Inside the junkyard, a long silence descended. Yamada Ichiro's sparse hair fluttered in the wind, and his heart was in utter disarray. He genuinely hadn't expected Xiao Feng to act like this.

Even the six ninjas who had been lurking all along, intently watching Xiao Feng's every move, realized they had missed the best chance to intercept only after the fact, as they watched that figure gradually recede from view.

With the target gone, there was no need for the six ninjas to remain hidden anymore. They appeared one after another in front of Yamada Ichiro, heads bowed, saying nothing.

"Yamada-sama, how could this happen?" A ninja standing on the garbage heap asked dully.

"Tch!"

Zhao Guo'an spat out a mouthful of bloody spittle. Although he didn't understand what the other party was saying, he still tried his best to seize the opportunity to survive: "I told you long ago, I've only known him for less than three days, and that bastard has never been loyal enough to risk his life for me."

"Bang!"

Another punch struck his abdomen, and Zhao Guo'an's eyes blazed with fury: "Damn it, try hitting me again, you son of a bitch!"

"Baka!" The ninja standing on his other side was already in a foul mood, and hearing Zhao Guo'an's curses only made him angrier. He slapped backhanded at Zhao Guo'an: "Slap!"

The crisp sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet setting.

"Good, very good, excellent!"

Blood trickled from the corner of Zhao Guo'an's mouth, and his face was flushed on one side as he uttered three goods in a row, a determined look appearing in his eyes as he roared, "Die, all of you!"

With that, he fiercely bit down, straightened up, and spat a mouthful of dark green liquid at one person, then turned and spat the remaining half mouthful at another.

This was his life-saving trump card, a capsule-like thing hidden in his mouth since the day he became a ninja, but he had never had the chance to use it.

This was his first use, and it was probably his last...

"What kind of trick is this?" Yamada Ichiro, who understood Chinese, raised his head and looked at Zhao Guo'an with a murderous glare.

"Hahahahaha!" Zhao Guo'an let out a carefree laugh, as if venting all the pent-up frustration from his chest: "I misjudged, I'm the one who's blind, you little bastards dare to mess with me, do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

Seemingly aware of his impending death, Zhao Guo'an cursed vigorously with abandonment, showing a grandiose sense of martyrdom.

At this moment, the two ninjas who had been sprayed with dark green liquid suddenly clutched their throats and fell off the garbage heap, making choking sounds. Their faces turned a visible shade of purple-blue; their eyes were white, with no black visible.

The next moment, the two ninjas began kicking the ground frantically, foaming at the mouth, their bodies writhing and rolling like snakes, clearly on the brink of death.

"Courting death!" Yamada Ichiro's eyes bulged with rage as he looked at the miserable state of his subordinates, then leapt up, his tachi gleaming as he swung it toward Zhao Guo'an's neck.

Zhao Guo'an instinctively tried to dodge, rolling directly off the garbage heap.

Yamada Ichiro naturally refused to give up the chase, his sword edge aimed downward, thrusting toward Zhao Guo'an.

There weren't many people here to begin with, and losing just one meant fewer fighters, especially since he understood Iwakami Shigehiro's temperament.

If the mission was accomplished, everything would be negotiable, even if only one person survived, it wouldn't matter. But if the mission failed and they lost members, the consequences would be dire.

So, in his view, Zhao Guo'an, the instigator, must not be spared!

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision, holding something like a spray bottle, spraying wildly.

"Zzzt, zzzt, zzzt, zzzt, zzzt..."

All six head-bowed ninjas got hit, without exception!

"Who's there?" Yamada Ichiro shouted angrily.

"Heh, you didn't even notice when I came back; seems like your eyesight's not so good." Xiao Feng stepped out from behind the garbage heap, using the same words that had been used to mock him before to mock back.

Yamada Ichiro's eyes were red. He didn't know what the spray in Xiao Feng's hand was, but seeing his two subordinates who had fallen by the garbage heap in such a miserable state, he only felt wave after wave of darkness encroaching upon his vision.

Ambushes and sneak attacks had always been his specialty, but how had things turned around to where he was the one ambushed this time?

For a moment, emotions like humiliation, anger, and fear exploded, causing his sword-wielding arm to tremble uncontrollably, nearly making him faint.

"Ha..." Covered in grime, Zhao Guo'an lay on the ground, seeing Xiao Feng come back, so excited he almost burst into tears, even seeing a bright glow enveloping Xiao Feng.

His savior had finally come!

"Aaaaahhhh!"

Unable to contain himself any longer, Yamada Ichiro let out a blood-curdling howl, gathering all his strength into the tachi in his hands and slashing diagonally towards Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng didn't take the blow head-on, predicting the trajectory of the opponent's blade. He moved ahead of time to dodge, then raised the spray in his hand just as the blade passed by.

"Zzz..."

Yamada Ichiro, who got sprayed on his face, shouted in panic, "What is this?"

Just as he spoke, a voice rang out from behind: "Yamada-sama, this kid's bluffing. We've already checked; that spray has no poison. He's doing this to stall for time, waiting for reinforcements."

Yamada Ichiro turned around and saw his six unscathed subordinates, feeling slightly relieved. Since they were unharmed, he figured he should be fine too.

However, just as this thought arose, he noticed that the subordinate who had just spoken had something bright yellow flowing out of his pants, quickly spreading over the ground beneath his feet.

The man evidently realized something was off too, staring down at the large puddle of yellow liquid beneath his feet in both fear and confusion, clearly not understanding the situation.

"What the hell is this?"

As he voiced the question, the same situation occurred with the other five, all of them equally bewildered.

"..." Xiao Feng remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you Pixius?"

The six ninjas, along with Yamada Ichiro, were all taken aback, clearly not understanding what Xiao Feng meant. They only felt a foul stench invade their nostrils, their backsides sticky and warm.

Seeing the others unable to react, Xiao Feng didn't plan to explain. He quickly ran towards Zhao Guo'an, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and prepared to leave without delay.

Yamada Ichiro wouldn't stand by and do nothing; he immediately blocked the path, both hands gripping the sword handle, ready to swing it with force.

However, as soon as he exerted force, he felt a warm stream uncontrollably surge out from his lower-mid section, and the ground beneath his feet became wet again.

Looking down at the ground and recalling that instant feeling, Yamada Ichiro suddenly felt like he understood something...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.