In the midst of his distraction, Luo Yunzhen suddenly felt a surge of killing intent, and instinctively dodged. The black-clad person's attack grazed the large outer robe and hit the stone behind him.
Luo Yunzhen frowned, wondering why his mind had wandered. He must have been seriously injured and unstable, which caused his thoughts to wander.
Luo Yunzhen regained his composure, flicked his wrist, and a spiritual slash was sent out even before his own movement. Then, with swift movements, he followed the spiritual slash.
The black-clad person hurried to defend himself as another sharp whistle sounded. An invisible sound barrier formed in front of him, partially neutralizing the attack. But Luo Yunzhen followed up with a sideways sword swing, forcing the black-clad person to bend backward, avoiding the blow.
Drawing a circle with the Flowing Frost Sword, Luo Yunzhen followed through with a palm strike, pushing the black-clad person, who had not yet recovered, back a few steps.
The black-clad person only used the bone whistle and did not counterattack, seeming to be hesitant and afraid of being discovered. Getting up from the ground, he spat out blood and smiled, revealing teeth covered in blood, looking eerie and chilling.
Sticking out his tongue, the black-clad person licked each of his ten fingers until they were covered in blood, then started blowing the bone whistle.
Unlike the earlier single-note sharp whistle, this time it played a whole tune, with a red sound wave emitted at the end of each note. The tune was intense and piercing, and the sound waves traveled quickly out of the bone whistle.
Although Luo Yunzhen's skilled use of the Flowing Frost Sword was impressive, his spiritual power was running low and his cultivation greatly reduced, so he appeared weary in defense. However, he did not show any flaws in his movements, and the sound waves could not all be completely neutralized. Some of them were merely redirected and exploded around him.
Seeing the opportunity, the black-clad person slowly approached Luo Yunzhen.
Luo Yunzhen's cold gaze made the black-clad person feel fear, yet Luo Yunzhen's condition did not seem like a bluff. The black-clad person pushed forward a few steps, taking advantage of the situation.
As the black-clad person neared, Luo Yunzhen's lips curved into a cold arc, his eyes dangerous. The black-clad person sensed the danger too late.
Without gripping the sword, Luo Yunzhen's non-sword hand raised high, and countless yellow charms filled the sky. Although they were all lower-level charms, their sheer number proved overwhelming. Even though the black-clad person was fast, he could not counter all of them.
Checking her pocket, Gu Lingling found it empty, not knowing when Luo Yunzhen had taken her charms. These charms were her expenses for a month. Although the Worry-Free Pavilion was not so stingy, with the principle of optimizing resources, the good charms had been allocated to the other members, and the Corrosion Gate itself was poor, taking on small, low-profit cases, leaving little extra money for the members to use freely. Consequently, there was a limit to the supplies provided.
Without the charms, it meant that Gu Lingling would not be able to cleanse herself for the month and would have no income whatsoever.
Gu Lingling felt pained, as she still had a child to support and needed to save some money for her future. The original host didn't have much savings, and now Gu Lingling had reverted to zero. Not only was she unable to save any money, but she might also have to invest some of the little she had managed to save.
My money—
Gu Lingling felt a deep pain, wishing to rush and grab back those charms.
Coincidentally, Luo Yunzhen turned his gaze, and Gu Lingling's weak attempt at reaching out made him pause. He immediately looked away, but there was no longer indifference in his eyes, but instead a sense of relief and something else.
It seemed she had finally become aware and was concerned about the person who had saved her life.
The black-clad person suddenly had a bad premonition. The charms obstructed his view, but they were unable to stop his spiritual power. A bright spot appeared between the charms, rapidly approaching. When it reached him, the black-clad person realized it was the sharp tip of the Flowing Frost Sword.
Rather than pointing directly at his chest, the sword tip angled down a bit. The black-clad person felt a coolness in his dantian, then a piercing pain, not only on the physical level but also touching his soul because of the internal injury.
Underestimating Luo Yunzhen, the black-clad person managed to dodge and was only wounded on the abdomen, narrowly missing the dantian and preserving the internal energy.
Clutching his belly, the black-clad person's black robe was already soaked and clinging to his body, with a lot of blood dripping beneath him.
With a wave of his sleeve, Luo Yunzhen set the obstructions alight, considering them beneath him. The black-clad person's vision began to blur, as he staggered backward, realizing that he was no longer capable of confronting Luo Yunzhen. He was unwilling, but what could he do?
The sharp whistle sounded again, and Luo Yunzhen casually blocked it, dispersing the sound waves like soap bubbles. The black-clad person's objective was not to fight to the death but to take advantage of the opportunity to escape.
Luo Yunzhen seemed to have seen through the black-clothed man's intentions a long time ago, allowing him to disappear into the darkness.
The spiritual power in his body had long been exhausted, and now his composure was only supported by his will. His vision was darkening, and his body involuntarily began to throb with pain.
He was about to be unable to maintain the current situation.
"Senior Brother, what's wrong with you? Have you been injured? I have some elixirs here..."
Liao Feixing was the first to react, running to Luo Yunzhen and offering him a vial of elixir. Although Luo Yunzhen was about the same age as him, he had always been seen as the child of another family by his parents. Even though Liao Feixing didn't like his parents comparing him to Luo Yunzhen, he couldn't help but admit that Luo Yunzhen was much stronger than his peers, especially after being sent by his father to the Forget-Me-Not Pavilion for training. The attitude of resistance and resentment gradually disappeared, and a few points of admiration arose in Liao Feixing's heart.
The elixirs of Liao Feixing were specially made by the Star-Picking Pavilion, not something an ordinary disciple could obtain, and their effectiveness was much better than the standard elixirs of the Forget-Me-Not Pavilion.
Luo Yunzhen took a step back, widened the distance between him and Liao Feixing, and used the hilt of the sword to block the vial offered by Liao Feixing, his actions and expression showing a total resistance.
"No need, I'm fine. Keep this elixir for yourself. I have something to attend to, so I'll leave first. After you return, remember to report to the pavilion."
Liao Feixing was puzzled, not understanding why Luo Yunzhen, as fellow men, was resisting. Although there was an apparent hierarchical relationship, they had been compared since childhood, played together in the mud, but it seemed that at that time Luo Yunzhen had just stood by, so cold.