Chapter 213: Unworthy

Chapter 213: Unworthy

"Don't go, weren't you going to give me something to eat?"

The old man grinned fiercely, still gripping the hand from which he had just bitten off two fingers, preventing the man from escaping.

The man screamed in agony from his broken fingers and, hearing these words, was even more horrified:

"I... I gave you the chicken leg to eat, not myself!!"

"Oh, is that so?"

The old man smiled. "This chicken leg is laced with poison, with a rather spicy flavor, perfect as a seasoning.

"I originally thought it was meant to accompany you as the main dish, but it seems that's not the case? That’s why you stuffed it directly into my mouth without hesitation.

"After all, who’s ever heard of eating the seasoning before the main course?

"So, you were trying to poison me? What a heartless bastard you are!"

The man being held was on the verge of tears. His fingers had been bitten off, and now he was being accused of having a cold heart?

What kind of freak was this?

Panicking, he instinctively turned to his leader. "Boss... help me!"

The old man had his wrist in a vice-like grip, leaving him helpless.

Right now, he didn’t care about the grudge from earlier when his boss had forced him to eat that damn chicken leg. All he could think about was survival.

The leader of the five took a deep breath. "Respected elder, my brother here has indeed acted wrongly. I offer my apologies on his behalf.

"I beg you to show mercy and spare his life. Rest assured, I will handle this accordingly."

His subordinate had violated the rules of the jianghu, and his methods were despicable.

Even if the guy had ended up in his hands, he wouldn’t have shown any mercy. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to face Su Mo.

But even if punishment was justified, it should have been his responsibility, not someone else’s.

"No rush, no rush," the old man shook his head, seemingly unwilling.

The leader frowned. "What does elder intend to do?"

"Eat him first, then eat you all."

The old man grinned, blood from the bitten fingers staining his face, making him look even more terrifying.

"None of you are getting out of here alive."

These words caused the atmosphere in the ruined temple to turn icy.

The leader's face changed. "Sir... are you truly a cannibal?"

"What if I am?"

The old man smiled as his gaze swept over everyone's faces, speaking in a leisurely tone:

"There are countless delicacies in the world, but I have a particular taste for this.

"I’m so hungry that it feels like wild dogs are tearing at my back. Otherwise, your thick, tough hides wouldn’t even be worth my time.

"In my eyes, among the people in this dilapidated temple, only these young girls are fit for a meal."

His gaze swept over the girls from the escort agency, Wei Ziyi, and the middle-aged man’s daughter.

The girls from the escort agency all slightly furrowed their brows.

Wei Ziyi squinted, her eyes gleaming with a dangerous light.

Only the little girl shrank back in fear. Hearing that the old man intended to eat her, she felt an icy chill all over and instinctively leaned closer to her father.

The leader of the group, upon hearing this, actually felt relieved.

This old man was unpredictable. If he were only after me, I wouldn’t stand a chance.

However, none of Su Mo’s group were pushovers. Although this old man seemed to have some tricks up his sleeve, it wasn’t certain he would come out on top.

With what he’d said, it made sense to team up with Su Mo and the others now. But there was no need to act rashly for now. At the very least, he needed to feel out the situation and find out who the other party was, so they could prepare...

Immediately, he cupped his fists and spoke, "May I ask for your respected name?"

"It's just a meal, why bother knowing so much?"

The old man laughed heartily. "I doubt your limited understanding can even grasp who I am."

As soon as he finished speaking, a scoff was heard.

The old man looked in the direction of the sound and saw Su Mo adding firewood to the campfire, shaking his head and laughing.

The old man raised an eyebrow. "What are you laughing at?"

"At you."

Su Mo didn’t turn to look at him, merely staring at the fire in front of him as if it was far more interesting than the old man.

"Do I have something to laugh at?"

"Yes."

"Kid, you’ve got no idea what you’re dealing with. Tell me, what’s so funny about me?"

"I laugh at your schemes, as if you’re a child trying to wield a weapon far beyond your skill.

"I laugh at you being ignorant even as you face death."

As he said this, he glanced at the little girl who was still trembling in fear. With a smile, he said, "Don’t be afraid, it’s just an old man.

"If he could just eat anyone he wanted, he’d have done it already. Why waste time chatting with us?"

The little girl blinked. "Big brother, are you saying he’s lying?"

"Of course."

Su Mo nodded. "And for the first time in my life, I'm seeing a conman who ends up spilling all his beans."

The old man's face darkened. "What are you saying?"

"Hmph."

Before Su Mo could reply, Wei Ziyi sneered. "You tried to scare us by biting off that guy's finger and putting on this scary act, right?

"It's true that subduing the enemy without fighting can yield remarkable results.

"If you lose your nerve, your moves will be hesitant.

"The problem is that you are too foolish..."

"Sharp-tongued little girl, I'll eat you first!"

The old man's face was grim and twisted in a fierce smile.

Wei Ziyi, however, shook her head. "As our leader has said, if you really had the guts, we'd all be dead by now. You're in a rush, aren't you?"

"Nonsense! I..."

The old man was startled, and suddenly, a realization struck him.

Su Mo chuckled. "Looks like you forgot what you said. Let me refresh your memory. You mentioned there were vicious dogs biting at your heels, and you're starving now.

"So-called vicious dogs biting at your heels means you're being chased.

"Starving indicates desperation.

"Both are urgent, and together, they make it even more pressing.

"In such urgency, if you truly had the ability to devour all of us immediately, why would you waste time talking here?

"So, you're trying to scare some of us off, handle the rest half-assedly, and then fill your belly. Am I right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's face changed drastically.

In the next moment, he grabbed the man's hand, which turned a sickly black.

He lunged forward, wrapped his arm around the man's shoulder, and sank his sharp teeth into the man's neck.

"Stop!"

The remaining four shouted simultaneously, drawing their weapons to stop him.

But it was already too late.

The next moment, the man's throat was torn open, blood flowing and soaking half his body.

The look of terror in his eyes froze at the moment of death.

At that point, two sabers descended from above.

The old man raised his hand, and his dark greenish-black palm suddenly caught both blades in his hands, laughing maniacally:

"Let me show you what this old man can do!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, two loud snapping sounds rang out, and the two sabers were casually broken in his hands. He then reached out with both hands, ready to grab the chests of two people.

Just then, a sharp whistling sound filled the air.

Looking up, he saw a ring-shaped weapon, whistling as it flew toward him.

This was the leader's signature weapon—the Sun-Moon Ring.

The weapon had two parts: a sun ring and a moon ring. The sun ring had a crossbar in the middle for holding, and its entire circumference was sharp.

The ring sliced through the air, heading straight for the old man's face.

Caught off guard by the sharpness, the old man hesitated for a moment, and he failed to kill his target. Worse, the ring was now inches from his face.

In a split second, the old man snapped his jaws around the sun ring's sharp edge.

This move startled even the leader, who had launched the attack.

His strike had not been an easy one to defend against. Even with serious effort, opponents usually struggled to block or catch it.

Yet, the old man had simply bitten down and halted the ring's advance.

But before the old man could even gloat, a sharp crack echoed through the air.

The sun and moon rings were designed to interlock, yin and yang working together. When the sun ring was obstructed, the moon ring immediately flew out.

This happened in the blink of an eye, fast enough that even a skilled practitioner would find it hard to defend against.

The old man hadn't expected such a mechanism. By the time he realized, he hurriedly dodged, but he couldn't completely avoid it.

A jagged cut ran across his cheek, slicing off part of his left ear.

The moon ring, after flying out, spun in the air and returned.

Without even turning back, the old man casually grabbed the moon ring in his hand.

Although he didn't hold it by the proper grip, his hand was on the sharp edge instead of the handle.

However, his hands were like steel, completely unaffected by the sharpness.

His eyes had turned blood-red at some point.

With a ferocious grin, he bit down hard again, and under the pressure, the sun ring cracked beneath his teeth. A moment later, the sturdy sun ring was completely shattered by the old man's bite.

"Very good!!!"

He finally found the time to speak again: "Even when chased by those vicious dogs, I didn't suffer a single wound, yet here I am, stumbling in a ditch.

"Today… none of you will leave here alive!!!"

As his words fell, there was another cracking sound, and the moon ring in his hand was also shattered by his palm's force.

The leader's face paled, but before he could even strategize, the old man had already moved in front of him.

The old man's five fingers were dark green, and he casually extended his palm. Before the palm wind reached him, a nauseating stench filled the air, making the leader feel dizzy and disoriented.

His body swayed uncontrollably.

He immediately realized that the old man's palm was laced with poison, but by then, even if he wanted to escape, it was too late.

He could only watch helplessly as the old man's palm descended, knowing he had no way to resist.

But just as the old man's palm was about to land, a sudden sharp edge struck from the side.

This edge was extremely fierce!

The old man had been handling these burly men with ease. Despite being outmatched by the Stars in Turmoil, it was due to the advantage of his weapon. His own martial skill was insufficient to compete with this person.

However, facing this sharp edge, the old man did not dare to be careless.

He immediately abandoned his attack on the leader, moved swiftly, and quickly flicked his fingers in an attempt to break the sharp sword energy.

But to his surprise, his finger strike landed on nothing.

He knew at once that something was wrong, but before he could turn around—

A figure flashed by.

A glint of cold light appeared.

A line of blood was left on his face.

And this was just the beginning!

The sword wounds were like flying stars, like a sudden downpour.

On the Star Viewing Platform, Su Mo had once commented on the technique of "nine fakes and one real," where nine strikes are feints and only one is real. But now, every single sword strike was real.

The old man couldn't even pinpoint Wei Ziyi's movements.

It seemed as if she was everywhere and nowhere at once.

For the moment, he could only focus on guarding his vital points, preventing this highly skilled young female from taking his life directly.

As a result, he was left vulnerable, and the sword marks of Stars in Turmoil left dozens of wounds on his body.

Blood flowed from the wounds, dripping down to the ground.

By this time, everyone else had already backed away, but the old man suddenly roared loudly:

"Damn it, do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

As he gathered his strength with both hands, the blood that had fallen on him was drawn in by his palm force, merging into his palms.

Immediately following, his palms met with a gust of wind, and with a twist and a flick—

A hum resonated through the air.

Blood droplets, like a cascade of petals, rained down into the void.

In an instant, the multitude of Wei Ziyi's illusions converged into a single figure.

She gathered her focus, steadied her stance, and thrust forward with her sword… Dot of Starlight!!

Buzz!!

The sound of the sword cry bundled into one, a white sword trace flashing across the air.

Immediately following was the sound of piercing flesh.

The blade entered through the chest and exited from the back, the fierce sword qi bursting out to strike the wall of the ruined temple.

In an instant, it left a hole in the wall, the remainder flying into the rain curtain.

However, Wei Ziyi’s pupils suddenly contracted, her expression changing in horror.

Looking down, she saw that the sword had indeed pierced through the old man’s chest, but it had also pierced through a hand.

That hand, at this moment, completely ignored the pain of being stabbed by the blade, casually shaking itself free from the blade, dripping with blood. The hand then grabbed Wei Ziyi’s sword.

The old man’s face twisted into a grotesque sneer.

“Feixing Swordplay? Back in the day, it was your Cold Moon Palace people who exterminated the evil gluttons.

“Eating you will be a small taste of revenge for them.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a black qi followed the blade, rushing straight toward Wei Ziyi.

Wei Ziyi knew something was wrong and immediately tried to let go, but the old man had anticipated her move and reached out to grab her shoulder.

If this claw had landed, Wei Ziyi would not only be unable to escape his grasp but also be affected by the Corpse-Hanging Hand’s poison.

But she couldn’t afford to block it.

The poison was not something to be touched even a little.

However, Wei Ziyi was a ruthless individual. In that moment, Wei Ziyi steeled herself, knowing that sometimes survival meant making sacrifices. After a brief moment of thought, she struck out with her palm.

First, resolve the immediate danger, and at worst, cut off this arm afterward.

Suddenly, a strong wind rose.

The old man, about to grab someone with his palm, heard the unfavorable sound of the wind and his face changed drastically.

But before he could retract his hand, the strong wind had already landed on his forearm.

With a sickening crunch, his arm snapped under the force.

Only then did Wei Ziyi remember that Su Mo was still there, watching the chaos unfold.

Unfortunately, it was too late to say anything now; she had already struck, and trying to take it back was not so easy.

Frustration surged through her as she felt herself yanked backward by the collar, her neck tightening in anger.

“Why didn’t you move sooner?! And why did you grab me by the collar? Are you trying to strangle me?!”

"You're acting like a shrew, which is quite unbecoming."

Su Mo smiled. "I held back earlier to see how Young Miss Wei would handle this situation."

"Hmph, you clearly just wanted to see me make a fool of myself."

After Wei Ziyi said this, she immediately felt regretful. How could she have said something so irrational?

Su Mo chuckled awkwardly. "That's not entirely accurate. I didn't realize he was part of the evil gluttons, so I provoked him with some words. Despite his decent martial skills, he's easily manipulated, and I quickly understood his true nature."

"Moreover, Cold Moon Palace has a long-standing feud with the evil gluttons, making it only natural for Young Miss Wei to take action."

"Finally, Young Miss Wei's use of Stars in Turmoil was flawless, truly impressive."

"The Star Point is incredibly powerful. I've seen members of the evil gluttons use the Corpse Hanging Hand, making them seemingly impervious to weapons."

"But he couldn't block your sword. Next time, if you intend to kill, aim for vital points. While the Tan Zhong acupoint is indeed a weak spot, your sword qi only grazed the surface, which was a bit wasteful."

Hearing Su Mo say this, Wei Ziyi felt much better.

But she still felt a bit unconvinced by his final comment. "I just wanted to leave him alive."

"That's also true."

Su Mo nodded and finally looked at the old man. "Surrender?"

The old man hadn't moved, not out of respect for the rules of the martial world.

But because at that moment, Li the lead escort, Hu Sandao, Fu Hanyuan, and the escorts big and small from the agency had already surrounded the area tightly.

Even the rough men who had been with him earlier were now glaring at him with murderous intent.

In his severely injured state, how could the old man dare to move?

Hearing Su Mo speak, he narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to overwhelm me with numbers?"

"While we don't need to follow the rules of the martial world when dealing with your kind," Su Mo said as he extended his palm, "you're not worthy of me ganging up on you."

The old man was delighted. Su Mo's underestimation of him was perfect. Moreover, his Corpse Hanging Hand was not something to be touched casually.

His hands suddenly turned dark green and black. He abruptly raised them and collided with Su Mo's palm.

With a deafening crack, the supposedly invulnerable Corpse Hanging Hand shattered instantly, blood spraying into the air!

Before the old man could react, Su Mo's palm had already grabbed his throat.

Inner energy surged like a raging sea, rushing through his meridians and into his vital points. The old man's body instantly became as stiff as wood, unable to move a single bit.

Su Mo glanced at the old man twice but didn't speak to him. Instead, he looked outside the door.

"How much longer do you plan to stand there watching?"