Book 12: Chapter 78

Once Hong Jiu completed his analysis of Guan Ning’s recount, he questioned, “So, Xiaoyu is safe right now?”

“Until he finishes copying it down for them, he should be.”

“What about the devilish lass?”

“Huh? You mean Miss Wen? She’s not devilish.”

“Takes on three people alone, loses and then threatens people, but she’s not devilish?” Notwithstanding the contents of his rhetorical question, Hong Jiu’s tone hinted at his amusement.

“She’s being held in another building. She’s apparently useful to them, so they are interrogating her in isolation.”

“In isolation, you say…?” Hong Jiu shut his eyes to think, then instructed, “Pass me a piece of wood on the ground.”

“A piece of wood?” Guan Ning pretended to drop his head the way a man at the end of his wits would whilst searching the floor in a squat. He silently stood up once he found a thin piece. Next, he faked a sigh whilst patting Hong Jiu on the shoulder, using the moment of contact to release the piece of wood down to Hong Jiu’s hand.

“You have potential. I’ll introduce you to my senior brother when we have the opportunity.”

“You flatter me. What do you need the wood for? You… intend to pick the lock with it?”

“Why would you need an object to pick a lock? Don’t you know we’re being monitored from above?”

“I do. So… the wood is for…?”

“To off him.”

Hong Jiu burst out of his restraints to the shock of Guan Ning and the guard. He then backhand threw the piece of wood similar to a frisbee, sending it out of the gap to slit the guard’s throat. Upon hearing the guard’s corpse drop to the ground, Hong Jiu stretched out and went, “Phew.”

The first reason Hong Jiu didn’t take much damage was attributed to his training, part of which included learning to minimise damage. The second reason – although unclear as to why – was because Vivianite’s approach resembled Mount Daluo’s.

Luo Ming would’ve needed to use 70% of his full power to defeat Hong Jiu – and that was if they weren’t trying to kill each other. Moyan Luohou would need a hundred exchanges to win. Vivianite managed to put Hong Jiu out of commission due to the inexplicable reason that his attack was seemingly unavoidable. The equally strange thing was that Vivianite had only gained fame as of recent despite that level of skill.

“You seem perfectly fine.” Guan Ning still had trouble walking fast as a result of all the blows he ate.

Hong Jiu grinned. “Let’s get out of here.”

When they reached the door, they discovered it was locked.

Guan NIng: “The lock is made from Black Aurum. I doubt I could break it even with my blade. I think we acted prematurely.”

“It’s fine.” Hong Jiu pulled out an iron thread from his hair, bent it, shoved it into the lock, wiggled it around and voila, they heard a “clack”. “All right, let’s go.”

“Smashing it like that will…”

As Guan Ning was trying to speak, a group of armed guards arrived on the scene.

“Thanks for coming!” Hong Jiu charged forward. Instead of utilising his circular style, he struck directly, dropping his target each time he made contact.

The guards only came to check what the source of the noise was; they never expected to be jumped. Thus, through combining precision, speed and leveraging the element of surprise, Hong Jiu had them all out cold before they could call for backup.

Guan Ning was out of breath just exiting his confines. “Brother Hong, your combat prowess is… is… and your lock picking skills…” Since the adjective he needed wouldn’t come to mind, he flicked up his thumb and said, “… are better than any thief’s who I know.”

“My leader imparted the skills to me.” Hong Jiu surveyed the surroundings to ensure nobody discovered their prison break. “As soon as we rescue that evil lass and Xiaoyu, we’re getting the hell out of here. Try to recover as much as you can now.”

“Understood… But where are we going after?”

“We’re going after Vivianite. He wants to harm my brother, so he must die.”

“But…”

“Yes, I can’t beat him,” Hong Jiu strode forward, “but I may be able to kill him.”

Though they didn’t know where Fang Xiaoyu and Master Qi were being held, it wasn’t hard to find out. Hong Jiu subdued fourteen henchmen to question and managed to find the answer from the thirteenth. The fourteenth henchman was just unlucky collateral damage as Hong Jiu couldn’t stop himself in time.

The pair stealthily reached Master Qi’s holding building and prepared for a breach when they heard a fight taking place within.

Hong Jiu: There’s someone else here to sabotage them?

Hong Jiu peeked through the agape door, only to feel a frigid shot of qi zoom toward his eye. He quickly performed a back bridge to dodge, resulting in Guan Ning, who was behind him, being punctured. Hong Jiu swiftly reset, chopped the shot to save Guan Ning, then turned back to blast open the door.

Someone inside initiated an offence faster than Hong Jiu could, using their legs to spin themselves as they unleashed a triple thrust combo. As he withdrew his left hand to intercept the neck thrust, he extended his right toward his opponent’s abdomen.

Hong Jiu and Master Qi: “You broke out, too?!”

Master Qi: “How did you escape?”

Hong Jiu curled his lips to the side. “Woke up, opened a lock and then came here.”

“Wow, how underhanded.”

“What about you?”

“I didn’t have any guards watching over me. I unblocked my accupoints and then had plenty of free time, so…”

Hong Jiu scanned the dismembered bodies strewn across the ground. “Wow, what an evil lass.”

“If it wasn’t for you, I…” Bashfully, Master Qi stamped. “I escaped to rescue Brother Guan and Xiaoyu.”

Standing behind Hong Jiu, Guan Ning raised his hands in salute. “This one appreciates it.”

Hong Jiu raised a hand. “Find Xiaoyu. We don’t have time for a vacation.”

“I was going to pay you a visit and ask if you wanted to fight.” Drought Demon showed up at the door with a bloodthirsty grin. “Guess I don’t need to ask now.”

Glossary

Back bridge – With two feet planted, lean back until your hands are on the ground.

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