.....
That Cripple Li had previously fought with Cao Ying over the Zhima Beasts.
Last ti, Cripple Li lost to Cao Ying.
Lost the prize, lost face.
From that point on, Li Baoxiang lost all enthusiasm for the treasure-hunting ga.
Whatever, it was nothing special anyway.
Wasn’t it Cao Ying who ended up giving the Zhima Beasts to Lu Ding, just to earn a seat as head of Caojia Alley?
That’s when it clicked for Li Baoxiang.
Treasure hunting? Not as good as joining a real organization.
Sure, he couldn’t get into 749.
But there were other forces out there.
Lu Ding was born of flesh and blood, and yet earned the title “Corpse-Shattering Taishui.”
Li Baoxiang wasn’t carved out of stone—if Lu Ding could do it,
then with enough b liquor in him, maybe he could too.
So Li Baoxiang borrowed Cripple Li’s na and joined the Tianli Cult.
Ding Buxiu grinned, keeping a bit of mystery: “Then do you know whose hands the Zhima Beasts ended up in?”
But Li Baoxiang already knew: “Wasn’t it Lu Ding?”
He glanced sideways. “Once I rise, people like Cao Ying won’t even be worth ntioning. Lu Ding, though—he’s worth a look.”
“Hahahahaha, well said! Lu Ding gets to be called ‘Corpse-Shattering Taishui.’ From now on, you, Li Baoxiang, shall be ‘Standing-Tall Taishui!’”
Ding Buxiu roared with praise.
For a second there, Li Baoxiang almost believed he had a future.
If he wasn’t still half-sober, he might’ve really bought into his own bullsht.
Ti to change the subject quick.
“Uncle Ding, so what’s the actual mission we ca here for this ti?”
Ding Buxiu didn’t answer, glanced at the empty seat, and frowned: “Where’s Xiaoshan? Why isn’t he back yet?”
Just then—
BANG!
The private room door burst open.
A voice arrived first: “He probably isn’t coming back.”
“You ran your mouth for so long, and didn’t say a single thing I wanted to hear. I actually waited, giving you the benefit of the doubt, and you really wasted my ti with nothing but crap.”
Lu Ding arrived late.
As he stepped in, several gazes turned toward him.
All five faces imdiately changed.
Lu Ding!!!
Why the hll was he here?!
This is bad—really bad!!!
Li Baoxiang felt like crying on the spot.
It’s over!
He ran his mouth, and the person he ran it about just walked right in! If he even survived this, he was never drinking again!
“Run!!!”
Ding Buxiu shouted. The four of them bolted, aiming to crash through the window.
But before they even moved, slashing marks suddenly carved across the walls.
Crack crack crack—
Tables, chairs, decor, everything shattered to pieces.
Three of them hit the ground.
Broke apart into three piles of minced flesh.
Only Li Baoxiang remained unhard.
Staring at the carnage in front of him, he finally understood—
not just anyone could be called “Taishui.”
As Lu Ding walked closer,
Ding Buxiu’s screams still echoed behind him.
“My leg!!! My leggggg!!!!!”
Li Baoxiang trembled as he stuttered, “L-L-Lord Lu Taishui... I was just talking sht, can you... not take it personally?”
SMACK!!!
Lu Ding raised his hand and slapped him flying straight into the pile of gore.
His legs kicked feebly, blood splattering everywhere.
“Not your turn yet. Shut your mouth.”
Ding Buxiu hadn’t said anything useful just now.
But Li Baoxiang had—sothing Lu Ding hadn’t expected.
He didn’t realize that Cripple Li had his eyes on Ba’er Mountain too.
Even went to find a Goat Herder to partner with.
Of course, that was sothing to ask about later.
Right now, Lu Ding needed to handle Ding Buxiu.
He crouched down. “Shut up.”
The screaming stopped instantly.
Ding Buxiu clutched the severed leg, body trembling from pain.
He glanced at Lu Ding, then looked away.
He didn’t know what Lu Ding was planning, but Lu Ding gave him a heads-up anyway.
“Don’t do anything stupid. You can’t kill , but you can piss off. And if that happens, I’ll flay you alive. If you cooperate and answer my questions, I’ll give you a clean death. Quick or slow—that’s the only choice you’ve got. Sound fair?”
Ding Buxiu gave a pained smile, dragging himself back against the wall.
Lu Ding pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and held it to Ding Buxiu’s mouth.
Ding Buxiu—nicknad Slayer of Life, Savior of Death.
Didn’t care about karma, didn’t talk good or evil.
Killed a lot, saved a lot.
Lived however he wanted.
Now, Lu Ding handed him a smoke. Ding Buxiu took a deep drag, coughed twice, and exhaled a plu of smoke.
Gave a thumbs-up. “Lord Lu Taishui, you’ve got style.”
“Ask away. All I ask is you let die clean.”
Lu Ding nodded. “Alright. So tell —why’d you co to Jinshan?”
Ding Buxiu took another drag. “Orders from above. They said you’d be arriving in Jinshan today.
Liu Xingchuan may have failed his quota this year—
but he’s still a Tianli Cult man. Still a branch master.
He represents the face of the Tianli Cult.”
“Liu Xingchuan had to die, but he had to die under Tianli Cult rules.”
“You killing him—that’s like slapping the Tianli Cult right in the face.”
“Cough cough cough cough, and it was a loud f**ing slap too.
Tianli Cult may not be small,
but you drop our face like that, we gotta pick it up again. Otherwise, what would outsiders think?”
“So they ordered us to co gang up on you.”
So it was all aid at him.
Well, alright then.
Looks like there’s a rat in 749.
So who could it be?
Lu Ding couldn’t imdiately think of anyone with a high chance.
The only one with even a bit of suspicion… was Song Chunfeng.
They had fallen out before.
But it was hard to say for sure.
After all, plenty of people at the advanced training ground knew he was coming out.
“So, do you know who leaked the info about coming to Jinshan?”
Ding Buxiu shook his head, “I’m not at that level, can’t access that kind of intel.
But the Cult did send one of the Pillars—Fire Pillar. He should know. We’re supposed to et at midnight, at Chaos Rock Slope.”
Fire Pillar—one of the Nine Pillars of the Tianli Cult’s Three Extres structure.
Tianli Cult worshiped the sun and believed in the Three Extres:
everything in the world had a past, present, and future.
The past was Wu Ji (Limitless), the present Tai Ji (Supre Pole), and the future Huang Ji (Imperial Pole).
The Three Extres were the three deputy cult leaders.
The Nine Pillars were three Cultivators of Qi under each deputy, forming nine in total.
This Fire Pillar was under the past—Wu Ji.
Lu Ding was a little speechless. “Feels like a mission chain, one after another—you guys sure know how to drag it out.”
Ding Buxiu grinned, tugging his wound, face twisting in pain.
After his last drag, he loosened his collar and gestured toward his neck.
“Lord Lu Taishui, swing it right here. Go clean so I don’t spray everywhere. Just… don’t miss.”
“Alright. My hand’s steady.”
As soon as Lu Ding finished speaking, he raised his hand and delivered a slash.
Ding Buxiu’s head tilted and was about to roll to the ground.
Lu Ding caught it, gently placed it back on the neck, and sat it upright.
“You behaved, and I keep my word. Told you I’d give you a clean end—next life, if fate allows, maybe we’ll work together.”
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