Book 12: Chapter 68
One-Night Truce
Hong Jiu: Am I the manifestation of bad luck? Why does this sort of stuff always have to happen to me?
Hong Jiu performed circular motions with both hands simultaneously, driving back the dozens of “monsters” back three metres.
Nine-Lives Cat Fiend’s soldiers were all trained martial artists, some of whom were brainwashed into dutifully doing her bidding and some of whom were mercenaries. The soldiers with some degree of their self-awareness intact could give Su Xiao trouble in a one-on-one scenario. Fortunately for her enemies, she didn’t have many of them, so they were reserved for special missions, such as assassinating Hong Jiu previously. The man with his self-awareness was her main force. The rest of them were puppets who had lost pain and fear sensations. Therefore, they would sacrifice themselves for her without hesitation should the need arise. That was how she came to be called “Nine-Lives”.
Every time Hong Jiu dropped them, they would get up again. Technically and physically, Hong Jiu was superior. Problem was, they didn’t feel pain, didn’t fear death and had soaked themselves in some sort of concoction that rendered them more resistant to physical damage. Usually, people needed to started dipping in those medicinal baths from childhood for them to see notable effects in later life, and the dosage would need to titrate up. Else, an excessive amount of toxin would enter organs and kill them. Nine-Lives Cat Fiend’s soldiers were an exception because they could bear with any degree of pain without flinching, not to mention their disregard for their own lives.
They were on track to hell if they couldn’t finish their enemies. Yet, Hong Jiu used the flowing “Divine Palms Manual” instead of the hard-hitting Subduing Dragon Palms. Given his expertise, his enemies couldn’t harm him in any capacity while he remained defensive.
Master Qi was deft. Howbeit, it became increasingly difficult to make every strike lethal when their increasing numbers gave her no breathing room. Moreover, she had to protect a defenceless Fang Xiaoyu behind her. She could’ve fled with Fang Xiaoyu, but she couldn’t dishonourably leave Guan Ning for dead. Whilst keeping busy, she looked Hong Jiu’s way, only to see him defending. “What in the world are you doing?! How are going to drive them off if you hold back?!”
Hong Jiu had no qualms committing murder, particularly when the other party wanted to take his life. It was one thing when the soldier tried to assassinate him in his sleep. The people attacking him now were no different to victims of a venomous infection, though.
Having finally made his decision, Hong Jiu extended his front hand forward and rear hand backward, forming a yin and yang circle. Immediately after generating force, he retracted it. The invisible wall before his four enemies vanished, resulting in them crashing into each other. Hong Jiu continued to alternate output and directions, dropping over ten opponents around him while making it appear as though they tripped up. No matter how many more approached him, they were no different to prey landing in a spider’s web once they were within his attack radius. When there was a force emanating from his hands, they’d retreat; when he had no output, they’d drop. Moments later, over twenty of them would dance to his left if he moved his hands to his left and prance to his right if he moved his hands to his right.
Hong Jiu suddenly grunted and changed his style. As a consequence, the soldiers felt as though their footing disappointed and collapsed. Regardless of how fearless and how much durable they were, if they couldn’t find the strength to get to their feet, they were useless.
Hong Jiu’s dusted his hands and looked back at a perplexed Master Qi. “I’m not some edgy murderer.”
Meanwhile, Nine-Lives Cat Fiend relentlessly let her hands go on Guan Ning, dialling up her sharpness each time she struck.
Hong Jiu loudly asked, “Hey, what did your shifu do to her?”
When it came to internal strength, Guan Ning wasn’t remotely close to Nine-Lives Cat Fiend’s level because she had many years on him. Moreover, she was going all out. Consequently, even though he had the technical finesse to defend against her clawing attacks, each blow left him winded; he had no room to answer Hong Jiu. Besides, even if he had the means to answer, the answer to the question eluded him.
Even though Nine-Lives Cat Fiend had the advantage over Guan Ning, it seemed as though she was trying to resist defeat. From the first time she witnessed Hong Jiu in action, she determined he would have no trouble crushing her. On the first occasion, she might’ve been able to use clever movement, agility and awkward techniques to beat his forceful techniques. Once she saw his moves against her troops, however, she discerned she also couldn’t match him technically. She saw no flaws to exploit, and the flowing style wasn’t something she had an answer for. The only reason she refused to budge was because of the name “Bai Sanlang”.
Hong Jiu yelled to Nine-Lives Cat Fiend, “You’re done. Your troops aren’t going to be of any help. Just stop!”
Inflamed, Nine-Lives Cat Fiend shrieked whilst preparing to claw Guan Ning with everything in her tank. Before she could make her move, nonetheless, she sensed a burst of qi zooming toward her rear. As she had no hope of stopping Hong Jiu, she chose to push forward toward Guan Ning, adopting a make-or-break strategy. Alas, Hong Jiu cancelled his attack and front flipped in between them, catching her hand before she could finish the job.
“No matter what the grudge is or how deep it runs, it’s between his shifu and you, not him! Wake up already, damn it!” Hong Jiu exclaimed.
Despite calming down somewhat, Nine-Lives Cat Fiend was still livid. “Ask him! Ask him! Ask him if he remembers who Ye Yexin is!”
Guan Ning: “Y-you are Miss Ye?”
While he understood there was more to it, Hong Jiu determined it was not the right time and place for a leisurely conversation. “Since you’re here, why don’t you show yourself?”
Hai Yecha emerged from the shadows, positioning himself between Hong Jiu and Nine-Lives Cat Fiend. “What’s your relationship with Beggars Sect’s Chief Hong Ba?”
“What do you think?”
“Very impressive for a young man of your age.” Hai Yecha shifted his gaze to Master Qi. “We’re after her.”
“We refuse to hand her over,” declared Hong Jiu.
“I admire your courage, but we insist,” Hai Yecha responded.
“Let’s throw down.”
“All right, how ten days from now?”
Hong Jiu smiled. “Up to you.”
“Ten days it is!”
“Ten days it is!”