Deceptive Words

Doctor Mo landed lightly where Han Li had stood. Without pausing in the slightest, he turned around like a ghost to face him again. The arrogance on his face had completely faded, leaving only a wooden expression, though a barely perceptible hint of something strange showed in his eyes.

Han Li was not doing much better. He kept panting heavily, his face was somewhat pale, beads of cold sweat had appeared on his forehead, and an unnatural flush colored his cheeks.

All of this showed that the life-saving maneuver Han Li had just used had exhausted most of his strength. It was very likely that he would be unable to use the same technique the next time.

Han Li exhaled deeply and relaxed his body as much as he could to ease the tremendous strain that using the Gossamer Smoke Steps had just placed on his muscles. For now, he could only seize every opportunity to recover more of his strength, giving himself a little more hope of winning the next round of combat.

Han Li glanced down again at his left hand, which was still trembling slightly. It was completely numb and had yet to regain any feeling. He could no longer even hold a sword with it. It seemed the left-handed swordsmanship he had deliberately trained so hard in was useless for the time being, leaving him to fight with only his right hand.

At the thought, he gave a bitter laugh inwardly. He had now lost most of his strength and could no longer use the subtle Gossamer Smoke Steps. Worse still, he could only fight with one hand. His situation truly could not have been any worse. It seemed he would have to use his final, hidden move.

Han Li looked at the sun outside the room and made an estimate. He reckoned the time was about right, just suitable for using this move.

He glanced again at the short sword embedded in the wall. It seemed he would have no chance to retrieve the weapon; his opponent would not let him swagger over and pull it out.

Han Li pondered for a moment, then took another weapon from inside his robes. This too was a sheathed short sword, half a foot long. Since it was so short, it would have been more appropriate to call it a dagger. Once drawn, it looked much broader and thicker than an ordinary dagger. It was also extremely bright and appeared very sharp.

Han Li tossed the sheath aside, shifted the sword to his right hand, and extended his arm, pointing the tip diagonally at his opponent as he assumed an attacking stance.

Doctor Mo watched all of this but did not hurry forward to seize the offensive. He clasped his hands behind his back, and his expression suddenly became kindly as he urged in a gentle voice:

"Han Li, you've dodged my attacks again and again, and that really did surprise me. But do you think you can be as lucky as you were last time and escape my palm again? The footwork you just used was indeed marvelous, but it seems to have considerable limitations. Judging by your stamina alone, you can't support another successful use of it. Be good and surrender! You should be able to tell that I don't intend to seriously injure you. If you obey me, perhaps things won't be as bad as you imagine."

Doctor Mo's chameleon-like change in attitude gave Han Li goosebumps. One moment he played the kindly teacher, the next he was cold and ruthless, and now he was earnestly urging Han Li to fold his hands and await death. Han Li really did not know what to say. Did he really think Han Li would lose his head at a time like this and fall for such a damned obvious trick?

Yet those words instead gave Han Li a little more confidence. If Doctor Mo had not grown wary of him, why would he resort to such a childish means of deceiving him?

Han Li saw through all of this in an instant. He sighed and gently shook his head. Without saying a word, he merely gestured at his opponent a few times with the short sword in his hand, making his meaning perfectly clear.

The veins on Doctor Mo's forehead throbbed several times. Seeing that Han Li had paid no heed to his persuasion and had instead challenged him with his weapon, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

"You don't know what's good for you!"

He suddenly took a huge step forward and then spat out fiercely, "So Close Yet Worlds Apart."

Then, in a flash, he arrived as lightly as a feather only a few steps away from Han Li. It was as if he had mastered the art of shrinking the earth, a sight that inspired astonishment.

Han Li also seemed badly startled. Panic spread across his face, and he hurriedly retreated two steps, putting some distance between them. Only then did he hold his short sword crosswise before him and whirl it into a small patch of cold light, blocking Doctor Mo's path. He seemed to have completely forgotten the hard lesson he had suffered in their last exchange.

Doctor Mo sneered inwardly. Naturally, he would not be so kind as to remind his opponent. He spread his palms and sent them at Han Li along two separate paths, paying no attention to the cold gleam.

The two silver hands were about to plunge into the sword light when a soft chuckle suddenly came from across from him. The laughter was full of unrestrained satisfaction, like the triumphant laughter of a hunter watching his prey step into a trap.

Doctor Mo's heart tightened. He involuntarily slowed his advance, his movements growing somewhat sluggish. Then he heard an icy voice:

"Now you're the one who's truly fallen for a trick. Look at the short sword in my hand!"

At those words, Doctor Mo could not help looking at the short sword. At some point, his opponent had stopped whirling it and assumed a strange posture. His upper body was leaning slightly backward, and he held the short sword flat at his waist in one hand. His lower body was taut in a bow stance, ready to spring at a touch. He looked like a strange figure drawing a bow to shoot an arrow.

Apart from a faint green gleam, there was nothing at all unusual about the short sword mentioned in those words. This left Doctor Mo somewhat taken aback. Could his opponent have assumed such a strange posture and tried to deceive him with those words merely to unsettle him and gain an advantage?

At the thought, Doctor Mo found it somewhat amusing and could not help wanting to mock his opponent. But he suddenly saw Han Li charge forward, becoming a sharp arrow loosed from a powerful bow as he shot toward him. The speed of his approach made even Doctor Mo's expression change.

Doctor Mo hurriedly brought his outstretched hands together, intending to catch the blade between his palms. But the short sword opposite him gave a slight flicker and transformed into more than a dozen identical blades, thrusting straight at him from different directions, the real one impossible to distinguish from the false.

Doctor Mo snorted, and his estimation of Han Li fell a few degrees further. Wasn't using such a flashy but impractical move before an expert like him courting death? He could tell where the real blade was at a glance.

So he opened his eyes wide and fixed on the direction of the real sword. Keeping his hand technique unchanged, he instead sped up his attack, intending to shatter the sharp blade in a single move and leave his opponent empty-handed and ready to be captured.