Chapter 56: The Note

She had rushed forward out of sheer courage when she saw Su Li was in danger, plunging the dagger into Wang Kaikang. But seeing Wang Kaikang swing the machete down, she felt paralyzed by fear, only able to watch as the blade grew larger before her eyes.

A message flashed through Su Li’s mind.

“Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 10/30”

Fang You, who was lying on the ground, finally breathed his last and died. A Spiritual Source flew from his body and merged into Su Li’s forehead.

“So, killing a Spiritual Source Wielder also grants a Spiritual Source.”

The thought flashed through his mind. Seeing Xu Xuehui in peril, Su Li let out a long cry. He completely ignored Ni Jianrong’s bone spur attack, sacrificing his body to be pierced by the spur. He slammed into Ni Jianrong with a full-body tackle, and the iron rod in his right hand swung out with all his might.

Ni Jianrong looked slightly astonished. Su Li had actively thrown himself onto him, and the foot-long bone spur instantly pierced Su Li’s abdomen. Meanwhile, Su Li’s extended right arm swept out from his side, the iron rod in his hand swinging horizontally from right to left, smashing into Wang Kaikang’s head.

All of Su Li’s power erupted at that moment. Wang Kaikang’s head exploded instantly, like a hammer striking a watermelon. His swinging motion abruptly ceased, and his right hand instinctively released the machete, which flew away with its previous momentum.

“Kid, get clear—” The fallen Ding Longyun yelled at the same moment. Ignoring his severe injuries, he mustered the last of his strength and rushed forward, tackling Xu Xuehui to the ground, narrowly avoiding the machete that flew from Wang Kaikang’s hand.

A message appeared in Su Li’s mind.

“Level 3 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 11/30”

The Spiritual Source gained from Wang Kaikang’s death, combined with the earlier one from Fang You, merged into his body and transformed into a warm current, rapidly healing the severe wounds his body had sustained.

He had been willing to let Ni Jianrong’s bone spur pierce his body to save Xu Xuehui. This was partly because he didn’t want Xu Xuehui to die, and partly because he had just absorbed Fang You’s Spiritual Source. While integrating the Spiritual Source, even severe wounds could be healed.

Therefore, he risked injury to kill Wang Kaikang and save Xu Xuehui. With only Ni Jianrong left, he would be much easier to handle.

This rapid sequence of events left a look of astonishment and gravity on Ni Jianrong’s face.

He had assumed the Level 4 Ding Longyun was the strongest among the three. He had proactively ambushed Ding Longyun, believing that once he was dealt with, the remaining two could be easily overcome.

But he had utterly failed to anticipate that the quiet, unassuming Su Li was the most terrifying one of the three. He had miscalculated.

Having killed Wang Kaikang, Su Li’s left-hand Gluttony Fangs extended.

The bone spur piercing Su Li’s body could slice downward and disembowel him, but Su Li’s Gluttony Fangs, in a swift exchange of injury for injury, would equally disembowel Ni Jianrong.

This time, Ni Jianrong’s reaction was lightning-fast. The moment Su Li killed Wang Kaikang, he seemed to realize his peril. He pushed off with both feet and leaped backward with full force.

He cleared several meters in one leap, putting distance between himself and Su Li. In one more stride, he rushed into the room across the corridor.

Although Su Li’s body had been pierced by the bone spur, the wound was healing at an astonishing rate. He immediately pursued.

When he charged into the room, he saw that Ni Jianrong had already jumped onto the window sill facing him, squeezed out, and plunged into the water with a “splash.”

Su Li rushed to the window and saw that Ni Jianrong, having jumped into the water, had disappeared.

“That guy…” Su Li suspected Ni Jianrong was a Level 4 Spiritual Source Wielder. The instant Wang Kaikang was killed, he immediately thought to flee. His movements and reaction time were absolutely fast. Even Su Li couldn’t catch him.

Ni Jianrong had plunged into the water and disappeared. He had clearly submerged himself. Su Li’s aquatic ability was mediocre, and he hesitated whether to jump in and pursue, unsure of the man’s swimming skills.

Suddenly, Ni Jianrong surfaced, but he was already a dozen meters away.

“You’re something else, kid. I won’t forget you. You killed two of our people. I’m coming back to settle this score.” He then submerged again and disappeared.

Su Li stared intently into the water. He vaguely saw a dark shadow, like a swimming fish, moving swiftly into the distance.

“His swimming is better than mine.” Su Li frowned slightly. Ding Longyun was severely injured and couldn’t go into the water. If Su Li, with his ordinary swimming skills, pursued him into the water, he would likely be at a disadvantage and might even be killed by Ni Jianrong.

“He said I killed two of their people… Judging by his tone, does that mean they are a group of more than three? But he doesn’t have a raft. How far can he swim in this dangerous water?”

Su Li thought for a moment and finally gave up the chase. He ignored the escaping Ni Jianrong and returned to the earlier balcony.

Ding Longyun was sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily. “What… happened?” he asked. Blood foam occasionally bubbled from his mouth; his injuries were serious.

Su Li shook his head. “He escaped. That Ni Jianrong is a good swimmer. Only you could beat him in the water. I couldn’t catch him. How are you?”

“The situation… is bad.” Ding Longyun looked bitter. He stared at the two corpses lying quietly on the ground and murmured, “I still don’t understand why they suddenly attacked us. Wouldn’t having three more companions be better?”

Su Li replied, “Ni Jianrong said as he left that we killed two of their people. By the sound of it, he wants to come back for revenge. Also, they didn’t have any supplies on their raft when they arrived. Their situation seems different from ours. Perhaps… they are a large group, and these three were just out looking for supplies. They already have a base, so they weren’t looking for a new one or moving house, which is why they didn’t bring supplies.”

Hearing Su Li’s analysis, Ding Longyun was shocked. “You mean they’re already part of a large group, and these three were just scavenging in this area? Even so, why would they resort to killing? Shouldn’t more people mean more safety?”

“I don’t know the specifics. Maybe they already have enough people and don’t need us. Instead, they are short on supplies, so they only wanted our resources, not us.”

As Su Li spoke, he began flipping over the corpses of Fang You and Wang Kaikang, checking their pockets for anything useful.

He soon found a folded note and a pen refill in Fang You’s pants pocket.

Su Li unfolded the note. It was a page torn carelessly from a notebook. The top was labeled North, and the bottom was labeled South. The middle was marked with many small circles of varying sizes, some with an ‘X’ drawn over them. The center had a circle with four small characters written next to it.

(End of Chapter)