That Poisonous Scorpion died even before he could make a noise of pain. Zhang Chengling found it a little hard to believe; in an instant, joy, fear, aimlessness, and many other emotions surged in his heart, but even before he could savour them, another Poisonous Scorpion had appeared in front of him. Zhang Chengling raised a hand to block the strike, but discovered in horror that black was starting to creep from where his palm had been nicked by the hook. Right after, his whole body weakened, and he wobbled. Unable to stand any longer, he collapsed to his knees.

Zhang Chengling closed his eyes in despair, thinking—was he going to die?

But that fatal blow did not land. Zhang Chengling waited for a long while, before he snuck a peek over, only to see an arrow planted in the centre of that Poisonous Scorpion’s chest. Wide eyes nearly bursting out of his skull, the person toppled with a crash, and a man’s voice rang from behind him, saying, “Murdering and committing arson in broad daylight, why do I not remember that the folk culture of Dongting has deteriorated thusly?”

The author has something to say:

Guess who’s arrived? Hehehe~

Chapter 40: Lord Seventh

Zhang Chengling felt woozy. The scorpion’s venom was probably starting to take effect: it was like thunder was booming right by his ear, the noise all around him sounding like it was separated from him by a layer of gauze—he could hear it, but it felt somewhat unreal.

He turned his head in the direction where the arrow had come from, and saw two men.

The man with a small crossbow in his hand was dressed in navy blue robes, his long sleeves fluttering. A belt the width of a palm was fastened around his waist, and on the side of it, hung a white jade xiao. He did not look like someone of the jianghu, nor did he look like a scholar, but looked more like a noble who luxuriated in wealth. His hooded, amorous eyes[24] seemed as if they held a slight trace of laughter, but upon closer examination, the look he shot at the last Poisonous Scorpion contained the glint of a cold light.

Through the haze in his mind, Zhang Chengling thought that this person…was the best-looking person that he had ever seen.

There was another man following at his side. Dressed in black, that man had a face that came off as frosty-looking. A small ferret sat on his shoulder.

That suicide warrior seemed to hesitate momentarily, before hurtling like an arrow released towards the man holding the bow. Zhang Chengling only felt an indescribably sharp gust of wind whip past his ear, and before he could realise what had happened, that Poisonous Scorpion had become a dead scorpion.