Xitu approached slowly, each step labored. The blade in his hand dragged lifelessly along the ground. His breaths were shallow and uneven.
He opened his mouth with difficulty.
"Remember, you forced me into this," he said, struggling to keep his voice steady. "You could have let me go. You could have walked away… left Blue Cloud District behind."
Before Lu Fan could respond, Xitu lifted the saber and struck down with resolve.
But in that instant, a golden sphere of light blossomed around Lu Fan. The strike failed to damage him. Xitu stared at the barrier in disbelief. He recognized it: a Low Rank, Excellent Grade defensive talisman—ironically, one of his own safety talismans that Lu Fan had stolen earlier.
The finishing blow hadn't landed, but Xitu wasn't concerned. He knew this talisman well. This was only a low-level talisman, meaning it had many restrictions.
First, the barrier was static. Step outside its range, and the protection vanished.
Second, no Qi-based attacks could be launched from inside. Spells, talismans, or anything like that would instantly dissolve the shield.
Xitu raised his saber and pounded the sphere with all his remaining strength, scattering sparks each time.
"Let's see how many of these you've got left!" he grunted between strikes.
"I don't believe I won't break them all before I pass out."
Lu Fan let out a cold laugh, feigning confidence.
"Hahaha! A Qi Foundation cultivator like me has resources you couldn't imagine. I have dozens of these left. Try if you dare. I'll recover enough to kill you before you even finish half of them."
But his trembling voice and the beads of sweat falling down betrayed him.
Xitu knew he was bluffing. If Lu Fan had many defensive talismans, he would have used them earlier. And if he had high-level ones, he would have used it just now. Most likely, there were only a few low-level talismans.
'He must have underestimated me. Careless enough to come here with so little preparation, huh?' Xitu mused.
Well, Xitu was both right and wrong. Lu Fan did look down on him, but that wasn't why he lacked talismans. In fact, Lu Fan only had the talismans he had taken from Xitu. That's why he had forgotten about them until now and used one only at the last possible moment.
The reason was simple. Earlier this week, Lu Fan sold most of his belongings to prepare for paying off his debt. Since he was focused on Xitu and believed Xitu was his ticket to riches, he hadn't gone out hunting. Because of that, he saw no need to buy combat talismans.
'Clack!' 'Clack!' Each clash of the saber sent vibrations through Xitu's arms. Sweat poured down his face, mixing with dust and blood from earlier wounds. He was starting to doubt if the man had any other talismans.
Lu Fan's face grew more anxious by the second as Xitu slowly chipped away at his final defense with every blow. After several minutes and a dozen tries, 'Crack!' The sphere's light dimmed and it vanished.
"When he didn't produce another talisman, Xitu's doubts were confirmed.
Lu Fan's bravado collapsed instantly. He dropped to his knees, his head hitting the hard stone floor. Blood seeped from his temple, but he kept slamming his head against the ground. His face was pale and terrified as he looked up at Xitu.
"I was wrong," he choked out between ragged breaths. "Please, please let me go! I'll never make a mistake like this again. I'll leave this place, go far away, so you never have to see my face again."
Xitu's grip tightened on his saber.
"Your attack in the corridor," he said quietly, "that was your last chance."
With that, Xitu lifted the saber high and slashed downward.
But Lu Fan was far from finished. As Xitu's blade descended, Lu Fan lurched to his feet, a look of savage determination in his remaining eye.
He gripped the Steel Fang Dagger with his left hand. Unnoticed by Xitu, Lu Fan had concealed it in his sleeve when he knelt. Now, as Xitu showed no mercy, he lunged upward, burying the dagger into Xitu's ribs just under his heart.
At the same time, Xitu's blade had already torn into Lu Fan's flesh. The saber carved a deep, brutal gash across his torso, tearing through skin and muscle. Blood poured freely from the wound, soaking his clothes as he staggered in pain before collapsing.
Xitu stumbled a few steps back, then fell down onto his butt. He looked at his own artifact plunging deep into his ribs. Luckily for him, the wound was deep but not lethal.
Deprived of his right eye and dominant hand, Lu Fan's aim and force were imperfect.
Xitu's vision grew hazy. His eyelids drooped as sleep beckoned like a merciful embrace from Mother Nature.
But after a brief moment of muddled thought, Xitu bit his tongue to stay awake. The sharp pain and metallic taste cleared his head. He forced himself to rise, using the saber as a cane, moving like a snail toward Lu Fan.
'If I leave him be, he might recover,' Xitu thought, each movement excruciating.
'Lu Fan might have a healing pill in his storage pouch. I can't risk it.'
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he reached Lu Fan's unmoving figure.
He was still alive, chest rising and falling with strained breaths.
Seeing Xitu, he quietly whispered, choking on his own blood.
"Please… don't kill me. I was wrong… bad people from the inner district tricked me out of all my money… I was in debt. If I didn't pay them, an underground boss would kill me. Please, brother Xitu!" His voice broke, tears streaking his face. "I was greedy and blind... please forgive me."
Only now did Lu Fan call him 'brother'—just like he had when he first arrived at Blue Cloud District. In Xitu's blurred vision, the image of the young boy Lu Fan overlapped with the man before him. A flicker of hesitation stirred in his heart, a momentary urge to spare the boy he once knew.
But the memory of Lu Fan's betrayal struck Xitu, surging stronger than any pity. He lowered his head, gaze locked on Lu Fan's tear-filled face. Lifting the saber, sorrow etched across his features, he whispered, "I can't forgive you, Little Lu Fan... May you find happiness in your next life."
With those final words, Xitu drove the saber upward, plunging it swiftly and decisively into Lu Fan's heart. Lu Fan's eyes went wide, shock forever frozen on his face. His lips parted as if to speak a last plea, but no sound came. His body sagged, head rolling to the side. The breath faded from his still chest.
Silence engulfed the cave.