Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

The setting sun, like blood, struggled to squeeze its last few dark red rays into the crisscrossing alleys of Jixian's old town, but failed to illuminate every crevice. At the end of a narrow dead-end alley, piles of discarded bricks and rotting wood lay silent in the gloom. The tall, mottled walls on either side compressed the space, the light above being cut into pale, thin strips, while below, it sank into deep shadows, making the place resemble a cold, isolated stone well. The air was stagnant, and the distant, indistinct sounds of the city only accentuated the place's deathly stillness.

Lin Wanqing leaned against the cold, damp, rough brick wall, her thin body trembling violently with fear, almost curling up in fear. She stared at the four uninvited guests before her, their faces masked with black cloths, wielding sticks and steel pipes, their eyes fierce. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, each breath a sharp, icy pain. She had only wanted to take a shortcut home, never expecting to be cornered here.

Just as she closed her eyes in despair, bracing herself for the unknown atrocities to come, a familiar figure rushed into the alley like a whirlwind and stood in front of her!

The figure wasn't tall, and was even somewhat thin, but at that moment, it seemed like a wall that could keep out all wind and rain.

"Tian...ci?" Lin Wanqing murmured in disbelief, her eyes instantly reddening. A surge of warmth mixed with a deeper panic overwhelmed her—there were four of them, and they were armed! Tianci...

Cang Tianci didn't turn around. His muscles were tense, like a cheetah poised to pounce, completely shielding Lin Wanqing behind him against the wall. The Hidden Dragon Technique circulated within him at an unprecedented speed, his senses forcibly heightened to their limit. Although the other party was masked, their unique physique, their power exertion habits, and especially the familiar, almost scorching, venomous light in one of their eyes…

"Sun... Peng?" Cang Tianci's voice was filled with disbelief, shock, and a sharp, heart-wrenching pain. Then, he pointed to another masked man and stammered, "You... are... Blackie?"

The two men, their identities exposed, visibly stiffened. The resentment in Sun Peng's eyes instantly transformed into rage at being discovered. He ripped off his black mask, revealing a face contorted with anger: "So what if it's me? Stutterer, I'll make you crawl out of here today!" The burly man beside him sneered, ripping off his mask and grinning maliciously: "Kid, not bad memory! Too bad, a good memory won't save you."

Upon confirming the other party's identity, Cang Tianci's heart sank as if he had fallen into an ice cave. It really was his senior brother, Sun Peng! He had actually stooped so low as to associate with Hei Pi and plot revenge! An indescribable bitterness and disappointment surged into his heart like a cold tide.

"Senior...Brother...turn back...don't...go down the wrong path..." Cang Tianci tried to make a final effort.

"Shut up! Who the hell is your senior brother?" Sun Peng bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing the steel pipe at Cang Tianci and interrupting him sharply, "Stop pretending! Zhou Yanwang only has eyes for you! I can't stay at the sports school anymore... It's all your fault!" He stared intently at Cang Tianci, his eyes bloodshot, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a venomous chill, "Today, I'm going to cripple you."

Looking at the crazed Sun Peng, Lin Wanqing mustered her courage and said tremblingly, "You...you're breaking the law! Intentional assault is a serious crime!"

"Hahaha..." Blackie laughed so hard he almost fell over, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. He casually swung the steel pipe in his hand. "So what if we accidentally cripple this stutterer today?" He changed the subject, lightly tapping his palm with the steel pipe, looking at Cang Tianci with a mocking and cruel expression. "Kid, be smart and lie down. We'll only break your legs, and we brothers will be merciful and not make things difficult for this cripple."

These words, like poisoned icicles, pierced Lin Wanqing's heart, extinguishing her last glimmer of hope. She felt heartache, despair, and even more, guilt. Her life was worthless, her death insignificant, yet what tormented her most was that Cang Tianci had once again placed himself in mortal danger because of her.

Cang Tianci's heart sank to the bottom, but his thoughts raced wildly under immense pressure. The four opponents: Blackie was experienced and ruthless, Sun Peng was already slightly stronger and filled with hatred, plus two helpers… a direct confrontation was utterly hopeless. His gaze swept rapidly across this narrow "dead end"—high walls, clutter, the only exit blocked. Call for help? In this remote corner, even an echo would sound hollow.

The only chance of survival... might lie in that newly gleaned, yet still immature, "Dragon's Heart-Searching Finger." The only option is to take a risky, unexpected approach, targeting Sun Peng—the greatest threat yet also the one most familiar with his methods. They must create an opportunity in the shortest possible time, exploiting Sun Peng's "contempt" and "hatred" towards them.

He lowered his head, his body trembling slightly, and pushed Lin Wanqing back, pressing her against the wall. He took a small step forward himself, his voice trembling, "Senior Brother Sun...please...please...let...let her go...it's not her fault...my...my leg...I'll...do whatever you want with it..."

Sure enough, Sun Peng, Hei Pi, and the others instantly developed undisguised contempt and mockery on their faces, and their guard visibly relaxed.

"Haha, now you're scared? Kneel down and beg me!" Sun Peng sneered, subconsciously taking a step forward, shifting his weight forward, and the steel pipe drooped slightly towards the ground, enjoying the crushing pleasure.

"Tsk tsk, wouldn't it have been better if he had been this sensible earlier? It would have saved us brothers from having to stretch our muscles." Blackie grinned smugly and turned to the thug next to him to tease him.

At that very moment when their spirits were most relaxed!

Heaven has moved.

The Hidden Dragon Technique erupted from his dantian, and his body was released like a spring, rushing straight at Sun Peng!

Sun Peng was filled with shock and rage, and swung his stick horizontally. "Snap!" His fingertips grazed the steel pipe, and Sun Peng felt a tightness in his chest, his movements faltering. Taking advantage of the situation, Tianci grabbed his wrist, slapped and twisted, and the steel pipe slipped from his hand.

The two fought fiercely in a small space, their fists and fingers clashing. Tianci spotted an opening and precisely struck Sun Peng's right shoulder with a finger. Sun Peng cried out in pain, his right arm went limp, and he staggered backward.

Blackie's pupils constricted sharply. He hadn't even seen the specific technique; he only saw Sun Peng suddenly scream as his weapon slipped from his grasp, and he staggered backward, while Cang Tianci, panting heavily, suddenly turned towards him. A chill instantly ran through Blackie's body—this kid was strange, not an ordinary sports school student.

"Damn it! Come at me together!" Blackie, true to his old ways, was instead enraged by the shock. He shouted at the remaining two, then brandished his steel pipe and delivered a powerful "Splitting Mount Hua" strike straight at Tianci's head, blocking his way up. At the same time, he slyly prepared to kick Tianci's knee.

Despite the burning pain in his right shoulder from the steel pipe grazing it, Cang Tianci lunged forward again. Instead of taking Hei Pi's downward chop head-on, he sidestepped and twisted his waist, narrowly avoiding the pipe's edge. Simultaneously, his left hand swiftly pulled and deflected Hei Pi's arm below the elbow as it swung down. Hei Pi felt a numbness in his arm, his momentum shifted, and the steel pipe crashed to the ground, sending sparks flying.

"Good lad!" Blackie roared, reacting extremely quickly. Before his move was fully executed, he used the momentum of the downward strike to spin around and slam his left elbow back like a hammer to Tianci's heart. At the same time, his right leg silently lashed out at the back of Tianci's supporting leg's knee, displaying the viciousness and cunning of street fighting to the fullest extent.

As if he had anticipated this, Tianci's heightened senses, enhanced by the Hidden Dragon Technique, allowed him to "hear" the wind. He inhaled and pulled back, simultaneously raising his knee to block. With a "bang," their shinbones collided solidly, both wincing in pain. Blackie pressed his advantage, raining down punches on Tianci's head, face, chest, and abdomen—a desperate street fighting style, utterly disorganized yet extremely effective, forcing Tianci to retreat repeatedly.

Seeing that Blackie had the upper hand, the other two thugs grew bolder and, howling, swung their sticks to attack from both sides, attempting to sandwich him.

The situation was critical once again! Tianci was attacked from both sides, and his strength was rapidly depleting. He knew he couldn't continue fighting, so he endured a heavy punch from Hei Pi that grazed his ribs. The intense pain made his vision go black for a moment, but it also gave him half a body length of space and a brief pause for Hei Pi due to the exertion of force.

It's now!

He suddenly lowered his shoulders and elbows, channeling all the remaining Hidden Dragon Inner Energy into the two fingers of his right hand. Relying on his intuition and insight, he captured the moment when Blackie's aura surged due to the continuous fierce attacks, and with one finger, he accurately stabbed Blackie's right elbow.

"Ugh—" Blackie's scream was different from Sun Peng's; it was sharper, filled with sudden, horrified terror. He felt as if his entire right arm had been pierced by a high-voltage current, aching, numb, and painful all at once. All his strength vanished instantly, his fingers involuntarily splayed open, and the steel pipe clattered to the ground. And that wasn't all. The strange force seemed to spread upwards along his meridians, causing half of his body to stiffen for a moment.

Tianci seized this fleeting opportunity, stepped close, and with his left hand pointing outwards, restrained Blackie's left shoulder as Blackie panicked and tried to resist with his left hand.

Blackie felt as if his bones had been removed; he lost control of his strength, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, only his eyes still able to move in terror.

From the initial outburst to the complete subjugation of Blackie, it all took only a dozen or so breaths, yet it was incredibly dangerous, almost exhausting Tianci's mental and physical strength. His face was pale, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, his chest heaved violently, and each breath was excruciatingly painful.

The other two thugs had just mustered the courage to rush forward when they saw the horrifying scene of Blackie kneeling on the ground, unable to move. Then they saw Cang Tianci, who was pale but had fierce eyes. They were so frightened that they were terrified and stood frozen in place, holding their sticks, unable to go forward or backward.

Just then, Sun Peng, who had slightly recovered from the pain and shock, used his still-functioning left hand to suddenly pick up the steel pipe from the ground, lunged at Lin Wanqing beside him, and made as if to smash it on her head, while shouting fiercely at Cang Tianci:

"Let go of Blackie, or I'll fucking smash her to death right now!"