Even someone as quick-tongued as Qin Yu was at a loss for words.
How was he supposed to respond to that? How?!
He could only keep pretending to be bewildered.
When the man failed to find the fear and horror he had expected on Qin Yu’s face, displeasure stirred within him.
“Do you know how they died?”
As he spoke, he laid his palm on the crown of Qin Yu’s head.
“Just like this. Then, with a little pressure, their heads burst…”
Qin Yu racked his brains but could not work out what expression he ought to wear in this situation. In desperation, he asked the system silently, “Do you offer a free knockout service?”
【That service is not available. However, if the host insists, it can be arranged.】
“Hurry up and knock me out!”
All he could do now was gamble—gamble that the man would not kill him once he was unconscious. Even if he could not escape having his head crushed in the end, at least he would not feel the pain.
The system was remarkably obliging. In less than a second, it rendered him unconscious.
The body beneath the man’s hand suddenly went limp, and he instinctively caught him.
“Hey!”
He shook Qin Yu impatiently. When there was still no response, he tossed him to the ground with a thud.
“What a boring thing. Might as well kill it.”
A stream of black mist seeped from his fingertips and coiled around Qin Yu’s neck. A little pressure would be enough to crush his head.
Following its master’s will, the mist tightened steadily. Before long, Qin Yu was barely drawing breath. Just a little more force, and that head would burst right before the man’s eyes.
…
Sparks snapped and crackled in the fire, the sound unusually clear in the stillness of the night.
Qin Yu slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he did was feel the top of his head. Finding it safely where it belonged, he let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed he had won his gamble again. The man had not killed him.
Sitting beside him, the man watched every movement. A cold, bloodthirsty glint flashed through his crimson eyes.
He had the feeling he had been played, but he had no proof.
“You thought I would kill you?”
“Of course not!”
Qin Yu hastily denied it. He was absolutely terrified of this man who crushed people’s heads at the slightest provocation.
“My head just aches a little. I may have caught a chill.”
“Is that so?”
“There’s no grudge between us. Why would you kill me?”
Qin Yu tried to change the subject without making it obvious.
“Young master, where are we?”
“You don’t know?” The man feigned sudden realization. “I forgot you’re blind. How would a blind man know where he is?”
Oh, thank you so much! You just have to bring up the blindness in every sentence, don’t you?
If Qin Yu really were blind, this man would probably infuriate him to death even if he never crushed his head.
The man could not have cared less about his feelings. A moment later, an amusing idea occurred to him.
With a wave of his hand, they vanished from where they sat and appeared beside a cliff. Without batting an eye, he told Qin Yu, “This is the village entrance. I won’t be going in. Make your own way from here.”
“We’re already at the village entrance?”
Qin Yu did not believe this man would be kind enough to take him home. He secretly asked the system, “Where am I right now?”
【This is Guidong Cliff. Take a few more steps, host, and you will fall to your death, your body smashed to pieces.】
Qin Yu: “…”
How utterly vile. He was actually tricking a blind man into walking off a cliff.
Still, perhaps this was his chance to escape.
Pretending to know nothing, Qin Yu thanked him. “Thank you for bringing me back, young master. If I have the opportunity, I will certainly repay your kindness. It’s getting late, so I’ll go home and let my family know I’m safe.”
He had made up his mind. Before leaving this continent, he would find this man and get his revenge.
The man said nothing. His blood-red eyes watched at leisure as Qin Yu approached the edge, then stepped into empty air and plunged over the cliff.
Qin Yu hurtled downward, the wind lashing painfully against his body. He tried to hold it in, then tried again, but finally could not help raising his middle finger at the man and shouting:
“You fucking lunatic! I curse you to never find a wife for as long as you live!”
The man’s expression flickered. His figure flashed, and he leaped off the cliff after him.
He descended all the way to the bottom without catching sight of the blind man. Realizing he had been deceived, he curved his dark red lips into a bloodthirsty smile.
What an entertaining little liar. You had better hide well!
He was about to extend his spiritual sense to find where the little liar had gone when a streak of blue light flew toward him and unfolded before his eyes.
“The assembly is about to begin. Hurry back and see if anyone catches your interest.”
It seemed he would have to find that little liar another time.
Meanwhile, halfway down the cliff, Qin Yu had taken a Concealment Talisman from the original owner’s spatial ring and stuck it to himself to hide his aura. He then used several Thousand-Li Earth-Shrinking Talismans in quick succession. Within a few breaths, he was thousands of li away.
“System, did he follow me?”
The system was stunned by Qin Yu’s string of audacious moves.
All its previous hosts had died at that man’s hands. It had assumed this Qin Yu would meet the same fate, never imagining that he would manage to escape on his own.
He truly lived up to his status as its 101st host, painstakingly selected from countless candidates.
【The host is now thousands of li away. He will not be able to locate you in the immediate future.】
Upon hearing that the man could not catch up with him, Qin Yu slumped to the ground, utterly drained.
At last, his head was safe.
The system reminded him:
【The host fled in the opposite direction from Tiannan Divine Sect. Its disciple recruitment assembly is only half a month away. You should get moving!】
“No rush.”
Qin Yu was not concerned about the distance. When he had taken the Concealment Talisman and Thousand-Li Earth-Shrinking Talismans from the spatial ring, he had noticed a red flying vessel inside. If he was right, it was the supreme-grade immortal artifact mentioned in the novel, capable of flying a thousand li on its own—the Redleaf Flying Vessel.
With that artifact, he had no reason to worry about missing Tiannan Divine Sect’s disciple selection.
Once he had rested, he found a place with water and cleaned himself up thoroughly, from head to toe, inside and out.
Reflected in the water was a strikingly handsome youth in black brocade robes embroidered with gold, a purple-gold crown upon his head. He carried an air of unmistakable nobility, while his clear eyes held a faint blend of innocence and allure.
Wait—wasn’t that exactly what he had looked like at seventeen?!
“You systems really know how to cut corners. You even copied my face. Have you paid the licensing fee?”
【This allows the host to adapt to his new identity as quickly as possible.】
Qin Yu rolled his eyes. Laziness was laziness. Why bother making excuses?
He boarded the Redleaf Flying Vessel and set off for Tiannan Divine Sect.
Half a month later, in the trial realm of Mount Tiannan.
Faced with a junction branching into nine paths, Qin Yu hesitated and silently asked the system:
“If I remember correctly, no one has ever made it through the first path. Even Jiang Fu chose the second. How about I take the second one too? If I follow the same route as Jiang Fu, I definitely won’t lose to him!”
【The host must choose the first path and successfully complete the trial. Success will be rewarded with a grand mystery gift package. Failure will double the price of the ninth-grade Restoration Pill.】
“Come on, system, that’s a little unreasonable! Aren’t you afraid I’ll die in there? Could you really bear to lose such a cooperative host?”
【If the host does not proceed, this system will be forced to resort to extraordinary measures.】
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