BXBX NOVEL Chapter 23 - 22 Who says there is no poison for the skin?_i
After being hit in the face, Mr. Zhang spun around to deflect the attack, but he still couldn’t understand. The poison he had given Tao Yaoye was one of his proudest concoctions; many cultivators had died from it. How could it have failed?
Tao Yaoye didn’t answer. Once she confirmed that the parrot was indeed Miss Shang’s, she became even more alert.
Everyone in the village knew about a talking demon bird flying around. If the Shang Family had simply sent someone to look for it, they would have found the parrot, and none of this would have happened.
The Shang Family’s actions were clearly suspicious!
Adding to that was Miss Shang’s standoffish attitude. Instead of dismissing them, it felt like she was warning them of danger in the Shang Family and urging them to leave immediately.
A casual voice came from behind, answering Tao Yaoye: “The compulsory course for Seek Dao Sect recruits, ‘One Thousand Eight Hundred Types of Common Poisons and Their Antidotes’, would you like to take a look?”
The poison that Mr. Zhang prided himself on was a joke in the eyes of Seek Dao Sect. No matter how capable you are at brewing poison, could it be stronger than the poison concocted on Elixir Cauldron Peak?
Mr. Zhang turned around abruptly and saw Lu Yang leaning against the door frame with an ancient sword in his arms, smiling at him.
Mr. Zhang then realized that Tao Yaoye was not the prey, he was.
He asked in a deep voice, “How did you discover me?
He didn’t believe that he had given himself away. The Shang family members were all under his control and no one had leaked any secrets.
While Shang Yuan and Lu Yang were talking in the room, he started eavesdropping instead of extending his spiritual sense due to the fear of being detected. This led him to discover that the two were disciples of the Seek Dao
Sect.
But even then, Shang Yuan did not mention his identity.
Mr. Zhang had excellent hearing abilities. Even the slightest drawing or writing couldn’t escape his ears.
Lu Yang laughed and asked, “Do you know what the parrot said in the village?”
“What?”
“It said, ‘Who are you, where is Zhang Guanjia?”‘
“At first, we thought the parrot was looking for Zhang Guanjia, but we later discovered that it was just mindlessly repeating the phrase. That’s when I started wondering. Zhang Guanjia is not a wanderer, where did the parrot hear this from?”
“What if the parrot wasn’t saying ‘Who are you, where is Zhang Guanjia?’, but instead ‘Who are you, where is Mr. Zhang?’?
Lu Yang imagined a scenario:
Twenty days ago, Miss Shang accidentally discovered that Mr. Zhang had been replaced by someone else. Terrified, she blurted out: “Who are you, where is Mr. Zhang?” She then knocked over the birdcage, causing the parrot to fly away. This was the last sentence the parrot heard. So later on, when faced with Village Chief Huang in the tailor shop, the parrot repeated this sentence.
Perhaps it was due to the parrot’s unclear enunciation, or perhaps Village Chief Huang’s first thought was of Zhang Guanjia, who he interacted with the most.
Either way, the parrot’s sentence turned into “Who are you, where is Zhang Guanjia?”
Mr. Zhang was furious. He never anticipated that such a simple-minded parrot would ruin his plans.
If he had known, he would have killed it at the outset!
Mr. Zhang was no novice to survival in the cultivation world. Surrounded by the two, he laughed loudly: “1 am at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. If I want to escape, are you capable of stopping me?
Tao Yaoye was somewhat anxious. If Mr. Zhang managed to escape, the only option would be to report back to the Sect and let her senior brothers and sisters handle the situation. The chances of being able to track him down were slim.
This made Tao Yaoye feel slightly embarrassed. She had successfully completed two missions, yet an unexpected event had occurred on her third.
Lu Yang, however, remained calm, a sight that unnerved Mr. Zhang: “Have you ever thought about this, if you can poison us, can’t we poison you too?”
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhang relaxed and said scornfully: “1 thought it was something more serious. Poison, what use does that have against me?” As he spoke, Mr. Zhang’s skin began to sag, separating from his flesh, much like a snake shedding its skin. The shed skin took on a complete human shape, standing in the middle of the room. Its hollow facial features stared at Tao Yaoye, giving one the chills. The skinless body, however, collapsed to the ground with a thud.
A Skin-Peeling Ghost.
Tao Yaoye’s expression was serious as she realized why Mr. Zhang had said that poison was useless against him.
Poison usually targeted the body – more precisely, the internal organs, muscles, and meridians. Mr. Zhang was a Skin-Peeling Ghost, his true form was only skin. Who would think of poisoning the skin?
And who had ever heard of poison designed specifically for the skin? At least
Mr. Zhang never had.
But Lu Yang did.
just as Mr. Zhang was preparing to boast about his abilities, he found to his horror that sores as large as green beans had grown on his feet. His skin started to peel off in layers, and the sores swelled and itched like mad. Scratching them caused them to burst. Having only brushed his feet against the ground a few times, a thick yellow liquid began to ooze out.
“What… what is happening?!” Mr. Zhang exclaimed, a sense of astonishment creeping into his tone.
Mr. Zhang had never encountered such a thing. When had he been poisoned?
“Athlete’s foot.”
“What?” Mr. Zhang thought he had heard wrong.
“You thought 1 was just making small talk with you just now? No, 1 was waiting for your disease to take effect.”
“1 knew you would come for Tao Yaoye, so I left a poison in this room in advance that would cause athlete’s foot!”
Mr. Zhang turned pale.
Tao Yaoye turned dark.
Lu Yang grinned and began to approach Mr. Zhang step by step, causing him to retreat and fall on his behind.
“How… how did you know I was a Skin-Peeling Ghost?!” Only if they had known his true identity in advance could they have poisoned him so specifically!
The key point was, Mr. Zhang had never heard of a Skin-Peeling Ghost contracting athlete’s foot before!
His feet were now itching to the point of madness, compelling him to consider amputating them. The disease forced him to expend a significant amount of energy and magical power to suppress the poison, leaving him unable to escape.
Suddenly, his vision blurred and Lu Yang disappeared from sight.
“Impossible!” Mr. Zhang glowed with rage. Lu Yang was only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Even if his agility was exceptional, he couldn’t evade Mr. Zhang’s keen eyes.
“It’s an illusion!” He reacted and quickly rolled away to escape.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. A cold light flashed, quick as lightning. A thin line traced from Mr. Zhang’s forehead to his pelvis. Lu Yang sheathed his sword, and Mr. Zhang was split into two, his broken interior as flat as mirrors.
“Not bad.” Lu Yang gave a thumbs up to Tao Yaoye.
Earlier, Tao Yaoye had used the Thousand Illusion Umbrella, putting Mr. Zhang in an illusory state. The illusion wasn’t perfect, Mr. Zhang, who had extensive experience, was able to see through it in a moment’s hesitation.
What Lu Yang needed was that fleeting moment of hesitation. He drew his sword, executed a vertical strike, and sheathed his sword in one fluid motion. The Skin-Peeling Ghost was known for his oddity, not his defense. When faced with a sword cultivator with the strongest attack power, plus hesitating and without the preparation to defend himself, the fight’s outcome was decided in one move, with no suspense!
The advantage of the Skin-Peeling Ghost disappeared the moment Lu Yang identified him.
The Skin-Peeling Ghost stared at Lu Yang in disbelief. With his mouth opening and closing, it appeared as if he was asking: How did you recognize my true form?
Tao Yaoye looked at Lu Yang, she also wanted to know the answer.
Lu Yang did not say anything. Instead, he swung his sword once more, slicing the Skin-Peeling Ghost into four pieces. He doused them with Spirit Wine, lit a fire, and burned them to ashes amidst wretched screams.
Who knew what kind of tricks this ghost creature could have up its sleeve? It was better to kill him first and explain later..