Chapter Thirty-Three: Life and Death

  Liang Xin's arms were slanted and open, blocking his opponent's fist, and he was shocked in his heart! Zheng Xiaodao's strength was not inferior to his.

  Zheng Xiaodao let out a loud laugh, and his entire body suddenly became excited. He lowered his stance, and with one hand, he made a vicious grab at Liang Xin. This move was unorthodox and extremely vicious, not a proper martial arts technique, but rather like the dirty fighting of a street thug, which didn't match his identity as the sect leader at all.

  Liang Xin suddenly laughed, this move martial artists may rarely use, but the Tianyuan of Houxigu Valley used it at least eight times a day on him, and with a kick, he didn't even look before sending Zheng Xiaodao flying towards his face.

  Zheng Xiaodao was originally short and stealthy, and it seemed that he couldn't avoid Liang Xin's kick. However, his body suddenly shortened again in an almost impossible situation, shrinking into a ball and charging towards the single leg that Liang Xin stood on.

  Liáng Xīn suddenly lost his balance and fell backwards without warning, kicking Zheng Xiaodao's chin with one leg...

  All the disciples of Tian Ce Men were stunned, these two people were both young and had surprisingly similar strength, but when they fought, they used every trick in the book. Zheng Xiaodao used his arm to strangle Liang Xin's neck, and Liang Xin lowered his head to bite his hand; Liang Xin wanted to hug Zheng Xiaodao's waist and throw him, but Zheng Xiaodao countered with a headbutt to his chest... This kind of ruthless and cunning fighting style was not any ordinary martial art.

  The flag-bearing instructor understood the most, raised his energy and shouted at the disciples under the door: "Everyone has seen it! The Tian Ce Men came from the military, the battle on the battlefield, forever only one move, called: you die I live! The current master is using this move!"

  The true skill of Tian Ce Men comes from the battlefield, where the only goal is to kill or be killed. Zheng Xiaodao studied this set of skills that aims to find every possible way to kill his opponents.

  Two young men, one with skills honed from fighting with Tian Yu, the other with murderous techniques trained since childhood, now clashed in a way that was so treacherous it made onlookers' eyes twitch. The dull thuds of their blows rang out as they quickly became entangled, soon wrapping themselves around each other, limbs and heads locked together, their movements becoming more constricted as the fight went on, until after a good while, neither could move anymore.

  The little gibbon without a tail had already jumped to one side, and was now crouching beside the two people, tilting its head as it looked at them with an eager expression, seemingly wanting to stretch out a hand to grab Zheng Xiaodao's paw.

  The two men wrestled several times, neither gaining the upper hand. Zheng Xiaodao was the first to laugh and said, panting: "Good skills, now it's impossible to tell who wins or loses, let go."

  Liang Xin was also sweating profusely, and together with Zheng Xiaodao, they slowly retracted their strength, laughing as they asked: "Where did your strength come from?"

  Zheng Xiaodao's straightforward answer was: "There is a method of passing down internal energy in the Tian Ce Men, within three generations. My strength is actually left to me by my master and ancestors, what about you?"

  Liáng Xīn of course did not dare to tell the truth, directly saying: "Born with it!"

  Zheng Xiaodao burst out laughing: "You're really not being honest, you said it was a loss from the start." Although his words were complaining, his tone was full of joy, and he struggled to move his hands and feet amidst his laughter.

  Liang Xin also relaxed, wanting to get out of the situation as soon as possible. The two brothers were wriggling on the ground, looking clumsy and laughable. However, Liang Xin always felt that something was off. After careful consideration, he suddenly realized that Zheng Xiaodao's right hand, which was locked under his armpit, was moving in an unusual position. Logically, if Zheng wanted to get both of them to relax as soon as possible, this right hand should have been withdrawn backwards. But now it was slowly stretching forward, all the way to Liang Xin's face.

  Suddenly, Zheng Xiaodao's right hand clenched into a fist, and with a low whooshing sound, a two-inch-long silver needle shot out from the back of his hand, flying straight at Liang Xin's left eye!

  This black-robed Zheng Xiaodao actually hid a mechanism for secretly shooting hidden weapons in his own flesh and blood!

  Everything benefited from the fight between Monkey King and Heaven Ape, although Heaven Ape was not as sinister as Zheng Xiaodao, but often had similar moves, such as suddenly whipping his head during a fight and spitting saliva on him.

  Liáng Xīn used all his strength, angrily shouting as he raised his head. Suddenly, he only felt a sharp pain on his forehead, and that silver needle was right in the middle of his own forehead. Fortunately, the hidden weapon buried in the flesh, although it couldn't be completely defended against, wouldn't have too much force. The silver needle could only pierce through the skin, but not penetrate the skull. Although the situation was extremely dangerous, the final injury was so slight that it could be ignored.

  Zheng Xiaodao missed a hit but burst into laughter again: "The Tian Ce Men's legacy is originally the killing technique in the army, do you know that 700 years ago, there was an elite troop with arm-mounted crossbows in the previous dynasty? As long as it appeared on the battlefield, we can learn it!"

  Liáng Xīn's face turned red with rage, his entire body bursting forth with brute strength once again. Zheng Xiǎo Dào was not to be outdone, and the two of them immediately entwined in a fierce struggle, this time with no intention of backing down. Just as they were becoming increasingly entangled, the tail-less little gibbon took advantage of everyone's distraction, suddenly leaping up and swiping at Zheng Xiǎo Dào's left eye with its paw!

  Zheng Xiaodao's mind was left with only six words: "Revenge in this life, it comes quickly!" He and Liang Xing rolled into a ball, without any chance to dodge, could only close his eyes.

  Xiao Tianyuan's claw swiped over, and Zheng Xiaodao only felt a sharp pain coming on, followed by a burst of crimson splashing out. He thought his left eyeball had been knocked off, and in the midst of panic and confusion, all the tense force in his body relaxed and dissipated.

  Liáng Xīn took the opportunity to exert force, mercilessly breaking one of Zhèng Xiǎo Dào's arms. At the same time, he freed himself, bent down and picked up the tail-less little Tianyuan, placing it on his own neck.

  Zheng Xiaodao was busy using his uninjured hand to touch his eyes, only to discover that his eyeballs were still intact. The young Tianyuan had only scratched the eyelid of his left eye, leaving a bloody gash that looked frightening, but was actually not too serious. On the other hand, Zheng Xiaodao's right arm was twisted in an unnatural way, with several fractures in the bones.

  The disciples of Tian Ce Men were all extremely angry, and as soon as they drew their weapons, they surrounded him. Unexpectedly, Zheng Xiaodao, who was in a miserable state, trembled with fear and shouted: "Back off!"

  As soon as the words fell, everyone's eyes were blinded for a moment. An old man with a pale face floated in from outside the high wall, walked quickly to Liang Xin's side, handed him the box containing the Yangshou evil bow, and then asked in a low voice: "Did you suffer... Eh, heaven, that tailless monkey!"

  The person who came was Qu Qingmo.

  Qu Qingmo and Lao Mao finished looking at the shop and returned to Tian Ce Men, only to find that the large gate was tightly closed. The people around were discussing it in hushed tones, and after asking a few questions, they quickly understood what had happened. They were shocked and immediately rushed back to the inn to retrieve Yang Shou's evil bow. She was in a state of fury, as a second-step cultivator, an ordinary large gate couldn't stop her. After jumping in, she saw that Liang Xin was safe and sound, and let out a sigh of relief. Then, seeing the tail-less Xiao Tianyuan, she understood why Liang Xin had taken action.

  The 'monkey without a tail' also sensed the same kind of smell on Qu Qingmo's body, and happily climbed back and forth over the two people's shoulders.

  The flag-bearing instructor grasped the flag and climbed back up to the high platform, waiting for the gatekeeper's order to activate the formation. If he had known that Liang Xin was holding a box with a bow inside, he definitely wouldn't have gone up so quickly...

  The disciples of the Tian Ce Men were staring fiercely, with hundreds of people holding their weapons. With the evil bow in hand, Liang Xin had nothing to fear. The evil bow could only be shot once, but its power was enough to severely injure a five-step cultivator at the Xuan Ji realm, and it was not something that these ordinary people in front of him could defend against.

  Liáng Xīn furrowed his brow and looked at Zhèng Xiǎo Dào, asking: "What else do you want? Do you still want to fight?"

  Zheng Xiaodao's face was covered in blood, his right arm twisted at an unnatural angle. He struggled to get up, but still managed a hearty laugh and shook his head, saying: "I lost, Tian Ce Men wins! I admit defeat!"

  This sentence was quite beyond Liang Xin's expectations, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. This Zheng Xiaodao, when he came out was a handsome and refreshing young man, when fighting was a ruthless and cunning killer, when speaking was an honest and simple child, when ambushing was a sinister and despicable villain, but now had become a straightforward and chivalrous hero?

  Zheng Xiaodao couldn't stand anymore, waved his hand to let his disciples move over a chair, and sat down on the chair with a painful expression. He gritted his teeth and smiled: "The skills I've learned are all about using every trick in the book to take down my enemies, so when it comes to fighting, I'll stop at nothing. If you die at my hands, don't blame anyone else, just blame yourself for underestimating the cunning of Tian Ce Men. But since I lost this fight, I'll keep my promise as before."

  Zheng Xiaodao said with a pained expression, his face twitching in agony, "Don't you understand yet? Fighting is fighting, and promises are promises - they're two completely different things! If I wanted to renege on my promise, I wouldn't use 'meat thorn' to hurt you. When we were entwined together, couldn't I have just had my disciple stab your head with a knife? So I lost, and that's it."

  A Tian Ce sect disciple who was unwilling to concede interrupted: "The Sect Master didn't lose, it's just that little beast who launched a sneak attack..."

  "Shut up!" Zheng Xiaodao rebuked in a low voice: "That monkey's sneak attack was not ordered by Liang Mochou, it was unexpected for both him and me. The outcome is decided by heaven, whoever wins will be acknowledged as the winner!"

  Liang Xin furrowed her brow and stared at Zheng Xiaodao, as if trying to see whether he was telling the truth or not. But Zheng Xiaodao just grinned mischievously and said: "If you have something to say, then draw it out, I still need to hurry back and treat my injuries, I suppose you're not in pain, huh?"

  Liang Xin finally smiled and patted Xiao Tianyuan: "I'll take it away."

  Zheng Xiaodao nodded: "This is natural, and there's more..." Before he could finish speaking, Liang Xin had already carried Xiao Tianyuan on his back and pulled Qu Qingmo to turn around and leave. Upon hearing this, they neither stopped nor turned their heads, waving their hands and saying: "Can't think of anything else for now, will say it when I think of it later."

  When Liang Xin walked to the door, Zheng Xiaodao's laughter sounded again from behind: "If you think of it later, it won't count!"

  The Tian Ce Gate, which had been closed for half a day, opened again. The idle people who had been waiting outside for half a day saw Liang Xin come out unscathed and were all shocked. Some of the bolder ones came forward to ask questions, but Liang Xin made something up on the spot and saved face for Tian Ce Gate...

  In the Tian Ce Gate, Zheng Xiaodao was carried by his subordinates into the inner hall, and then dismissed everyone, leaving only a few trusted confidants.

  The few people left did not rush to treat his wounds, but quickly tore open his shirt and used a long bamboo skewer to carefully pick out a dark, foul-smelling insect from several vital spots on Zheng Xiaodao's body, including the top of his head, chest, abdomen, shoulders, and hips.

  His subordinates all let out a sigh of relief, putting the strange insect into a specially made small box, and only then did they start to help him set his bones, apply medicine, and treat his injured eye...

  One of them couldn't bear to look at him, hesitated for a while before speaking up: "Master, this time the injury is severe, but after a period of recuperation, it will be fine. However, that technique that forces the release of potential... please don't use it again."

  Zheng Xiaodao seemed to not even have the strength to shake his head, and said weakly: "I don't want to use it either, but... what else can I do? This time... I'll warn those kids, in the future don't cause this kind of misunderstanding again, or next time I really will be dead!"

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  Liang Xin hugged Xiao Tianyuan and returned to the inn with Qu Qingmo, recounting her experiences at the Tiang Ce Gate from start to finish along the way.

  Qing Mo stretched out his hand and pinched Xiao Tianyuan's cheek, chuckling as he said: "Tianyuan is not allowed to leave Kunai Mountain. The origin of this little guy is quite strange! When we return to the mountain, bring it back and ask Master Hulu what's going on."

  Liáng Xīn bought a few apples from the roadside, and Xiǎo Tiān Yu chose the largest one, splitting it in half with a crack. He looked left and right, took the larger half and handed it to Liáng Xīn, giving the smaller half to Qū Qīng Mò.

  Two people laughed loudly, urging the little guy to eat quickly. Tianyuan started eating hastily, and Liang Xin's stomach growled with hunger when he saw others eating. He didn't say much and hurried back to the inn, where he had booked a room that included meals, specifically noodles.

  They arrived at the inn just in time for dinner. Qu Qingmo ate half a bowl and was full, while Liang Xin had five large bowls, which made the old shopkeeper frown and tremble as he came to his side, whispering: "Child, there's plenty of noodles, don't overeat and hurt your body..."

  Liāng Xīn's mouth split open in a grin, revealing two rows of teeth: "I'll have another bowl of noodle soup."

  Qu Qingmo had long been used to it and sat beside him with an unchanged expression. Xiaotianyuan's eyes were wide open, looking at Liang Xin one moment and his belly the next...

  The noodles haven't even arrived yet, and Qingmo excitedly pushed Liangxin: "Why don't you ask me how the store looks?"

  Li Xing smiled and said: "Even if you ask, it's useless. I'll go see for myself tomorrow to be sure!"

  As soon as the words fell, with a slap, Qu Qingmo pulled out a piece of paper from his bosom and slapped it in front of Liang Xin.

  Liáng Xīn raised the paper, reading in a low voice: "Contract..." His face suddenly turned pale as he read to the end, his eyes wide with shock. He looked at it again and again before finally lifting his head and stammering: "Twenty... fourteen taels of gold?! Gold?!"

  Qu Qingmo smiled and nodded: "The location of the shop is very good, the hall is also bright enough, I'm afraid it will be snatched away, so I signed the contract first and agreed to pay tomorrow!"

  The old innkeeper hurriedly congratulated, loudly saying auspicious words. The shop assistant also came over to ask about the store's area and nodded with a smile, saying it was suitable. Tongchuan is a place for gathering and trading, and Tie Xie Street is in the city center. Qu Qingmo spent money that wasn't a loss, but only Liang Xin was at a loss, not knowing what to do. Finally, he stretched out his hand, grabbed the shop assistant, and said with hatred: "Don't serve noodles anymore, bring another bowl of noodles!"

  At this moment, the inn's entrance was crowded and noisy with horses neighing. A group of people arrived to lodge, all wearing elegant hats and dressed in scholar robes, each face showing fatigue.

  Not only did Liang Xin find it unexpected, but even the shopkeeper thought it strange that in Tongchuan Prefecture, where barbarians, herdsmen, foreigners and even dancing girls came and went constantly, there had never been a large group of scholars.

  There were nearly twenty people in this group of scholars, among whom two were particularly eye-catching. One was an old man with white hair and beard, yet his spirit was vigorous; the other was a bald-headed giant next to the old man, whose muscles bulged high, almost bursting through his scholar's robe.

  The old man smiled and scanned the room after entering the store, but when he saw Liang Xin, he was slightly stunned for a moment.

  The big fellow was carrying a huge wooden box, almost as large as a coffin. He looked majestic and powerful, but his eyes were dull and he had a foolish grin on his face, revealing that he was actually an idiot.

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  After zero o'clock, there is still a chapter of splashing and rushing to the list, recommending... so many recommendation votes...