Book 16: Chapter 67
Tang Ye underestimated Hong Jiu’s talent at bringing misfortune wherever he went. This was the reason Hong Jiu managed to mess up every intelligence collection task he ever went on, whether it was due to someone looking up and spotting him or a venomous snake biting his hand at a critical moment. One could say he had to set fire to the enemy camp in order to flee from every fiasco he managed to get involved in. It probably would have been easier to mount a frontal assault on an enemy camp than to have Hong Jiu scout out the camp first.
As someone who embodied an undying spirit, though, Hong Jiu never quit seeking ways to overcome the challenge. Thanks to his rigorous efforts, he was able to master a unique set of concealment strategies – dig into the ground where there was ground, wrap around a pole where there was a pole and so forth. In short, maintain concealment under unfortunate circumstances and then emerge.
Hong Jiu initially planned to scare the two from the hole he dug, only to discover that there was another hole in the ground connected to the hole that he dug. He almost tripped into it when he missed his footing, but he was quick enough to save himself. Unfortunately, they still overheard him, so he decided it was time to switch to improvisation while under duress.
If one does not know where one is about to strike, the enemy knows not where one will strike, either. By extension, he who struck first among two opponents in a rush seized the advantage. Thus far, Hong Jiu had gone undefeated utilising the strategy. After all, few people ever got into anywhere near as many accidents as he did. Alas, he ran into competition this time.
The two visitors were unfazed when they felt the force of Hong Jiu’s strike billow their clothing. The man in grey depressed his left hand whilst raising his right hand, then moved them in a circular motion to intercept Hong Jiu’s palm strike head on. Hong Jiu’s palm strike blew apart the ground and came up roaring, yet it landed without as much as a sound.
In contrast, a loud gust of wind blew beside Hong Jiu. Hong Jiu twisted side on to avoid the would-have-been-fatal finger thrust that contained some form of chill qi delivering numbing properties without contact. Then, he redirected his assailant’s fingers away from him whilst backing off two steps. The tall man knew that Hong Jiu barely dodged it based on the latter’s response, so he also knew Hong Jiu was not in position to counter, not to mention the nature of his energy erasing his opponent’s energy – Frosty Heaven Pillars. Hence, he planned to advance, only for Hong Jiu to suddenly uncork a palm strike that slammed straight into his chest before he even realised it. The sound of ribs breaking did not sound less scary than the sound of him reeling through the air.
The shorter man stood his ground and scanned Hong Jiu with curiosity. It did not take long for his tall companion to get to his feet. Though he needed to recalibrate his breathing and even spat out black blood, he was able to clearly enunciate, “Dragon Subduing Palms? What’s your relationship with the Beggars’ Sect?”
Upon exiting his stance, Hong Jiu stretched his arms overhead and laughed. “Your grandpa here is a third-generation disciple of Sage Sha Wujing who went to recover the scriptures from the East. The surname is Kill, first name Yourfamily.”
The tall man stopped to scour his memory for someone with that name until he realised he was being fooled. “I’ll kill your fam-”