Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 314 Unexpected
Judging from their mature demeanor and the organized nature of their group of thugs, Jiang Xian knew that this group of thugs was not on their first day committing crimes.

Since it wasn't the first time, Jiang Xian simply didn't believe they hadn't encountered tough challenges before, nor did he believe they hadn't had setbacks.

But before they made their move, the thugs were so confident that they didn't take the three of them seriously at all. Jiang Xian thought that it was because they had a leader who planned for the team that they were able to escape one disaster after another.

Therefore, Jiang Xian never underestimated her backbone. When she was out and about, she dared not be careless, nor would she lower her guard against him.

No matter what the leader did or how he tried to distract the three of them, Jiang Xian would always keep a close eye on him and guard against him. Whatever tricks he wanted to play, she would play along.

Therefore, it is not an easy task to deceive someone like the "backbone" who has seen countless people.

Since it was going to be done, it had to be made to look real. So apart from Jiang Xian, the planner, who knew about it, both Guard Liu and Guard Li were completely unaware of it.

Only by doing this can we deceive the leader, make him believe, and confuse him.

Despite the leader bowing to Jiang Xian, Jiang Xian still showed no intention of paying any attention to him.

Jiang Xian now represents the entire group of three, so her every move is magnified in the eyes of the leader.

Jiang Xianzheng was well aware of this, so even if she acted a little indifferent, she didn't want to give her key figure any chance to guess her thoughts or be taken advantage of.

When she is out in public, Jiang Xian cannot show any of her true personality to outsiders. She cannot even reveal her gender or appearance to them.

In such an important occasion as the Five States Martial Arts Tournament, it is very difficult for any martial artist in the Five States to voluntarily give up if they have the ability to enter the ranks of the winners and strive for a higher ranking.

Entering the ranks of the winners means being one of the best among martial artists of the same level, and being seen by many people.

For outstanding martial artists, the Five Continents Martial Arts Competition is not only a great opportunity to hone their skills, but also a chance to promote themselves, let more people know about their powerful abilities, and give themselves a chance to live up to expectations.

Therefore, the vast majority of martial artists participating in the Five Continents Martial Arts Tournament will give their all in the competition.

Many martial artists are willing to suffer serious injuries in order to fight their best in every match. They believe that this is a way of respecting themselves, as well as their opponents.

As a martial artist, Jiang Xian clearly wanted to do the same. She wanted to compete in her best condition, and she was also capable of being among the winners.

In order to legitimately disqualify herself from the competition and avoid being among the winners, she even meticulously tracked her scores in every single match.

She didn't lose any matches; she simply used the rules to draw one more match.

In those two matches, her opponents ended their matches with Jiang Xian in a daze.

Even so, she did not give her opponent the slightest feeling that the competition would end easily. In the eyes of Jiang Xian's opponents, she was always giving her all in the competition.

Apart from the first match, which she won effortlessly, attracting the attention of some people.

After that, she stopped trying.

In the first match, she was unsure of the exact strength of the other martial artists of the same level besides herself and Jiang Xuan, so she wanted to fight with all her might, but she did not expect her opponents to be so easy to defeat.

During the competition, she was aware that she had attracted the attention of some people, but afterwards, she carefully considered her next course of action and did not blindly continue to show off in front of outsiders, so as not to attract their attention.

Even so, even without using her masterful moves, she could easily control the outcome of the match using only simple techniques.

She even felt that the competition itself wasn't tiring, but the most tiring part was the effort to stall for time without being noticed by the opponent or the people present.

Therefore, in the matches before entering the ranks of the winners, she would either end the match quickly without beating around the bush or toying with her opponent; or she would exhaust the match time, using only simple and ordinary moves to deal with the opponent and try her best to maneuver around her, afraid that she would win the match if she was not careful.

If she hadn't gone to watch the competition among the top martial artists, and if she had stayed in the Heavenly Rank group and successfully entered the ranks of the winners, then she would have been able to face Jiang Xuan.

If either of them makes a move, the other will definitely be able to recognize them.

Unfortunately, both siblings had disguised themselves carefully, and by sheer coincidence, they missed each other's competition. Otherwise, Jiang Xian wouldn't have missed Jiang Xuan.

But now, she is still preparing everything, planning to go to the Qixi Desert to find Jiang Xuan.

The leader stood in front of Jiang Xian. Seeing that Jiang Xian ignored him, he naturally understood Jiang Xian's meaning. He knew that the young master in front of him was trying his best to conceal his identity.

He didn't know if Jiang Xian could speak, but he knew that this young master must be able to communicate with people. Otherwise, the guard Liu who was with the young master before, and the guard Li who was standing with the young master now, would not be able to act on his orders.

But for some reason, although Jiang Xian did not show up and he had never seen Jiang Xian's face, Zhu Xin Gu could sense the expression under the hood. Zhu Xin Gu felt that under the hood, there should be an exceptionally indifferent face.

Thinking of this, the leader truly felt a chill run down his spine. He felt that the young master in front of him made him feel that something was wrong with him, and his back was cold.

Looking at the young master whose face was covered by a hood, the leader felt a strange, inexplicable feeling. As if possessed, he moved two steps to the side and out of Jiang Xian's sight.

He already knew that the three people in front of him might be someone of great importance. He guessed that the cart of medicinal herbs in their carriage was probably just a cover.

The leader didn't know what the guard Li's purpose was in bringing him to them. He dared not stare directly at Jiang Xian, nor did he want to leave Jiang Xian's sight, lest he miss a chance to carefully observe the young master in front of him.

He knew perfectly well that Jiang Xian, even with his face covered, could send chills down his spine; his body told him this clearly. But even so, he quickly regained his composure.

Out of reason, he knew he couldn't miss any observation of Jiang Xian, especially when he was by Jiang Xian's side, he could clearly observe the subtle details of Jiang Xian's behavior.

Therefore, he should take advantage of this potentially short opportunity to observe the young master in front of him more closely.

He dared not and did not want to look Jiang Xian in the eye, lest he arouse Jiang Xian's suspicion and disgust. He observed him out of the corner of his eye.

As he was watching Jiang Xian's every move, a figure was slowly approaching him.

He didn't notice the movement of the figure outside his sight. Just as he was observing Jiang Xian without daring to be distracted, a voice slowly rang in his ear, startling him.

He suppressed his shock and slowly turned his head toward the source of the voice. It was the figure that he hadn't noticed before, slowly approaching him—it was Guard Li.

"You've worked hard," Guard Li said to his leader, a hint of pleasure in his expression.

Upon hearing this, the leader naturally didn't understand Li's thoughts. He didn't know what Li meant, he didn't know the origin of Li's "thank you for your hard work," and he even suspected that the other party had mistaken their respective identities.

He was clearly the criminal, and given the current situation, he should be the one following the other party's orders. So why was the other party's guard being so polite to him?
This puzzled him greatly.

He was somewhat confused about the current situation and the expression on the guard's face.

Even so, seeing the slightly pleased expression on Li's face, he couldn't refuse Li's request and forced a smile in return.

He was about to speak, wanting to say something polite like "It's not hard work" to Li Huwei to get through it, but just as his awkward gaze began to wander, he caught sight of the object in Li Huwei's hand, which made him uneasy.

The rope in Li's hand was made of a special material. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary hemp rope, only thicker than the common hemp rope. But upon closer inspection, the hemp rope in Li's hand was different from any he had seen before.

Mixed among the hemp rope were some iron chains of varying thicknesses. If it weren't for the gaps in the rope caused by Li Huwei curling it up, he would have had a hard time spotting them if he hadn't looked closely.

Among them, the iron chains of varying thicknesses within the hemp rope also had different postures.

Some were intertwined, some were separate, and the shape of the hemp rope didn't seem to be a single piece.

If you were to lay it out on the ground to look at it, its shape would not be a straight line, but rather like it has many branches.

This sent a chill down his spine, and he began to tremble at the thought of his impending doom. Coupled with the incomprehensible smile of Guard Li earlier, it only made him feel colder.

Li, the bodyguard, simply held the rope haphazardly in his hand, seemingly unconcerned about others discovering the secret within.

The leader involuntarily frowned slightly. He had originally tried his best to maintain his expression, even if it was still a forced smile or a return to his previous calm and composed demeanor. But when he saw the strange hemp rope, he really couldn't control himself.

The reason for this situation and state is that the leader had a general prediction of what was about to happen, which made it difficult for him to smile and control his facial expression.

"May I ask you, sir, what is this...?" The leader wanted to ask Guard Li a question, but he found it difficult to raise his voice, and his body posture involuntarily shrank back. The leader looked very unconfident.

The way the leader spoke to Guard Li was indeed telling; he was trying his best to control his emotions and restore his previous calm tone.

He had no interest in observing Jiang Xian anymore.

After much deliberation, the core members all felt that the actions of these three people were completely unreasonable.

These three clearly needed him as their leader to guide them to a place, but now they're planning to tie him up and leave him there. Is this some kind of interrogation before they set off?
However, the core of his mind silently ruled out this possibility.

He knew perfectly well that if the three people opposite him wanted to harm him, they wouldn't need to go to all this trouble to come here. It wasn't like they were performing on a stage; there was no fun in it.

Therefore, his guess was that Jiang Xian and the other two wanted to put him on the carriage full of medicinal herbs, then tie his hands and feet and make him lead the way.

They tied him to Guard Liu's carriage, and then Guard Liu took him to find horses, a possibility he considered very likely.

He had been wondering why the person he was talking to was Guard Liu, and why it suddenly changed to Guard Li. Now he understood that Guard Liu needed the carriage, so the two of them switched places.

But there was nothing he could do at the moment; he could only wait quietly for things to happen, for his hands and feet to be tied.

"At least my life is still safe." He tried to be optimistic, comforting himself in this way.

But unexpectedly, after the backbone spread out the thick, naturally formed hemp rope, it skillfully bound his entire body, making him as secure as a silkworm pupa, unable to move, which looked quite comical.

The binding action was completed in one smooth motion.

With a wave of his hand, Guard Li quickly hoisted him up and threw him onto the horse behind him.

"Ah!" With an unexpected scream from the backbone, the backbone landed steadily on the horse's back.

The mainstay landed on the horse's back, feeling a considerable impact on his abdomen. In addition, he was bound like a giant silkworm cocoon, and at this moment, he was lying on the horse's back, with no dignity to speak of.

(End of this chapter)