12: Chapter 12 Playing the Fool?

Qin Yin stepped to the very front of the crowd, blocking right beneath the palm wind descending from the sky.

She raised her hand and opened her palm.

The dark yellow talisman in her palm suddenly lit up!

Protection Talisman!

"Hum——!"

A muffled hum rang out.

An earthy yellow light barrier suddenly expanded from in front of her, like an invisible giant shield, blocking the palm wind carrying terrifying blood qi outside!

"Boom!!"

The loud noise was deafening.

Gravel flew everywhere, and smoke and dust rose.

When the smoke and dust cleared.

Qin Yin stood in place, not retreating a single step.

In front of her, the earthy yellow light shield that had abruptly appeared trembled slightly.

The light shield was covered with fine cracks, but it was still not shattered by Hu Fu's palm strike.

Qin Yin's hand holding the talisman was trembling, several splits opened up on her palm, and fresh blood trickled down between her fingers.

Behind her, those villagers who were protected were all safe and sound.

On the roof, Hu Fu's expression changed abruptly.

He looked in disbelief at the woman who was clearly a mortal, yet had blocked his full-strength palm strike.

How could this be possible?

Hu Fu's gaze caught the talisman in Qin Yin's hand that was dimming bit by bit.

A talisman?

And a Protection Talisman capable of blocking his palm strike?

How could such a thing exist in this rundown village?

Qin Yin raised her head and locked eyes with Hu Fu on the roof.

The Protection Talisman was still holding on, and she knew she had to lure Hu Fu before her to the temple before the earthy yellow light shield completely shattered.

Only Lord Qinling could deal with this guy!

Qin Yin did not know if this light shield could hold until that moment, but she knew she had to do it.

Otherwise, all the villagers of Qin Family Village would die!

Qin Yin took a deep breath, clutching the talisman as she was about to speak.

Right at this moment, Hu Fu on the roof moved.

Instead of continuing to attack, he shot backward directly from the edge of the eaves, dashing toward the outside of the village without looking back!

Qin Yin was stunned.

"Ran away?"

Qin Mo wondered aloud.

Hu Fu was indeed running.

Running cleanly and resolutely.

Not even collecting Hu Ba's corpse, nor leaving a single harsh word.

That talisman being able to block his palm meant the opponent might still have other talismans in their hands.

The golden light that killed Hu Liu might also be light emitted by a golden light talisman.

Although he was much stronger than Hu Ba, he did not want to try it personally.

His goal had already been achieved; there were six children in the burlap sack on his back, enough for him to report back.

If Hu Ba died, he died; it did not matter.

As for Hu Gu? She could fend for herself~

Better a dead fellow Daoist than oneself~

He did not need to risk his life here.

Even less did he need to take risks for a dead person.

The large burlap sack felt weightless on Hu Fu's back as his figure sped rapidly through the night, skimming past low walls and fish-drying grounds.

The corners of his mouth hooked up slightly.

This rundown village, although weird, so what?

He slipped away~

The children were all in his hands, making him the ultimate winner~

When he went back to report to Lord Huang Zu, figure out what was hidden in this village, and come back next time.

Suddenly, Hu Fu's figure came to a sharp halt.

He raised his head.

Under the moonlight, a low and dilapidated small temple stood quietly ahead.

The temple gate was crooked, the eaves lacked tiles, and the courtyard wall was piled with random stones.

No matter how one looked at it, it was just an ordinary and dilapidated wild village temple.

Qin Ling had captured Hu Fu's trace early on.

He was slightly surprised by Hu Fu's sudden flight, but when he realized that Hu Fu's escape route passed by his temple, he found it somewhat hard to hold back his expression.

Ever since Qin Yin easily killed Hu Ba using the golden light talisman, he knew he had overestimated these three traveling merchants.

The golden light talisman was at the level of his divine power when he was at [Incense Realm 10%], and his cultivation was now at [Incense Realm 30%].

Although Hu Fu was stronger than Hu Ba, judging from the Protection Talisman, Hu Fu was not that much stronger.

Since that was the case, Qin Ling prepared to make a move without hesitation.

Hu Fu, passing by the wild temple, inexplicably felt a chill surge up from his tailbone.

Not right.

There was someone ahead.

He raised his head, his pupils suddenly contracting.

In the open space of the temple, a figure had appeared at some unknown time.

Moonlight shone from behind that person, making his face unclear, and only a blurry silhouette could be seen.

The tall and ethereal figure stood quietly there, as if he had always been there, or as if he had just stepped out of the moonlight.

Hu Fu's breathing stopped for a fraction of a second.

His perception could cover a radius of ten zhang, and no rustle of grass or wind could escape his ears.

Yet this person was standing right there, and he only saw him now.

"Who is pretending to be a ghost?!"

Hu Fu shouted angrily.

Pretending to be a god?

Interesting.

Qin Ling did not speak, taking a step forward.

This single step instantly crossed a distance of several zhang, appearing directly in front of Hu Fu.

Hu Fu's pupils contracted to the size of needle tips.

So fast!

He instinctively swung his palm, blood qi erupting with a roar, striking toward Qin Ling with a palm.

Qin Ling raised his hand, his five fingers spread open, meeting Hu Fu's palm directly.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound.

Hu Fu's palm stopped in mid-air, firmly grasped by that hand.

His face instantly turned flushed red.

He desperately circulated his blood qi, veins bulging on that arm, muscles swelling to the limit.

But he still could not break free from the opponent's hand.

For the first time, fear surfaced in Hu Fu's eyes.

"What on earth are you?"

Qin Ling still did not answer, only slowly tightening his five fingers.

"Kacha——"

A crisp sound of bones cracking rang out.

Hu Fu's metacarpal bones shattered inch by inch in Qin Ling's hand.

"Ah——!"

Hu Fu let out a shrill scream, wanting to struggle backward, but he was firmly gripped by that hand and unable to move.

He squeezed out a voice from his throat.

"Spare my life, I am Lord Huang Zu's man, you cannot kill me..."

As soon as his words fell, he found that the opponent let go of his hand.

Hu Fu staggered backward, and before he even had time to rejoice, he saw a fist punch over.

Condensed divine power was wrapped around that fist, smashing heavily into his abdomen.

"Puff!"

Hu Fu's body flew out like a broken burlap sack, smashing into the wild grass ten zhang away, rolling seven or eight times before stopping.

He struggled to get up and lowered his head to take a look at his abdomen.

A large area there had caved in.

His ribs were completely shattered, his internal organs ruptured, and blood gushed out together from his seven orifices.

His face was full of disbelief, unable to understand how he, a dignified martial artist, could die in such a godforsaken place.

"What the hell."

Hu Fu left behind his last words.

Then his head tilted to the side, and he breathed his last.

Hu Fu was completely dead, killed by Qin Ling with a single punch.

Qin Ling, having dealt with Hu Fu, untied the rope of the burlap sack and released the six children inside.

Then he disappeared into the night.

Hu Fu and Hu Ba were dead, but he had not forgotten that there was still one last traveling merchant remaining.

Because of Hu Gu's exuberant blood qi, Qin Ling quickly locked onto her location.

He discovered that Hu Gu had not even left Qin Family Village yet, but was hiding somewhere in Qin Family Village.

Qin Ling shook his head and dashed toward Hu Gu's direction.