Republic of China

Chapter 400 A big gamble
Wisps of green smoke still rose from the hole where Liu Mangfan had opened his acupoint. When the cold wind blew, they froze into tiny ice crystals and drifted away with the wind. At the same time, his dizzy brain quickly regained some clarity, but his heart was beating violently, just like the increasingly intense battle under the cover of night.

There was no pride, and even less joy in turning defeat into victory.

He knew better than anyone that he had risked his life to gain a chance at survival, and he could tell how much of it was due to trickery and luck, and how much to his own hard work.

If we were to face a direct confrontation again, I know I would undoubtedly lose; I would either be suffocated or ravaged to death by the Japanese.

Just like my fellow scholar brother, this kid was almost completely suppressed by his opponent. Even the one among us who is best at protecting himself was like this, so you can imagine how much pressure he was under.

Conversely, the mustachioed Onmyoji, who was the opponent, was also uncertain. In his opinion, the "afro" and "protruding ears" not far away were more troublesome than he had imagined. Heaven knows how many trump cards these two still had up their sleeves.

Moreover, judging from the implication of his words, the "afro" guy with the hole was brewing something.
Fortunately, Colonel Tsuchimikado took this ambush very seriously and made thorough preparations.

Shortly after Liu Mangfan broke through the hole and emerged, two dark red streaks of cold light slowly appeared at the end of the shadowy corridor. They stood out starkly in the snowy, silent night, forcing Liu, who had been provoked by the naked card from "Parisian Life," to be on high alert.

Taking advantage of a lull, Lü Xiucai and Lu Xiucai stood side by side, panting heavily. They knew that the upcoming struggle would only become more brutal, and every bit of respite was precious.

Since leaving Master Hongguang and descending the mountain, I have never been forced into such a situation. I have used all my skills but still cannot suppress my opponent.

These bastards are on a completely different level from those two Yin-Yang Masters who were killed in Sunjiawan.

at the same time.

The two streams of cold fire transformed into a ball, as if they were absorbed and hidden by something.

Then, a tengu mask gradually emerged from the darkness.

The mask had two dark, deep-set holes. What was even stranger was that the person was short but not a dwarf, and should be a child of about ten years old. Apart from the tengu mask, the person was dressed like an onmyoji.

It seems that due to the setback in the battle here, one of the guards on the outer perimeter was forced to join the fight.

Strength unknown.

Liu Mangfan gently shook his palm, secretly holding several coffin nails between his fingertips, ready to act at any moment.

Until the next moment, even the best facial expression control vanished, and he looked no different from a pig waiting to be slaughtered.

Aside from losing the chance for a righteous two-on-one fight, Old Liu saw that when the child approached, the mustachioed Yin-Yang Master actually bowed to him with great respect.

Liu Mangfan spat out a mouthful of saliva, mixed with the remaining blood in his mouth.

Since it's not a two-on-one situation, the plan has to be changed.
At that moment, the two brothers, as if on the same wavelength, exchanged glances.

Lu Xiucai's brows furrowed firmly, as if to say, "I'll lead the charge, Brother Liu, you wait for your chance. We'll take down as many as we can."

Old Liu blinked quickly, his disapproval evident in his eyes, meaning, "Don't be so quick to think about going up for a one-for-one trade. Wait for my signal; we're not without a chance."

The two exchanged frequent glances, like they were sending telegrams. The child Onmyoji opposite didn't say much, but held a sharp crystal cone in each hand and forcefully inserted it into both ears, producing a sound similar to popping a balloon that was exceptionally clear.

Seeing that there was movement, Liu Mangfan didn't waste any words and immediately took action.

He performed a full prostration with the grace of a wild goose descending on a sandy beach, kneeling on the ground with his buttocks sticking up high.

The silky smoothness left Lü Xiucai, who was standing next to him, completely stunned; his expression seemed to say...
Not me!
Is this what you call the way to win?
We men would rather die standing than kneel before those bastards! We've wasted decades' worth of red sorghum rice on them!

The situation is unpredictable and constantly changing.

While Lao Liu was playing with abstract concepts, Tsuchimikado Touki strolled leisurely, seemingly unperturbed even when Cherry was desperately unleashing all sorts of magical weapons.

Have they run out of ideas?
The legendary puppeteer is somewhat interesting, but that's about it; he's not as mystical as one might imagine.

Ok?
Suddenly, Tsuchimikado Touki's expression tightened.

Amidst the countless scattered wood chips and parts, over a hundred shadowy figures emerged, barely discernible were they not for the relatively bright moonlight.

Those were giant ants as thick as ankles. These intricately crafted artifacts worked together seamlessly, rapidly approaching in a certain formation. As Tsuchimikado Touki got close, the giant artifact ants leaped up one by one, many of them spitting at Tsuchimikado Touki.

Whether ants spit or not, Tsuchimikado Touki didn't know. He only knew that this 'saliva,' which resembled lamp oil, was mixed with the smell of white phosphorus. It was so flammable that it would ignite on fire and spread rapidly.

The source of the fire? Where was the initial source of the fire?
Tsuchimikado Touki remained remarkably calm, his gaze fixed on the cherry, confident that he could instantly neutralize it upon seeing any source of fire or talisman.

but.

He only saw the cherry not moving forward but retreating backward, showing no intention of igniting it.

Should we run?

wrong!

Tsuchimikado Touki caught a glimpse of the giant ants leaping up and spitting oil; some of them were actually crashing into each other.

blah-

The flint on the shell struck the shell, producing a few sparks, which then burst into flames!

In the blink of an eye, Tsuchimikado Touki threw out the Thousand Treasure Hammer, lightly flicked it with his left ring finger, waved his wide sleeves with his right hand, and chanted an incantation.

Just when things were at their most critical, the Thousand Treasure Hammer spun into his sleeve, creating a whirlwind that sucked the raging flames in front of him into his right sleeve.

The incantation began again.

Tsuchimikado Toki raised his left arm high, his Thousand Treasure Hammer pointing straight at the night sky.

The fierce fire he inhaled from his left sleeve turned into ashes and smoke, which then gushed out from the Thousand Treasures Hammer in his right hand. Once the flames were completely extinguished, he flicked his sleeves with an extremely elegant movement.

"It does have some clever ideas, but that's all it is; it's not enough to do anything to me."

After a brief evaluation, Tsuchimikado Touki's gaze fell on Cherry, only to find that the boy had not run away, but was kneeling on one knee in front of the unconscious Zhao Sanyuan, busy with his work.

Whatever they're planning, it seems to be almost complete.

In fact it does.

Cherry never intended to slip away. From the moment he showed off at the Su Luo Garden archway, he made a decision to gamble everything on one person, even if it meant wasting all his resources.

"Your business and my business, we'll settle all accounts tonight. I don't know what it's like to be entangled in corpse worms, but you can't just shirk your duties. You'd better die standing up."

As she spoke, Cherry cut open her arm, starting at the Quze acupoint and ending at the Zhongchong acupoint. Although the wound was shallow, scalding hot blood gushed out as if a floodgate had been opened.

What's amazing is that the blood becomes more concentrated the closer it gets to the Zhongchong acupoint on the finger; I wonder what kind of technique this is.

After tearing off most of Zhao Sanyuan's clothes, he muttered something about his unfilial grandson. If it weren't for the time crunch, he would have also stripped off Zhao Sanyuan's faded floral underwear.

Just as the blood droplet on her fingertip was at its most vibrant color, Cherry first positioned herself half an inch below Zhao Sanyuan's nape, then drew wide, sweeping strokes, the lines perfectly matching the contours of the eight meridians.

"The green waters of Xiumen conceal dragon scales!"

"Born in the east wind, Ren resides in the Zhen position!"

"The cold glint of the wounded blade startled the roosting birds!"

"Du Yuan is shrouded in mist, and the Xun direction remains!"

"Jingtai Jiaxu Zang Wenying!"

"Dead Land, Desolate Stele, Yi Dingkun!"

"Amazing, the surge of energy caused the enemy to weep!"

"Open the Eight Meridians and Unleash the Soul Within!"

"The mechanical machine returns to its origin!"

Zhao Sanyuan, who had been unconscious, stood up straight as if a spring had broken free of its restraints, which was even more frightening than a corpse rising from the dead.

(End of this chapter)