Volume One: Another World Chapter Eighteen: Why Am I So Weak?

Old Mu stroked his waist-length beard, speckled with traces of blood. “Lin Sanjin, you must be the most notorious bandit chief in the area. If you don’t want me to leave you with nothing but your title, you’d best retreat now.”

At these words, many of the bandits instantly lost their fighting spirit, and murmurs of unease rippled through their ranks. Such was the deterrent force of a cultivator of the Divine Path.

It was well known that, among those of equal rank, even the weakest Divine Path cultivator could easily defeat a martial artist. Most of these bandits were nothing more than brutes who relied on violence and bravado—they hadn’t even set foot on the martial path, let alone dared to face an eighth-rank Divine Path cultivator.

Their chief had already been severely wounded; what chance did they have?

Lin Sanjin hadn’t become a bandit chief merely through ruthlessness; he was a martial artist himself. Even if only ninth-rank, his prowess placed him at the very top among this rabble.

His already blind eyes narrowed further until they were mere slits. “You talk tough for an old man on his last legs—still bluffing, are you?”

“This old codger may be vicious—he killed the brothers I sent with him—but I’m sure of one thing: the muscle-weakening powder he drank has sapped his strength to less than a tenth! And look how old he is—how much vitality can he have left?” Lin Sanjin glared around and bellowed, “Brothers, after all the effort we’ve spent, can you really bear to turn back? Kill him! Avenge our fallen comrades! Kill him, and a lifetime of wealth is ours for the taking!”

“Kill him!”

“Kill him!”

Lin Sanjin’s words worked their magic: the surviving bandits brandished their weapons and charged on horseback.

The ground trembled with the resonance of scaly horses’ hooves. Old Mu lowered his head slightly, and in the next instant, shrouded by his own aura, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from the bow, hurtling into the midst of the charging bandits. In a flash, men and horses were thrown into chaos.

The remaining bandits quickly surrounded Old Mu, raising clouds of dust that obscured the battle.

“Go!” Mu Yinhua tugged at the dazed Li Yu, whispering urgently.

“Shouldn’t we help Old Mu?” Li Yu asked in surprise.

“Grandfather doesn’t have much time left.” Tears welled in Mu Yinhua’s eyes. “They drugged some of the food—they must have. He’s only buying us a little time.”

Li Yu fell silent as Ergou seized his arm and pulled him away into retreat.

The others, catching Mu Yinhua’s signal, scattered in all directions.

“Don’t let them escape!” Lin Sanjin had been watching closely. At his command, several bandits broke away from the encirclement and gave chase to the fleeing villagers.

“If we can make it into the mountains, we might survive—the scaly horses can’t follow us in,” Ergou panted, clearly running at full tilt as the scenery whirled past.

“Old Mu came here just to save me, didn’t he?” Li Yu, eyes red, looked at Mu Yinhua beside him.

If their sole aim had been to escape, Old Mu and the others could have driven off the bandits and left—why deliberately enter the bandits’ encirclement? If they were trying to rescue the trapped villagers, the simplest way would have been to agree to Lin Jin’s demand and hand him over in exchange for everyone’s safety.

There was only one explanation: Old Mu’s true goal was to save him.

Mu Yinhua nodded, brushing away the tears from her eyes.

Li Yu sighed softly and murmured, “Old Mu, I’ll avenge you.”

Screams echoed from different directions—clearly, some of the fleeing villagers had been discovered by the bandits. Each anguished cry stabbed at Li Yu’s heart; he knew that this calamity had befallen the once peaceful village of Stone only because of him. The massacre was his fault.

He clenched his fists tightly, unaware that his palms were already streaked with blood.

“They’re catching up!” Mu Yinhua shouted. “Ergou, take Li Yu and go ahead—I’ll hold them off!”

Ergou skidded to a halt and gave a simple, honest smile, grabbing Mu Yinhua’s hand. “No, let me do it. You have a sixth-grade bloodline—if you escape with Brother Yu, you might have a chance at revenge.”

“Go! Don’t waste time!” Mu Yinhua hesitated, but Ergou barked at her and shoved her roughly.

“Be careful!” Mu Yinhua cast a deep look at Ergou, then hoisted Li Yu onto her shoulder and dashed toward the mountains.

A sharp whistle—an arrow sliced through the air.

“Damn it, don’t use arrows! What if you hit the Thunder Vein?” one bandit scolded.

“It’s fine, I nearly missed,” another chuckled, lowering his bow all the same. “Let’s deal with the annoying one first.”

Ergou faced the two fierce bandits on their scaly horses, took a deep breath, picked up a wooden stick from the ground, and stood ready in the middle of the path.

Meanwhile, Li Yu suddenly asked, “Did you know… that what happened to the village is because of me?”

“Grandfather used to say: ‘It is not the fault of the man, but of the treasure he carries,’” Mu Yinhua replied, her voice heavy and hoarse. “You did nothing wrong. Neither did the village. Our only crime is that we are too weak.”

“Strength is the only truth,” Li Yu murmured. This otherworld wasn’t the paradise he’d imagined. Without strength of his own, he would be forced to live in humiliation, let alone hope to explore the wonders of this world.

As they spoke, they reached the forest’s edge. Without pausing, Mu Yinhua plunged into the dense thicket.

The woods were eerily silent. Who knew how much time passed.

“Go on alone—I have my own way to escape,” Li Yu rasped. By now, those two bandits must have already… Without the burden of a rider, those two strong men would catch up in no time. Especially since Mu Yinhua’s speed, for some reason, had drastically declined. Li Yu suspected that even if he ran on his own, he would be no slower.

“Really?” Suddenly, Mu Yinhua stumbled and fell. Li Yu, caught off guard, was thrown several meters.

Ignoring the pain that lanced through his body, Li Yu rushed forward only to see the arrow deeply embedded in Mu Yinhua’s back.

She coughed, blood bubbling at her lips as she spoke with bitter reluctance. “If you really have a way out, you must survive. You must avenge us.”

Li Yu stared helplessly at the arrow buried in her back. There was nothing he could do except clutch her hand.

The bandits had only shot once before they left the village—was it that arrow?

Li Yu looked down at Mu Yinhua’s slender hand clasped in his. His heart trembled. He opened his mouth.

“Go, now.”

In the depths of the forest, Mu Yinhua’s arm fell to the ground, her strength spent.

“He really escaped…” she whispered, relieved, as Li Yu disappeared from sight. She felt her warmth ebbing away, chill encasing her body.

“How unwilling I am, to be so weak…”

As darkness closed in, the last thing she saw before her eyes shut was a figure stepping into her fading world.