Berserk

He circulated the faint True Qi in his body, gathering it around his nose to sharpen his sense of smell. Following the faint, intermittent scent of blood, he found that its source was not far away, in the wasteland behind the orphanage.

The smell grew stronger and stronger, and before long, Si Ming spotted a familiar figure.

That looks like Ying Zhou. What's he doing, crouching on the ground and sneaking around? Is it frog-dissection homework?

It was late, and the light was dim; he couldn't see clearly beyond thirty meters. Fortunately, the Blazing Sun True Qi converted from sunlight could sharpen his vision. Si Ming circulated the True Qi from his nose up to his eyes, and the scene soon came into clear view.

Ying Zhou was holding a sharp stone, smashing it against the ground again and again. Blood and bits of flesh splattered as a smile of utter delight appeared on his face, as if he were venting all the filth inside him. It was an eerie sight, and the object of his attack was none other than a kitten's corpse.

Damn, is this kid Schrödinger reincarnated? What's he got against cats?

The more Si Ming watched, the more disturbed he became. This was nothing a normal person could do. A child's innocence could sometimes be a kind of cruelty, but at most, children would go after little animals like frogs and goldfish that couldn't scream. With cats and dogs, they would only bully them a little at most, and the moment they heard a scream, they would run away in fright. They rarely dealt a killing blow. But the cat's corpse in front of Ying Zhou had plainly been tortured to death. Its eyes were still open, and its guts were strewn all over the ground. A timid person would probably have nightmares for a week after seeing it.

The blissful expression Ying Zhou wore now, as though he were high on marijuana, was clearly not a normal reaction either.

At the sight, Si Ming's scalp prickled, though he wasn't as afraid as he had been when facing the Mighty Rhinoceros Toad. He thought it best to leave something this troublesome to Yao Bilian, an adult. Unreliable as the woman seemed, she was still the orphanage's manager and ought to shoulder at least some responsibility.

He was just about to turn and slip away when he suddenly stopped.

Wait! According to the usual conventions in novels, movies, and TV shows, I'd definitely kick a stone by accident as I left, or just trip and fall, making a noise and getting discovered. So what I should do now is... strike first?

He turned back and stared at Ying Zhou's back, a "kindly" look gradually coming into his eyes.

Chapter 22: Berserk

Wouldn't it be a bit too despicable to ambush him from behind? I'm supposed to be the righteous one and he's the villain, so how did it end up looking like our roles were reversed?

Before making his move, Si Ming hesitated a little. They did live under the same roof, after all, and saw each other all the time. This wasn't a class conflict, either; things hadn't reached the point where any means were justified.

So he thought back to how the righteous characters in traditional martial arts novels ambushed their enemies. They seemed to shout as they attacked, warning their enemies to show how honorable and upright they were.

Looks like I've misunderstood all along. Calling out a move's name before unleashing it isn't just being a chuunibyou; it's a matter of etiquette, warning your opponent what move you're about to use so he can hurry up and defend himself (die).

But Si Ming promptly realized that he hadn't learned any ultimate moves at all. The Blazing Yang Battle Art had a few, but unfortunately, they all required a foundation of powerful internal cultivation. As for the martial arts manuals Yan Jinghong had given him, they were all introductory Dinghu Sect techniques, meant mainly to give disciples a solid foundation, so they were even less likely to contain ultimate or supreme moves.

He racked his brains and finally found a word suited to the occasion. Then he mobilized the True Qi in his body and gathered force in his legs, poised like a cheetah about to spring on its prey.

"Demacia!"

With an angry roar, Si Ming sprang forward, using Eagle Seizes and Goose Catches, a move from the Dinghu Sect's Mighty Eagle Grasping Hand. He reached for the back of Ying Zhou's neck, intending to capture him in one grab.

But Ying Zhou's reaction was unexpectedly quick. Shocked that someone had discovered his secret, he nevertheless didn't turn to look. Instead, he threw himself forward and used a simple donkey roll to evade the blow Si Ming had been certain would land.

Huh, looks like he's got plenty of real combat experience.

The roll looked simple, but there was more to it. In such a situation, an ordinary person would instinctively turn toward the sound and miss the chance to dodge. Ying Zhou, however, had suppressed that instinct and evaded first, proving that he knew how to deal with such a situation.

Although Si Ming's ambush had failed, his lightness skill was excellent. He followed with nimble steps and, when his first attack missed, launched another. Eagle Seizes and Goose Catches changed into Eagle Clutches and Thunder Strikes, turning a capture attempt into a forceful assault.

Faced with the attack, Ying Zhou's eyes turned red. He drove force through both arms and used Ox Demon Horn Thrust, opening his mouth to let out a long bellow that seemed to rumble from deep in his lungs. In that moment, he seemed to transform into a great water buffalo, tossing its horns.

Wild Ox Force? No, it's Ox Demon Fist!

Wild Ox Force was a training method, while Ox Demon Fist was a fighting method. The two came from the same lineage, just as the Mighty Eagle Claw Art had a training method called Eagle Claw Thousand-Jin Force. But schools only taught training methods; they would never teach students fighting methods.

In clashes between beginner martial artists, action was always faster than thought. Before Si Ming could think further, the two had already collided.

After training for some time and replenishing his vital essence with pills, Si Ming's body had grown stronger than those of his peers, giving him a clear advantage in physical condition. Ying Zhou had yet to graduate, but he possessed level-three internal cultivation, and his internal force made up much of the disadvantage. On top of that, Ox Demon Fist was better suited to contests of strength than the Mighty Eagle Claw Art. The two actually fought to a draw in strength, and each was forced back several steps.

However, while Eagle Claw Skill was poor at contests of strength, it retained the characteristics of a claw technique. Even though Si Ming had been forced back, he had left three bright red scratches on Ying Zhou's arm. In that respect, Si Ming had won by half a move, but he felt no happiness at all.

Now I really can't even beat an elementary schooler. Are elementary schoolers these days all this fierce?

Despite the three-year age gap, Ying Zhou was only half a head shorter than Si Ming. Judging by appearances, there was no obvious difference in their physical condition.

Ying Zhou got a clear look at his attacker, and his face grew even gloomier. Worse than having his secret discovered was having it discovered by someone he knew.

"...You saw everything?"

Si Ming suddenly sensed killing intent. The inexplicable pressure made him take a small step back. It felt like a scholar who had never even killed a chicken coming face-to-face with a butcher who had returned alive from the battlefield. Fortunately, he had faced the Mighty Rhinoceros Toad. No matter how strong killing intent of the same kind was, it couldn't compare to the instinctive terror of facing a natural predator. Having conquered his inner demon, he wasn't afraid of killing intent; he only grew a little tense.

"Wait, that's not right. Now that I know your secret, you should be the one afraid of me." Si Ming remembered the female college students in his previous life who had been threatened after taking out loans using nude photos as collateral. Putting himself in the lender's shoes, he suddenly felt much bolder. "Heh heh, if you don't want me to tell anyone this secret, hurry up and hand over your money. Otherwise, I'll make your nudes-bah! I'll make your secret public and erase you from society!"

Ying Zhou was visibly stunned. Presumably, he hadn't expected the other party not only to stay instead of running away in fear, but to put on such a shameless face and blackmail him instead. Now it was hard to tell who the villain was.

"You bastard, hehehe... We spent so much time together before, and I never noticed you had this kind of personality. Looks like you've been hiding it well too! Someone like you can't be trusted. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself for being too curious. You could have gone anywhere, but you just had to stumble onto my secret. I can't let someone like you go on living in this world."

Ying Zhou began to laugh somewhat maniacally, his expression twisted and his laughter especially chilling. A sinister, vicious presence radiated from his entire body.

This is bad. This kid's mentally ill. Curiosity really did kill the cat... Si Ming felt his scalp prickle. He glanced at the cat's corpse on the ground and threatened him again. "Wait, don't come any closer. If you do, I'm going to call for help!"

I'm not chickening out. I'm going to win with my wits. Fighting and killing are so barbaric.

"Go ahead and yell. Even if you scream your throat raw, it won't do you any good. I'll finish you off before anyone gets here. Besides, I'm not fourteen yet, so I can't be sentenced to death for murder."

"What kind of divine logic is that? Do you think being a cat killer is more embarrassing than being a murderer?"

Si Ming had no time to refute his logic, because Ying Zhou lunged straight at him. His movements were swifter and fiercer than before, as if all his physical attributes had risen by a large margin. The Qi and blood throughout his body were boiling, his face was bright red, and his attacks carried a faint tiger's roar. It was unmistakably Tiger Demon Fist, a technique even more powerful than Ox Demon Fist.

What the hell is this? Is his qilin blood acting up? That's not scientific!

Si Ming didn't dare be careless. Using the Dinghu Sect's Two-Aspect Step, he moved as swiftly as a bird escaping its cage and as smoothly as a fish diving into the depths. He slid a step sharply to the left, almost as if gliding sideways, and avoided Ying Zhou's Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain.

Ying Zhou's attack missed, but he wasn't discouraged and was about to pursue when he saw that Si Ming had somehow moved back to his original position. Si Ming drove an elbow at his face, striking his nose hard enough to make it ache and nearly draw blood.

Ying Zhou retreated two steps, but his ferocity was only further aroused. He shook his body, his muscles and bones sounding in unison, and unleashed one fierce, powerful Tiger Demon Fist move after another, wave upon wave like raging surf.

Unwilling to meet him head-on, Si Ming put his movement technique to use, darting and dodging. Lightness skill was his forte to begin with, and with Hundred Birds Frolics as a foundation, he was more than a notch above his opponent in that regard. Even though Ying Zhou's movements were more agile than before, he still struggled to so much as touch the hem of Si Ming's clothes.