029

029

At this moment, the pursuers outside arrived and even stopped behind the wooden door to discuss something—

"Can't you check here?"

"What's the point of searching here? It's a place of no return. If they go in, those lunatics will skin them alive! Let's go, to the front!"

Those people ran away.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Xie Suian instinctively pulled Qin Sang into his arms and whispered, "I think we have a better chance of winning if we fight outside. What are all these things?"

Qin Sang said, "Of course they are people." Qin Sang looked back, but they were all people living in the shadows, living like maggots.

These people are probably all homeless, pitiful yet insane. They cannot be killed at will, but if you get entangled with them, you will be thoroughly ravaged and have your bones gnawed away.

Qin Sang agreed with Xie Suian's words, saying that the people outside were easier to deal with, and was about to turn around and open the door to leave.

However, a gust of wind blew, and a ghostly shadow landed in front of the two. By the dim moonlight, they could see the person in front of them clearly: his face was so dirty that his original appearance was unrecognizable, his lips were bluish-purple, his eyes were dark-rimmed as if he were terminally ill, and his hair was matted together like straw. Only his eyes were surprisingly bright.

Qin Sang held her breath, turned her face away and buried it in Xie Suian's shoulder, taking a deep breath because the smell was really unpleasant.

Before the ghost-like man could speak, Xie Sui'an had already kicked him. However, the expected scene of kicking the man away did not happen. Instead, his own leg was silently grabbed. Seeing the other person's gesture, his leg was about to be twisted into a pretzel. He immediately reached out and braced himself against the doorpost, rotating along with the other person's hand.

The man paused for a moment, tilted his head slightly, seemingly finding the action amusing, and stretched out his hands to grab Xie Sui'an. At this moment, Qin Sang picked up a handful of mortar from the wall and sprinkled it into the man's eyes, allowing Xie Sui'an to escape.

The two were about to open the door and leave when the other person slammed the door shut with a single palm strike from a distance.

He wasn't going to let the two of them leave.

Xie Sui'an said helplessly, "It's over, I can't beat this one."

Qin Sang: "Then what can we do? I can't beat them either."

Xie Sui'an: "Can you stop talking nonsense?"

Before the words were even finished, Qin Sang nimbly dodged the palm strike the man was delivering, and with a quick push, she shrugged off the barely clothed arm before bending down to avoid it... She had some martial arts skills, but not many. Enough to defend herself against ordinary bandits, and she could even demonstrate a few moves of Tai Chi's principle of using softness to overcome hardness. However, she was no match for brute force, and after only two moves, she panicked and cried out, "Ah... Help! I can't beat him..."

Xie Suian thought to himself, "Nonsense! If you could beat him, would I need to break into this courtyard alone to save him?" He immediately stopped running away and began to seriously exchange blows with the person in front of him.

Qin Sang anxiously directed from the side: Watch out in front, watch out behind, watch out above, watch out below... Watch out, watch out, he's about to throw a punch! Watch out, he's going to kick you!

Xie Suian was at his wit's end but had to endure it. He had no time to speak, and all his pent-up frustration had to wait until the fight was over before he could vent it.

With a "bang," Xie Sui'an was grabbed by the legs and thrown out by the madman, smashing through the already dilapidated doors and windows of the run-down house, causing a lot of dust to fall down with a clatter.

The madman, not satisfied, was about to step forward again when he suddenly stopped, looked up, and reached out to meet the palm strike coming down from above.

Jinyun is here!

The young man had a serious expression and a calm face. He was extremely skilled in light-footed martial arts and moved with lightning speed. He finally overwhelmed the beggar and shouted, "Take the young master and leave first!"

Qin Sang had already rushed over to save Xie Sui'an when he was knocked away. While Jin Yun was speaking, she had already quickly checked his meridians. Fortunately, he hadn't used his internal energy and had only suffered some superficial injuries. However, his internal organs were also shaken and he was not able to react for a while. He was very weak and it took him a long time to catch his breath.

He said with difficulty, "I am very heavy, you can't carry me..."

Qin Sang: "..."

Indeed, he couldn't carry it. A seriously injured person is as heavy as a dead body; he could only rely on himself. Qin Sang wanted to take out a nitroglycerin pill from her purse, but found that she had changed her clothes and her purse was naturally not with her. She cursed under her breath in anger.

Xie Sui'an said, "What did you say?"

Qin Sang: "Can't you be a little more dignified? Can't you just go back and faint then?"

Xie Sui'an smiled helplessly and finally stood up with the help of Qin Sang's shoulder. Just as the two staggered back towards the door, Xie Sui'an's other hand was suddenly lifted and placed on his shoulder. A tall and slender young man rushed over from nowhere to help and led the two quickly to the outside.

Inside, a fierce fight was taking place. Outside the door, Qin Sang recognized the young man's face and exclaimed in surprise, "It's you?"

Xie Sui'an looked completely bewildered.

The boy looked at the fight in the courtyard with a sense of longing and admiration. He asked in a hoarse voice, "Is the guy inside fighting with Chen the madman one of yours?"

Qin Sang agreed, then asked him, "What are you doing here?"

The boy's face was still injured, but it was hard to see clearly in the dark. His face was covered in black and white patches. He was the same boy who had escaped from Liu Sanchuan's village that afternoon, who had claimed that his entire village had been wiped out.

He didn't answer Qin Sang's question. He looked at the two of them in a disheveled state, seemingly understanding, and said calmly, "I didn't expect you to be hunted down by that Wu guy so quickly, not even a night has passed."

"..." Qin Sang's forehead twitched. "It's a long story, and it's also a coincidence..."

Jinyun was beaten to the doorway, clutching his chest and saying painfully, "Hurry up and leave, I can't hold on much longer!"

"Wow, this person is amazing. Jinyun is almost at her limit." She asked the young man, "Do you know this person?"

The boy answered decisively, "I don't know him, he's a madman. This is the first time I've seen him fight," he said, glancing over again with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Qin Sang roughly saw through the boy's thoughts and had to expose him, saying, "Even if you learn his kung fu, you can't take revenge with kung fu alone. Two fists can't beat four hands, do you understand?"

The boy turned his gaze back, a faint disdain in his eyes: "If not through kung fu, then through you? You can't even protect yourself."

Xie Suian was displeased by these words. He endured the pain all over his body and tried to stand up straight: "Kid, you need to think long-term. Although we look a little disheveled right now, we can still stand here and breathe properly, right? If you want to learn martial arts before taking revenge, it will take you five, six, seven, or eight years to learn. Learning martial arts... ah... it's not that easy!"

Jinyun was slammed to the doorway again, gritting his teeth and wailing, "Young Master... I really... can't hold on any longer..."

The boy bit his lip, seemingly lost in thought, then rushed into the room and suddenly stood in front of the mad expert, saying, "Stop."

The madman's palm strike missed the boy, smashing a brick on the ground beside him. He then withdrew his palm, tilted his head slightly, and stared at the person in front of him in astonishment.

The boy said earnestly, word by word, "They are friends, and they won't hurt us."

The madman thought for a long time, looked at Jinyun lying on the ground, and after a while, suddenly started to strike again.

Just as Jinyun was preparing to fight again, Qin Sang suddenly shouted, "Jinyun, don't move!"

Just as Jinyun was about to retaliate, he heard Qin Sang's urgent words. For some reason, he subconsciously obeyed. He quickly closed his eyes and withdrew his fist, expecting to be hit hard and spit out blood. However, a cool breeze brushed his chin, and he did not receive the expected blow.

He struggled to open one eye and saw that the madman's filthy, bird's-nest-like hair was even crawling with fleas!

Madman's Palm was still standing in the air when Jinyun stopped making a move and reached out to lift Jinyun's hand: "Again, continue!"

Jinyun had finally realized what was happening. It turned out that this madman was using him as a practice subject. He quickly waved his hand and said, "I won't fight anymore, I can't beat him."

"Again!" the madman persisted, his voice low but carrying a hint of bewilderment and naivety.

Jinyun waved his hand, then tilted his neck like a dead duck, stuck out his tongue, and pretended to die.

The madman finally got bored and walked away, clutching his hair.

Jinyun quickly opened his eyes and asked in a low voice, "Child, who is this person?"

***

Although the dilapidated house was hardly a place for humans to live, filled with homeless people and beggars, Xie Sui'an and Jinyun were both seriously injured. Until they had the strength to escape safely back to the inn, they had no choice but to temporarily hide in this house to recuperate and heal their wounds.

Without any hesitation, Qin Sang tore off many more strips of cloth and carefully rewrapped Xie Sui'an's back wound and the cracks in his legs.

Liu Sanchuan lit a candle, saying as he did so, "This candle is only half-burnt. You'll have to blow it out once you've treated your wounds, so use it sparingly."

Upon hearing this, Xie Sui'an patted himself down and found a piece of silver, which he tossed over: "You're so stingy. Take this and buy some more candles."

The boy disdainfully picked up the silver and stuffed it into his pocket, saying, "You won't need it, and you won't stay here for long anyway."

Xie Sui'an: "Nonsense, it stinks here."

The boy looked up at him, his eyes revealing even more disdain.

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Qin Sang quickly changed the subject: "Hey kid, have you been staying here lately? Who is that crazy guy?"

While the fight was going on, the people who had gradually gotten up in the house had all gone back to their own little corners of the room, oblivious to what was happening outside.

Even that mad expert had gone to some corner to sleep again, so now only a few of them were sitting cross-legged in a circle around a dimly lit candle.

The boy said, "I've only heard that he's the owner of this house."

The group looked up at the dilapidated house that offered neither shelter from the wind nor protection from the rain, and thought to themselves, no wonder there was such a refugee slum in the bustling streets of Quzhou, where land is incredibly valuable. It turns out the owner had turned himself into a refugee.

Xie Suian said, "And what else? He is the owner of this house, and his martial arts skills are so high, why would he go mad?"

Liu Sanchuan said casually, "That's a question for you high-ranking officials. When you have secrets you don't want others to know, do you resort to murder to silence them?"

Xie Sui'an remained silent. Although he himself had never done such a thing, he knew that someone must have. Those in high positions of power often resort to abusing their authority to maintain their status. Their so-called benevolence is merely based on the premise that their own position remains unaffected. Once someone threatens them or their family, they become smiling tigers, devouring people without batting an eye.

Qin Sang asked, "So what secret does he hold?"

“There are many versions of the story,” the boy said, casually tearing off a blade of dry grass and putting it in his mouth to chew. “Some say he slept with someone’s concubine and was beaten into a madman. Others say he was once a subordinate of some important person, and he suffered the consequences after that person fell from power. Still others say he was a subordinate of some important person, but because he knew the important person’s secrets and was not on the same page as the important person, he was crippled.”

Jin Yun, a subordinate of the important figure, nodded with a profound expression: "Yes, I think these statements are all quite possible..."

Xie Sui'an glanced at him sideways, and he quickly stopped talking, closed his eyes, and continued to circulate his internal energy to heal his injuries.

There was nothing more to say about the madman. After a moment of silence, Qin Sang decided to discuss the plan with everyone. If possible, they could start implementing it tomorrow to avoid any unforeseen complications.

But just as she was about to speak, Xie Sui'an also spoke up: "How were you kidnapped?"

Then his gaze swept lightly over her clothes, which had been changed, his expression showing a hint of nervousness that he was trying to suppress.

Qin Sang herself was also confused about the matter of changing clothes, so she felt a little guilty and only talked about the beginning. When she got to the part where the waiter gave her directions, both of them were stunned.

Xie Sui'an angrily said, "I clearly told the waiter to come to my room to find me!"

Qin Sang suddenly exclaimed, remembering something, "Ying'er is still inside and hasn't come out yet!"

Jinyun: "..."

After staring at each other for a while, Xie Sui'an gasped and said, "Ying'er, don't think about it for now. It's not realistic to go back to save people tonight. If they want to do something to the little mute, it will be too late for you to go now."

Continue read on readnovelmtl.com