Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Tang Yuanxiao lay on the ground, sucking in breaths through the pain.

When the Heaven-and-Earth Net covered him tightly, he endured the stinging pain and remained motionless.

The more violently he moved, the tighter it would draw.

Knowing the properties of the Heaven-and-Earth Net well, Tang Yuanxiao lay stiff as a corpse, took out a knife, and began cutting the mesh with slow, gentle movements.

Only after he finally cut an opening barely large enough to fit through did Tang Yuanxiao crawl out.

Pain. Bad pain. Terrible pain. Every part of his body hurt.

Grimacing, Tang Yuanxiao tried to charge forward, only to stumble and almost fall.

No. His ankle was injured. Unless he solved that problem, he could not provide support at all.

Steeling himself, Tang Yuanxiao took out a very expensive Rejuvenation Pill, personally formulated by Medical Department Director Gu Liansheng. Its effect was a weaker version of the pink potion: a pill that could rapidly heal wounds in a short time.

But “heal” was not quite accurate. The Rejuvenation Pill’s real effect was to temporarily numb sensation, leaving a person unaware of any feeling. No matter how severe the pain, the body could not perceive it. When returning to battle, they could ignore their physical discomfort and perform normally.

But once the medicine wore off, the original injuries would become twice as severe. Those in pain would hurt more; those who were ill would grow weaker.

It was excellent in an emergency, but its aftereffects were a serious headache.

Each Operations Squad member received only one a year. He had never expected to use his now.

If only he had chosen another auspicious day to ambush Xie Qingling. Tang Yuanxiao felt like crying in frustration. Still, he swallowed the pill in one decisive gulp.

He took the bone whistle hanging around his neck and blew it. “Bifang!”

Bifang, whose wounds had almost healed, poked its head out of empty space.

Tang Yuanxiao jumped onto its back and ordered, “Go! Find the person from the Eleventh Realm!”

Bifang beat its wings and swiftly carried him away.

In the blink of an eye, Bifang brought Tang Yuanxiao to where the person from the Eleventh Realm was. The two locations were not far apart, only two intersections away.

“Mars Encroaches on the Stars!” Seeing a small, thin man crouched on the ground in the distance, Tang Yuanxiao immediately unleashed a powerful attack.

Flames towering into the sky lit the entire street and left the small man’s figure with nowhere to hide.

Once he saw the man’s face clearly, Tang Yuanxiao sneered. “Long-Armed White Ape. Li Yuan!”

As he spoke, Tang Yuanxiao jumped from Bifang’s back and delivered a whipping kick through the air.

Li Yuan sprang up in a kip-up, dodging the blow.

Facing the aggressively approaching Tang Yuanxiao, Li Yuan remained unhurried. He stretched out his arms and attacked again.

Sharp slapping sounds rang out, light pops as though his hands were sticking to his clothing.

Li Yuan’s punches were ferocious, heavy and powerful. Tang Yuanxiao met them with a palm, holding off his attack. He intended to wrench the tendons and dislocate the bones to disable Li Yuan’s wrist, but when he felt his opponent withdraw his force, he immediately changed moves. Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane dispersed Li Yuan’s power.

Li Yuan, whose offensive had been fierce a moment ago, was instantly caught by Tang Yuanxiao’s clinging force.

Yet Li Yuan lifted his head and smiled.

Behind Tang Yuanxiao, Li Yuan’s double had already risen. The black shadow, shaped like Li Yuan, lifted its palm high, about to strike Tang Yuanxiao with Jade Maiden’s Piercing Palm –

If the shadow’s black piercing palm passed through Tang Yuanxiao’s head, he would be finished in one move.

“Release!” A sharp female voice suddenly rang out. The black shadow was stabbed in the back.

Along with the blade, a surge of black-and-red energy entered its body. The talisman of the character zun, engraved on Bloodsworn, had released the stored power of monsters and ghosts.

The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.

The black shadow’s body seemed to suffer immense pain and began shaking incessantly. That domineering, cold, dark aura passed through the shadow into Li Yuan’s real body. Li Yuan shuddered and froze, a chill shooting from his spine straight to his head.

Tang Yuanxiao immediately seized the opening, knocking Li Yuan away with a Heart-Driving Elbow.

The black shadow before Xie Qingling attacked her instead.

Again came those light popping sounds, accompanying its attacks until they made her ears ring. Its swinging long arms dazzled her eyes.

Its moves were identical to Li Yuan’s, but both their power and their offensive force were reduced. It was much easier to handle.

“Tongbei Boxing is vicious. Its attacks change unpredictably. Be careful,” Tang Yuanxiao warned.

Xie Qingling acknowledged him and fought the shadow with Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaves.

Tang Yuanxiao’s voice came again. “Tongbei Boxing emphasizes force carried through contact with clothing. It slaps its body to feel the release of force. Think about that.”

How? By predicting when the shadow would exert force?

Something stirred in Xie Qingling’s understanding, and she attacked again.

Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaves worked well on people. But on a shadow… the shadow had no eyes. This move could not disrupt its vision. Xie Qingling struggled to keep her force flowing and became flustered.

On the other side, Tang Yuanxiao held off Li Yuan’s attacks, slapping an arm against his fist to block it while shouting, “Why do you only know Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaves?! Didn’t Ling Fang teach you?!”

“…” Was she supposed to know a great deal? Xie Qingling was speechless. Her crash-course combat techniques were useless before these martial arts experts.

This time, she had met a true expert.

Only now did Tang Yuanxiao truly realize that this woman, vicious in her own attacks too, was indeed an utter rookie.

She had plenty of drive and reacted quickly, but her experience in combat was still lacking.

He pushed off the ground and kicked twice in succession in midair, once at the groin and once at the knee, temporarily forcing Li Yuan back.
“Watch closely.” Tang Yuanxiao suddenly changed his footwork, raised both hands in front of himself, and took a stance. “You use two blades, and you’ve practiced Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaves. Learning Baguazhang should be easy for you.”

“Baguazhang developed from blade techniques. Working with footwork, it avoids a direct attack and strikes at an angle. Every movement becomes a technique. It’s suited to seizing the offensive.”

In the distance, Li Yuan laughed coldly. “Baguazhang? Good. I’ve been wanting to try it!”

“Let’s see whether your hands or my fists are faster!”

As he spoke, Li Yuan charged straight at him.

“Single Palm Change.” Tang Yuanxiao struck with a palm, blocking Li Yuan’s Tongbei Boxing. His feet moved in a circle, bringing him closer, and he struck again. “Double Palm Change.”

One hand slapped hard against Li Yuan’s forehead.

Xie Qingling copied Tang Yuanxiao. When he changed palms, so did she. When his feet moved, hers moved too.

Before long, she was actually beginning to look the part.

She incorporated her own distinctive focus on the human body’s weaknesses into the new fighting style. Her attacks were tricky and precise, fitting Baguazhang’s flexible, ever-changing patterns very well. The black shadow had already been struck several times.

After a while, Tang Yuanxiao could not help saying, “…You’re a fucking genius!”

“It’s because I used to be a forensic examiner,” Xie Qingling said.

“What does that have to do with it?”

“Don’t martial artists aim for the weak points of the human body?” Xie Qingling said. “I happen to know all of them.”

Tang Yuanxiao had mixed feelings at this.

So she was not a genius. Her professional work simply fit these killing techniques far too well.

They talked almost casually, growing increasingly at ease in the fight, while Li Yuan became increasingly hard-pressed.

Realizing he had become a live target, helping Tang Yuanxiao demonstrate moves for a lesson, made him furious.

“Both of you, die!” Li Yuan shouted. At his shout, the black shadow’s body grew much taller, as though it were about to become larger still.

Xie Qingling’s expression turned solemn. She knew the decisive moment had come. Drawing Bloodsworn, she charged toward the shadow as it changed form – then suddenly vanished halfway there.

Concealed Presence’s cooldown was over. She could turn invisible again.

The black shadow paused, not knowing where Xie Qingling was or where to attack.

Suddenly, Li Yuan screamed. A blade was already lodged in his back, piercing his shoulder blade.

Xie Qingling appeared behind Li Yuan.

She had not attacked the double.

The real one was right here. Why attack the double? If Li Yuan died, the double could not survive.

Li Yuan was furious. He turned, hooked his hand, and tried to gouge open the woman’s throat. But Tongbei Boxing generated force through the shoulders and waist. Her blade had injured his shoulder blade, and his hand was no longer as agile or powerful as before.

A slight movement was all Xie Qingling needed to dodge his attack.

At that moment, Tang Yuanxiao moved on the other side too. He suddenly changed his palm into a fist, shifting from Baguazhang to a Xingyiquan technique aimed straight at Li Yuan’s chest.

“Blazing Stream!” Tang Yuanxiao shouted.

A tongue of flame shot out with his punch. Scorching fire burst forth, and the blast of air hurled Li Yuan over.

Beside them, the black shadow dragged its enormous body toward them, like a black bedsheet blotting out the sky and sun, about to wrap them both up.

A sudden cry rang out. Bifang swept past from the side, and the two jumped onto its back, immediately moving far from where they had stood.

The black shadow lunged at empty air.

At the same time, Tang Yuanxiao unleashed a powerful attack. “Mars Encroaches on the Stars.”

Enormous flames rose, enveloping Li Yuan’s black shadow and burning fiercely.

The shadow howled and struggled, but the fire only grew. There was no stopping it.

Seeing this from where he had been knocked to the ground, Li Yuan spat out blood in fury, then lay rigid on the ground, apparently having fainted from anger.

Xie Qingling jumped off Bifang and watched from a distance, not daring to approach.

“Burn him,” Xie Qingling said. “In case he’s playing dead to ambush us.”

Tang Yuanxiao gave her a strange look, wondering what she had experienced to be so wary of a dead man. Still, he did as she said, sweeping Li Yuan into a blaze.

Li Yuan had indeed lost the ability to move. Whether he was alive or dead was unknown.

He had not originally been this weak. But Xie Qingling’s successful sneak attack, injecting him with the power of monsters and ghosts, had severely damaged his strength.

Only when the fire died down did Xie Qingling walk over and retrieve Bloodsworn.

After burning in the fire for so long, it was still white all over.

Xie Qingling tucked Bloodsworn at her waist and turned back to praise him. “I didn’t expect you to be so good. Looks like I underestimated you before.”

Standing behind her, Tang Yuanxiao gave a soft snort. “I’m one of headquarters’ core members. These small fry? One comes, I kill one. Two come, I kill both. No effort at all.”

Xie Qingling gave him a very friendly smile. “Squad Leader Tang, you seem really skilled with your hands. Could you teach me a couple of moves?”

“Hmph. I could, but you’d have to kneel and call me Master before I could take you as a disciple -”

As soon as he spoke, an excruciating stab of pain shot through Tang Yuanxiao’s ankle. The Rejuvenation Pill’s effect had worn off. His lower leg was half-numb with pain, and with a thud, he suddenly fell onto one knee before Xie Qingling.

Tang Yuanxiao: “…”

Xie Qingling: “…”