Under the fist

Chapter 70 Mandrill, Stone Cave

"Be careful, this beast has eaten people."

Just as he was practicing Youming's concentration and vigilance, the voice of the Rag King drifted into his ears.

The old man remained calm and composed, sitting on a piece of charred wood, and casually dug out a Solomon's Seal and began to chew it raw.

"Look at its eyes, bloodshot pupils, vicious and wicked. Besides hatred and anger, its eyes also show a desire to devour you. It must have eaten human flesh."

Then look at the little animal. Once it escaped its restraints, it immediately cried out and ran towards its mother bear.

The mother bear, who was originally extremely irritable, responded by letting out two roars upon seeing this scene. She then picked up her cub and placed it on her belly, rolling it back and forth on the ground like a ball of flesh, looking extremely happy.

Lian Youming was wiping his hands with obvious disgust, pacing back and forth, and said in a deep voice, "This thing is a bit difficult to deal with; it's practically a master of external martial arts."

The ragpicker nodded and said, "These beasts are usually only half a person's height. This one must have eaten blood and dug up a lot of rare and exotic herbs in the mountains, so its energy is very strong, which is why it has grown so tall, almost 1.3 or 1.4 meters. It is also fierce. During famine years, this thing can come down the mountain to kidnap children, often tearing open their skulls and eating their brains raw. It is vicious and cruel, and can fight tigers and wolves."

Although the mandrill was furious, its eyes darted around quickly. It glanced at the mother bear, then at Lian Youming, and surprisingly, it knew how to avoid danger. With a strange howl, it turned and ran, disappearing into the vast forest.

Then, the junk collector added unhurriedly, "I forgot to tell you, this thing holds a grudge. It can follow you around and even come home with you at night."

"You didn't tell me earlier."

Lian Youming gathered his energy and strode after him.

Watching the boy dart into the mountains like a swallow returning to its nest, the ragpicker chewed on a crisp piece of Solomon's seal, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

What are you laughing at?
Naturally, it was a joke that Lian Youming had left him alone here.

This shows that the child had already noticed his unusual nature and believed that he was a master.

But why wasn't it pointed out?
Because Lian Youming cares about him.

Furthermore, Lian Youming was afraid that his identity was unclear. If the truth were to be revealed, what if it was discovered that he was a remnant of the past or some restless force that was harmful to the country? How would they deal with that?

Even though the possibility was small, Lian Youming gave up on telling him directly and instead used this indirect method to tell him, while also giving him a disguised warning.

It's an unspoken understanding; there's no need to spell it out.

You are who you are now, and I am who I am now.

“Not bad, all smiles over small things, but no ambiguity on important matters.” The ragpicker broke off another piece of Solomon’s seal, wiped it on his clothes, and tossed it to the mother bear beside him, muttering, “It’s better not to expose it. Once some things are said, they might change their meaning.”

But after muttering a couple of sentences, the smile on the ragpicker's face gradually disappeared. "Wait a minute, then I'm at a huge loss. This kid can then easily take all my knowledge without having to call me master or old man... No wonder he didn't ask for that word yesterday, he was waiting for me here, trying to get something for nothing."

At the end of his sentence, the old man smiled again, a very happy smile.

"Damn, that's smart."

……

In the vast forest, watching the mandrill swinging from branch to branch, Lian Youming originally wanted to take out his slingshot and fire a couple more shots, but when he saw the monkey's thrashing and leaping figure, his eyes flickered, and he crouched down, pulled in his stomach and lifted his waist, and with a quick grab and climb, he also climbed up the tree trunk to a higher place.

The mandrill was in front, and the human figure was behind. One leaped to the left, and the other flipped to the right. The two moved and twirled in the forest, chasing and darting back and forth, leaping and bounding like two monkeys in a game.

At first, Lian Youming felt that he couldn't keep up with the beast's movements, but as he exerted his strength and kept observing, he not only learned the changes in the other's movements, but also began to imitate his expression, his evil face reappearing, cold and ruthless.

"Chirp chirp chirp... Caw caw..."

As if provoked by that malevolent aura, the mandrill bared its fangs, its black fur stood on end, and its howl was sharp and piercing. Coupled with its ferocious face, it was a sight to behold.

But the more he did this, the more interested Lian Youming became. He made strange "squeaks" as if deliberately teasing him, shaking his head and chuckling, but a murderous intent appeared in his eyes.

This beast clearly possessed a certain level of intelligence. Although it kept howling, it would occasionally look back, as if deliberately luring him, as if checking whether it had caught up.

But no matter how smart you are, you can't be smarter than a human.

Lian Youming's mind stirred slightly, and he slipped, creating an opening. His body slid down the old tree behind him.

really.

"Ow!"

The mandrill's eyes flashed with ferocity in an instant. Like a hawk turning over, it kicked off with its legs and pounced. Its two sharp claws curved inward like knives, and its ape-like arms stretched out to strike far. One claw ripped out the heart and lungs, while the other gouged out the eyes and probed the brain.

This kind of killing move is comparable to that of some martial arts masters.

They are ruthless and sharp, and they will also look for opportunities.

Lian Youming clamped his legs between the tree, abruptly stopping his descent. He clenched his fists, and his normally straight arms suddenly felt somewhat limp.

He has now reached the fourth level of the Golden Bell Cover technique, and has mastered the Lung Meridian, Kidney Meridian, and Heart Meridian.

The Heart Sutra is also located in both hands. When the Qi flows smoothly and the heart is at ease, the muscles in both arms can be contracted inward or relaxed. When contracted inward, they are as tight as a steel whip, with power flowing through each joint. When relaxed, they transform from hardness to softness, which can free them from some joint constraints to a certain extent, allowing them to punch from unexpected angles.

But softness does not mean weakness. Seeing those sharp claws already in front of him, Lian Youming neither parried nor blocked. His right arm was like a soft whip, or a strange python, pushing his fist forward. In an extremely bizarre posture, he avoided the sharp edge and wrapped around the mountain demon's long arm, striking its elbow joint hard.

However, when the fist landed, it felt as if it had struck metal or stone. The move, which should have broken arms and dislocated bones, had no effect whatsoever.

Not only that, the mandrill was covered in blood and extremely ferocious. Two venomous glints flashed in its eyes, and its toenails were curved inward, sharp and terrifying.

"Good guy."

Lian Youming's tiger-like eyes widened, his legs loosened, and he immediately plummeted straight down from the tree trunk, which was seventeen or eighteen meters high. He broke many branches along the way, twisted his body in mid-air, and turned his head and feet upside down. He narrowly avoided the dangerous pounce, but his newly bought clothes were still torn in several places.

The mountain demon let out two sharp cries, then leaped and bounded across two nearby trees, chasing after Lian Youming with its sharp claws aimed straight for his heart.

"I'll let you bully me then."

Seeing this, Lian Youming was truly enraged. He had seen many grand scenes, but he never expected to be beaten by a beast in this desolate mountain forest. His killing intent burned like fire. Seizing the opportunity, he grabbed a withered vine and landed on a tree branch as he straightened himself.

Seeing the beast's menacing approach, Lian Youming smiled coldly, glanced at the hot blood on his hands, flicked his finger, and silently sent a drop of blood into the mountain demon's eye.

Blood beads clouded his eyes.

The mandrill shuddered in fright, howling and roaring repeatedly. Its eyes turned blood red, and instead of retreating, it advanced, opening its huge mouth to bite at Lian Youming's throat. The stench emanating from it was so foul and fishy that it made people want to vomit.

Lian Youming's eyes flashed with murderous intent. He lifted his left palm and, with a single stroke, grabbed the mountain demon's jaw, turning it into a grappling hook. With a sharp twist, he severed the jaw with a crack.

"Ow!"

A sharp pain struck, and the mandrill's gaping maw could no longer close.

Having succeeded in one move, Lian Youming used both hands to capture the mountain demon's two sharp claws in his palms, seizing its wrists. Seeing his newly bought clothes torn to shreds, he raised his right leg, like a poisonous dragon raising its head, and swept it across the mountain demon's chin.

In the open mouth was a clump of chewed tongue.

"I'll let you shout."

Even in this predicament, the mandrill pressed forward, kicking Lian Youming in the chest with both feet with terrifying force.

Lian Youming's eyes snapped open as he felt the immense pain in his chest. He smiled grimly and simultaneously twisted the other man's wrist joint with both hands.

The man and the beast separated at the slightest touch.

"Chiji..."

With a piercing shriek, the mandrill dragged its wounded body and dashed into the forest.

Lian Youming was not about to let such a ferocious beast escape, and he gave chase.

As he hurried along, he was suddenly startled to find that the trees on both sides had disappeared, and his field of vision suddenly opened up. As his right foot lost its footing, Lian Youming stopped abruptly, and his eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably.

His gaze slowly lowered, and Lian Youming swallowed hard. He then saw that his right foot was dangling in the air, and beneath his feet was a huge break. The mountain wall was steep as if cut by a knife, and it was a dangerous cliff.

A fierce wind blew from below, causing his face to change drastically. He quickly steadied himself and slowly withdrew his right foot.

Looking at the mandrill again, it was using its feet instead of hands, grabbing onto the vines on the cliff edge and disappearing down the cliff face...

Lian Youming craned his neck and looked in the direction the mountain demon had gone, and discovered that there seemed to be a stone cave on the cliff.

After a moment's thought, he grabbed three vines with one hand to test their sturdiness, then gripped the cliff face with the other and carefully climbed down.

really.

After groping around to the right for about twenty meters, a stone cave about the height of a person appeared in front of us.

Seeing the bloodstains on the ground, Lian Youming drew his military dagger and cautiously walked inside.

As sunlight streamed in, everything inside the cave came into view.

As soon as they entered, a blood-soaked figure roared and pounced—it was the mountain demon.

Without even looking, Lian Youming raised his hand and grabbed the beast by the neck.

When his gaze swept across the cave, he saw that there were many animal bones scattered around, as well as the skeletons of two people, who appeared to be children.

At the end of the cave, there were two skeletons lying there.

"Ok?"

Lian Youming was better off not looking, because once he did, he felt a chill run down his spine.

The reason was that one of the two was wearing a long gown in the style of the Republic of China, while the other was wearing a full Manchu-style outfit, exactly the same as the skeleton he had seen in the dark room of the forest farm.

Looking at the scene inside the stone cave, Lian Youming's expression turned solemn. He then loosened his left hand, and as the mountain demon landed, he stomped his left foot hard, causing a cloud of red and white blood mist to explode beneath his feet.

(End of this chapter)