Zhang Sheng and Zhao Shi dragged Liu Wei along, ignoring her tears and pleas until her voice became hoarse, showing no signs of mercy.
They had coveted Liu Wei for a long time, but had been intimidated by Liu Linshan's presence, so they had always been in a state of 'having the intention but not the courage.'
Now faced with such a rare opportunity, how could they easily let it go?
Their Adam's apples bobbed up and down as they swallowed their saliva, their eyes burning with uncontrollable desire.
By unspoken agreement, they quickened their pace toward the distant thicket of weeds that was nearly as tall as a person.
Crack! Pat pat!
In the thicket, Liu Wei was carelessly thrown onto the withered yellow weeds.
The moment she was freed from restraint, she instinctively tried to escape, crawling on all fours toward the depths of the thicket.
But having never practiced martial arts, how could she escape? Before she could run two steps, she was grabbed by the ankle by Zhang Sheng and pulled back. He also struck her chest with a palm.
"Mmm..."
Her body trembled violently, letting out a sound of pain, becoming completely limp and powerless, at the mercy of others.
"Little Junior Sister, at this point, don't think about escaping."
Zhang Sheng bent down, looking at Liu Wei's face which, although thin, still possessed beauty, and smiled:
"Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"
"Today, if you serve us brothers well, when we find a place to settle down, how could we possibly mistreat you?"
"Exactly!" Zhao Shi on the side was also rubbing his hands, eager to begin.
Hearing Zhao Shi's agreement, Zhang Sheng's eyes flashed with an unusual expression.
Although he spoke like that, he had other plans in mind.
This refugee journey would continue for an unknown length of time, and food would be difficult to find.
If the food ran out before they reached the nearest city, the junior brother by his side... would naturally be the best source of food.
As for this little junior sister, how could he possibly keep her?
Of course, once they entered the city, he would immediately sell her to a slave trader to exchange for some silver, to establish a foothold.
This perfect arrangement made Zhang Sheng laugh with satisfaction.
Without looking back, he said to Zhao Shi beside him:
"Brother Zhao, I won't stand on ceremony with you. Wait a moment on the side, and make sure no one disturbs our good time."
Between the two, Zhang Sheng's martial skills were superior, so Zhao Shi naturally followed his lead.
After giving his orders, without waiting for Zhao Shi's response, Zhang Sheng's five fingers eagerly reached toward the thin figure before him.
But before he could touch the tattered clothes around the girl, he suddenly heard a sound of gentle wind from his side, followed by strange noises:
"Huff huff... cough cough!"
"Crack crack! Crack crack!"
This sound was like the gasping of a drowning person, interspersed with the teeth-grinding noise of bones deforming, extremely uncomfortable to hear.
Within the sound, Zhang Sheng alertly detected a hint of danger.
His expression changed drastically as he swiftly withdrew his hand, reached for the saber hilt standing at his side, and turned his head toward the source of the sound.
Only then did he discover that, at some point, a gleaming steel saber, giving off a chill in the sunset, had been placed on the neck of Zhao Shi not far behind him.
And this saber, as wide as a palm, had at least half its saber embedded in Zhao Shi's vulnerable neck!
Zhao Shi, who had taken a saber to the neck, had bulging, protruding eyes, with blood foam flowing from the corner of his mouth.
He raised his hands, trembling, his fingers powerlessly clawing at his neck, trying to remove the source of excruciating pain.
His face still wore a look of confusion, not even understanding what had happened, let alone making any effective resistance.
With each heartbeat, crimson blood gushed from his mouth, making the choking sound of a drowning person about to die.
As for that bone-chilling noise...
Zhang Sheng's gaze moved along the saber of the saber, looking toward the area behind Zhao Shi.
Then he saw with horror,
There, a young man with gleaming eyes was tightening his arms, trying to pull out the steel saber that was deeply embedded in Zhao Shi's neck, twisting and prying it left and right with all his might.
The saber was stuck in Zhao Shi's neck bones, unable to move in or out. As he forcefully pried it, the saber and bones scraped against each other, making a series of piercing "crack—" sounds, like a dull saw being dragged, making one's bones ache.
"..."
This young man who had killed Zhao Shi was none other than Wu Chen.
At this moment, in his "Crimson" panel, the Spirit Snake Steps had not yet finished adding points, having only reached the minor success stage, and would need another minute to fully complete.
But seeing the two about to commit their atrocity, Wu Chen had no choice but to act prematurely, first ambushing one of them, and successfully doing so.
However, after taking action, Wu Chen realized he had been a bit naive.
Readers familiar with killing would know that when swinging a saber to strike, one must find the right angle.
Only by finding the gaps between human bones can one slice through as effortlessly as a butcher, delivering smooth and fluid moves.
But how could Wu Chen understand these intricacies?
He had intended to leverage his Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer strength, with his arms capable of exerting two hundred to two hundred fifty kilograms of force, to deliver a clean, decisive blow.
But having only brute strength and never having used a saber before, how could he pinpoint the bone gaps? Not to mention that Zhao Shi's Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer physique was not weak.
The result was that the steel saber was firmly lodged in Zhao Shi's neck bones, difficult to extract, creating this situation where he was neither alive nor dead.
Sensing Zhang Sheng's slightly horrified gaze, Wu Chen, unable to pull out the saber, gave an awkward smile:
"Sorry, this is my first time... I'm not very skilled."
"When it's your turn, I'll try to be more efficient."
His tone was gentle, but his smile, revealing a row of white teeth, didn't look friendly at all.
The words he spoke were also chillingly cold.
Zhang Sheng's plans were disrupted by this sudden turn of events.
However, having shed blood before, he quickly assessed the current situation during this brief exchange.
Some fool was playing hero, ruining his plans!
"You sneak attack and dare to talk big!"
Zhang Sheng drew his saber with a "zing" sound, his eyes full of anger.
Looking at the saber stuck in Zhao Shi's neck that couldn't be pulled out, he knew Wu Chen was definitely inexperienced with a saber.
This saber strike may have cut through half of Zhao Shi's head, but it relied on a sneak attack and Zhao Shi being completely unprepared!
Zhang Sheng felt no sadness for Junior Brother Zhao's death, only frustration at having his plans disrupted.
"You dog! You dare play hero?"
"Die!"
Zhang Sheng shouted and lunged at Wu Chen.
His figure moved with the wind, full of aggression. Though like Wu Chen he had no foundation in saber techniques, he was definitely superior to Wu Chen, an outsider.
In the blink of an eye, the saber wind that made one's skin ache had reached Wu Chen.
Enveloped by the surging saber wind, Wu Chen showed no panic.
He shifted his body sideways, his right foot moving slightly backward, his waist and leg muscles as taut as iron, and then his coiled leg kicked out fiercely.
Minor Success Spirit Snake Steps, Spirit Snake Tail Sweep!
Swoosh!
Hum—
In an instant, his leg became a blur as it kicked out, like a whip snapping with a humming sound.
It struck the corpse of Zhao Shi, who was hanging on the saber, gasping but not breathing.
Bang!
With a muffled sound, Zhao Shi's body fell from the saber, crashing into the charging Zhang Sheng, completely breaking his fierce attack.
Wu Chen also took the opportunity to withdraw his saber, and seeing Zhang Sheng hurriedly avoiding the corpse, swung his saber toward him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!—
Having gained the upper hand, Wu Chen swung four or five consecutive strikes at Zhang Sheng.
Although these strikes had no technique or skill, they were powerful and forceful, full of strength.
An ordinary person, even if they could block them, would have their breath disrupted and be forced back step by step.
But to Wu Chen's surprise, all these strikes, despite having the advantage and using full strength, were blocked one by one by Zhang Sheng.
The other party's breath didn't even show much fluctuation.
Ding ding dang dang!
In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged another four or five lethal strikes.
Through these strikes, Zhang Sheng, relying on his robust and strong physique built over many years, gradually leveled the playing field.
The steel saber in his hand was no less forceful than Wu Chen's, forcing Wu Chen to retreat repeatedly, showing signs of defeat.