Under the fist

Chapter 14: The Brutal Battle Ends
The wind howled, the snow fell, and people fluttered about.

The girl was quick to act and even quicker to change her moves. She would advance and retreat at the same time, never getting entangled with Xie Laosan, but instead blocking his way up the mountain.

Lian Youming flicked the military dagger in his hand, and hot blood quietly rolled down his cheeks.

Xie Laosan raised his hand to press the bloody hole in his chest, his face showing shock, anger, resentment, and unwillingness.

After years of painstaking effort and countless trials, I never imagined that at the very end, I would be defeated by a teenager, causing all my efforts to be in vain. How could I possibly accept this?

Feeling the pain in his chest, Xie Laosan's face turned pale, and the flowing blood took away the warmth from his body.

"Hmm? It stopped?"

Lian Youming's eyes flashed as he looked at the other man's chest. This kind of hole, which had been ripped open by a military dagger, would have been fatal to anyone. Yet, Xie Laosan only exhaled a few breaths, and the gushing blood visibly stopped.

"Good heavens, you're still holding on even in this state," Lian Youming spat a mouthful of bloody saliva into the frost and snow, wiped his mouth, and raised his eyebrows. "I'm truly impressed by you."

His casual tone concealed a chilling malice.

Xie Laosan glared fiercely at Lian Youming, staring intently at the boy's usual smirking face, and said with an extremely gloomy expression, "I should have killed you earlier."

He prided himself on being a master of his time, yet he was completely outmaneuvered by a child, not only missing his chance but also dragging down the people on the mountain, ruining a promising situation in an instant.

Even though he hasn't been defeated or died yet, he has already lost the initiative in this battle.

Moreover, the fact that the girl named Shuang'er was able to come down from the mountain means that the mysterious person hiding in the educated youth group has been dealt with.

With no chance of victory and severely injured, even if they fought to the death to kill those two, there was still an unfathomable old ghost on the mountain.

Lian Youming gripped his military dagger tightly, wanting to utter a few more harsh words, but before he could open his mouth, Xie Laosan in front of him turned around without hesitation and rushed down the mountain, running fast and hurriedly.

This means they're trying to run away, to escape.

The girl who came to help was about to make another move, but Lian Youming stopped her.

"Never mind him, let's go up first."

The girl paused her fist-raising movement, realizing what had happened.

Xie Laosan has lost his will to fight and is seriously injured, so he is no longer a threat. The most important thing now is the fierce battle on the mountain.

Without saying another word, the two hurried back.

In the vast expanse of white snow, Lian Youming endured the pain in his chest and followed beside the girl.

The mountain path was slippery and covered in thick frost and snow. When the person named "Shuang'er" turned around, Lian Youming gasped and his pupils contracted. The person's back was covered in blood, and he didn't know what kind of fierce battle she had gone through.

Although the two saw each other every day, they were not familiar with each other. Unlike those who were infatuated and thought of ways to seduce female educated youths all day long, Lian Youming only mingled among male educated youths. Moreover, he was used to being alone, and apart from chatting with a few roommates, he was seen by others as a taciturn person.

Lian Youming couldn't understand it either. They were all exhausted, so why were these people still so focused on falling in love?

What exactly is buried on the mountain?

Looking at the girl's petite figure, Lian Youming couldn't help but ask a question. He really wanted to know what kind of treasure it was that could make these people wait for decades, wasting their prime years and their lives.

“I feel I have the right to know. After all, I risked my life to help you. I can’t just die without knowing why.”

The girl kept her head down and walked quickly, seemingly in silence, but after a few seconds, she finally spoke, "There's someone buried on the mountain."

"what?"

Lian Youming was somewhat taken aback, as if he hadn't understood.

What was buried on the mountain wasn't some treasure, but a person?

He said in a hoarse voice, "If you don't want to talk, then don't. There's no need to make up lies to deceive me. Why would so many people risk their lives to fight over a dead person? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

But then the girl added, "He's not dead."

Lian Youming was even more confused.

Not dead?

Could it be that a living person was buried there?

The girl seemed to have guessed his thoughts and said slowly, "Many things in this world are far more complicated than what you see with your own eyes. You are just beginning to learn martial arts. Although you have received some true teachings, you have only seen the tip of the iceberg of that world."

Lian Youming frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

The girl said softly, "I want to say that you still have a chance to return to the world of ordinary people. But once you know what's buried on that mountain, it will be difficult to turn back."

Lian Youming lowered his eyes and fell silent. He didn't consider the girl's last warning, but instead wondered what exactly was buried on the mountain. If what she said wasn't a lie, and there really was a living person buried there, it would be far too unbelievable.

Since the old man guarding the mountain had been there since the Republican era, it means that the person buried there was at least over a hundred years old.

still alive.

Thinking of this, Lian Youming felt a sudden dryness in his mouth.

Based on the actions of Xie Laosan and his group, as well as the reaction of the old man guarding the mountain, an extremely terrifying, even somewhat absurd, guess popped into his mind.

These two forces may not actually be fighting over any treasure, given the immense sacrifices these people have made.

That is the case.

The person on the mountain is probably trapped.

The purpose of the old man guarding the mountain is to watch over the other side.

So, Xie Laosan and his group's real purpose was to save someone? To save that living person who had lived for over a hundred years but was still alive, trapped in a coffin, buried deep in the ground?

Thinking of all this, Lian Youming's expression became extremely strange, and even his breathing became somewhat unstable.

He then looked at the girl in front of him, his expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"That person..."

Lian Youming was about to ask a question when he saw that the girl had stopped.

Unbeknownst to them, they had already climbed the mountain.

Frosty blades and snowy swords, the north wind lashes at your face.

To Lian Youming's surprise, the girl walking in front of him suddenly collapsed without a sound.

Lian Youming was first taken aback, then dumbfounded.

"what's going on?"

But he quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly went to her side to check the girl's breathing.

Fortunately, he only lost consciousness.

Just then, they heard the girl mumble, "Don't worry about me, go...go help..."

Lian Youming frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then simply found a wooden hut where miscellaneous items were stored, ran back to his dormitory to get his quilt, wrapped it around himself from head to toe, and then plunged into the white snow-covered world.

Without time to think too much, Lian Youming walked through thick tree stumps and trudged through thick snow, finally spotting the old man guarding the mountain and four other figures in the open space behind the canteen.

He huddled behind a tree stump and stared intently. He saw that the four people were a middle-aged village woman dressed as a peasant, a shepherd wearing a sheepskin coat and with a goatee, a man wearing a Zhongshan suit, and a short, blond dwarf.

Amidst the swirling snow, Lian Youming squinted with difficulty, barely daring to breathe, cautiously observing the situation on the field. He didn't know if the two sides had even made a move before, but now it seemed they were locked in a stalemate, as if waiting for Xie Laosan to break the deadlock.

Unfortunately, Xie Laosan, being a coward, ran away.

Suddenly, the old man guarding the mountain parted his feet slightly, clenched his fists, and, like a golden toad gazing at the moon, took a deep breath.

Lian Youming's eyes widened, for the old man's breath seemed to tear a piece of the snow curtain in front of him like a whale sucking water, and like water flowing, it took in a stream of wind and snow into his throat.

He swallowed it all in one gulp, and the old man guarding the mountain's sallow face quickly regained its color. His entire demeanor changed, and he became radiant and full of vigor, as if he had been reborn.

The other four people's expressions changed drastically upon seeing the old man's transformation.

The dwarf man's eyes bulged out as he angrily cursed, "Xie Tianhong, you're a turtle bastard, go to hell!"

Lian Youming's eyes flickered. "Xie Tianhong? Could it be Xie Laosan's name?"

"Be careful, this old bastard is going to fight to the death. Fifth brother, go dig out the coffin first." The man in the Zhongshan suit, who looked like a teacher, said in a deep voice, "The rest of us will hold him off for now."

coffin?

Recalling his previous guess, Lian Youming was shocked and quickly looked over.

The large-handed village woman responded and then darted away towards a low, earthen house.

Just then, in the vast white expanse of heaven and earth, a fist suddenly broke through the snow curtain, flew horizontally, and struck the village woman directly in the back.

The old man guarding the mountain was the first to act.

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged village woman seemed to have anticipated this scene. She suddenly changed her pace, and a cunning look appeared in her small eyes. She turned around, and with her rough and thick hands, she flicked and swept, as if drawing a circle in the air. As soon as the fist was formed, the wind and snow in the circle actually swirled and flew, covering the old man's fist. With the flick, she was already dissolving his force.

"Chen Family Fist?"

The old man guarding the mountain twitched his face, his breath surging like a roar. His right fist, which had been deflected, suddenly bulged, its tendons and bones exposed, its veins bulging, and it grew larger in an instant, looking from a distance like a bronze hammer. His five fingers were loosely closed, and he broke free from the village woman's fist and withdrew.

Without haste or delay, following the momentum of his retreat, the old man quietly turned his right fist and slammed it hard behind him.

Behind the old man guarding the mountain, a short figure moved with light steps and swift movements, preparing to strike. Unexpectedly, his eyelids twitched, and a fist came straight at his chest. Where the fist passed, frost and snow melted, and killing intent filled the sky.

"what!"

The dwarf's pupils contracted, and he only had time to shout before he was punched in the chest.

There was no flying backwards, no vomiting, but instead, the dwarf's clothes on his back suddenly burst open with a large hole, revealing a patch of skin that rapidly turned purple and dark.

Knowing he was doomed, the dwarf man clenched his fists and gripped the old man's right fist tightly. His face was contorted like a vengeful ghost, blood gushing from his seven orifices. He roared, "Old man, let's die together!"

"Pfft!"

Suddenly, an ancient sword entered the dwarf's back and exited through his chest, its momentum undiminished as it pierced the old man guarding the mountain.

The one wielding the sword was the man in the Zhongshan suit. He looked somewhat scholarly, but his attacks were the most cunning and ruthless, even killing his own people.

The dwarf was pierced through by a sword, but looking at the equally wounded old man, his face showed both resentment and a ferocious pleasure. "Kill him, kill him, kill him for me!"

Hearing the dwarf's gradually weakening howls, the old man guarding the mountain remained calm. He flicked his left finger, and the longsword in his chest snapped in two. But then, the man pressed down with his palm again, actually slamming the broken sword completely into his own body. The broken sword continued its trajectory, flying straight out from his back.

Seeing the old man turn around and fight back against the dwarf, the village woman thought she had a chance to win, so she gathered her strength and pounced on him.

Unexpectedly, halfway through the attack, just as he was about to succeed, a broken sword flew out from the back of the old man guarding the mountain.

With a sharp "thud," the broken sword struck the wooden door of the earthen house.

The village woman's smile froze instantly, but she gritted her teeth and pressed the palm down firmly. Then, a burst of blood mist bloomed on the right side of her neck, staining the snowflakes and the white frost red.

The village woman seemed to never have imagined that she would die like this. She clutched the horrific sword wound, stumbled backward, and finally fell to the ground, leaning against the earthen wall. Her eyes quickly dimmed.

But just then, at the very moment the old man guarding the mountain broke his sword, a figure leaped into the air, scaled walls, and swooped down from the roof of the earthen house, delivering a powerful palm strike at the same time.

It was that little old man with the goatee.

Not only that, the man in front of the old man guarding the mountain, who looked just like a schoolteacher, suddenly lowered his feet, his shoulders and elbows, and his originally slightly thin figure seemed to grow taller and stronger in a daze. With his muscles and bones stretched out, he roared like a tiger, raised his elbows, and leaned against the old man as if he were crashing into a mountain.

"Humph!"

Everything happened extremely fast. There were no moves, no back-and-forth exchanges. In the blink of an eye, there were only endless killing moves and a battle of wits.

Life and death, victory and defeat, can be decided in an instant.

A trickle of blood flowed from the old man guarding the mountain's mouth. His right fist was being tightly gripped by the dwarf's corpse, leaving only his left hand. But the hunchbacked old man had already seized the opportunity, his palm raised like a knife, slashing at the old man's left shoulder.

At this moment, could it be that death is imminent?

No, not really.

At that very moment, in that heart-stopping moment when life and death hung in the balance, it was a close call.

In the boundless snow, behind a tree stump, a boy covered in frost and snow squinted, his eyes bloodshot, holding a slingshot in his hand, pulling back the hollow tube, aiming at the shepherd who was jumping in mid-air, and aiming at the other's eyes.

Two mud pellets were shot out silently.

The change came very suddenly.

The hunchbacked old man was originally filled with joy, as if he had already foreseen the death of the old man guarding the mountain, but just a second before he was about to succeed, two mud balls suddenly flew in front of him.

Lian Youming lay on the tree stump, his Adam's apple bobbing, unable to swallow any more saliva. The cold wind rushed in, feeling like a knife cutting into his throat.

He couldn't care about anything else; he just stared intently at the situation on the field.

Amidst the raging wind and snow, and the swirling frost, the old man guarding the mountain swung his right arm, sending the dwarf man flying like a rag doll. At the same time, his left fist clenched into a hammer-like fist, unleashing a violent and domineering force that slammed down on the schoolteacher's skull.

One after the other, the old man guarding the mountain freed his right fist in a posture that was hard for ordinary people to imagine, his entire right arm seemed to have no bones, and he rose up and smashed into the shepherd's right foot.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Three figures rose and fell, their movements intertwined.

The shepherd's eyes were blinded, and he was struck as if by lightning. A series of cracking sounds came from his body, and he fell to the ground, pale as a ghost. "Cough cough... Haha, as expected of Yang Luchan's grand-disciple, what a domineering Tai Chi hammer!"

On the snow, only two figures stood firm.

Lian Youming was initially delighted, but then he saw the schoolteacher slowly fall down, still in the elbow-to-chest position, clearly dead. But his heart quickly jumped again, for he saw that, apart from the sword wound that pierced through his heart and lungs, most of the old man's chest had caved in.

Even so, the old man could still breathe and move.

Looking at the shepherd slumped on the ground, the old man guarding the mountain said calmly, "I never thought even the Bagua Sect would produce a traitor."

The old man with the goatee lay on the ground, gazing at the patches of white snow before him, saying nothing, only in a hoarse voice, "Thank you!"

The old man guarding the mountain had a glint in his eyes and said in a nonchalant tone, "You're too kind."

Having said that, he kicked him away, sending him on his way.

Once the dust had settled, the old man guarding the mountain finally looked at the boy who had collapsed in the snow.

In a daze, Lian Youming heard a gentle voice in his ear, "Kid, just live your ordinary life. Don't easily reveal what I taught you. If you do, don't leave any survivors. We'll never meet again..."

(End of this chapter)