novelraw Book 15: Chapter 89
Book 15: Chapter 89
Book 15: Chapter 89
“I’m amazed you’re Ming Feizhen’s disciple...”
Li Zizi not only had a likeable appearance, great manners, and spoke with grace as well as courtesy, but he also had a childish tone that made him easy to like. Having said that, it was the palm strike he performed to stop Ling Jialan before that impressed her the most as he surpassed what she was capable of at his age. She suddenly realised that she didn’t know Ming Feizhen very well besides his affiliation with Liu Shan Men and Mount Daluo. The hard thing to accept wasn’t that Ming Feizhen could teach well, but that he was always giving surprises.
It was one thing to have an Emei disciple specialise in swordplay and fight similarly to a Shaolin disciple, but it was nowhere as surprising because it was rare for someone not well-versed in martial arts to know so much about the pugilistic world, be indifferent to people, yet be extremely proficient as a doctor, and speak absolute tripe, yet predict things as if he had foresight. Just when she thought that was the extent of his abilities, out came a talented boy claiming to be his disciple. Plus, Ming Feizhen was still young, yet he had a disciple? All of a sudden, she started questioning if the depths of his abilities were just so deep that she couldn’t discern them. No matter how she scoured her memories, though, the only images Ming Feizhen built for himself was a jerk who abandon her in a fight, a glutton, a guy who was always sleeping, a jerk who swindled her for food. The only strength she could think of was his medical skills.
“My shifu is a great man,” Li Zizi confidently stated.
“His shifu is really skilled,” Bu added.
Honestly, Ling Jialan was expecting to hear, “It’d be a privilege to be his concubine,” after all the praise they piled on Ming Feizhen.
“I told you: I’m not his...”
“Who are you, then?”
“I’m his... friend?” After she introduced herself, Ling Jialan realised there was no need to introduce herself through Ming Feizhen, so she reintroduced herself without mentioning him.
“My shifu’s friend?” Li Zizi scrutinised Ling Jialan, then mumbled, “Sister Lian is going to be very busy.”
Ling Jialan asked Bu, “And you are...?”
Cracking a grin, Bu pulled Zizi over to his side and hugged his head, placing his chin atop it. “Me? I’m whoever you think I am.”
Ling Jialan: Do kids these days... all bend that way?
“Bu, stop playing!”
Bu shouted, “You pushed me again! Push me again, and I’ll smash you!”
“Sh!” Ling Jialan held her finger to her lips.
Not long after the trio took cover, a team of patrol guards closed in with orderly steps that were nigh inaudible.
“None of them deserve to be spared.” Ling Jialan asked, “I was thinking about calling for reinforcements, but I think the two of you will be enough. Would you two be willing to work with me to destroy this den of crooks?”
The boys raised their hands in support as they weren’t willing to miss a thrill.
“I’ll rescue the captives while you two cause a ruckus to draw their attention. Do not take risks. If you run into a dangerous foe, run away. I’ll be fine.”
“Why would we run?” Bu smirked.
Ling Jialan had only ever seen that sort of cold expression on her foes’ swords before; she never imagined a young boy could look so violent despite his attractive appearance.
“What dangers could there be? It’s just simple sabotage. We’ll come for you. Now that you’re on the team. I won’t let you suffer alone.”
Ling Jialan smiled. “Don’t feel like you’ve got the short end of the stick. You’re the main stars. I’d be able to rescue them faster than you, don’t you reckon?”
“How much time do you need?”
“There are over a hundred people here.”
“Couldn’t be easier.” Bu, wearing a grin, gazed towards the warehouse that was alight. “Nothing easier than arson, is there?”
Ling Jialan’s stiff smile reflected off the flames. As the members rushed to extinguish the fire, an escape route for the captives became available. Flames rose and spread, fusing together to become an ocean of flames. Even if the idea of arson flourished in her mind, she couldn’t have acted on it so quickly. After all, the consequences weren’t minor. Equally impressive was that there were no casualties as a consequence. Moreover, Bu knew where flammables were and the spots where nobody was at. It was self-evident that Bu had easily committed arson dozens of times, if not over a hundred times. If the aforementioned points weren’t convincing, then his relaxed attitude and smile were undeniable evidence. Even though she was older, a sense of fear of Bu formed in Ling Jialan’s mind.
“Zi, take an inhale. There’s snow ginseng over there. If you inhale it, it’ll increase your internal energy potency by at least five years.”
“Really?!” Li Zizi immediately started inhaling with all his might.
Despite choking several times due to the smoke, Li Zizi didn’t give up. Meanwhile, his friend encouraged him to inhale more.
Ling Jialan found her prior concerns to be laughable, but she needed to make her move, too. Besides agreeing to arson to punish the evildoers, she wanted to use it as a means of forcing Lian Hua and Fu Dalong to show themselves. It was normal to flee if there was a fire; however, an elite martial artist would’ve gone to the scene of the fire to find out what exactly happened if they suspected it was a trap.
“You’re annoying me!”
Lian Hua knew Bu was playing mind games with him, so he made his move. When he raised his right arm again, nonetheless, it was so numb that he couldn’t circulate qi through it. He had spent over two decades conditioning his body. He had encountered opponents superior to him, but it was the first time he was disabled without have ever been struck. Immediately after feeling a light tap on his arm, he absorbed seven kicks flush on his face.
Body conditioning and Iron Body weren’t the same thing. The latter relied on qi, while the former was conditioning the body. Despite not feeling any pain, it was humiliating to let someone climb up your arm and land seven kicks, yet not be able to defend a single one.
“You’re not going to get away with that!”
“Watch your back.”
“You watch out for yourself!”
Lian Hua spun around when he felt a cold breeze on his neck, using his raised arm meant for attack to shield himself. The sound of Li Zizi’s knife bouncing off Lian Hua’s arm and reeling upwards made Lian Hua’s ears ring. After stumbling five steps, Lian Hua discovered he had a small graze on his arm.
Li Zizi’s knife was just an ordinary one, which meant that it was sheer power that opened the wound. Li Zizi looked as if he had all of his energy zapped from his body, but another two kicks to the face from Bu sent Lian Hua stumbling back a few steps again.
“Run!” Bu grabbed Li Zizi and bolted for it.
“Wh-what did I just do?” Li Zizi melancholically questioned as he followed Bu.
“You did some slicing, but you didn’t kill anyone. Relax. We need to get out first.”
Lian Hua and Fu Dalong reacted too slow, so there was a gap they couldn’t close. After chasing the two boys for a little longer, they spotted Ling Jialan.
“Miss Lan, run!” cried Li Zizi.
Ling Jialan joined the boys on the run. “Who’s chasing you?”
Bu grinned. “Lapdogs. Miss Lan, have you finished evacuating the captives?”
“Yes, but...”
“Are you searching for someone?” inquired Li Zizi.
“Yes, but it’s unlikely I’ll be able to find them in these circumstances.”
Bu responded, “You’ll have an opportunity to find them soon enough. Let’s find somewhere to rest and catch our breath first.”
The trio vaulted up to the trees and start leaping from one to the next to avoid pursuers. Li Zizi was particularly thrilled since it was his first time experiencing it. They stopped once they were certain that nobody was on their tails.
“Okay, can you two tell me who was pursuing you yet?”
Bu just maintained a smile, while Li Zizi described them as best as he could. Ling Jialan heard a thunder clap in her head after she figured out it was the two who she pawned her sword for. Now that they likely escaped, she had no way of getting her sword back.
“Miss Lan, don’t be so depressed now. We lost one, but there’s still one more way.”
“What?”
“Do you know where we are?”
“Where?” Ling Jialan looked up to find that there were lots of people entering and leaving.
“This is Panshan Valley, the territory of a family of hunters.”
“Oh... That was...” Ling Jialan only caught the back view of someone, but she instantly recognised who it was for they had spent a lot of time together in the pugilistic world. “Sister Yumo?”
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