Chapter 373: Second Confrontation (Two in One)
The Rock Cave is also called the Rock Forest. As the name suggests, it is a natural landscape composed of various strange-shaped stones everywhere.
Compared to the dwarf fir forest, this place is much more spacious. I don’t know if it is because we have escaped from the North Sea fog, or because the fog has begun to slowly dissipate, or because of the special geographical environment. In short, the further we run forward, the lower the fog concentration is, and the clearer the vision becomes.
While running wildly, Sean heard a strange sound in the whistling wind past his ears. He was startled and subconsciously turned his head to the right, only to see a figure over there maintaining the same speed as him and jumping forward in parallel, and even slightly ahead of him by one body length. If he was following him, he ran faster than him and had no intention of stopping him at all. If he was not, he was neither approaching nor far away, always keeping a distance from him, like a dog-skin plaster. Sean had no idea what to do with him. What was he doing?
Sean tried it. When he sped up, the man also sped up. When he slowed down, the man also slowed down. If it were just this, it would be fine. As long as he didn't disturb him, he would just follow him. But what made Sean's face completely gloomy was that he found that while parkouring and jumping, the man actually took out a dagger from time to time and carved and scratched on the stones along the way. The movements were fast and covert, but they could not escape his eyes. It was obvious that he was making marks to guide the people behind him.
This made Sean a little unbearable. He had personally experienced how difficult the group of young people behind him were. He had struggled very hard to shake them off. If he let them catch up and entangle him again, it would not be so easy to get away again. He knew very well that in his current state, his speed was too slow compared to that group of young people.
With his mind racing, Sean suddenly slammed on the brakes and stopped slamming. Sure enough, the man also stopped. Sean looked at the man with sinister eyes. When he saw the man's face clearly, his pupils shrank and he subconsciously exclaimed in surprise, his tone of voice.
"Wang Qinian?"
It's no wonder that Sean was surprised. He admired this man very much and had tried to recruit him, but what he valued was his way of doing things, which was vulgar yet open-minded. He never expected that this guy not only had his own way of dealing with people, but also had such amazing martial arts skills. He was truly a real person who never showed his true colors.
Wang Qinian bowed to him with a gentle smile.
"Mr. Xiao, we meet again."
The surprise in Sean's eyes faded. He narrowed his eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then uttered three words.
"What a light gong!"
When Wang Qinian heard this, the wrinkles on his smiling face deepened. He bowed again and acted politely and pretentiously.
"You're welcome. I've been eating a lot lately and I've gained some weight. I'm not feeling well. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
Sean wasn't in the mood to joke with him at this moment, he looked at him coldly and spoke.
“You’re marking the route?”
Wang Qinian smiled without showing any fear.
"You saw it all, that's right!"
Sean opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but suddenly he pointed his toes, his body flashed, and he leaped into the air with extreme swiftness. He stretched out his right arm in the air, condensed his true energy in his palm, and opened his five fingers slightly like tiger claws. His long, pointed black nails shone with an eerie luster in the morning sun. He pounced on Wang Qinian unexpectedly and at a rapid speed.
The reason why Wang Qinian's tracking skills are unique in the world is that he relies on his eyesight. Although Sean's attack was sudden and swift, he still noticed a trace in advance. In addition, he was always on guard against Sean, so facing Sean's sudden attack, although he was frightened, he handled it with ease. If he was caught by this claw, he would be crippled if not dead. Wang Qinian was very prepared and he didn't intend to resist.
It happened in a flash. Before the palm wind could reach him, Wang Qinian kicked the ground with his feet, did a backflip and turned in the air to avoid the fatal blow in time. He dodged, but the pile of rocks behind him was in trouble. After a thunderous explosion, the pile of rocks was shattered into pieces by Sean's claw, and the broken rocks flew in all directions, showing how powerful Sean's attack was.
After Wang Qinian did a somersault and landed steadily on the ground, he didn't care about being shocked or scared, and quickly retreated away. After making sure he was far enough away, he patted his chest to comfort himself.
Sean's attack missed and he did not pursue again. This surprise attack was just an attempt on his part and he had no back-up plan. If he could kill, he would kill. If he couldn't, that was fine. He didn't have much energy left in his body and he couldn't waste it.
Slowly standing up, Sean looked at Wang Qinian, who was patting his chest while taking out a dagger and scratching an arrow on the stone, his eyes flashed.
"You really don't want to consider going to Northern Qi with me?"
He really admired this person more and more. If he had just mentioned it casually before, this time he meant it sincerely.
Wang Qinian persisted until he finished drawing the arrow, then he turned to Sean, waved at him and smiled.
"No, no, I'm a homesick person. You go about your business and I'll do mine. Can we not interfere with each other?"
Sean was not annoyed after being rejected for the second time. Of course, he didn't have time to be annoyed. After glancing at the dwarf fir forest behind him, Sean moved and started running towards the north again.
Wang Qinian slowly put away his dagger and was about to catch up, when he suddenly saw his young master's figure on the top of a towering stone mountain in front of him, and the gesture he made to him. Wang Qinian glanced in the direction Sean left, smiled, and walked towards his young master.
A moment later, at the top of the stone mountain.
"Master, when did you run ahead of us?"
Mei Cheng'an didn't even look at him. He squinted his eyes and looked at somewhere in front of him and replied casually.
"Just when Sean recruited you for the second time."
"Forehead…"
Wang Qinian scratched his head embarrassedly.
"You saw it, why are you alone? Master Xiao Fan and Gundam are in front?"
Mei Chengan shook his head slightly.
"Lao Gao and his team will arrive later. Fan Xian is the only one in front."
As he spoke, he even pointed his chin in the direction he was looking.
Wang Qinian followed the lead and looked, all he saw were piles of rocks of varying heights. He did not see Fan Xian and had no idea where he was hiding.
"Master Xiao Fan, can you do it alone? Before..."
Mei Cheng'an waved his hand to interrupt him and said softly.
"Anyway, he said it's okay. We'll know whether it's true or not after we see it." Wang Qinian was about to nod when Mei Cheng'an quickly added.
"here we go."
Upon hearing this, Wang Qinian immediately raised his eyes and looked to the side and front.
……
After failing to stop Wang Qinian from engraving the secret mark, Sean, feeling a little anxious, ran forward at full speed, no longer paying attention to the situation on Wang Qinian's side.
The place was full of piles of rocks, which posed a great obstacle to his escape. The shorter ones were still okay as he could just flip over and jump over them, but the higher ones would consume too much energy to fly over.
He could have ignored it before, but not now. He really couldn't afford to waste energy at this moment. With that bastard Wang Qinian following him and engraving secret signs all the way, he had to retain some of his energy to deal with emergencies, so he chose a relatively energy-saving way of running by leaping and sliding on the ground.
What you fear will come true. When you worry about an emergency, it really happens. Sean had just slid into a gap between towering stone forests when a familiar figure appeared above the gap, swooped down at him, and fired three crossbow arrows in the air. Sean was frightened and helpless, and he dodged it in a panic. He got up and did not fight with the figure, and quickly ran towards the exit. Not only was the gap here narrow and not conducive to fighting, but the most important thing was that there were only two small entrances and exits in the front and back. Once they were blocked, he would be caught in a jar.
Fan Xian was not discouraged even though his attack missed. He chased after Sean after landing. Sean was already exhausted, and his speed was naturally slow due to the energy he had consumed along the way. Just as he ran out of the gap, a figure suddenly rushed in front of him, touched the pile of rocks in front with the toes, and used the force of the air to kick him sideways. Sean crossed his arms to block the kick, and with a muffled bang, Sean was kicked back a step, and then he jumped sideways on the spot to avoid the sweeping kick that followed. Sean, who was extremely angry, did not run away, and quickly rushed forward to fight with Fan Xian. All of a sudden, there was a continuous muffled bang sound, which was the sound of fists and feet hitting each other.
This time the fight is no longer the vicious and deadly style of the previous ones, but mainly a punch-to-the-flesh approach, and the scenes are much more exciting and beautiful than before.
Fan Xian relied on his youth and quick reactions to punch hard and fiercely. Although Sean was old and physically weak, he was not at a disadvantage because of his anger. Each punch he threw was also powerful.
You block and I block, you retreat and I advance, in just a few breaths, the two of them exchanged dozens of moves. For a while, neither of them could do anything to the other, but after all, Sean had more combat experience between the two. After one of his moves was blocked, he successfully found an opening for Fan Xian, bent his body and kicked sideways. This powerful and unexpected kick successfully interrupted Fan Xian's offensive and kicked him into the air. Sean took advantage of the victory and leaped into the air, bent his knees and kicked down hard. Fan Xian went from flying sideways to falling straight down and fell heavily to the ground.
Fortunately, there were no rocks on the ground and it was relatively flat. Fan Xian groaned and quickly turned over and rolled a few times to avoid Sean's stomping. Then he got up and ran. He was kicked twice in a row, and the fall made him dizzy. He needed to catch his breath first, otherwise he would just be beaten. How could this damn old thing still be so fierce? Cool!
People have ever-changing shapes and water has ever-changing states, and so does the situation. The two pursuing parties suddenly lost their positions. After confirming that there was no one else except Fan Xian, Sean decisively chose to take advantage of his weakness and quickly gave chase, not sticking to the terrain and fighting as soon as he caught up.
In another narrower gap, Sean successfully caught up with Fan Xian and kicked him in the back. Fan Xian didn't dodge and hit the stone wall hard. Sean quickly attacked him. Fan Xian had no choice but to block and run towards the other side. Every attack of the ninth-rank master had the power to break mountains and split rocks. So in the gap that outsiders couldn't see clearly, there were traces of Sean's punches and kicks everywhere. What did Fan Xian leave behind? His shape and the black wrist guard without the crossbow arrow.
Fan Xian, whose whole body was numb, successfully escaped from the extremely narrow gap and flew to a U-shaped stone mountain. He touched the stone wall with his toes and quickly rose into the air. Sean followed closely behind him. During the rise, the two fought twice more, and a lot of rubble fell to the ground. Of course, they were all kicked away by Sean.
After climbing to the highest point of the stone mountain, Sean stopped. It was not that he did not want to pursue the victory. The fight was exciting, but he had consumed too much energy and could not continue. He had to take a short rest. Seeing this, Fan Xian also stopped. The two of them stood on a small hill, each breathing heavily and watching the other quietly regulating their breathing.
Fan Xian panted for a moment and suddenly laughed.
"You don't have enough energy, Senior Xiao. Don't be so irritable when you are old. You may die suddenly!"
Sean looked at him with a very calm look.
"You're in a really good mood, but you can still laugh after being beaten for so long."
The corner of Fan Xian's mouth twitched, and after a pause he smiled again.
"Since you are not as strong as your senior, you deserve to be beaten. Have you rested well, senior?"
Sean certainly didn't, but he said so.
"I should ask you this!"
Fan Xian raised his eyebrows and answered him directly with his action. Young people also have tempers. He leaped up, pulled back his elbow and punched Sean in the face. Sean was not afraid. He swung his arm to block and took advantage of the situation to wrap his wrist around his arm. He punched him in the chest with his right fist and succeeded. Fan Xian groaned, followed suit and quickly grabbed his arm, pulling it forward violently. He gritted his teeth and headbutted Sean. Sean was caught off guard and his head was thrown back by the headbutt. He felt dizzy, but the remaining instinct in his body made him quickly bend his knees and kick forward to prevent the enemy from attacking him when he was not attacked.
In fact, not only he was dizzy, Fan Xian was also very dizzy, and naturally he could not defend himself, so he was kicked directly. In addition, both of them lost strength in their hands due to dizziness, and the result was that Fan Xian was kicked out again and began to fall from a high altitude.
Shaking his head to quickly steady his body, Sean was furious. He leaped over Fan Xian for the Nth time and punched him wildly. Even though Fan Xian had come to his senses, he was powerless to resist Sean's crazy punches. They were hit by the punches all the way and the two fell heavily to the ground, raising a huge cloud of dust, making it impossible to see what was going on inside.
A figure suddenly rolled out from the smoke and dust. Fan Xian pulled away for a distance, then stood up on one knee, supported himself on the ground with one hand, and reached behind his back with the other hand, grasping the dagger that was inserted diagonally in his back, and looked at the smoke and dust viciously.
At this moment, his image was indeed somewhat miserable, with bruises on his forehead from the impact, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, and his face covered with dust.
When the smoke and dust cleared, Sean also knelt on one knee, and his image was not much better. There were bruises on his forehead and blood at the corners of his mouth. Unlike Fan Xian who was ready to go, Sean half-lowered his head, frowned, and his face was flushed and motionless, as if he was still digesting the impact of falling from a high altitude.
Even though he had Fan Xian to cushion the impact and mitigate some of it, he still had a hard time enduring the rest. After all, he was already old and frail, unlike Fan Xian, whose ability to endure and adapt was much stronger than his. This was the difference in physical fitness.
Sean raised his head slowly and stiffly, squinted his eyes and looked at Fan Xian opposite him, then straightened up tremblingly. Although he was obviously not in as good a condition as Fan Xian, he was still the one who took the initiative to attack.
Pulling out the dagger with a swish, Fan Xian also rushed forward. After getting close to him, Sean first stopped and leaned back to avoid the horizontal cutting of Fan Xian's knife, then grabbed him tightly with his left hand and swung the dagger upside down to stab him at his wrist, while his right hand pinched his throat like an iron clamp, and then he took off into the air, pushed and pulled his right arm upwards with force, roared, turned around and threw him to the ground, without letting go, and when he fell heavily to the ground, Sean quickly moved to his side, intending to control him completely first and not give him a chance to fight back.
However, Fan Xian's counterattack was still a step faster. He suddenly flipped his right wrist, broke free from the control, and then pulled it horizontally. The blade instantly slid across Sean's left arm, leaving a bloody mark. Sean cried out in pain and subconsciously twisted his body to the left. Fan Xian took the opportunity to swing the dagger and stabbed it hard into Sean's right arm. The blade was slightly slanted, so there was no obstruction from the bone. The extremely sharp dagger actually pierced Sean's right arm directly, and the tip of the blade emerged from under his arm.
Sean cried out in pain again, and with his left hand he quickly restrained Fan Xian's wrist that was tightly holding the dagger, and tried to lift it up to use the force to pull out the dagger. How could Fan Xian agree to that? He twisted his upper body, bent his legs, and crossed them to clamp Sean's neck tightly.
Sean roared, released his right hand from his throat, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled it up violently while standing up. He actually lifted Fan Xian into the air, twisted his body slightly, and slammed him against the rocky ground.
With a loud bang, Fan Xian's back smashed the rocks on the ground, causing them to shatter and fly everywhere. His waist and back were severely injured. Fan Xian was in excruciating pain at that moment, and naturally his hands lost strength. Sean took the opportunity to scream and forcibly grasp Fan Xian's wrist and pulled out the dagger in his right arm, causing blood to splatter everywhere.
Sean stopped roaring and looked at Fan Xian fiercely, but before he could make the next move, Fan Xian, who had recovered, suddenly bent his knees again and kicked him in the chest extremely quickly. Sean was caught off guard and was kicked away. Fan Xian wanted to stand up directly with a somersault, but the pain in his waist and back forced him to kneel on one knee again, blood constantly flowing from the corners of his mouth.
While Sean was still in the air, a figure suddenly flashed above him and kicked him hard. The kick directly changed his flight trajectory. After falling to the ground, he glided for a while and hit a huge rock heavily. Then he stopped moving. The figure that kicked him in the air landed gracefully and turned to look at him. It turned out to be the Tiger Guard leader Gundam who had arrived at some point.
Sean, who was crawling on the ground, took a long time to slowly raise his upper body to reveal his face, then he spat out a large mouthful of blood, struggled to sit up and leaned weakly on the stone. As soon as he sat up, two snow-white long knives, one on the left and one on the right, were placed on his neck. The cold blades were accompanied by a bone-chilling chill that gave him a circle of fine goose bumps on both sides of his neck. However, Sean did not move, as if he did not feel anything. It was not that he did not want to resist, but that he no longer had any strength to resist.
……
(End of this chapter)
