One Word: Stall

Tu Wu's expression was one of utter disbelief. After losing blood for so long, Zhou Yang still had the strength to get back up? Was he even human? If Zhou Yang's physique had seemed unbelievable before, this had now gone far beyond Tu Wu's understanding. Teacher, this question is beyond the syllabus!

Still, he felt somewhat relieved. He had not canceled the Hardening Technique he had used earlier, so his current defenses should be enough to withstand a punch from the heavily injured Zhou Yang.

But when he saw the flash of light in Zhou Yang's hand, despair began to creep in. That glint was the tip of the broken blade, aimed straight at his heart.

Then, when Zhou Yang lunged into his arms, the anticipated fatal strike never came. The blade only pierced the skin before stopping, unable to advance another inch. It seemed the effects of excessive blood loss had finally caught up to him.

Zhou Yang felt some resentment. He had not expected Tu Wu to be such a coward. Seeing him in such a miserable state, Tu Wu had still lurked in the shadows and watched, letting him bleed for five whole minutes. Although his recovery ability was astonishing, wounds this large rendered it useless.

Once the momentum faded, Zhou Yang toppled toward the ground under gravity. But no matter how slow Tu Wu was, he had reacted by then. He did not let Zhou Yang touch the ground at all, intercepting him in midair. At barely four feet tall, Zhou Yang was held in Tu Wu's hand like a chick.

Although Zhou Yang's ambush had failed and Tu Wu had survived, Tu Wu was still furious. Well, that was obvious. Who would not be angry after getting stabbed? And in Tu Wu's eyes, Zhou Yang no longer posed any threat, so he could deal with him however he pleased.

After grabbing Zhou Yang, Tu Wu viciously kicked him twice in the stomach. Apparently unsatisfied, he threw Zhou Yang into the air and delivered a flying volley like he was kicking a soccer ball. Those kicks worsened Zhou Yang's injuries, and his already injured leg and arm were hurt again.

Yet under such pain, Zhou Yang did not make a sound.

Tu Wu grabbed Zhou Yang, whom he had kicked away, once more. He tore off the already damaged mask from Zhou Yang's face, and when he saw that youthful face beneath it, he froze in surprise.

"This face is so young! How is that possible? Could this brat's actual age be even younger than I expected?" Turmoil surged through Tu Wu's heart. The identity of the person he had encountered seemed far more extraordinary than he had imagined.

"Brat, how old are you this year?"

"..."

"Not talking? Fine. I happen to know a thing or two about torturing people. Since you want to challenge me, let's give it a try." As he spoke, Tu Wu viciously threw Zhou Yang to the ground, then kicked him in the face. With just one kick, Zhou Yang's face immediately swelled. And Tu Wu was not done—he ground his foot over Zhou Yang's face several more times.

"Come on~ Just give me a number, and I'll stop, all right?" Tu Wu asked as he continued grinding his foot back and forth.

Faced with such pain, Zhou Yang felt nothing at all. He even wanted to laugh.

As Tu Wu continued grinding, he realized something was wrong. Why was there no sound at all? Had Zhou Yang passed out from excessive blood loss?

When he lowered his head, he found that Zhou Yang had indeed closed his eyes. So he reached out, intending to check his breathing, but stopped halfway.

"Uh... I've really been scared by this brat's tricks. Even now, I'm afraid he might counterattack. I already kicked away the blade tip he was holding. What else could he use to hurt me? Those soft little fists?" Tu Wu mocked himself for a moment before reaching toward Zhou Yang again.

"Good. His breathing is weak, but he's alive. Good, good." Tu Wu was naturally not worried about the brat's safety, but about his own future. After seeing Zhou Yang's face, he knew the brat's value was far higher than he had imagined. Perhaps he could use him as a stepping stone to shed his status as a fugitive and join another country. Of course, the key now was how to escape the heavily surrounded Rain Ninja Village. Only then could the brat's value be maximized.

"Those Rain Ninja really are idiots. I deliberately let them spot me, and they did. Then I hid casually, and they all became blind." How could Tu Wu know that the Rain Ninja here were divided into two groups? One had been transferred by Hanzo to maintain order, while the other belonged to Zi Quan. The ones who had discovered his entry were Zi Quan's people, and they had nothing to do with the other Rain Ninja stationed here. Moreover, Zi Quan had sent her maid away recently, which was why he had not continued to be tracked.

All in all, Tu Wu did not know that Hanzo and Zi Quan had regarded him as an experience farm for Zhou Yang to gain Ninja World experience from. Perhaps the only mistake Hanzo and Zi Quan had made was underestimating Zhou Yang.

It was precisely that misjudgment that had created this situation, where Tu Wu strutted about like a triumphant villain.

Tu Wu thought for a long time but still could not come up with a good plan, so he decided to leave this troublesome place for now. He patted his pant leg, then stretched out his right hand to hoist Zhou Yang onto his shoulder. At that moment, he suddenly felt a force resisting him. It was not strong, and when he looked down, he discovered that every muscle in Zhou Yang's body was trembling, as though he were using all his strength to resist.

Tu Wu blanked for a moment, then kicked him with a bang.

"What, brat? You've been playing dead this whole time?"

Yes, Zhou Yang's previous state had indeed been mostly an act. And his injuries made it easy for Tu Wu to believe that his unconsciousness was genuine.

The reason was naturally that he had survived. First, Zhou Yang had understood from Tu Wu's tone that he would not be killed for the time being, so he could safely play dead without worrying about a finishing blow. Second, he wanted to stall Tu Wu. Excessive blood loss could kill someone, and a corpse was naturally less valuable than a living person. He hoped Tu Wu would perform some simple bandaging and treat his wounds for the sake of his value. Before that, he needed to conserve his strength so that, after being bandaged, he could forcibly keep this guy here.

At the same time, Zhou Yang was buying time. He was gambling on how important he was to Zi Quan. If he mattered enough, he believed Zi Quan would notice that he had been gone for so long without completing his mission and returning, and would send people to look for him. They had not erased the traces of their battle along the way, so with Zi Quan's abilities, she would definitely find him. All he had to do now was hold this guy here until Zi Quan arrived.

But he had not expected this idiot to do nothing to him and simply prepare to carry him away. How could that work? If he was carried away and Zi Quan failed to find him, he would truly have no chance left. So even though his condition was terrible, he still did everything he could to stall.