In this instant, Lan Buhui’s mood was practically indescribable.
Even if this old man is a fool, you can’t just use the same trick to dupe me twice in a row within the blink of an eye.
In a terrible rage, he turned back immediately to see Mo Tianji and Gu Duxing transform into two shooting stars, one flying out toward the left and the other toward the right.
The walls of the hut had already cracked apart soundlessly. They were already half-way out of the wall!
He let out a thunderous shout. “Stay here!” Then, his hands grabbed at them at the same time.
The air trembled and fluctuated wildly. Then, it suddenly formed two gigantic hands which shot out to grab at them!
The instant the gigantic hands formed, Mo Tianji and Gu Duxing finally shot out with a loud crash!
As though they had anticipated Lan Buhui’s actions long ago.
At the same time Mo Tianji crashed through the wall, he yelled, “Lan Buhui! Your father is a Nine Tribulations! Now that you are trying to kill a Nine Tribulations, isn’t this the same as you killing your father?”
Lan Buhui’s body shook violently for a moment.
The two gigantic hands suddenly paused for a moment in mid-air.
With a whoosh, Mo Tianji and Gu Duxing had already shot out a hundred feet away from the hut!
“My father is my father, but the current Nine Tribulations are my enemies!” Lan Buhui bellowed, as though he was convincing himself. The two gigantic hands struck out once more!
This time, they weren’t trying to grab but were out to smack!
After the buffer time their exchange provided, he was no longer able to grab them. He could only deal them a critical hit!
Moreover, it was possible that this hit would kill them directly!
There was a bit of regret in Lan Buhui’s heart that he couldn’t get Mo Tianji to finish everything he wanted to hear. However, he also knew very well that since Mo Tianji had chosen to escape at this point, this meant that he never had any intention to tell him the truth!
He had only intended to give a rough scope of his battle strategies so that Gu Duxing could commit it to memory, that was all.
Therefore, it didn’t matter anymore.
He hit out two palm strikes. A ripping sound echoed in mid-air and wisps of white smoke rose into the sky. Then, two blasts of wind impact from the palm strikes shot out like cannons!
Thoughts were running through Gu Duxing’s mind as he fled.
What happened today was all because of my negligence. That’s why it caused Tianji to also be in this precarious situation. Now that we finally have a chance at escape, moreover a situation where we have split up, as long as one of the hits can be blocked, one of us can definitely successfully escape!
If I turn around and rush back now, hold Lan Buhui back and self-destruct at a critical moment, Tianji will be able to survive!
And by the time I get back, Tianji would already have gone far away, so he may not necessarily become aware that I’ve died for him. Thus, there will not be any psychological burden on him!
When he thought of that, he suddenly stopped right before he charged into the forest.
He had originally been charging straight ahead like an arrow that had left the bow. But now, he paused slightly in mid-air. Then, his feet pushed forcefully against a large tree, his body changing direction smoothly, and shot back the same way he had come from!
Sword light shone brilliantly! Gu Duxing’s lips were pressed together, and his eyes calm and burning intensely!
Tianji, I won’t let you die! I will pay the price for my own mistake!
…
As Mo Tianji charged out, he thought to himself, “I haven’t finished what I was saying, so I still have a bargaining chip. But Gu Duxing doesn’t, so now that we have this chance that didn’t come easy, I must let him leave.”
If I go back now, I have absolute confidence that I can hold Lan Buhui back! If things really don’t work out, if I self-destruct, I can also hold him back for a brief moment! That way, Duxing’s chances of survival will greatly increase.
The moment he thought of that, Mo Tianji charged toward a tree. His feet hooking against the tree trunk, his body made use of the momentum to spin around the tree and he actually spun around like a spinning top. Without any loss in speed, he charged back in the direction where he had come from.
Second Brother Gu definitely won’t know that I’ve gone back. This way, even if he has a complex about this, with Chu Yang around, it will eventually be resolved.
But of course, the most important thing is that Second Brother Gu can go back alive!
Just this alone is enough!
Mo Tianji shot back toward where he had come from like a swift gust of wind!
…
Because of their change in direction, from a pursuing attack at their backs, Lan Buhui’s palm strike actually turned into a powerful frontal strike!
When Mo Tianji took the incomplete version of the Nine Tribulations Pill from Gu Duxing, he had quietly used his fingernail to halve it and left the other half in Gu Duxing’s palm.
Otherwise, considering how devious Mo Tianji was, he was well aware since a long time ago that there was only one Nine Tribulations Pill with Gu Duxing. So what was the point of this unnecessary gesture?
It was completely meant for Lan Buhui to hear!
The purpose was to let him know that this was the only pill left and that he had already consumed it.
As expected, Lan Buhui’s suspicions indeed weren’t raised.
At that time, Mo Tianji had already come up with the escape plan. Under normal circumstances, even if something unexpected were to happen, the two of them definitely wouldn’t be able to successfully escape from a ninth-grade Supreme Martial Artist. The only variable was this half a Nine Tribulations Pill!
As long as Gu Duxing kept it in his mouth while fleeing, if he risked his life to take the hit and digested the medicinal effects immediately, Gu Duxing had a more than 90 percent chance of escaping successfully!
Moreover, if Lan Buhui wasn’t able to give consideration to both directions, there was a ten thousand out of a hundred chance that he would go after Mo Tianji!
If Mo Tianji took the initiative to go back, then the chances of Gu Duxing escaping would become ten thousand out of a hundred!
This was a foolproof plan!
Mo Tianji had predicted every detail accurately. Everything was going according to his plan. But what he never would have expected was that Gu Duxing would actually turn back!
Both their choices were very foolish.
So much so that it made one really wish that he could catch hold of them and give them a good thrashing. Only then would one be able to vent his anger.
But… it was precisely this foolishness that was the most precious in this world. How many people in this world could actually achieve this?
…
Bang!
Bang, bang!
Mo Tianji’s sword and Gu Duxing’s sword clashed with Lan Buhui’s palm strike at the same time!
Both of them let out a muffled grunt, their bodies overturning as they retreated. Blood spurted from their mouths. A head-on clash was definitely much more damaging; both of them had completely lost the ability to move.
But the next moment, it was unknown where they had gotten the strength from, but the two of them suddenly got to their feet in a stupor and stared at the opposite direction in disbelief.
With a loud boom, the wooden hut turned into broken bits which filled the sky.
Lan Buhui leaped into the air and shot high up. Then, he discovered two absolutely stupefied men, one standing on the left and the other on the right. For a moment there, he was also greatly surprised!
Why hadn’t these two left?
Mo Tianji didn’t know where he got the strength from, but he suddenly jumped up furiously and charged toward Gu Duxing. “You bastard! Why didn’t you leave? You, you, you… You’re going to make me die of anger… Bastard! Second Brother Gu! You’re practically the biggest bastard ever! Is this the time for you to goddamn talk about brotherhood?!”
With his eyes red, Gu Duxing retorted furiously, “Then why didn’t you leave? You had obviously gone so far out, so why didn’t you leave? What are you doing coming back here? Who asked you to come back here? Aren’t you very full of witty schemes? So this is how you’re so full of witty schemes? Not escaping when you could?!”
Mo Tianji stared at Gu Duxing speechlessly and powerlessly.
Gu Duxing stared at Mo Tianji powerlessly and with an aching heart.
The two of them were trembling throughout. Two pairs of eyes glared viciously at each other, just like two fighting gamecocks.
After a long while, the look in their eyes finally mellowed. All of a sudden, both of them fell onto their bottoms at the same time, chuckling as they did so.
“My death is worth it today.” Gu Duxing coughed and threw up a mouthful of blood.
Mo Tianji smiled. “Very worth it!”
Then, he heaved a heavy sigh. “But you should have left. If the news doesn’t get out, the brothers will be in danger.”
As Gu Duxing coughed, he chuckled. “I remember something that Boss once said — When I cannot give consideration to everything, I only care about what’s in front of me!”
Mo Tianji chuckled as well. “Since that’s the case, then us brothers can just go to the underworld together.”
Lan Buhui stood quietly at the side as he watched them. There was envy, jealousy as well as a touched emotion in his eyes!
With his experience, he naturally could tell with just a glance why these two had rushed back so desperately after charging out.
They were using their lives to exchange for the other party’s chance of survival!
In the course of his life, over the last ten thousand years, he had seen too much mutual suspicion and deception, and seen too many people who acted intimate in person but brought out weapons the moment they turned around. He had seen too many people disregarding moral principles in favor of profit, and seen too much of the fickleness in humans, the hypocrisy in the world, brutality and savagery, and treachery… But this was the first time he had seen people like these two in front of him.
I’ve never had even a single brother like that in my entire life! Compared to these two people who are about to die, just how impoverished am I! They easily have eight to nine, yet I don’t even have a single one!
At this point, Lan Buhui suddenly thought of his father.
He thought of what his father had said before he left —”I regret nothing in my entire life!”
Suddenly, he understood the true meaning behind these words.
No wonder it was said that the ties among the Nine Tribulations were heavens-shaking and earth-shattering.
“I am very moved, but I still have to kill the two of you!” Sighing, Lan Buhui said somewhat respectfully.
Mo Tianji let out a resigned laugh. “After seeing this fellow actually coming back, all my hopes have also been dashed. The thought of living has never crossed my mind.”
Gu Duxing grumbled. “Didn’t you come back too…”
Earlier, when the two of them were facing Lan Buhui, even though they were on absolute weaker ground, they were in good health and their cultivation still intact. As such, they still had the power to resist, which was to say that they still have a sliver of hope. But now, they were truly as though lambs waiting to be slaughtered — There was not one bit of hope at all!
No matter how vast and amazing Mo Tianji’s wit was, under these circumstances, there was nothing he could do!
“Mo Tianji, looks like you don’t plan to tell me the rest anymore,” remarked Lan Buhui with respect.
Mo Tianji smiled with ease. “At this point, I’m afraid even if I were to say it, you wouldn’t be willing to listen anymore.”
There was a smile in Lan Buhui’s eyes. “That’s right. Even if you were to say it, I don’t wish to hear it anymore. When facing such brotherly ties, if one of you were to suddenly lose your backbone, even I would break down.”
Mo Tianji let out a hearty laugh. “Since that’s the case, then just give us a quick and painless one. Rest assured, if I have the fortune of meeting your father, I will relay your message to him!”
Lan Buhui nodded solemnly and said seriously, “Thank you very much!”
Then, he heaved a heavy sigh. There was actually some melancholy in his voice. “Gentlemen, have a smooth journey!”
Mo Tianji let out a hearty laugh while Gu Duxing chuckled mirthfully.
They were actually completely unaffected!
Lan Buhui let out a loud howl. “Lan Buhui of the Lan Clan takes the lives of two Nine Tribulations on this day in the wilderness! The heavens and god of the earth, etch this moment into your minds! The bright moon and refreshing breeze shall offer their respect in remembrance of their souls!”
When he finished, his palm chopped downwards through the air like a knife!
