Chapter 87: The Murderer

Chapter 87: Chapter 87: The Murderer

Over the past few days, Yi Xiaoyao had grown quite close to these people. Watching three of them die before his eyes sent him into a rage.

To add to his fury, the arrows that had struck the three men were all too familiar.

They were the very same arrows the Yang Brothers had used to injure Lin Jie’s mount, the Black Eagle!

The other members of the Demon Hunting Team, who were also close to the three who had died, were filled with grief and fury.

"WHO IS IT!!!"

"GET THE HELL OUT HERE!"

Zhou Yan and the others roared, wanting nothing more than to tear the hidden archer limb from limb.

Although Yi Xiaoyao already knew who the culprits were, he didn’t say it out loud.

He knew the Yang Brothers must have been sent by Cultivator Duan, and their objective was to kill him.

But those three arrows had just killed other people, and Yi Xiaoyao refused to believe they had simply missed their mark.

Expert archers possess exceptionally sharp eyesight. They would never loose an arrow they weren’t certain would hit.

Suppressing his confusion, Yi Xiaoyao warned the others, "Watch out above! All three arrows came from overhead. There must be three enemies above us."

Everyone raised their heads to look, but overhead was a dense canopy of ancient tree leaves, making it impossible to see what was in the sky, let alone discern where the enemies were.

Just then, the faint sound of leaves being pierced came from above again, and everyone became alert.

But it was already too late. By the time they heard the sound, three arrows had already appeared in the foreheads of three of the people who had looked up.

Blood trickled down the arrow shafts protruding from their foreheads as they collapsed to the ground.

The survivors were panic-stricken and furious, but utterly helpless.

Aside from his anger, Yi Xiaoyao grew even more confused. ’Why are the Yang Brothers killing everyone around me, but not me?’

"Watch out!"

Yi Xiaoyao cried out, violently shoving Zhou Yan aside.

In that same instant, the shadow of an arrow, nearly invisible to the naked eye, shot past, grazing Zhou Yan’s nose.

Saved by Yi Xiaoyao, Zhou Yan shot him a grateful glance. But just then, two more thuds sounded out nearby as others fell.

In just a short moment, eight people had died.

The group finally understood the terror of this invisible threat. Zhou Yan ordered everyone to swing their weapons overhead as they ran for the carcass of the Sword-toothed Silver Tiger they had just killed, hoping to use its body to shield them from the arrows.

But even during that short sprint, three more members had their swinging weapons shot from their hands before being struck down and killed.

Of the thirteen-member Demon Hunting Team, eleven were now dead. Besides Yi Xiaoyao, only Zhou Yan and one other member remained alive.

At this moment, they had already hoisted the Sword-toothed Silver Tiger’s corpse over their heads. Three arrows shot down, only piercing a shallow layer of the tiger’s hide.

Although the Sword-toothed Silver Tiger was not a defensive-type Demon Beast, it was after all a high-grade Tier 2 Demon Beast. The Yang Brothers’ seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivation was simply not enough to completely pierce the Demon Beast’s body.

Seeing that it worked, the three of them finally let out a breath of relief.

"Yi, this must be retaliation from an enemy one of our team members made. I’m sorry to have dragged you into this."

Zhou Yan, oblivious to the truth, assumed an enemy of his team had come seeking revenge. He sighed apologetically to Yi Xiaoyao.

Just as Yi Xiaoyao was about to tell them the truth, a sound tore through the air—sharper and faster than any before.

SWISH!

The arrow pierced straight through the Sword-toothed Silver Tiger’s corpse and buried itself in Zhou Yan’s skull.

Immediately after, another arrow struck, instantly killing the last remaining member.

In that moment, only Yi Xiaoyao was left alive.

Yi Xiaoyao’s heart pounded with terror. ’To pierce a high-grade Tier 2 Demon Beast so easily... that requires at least a Golden Core Realm cultivation. This clearly wasn’t the work of the Yang Brothers.’

’There’s someone else here besides the Yang Brothers!’

Yi Xiaoyao quickly reached this conclusion, and with it, an unprecedented sense of crisis rose in his heart.

He had no time to grieve for his fallen friends. His mind raced, focused on one thing: survival.

The enemy was above, while he was on the ground. He was a sitting duck. This was his greatest disadvantage.

Before Yi Xiaoyao could think any further, another incredibly powerful whistle tore through the air. The arrow struck, and Yi Xiaoyao, still under the Demon Beast’s corpse, instantly collapsed.

Silence.

Corpses littered the ground, each one pierced by a blood-stained arrow.

Deathly silence.

At the same time, high above this area, a Griffin was circling in mid-air.

On the Griffin’s back sat three young men—the Yang Brothers.

And in front of the three of them was a middle-aged man.

All four bore a slight resemblance to one another, and each held a Strong Bow.

"Father, with that arrow of yours, that Yi Xiaoyao is definitely dead," Yang Da Lang said with a smile to his father, Yang Yunhua.

Yang Yunhua smiled and asked, "Do you three know why I had you shoot everyone else before Yi Xiaoyao?"

"We know! Kill all the eyewitnesses first. That way, even if news of Yi Xiaoyao’s death gets out, no one will know how he died, and no one will know that we killed him," Yang Er Lang eagerly answered.

Yang San Lang also added, "And Father, you also wanted Yi Xiaoyao to feel endless terror before he died, right?"

Yang Yunhua nodded with a satisfied smile. "Correct. After all, your Uncle Duan and I are old family friends. This Yi Xiaoyao killed three of Cultivator Duan’s closest relatives. How could I let him off easy with a quick, painless death?"

Yang Yunhua added, "Cultivator Duan entrusted me to kill for him this time because he wants to avoid suspicion. Since that’s the case, we must do a clean job, leaving no evidence and no witnesses."

The Yang Brothers looked at their father with admiration, taking his meticulous planning to heart.

Then, Yang Da Lang put the lesson to use. "Father, just in case, it would be wise for us to go down and check."

"Good! Da Lang, your prudence shows you take after me."

Yang Yunhua praised Yang Da Lang appreciatively and then controlled the Griffin to fly down towards the forest below.

After landing, the four of them very carefully inspected every corpse on the ground, and used sharp blades to cut the bodies open. This would make the scent of blood stronger, making it easier to attract Demon Beasts to eat the corpses.

"Father, that Yi Xiaoyao you shot is crushed under the Demon Beast. Why don’t you go check on him? Leave the rest to us."

Yang Da Lang said to Yang Yunhua, pointing at the Sword-toothed Silver Tiger’s corpse.

Yang Yunhua grunted. He didn’t care if the others were dead, but he had to personally inspect Yi Xiaoyao to see if he was truly and thoroughly dead.

The Sword-toothed Silver Tiger’s corpse was huge and couldn’t be easily lifted. Yang Yunhua slung his bow behind his back, gripped the tiger’s teeth with both hands, and heaved upward.

In the instant the tiger’s corpse was lifted off the ground, Yang Yunhua’s expression changed. He was stunned to see Yi Xiaoyao, whom he had thought dead for sure, turn his head and give him a wicked smile!

Seeing that Yi Xiaoyao wasn’t dead, Yang Yunhua didn’t immediately move to kill him.

Because Yang Yunhua noticed that Yi Xiaoyao was holding a Purple Sword.

Moreover, this Purple Sword was emitting an incredibly dangerous aura and was pointed right at him.

.......

.......

(PS: While writing this Chapter, I discovered a problem. Everyone, please don’t associate the four members of the Yang Clan with historical heroes.

I also regret picking this surname. It has produced too many heroes throughout history. Just type any of their names into Baidu and you’ll find a historical hero.)