"Brother, anything unusual?"
Ba Hu's subordinate asked his companion, but the companion said nothing, only showing a look of terror in his eyes.
Just then, a chop to the neck struck him hard. He felt the carotid artery severely wounded, blood supply to his brain cut off, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
It turned out Ling Tian had already appeared behind the man and launched a surprise attack.
He gently supported the man as he fell and took the cleaver from his hand.
Immediately after, Ling Tian's figure disappeared into the woods.
Ba Hu and his subordinates continued to search the woods, but suddenly, they heard a piercing scream.
"Ah!"
Everyone shivered and quickly turned to check. One of their subordinates, walking at the edge of their formation, was now clutching his ankle and rolling on the ground.
A large gash appeared on the Achilles tendon of his ankle, severing it. His foot was almost cut off.
"What happened? What's going on?"
"I don't know. We were searching, and then we heard him scream, and this happened. We didn't see anyone else!" the person next to him said tremblingly.
"Quick, get on alert! That kid is nearby!"
"Ah!"
At this moment, about ten meters away, another man suddenly fell, clutching his knee.
Just moments before, a dark shadow had flashed by like the wind, followed by a swift blade. His knee, from the ligaments to the meniscus, was directly cut open! If not for the flesh and skin still connecting it, the leg would have been dismembered!
"Ah..." Another scream, and a subordinate fell to the ground, a dagger stuck in his back.
Fortunately, the dagger didn't pierce vital organs but lodged in the gap of his shoulder blade.
While not fatal, this man's left arm was essentially ruined for life. Even with surgery, he wouldn't be able to lift heavy objects.
Fourth Master had once told Ling Tian that he must show no mercy to opponents who sought his life.
If not for the fact that they were in the city and killing so many people would attract trouble, none of these men would have survived today.
However, Ling Tian felt no burden in turning these scoundrels into cripples.
"Whoosh!" "Clang!" "Ouch!"
A fist-sized stone suddenly flew out of the woods. Another of Ba Hu's subordinates had his right knee shattered. The man clutched his leg and fell to the ground.
In just a few minutes, all eleven of Ba Hu's subordinates had met with misfortune.
Either their Achilles tendons were severed, their knees were cut, or they were stabbed.
Although no one was in immediate danger of death, these men were essentially ruined, their combat capabilities lost. Only Ba Hu remained, trembling, holding a cleaver and searching everywhere for their attacker.
"You're the leader, aren't you!"
At this moment, Ling Tian emerged from behind a tree, holding a knife.
Ba Hu's pupils contracted sharply. He recognized the person he was looking for.
But now, the tables had turned; they were the prey! This enemy before him was far more terrifying than the intelligence Wang Tianming had provided!
"You've been following me all day. Tell me, who sent you?"
"Kid, this time next year will be your death anniversary!"
Enemies meeting, eyes burning with hatred. Ba Hu, seeing Ling Tian, wished he could skin him alive and eat his flesh.
He knew very well that his subordinates were ruined for life and would only be cripples from now on, unable to continue their illicit activities.
Moreover, the 2 million reward he received for this mission would likely not even cover the medical expenses for these men.
All of this was caused by the Ling Tian before him, and Ba Hu couldn't tolerate it.
He had always been the one to attack others in his life, and he felt deeply offended by Ling Tian.
Ba Hu charged at Ling Tian, raising his right hand. The cleaver in his hand swept upwards from below, directly targeting Ling Tian's abdomen.
His attack was vicious, swift, and accurate. The angle of the blade was tricky, clearly indicating he was an experienced killer.
However, his skills were only effective against ordinary people. His current opponent was Ling Tian.
Just as Ba Hu's blade was about to pierce Ling Tian's body, Ba Hu felt a blur before his eyes; the target had vanished.
The next moment, the knife in Ling Tian's hand fiercely chopped down on Ba Hu's sword-wielding wrist.
"Swish!"
The strike was lightning-fast and incredibly smooth.
Ba Hu suddenly felt a chill on his wrist, followed by a lightness in his entire right arm.
Then he saw a terrifying sight: his right hand, holding the cleaver, fell to the ground, blood gushing from his severed wrist.
"Ah!"
He clutched his wrist with his other hand, screaming in pain. At that moment, two flashes of light from a blade struck his knees.
The pain in his legs caused Ba Hu to collapse to his knees, unable to stand.
Ling Tian walked forward and kicked him to the ground.
Ling Tian didn't question Ba Hu first. Instead, he went to Ba Hu's subordinates. Seeing Ling Tian approach, they trembled like leaves, as if they had seen a ghost.
"Come on, tell me, who ordered you to deal with me?"
"I... I don't know. It was the boss who assigned the job. The boss told us to deal with you."
"That's right! We were just following orders. Don't kill me!"
In the eyes of these men, Ling Tian was like a ghost, not to mention the knife in his hand, dripping with blood.
Ba Hu's subordinates were remarkably consistent in their stories. Ling Tian, using his ability to perceive qi, found that they were not lying. He then returned to Ba Hu.
Ba Hu, due to the pain and blood loss, was in a semi-conscious state.
Ling Tian took out silver needles from his body and first inserted two into his wrist. With these two needles, the muscles and blood vessels in his wrist rapidly contracted, immediately slowing the bleeding.
Next, Ling Tian used silver needles to stimulate two acupoints on his body. Ba Hu immediately woke up.
He looked at Ling Tian opposite him, and a wave of fear surged from the depths of his heart.
"You're Ba Hu, right? Your subordinates have confessed. You were the one who instigated this!
Tell me, who sent you!
I always repay my enemies, and I do so tenfold!"
"I will never tell you!" Ba Hu gritted his teeth and said fiercely.
He knew very well that given his and his subordinates' current state, if he betrayed his employer, it would be harder than climbing to heaven to get paid.
However, to treat their injuries, they needed money, a lot of money!
"You won't talk, huh? Very good, I like tough guys.
I want to see how tough you are. I'm going to cut you into a human stick!"