Cultivation Kill

"What should we do with these four?" Shen Zige asked. "Should we each drag two to the government office to claim the reward?"

“One person carrying two, that’s too tiring!” Long Aotian said, kicking the four people who had fallen to the ground awake one by one. “Get up and walk, stop pretending to be unconscious!”

It turned out that he intended for the four of them to leave on their own.

"Big brother, don't hit me! I was forced into this!" Zhang Kun stood up, then knelt down and said to Shen Zige and Long Aotian, "The three of them threatened me. I transmigrated to this strange world, and I have no relatives or friends here. No one can help me. There are always places in the city where the guards can't see me. I'm scared. I'm afraid of dying. I dare not refuse!"

Shen Zige remained silent, not uttering a single word.

"Useless!" Long Aotian said, "I also transmigrated here, how come I'm not as pathetic as you?"

“I know you. Your hooded look makes you stand out,” Zhang Kun said. “You’ve fooled a lot of people too. I even saw you give a lot of spirit stones to the city guard captain. Oh… I see, that’s why you’re not wanted!”

"Fool!" Long Aotian cursed, "I am a cultivator. Small cities don't issue arrest warrants for cultivators. Don't you know that? Haven't you read the legal classics of the Bamboo Kingdom? Would I bribe the city guard captain? The spirit stones I gave him were just to buy some basic common sense books from him."

"What's going on with Qin Jing?" Shen Zige asked Zhang Kun.

"I lied to her." Zhang Kun thought to himself, could it be that the two of them came for Qin Jing? He knew Qin Jing; she was one of his countless admirers at school. After all, he was a prominent figure at school, not only a top student but also a singer, street dancer, and basketball player. He never expected that this top student would come to another world and, before he could even figure out how to condense a spirit, two people had already successfully condensed their spirits!

Zhang Kun couldn't understand it. He had once been the top scorer in the college entrance examination, a top student in the eyes of his school and teachers. How could he have fallen to such a state after coming to this world, being treated like a dog, with just two random people trampling on his supposedly brilliant intelligence? How could two people be even smarter than him! And have successfully condensed their spiritual essence before him! He was unwilling to accept it!

“Luck. Your success in condensing your spirits must have been due to luck, not intelligence!” Zhang Kun said.

Shen Zige and Long Aotian exchanged a glance, thinking that Zhang Kun's thought process was a bit strange. Wasn't he asking her about Qin Jing earlier? Why did he suddenly switch to Ning Ling?

"Stop letting your imagination run wild!" Shen Zige grabbed Zhang Kun and slapped him. "Wake up! Has Night Whisper Flower made you lose your mind for so long? Tell me about Qin Jing."

"She escaped." The pain brought Zhang Kun back to his senses, and then he burst into laughter. "She's so stupid. I told her I found a way to earn spirit stones, and she actually believed me! So I asked her to bring a few more people over so we could all make money together, and she helped me bring people over."

“She’s not stupid, she likes you!” Long Aotian said. “Love really does lower your IQ. Luckily, I never date.”

Shen Zige continued to interrogate Zhang Kun, but unfortunately Zhang Kun didn't know much either, and didn't know which direction Qin Jing had fled in.

Shen Zige had no choice but to put Zhang Kun down: "Take the torch, watch these three, and leave this place!"

"You two aren't planning to hand us over to the authorities of Arena City, are you?" Zhang Kun asked, his face pale. "No, no, you can't hand us over! Besides, you've already taken all our spirit stones and money. You won't get any reward if you hand us over!"

Shen Zige thought Zhang Kun made sense. The authorities of Arena City probably wanted them because of the spirit stones they had. If they didn't have any spirit stones, who would care if they were fraudsters?

"Please let us go, since we're all fellow transmigrators from Earth," the burly man said. "We'll give you all the money."

Long Aotian said, "You're giving me all this money? It was originally my money, I just kept it with you for safekeeping before. Can't you even speak properly?!"

"Yes, yes, you're right, brother!" Zhang Kun said, enduring the humiliation. "Can you please let us go? We're all from Yinjiang City. If you hand us over, we'll be sentenced to hard labor and forced to work until we die!"

“Yes, we don’t want to be convicted in labor camps, that’s why we keep running!” the burly man said.

"Fellow villagers? How many fellow villagers have you harmed?" Shen Zige sneered. "Playing the emotional card won't work."

“We only scammed people out of money, we didn’t harm anyone,” Zhang Kun explained. “Otherwise, why would we be wanted? If we had killed everyone we scammed outside the city, who would know it was us?”

Zhang Kun was about to say, "Isn't this hooded guy next to you just like us? Why don't you blame him!" But he swallowed his words; he didn't want to be beaten to death on the spot by the hooded man.

Shen Zige nodded: "In that case, we won't hand you over to the authorities. Let's leave here first!"

So the six of them lit torches with lighters and returned along the way they had come.

The four led the way, with Long Aotian and Shen Zige following behind.

"Should we hand them over to the authorities later?" Long Aotian quietly asked Shen Zige.

"What, you don't believe me?" Shen Zige retorted. "You suspect I'm using tricks to deceive the other party? This isn't some cultivation-themed killing game, I have no reason to lie."

“Since you intend to let them go, I can’t go against you,” Long Aotian said. “I don’t have to hand them over to the government, but I have other uses for them.”

"You... plan to take them under your command?" Upon hearing this, Shen Zige immediately understood Long Aotian's plan.

“Yes, it’s so comfortable talking to smart people,” Long Aotian admitted. He turned his head and saw that Shen Zige’s expression was a little strange in the firelight. He immediately realized, “Don’t overthink it. I didn’t take them in as my subordinates because I didn’t intend for them to join me in fraud. I’ve already retired from the criminal world.”

Long Aotian is a master of facial expressions and micro-expressions, giving others the impression that he has the ability to read minds.

Shen Zige gave a noncommittal hum.

The two slowed their pace as they talked, and the four people ahead disappeared around a bend.

"Don't worry, they can't escape." Long Aotian didn't care at all. After successfully condensing his spirit, he strengthened his body, and his speed was now comparable to that of a cheetah.

As the two reached the corner, two dark figures lunged at Shen Zige.

Shen Zige had no time to dodge, so she could only raise her left hand to block and clench her right fist to swing at the other person.

"Bang—"

The sound of a block and the sound of Shen Zige's fist striking rang out simultaneously.

A wooden stick struck Shen Zige's left hand and broke in two; the person hit by Shen Zige was sent flying through the air, crashing heavily into the tunnel wall before bouncing back to the ground, where he lay motionless.

Long Aotian stepped forward with a torch to examine the body, touching his nose and opening his eyes, and said, "Dead!"

Shen Zige's heart tightened: "It's a conditioned reflex; I subconsciously used all my strength."

"Oh, his head hit the wall and broke off," Long Aotian said. "You don't need to be so worried. It's not the first time. Voting for people and killing people in the Immortal Cultivation Killing Secret Realm is equivalent to killing people. You don't think the people you defeated can still live, do you?"

Long Aotian's way of comforting people is unique, but very effective.

Shen Zige snapped out of her daze and made up her mind: "Keep going, get out of this passageway."

He didn't pursue the other attacker any further, believing that the other party had already seen the difference between ordinary people and cultivators, and that a sneak attack with a wooden stick wouldn't succeed!

"Why did you ambush Shen Zige?" Long Aotian asked the man holding the broken wooden stick.

“We don’t believe him. We think he’s lying to us and will definitely hand us over to the authorities once we get out.” The man’s voice trembled. “Then let’s take a gamble and capture him so we can blackmail you.”

“The plan is good, but unfortunately we lack the strength,” Long Aotian said. “After we get out, you’ll have to do things for me. I won’t get any benefits if I don’t hand you over to the authorities.”

The burly man in the distance and Zhang Kun stood motionless.