The Reticent Blade

Chapter 114 - Driven to Desperation

The old man the disciples called their Third Elder looked badly injured. His left arm was blown off at the elbow and his left abdomen was a bloody mess. He had been unconscious when brought in, and he was now occasionally letting out a pained groan from where he lay on the bed.

Flowerless Butterfly hid behind the door and waited for the footsteps of the two disciples to fade away before gently pushing open the partially closed door and stepping out.

Ordinary disciples were unlikely to know the location of a sect treasure like the Soul Locking Sunflower. However, since this old man was one of the four elders, he should have much more information.

Rao Shuang rolled her eyes and stepped toward the Third Elder's room. Just as she reached the door of the Third Elder’s bedroom, his weak voice came from inside.

"You Heng... bring me some water..."

Rao Shuang immediately froze in her tracks.

You Heng? Who is You Heng? Rao Shuang cautiously looked up and saw that the Third Elder was still lying with his eyes closed on the bed. It seemed he had been unconsciously rambling. Rao Shuang guessed that You Heng was probably the puzzled young Daoist she had casually dealt with earlier.

After pondering for a moment, Rao Shuang walked directly to the table in the main hall and picked up the teapot. The water inside was steaming hot, indicating it had just been boiled.

Carrying the teapot to the bedside of the Third Elder, Rao Shuang looked down at the old man on the bed, raised her hand, and dumped the scalding hot tea all over his head.

"Ah!" The Third Elder let out a painful scream as he was scalded by the tea; he immediately woke up and rolled off the bed. His remaining right hand was wildly wiping his face, while the stump of his left arm flailed in the air.

After waking up the Third Elder, Rao Shuang quietly stood to the side, watching the injured old man struggle in a disheveled state.

Once the Third Elder's old face turned red from the scalding hot water. When he finally regained his senses, he saw the unexpected guest standing by the bed. Startled and frightened, he forgot that he was still on the floor and hurriedly asked, "Who... who are you?!"

Rao Shuang ignored the Third Elder’s question, splaying out her fingers and casually examining her nails instead. They were painted a light purple, but had become somewhat chipped after trekking through the mountains for days. She nonchalantly examined her nails as if they were the only things she was interested in.

Seeing the infiltrator ignoring him, the Third Elder didn’t dare to get angry. He realized he was the one at a disadvantage.

He struggled to push himself up with his right hand. However, Rao Shuang suddenly attacked, her foot shooting out like a bolt of lightning and striking the Third Elder on the head!

The Third Elder was caught off guard. He hadn’t expected this strange woman to act so suddenly. He was knocked backward and banged his head against the wall with a thud, blood streaming down from his forehead.

"Hmm... There are a few things I need to know." Rao Shuang flipped her other hand, examining her nails as if she hadn’t been the one to kick him just now. "And you're going to tell me."

The Third Elder felt dizzy but was at least somewhat level-headed. Realizing that this woman meant business, he tried to calm her down by saying, "Let’s talk... You tell me what you want first—"

Stomp!

"Ah!"

Rao Shuang had suddenly stepped on the stump of his left arm!

"I’m not negotiating with you right now." Rao Shuang looked down at the Third Elder with cold eyes. "You cannot bargain with me."

The Third Elder gasped in pain and cold sweat covered his forehead. "Madam, please... I definitely won't hold anything back!"

Rao Shuang nodded, but her foot showed no signs of letting off. She looked into the Third Elder's eyes and asked slowly, "Then tell me... where is the Soul Locking Sunflower hidden?"

"Ah?" Upon hearing her mention the Soul Locking Sunflower, the Third Elder distinctly froze for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "The Soul Locking Sunflower is the treasure of our Five Gods Summit and is always kept by the sect master. I... I don’t know where it is..."

"Oh? Is that so?" Rao Shuang sneered. She had clearly seen the hesitation in the Third Elder earlier, so she naturally wouldn't believe his nonsense. She then pressed her foot down again, causing fresh blood to ooze from the Third Elder's bandaged stump.

"Ah! Madam, spare me!" the Third Elder howled miserably. Due to his injuries, he didn't dare to struggle too hard and could only endure this torment.

"So, will you tell me or not?" Rao Shuang tilted her head and eased the pressure of her foot a little.

The Third Elder gasped for breath and said, "I-I'll tell you... I'll tell you..."

"Go ahead, I'm listening." Seeing that the Third Elder seemed willing to talk, Rao Shuang finally moved her foot away.

"The Soul Locking Sunflower, the Soul Locking Sunflower is... just..." The Third Elder pushed himself up with his right hand and leaned against the wall. "It's... Die, demoness!"

This Third Elder was quite vicious. He quickly thrust his right hand from behind toward Rao Shuang, and a cloud of black-green dust instantly filled the air around her!

Rao Shuang did not expect that this old man, who seemed to be on his last breath, would have such a trick up his sleeve. The dust rushed at her face, and she instinctively closed her eyes.

In a moment of panic, she struck toward where the Third Elder had been standing, intending to take his life directly. However, to her surprise, she missed him entirely!

Before she could open her eyes and locate the Third Elder again, she heard a rushing sound approaching from behind!

Rao Shuang had no time to turn around. She instinctively lunged forward, rolling on the ground before standing back up.

When she opened her eyes, Rao Shuang's expression darkened. Standing not far from her, the Third Elder was hiding behind two people and clutching his injured left arm with a vindictive look on his face.

The two people showed no signs of life... they were clearly the two corpses that had been lying in the coffin earlier!

"That was a great plan." Rao Shuang felt a flush of embarrassment burn on her face; she had been outwitted by a semi-conscious and injured old man. "An Elder is an Elder... I underestimated you, old fool."

"Hmph." The Third Elder let out a cold snort. "Demoness, don't get too cocky. Just now, you have been poisoned by my Five Gods Summit's Bone-Eroding Poison. In less than a joss stick's time... you will be meat on the chopping block, ready for me to carve up."

Rao Shuang's face grew increasingly gloomy. In a moment of carelessness, she had indeed fallen for this old man's trick, and she couldn't help but feel a bit flustered.

But the Third Elder did not stop there, he smiled sinisterly and threatened her, "Demoness, although your character is poor, I see that your body is quite excellent. Truly a fine furnace. Once I capture you alive, I will make good use of you." With that, he even licked his cracked lips.

Flowerless Butterfly's face fell. Die and have my body turned into an animated corpse? I would rather jump off a cliff than face such a fate, she thought to herself.

But it was too late to say anything now. She had been forced into a dead end. What could she do to find a glimmer of hope in this desperate situation?