Volume Two: Blood on the Bodhi Tree Chapter Five: This Is the Martial World

You... are She Dabiu? The infamous doctor?

No one could have imagined that the person bearing such a name would be a slender young woman.

She looked no older than eighteen or nineteen.

By all rights, anyone hearing that name would expect a coarse, middle-aged brute.

Her appearance was utterly at odds with her name.

Xiao Yan frowned. He had never expected that the doctor he had been searching for would be standing right before him.

And yet the rumor was that this doctor liked to carve flesh from living people and eat it. That was impossible. How could such a beautiful girl...

A surge of inner force radiated from her body.

Inner force level: twenty-two.

"This... is beyond outrageous..."

Even the one with the twisted face was stunned beyond belief.

At only seventeen or eighteen, she already possessed twenty-two levels of inner force?

Her talent was even more monstrous than Chen Buqun's.

One had to know that many people could spend their entire lives without ever reaching such a height in martial cultivation.

"Coming or not?"

Her words remained as brief as ever. In her slender right hand she held a meat cleaver half a meter long, while in her left was a slightly smaller kitchen knife.

It looked strangely mismatched, somehow absurd.

The dozen masked men looked at one another, then turned to the twisted-faced fiend.

"Hmph. So what if she's at level twenty-two? I've long wanted to meet She Dabiu, the evil doctor..."

With a cold snort, the twisted-faced fiend advanced first. He was also at level twenty-two, and he was confident in his years of experience in the martial world.

As he spoke, he charged forward. His broadsword cleaved through the air with a whistling wind.

She Qianqian's brow furrowed slightly. With both hands she drew and switched blades, striking forward, then changing knives...

Her movements flowed like water and cloud, too swift to follow.

In an instant, the clash of metal rang out in an unbroken chorus.

The twisted-faced fiend was forced back several steps, utterly unable to fathom how such strength could come from a frail young woman.

Xiao Yan, watching from the side, frowned. He could see it more clearly: the timing of each blade change, and the weight of each knife, were both precisely calculated.

Nine knives, nine different weights, all used in perfect coordination with each move, eliminating every scrap of wasted effort.

For example, a small upward slash would waste a great deal of strength if performed with a heavy blade, whereas a lighter knife could achieve the same result while preserving most of that strength.

So it was not that she had great strength, but that she used it with extraordinary finesse.

Ding!

Her cleaver knocked the broadsword aside. In a flash, the blade swept past the twisted-faced fiend's shoulder.

The next moment, the meat cleaver was already at his throat.

"You've lost."

She Qianqian's voice was calm and flat.

"You... I... impossible..."

The twisted-faced fiend froze. He did not dare move. The meat cleaver had already drawn a thin line of blood at his throat; one more reckless motion, and he might die.

"Take your men and get lost."

She Qianqian's voice turned cold. At once she withdrew the meat cleaver, snapping it back into her clothing with a flash.

Then she lifted her leg and kicked the twisted-faced fiend flying.

The remaining dozen men stared blankly for a moment before hurrying forward to help him up.

"Skill inferior to others. The one with the twisted face thanks you for not taking my life. Farewell."

Without the slightest hesitation, the twisted-faced fiend cupped his hands and departed with his men.

Seeing this, She Qianqian turned and headed off in the opposite direction.

Xiao Yan looked utterly bewildered. Carrying Li Bai on his back, he chased after her and asked in confusion, "So this is how heroes behave after showing off? Run right away? Is that supposed to be more exciting?"

"This is the martial world."

She Qianqian answered coolly.

...

The wind howled past, and after several hours...

The laughing-faced King of Hell was still stuck in the tree, staring at the setting sun. His mood was complicated, and he let out a soft, sorrowful sigh.

He had something on his mind today.

Was this the martial world?

Then what was today's martial world, if not the reluctance of the branches or the forgetting of companions?

But the laughing-faced King of Hell only wanted to know who could get him down.

Rumble...

Dark clouds gathered overhead, and in an instant thunder and rain came crashing down.

Watching the lightning flicker in the sky, his eyes filled with despair.

Was he really going to become the King of Hell this time?

Rumble...

A bolt of lightning sliced through the night sky and struck the treetop.

Then came a cry of agony...

...

"Stop following me, or I'll kill you!"

She Qianqian quickened her pace and spoke coldly.

"Hey, Dabiu, I've really been looking for you for a long time. Help me save someone!"

Xiao Yan caught up and blocked her path. Then he swung Li Bai off his back and tossed him to the ground like trash.

"If you don't save him now, he'll die."

"I only know how to kill people."

She Qianqian instantly drew her blade and pointed it at Xiao Yan.

"But... aren't you the evil doctor?"

Xiao Yan frowned.

"Kill one person to save one person."

She Qianqian replied.

"..."

"Kill you, save him."

"Haha, I can't believe there's someone even crazier than me!" Xiao Yan laughed, but this time he studied She Qianqian seriously.

"Well?"

"I owe you a life."

Xiao Yan looked at her earnestly.

"You can't repay it."

"He'll repay you." Xiao Yan pointed to the unconscious Li Bai and went on, "Hundreds of thousands owe him their lives."

"Not open for discussion."

She Qianqian frowned. She had meant to turn and leave, but after glancing at Li Bai on the ground, she finally saw his face clearly.

"It's him?"