's face also improved significantly, gradually regaining some color.
"Cough, cough..."
He also suddenly spat out two mouthfuls of pus and blood, coughing violently.
"I, where am I... What is this place?"
His eyes were unfocused, and he mumbled vaguely.
"In Peach Blossom Village, in Tao Wu's courtyard..."
"Then, this... Han Boy, the Fairy, the immortal peach, the immortal Realm just now..."
"They were all fake, merely an illusory bubble..."
Han Yi replied truthfully.
"This, how could this be... Cough, cough..."
Huang An muttered in a daze, coughing again, a large amount of black blood gushing from his throat.
"Alas..."
Han Yi said nothing more, pointing to the surrounding environment: the broken wall, the large pit, and the already deceased Huang Long and Sun Yunsheng beside Huang An.
"Cough..."
Huang An looked around, then fell silent for a while, seemingly coming to terms with his current situation.
He gave a desolate smile: "I never thought that after wandering for half my life, I would still die in this wilderness. This is the fate of us Martial Artists..."
"Tell me, do you have any last words?"
Han Yi sighed slightly and shook his head. When Evil Breaking Force entered Huang An's body just now, he discovered that this person not only had Yin Qi in his torso...
Most importantly, while in the illusion, he didn't have Han Yi's help, which led to him absorbing too much Yin Qi. The Yin Qi had already entered his brain, making him beyond saving!
Even if Evil Breaking Force could remove the Yin Qi from his brain, the Yin Qi had already integrated with his brain. Removing the Yin Qi would also turn his brain into a paste!
"I have nothing more to say... Isn't life just like this..."
A large amount of black blood gushed from Huang An's mouth, and his face turned pale again.
"Then, your parents, don't you want me to convey anything to them?"
At this moment, it was Han Yi's turn to be puzzled, and he asked curiously.
"When I was young and naive, my parents died outside. The clan raised me..."
"Then, don't your wife and children need care?"
"My son is grown, he has long since started a family and a career, managing shops in the clan...
And my wife, even if I die, with my son and the clan's help, she won't fare too badly. If she wants to remarry, then so be it..."
This time, Han Yi was silent for a while. He truly hadn't expected that this person, on the verge of death, could be so open-minded.
"Heh heh, boy, you should know that those of us in this line of work have long since prepared ourselves to die outside... Besides, I have no parents, and to have made it this far is already satisfying. Now that I think about it, whether alive or dead, it's pretty much the same... Cough!!!"
Towards the end, Huang An coughed violently again, but his spirits became even more vigorous, and an unnatural flush appeared on his face.
"If you have the heart... take my ashes to Yangshan. That's where I used to play often when I was a child... Also, the goods we transported this time are in the carriage in the stable. You can pick out some useful things and take them, but you must never sell them, because, because..."
As the saying goes, when a man is about to die, his words are kind.
Huang An was no exception. His last sentence even contained some advice for Han Yi, but before he could finish, he couldn't catch his breath and stopped breathing.
Looking at his wide-open eyes, it seemed he still had many words left unsaid, and many things he wanted to explain clearly.
But life is like this. Some words, if not said in time, will never have the chance to be spoken, leading to lifelong regret; some things, if not done immediately, might become forever separated when you wish to do them later...
For example, Huang An, though he claimed to have no regrets, deep down, how could he not want to tell his wife and children some things, entrust some requests...? But for these matters, he and Han Yi had only met once, and he couldn't even gauge Han Yi's character, so how could he easily entrust them? He could only do this!
Another example is this transportation mission. Before he set off, he was curious and wanted to ask the patriarch, Huang Shanjun, why he was using the excuse of providing supplies to the Bureau of Unusual Matters to transport some unnecessary items. Unfortunately, he would never have the chance to do these things again...