I'm being targeted by the world's top expert, Dugu Qiubai. What should I do?
Waiting online. Urgent!!!
Wang Hao really wanted to cry, but no tears would come.
Forget taking Miss Dongfang away while she was gravely injured and completing the mission by making her fall in love with him over time. Whether he could even stay alive was still an open question!
He wasn't surprised that Dugu Qiubai had been lurking nearby. After all, the man was Miss Dongfang Bai's master, and Dongfang Bai had come to force her way into a major stronghold of their assassin organization. It was understandable that he would be concerned for his disciple's safety and stand by in secret to back her up.
But the problem was that he just happened to be Dongfang Bai's greatest enemy. Judging by the situation, Dugu Qiubai, hidden in the shadows, certainly wouldn't mind wiping him out.
That big shot might even appear the very next moment.
"Ahem..."
Just as Wang Hao was growing anxious, a soft cough came from beside him. He turned and saw that it was the deputy leader of this assassin stronghold. The man had actually gotten to his feet, clutching his chest.
Clearly, he had been playing dead just now!
Yet Wang Hao's eyes lit up when he saw the deputy leader standing there.
He had a chance to survive!
"Ahem... Heh heh, you little wench, you may be skilled, but you're still green when it comes to the jianghu. My heart was on the right side from birth. You miscalculated this time!"
The deputy leader reached up and tapped several points around the sword wound on the left side of his chest, sealing it to stop the bleeding. Only then did he turn his gaze to Dongfang Bai, unconscious on the ground, and sneer.
"So you were born with your heart on the right too, kid!"
The deputy leader turned toward Wang Hao, who stood in the corner of the courtyard. His gaze finally landed on the bloodstained left side of Wang Hao's chest. He was startled at first, then understanding dawned.
As he saw it, Wang Hao must have been born with his heart on the right, just like him, and that was how he had survived Dongfang Bai's sword thrust through the heart.
"Go kill that little wench, then bring me her sword!"
The deputy leader gave Wang Hao the order, then looked down at the longsword in his hand, of which only the hilt remained. His eyes burned with greed.
"It sliced through my Qingfeng Sword like it was tofu. It must be a rare divine weapon. With it in my hands, my strength will surely increase several times over."
Wang Hao put on a terrified expression and walked over cautiously. He picked up the sword Dongfang Bai had set beside her, then darted back like a startled rabbit.
"Deputy leader, that woman is too uncanny. I don't dare make a move. Please forgive me!"
Maintaining his terrified expression, Wang Hao held out the sword to the deputy leader as he spoke.
"Useless trash!"
The deputy leader snorted. He clearly thought Wang Hao had been scared out of his wits by Dongfang Bai's earlier slaughter. A cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes.
He had sent Wang Hao over to test whether Dongfang Bai really was gravely injured and unconscious. Otherwise, she might be faking it just like him, waiting for him to approach so she could turn the tables and kill him.
But this subordinate was far too cowardly, and he had no need for such trash under his command!
They say the leader stole a Great Rejuvenation Pill from Shaolin Temple last time and hid it in the stronghold. With a Great Rejuvenation Pill that can add sixty years of inner force, plus this little wench's divine sword, I'll surely make a name for myself in the jianghu.
I can also use this incident to leave the Blood Robe Tower. Then I can change my face and start a new life, but first I have to silence everyone here.
At that thought, murderous intent suddenly rose in the deputy leader's heart.
It was directed not only at Dongfang Bai, but also at Wang Hao.
"Uncle, just so you know, the guy in front of you wants to kill you!"
Xiao Mengmeng sensed the deputy leader's killing intent toward Wang Hao the instant it arose and hurriedly warned him.
Hmph! Then you can't blame me for being ruthless!
As he held out the sword, Wang Hao received Xiao Mengmeng's warning and hardened his heart. When he came within three steps of the man, he suddenly sprang into action, swinging a fist the size of a clay pot at him.
But as a veteran assassin, the deputy leader would naturally never let down his guard, especially while gravely injured. The instant Wang Hao attacked, he struck back with his palm.
He was very confident in that palm strike. Although he had never trained in hand-to-hand combat and all his strength lay in swordsmanship, his inner force was so powerful that, channeled into the strike, it could shatter even a block of granite.
Dealing with this big fool, who had only trained in the clumsy external art of Iron Cloth Shirt and had no inner force, was naturally no problem.
But what happened next shook him to his core, leaving his face full of disbelief.
"Bang!"
"Crack!"
The clay-pot-sized iron fist slammed into the palm imbued with powerful inner force, producing a dull thud, followed immediately by a rapid series of cracking bones.
"What kind of fist technique is that?"
The powerful impact sent the deputy leader staggering back four or five steps before he stopped. He glanced at his right arm, hanging limply at his side, then looked at Wang Hao in horror.
He didn't ask why Wang Hao had attacked him. There was no point, and he didn't need to know. What horrified him was the savage power behind the boy's punch.
It had forcibly smashed through the powerful inner force in his palm and shattered the bones in his arm.
When had this man acquired such a bizarre martial art?
"Iron-Forging Fist Technique!"
Wang Hao gave a cold reply.
He wasn't making something up to fool the man. This explosive force was produced by applying the iron-forging skills from his previous life in the Primordial Wilderness.
In that previous life in the Primordial Wilderness, he had been a member of the Nine Li Tribe and was naturally no ordinary person. Even as a mere blacksmith's apprentice, he had possessed a certain degree of strength.
After all, iron forging was skilled work. It required many different methods of applying force to forge materials from the inside out, leaving not the slightest flaw and bringing them to perfection.
This highly explosive burst of force was the result of more than ten years of arduous training in his previous life. Wang Hao had inherited it perfectly, to the point that it had become instinctive. Even after taking possession of a new body, he could still unleash some of its power, so calling it the Iron-Forging Fist Technique wasn't wrong.
The crude name of the fist technique caught the deputy leader off guard. Taking advantage of that moment, Wang Hao charged again, both fists flying wildly.
With his right arm temporarily disabled and only his left arm remaining, the deputy leader struggled miserably to defend himself.
He had never been skilled at hand-to-hand combat, and now he was gravely injured and had lost the use of one arm. Even with his deep inner force, he couldn't bring much of his strength to bear.
Even so, killing this boy normally wouldn't have been difficult. But although the boy's attacks followed no pattern, every punch was heavy and powerful, carrying that strange, explosive force. Even though he was on guard against it, he was still at a great disadvantage.
Most importantly, the man fought as though he bore some deep grudge against him, attacking without defending. His style was utterly reckless, with no regard for his own safety.
Just now, the deputy leader had spotted an opening and struck him with a palm, breaking several of his ribs. But the man had gritted his teeth and endured it, taking the opportunity to land two punches on him instead.
"Crack!"
Another rapid series of cracks suddenly reached their ears. A ruthless look appeared on Wang Hao's face, while the deputy leader's expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he turned and fled.
The bones in his left arm had been shattered too!
With both arms disabled, he had less than one percent of his fighting strength left. Staying meant certain death, so he could only retreat for now!
But Wang Hao had been waiting for this very chance. How could he let him escape?
He stamped hard on the ground and charged like a wild bull, sending the deputy leader's entire body flying before he could react. The man slammed into the courtyard wall behind him.
It wasn't over yet. Wang Hao continued forward, swinging his clay-pot-sized fist hard into the deputy leader's chest.
The explosive force of the punch scattered his protective inner force, then shattered his breastbone and the heart within, snuffing out every trace of life. The tremendous force even embedded his entire torso in the wall behind him.
The deputy leader had never expected that, after just surviving Dongfang Bai's sword thrust through his heart, his heart would still be smashed-and by a subordinate he had looked down on.
"Ahem... Why?"
The deputy leader coughed up a large mouthful of blood and looked at Wang Hao with unwillingness and confusion. Already on the verge of death, he suddenly wanted to know why this subordinate had attacked him, and so desperately and recklessly at that.
Although he had intended to silence Wang Hao, he hadn't made a move yet!
And he had never had any conflicts or grudges with the man before. Surely it didn't have to come to this!
"No one in this world can hurt her. Whoever lays a hand on her, I'll kill them. If gods stand in my way, I'll kill gods! If buddhas stand in my way, I'll kill buddhas!"
Wang Hao first gazed affectionately at Dongfang Bai, who remained gravely injured and unconscious. Then he turned back, his gaze cold, and spoke in a deep voice.
"Ridiculous! Ridiculous! An assassin actually fell in love, and with his own target and enemy at that. How utterly ridiculous! You won't come to a good end either. I'll be waiting for you in hell!"
The deputy leader was stunned at first, clearly not expecting that answer. Then he burst into wild laughter, looking at Wang Hao with a vicious, mocking expression.
At last, that vicious, mocking smile froze on his face. His life force rapidly faded until it vanished entirely.
"I know I won't come to a good end, but for her sake, I wouldn't hesitate even to fall into hell!"
Wang Hao tilted his head toward the sky, once again displaying a look of resolute devotion.
That was how he appeared on the surface, but in truth he was panicking like mad. He urgently asked Xiao Mengmeng in his heart, Mengmeng, has Dugu Qiubai's killing intent toward me faded?
That was right. Everything he had just done was a deliberate performance, naturally intended to keep him alive in the hands of the big shot Dugu Qiubai.
"Nice acting, Uncle. That Dugu Qiubai outside has already reduced his killing intent toward you by one tenth. Keep it up!"
Xiao Mengmeng answered once more in that soft, sweet voice, but her words made Wang Hao's face fall.
Are you kidding me? I risked my life putting on that performance, and his killing intent only dropped by one tenth?
Wang Hao was so frustrated he wanted to cough up blood.
He really had put his life on the line for that performance. To kill the deputy leader, whose strength far surpassed his own, he had completely abandoned his defenses. Although he had ultimately killed the man, he had paid a considerable price.
Leaving aside the tendons and blood vessels in his arms that had been torn by the man's inner force, he had taken three palm strikes to the chest alone. At least five of his ribs were broken, and his internal organs had suffered serious damage.
If his predecessor hadn't trained in the external art of Iron Cloth Shirt, and if his naturally powerful physique hadn't given him strong defenses, he would have gone down long ago.
Yet even after all that, he had only managed to reduce the man's killing intent by one tenth. In other words, he had gone from ten deaths and no life to nine deaths and one chance of survival.
How was that any different from no change at all?
Looks like my next chance of survival lies with this young lady!
Turning his gaze to the gravely injured and unconscious Dongfang Bai, Wang Hao hurried over and carefully picked her up. He kicked open the leader's door and gently laid her on the bed.
"Gulp!"
Looking at the beauty lying on the bed, Wang Hao couldn't help swallowing.
She was simply too beautiful, not one bit inferior to that girl You Lian. The pallor caused by her grave injuries lent her a delicate vulnerability that stirred pity, adding another measure of charm.
Of course, he hadn't carried her to the bed to take advantage of her helpless state and force himself on her or anything. If he really did that, Dugu Qiubai would probably rush in from outside and cut him down with a single stroke before he could even make a move.
He had actually brought her in for another purpose.