Chapter 48: Listening to Wind and Discerning Position
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Xu Yan’s arms had little strength left, and his stamina was extremely depleted after a night of fighting.
Escaping Liao Jiuming’s pursuit was simply impossible. The sky was gradually brightening, and if he stayed outside, Xu Yan had almost no chance of survival. He had no choice but to rush toward the pitch-black kitchen.
Only in the darkness, relying on his left eye’s night vision ability, would he have a sliver of hope for survival. Otherwise, today would certainly be his death.
Seeing the little Taoist flee not elsewhere but toward the kitchen, Liao Jiuming pursued closely but didn’t use his full strength.
The kitchen was large, not only filled with miscellaneous items but now pitch-black. If Lu Hai was really hiding inside, wouldn’t he, Liao Jiuming, suffer a great loss by charging in headfirst?
Upon reaching the door, Liao Jiuming stopped.
The kitchen had only one main entrance and no other exit. That strange little Taoist couldn’t escape.
Remembering the stone with tremendous force from before, Liao Jiuming’s gaze became even more sinister. He held his sword horizontally in front of him and split the other door frame of the kitchen entrance before stepping inside along the door edge.
The broken wooden door creaked and fell down. The left door frame previously knocked open by Han Lei, combined with the right door frame Liao Jiuming had hacked apart, made the kitchen’s main entrance look like a giant beast’s maw, with the scattered bricks and tiles like fangs in the beast’s mouth.
From the moment Liao Jiuming charged into the kitchen, the room became quiet. Xu Yan, hiding in the shadows, gripped a stone tightly in his right hand but didn’t immediately throw it.
In his eyes, Liao Jiuming was crouching at the entrance, motionless, his two eyes flashing with cold light like a wild wolf, his two ears occasionally twitching, looking like an alert wild dog discerning the position of its prey.
Xu Yan, who often went into the mountains, knew very well the purpose of wild beasts twitching their ears.
They were using hearing far superior to humans to identify danger or find food!
He could listen to wind and discern position?
Xu Yan’s heart, which had already sunk to the bottom, became even heavier.
The darkness in the kitchen was his last chance to turn defeat into victory, because his hands could barely throw one final time – the third time – of flying stones. After throwing them, his arms would be completely ruined, unable to be raised for at least half a year without proper care.
He had thought his final killing move would succeed under the cover of darkness, but now it seemed that if Liao Jiuming could truly listen to wind and discern position, two Flying Locusts wouldn’t be able to kill him.
The enemy had skilled swordsmanship and could listen to wind and discern position, making deflecting flying stones much easier.
Xu Yan’s guess this time was actually correct, because innate martial artists who had broken through the second meridian would possess the ability to listen to wind and discern position!
Xu Yan’s flying stones were indeed powerful, but their only weakness was the wind sound after the stones were thrown. If the opponent could listen to wind and discern position, the threat of flying stones would become much lower.
A dead end!
The little Taoist who had fled into darkness not only gained no advantage but had trapped himself in a certain death situation. This pitch-black main room might become Xu Yan’s burial ground.
Knowing he was trapped in a dead end, the heaviness in Xu Yan’s heart was swept away, replaced by gradually invading brutality. His handsome small face began to twist and become fierce, his tightly clenched jaw like a dying fierce beast.
When Xu Yan’s small face began to turn fierce, Liao Jiuming at the entrance slowly stood up.
There was only one person in the kitchen – this was Liao Jiuming’s determination after listening to wind and discerning position.
The abilities of a second-meridian innate martial artist gave Liao Jiuming strength far exceeding first-meridian martial artists. The kitchen was both large and small – for this level of wooden house, it wasn’t difficult for Liao Jiuming to determine whether anyone was hiding inside.
The sound of breathing became Liao Jiuming’s means of identifying danger. He had been lurking at the entrance for some time, and throughout the entire kitchen, aside from the faint breathing in the corner, there was no second person.
Since there was no ambush, then only that little Taoist was alone in the kitchen!
With Lu Hai’s abilities, he couldn’t escape detection by listening to wind and discerning position. So this head chief approached slowly with a fierce expression.
As long as he subdued that little Taoist, everything would be revealed.
The direction Liao Jiuming was advancing was exactly where Xu Yan was hiding. After seeing the other approaching, Xu Yan suddenly darted to one side and casually threw a large bowl.
Crack!
The large bowl was cut in half by a sword. Liao Jiuming’s figure swept forward rapidly. Since he had confirmed the other’s position, how could he wait for the other to throw flying stones again?
The more flustered one became, the less one could display their skills even with supreme abilities – this was a common human weakness. Liao Jiuming’s experience was not shallow. Facing a half-grown child, he knew very well how to respond.
The sword moved with his body. Liao Jiuming’s long sword struck out like a venomous snake, closely following Xu Yan’s figure.
The lurking at the entrance earlier wasn’t just for Liao Jiuming to discern whether there was an ambush in the main room – he was also adapting to the darkness inside. In just a short while, his eyes could already vaguely see the situation inside the room. At least when Xu Yan flew out, he could completely identify him.
The cunning Flying Centipede had gained complete advantage over a youth. Not only was his swordsmanship superb, but in the cluttered kitchen, Liao Jiuming’s movements were extremely agile. That nickname Flying Centipede wasn’t called for nothing.
Stepping onto the stove and using the kicking force, Xu Yan’s figure flipped backward the next moment, barely avoiding a sword that slashed at his waist. The large iron pot on the stove was split open with a huge gap by Liao Jiuming’s sword.
Rolling, Xu Yan’s backward-flipping body rolled on the ground and got up, rushing toward where rice and flour were stored. He wanted to throw flour to block the powerful enemy, but before he could get close, sword wind came from behind again.
Seeing the flour sacks right before his eyes, the helpless Xu Yan had to suddenly duck low, avoiding a sword in extreme embarrassment. His body also fell to the ground with the momentum. Before he could get up, his chest was firmly stepped on by a large foot.
After a night of busyness and fighting, plus the hidden pain from both arms, Xu Yan was still just a youth after all. He had done his best but ultimately couldn’t escape Flying Centipede’s pursuit.
A sharp sword tip hung before his eyes. Liao Jiuming stepped on Xu Yan with one foot and said coldly: “Where is Lu Hai? Did you kill him too? Where is the antidote?”
Facing Liao Jiuming’s questioning, Xu Yan couldn’t say a single word. The large foot on his chest carried tremendous force, pressing so hard he couldn’t catch his breath. He felt his ribs were about to be crushed.
His glaring eyes carried immense ferocity. The small Taoist didn’t look like a youth but like an evil spirit.
“Hand it over!”
Liao Jiuming’s sinister cold words rang above Xu Yan’s head: “Hand over the antidote, otherwise I’ll make you wish you were dead.”
Liao Jiuming’s large foot slightly reduced its force. Only then could Xu Yan gasp for breath. He roared hoarsely: “There is no antidote. When the poison takes effect, you’ll die even more miserably than me!”
Bang!
The suddenly stomping large foot nearly knocked Xu Yan unconscious. Liao Jiuming showed no mercy with this stomp. A trace of fresh blood flowed down from the corner of Xu Yan’s mouth.
“Falling into my hands, Liao Jiuming, no one can hold out. Since you won’t speak, I’ll torture you until you do!”
Flying Centipede bent down, holding his sword with both hands. The scars on his face were like centipedes crawling. He still firmly stepped on Xu Yan with one foot, pointing the sword tip at Xu Yan’s eyes. With a sinister smile, the ruthless leader of Yuan Mountain bandits suddenly thrust his long sword down!
