Stranger Danger

Chapter 961: Ice Skin Jade Bone Palm

Countless rainbow-colored koi were swimming around the woman. They were keeping her afloat and preventing her from sinking into the sea.

“Skin like ice, a countenance like peach blossom, and a smile that could melt the bones and suck the soul. What a gorgeous beauty!”

Su Bancheng looked the woman up and down without any reservation after arriving by her side. A look of surprise flitted across his face as he commented, “No wonder she drew the attention of the Beauty Koi.”

The Beauty Koi was the rainbow-colored koi swimming around the woman. A Hatred-class Stranger, it adored beautiful things and especially beautiful women, the more beautiful the better.

“She is quite the beauty,” Chu Wangsun replied with a nod. He was nowhere even close to being as dissolute and aesthete as the Qing Emperor’s chief disciple, but even he had to admit that the mysterious woman was a gorgeous beauty.

Her skin was sparkling and translucent like jade, and her countenance was as beautiful as the peach blossoms of March. Her figure was slender but filled out in all the right places, and her faint scent was like a quiet dream. Despite being unconscious, her beauty wasn’t marred in the slightest. On the contrary, the weakness made her look sympathetic and delicate.

“Hmm? Wait, something’s not right!”

It was at this moment Chu Wangsun noticed that something was amiss. The woman’s aura was incredibly weak; a clear sign that she had suffered serious injuries. Usually, a sick or injured person was the opposite of beautiful. Even if that wasn’t the case, her beauty should be diminished by her injuries, not enhanced.

“Something is wrong, yeah.”

Su Bancheng might be dissolute and aesthete, but he was also exceedingly intelligent. It was only natural that he noticed what Chu Wangsun had.

As he spoke, Su Bancheng grabbed the woman’s wrist and felt her pulse for a few breaths. Then, he said seriously, “Her blood is white-colored like ice, and her muscles and bones are crystalline like jade. This is... the Ice Skin Jade Bone Palm!”

“The Ice Skin Jade Bone Palm?” Chu Wangsun’s expression turned grave in an instant.

The Ice Skin Jade Bone Palm was the North Duke Office’s exclusive technique. Anomalous beyond imagination, anyone who took the palm strike would slowly turn white like ice and crystalline like jade in flesh, blood, and bone. Their body would slowly lose its vitality, and their mind would gradually wane until death claimed them.

This wasn’t the most anomalous characteristic of the Ice Skin Jade Bone Palm, however. It was the fact that it could only be practiced by males, and it only worked against females. To make a comparison, it was unbelievably strong against females, but almost useless against males.

Any woman who suffered the Ice Skin Jade Bone Palm would become exceptionally beautiful. In fact, the worse their injuries and the closer to death they were, the more attractive they became. Even after they died, their corpse would remain untouched by rot and decay for several years.

Naturally, there was a tragic story behind the bizarre and anomalous martial art.

“I’ll tell you a secret. In exchange, take revenge for me and kill Ding Buren!”

Before Su Bancheng or Chu Wangsun could speak, the woman soldiered on, “The Kṣitigarbha Stupa ... The Kṣitigarbha Stupa is the ultimate treasure left behind by the ancient Kṣitigarbha... in it lies his inheritance... the North Duke Office plans to claim it during the eight of August...”

“Take revenge for me... please... take revenge...”

The woman squeezed out even as her voice grew weaker, and her words grew increasingly incoherent. In the end, all she could do was repeat her final obsession again and again.

“Sigh... Okay. If it is within our capability to do so, then yes, we’ll take revenge for you,” Su Bancheng promised. “Now, rest in peace, miss.”

As if she really heard Su Bancheng’s promise, the woman stopped murmuring, and the light in her eyes slowly faded away. She was gone just like that.

After confirming that the woman was dead, Su Bancheng closed her eyes and sighed. “Since ancient times, few beauties have had a good ending. How lamentable and pitiful.”

As he spoke, Su Bancheng released a hint of energy and chased away the Beauty Koi. Without the Strangers to prop the woman up, her body slowly sank into the sea and disappeared completely.

A few breaths later, Su Bancheng asked, “Who do you think she is, Wangsun?”

“I do not know.” Chu Wangsun shook his head.

“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Su Bancheng asked another question.

“It’s hard to say.” Chu Wangsun shook his head again. “But we won’t know until we check, right?”

“In other words, you do believe her final words.” Su Bancheng chuckled. “The inheritance of Kṣitigarbha must be quite tempting to you.”

“To spurn the heavens’ gift is to incur their wrath,” Chu Wangsun replied indifferently.

“Hahaha... well said.” Su Bancheng laughed loudly. “I have a concern, however. What if this is a trap?”

Chu Wangsun rejected the possibility. “I don’t think so. There is no one in the area, and I could find no anomalous energy entrenched in her headspace whatsoever. Her words are heartfelt as well. Therefore, it is probably just a coincidence.”