Chapter Four: A Modest Display of Skill

In the early morning, the mountain air was fresh and clean, and the birds that had risen before dawn were chirping noisily from the trees. Chen Hongxu couldn't actually pinpoint the exact location of the woman who had just called out; in his mind, there was only a vague idea.

“She must be over there,” he thought, racing through the dense forest, even climbing sheer rock faces with his bare hands when no path presented itself. He glanced at the startled flocks of birds not far away, hunched over, moving with quiet, careful steps. He crouched behind a rocky outcrop and closely surveyed the scene ahead.

The area was a naturally formed clearing, sparsely dotted with a few trees whose names he couldn't recall. Standing in the open were four men. Three of them, dressed in sharp suits, appeared to be with the two similarly dressed men lying motionless on the ground. Surrounded by them was a buzz-cut man in a black tank top, who, as Chen Hongxu arrived, seemed to sense his presence and glanced toward the rock where he hid.

Chen Hongxu withdrew his gaze from the final figure in the scene—a woman lying unconscious, her fate uncertain—and shrank his neck, silently cursing himself for rushing too much. Now, in this situation, he couldn't tell who was who. If only the old man had kept up, with his experience he might have been able to make sense of it all.

Suddenly, Chen Hongxu felt a tingling on his right cheek, as if a tiny electric current had passed over it. He turned slightly, and his eyes widened in astonishment.

Not far away, perched leisurely on a branch of an ancient tree, sat the very old man who had noticed his difference back in the bamboo pavilion. The old man swung his legs nonchalantly, as if eager for everyone to know he was there.

Their eyes met. The old man nodded kindly at Chen Hongxu, then looked away, his face playful as he observed the people in the clearing.

The man in the tank top caught sight of the old man on the branch, his face first shocked, then sullen. He spoke with respect: “Master Situ, this is a personal feud between me and Xue Baishu. Please, do not interfere.”

“So the old man’s surname is Situ… He must be quite renowned,” Chen Hongxu thought, glancing at the old man’s position.

Situ, the old man, kept his gentle smile, watching in silence without replying.

Seeing that Situ didn't speak, the tank top man took it as tacit approval and smiled. With a push of his foot, he immediately launched into action.

Though the tank top man seemed to handle the attacks of the three suited men with ease, the sweat soaking his back told a different story. After all, they were three strong men, not pigs to be slaughtered. The tank top man also knew that if he got held up by this advance team, once their main force arrived, escape would be impossible.

Seizing an opening and enduring two hard punches to his back, he pounced like a tiger, his fist turning into a claw that raked across one suited man’s face.

With a single blow, the man collapsed unconscious. The outcome of the fight was now clear. With two heavy thuds, the remaining opponents fell, leaving only the tank top man standing.

Breathing heavily, he turned and bowed respectfully toward Master Situ. “Thank you, Master Situ. I take my leave now.” With that, he crouched, lifted the unconscious woman, and prepared to depart.

Chen Hongxu narrowed his eyes, uncertain of the unfolding drama and reluctant to reveal himself. At this moment, Master Situ pushed off from the tree and landed softly on the ground without making a sound.

Startled, the tank top man stepped back twice, uncertain. “What do you mean by this, Master Situ?”

The old man shook his head and pointed at the woman in the man’s arms. “Gu Jisong, you may leave, but leave Xue Xi behind. Grudges among men should not harm the innocent.”

Gu Jisong was taken aback that Situ even knew the woman’s name; he saw no point in pretending she was his girlfriend. With a sneer, he clamped a hand around Xue Xi’s throat, glaring at Situ. “Situ Shan, don’t push your luck. Refuse to let me go, and this girl dies because of you.”

Situ Shan frowned, clearly conflicted. Though Gu Jisong’s skills were nothing special in his eyes, the man was ruthless enough to kill Xue Xi if pressed.

Seeing the old man’s hesitation, Gu Jisong was secretly delighted. He knew Situ truly cared about Xue Xi’s life and decided to press his advantage.

Just as he was about to exert more force, Situ Shan barked, “I can’t let you go so easily. My reputation is at stake. Since you won’t fight me, why not spar with my young friend instead?”

“Young friend?” Gu Jisong glanced warily at the rocks.

Chen Hongxu realized hiding any longer was pointless and stepped out.

Gu Jisong eyed Chen Hongxu, whose clothes were torn from running through the forest and who seemed rather young. He pointed skeptically. “Him?”

Situ Shan nodded, unconcerned whether either party agreed, and floated back ten paces to give them space.

Gu Jisong knew there was no refusing, so he set Xue Xi down and stepped forward, sizing up Chen Hongxu’s attire, then bent over laughing.

Puzzled, Chen Hongxu glanced down. Other than a few rips from running in the woods, nothing seemed amiss.

“Something’s wrong,” he thought.

Trusting his instincts, Chen Hongxu tilted his head and arched back, flipping backward just as, with a loud crash, Gu Jisong landed where he had just stood.

Gu Jisong was a bit stunned. His downward strike had missed someone seemingly distracted. He straightened, his eyes tinged red, and stared at Chen Hongxu. “So you’re not as weak as you look. I was mistaken.”

Chen Hongxu’s heart pounded; he dared not reply. If not for his instinctive reaction and his recent dedicated training, he would have been struck in the waist. Judging by the force Gu Jisong had displayed, it would have been fatal or crippling.

Gu Jisong meant his words sincerely; he wasn’t trying to trick Chen Hongxu again.

Both men now looked grave. Chen Hongxu shifted his stance, planting his feet in a classic horse stance: left hand circling forward in a palm, right hand clenched in a fist behind. Though it looked odd, Situ Shan, watching from afar, smiled and murmured, “Interesting—offense and defense as one.”

Gu Jisong was less interested in style. He lunged straight at Chen Hongxu, his rush whipping the air and his clothes with a sharp hiss.

Chen Hongxu waited. As Gu Jisong neared, he drew back his left palm, bent his left leg, and met Gu Jisong’s fist head-on with his right.

A resounding crack—Gu Jisong was forced three steps back.

“Fist force like this? Did you start training in the womb?” Gu Jisong exclaimed, shaken.

After just one exchange, Gu Jisong’s nerve deserted him. Abandoning all pretense, he drew a black handgun from his waist, aiming the cold muzzle at the young man before him.

But Chen Hongxu was gone.

He had already noticed the bulge at Gu Jisong’s waist and guessed it was a gun. He didn’t intend to gamble with his life.

As Gu Jisong reached back, Chen Hongxu anticipated his move. He danced around him, always staying close, never giving him the chance to create distance.

To fire a gun, the arm moves before the hand. By sticking close, Chen Hongxu could shoulder into him the moment his arm bent, denying him any opportunity to shoot. Step by step, Gu Jisong found himself unable to fire.

A crisp smack—Chen Hongxu’s left palm landed on Gu Jisong’s stomach.

“Eh?”

The sudden force sent Gu Jisong flying backward. As Chen Hongxu retracted his palm, he whipped his leg up in a graceful arc, his toe striking Gu Jisong’s gun hand perfectly.

Gu Jisong cried out, his grip loosening as pain made him drop the gun. He tumbled to the ground beside Xue Xi.

Chen Hongxu kicked the gun away and turned to Situ Shan, hoping he would handle the rest.

But in that moment, Gu Jisong, having abandoned thoughts of fighting again, seized Xue Xi by the throat, sprang up, and snarled with a bloodthirsty gleam, “Situ, this must be your disciple. The student surpasses the master. I can’t beat you, but if I want to leave, who dares stop me?”

To prove his point, Gu Jisong tightened his grip. The previously unconscious Xue Xi struggled for air, her brow furrowing as she awakened in distress.

“Let her go, and you can leave,” Situ Shan said, rushing into the clearing as the situation spun out of control.

“I’m taking the girl with me, Situ! Don’t force me!” Gu Jisong, convinced Chen Hongxu was Situ’s disciple, sought only the old man’s permission.

“Release her and go, or die together,” Chen Hongxu cut in coldly before Situ Shan could answer, his gaze icy as he addressed both Gu Jisong and his hostage.

“You dare?” Gu Jisong and Xue Xi said in unison.

“I’ll count to three. I don’t repeat myself,” Chen Hongxu’s eyes glinted faintly red, a wicked smile lifting his lips. “One. Two…”

Seeing Chen Hongxu was deadly serious, Gu Jisong dared not hesitate—he flung Xue Xi aside and fled without a single threat. Xue Xi, left behind, stared at Chen Hongxu in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes.

As the hysterical woman beat her fists against him, Chen Hongxu was bewildered. Was Gu Jisong her boyfriend? Had he just spoiled their elopement? Why did she look so aggrieved, as if he had committed some unforgivable crime?

With the situation tense, Situ Shan cleared his throat, walked over, patted Chen Hongxu on the shoulder, and smiled. “Young friend, your acting was superb—you even fooled a villain like Gu Jisong.”

“Acting?” Chen Hongxu forced a laugh and nodded quickly.

But Xue Xi, her face streaked with tears, didn’t believe for a moment that he’d been acting. She’d seen the crimson flash in his eyes with her own.

“Is it my lack of charm? Or did I wear the wrong clothes today?” she wondered.

Indeed, a woman’s heart is a mystery a man can never fathom. Though her blows were gentle and almost pleasant, it was hardly proper to just stand there taking them from a stranger. After exchanging names with Situ Shan, Chen Hongxu left the way he’d come.

“Idiot, the path is that way,” Xue Xi called after his tattered figure, a hint of sweetness in her heart. For all his fierce words, hadn’t he risked everything to save her?

But Chen Hongxu seemed not to hear, vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a bemused Situ Shan and a conflicted Xue Xi, their eyes meeting in silent surprise.