A trap, a bountiful return

"That's the Xingyi Sect's Monkey-Form Fist... that's the Chicken-Step Stomp, with some Baji Sect fighting methods mixed in..."

Li Da fought as he moved, his feet rising and falling lightly, dodging and weaving like a roaming dragon. He even had breath to spare to name each move as though counting his family treasures, though he spoke far too quickly.

Watching from the side, Lian Youming was dazzled, his eyes unable to keep up. He was shocked by the endlessly changing fighting methods of the various schools and astonished by Li Da's unfathomable abilities.

Seeing the boy watching with wide-eyed fascination, Li Da did not forget to offer some guidance. "Don't get hung up on these. A glance or two so you can recognize them is enough. As long as you refine those two true teachings of yours and master them thoroughly, you won't need any other fighting methods to roam unhindered."

Lian Youming immediately reined in his thoughts. He had noticed it himself: the more he studied the Toad-Fishing Skill, the deeper its intricacies became. The Coiling Silk Force was the same. It looked like nothing more than an unusual force, yet whether released outward or drawn inward, it could cling or coil, turn hard or soft. Applied through his hands, it could not only increase the penetrating force of his punches and turn them into hammer blows, but also let his bare palms neutralize another person's force. Its uses truly were endless.

Knowing that biting off too much meant being unable to chew it all, he put aside all other thoughts and simply watched.

Some wanted to take the opportunity to attack Lian Youming, but when they saw not only the grenades hanging all over him, but also the light machine gun in his arms, they all bristled like startled animals.

"You shameless bastard, Li!"

Someone could not help shouting angrily.

With a reckless greenhorn standing nearby, aiming his gun and ammunition at them at any moment, who could afford not to keep a wary eye on him? With their attention divided, how could they fight with all their strength? They could neither settle life and death nor determine who was superior.

Lian Youming also noticed their misgivings. Holding the light machine gun with a smile, he aimed from a distance at whoever was jumping around the most. He never fired, but the target's expression changed instantly.

Li Da chuckled at the sight. Seeing that his opponents could no longer give their all, a look of waning interest immediately crossed his face. He raised his arms, his fists rising and falling without any elaborate variations, thrusting straight out and back like a long spear, extending and retracting. In the dim light, four or five arms seemed to sprout from his sides in an instant, turning into layer upon layer of fist shadows.

Crack!

Distracted by Lian Youming raising his gun in warning, one man took a punch from Li Da. As the force struck home, it sounded like a firecracker going off. Blood burst from his arm as though a spear had truly pierced it, or a firecracker stuffed inside had exploded outward.

The fist shadows flickered past again. Within that tiny space, Li Da bent his legs and stepped forward, meeting punches with punches and kicks with kicks. As his moves rose and fell, the White Lotus Sect fiends all withdrew their attacks and retreated, their faces either changing drastically or filled with terror.

Lian Youming widened his eyes, silently comparing this to the Mountain-Guarding Old Man's methods.

The Mountain-Guarding Old Man's fists were heavy hammers, their force weighing a thousand jun. Back then, one punch had sent its force through a man's chest and abdomen to punch a fist-sized hole in the clothing on his back. Its force penetrated the organs, its power shocking beyond belief.

Li Da's fists, however, seemed to hold their force within, concentrating it into a single strand to attack his opponents' flesh, tendons, and channels, like spears and halberds...

As he pondered this, Li Da explained, "This is how you fight with Dark Jin."

Lian Youming immediately understood.

Looking back at the fight, he saw that the moment Li Da raised his fists, every White Lotus Sect member's expression changed. His punches drove straight in, advancing without hesitation, heading directly for the black-clad White Lotus Sect Vice Sect Leader, Gu Yutong.

Lian Youming hurried to help from the sidelines, aiming his gun at one person after another.

He already understood the purpose of Li Da's trip.

This journey was not just for the old medicine prescription, but also to capture these ringleaders.

The White Lotus Sect's many experts and skilled fighters normally disguised and altered their appearances, and their identities were shrouded in secrecy. Capturing them and bringing them to justice was extremely troublesome. There were also hidden agents planted within the various schools and sects, all deeply concealed.

That was why Li Da had used himself as bait, along with the map of the Underground Fortress. Even if he could not catch them all in one net, he at least intended to capture the Vice Sect Leader.

Just as Lian Youming thought everything was about to be settled, a black figure suddenly came bounding out of the depths of the passage, striding like a shooting star and lunging straight at Li Da.

That strange man.

"Watch out!"

Startled by the sight, Lian Youming swung his muzzle around without another word, ready to fire.

But the newcomer moved incredibly fast, kicking off the walls and running along them. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the edge of the fight. With so little room, Lian Youming feared that a burst of gunfire would ricochet through the tunnel and accidentally hit Li Da.

Then Li Da spoke rapidly. "Don't shoot. Get out first."

Even as he spoke, the strange man reached him. Facing each other, the two raised their fists and palms without a word.

At their first exchange, the strange man's hands seemed soft and boneless. With a beckoning, circling motion, he gathered Li Da's striking fists into his palms with yielding force, pushing, turning, and redirecting their force with ease.

Li Da looked at him. "Taiji Cloud Hands? So you deliberately played weak both times we fought earlier."

"If I hadn't, how would you have grown so conceited?"

The two had actually fought before.

The previously one-sided situation changed at once with this man's intervention.

"Get out? Do you think you can still leave?" Someone sneered repeatedly, all his earlier panic gone. "This Underground Fortress was a hiding place for our White Lotus Sect all along. Why else do you think Third Brother Xie got his hands on its map so easily...? That old ghost even thought he'd found a talisman to save his life. Heh, heh..."

Looking at the strange man again, Lian Youming saw an old, bloodlessly pale face beneath his tangled hair, withered as dry firewood, its eyes deeply sunken. He looked little better than an evil ghost.

The two suddenly drew back together, and Li Da frowned. "The prescription was fake?"

The black-clad Gu Yutong said coldly, "Of course it's real. Against someone like you, how could we lure you onto the hook without putting out something genuine...? Unfortunately, you won't be taking it out."

Li Da smiled gently. "As long as it's real."

Gu Yutong said admiringly, "You truly live up to the title of Pacifying-the-Nation Junior Guardian, still able to smile at a time like this. Blame your senior brother for making too many enemies back then, injuring and killing countless people beneath his fists. Heh, heh. He dreamed of breaking into that supreme realm, only to fail at the final hurdle and leave his Qi and blood in decline. You want that old medicine to prolong his life? Never mind our refusal-look at these martial sects. Which one would agree?"

Someone shouted angrily, "Li Da, do you really think you're the only clever man in the world? You were setting a snare for us, little knowing this was a trap we'd laid for you too. This will be your burial place today, and that brat will go down with you."

Lian Youming's face darkened. So the map really had been bait.

He gripped a grenade in one hand and held the light machine gun in the other, preparing to fight until the fish died and the net broke.

Li Da said gravely, "Don't act rashly. There are plenty of bombs and poison-gas shells left by the Japanese army here. If anything leaks, everyone on and below the mountain could suffer. Why else do you think I came alone...? Trust me. Get out first."

Gu Yutong's eyes were cold as ice as she instructed a middle-aged burly man, "Go slaughter that brat."

Seeing the situation turn bad, Lian Youming first gave Xiao Li, behind him, a meaningful look. Understanding perfectly, the girl lay against his back. He glanced once more at Li Da, surrounded by enemies, before hurrying into a fork in the passage.

Murderous intent pursued him closely. Watching the figure drawing nearer step by step, Lian Youming stopped again and curled his lip without haste. "I told you you were a complete idiot. What, do you think all these grenades are just decorations?"

Though he spoke of grenades, his right hand pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Ratatatat...

A tongue of flame spat out, and scorching cartridge cases scattered like rain, striking the ground in a string of crisp clatters.

"You're asking to die, brat!"

The two men moved abruptly. Neither dared pursue head-on, especially in such a confined space, and they hurriedly ducked back.

Lian Youming could no longer worry about much else. Following the map in his memory, he wound through the tunnels and soon spotted a low iron door.

Beyond the iron door came the rushing sound of water. There was actually a waterfall outside.

This was Entrance No. 2, where Li Da had entered.

"We'll be out in a moment. Go down the mountain on your own afterward. I'm going to help him."

Lian Youming did not forget to reassure Xiao Li on his back.

The girl lay motionless, not a trace of panic on her face. She was very quiet, merely giving a soft, obedient "Mm."

With the exit almost within reach, Lian Youming was just about to duck through when a whipping kick suddenly shot in like a monstrous python and swept into his chest.

Lian Youming staggered. The closed wound on his chest split open again, blood immediately seeping out as his face paled.

A man slipped through the entrance, not only kicking the gun from his hands, but also clamping a lightning-fast hand around his throat and lifting him up.

It was actually the rough man who had harbored vile intentions toward Xiao Li in the wooden hut earlier. Shabbily dressed and stubbly-faced, he kept running his eyes over Xiao Li, grinning slyly with lust in his gaze.

"You little runt, trying to play the hero rescuing a beauty? I'll take her right in front of you first, and then I'll..."

Lian Youming had little strength left by then. He had spent the journey fleeing and had fought a vicious tiger, leaving him seriously wounded already. Now, with his throat gripped, he did not even have the strength to struggle.

Who could have imagined that what he thought would be a simple treasure hunt would turn into such mortal danger?

Sure enough, one could not blindly join in the excitement. There were no free pies falling from the sky.

Third Brother Xie, that damned pitfall of a man!!!

Seeing no chance of victory left, Lian Youming simply placed his hand on a grenade hidden at the small of his back. He had lost most of the others while running earlier; this was the only one left.

"Damn it, we'll go down togeth-huh?"

Lian Youming wanted to deliver one last threat, but strangely, the burly man's voice cut off halfway through his own words. His eyes widened as though he had seen something utterly terrifying, staring fixedly at him.

Already intent on killing and prepared to die together, Lian Youming would never let this opening slip when his opponent became distracted. Mustering his remaining strength in his right hand, his eyes straining wide, he brought a vicious punch down from above onto the Celestial Chimney Acupoint below the man's throat.

"Fuck you."

Feeling most of the grip on his throat drain away, Lian Youming steadied himself, took off the grenade, and tossed it toward the man, whose eyes were bloodshot. With Xiao Li on his back, he hurried outside.

"You... you are... Sect..."

Clutching his throat, the man fell onto his backside, still mumbling in broken fragments.

Lian Youming had no mind to listen to nonsense. He hurried outside and saw a waterfall pouring down from overhead, crashing onto the rocks in splashes of mist.

Then came a boom behind him.

When Lian Youming turned to look, the entrance beneath the waterfall had already collapsed from the blast.

"Oh no, Li Da!"

The sky was still dark, a lone moon hanging overhead, though a little light was already visible on the horizon.

Lian Youming stood before the waterfall, looking at the blasted entrance and the enormous rocks he could not possibly move, his expression dim. Why had he insisted on adding that final blow?

Only when the rising sun climbed above the horizon did Lian Youming rub his aching hands and feet and let out a long, melancholy sigh.

"Wasn't he supposed to be the Pacifying-the-Nation Junior Guardian? Gone just like that?"

"Don't worry. Even if you die, I won't."

Suddenly, a gentle voice, carrying a hint of amusement, drifted to Lian Youming's ears on the morning breeze.

He looked toward the sound and saw Li Da on the mountain path nearby, still as untroubled, innocent, and carefree as ever. Yet there was actually a fierce tiger slung over his shoulder.

Li Da strode over and tossed the tiger's corpse onto the ground. First, he cast an unobtrusive glance at the girl sleeping soundly beside Lian Youming, then said softly, "I brought this for you. You entered a mountain of treasures, after all. You ought to bring something out."

Lian Youming grinned and took two large gold bars from inside his clothes. "I did take something."

Li Da was breathing slightly hard. "What damn use is that? The poor study letters; the rich practice martial arts. Training in this day and age takes serious money. That little salary your parents earn would be gone in the time it takes you to draw a couple of breaths."

With that, he casually took a bright yellow cloth pouch from his pocket. "Take it."

Curious, Lian Youming opened it and looked inside. His eyes immediately widened. It was filled with pearls as big as longan fruit.

"Are these pearls?"

Li Da finally showed some expression, rolling his eyes.

"These are Eastern Pearls, treasures reserved for the Manchu Qing imperial family. I was leaving too fast to look closely, but I spotted a hat covered in these things and stripped them off... Hide them properly. Don't be an idiot and hand them over."

Lian Youming asked curiously, "What about those White Lotus Sect people?"

Li Da said softly, "I injured or killed three of them. The rest were harder to deal with, and they all retreated into the tombs deeper inside."

Lian Youming's heart surged at the news. So many people, yet they could not defeat this one man. Still, he felt it was a shame. "A lot of the things in there are national treasures. Won't the White Lotus Sect empty it out?"

Li Da exhaled deeply. "Don't worry. I made arrangements before coming. The station entrance and some of the main routes below the mountain all have people secretly guarding them. How could I not leave something in reserve...? Concern throws the mind into chaos. If an elder of my school hadn't suffered the calamity of losing his cultivation... Forget it. Ultimately, my state of mind still falls short... Let's head down!"

Then Li Da grabbed the tiger's corpse with one hand, his five fingers gripping its spine, and ran off carrying it as effortlessly as though it weighed nothing.

Lian Youming woke Xiao Li and hurried after him.

They ran all the way to the foot of the mountain, where the girl guided them to a solitary little courtyard.

A large yellow dog was tethered inside, along with several hens wandering about and pecking for food.

"Goodbye, Brother Lian!"

Xiao Li waved at Lian Youming and gave a rare smile.

She really was beautiful, her skin white as a soul of ice, with even her veins and sinews faintly visible in the sunlight.

Lian Youming glanced into the courtyard. Seeing what seemed to be no adults around, he cautioned her, "Don't go up the mountain so much anymore. Ask your parents to move somewhere else."

Only then did he walk toward Li Da a short distance away.

"Parents? Heh, heh. He's so kind, just like our father... Have someone blow up all the fortress entrances. If I can't have it, no one else will."

Watching the boy's gradually receding figure, Xiao Li murmured meaningfully. The first half still sounded somewhat frail, but her tone suddenly changed in the second half, as though she had become another person, turning cold, stern, and somewhat uncanny.

The girl's timid, fragile expression gradually changed as well. Her frame seemed to grow taller, and the muscles of her cheeks trembled gently. In just four or five minutes, even her presence had changed completely. Though she appeared unchanged, a trace of sinister wickedness filled her brow and eyes.

Narrowing her foxlike eyes, the girl took one final look in the direction Lian Youming and Li Da had gone, then turned and headed back up the mountain.

With a single step, she seemed to shift across level ground, traveling three or four meters...

(End of chapter)