Chapter 229 — Offense and Defense

Wangyue Pi kicked the black bear on its backside, cursing, "Useless thing, why don't you hurry up and leave!"

The black bear shivered, hesitated as it glanced at Xue Qiming, and then turned and bounded back to the army formation as fast as its four bear paws could take it.

Wangyue Pi turned around and glared at Xue Qiming with rage, spitting a globule of saliva onto the ground.

Xue Qiming wasn't bothered, smiling as he said, "There's an old saying in the Ruen Dynasty, a decorative pillow is pretty to look at but useless. Isn't that precisely what that beast is?"

Wangyue Pi slowly walked toward Xue Qiming, holding his double hooks, saying, "We Great Qiang don't have so many sayings. We sons of the steppes prefer to let our fists do the talking!"

As the last word left his mouth, Wangyue Pi suddenly ran forward, closing the distance between them in an instant. He raised his hooks high, like a praying mantis raising its pincers, ready to deliver a deadly strike to his prey!

Killing intent erupted!

Clang!

The momentum of the falling hook stalled, as it was blocked by a chain that suddenly appeared above Xue Qiming's head.

Xue Qiming held both ends of the chain tightly in his hands, and a deadly barb-like hook hovered just three inches above his head.

The curved hooks glinted with a chilling light. Wangyue Pi's face turned red as he exerted more force, but the hook refused to move even a fraction.

Xue Qiming still had a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, but the drop of cold sweat sliding down his cheek revealed that holding off the hooks wasn't as easy as he was making it seem. The chain let out a grating keen as metal ground against metal and neither man was willing to let up first.

After a brief stalemate, Xue Qiming suddenly took action. He swiftly stepped back, lowering his head just enough to narrowly avoid the curved hook.

Wangyue Pi, caught off guard, saw the hook fall, but it only clipped a lock of Xue Qiming's hair on its way down. A few strands of black hair flew away in the wind.

Seeing Xue Qiming retreat, Wangyue Pi raised his hook again to follow, but to his surprise, the hook didn’t budge at all. Looking down in fury, he realized that as Xue Qiming retreated, he had pulled the chain back with him, and moved it exactly in line with the hook, snagging it on the end of the hook.

As Wangyue Pi’s anger flared, Xue Qiming suddenly exerted force, his arms bulging with muscle as the chain snapped taut!

Wangyue Pi felt a powerful force surge through the hook, and his body was involuntarily yanked toward Xue Qiming. He instinctively took a step forward to steady himself, but as soon as his foot moved, Xue Qiming struck like lightning, kicking directly toward Wangyue Pi’s abdomen!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In that instant, Xue Qiming delivered three powerful kicks, each landing squarely on Wangyue Pi's abdomen. The first two kicks made Wangyue Pi's body tremble with each impact. By the third kick, he could no longer maintain his grip on his weapon and was kicked back into the army formation by Xue Qiming.

Wangyue Pi’s feet tore deep grooves in the ground as he struggled to say upright as he was lanuched backward, crashing into the soldiers at the front of the Northern Qiang formation. There was a deafening sound as he collided, sending dust flying. Soldiers and horses tumbled in all directions.

Xue Qiming pulled back his foot and stretched his ankle slightly before hanging the chain around his neck. Satisfied, he casually weighed the pair of hooks in his hands, clicking his tongue in an appreciative sound.

The Northern Qiang army wasn't known for their strict discipline for no reason. After the initial chaos, the formation quickly settled. Wangyue Pi walked out from the ranks and approached Xue Qiming, stopping three paces away with a dark look on his face. He quietly watched as Xue Qiming toyed with his Wu Hooks.

Xue Qiming seemed to lose interest in the hooks. He threw them toward Wangyue Pi, who caught them with ease. Xue Qiming asked, "So, what do you think? Mr. Wang, are you convinced?"

Atop the city walls, Zhou Tong watched everything with great distress. Covering his face with his hands, he moaned, "Is he out of his mind? Giving the weapon back to an enemy who is sure to try to kill him with it? What... what does he think war is about?!"

Wangyue Pi, no longer angry about Xue Qiming’s repeated mispronunciation of his name, rubbed his abdomen and grinned, "I underestimated you again, but that kick wasn’t as strong as the punch you gave me last time... You can give it another try."

"Rough skin, thick muscles..." Xue Qiming muttered softly. Suddenly, he stomped his foot down!

Boom!

The ground trembled violently and Xue Qiming shouted, "Watch closely!"

As his words fell, Xue Qiming's figure almost arrived at the same time as his voice. He launched an aerial elbow strike aimed at Wangyue Pi’s throat! Xue Qiming had stopped holding back, and he was now unleashing lethal attacks!

At this point, Wangyue Pi realized the issue. He was not as agile as Xue Qiming, so he had focused on attacking first and seizing the advantage. However, this had led to repeated disadvantages. Now, he stood firm in place, adopting a defensive posture, like an unmovable iron tower.

Xue Qiming’s speed was astonishing, but Wangyue Pi remained unhurried. He raised his hand just in time, his palm arriving before the elbow, blocking the strike to his throat with a solid slap. He easily resolved Xue Qiming's attack while standing as firm as Mount Tai.

Xue Qiming hadn’t expected this strike to land, so after his elbow was blocked, he quickly moved onto his next offensive. Bending his arm, he chopped down at Wangyue Pi’s neck with a palm strike like a hammer smashing a stone.

Wangyue Pi had just blocked the elbow strike, but his hand didn’t withdraw. Instead, he raised his arm to intercept the palm strike, and before Xue Qiming could change his move, Wangyue Pi’s left fist shot out!

This was the first punch he had thrown after switching to a defensive stance. It was simple and unadorned, but aimed precisely at Xue Qiming’s chest.

The two were now in close combat, too close for Xue Qiming to adjust, yet he didn’t panic. Instead, he swiftly raised his knee to collide with Wangyue Pi’s left fist, and the two limbs connected with a dull

thud

.

Wangyue Pi didn’t get frustrated when his punch failed to land. He immediately retracted his hand to grab Xue Qiming’s arm, hoping to restrain him and create an opening to target his vital spots.

Xue Qiming’s right arm was hard for Wangyue Pi to secure, and Xue Qiming's immense strength allowed him to slip free in no time.

Xue Qiming began circling Wangyue Pi, throwing punches and kicks that landed with loud thuds on Wangyue Pi’s body. Wangyue Pi stood firm like a mountain through it all, focused on guarding his vital areas tightly.

He ignored the weaker blows, confident that his tough skin and thick muscles were defense enough. He let Xue Qiming hit him, while also seizing moments to counterattack. By taking advantage of the moments where Xue Qiming’s momentum was spent, he was able to repeatedly force Xue Qiming into dangerous situations.

For a moment, the sound of fists cutting through the air and dust flying filled the space as the two fought fiercely, without anyone being able to get the upper hand.

Xue Qiming once again circled behind Wangyue Pi. This time, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He placed his left hand on Wangyue Pi's shoulder and grabbed his gourd. He raised it high and brought it down like an avalanche crashing onto Wangyue Pi's head!

Wangyue Pi heard the sound of clinking chains behind him and instantly realized that Xue Qiming had once again brought out his signature weapon; if the wine gourd could be considered a weapon that is.

Wangyue Pi had witnessed the gourd's power before and didn’t dare to take any chances this time. He quickly twisted his waist and turned, leaning back to avoid the fatal strike. His hands shot out just in time, and the next moment, the gourd crashed into his chest with the force of a collapsing mountain!

Wangyue Pi was sent sliding several yards back by the force, his hands clutching the gourd to his chest, as he doubled over at the waist. His head hung low, obscuring his expression.

One end of the chain was in Xue Qiming’s hand, and the other was attached to the wine gourd in Wangyue Pi’s embrace. Xue Qiming felt a slight tension in his heart and tentatively tugged on the chain... It didn’t budge an inch. His brow furrowed slightly.

"

Hehehe

..." Odd chuckles came from the other end of the chain, and Xue Qiming’s gaze grew more intense as he looked at the man who still cut a towering figure while bent at the waist.

Wangyue Pi slowly raised his head, gradually locking eyes with Xue Qiming. His eyes were wide open, with blood vessels clearly visible in the whites of his eyes. A cruel, ugly smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

Wangyue Pi tilted his head slightly at Xue Qiming, his smile growing even more sinister. "Mr. Bodhi... I’ve caught you again..."