My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 651 - 431 Min Ning (Combined 2-in-1)_2
"Waaaaah!"
The crying startled the forest birds, sending them darting into the air, stirring the wind into eerie whispers.
Already uneasy in the ominous atmosphere of the forest, Zhao Yuanwang felt even more irritable and alarmed upon hearing the crying. He lashed out with a sharp slap to the boy's face.
The boy's cheek swelled, red and puffy.
"Cry, cry, cry—what's there to cry about? You little bastard, you didn't cry the whole way, but now, raised by a dog, you start bawling!" Zhao Yuanwang snarled, cursing.
The boy froze for a moment, then opened his mouth wide and wailed even louder.
"Damn brat! I'll teach you a proper lesson today."
Zhao Yuanwang raised his hand, prepared to strike again.
Suddenly, a gust of black wind swirled through the forest, carrying a chilling rustle of dried leaves.
The already narrow mountain path seemed to tighten as the surrounding darkness pressed inward.
"Young man... "
The voice was ancient and cold, laced with a hissing undertone,
"Disciplining the boy is fine, but it wouldn't do to ruin a critical ingredient for our medicine."
Zhao Yuanwang's hand froze mid-air, unable to move. His face turned ashen as something slick and scaly—flesh-covered with serpent scales—wrapped around his arm.
From atop the treetops,
clear, almond-shaped phoenix eyes tilted slightly in observation.
Ah,
what a literal small-time thug.
"My surname's Bai, not a lady but a teacher, if you like."
Among the snake kind, Bai was a common surname.
Speaking was an aged man with white hair, a human head atop a serpent's body. His sagging skin hung loose, yet he wore a Daoist robe, his demeanor exuding a false elegance of otherworldly grace. But in every subtle gesture, there lingered an undeniable aura of malice.
The snake Daoist "Master Bai" cast his gaze to a particular spot in the forest.
"Young friend, aren't you hiding a bit much? Didn't you arrive with them?"
Upon hearing this, Min Ning stepped out from behind the branches, descending gracefully from the treetop.
Master Bai squinted, his gaze circling carefully as if studying Min Ning's bone structure, then exclaimed with astonishment:
"A mix of dragon and phoenix—remarkable talent… astounding potential..."
As his voice lingered, it was as though Master Bai's intentions silently shifted. The oppressive darkness receded; the snake tail, which restrained Zhao Yuanwang's hand, slithered away.
He clicked his tongue and said with a wide grin:
"Please, follow me to my humble abode. I've long prepared food and drink to welcome you..."
...…
Though called the immortal's cave-dwelling, it did possess some tranquil charm. A solitary house perched on a slope, with a lively stream gushing right below its eaves.
While Master Bai mentioned a feast, the table was laid entirely with vegetarian dishes:
stir-fried wild mushrooms, boiled winter bamboo shoots, a pot of assorted greens, and several large bowls of plain white rice and yellow wine.
No meat!
The guests all took their seats.
The two children, however, had been taken who knows where.
But certainly, wherever they went, it wasn't anywhere good.
Master Bai raised a cup in invitation, laughing heartily:
"Forgive the cold fare of my humble home. Please don't mind."
"How could we dare to mind..." Zhao Yuanwang, still uneasy about the promised payment, decided to probe indirectly: "Those two kids, what does Master plan to use them for?"
Master Bai stroked his white hair, his gaze sweeping the room, sending a chill into everyone's heart.
"People say I'm an immortal, yet after cultivating for years, look—still stuck with a snake's body. Doesn't seem all that divine, does it?"
Master Bai paused, then continued, smiling faintly:
"Fortunately, I dabble a bit in the Chenwei Technique. I foresaw that seeds of the Dao and Buddha lineage would arise from this pair of siblings, so I arranged to have them brought here."
Zhao Yuanwang pressed on: "And the ones you sent to handle this?"
Master Bai replied with a light chuckle: "I ate them."
Zhao Yuanwang froze, his whole body suddenly drenched in cold sweat.
Not just him—the brothers who'd come along all felt something was terribly wrong.
Zhao Yuanwang stammered: "Master Bai must be joking..."
"No joke. No joke."
Master Bai nodded as if agreeing.
Zhao Yuanwang heaved a sigh of relief.
But then Master Bai pointed casually to the vegetarian feast before them and asked:
"Do you know what's missing from this table?"
The group, perplexed, exchanged glances.
Zhao Yuanwang ventured: "What... is missing?"
Master Bai grinned, revealing his yellow-stained serpent fangs:
"Meat."
Suddenly, with a gaping maw, his massive jaws opened wide—red flesh, dripping blood, and those treacherously yellowed fangs aimed directly at them.
The group looked up, their faces drained of color.
Just as Zhao Yuanwang whipped his head around,
he was met with the radiant flash of a sword.
...…
A piercing sword, sharp beyond compare, thrust through the massive serpent's gaping maw in an instant.
The bloodied blade tore through the roof of the snake's mouth, holding it immovably open.
Master Bai's pupils convulsed. The sword's momentum clearly aimed to cleave down further. In panic, he recoiled, but the slicing of flesh was audible as his jaw split in two. Blood gushed as he stumbled backward.
The figure wrapped in a dark crimson cloak smirked with an amused gaze. With a flick of their long sword, serpent blood splattered onto the Eight Immortals table.
The blood sizzled and hissed upon contact.
It was only then that Zhao Yuanwang's group noticed: each bowl of plain white rice bore three incense sticks—a sacrificial offering for the dead!
Master Bai's once-menacing serpent maw was now a mangled mess of flesh. His fear crept in as he hissed in retreat, coiling his body and brandishing his claws in desperation.
Roar!
His bellow shook the beams, dust cascading down in clouds.
Zhao Yuanwang's party, though armed, cowered in a corner with their weapons drawn. Yet, they dared not face this Great Demon head-on.
Min Ning, however, stood unmoved, the tip of his sword rising slightly.
"Dragon and phoenix, you dared think you could use me for alchemy?"
The sword pulsed with gathered light. The Primordial Qi of heaven and earth grew so dense it seemed almost tangible. The blade bore inscriptions of authority: "One Qi to Unite the Cosmos, Sword Splitting the Three Realms."
Master Bai's eyes quaked with terror.
"You're even less perceptive than Princess Jing," Min Ning sneered.
Then, with a blur of movement, man and sword became one.
Realizing his impending doom, Master Bai let out a rasping roar. His serpent body surged upward, towering like a small mountain, hurtling toward his foe with suicidal determination…
...…
A foot prodded Master Bai's head, now lifeless, its pupils dull and vacant.
"Dead for real this time!" Zhao Yuanwang exclaimed in shock.
"Of course."
Min Ning nodded slightly. Without haste, he approached the group, sword still dripping with blood.
Zhao Yuanwang caught this subtle action, panic flashing in his eyes.
In a heartbeat, Zhao Yuanwang yanked one of his companions in front of him, using the man as human cover, and bolted for the door like a cannonball!
The wind howled around his ears; the door was only a single stride away.
Yet in that life-or-death stride, a glinting blade intercepted his path, halting him short.
Cold sweat poured down as Zhao Yuanwang saw Min Ning already blocking the doorway.
"Brother Zhao, why are you running?" Min Ning's face was a mask of playful smiles.
Backing up half a step, Zhao Yuanwang raised his blade defensively and shouted,
"You're killing people; should I not run? Do you take me for a fool?!"
"Oh, so you're not a fool," Min Ning mused with a smirk.
In the next instant, his sword slashed downward.
"But for those who are too clever, it's usually better they die."
A thin red line opened across Zhao Yuanwang's neck. With a dull thud, his body crumpled to the ground.
The three remaining men shuddered, their spines icy. None dared lift their weapons.
One among them could no longer endure, collapsing to his knees, crying out:
"Mercy, great hero! Have mercy! I'm brainless, absolutely brainless!"
Min Ning shook his head lightly, sighing:
"Forgot to mention—I don't like idiots."
He plunged his sword forward, right into the man's heart. The man's eyes widened as he crumpled lifelessly to the floor.
Min Ning turned to face the remaining two.
In mere moments, two had fallen, and Zhao Yuanwang had died without resistance. The last pair was utterly paralyzed with fear.
"Got anything to say?" Min Ning asked slowly.
One of them shakily raised his blade, then hesitated, shaking his head in terror.
Min Ning pointed his blade gently toward the man and warned:
"If you don't speak, there'll be no chance left to live."
The quiet threat acted as a lifeline. The man tossed his weapon to the ground, trembling as he whimpered:
"I've got aged parents, children to care for… I was coerced into this! Please, spare my miserable life!"
Min Ning abruptly interjected: "Do you have brains?"
The man glanced toward Zhao Yuanwang, then hurriedly shook his head.
Min Ning stepped closer.
Feeling the sword's edge inch nearer, panic overtook the man. Desperate to survive, he shouted, "Great hero! I'm not stupid, but I have no brains! I'm not stupid, but I have no brains!"
Min Ning paused.
The man nearly wet himself, tentatively lifting his gaze.
Min Ning sighed softly and murmured:
"You, neither brainless nor clever—caught in mediocrity. What's the point of living?"
With that, his blade descended.
Blood sprayed as another lifeless body collapsed, eyes wide in defiance of death, clearly not destined to live.
Min Ning turned back to face the last man.
"G-great hero, don't kill me! I'm both stupid and smart!"
Kneeling and kowtowing frantically, the last man's face was ashen as a corpse.
"Ah, well that's easy—I often spare people like you."
A spark of hope lit the man's eyes.
"But," Min Ning added, "I've had my fill of killing now."
Glancing back at the three corpses on the ground, he sighed regretfully:
"Why didn't you say that sooner?"
