Chen Si was originally waiting for him on Yunlai Street, but he was too lazy to go there and instead ordered the person to be led to Nipan Street to meet him outside the mortuary.
Who would have thought that trouble would arise so soon after arriving?
Nipan Street was Jin Buhuan's territory.
Any outsider would likely think, "What a coincidence!" Chen Si's troubles must be inextricably linked to him.
When Jin Buhuan saw the female cultivator fighting Chen Si from afar, he already knew things were getting serious.
Whether he liked it or not, he could no longer stand idly by.
But he knew all too well how astonishing this female cultivator's strength was. He had only managed to injure her by using her magical artifact and by catching her off guard. She had seized the opportunity. But he might not have another chance like that.
Jin Buhuan tensed his body, raising his guard to the extreme. His beautiful peach blossom eyes, usually so nonchalant, were now devoid of their usual carefree air. He said, "I had no intention of getting involved in your feud with the Song family..."
He remembered his conversation with this female cultivator in Jiajin Valley. Since he wasn't confident of defeating her, he wanted to say a few words to buy time and wait for others to arrive.
But to his utter surprise, before he could even finish speaking, the female cultivator suddenly attacked, nocking an arrow and raising her bow!
The green of the bitter bamboo bow flowed, and the fiery golden arrow shone like burning red!
Jin Buhuan's scalp tingled instantly. He had no mind to waste another word.
The eight-petaled jade lotus artifact that had been floating in front of him was quickly summoned, spinning rapidly to protect his vital points.
"Boom!"
The fiery golden arrow, carrying the force of a meteor, struck the scattered eight-petaled jade lotus, instantly shattering three petals.
However, the arrow's momentum was also hindered.
Ignoring her heartache, Jin Buhuan manipulated the remaining five lotus petals to twist inwards, narrowly severing the golden arrow. Instead of retreating, she steeled herself and closed in on the female cultivator!
Zhou Man had previously witnessed the jade plate's many transformations and knew it was likely extraordinary, so she wasn't surprised when her first attack failed.
However, Jin Buhuan's response truly surprised her.
In just a moment, she understood her opponent's intention—in ranged attacks, how could Jin Buhuan possibly defeat her with a bow and arrow? Even if she could temporarily defend herself with her magical artifacts, she would only be waiting to die. But in close combat, the bow and arrow's advantage would be completely negated!
Her cultivation isn't great, but her mind is quick—clever and cunning!
Zhou Man sneered inwardly, without retreating.
With her left hand still holding the Bitter Bamboo Bow, her right hand reached into her Qingguang Ring and retrieved a golden arrow with fiery feathers, holding it between her fingers. She used the arrow as a sword, slashing, parrying, and thrusting!
The golden arrow had no point, only the arrowhead. While it lacked the sharpness of a regular longsword, its shortness and the skill with which she wielded it created a strange and dangerous unpredictability.
This was something Jin Buhuan hadn't anticipated.
His opponent, using that golden arrow in close combat, not only held her own but also repeatedly exploited weaknesses in his movements, putting him in grave danger.
Faster and faster, more and more ruthless!
Jin Buhuan easily sensed that compared to that day in Jiajin Valley, this female cultivator's attacks were decisive and ruthless, showing no intention of holding back, clearly displaying a cold-blooded, tit-for-tat mentality.
He momentarily lost focus and was kicked off the eaves.
The two fought from the top of the mortuary, to outside the mortuary, and then back inside.
Inside, a broken coffin was shattered by Zhou Man's palm strike. Several rotten wooden beams covered in cobwebs were pierced by Jin Buhuan's lotus petals...
The suddenly confined space made every movement fraught with danger.
The only ever-burning lamp on the incense table cast the shadows of the two rapidly exchanging blows onto the tattered window paper.
Jin Buhuan was gradually finding it difficult to defend himself.
Zhou Man then shattered half of a Buddha statue's head with another palm strike, and then suddenly twisted his wrist, reversing the golden arrow, sweeping it toward Jin Buhuan's face with only the fiery tip remaining.
Instantly, flames erupted.
This sudden change of attack caught Jin Buhuan off guard. As he retreated hastily, he instinctively closed his eyes for a moment, then felt an extreme sense of danger.
But it was too late!
When he opened his eyes again and could see clearly, the female cultivator had already raised the bitter bamboo bow that had been held in her left hand, but flipped the bow so that the taut bowstring was facing outward, aiming it at his throat!
The bowstring, forged from cloud-like threads, possessed an almost translucent silver hue. Strung taut between the bow tips, it was as sharp as a knife!
The lightning-fast strike created a gust of wind, lifting a corner of the veil covering the female cultivator's head in that life-or-death moment.
A pair of piercing eyes were then illuminated by the dim, ever-burning lamp.
Jin Buhuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
However, the lamp went out the next moment, plunging him into darkness. Only the sharp, clear pain in his throat and neck became acutely apparent!
—The bowstring had slashed halfway around Jin Buhuan's neck!
The skin on his neck was instantly severed by the bowstring, blood gushing out!
Had he not leaned back half a step at the crucial moment, the bowstring would have severed half his neck!
Jin Buhuan clutched his wound and hastily retreated.
Only a sliver of moonlight shone through the door, and in that dim light, the female cultivator stood holding her bow, a few drops of blood clinging to the bowstring like dewdrops, making her appear like a demon.
Jin Buhuan was now filled with shock, horror, and doubt. "Who are you?"
Zhou Man didn't answer, but simply flicked the blood off the bowstring, gave him a cold glance through the curtain, then turned and leaped out of the door, disappearing into the deep darkness outside.
Jin Buhuan stood there, his neck wound aching, but he couldn't care less—his mind was filled with the eyes illuminated by the ever-burning lamp.
It had all happened so fast, so fast that he couldn't be sure, even suspecting that the familiar feeling was just an illusion caused by his excessive tension...
Just as Jin Buhuan was about to think it through, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the weeds rustling in the wind outside, and he immediately realized: "Damn it, Chen Si!"
He leaped out of the door, and upon seeing Chen Si beside him, his heart sank.
The golden arrow that had been stuck in his chest had long been removed, leaving only a horrifying bloody hole in his chest. The little blood left in his body now gushed out like a spring, staining his entire chest red!
As for the Dushan Divine Jade Bow and the Vermilion Bird Fire Feather Golden Arrow... they were naturally nowhere to be found.
Jin Buhuan no longer cared about why the female cultivator had spared him. Seeing that Chen Si still had a breath left, he was determined to save his life, at least until he could explain the situation to the Song family before dying. So he immediately took out a jade bottle and poured healing pills into Chen Si's mouth as if they were free.
But Chen Si's injuries were too severe.
One bottle of medicine could only keep him barely breathing and bring him back to consciousness.
Chen Si's throat was completely blocked by blood, and he couldn't utter a word. He could only desperately try to pull something out by digging his left hand into his sleeve.
Seeing this, Jin Buhuan thought for a moment and reached into Chen Si's sleeve.
He pulled out a small square box. Opening it, he found a pale green pill inside, translucent and fragrant, clearly not an ordinary one.
Jin Buhuan asked, "You want to take this pill?"
Chen Si still couldn't speak.
Jin Buhuan frowned slightly, thinking that at this point he couldn't very well swallow a poison pill, so he reached out to take out the pill and feed it to Chen Si.
He didn't notice a tiny, light red fragment on his sleeve.
But as he approached, Chen Si saw it.
In that instant, a completely subconscious disgust arose—even a brief glance was enough for Jin Buhuan to notice.
He lowered his eyes slightly, looking at his sleeve—it was just a crumpled peanut skin, like a few grains of red snow.
Jin Buhuan's movements suddenly stopped, and he slowly withdrew the pill he had already handed over.
Chen Si suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, staring intently at him, his mouth open, trying to make a sound.
However, Jin Buhuan's gaze at him at this moment was filled with strangeness.
It was a kind of malevolent energy that quietly accumulated in the shadows, usually carefully concealed, but at a certain time, it would intensify and grow outward with ferocity.
He stood up, his fingertips holding the pill, gently turning it halfway around, and slowly chuckled, "Mud Bodhisattva said that peanuts were originally called 'fallen peanuts,' and some old people on Nipan Street also call them 'longevity fruit.' They're neutral in nature, sweet in taste, non-toxic, and can be used in medicine—a good thing. It's just a pity..."
A tremendous fear gripped Chen Si, and he desperately reached out to him.
Jin Buhuan, however, simply looked down at him calmly and said indifferently, "Do you know what I hate most about you? It's that when we first met, I offered you a peanut, but you didn't eat it."
His slender fingers gently released the pill.
The pale green pill fell to the ground with a "plop," right in front of Chen Si. He struggled to reach for it.
However, Jin Buhuan simply stomped on it, slowly crushing the pill right in front of him.
Chen Si stared at him in disbelief.
He opened his mouth wide as if to roar or question, but only managed a few muffled gasps. The half-breath he had managed to regain with the bottle of pills choked in his throat.
With his bloodshot eyes wide open, Chen Si finally died.
Jin Buhuan looked at his unseeing death and thought to himself: If he won't eat my longevity fruit, then he'll be a short-lived ghost.
In the dark eaves of Nipan Street, a figure silently swept past.
Zhou Man held her bow and arrows, not yet sheathing them, taking advantage of the night to sneak away.
Her right shoulder was injured by Jin Buhuan, leaving an opening. With Xiaojian Ancient City still under lockdown, escape would be difficult.
Going to Ruoyu Hall to find Kong Wulu was naturally the safest option.
There must be medicine there, and with the Wang family's power, no matter what she did, they could protect her.
However, that would also expose her possession of the "Yi Shen Jue" and her specialization in archery.
Zhou Man was ultimately unwilling.
—In this city, there was someone who already knew her secret and could certainly offer her help.
She looked up. The Sick Plum Pavilion, with its medicine gourd hanging from the eaves, was ahead.
It was midnight. All the doors and halls of the clinic were closed, and the apprentice doctors had all gone to bed.
Wang Shu, dressed in a slightly thin, old Taoist robe, held a medical book in his left hand and a lantern in his right. Suppressing a cough, he slowly walked through the back hall, reaching his own door, and was about to enter.
But unexpectedly, a dark figure rushed into the room in that instant!
The lantern slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, a faint smell of blood wafting through the air. Before Wang Shu could react, a cold, blood-stained hand gripped his neck and forcefully pressed him against the door.
His right hand instinctively tightened in his sleeve.
But then came a suppressed, slightly panting voice: "It's me."
Wang Shu's fingers in his sleeve froze.
By then, the fallen lantern had caught fire. The woman in black removed her veil, revealing her face. Illuminated by the bright flames of the lantern, she resembled a new moon, or snow-covered trees.
Who else could it be but Zhou Man?
Only, compared to when she was seen at the academy, she had lost some color—even her lips were faintly pale.
She only asked, "I'm injured, do you have medicine?"
Wang Shu didn't move or answer.
Zhou Man frowned, suspecting he was startled and hadn't reacted, and was about to ask again.
But when she looked up, she saw his dark eyes staring at her, and he cautiously pointed a finger at his neck.
Zhou Man then realized that her blood-stained right hand was still gripping his neck.
The coldness of her hand seemed to make him uncomfortable—his Adam's apple bobbed slightly in her palm.
Only then did Zhou Man belatedly withdraw her hand. The bloodstains on her fingers stained the neck and throat, and when illuminated by the flickering firelight, they appeared shocking.
"I'm sorry, I'm a..." Zhou Man shifted her gaze back to his face, lowered her hand, carefully considered her words, and gave a strange laugh, "I have some bad habits."
Thoughts on Chapter 28
The mortuary setting creates claustrophobic tension as they destroy coffins and Buddha statues. Jin Buhuan's brief glimpse of Zhou Man's unveiled eyes triggers recognition he can't quite place. The chapter's dark heart is Chen Si's death: mortally wounded, he desperately reaches for a life-saving pill, but Jin Buhuan notices a tiny peanut skin on his sleeve.
Chen Si's involuntary disgust at the peanut triggers Jin Buhuan's murderous pettiness—he crushes the pill under his foot, letting Chen Si die over the remembered slight of refusing a peanut when they first met. The twisted logic ("If he won't eat my longevity fruit, then he'll be a short-lived ghost") reveals Jin Buhuan's psychopathic nature.
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