46: Chapter 46 Sneak Attack, I Dodge

The first time Xia Shaoxin consumed three spirit leaves, he experienced a very strong vomiting and nauseating reaction, so he had always thought that eating two leaves was his limit.

To his surprise, when he ate a third leaf again, there was only a faint sense of discomfort.

Not daring to ask others, he pondered over it for a long time and concluded that his long-term daily consumption of two spirit leaves had gradually improved his Physique, allowing him to eat one more.

He thought to himself, 'This is highly likely a sign that my ability to absorb and refine Spiritual Qi has grown stronger.'

He was just one final step away from poking through that last sheet of window paper.

A few days later, he hid in the woods as usual, consuming spirit leaves to aid his cultivation.

After consuming the third spirit leaf, he suddenly felt something moving slowly.

This patch of woods was extremely remote, far from any main roads or paths, and Sect Disciples would generally not come here.

He was a Bug Catcher; in Dawu Mountain, he had to sense the movements of Poisonous Insects, so within a radius of several Zhang around him, no movement could escape his perception.

He assumed a Sect Disciple had wandered in.

Over the past six months, he had occasionally run into other Disciples who were just wandering aimlessly; seeing someone cultivating here, they would all tactfully leave.

He sensed that there were two people.

If they had just wandered in by mistake, their movements would have been much louder.

What was the meaning of this tiptoeing?

He did not dare to circulate his energy, letting the Spiritual Qi wander freely inside his body and flow out of his acupoints.

Once he circulated his energy, any disturbance could easily cause the Spiritual Qi to run rampant and inflict internal injuries.

Swish, swish.

Two faint sounds echoed through the air.

These two people had attacked almost simultaneously.

Xia Shaoxin had very sharp ears and recognized the sound of concealed weapons. From his travels in Dawu Mountain, his skill at throwing medicinal powder was no joke, and he had long since mastered the Mortal martial arts skill of throwing concealed weapons.

He hurriedly rolled on the ground as a pebble grazed his ear, snapping several stalks of wild grass.

Another pebble struck his back with a thud, shattering upon impact.

A wave of sharp pain instantly spread from his shoulder.

At that very instant, he saw the faces of Nangong Yi and Cai Ke.

Thud, thud.

Two more pebbles flew swiftly toward him.

Before he could even stand up, he kicked off the ground and slid across the grass.

The two pebbles slammed deep into the dirt.

Only then did he scramble up from the ground, pop a strength pill into his mouth, and charge straight at Nangong Yi.

Nangong Yi, however, did not engage him. He retreated rapidly, a grin plastering his face as he giggled, "Being disturbed while practicing, and being forced to halt your cultivation—it must feel pretty awful, right?"

On the other side, Cai Ke kept throwing pebbles. Xia Shaoxin could not dodge them all, and they hurt immensely when they struck his body.

But after all, they were not throwing daggers or daggers, and with his robust body, the damage was limited.

Xia Shaoxin stopped chasing the two of them. He bent down, grabbed some stones, and flung them back.

"Since you like playing with thrown stones, I'll play with you."

Throwing stones was much easier than throwing medicinal powder; every single throw hit its mark. Having consumed the strength pill, his strength far exceeded that of ordinary men, and his movements were incredibly fast, making the two howl in pain.

"You, named Xia! How do you still have jade bamboo spirit leaves? Did you steal them?" Nangong Yi shouted in anger.

Xia Shaoxin's eyes narrowed. He had been so absorbed in his cultivation that he had actually been seen.

The place where he cultivated was too open. Although he was fast enough in taking out the spirit leaves and stuffing them into his mouth, those leaves emitted a frost-like white glow, which had given him away!

"Senior Brother Nangong, he doesn't seem to have been disrupted. Did you not hit him hard enough?"

A cold light flashed in Xia Shaoxin's eyes; he knew he could not let the two of them leave alive today.

He grabbed some stones, aiming specifically for the nerve points on their legs.

This was wasteland with uneven ground. Cai Ke was not fast enough; he was hit, cried out in pain, and fell flat on his face. Xia Shaoxin quickly caught up and swung a fist.

Cai Ke tried desperately to dodge, but how could he?

After a few punches, Xia Shaoxin knocked him unconscious.

Leaving him for the moment, he went after Nangong Yi.

"I won't hold this against you! I'm going to report to the Deacon that you stole and plucked jade bamboo spirit leaves!"

Nangong Yi had only run a few steps when one of Xia Shaoxin's stones struck his calf, causing him to trip instantly.

Hearing Xia Shaoxin's rapid footsteps behind him, he ignored the pain and scrambled frantically on all fours to flee.

Xia Shaoxin caught up in a few strides and threw a punch straight at his back.

Thud.

A muffled thud echoed.

Nangong Yi took the full force of this punch, which was enhanced by the strength pill. With a gasp, his mouth flew open, and he sprayed a mouthful of blood several feet away.

"Don't kill me," Nangong Yi wept, sprawled on the ground.

"Why did you come to sneak attack me?"

"It was Cai Ke's idea. He said that if you were struck by a heavy object while cultivating, it would cause your Meridians to run wild. If no one investigated closely, they would never suspect foul play and would just assume it was Qi Deviation."

Xia Shaoxin said in a deep voice, "What I am asking is, why do you always have it out for me? I have been avoiding you, trying my best not to deal with you. Can I not even hide from you?"

A trace of venom flashed in Nangong Yi's eyes, which quickly turned into a pitiful look. "Junior Brother Xia, I admit we did look down on you a bit at first. I was wrong."

"Just looking down on me is enough to make you want to kill me? I thought that at most, we just didn't like each other."

"You've made us suffer setbacks many times."

"I have never competed with you for anything."

In that instant, countless scenes flashed through Nangong Yi's mind.

Thinking back carefully, there really hadn't been any major conflicts. At the very beginning, they had just disliked Xia Shaoxin because he was a newcomer who knew nothing.

They disliked him for his lack of worldly knowledge.

They disliked him because, despite clearly having no cultivation Aptitude, he still associated with them.

Thinking deeper, Nangong Yi finally understood.

"Junior Brother Xia, we all started as boys of the Chiyan Sect. To have fallen to the level of Utility Disciples and be grouped with someone like you—it made everyone feel very uncomfortable."

"So you felt that someone like me wasn't even worthy of doing chores alongside you?"

Nangong Yi said miserably, "We were supposed to be above others, whereas you clearly came from a lowly background. That is the truth. I was wrong, please spare me."

Xia Shaoxin hesitated for a second.

If he killed them both, it would be a major incident.

But it was only for a second.

If I don't kill them, my secret will be exposed, and the trouble will be even greater.

He looked around. This was a desolate wood where he had been cultivating for a long time. If these two died here, he should be able to explain it away.

He threw a punch, but Nangong Yi twisted violently. The fist slammed into the dirt, kicking up a clump of mud.

"Spare my life, Hero Xia."

"Help! Xia Shaoxin is committing murder!"

"Xia Shaoxin stole and plucked..."

Thud!

The fist smashed squarely into Nangong Yi's mouth, forcing the last few words back down his throat.

Nangong Yi's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as he glared at Xia Shaoxin.

"You... murdered... a fellow Disciple..."

Xia Shaoxin did not want to smash his head again, lest his corpse look too gruesome and unsightly.

Thud. A punch struck his chest, and he felt the ribs shatter.

Reaching out to check beneath his nose, there was no longer any breath.

He turned around to check on Cai Ke.

Cai Ke had just woken up. Seeing Xia Shaoxin's sheer brutality, he screamed in terror, "Murder! Xia Shaoxin is committing murder!"

Xia Shaoxin strode over swiftly and came down from the air, striking Cai Ke's stomach with a punch.

He felt something rupture inside.

Cai Ke did not manage to utter another word, the light in his eyes rapidly fading.

Xia Shaoxin sighed deeply to the heavens. Having killed two people at once, how was he to resolve this?

Running away was a terrible option.

There were so many Qi Refiners in the Chiyan Sect. He had seen with his own eyes how Senior Brother Liang Ruoran could casually toss a person onto a tree; if they fought in earnest, who could withstand a single blow?

Turning himself in and explaining the situation clearly was the most rational course of action.