Chapter 25 The Man Behind the Scenes

  But in a moment, the footsteps went down to the beach, and only the soft rustling sound was heard, gradually getting closer. It seemed that the owner of the footsteps had been startled by the fight just now, and came to take a look out of curiosity.

  Xuan Zhen lay on the ground, his eyes fixed on the dark sky above. The thick clouds were slowly dispersing, and a crescent moon shone through the gaps, casting a few beams of clear light. He heard the soft rustling sound, slow and cautious, revealing the footsteps of someone approaching. Although he couldn't turn his head to look, he vaguely sensed that the person was already ten or so steps away. The sandy beach had no other obstructions, and it seemed that he and the two demonic beasts were clearly visible.

  As expected, the person seemed to be startled by the scene in front of him and stopped not far away. After a while, only a very gentle and elegant voice came over: "This... this Taoist priest, are you injured?"

  At this time, the poison of the elephant had fully erupted, and Xuan Zhen concentrated all his true energy to barely protect his heart pulse. The rest of the places were already beyond his care, and the poisonous gas was extremely overbearing, even reaching the tip of his tongue. Although Xuan Zhen wanted to answer, he could only make some unclear low sounds by moving his lips, and he couldn't even hear what he said himself, let alone the stranger standing far away?

  That person seemed to have noticed that Xuán Zhèn was unable to respond for the time being, so he slowly walked over. Xuán Zhèn saw a black shadow covering his face, opened his eyes and looked at the person standing in front of him, only to feel that he was slender. When the person squatted down beside him, the light from the Spring Water Sword on the ground shone onto his face, and Xuán Zhèn finally saw clearly that this person was a 16 or 17-year-old youth, wearing coarse linen short clothes similar to those of fishermen by the sea. His appearance was ordinary, but a narrow long scar ran from his forehead to the corner of his mouth, making his face extremely ugly. The green light flickered and shone on his face, making it seem bright and dark at times, adding a hint of ferocity.

  Xuan Zhen's eyebrows furrowed slightly, for he had just heard the young fisherman speak with such refinement, thinking him to be a handsome and elegant scholar. He hadn't expected that he would turn out to be an ugly youth. Although Xuan Zhen didn't have any thoughts of despising ugliness or admiring beauty, he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of disappointment.

  Although the young fisherman was ugly, his actions were very steady. Seeing that Xuán Zhèn had an injury on his leg, he immediately tore off a piece of cloth to bandage it for him. His movements were very skilled, and at the same time, he asked with concern: "Master Dao, just now... did you kill these two strange beasts?"

  Xuan Zhen couldn't answer and could only nod slightly with great effort.

  The young fisherman wrapped his wound, picked up the Chunshui sword and returned it to its scabbard. He bent down to help him up, smiling all over his face: "This is great, those uncles and aunts in Qinglong Town don't have to worry anymore. Daozhang, you're really awesome! Just now I was hiding behind the tree and saw that although it wasn't very clear, I also knew that these two monsters were not easy to deal with...I didn't expect you to take care of them by yourself...Can you walk now?

  Xuan Zhenben thought to himself: This young man is very bold, clearly seeing the monster and still daring to hide and watch... He said he was behind the tree, probably in that grove of trees, no wonder I didn't see him. Hearing the young man ask if he could get up and walk, he shook his head slightly with great difficulty, at this time he could only sit up halfway relying on the fishing village youth's strength, and he himself couldn't even bend his fingers.

  The young fisherman nodded and said softly: "Can't walk? That's good, I'll take you there."

  Xuan Zhen saw that the young man's manner and speech were very considerate and meticulous, and he was already feeling a little grateful. However, the hand on his back suddenly withdrew, followed by a dull thud, and then a wave of pain hit the back of his head, causing him to involuntarily fall heavily onto the sandy beach.

  With a flash, the green light surged forth, and Xuán Zhèn only felt a stinging sensation in his eyes. When he opened them again to look, the young fisherman was standing before him, grasping a sharp sword that pointed directly at his cheek. The sword was precisely Chūn Shuǐ.

  The young fisherman's face still wore a gentle smile, his tone was as soft as ever, but the words he spoke were icy cold, sharper than the sword tip pointed at Xuanyin's face: "Daozhang, if you hadn't been poisoned by the Lianxiang toxin, I probably wouldn't have dared to stand out like this. But since you can't move even a bit now, it doesn't matter what I say to you."

  How did a young fisherman know the name of the giant python, and how could he be so clear about the poison on its claws? Xuán Zhèn had already been suspicious of this young man, and now he understood a bit more.

  The young man laughed and said, "Daozhang, this bird is not that hard to find, if you killed it, so be it. But this elephant is one I spent a lot of effort to tame, just the poisonous liquid on its claws requires ten or more kinds of poisonous plants to concoct, with just one swing of your sword, half a year's worth of my effort was destroyed in an instant, this really isn't very pleasant."

  Xuan Zhen was originally perplexed and didn't understand why the Gu Gou bird and the Wang Xiang beast, these two kinds of monsters, would collude with each other in such a despicable manner. Now he finally understood the whole story. It turned out that behind the tragic events of the monsters harming people, it was this ugly young man who was secretly manipulating things. He raised the monsters and let them harm people, not only feeling no guilt in his heart but also having an air of nonchalance on his face. Xuan Zhen looked at the ferocious scar on his face, his heart filled with indignation.

  "Besides, you've ruined my plans and seen my face, so I can't let you go no matter what. Daoist, your skills are impressive, especially with the sword. It would be a shame if you died here... but it would also be a waste of this good sword. After some thought, I think I'll just take it for myself, that way it won't be wasted and you can die in peace."

  Xuan Zhen's eyes rolled back, and he saw the tip of Chunshui Sword hovering lightly in front of him, especially near his cheekbones and eye sockets, drawing empty circles with a somewhat threatening intent. It was clear that the young man was doing it on purpose to mock him. His whole body was powerless, unable to resist, so he simply closed his eyes and ignored the young man's ridicule.

  The young man spoke for half a day without anyone responding, and he also felt somewhat disappointed. He smiled softly and said: "Daozhang, at this moment, taking advantage of the sword light to take a look, you are also a rare beauty, but such a beauty is about to die on this beach in an instant, it's really a pity. If you can speak, ask me for mercy now, maybe I'll spare your life... Forget it, let's destroy your face first and then kill you, see how you look when you're in agony, maybe it's more interesting."

  He knew that the other was just intentionally teasing him, and he closed his eyes and ignored him. The young man's long laughter was followed by a cold and ruthless intent, and it was clear that he had made up his mind to kill. The sword flashed down quickly, and Chunshui was originally sharp and unmatched, with a natural and terrifying sword aura that was astonishing. Before the sword tip even touched Xuanzhen's cheek, the chill had already left a stinging pain on his skin.

  Xuan Zhen had already resigned himself to death, but in this fleeting moment, his face suddenly itched and a cold breeze blew against his nose. In an instant, the sound of clashing metal filled the air, and the young fisherman exclaimed in surprise, his voice full of astonishment. Then, the sound of rustling was heard, as if he had been startled by something and hastily retreated several steps.

  The young fisherman angrily said: "Who are you?"

  Xuan Zhen hastily opened his eyes to look, and a faint white mist swept across his face, carrying with it a refreshing cold air that wrapped around his nose. The scent was like musk but not quite, like orchid but not exactly, leaving only a feeling of clarity and a hint of chilliness.

  "All I heard was a cold voice from above me saying disdainfully, 'You're just a lowly person, not worthy of knowing my name.' The tone was slightly deep, and it seemed to be another young man."

  That soft white fluttered before Xuán Zhèn's eyes again, and suddenly flashed away. It wasn't until then that Xuán Zhèn saw clearly that the one who had saved him was a young man in white clothes; what had been brushing against his face earlier was just the hem of his thin garment. The young man in white stood with his back to Xuán Zhèn, slowly approaching the fishing village youth. Lying on the ground, Xuán Zhèn could only see the young man's tall and slender figure, his black hair fluttering in the wind, and his snow-white sleeves flying up and down; under the moonlight, he was truly elegant.

  A young man in white clothes held a slender sword in his hand, walking and casually drawing a sword flower. Suddenly, he exerted force under his feet, and a patch of orange-yellow sand mist rose on the sandy beach. In an instant, he had already rushed to the front of that ugly young man, and the slender sword broke through the mist silently, stabbing straight at his chest. The ugly young man dodged sideways, but unexpectedly, the sword tip shook in front of his eyes, changing its move extremely quickly, and suddenly pointed at his throat again. Although Xuan Zhen could only see the general situation from the side, he also secretly admired him in his heart. This young man's swordsmanship was extraordinary, and at a young age, he had already achieved such a level of skill. It seemed that he had put in a lot of hard work over the years, and his natural talent was also exceptional.

  The ugly youth, although his mind was extremely deep, his own strength was far inferior to that of the white-clothed youth. Several times he tried to use his cunning to escape, but unexpectedly his opponent didn't fall for it at all, and only had one thought in mind - to bring him to death's door. The smile on his face disappeared unknowingly, and with a furious tone he said: "The grudge between me and this Taoist priest has nothing to do with you, what business is it of yours to intervene? If you want to save him, stop immediately! This Taoist priest has been poisoned by me, if we continue fighting, he won't survive!"

  Xuan Zhen lay on the ground, watching the two of them fight while secretly resisting the invasion of the poisonous gas. The initial intense poison had gradually weakened, and Xuan Zhen slightly mobilized some true energy to discover that he was no longer suppressed by the poisonous gas like before. He then slowly forced it back to his calf wound, gathering into a small cluster. Although he couldn't get up temporarily, speaking wasn't much of an issue for him anymore. Seeing the white-clothed youth seemingly believing the ugly youth's words, the sword that was originally at his chest hesitated for a moment. Xuan Zhen hastily said in a loud voice: "This young hero, don't listen to his nonsense! The poisonous gas has been suppressed by me and will be expelled from my body in just a moment. This person is ruthless and cruel, harming the people of Qinglong Town nearby extremely badly. No matter what, he cannot be let go!"

  The white-clothed youth heard this and instantly thrust three swords at the ugly youth, his sword speed faster than before. The ugly youth's movements slowed down at this time, Xuan Zhen struggled to prop himself up and looked over, feeling a bit strange after watching for a while, only to see that the ugly youth's limbs seemed to be slightly out of sync with each other, and every time he needed to use his hands and feet together to avoid the attack, but instead stumbled about in a sorry state.

  Eyes saw the white-clothed youth becoming more and more brave, advancing step by step, while the ugly youth could only defend himself with all his might, retreating step by step. Xuan Zhen felt his energy slowly recovering, and he wanted to lend a hand to the white-clothed youth, so he pushed off the ground with both hands, preparing to sit up and recall his Spring Water Sword. However, just at this moment, an object rolled out of his bosom, rolling across the sandy ground, and came to rest between the two youths who were in the midst of a fierce battle.

  It was a dazzling white, round and flat, after rolling on the sandy ground for several times, it suddenly burst into brilliant light, shining brightly, surpassing the sun and moon, in an instant, illuminating the beach as if it were daytime.

  Two young men were fighting fiercely, when a white light suddenly appeared, and they were both caught off guard. The white-clothed youth hastily turned his face to avoid the strong light, while the ugly youth seemed to have seized the opportunity, and quickly threw the Spring Water Sword in his hand towards the shoulder of the white-clothed youth, then retreated several steps back. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard, and the yellow sand rolled away, the ugly youth had already escaped without a trace.

  Author has something to say: Thank you Lulu and lazy Philo, in the case of jj being so anxious, still leaving a message for that grass, looking at that little chrysanthemum spinning around, I really knelt down for it.

  ps. Those who can't see the text, please replace the "ps" in the URL with 【aaa】 or any other letter and refresh the page, while making a hand gesture and silently chanting "Little slave, quickly spit out the text we want to read!" should be able to see the text of that grass~~~ [Making a hand gesture without putting it in water will make it run away]