Stabber of Hearts Chapter 1

Fengdu is located in the southeast of Shu. It is beside the water and backed by mountains with towering ancient trees. It is shrouded in thick fog all year round and has always been regarded as a place of ghosts leading to the underworld. Even the night falls much earlier than other places. When night falls, there is no one to be found on the streets. Only the big red lanterns in front of a few houses are swaying in the faint cold wind, making this ghost place even more eerie and terrifying.

It was mid-July, and the heat was at its peak. However, in this "ghost town", the heat seemed to be isolated by something. The cold wind occasionally stirred the hair on the temples and made the back of the neck feel cold. During the Ghost Festival, the gates of the underworld opened wide, and all the ghosts returned to the world of the living world, and the ghost town was the gateway between the yin and yang. Therefore, every year on this night, no matter whether you are a traveler or a long-term resident of the ghost town, everyone strictly abides by a rule: no matter what sound you hear, you must not open the door to anyone all night, because you don't know whether it is a person or something else outside the door.

A ray of moonlight peeked out from between the clouds and fell on the bluestone slabs that had been there for thousands of years. A few red spots gradually became clearer under the dim light. The bloodstains extended intermittently all the way and turned into a hidden alley after a dozen feet. A slender figure was leaning against the wall and panting softly. Half of his white clothes were stained red with blood. A broken blade was inserted into his left abdomen, and the fabric at the wound had been dyed dark black. Liam coughed twice, and a trace of blood flowed out from the corner of his lips. He curled his lips bitterly, raised his head and panted, looking at the small night sky between the gaps in the wall. After making such a mistake today, he was afraid that he would not be able to go back and explain to his master.

The incident originated in recent months. People in the martial arts world have frequently died unexpectedly. Not only the evil sects, but even the famous and upright sects that no one dared to provoke on weekdays were not spared. They all died suddenly under unclear circumstances. The causes of death were strange and bizarre. Some were killed by weapons, some were killed by internal force, and many people did not even leave a complete corpse.

The causes of death of these people were different, and there were bound to be grudges, hatreds, and bloodshed in the world. Originally, no one connected them together, but what happened later made everyone panic. These corpses all had one thing in common, that is, they all disappeared within seven days after death. No matter whether they were placed on the mourning hall or buried hastily, the bodies seemed to have disappeared out of thin air and there was no trace. A few days ago, someone finally got a clue. Shi Zao, a well-known "thief" in the world, survived by chance, but lost an arm. He became crazy and kept babbling, shouting "He Feng, kill me". Apart from that, no one was left alive.

He Feng, as Shi Zao mentioned, was a rising star of Kunlun Sect and one of the people who died in vain. When he was found, he was stabbed dozens of times and his body was bloody and bloody. It was almost impossible to see his human form. His body disappeared from the mourning hall on the third day after the coffin was buried. They searched the entire Kunlun but could not find it, so they had to give up. A dead person could not commit a murder. Those people just thought that Shi Zao had become crazy after being greatly stimulated, and did not take his words to heart. However, the news of the dead killing people spread like wildfire for some reason and gradually spread, causing panic among the people in the martial arts world.

Liam went down the mountain this time to investigate the so-called murder by the dead. Lingxiao is a seven-day walk from Fengdu, and it was just in the evening of the Ghost Festival when he arrived. In order to facilitate his work, Liam deliberately found a remote inn to stay in. Unexpectedly, it had been ambushed. The innkeeper's youngest son was curious about the red carp blood jade worn around her waist. Liam saw that he was only four or five years old and liked it very much, so he let him touch it. Unexpectedly, the child came closer and suddenly blew a puff of white powder in her face. Liam was caught off guard and inhaled some of it. He suddenly felt a blackness in front of his eyes, and heard the sounds of swords being unsheathed all around him. A gust of wind suddenly arrived in front of him, and the sound of sword energy was as sharp as a dragon's roar, and there was a momentum of a sword piercing his heart.

Liam stepped back on tiptoe. The man seemed to want to kill her with one blow. He followed closely with a sword. Liam's movement was blocked by the table behind her. She could only try her best to avoid the vital points and take the sword. The tip of the sword pierced her left abdomen and went straight through her body. Liam groaned, and she grabbed the sword on the table in her hand. There was a "clang" sound and a white light flashed. The sword in the swordsman's hand was actually cut off.

"The Yaoguang Sword is indeed worthy of its reputation." The swordsman had a calm expression on his face, calmly retracted his attack, and stood with his hands behind his back. "You can make a quick decision to kill someone's weapon even when you are seriously injured. You are worthy of being the chief of Lingxiao."

"Thank you for your compliment." Liam shook his body, coughed lightly, and smiled faintly, "I don't know who wants to take Liam's life."

"You will die soon." The swordsman's face was calm, and he turned his back. The implication was self-evident. The dead didn't need to know too much. The swordsman waved his hand and stepped out of the door. The crowd around him got the signal and approached the center with weapons in hand. "I will take over Yaoguang and will not disgrace it."

Liam's fingertips moved slightly, and he raised his hand to hold the broken blade on his abdomen. His eyes slowly swept around. The sword wound on his left abdomen was extremely deep, and he had lost too much blood. It was difficult for him to escape unscathed with powerful enemies surrounding him. Fortunately, the anesthetic effect was overwhelmed by the severe pain, and his mind was still clear. Now he could only break out forcibly and make other plans. Liam slowly tightened his knuckles holding the hilt of the sword and stabbed the sword towards the door of the inn.

His mind was in chaos for a moment, but he immediately forced himself to wake up. Once he lost consciousness here, he would never wake up again.

Liam let out a weak groan and shook his head gently, his vision still blurred due to blood loss. Although he had just escaped from the inn at the risk of his life, he was unable to run far due to his severe injuries. He was exhausted and could only hide here. Although he was safe temporarily, sooner or later he would be found by those people following the blood trail, and he would have to flee the city to deliver the message.

His long eyelashes were already wet with sweat due to the unbearable pain, and his dark and deep eyes were dimmed due to blood loss. Liam blinked slowly, raised his waist with great effort, and wrapped the torn cloth strips from his sleeves tightly around his waist several times, barely fixing the broken blade that ran across his body. His face became even paler because of this action. Liam slowly stood up with the help of the wall, and walked out of the alley step by step. When he reached the alley entrance, he stopped.

"My little beauty is so naughty that I have to teach you a lesson on how to be obedient." More than a dozen figures were standing on the empty street. The leader was a middle-aged man with a rat face and triangular eyes. He was licking his thick lips and looking at Liam up and down with ill intentions.

Liam's eyelashes drooped slightly, knowing that he could not leave today, he raised his hand and slowly grasped the hilt of the sword.

"Oh my little beauty, you're not going to resist, your face is as white as paper, I can't bear it..."

The middle-aged man was halfway through his words when his facial expression suddenly froze, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying. His eyes stared straight ahead, and their eyes widened wider and wider, until finally a line of blood and tears flowed from his sockets, and he fell straight to the ground with a thud.

A sudden shock occurred and both parties stood still, not daring to act rashly. It was obvious that the man had died of poison, but no one could tell who had poisoned him or how. The street was silent for a while.

"Snake! There is a snake!" When everyone was concentrating on being alert, a man with a horse face and short beard suddenly pointed at the corpse and shouted. Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a small spotted snake as thick as a finger slowly poking its head out from the corpse. It raised its head and neck to meet everyone's gazes, hissing and spitting out its tongue. The hissing became more and more frequent and louder, with other sounds mixed in, as if they were there and not there. Dozens of colorful snakes suddenly emerged from the dark corner of the street, and swarmed towards the center of the street, making people's hair stand on end. The rest of the people immediately became chaotic without their leader, with screams and roars one after another. No one wanted to end up like that man just now.

Liam's eyes went dark for a while, and he tried hard to hold on and not fall down. With his blurred vision, he could only vaguely see a large area of   objects on the ground surging, but he couldn't make out clearly. Just as he was forcibly resisting the surging sleepiness, he suddenly heard a low shout in his ear. The voice was soft and gentle, with an indescribable charm, "What are you doing standing there? Hurry up!"

Liam raised his eyes, but before he could see the black shadow that suddenly appeared in front of him, his wrist was suddenly grabbed by a boneless hand. His body was pulled and he stumbled forward. The woman moved very quickly. Soon she saw the closed city gate. Liam followed the other person's movements subconsciously in his daze. His steps were weak and much slower than usual. His wound was pulled so painfully that he could only endure it. When he was trying to concentrate and mobilize his intermittent internal force, the person in front of him suddenly slowed down and gradually stopped.

Liam raised his eyes with difficulty. A figure stood alone on the city gate, looking down at the two of them. There was a murderous aura all around him. It was the swordsman who had seriously injured him.

"Be... careful... He is difficult... to deal with." As soon as Liam opened his mouth, his breathing became more unstable. His body swayed and he barely supported himself with the sword.

"You should worry about yourself first." The woman narrowed her eyes and did not look at her distractedly. Her eyes were fixed on the man standing with his hands behind his back on the city gate. She seemed to be afraid of the other party's strength. The two sides confronted each other for a while. Finally, the woman took the initiative and flew towards him. Her figure was light and outstanding. Liam watched the man's back quickly disappear into the distance. Finally, he could not hold on any longer. His body swayed and he suddenly fell to the ground.

"Hmm..." The intense pain in his abdomen mercilessly pulled Liam back to consciousness. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a slender, soft white hand turning over the cloth wrapped around his wound.

"Your injury is serious enough. It's a blessing from your ancestors that you can hold on for this long." There was an obvious smile in the woman's voice, and the breath she exhaled gently fanned her face, as if she was very close to her. Liam slowly raised his eyes, and a charming and delicate face suddenly caught his eyes.

Demon.

The first word that emerged in Liam's mind was imprinted deep in his eyes along with the woman's delicate and bright smile. She has always been indifferent and calm, and didn't pay much attention to the appearance of others. But the woman in front of her made her look at her for a long time at the first sight. She had to admit that among all the people she had met, no one had ever been so beautiful, so... captivating, and truly worthy of the praise that all the beauties in the harem pale in comparison, and the king no longer needs to attend court early in the morning.

Liam stared at her intently for a moment, and suddenly realized something. He lowered his eyes slightly, opened his thin lips slightly, and whispered a few words. She was too badly injured, and her words were intermittent, and it was almost impossible to hear what she said, "Thank you... Miss... for your help. Liam will definitely..."

"Don't talk about the future for now," the woman raised her eyebrows and glanced at the wound on her left abdomen, her eyes full of sarcasm and ridicule, "If you don't pull out this sword, there will be no future. Just bear with the pain, and I will help you pull it out."

Liam noticed Lin Yang's wording, frowned slightly, and stared at her quietly with his dark eyes, without responding for a long time.

The woman seemed not to care about Liam's answer. She took a package from her back, pulled out a small medicine box, tore off a piece of fine cloth, and stretched out her hand to touch the broken blade on Liam's abdomen. Before she could touch it, her hand was grabbed by another bloodstained hand. The woman stopped her hand and glanced at her, "Why, you don't trust your sister?"

Liam's pupils were somewhat dazed, his thin lips were slightly pursed, and he panted twice before he could speak, "Wrap... the blade... don't hurt yourself..."

The woman paused, an unknown look flashed in her eyes, and after a moment's silence she spoke softly: "You still have the mind to care about others. Bear with the pain, I'm going to draw the sword." Before she finished her words, two fingers suddenly stretched forward, accurately clamped the sword body, and with a retracted arm, she pulled out the half of the sword blade that was stuck in her abdomen.

The sword fell with a clang, and blood gushed out immediately without any obstruction. Liam leaned weakly on the woman, trembling all over. The woman lowered her eyes and chuckled, without stopping her hands, she tapped Liam's chest twice neatly, blocked her wound with a piece of fine cloth, and bandaged her body while half-holding her.

"How is it? Is my craftsmanship pretty good?" The woman seemed to be teasing Liam intentionally. She put her slender fingers around her back and gently pinched her slender white neck, then hugged her closer to her. Liam's hair on her temples was wet with sweat. She raised her fingers and placed them weakly on the woman's dishonest arm.

"Thanks... a lot..."

"Oh? Thank you very much? How much is a thank you?"

"......"

The woman raised her eyebrows and said "tsk", with a hint of a smile in her eyes, "You are so stubborn that you won't faint until I say thank you."