Under the fist

Chapter 39 The Longevity Elixir, Heading to the Fortress
"Oh!"

Upon hearing a muffled thud, Lian Youming had already covered his head and bent his knees, landing on the ground like a bouncing ball.

As soon as he landed, he braced himself with one hand, flipped over to steady his feet, and slid backward along the ground for five or six meters like a wild beast with a hunched back.

Almost simultaneously, the two men in the truck also arrived and pounced down from mid-air.

Lian Youming narrowed his tiger-like eyes and quickly scanned the area, only to find that the truck had somehow driven into a ravine.

No, not two, there were three who jumped off the car.

Including the driver, that makes four.

Surprisingly, the truck driver didn't stop and drove off straight away.

"What bad luck! We didn't get to see Li Da, but instead we got a bunch of deadly guys."

Seeing the three figures jumping off the vehicle, Lian Youming's eyes flashed with ruthlessness. Instead of retreating, he kicked off with one foot, sending pebbles flying, and lunged at the nearest petite figure like an arrow.

This was a woman, wearing a woolen hat and a fur coat, with what appeared to be a soft whip wrapped around her waist, two knives in her hands, and a murderous look in her eyes.

Lian Youming would not give the opponent a chance to land. Opportunities cannot be waited for. The opponent has many people and is not friendly. If he runs away, he will be surrounded sooner or later. At that time, he will be no match for the enemy and will only be at a disadvantage. It is better to seize the initiative now.

Lian Youming bent down and ran wildly, like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep. He clenched his right fist into a hammer and smashed it down on the woman in mid-air.

The woman had a beautiful face, but there was a murderous aura between her brows. She was not surprised but delighted when she saw the punch. She twirled her twin swords and the blades were already curling towards Lian Youming's wrist.

But Lian Youming smirked, flicked his wrist, and a handful of sand flew out of his hand—the very sand he had been holding when he landed earlier.

The sand and dust stung her eyes, causing the woman's pupils to contract sharply. She swung her knife even more fiercely, hacking and slashing rapidly in the direction of her strike.

However, she lost sight of the enemy and failed to land a single blow with her twin swords.

Lian Youming feigned an attack with his right hand, while his left hand swept horizontally with lightning speed, trapping the woman under his arm and gripping her neck.

In the blink of an eye, the woman was captured, and the two of them tumbled and rolled several meters away.

When Lian Youming stood up again, the woman in the fur coat was already hanging in mid-air with her head held down. She was struggling like a cat or dog. Before she could even swing her twin knives, he delivered a knee strike to her abdomen.

"Well!"

With a muffled groan of extreme pain, the woman's struggling body instantly went limp.

The remaining two had just landed when their expressions changed drastically.

"Little sister!"

Lian Youming bypassed the woman who was glaring at him fiercely and looked at the other two. "Little sisters?"

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, were a middle-aged man with a full beard on the left and a young man in a vest on the right with narrow eyes and thin lips, his gaze cold and sinister, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue.

Lian Youming asked softly, "How shall we address you two?"

These days, besides working, he practiced his martial arts. He had no opponents, but he had seen many ferocious beasts in the mountains. The little girl had said that most internal martial arts in the world were based on imitating the forms and spirits of various beasts. So what if he didn't have a master? Everything comes from nothing.

To make matters worse, he had already mastered the first level of the Golden Bell Cover technique, and his Toad Fishing Skill was becoming increasingly proficient. Not to mention, he also possessed a set of military combat skills. With the support of internal energy and his current physique, it was impossible for him to be completely powerless to protect himself.

Seeing that the other party did not reply, Lian Youming smiled slightly and immediately increased the force of his left hand.

"Well!"

Then a woman screamed in agony.

Unexpectedly, the cold-faced young man said in a chilling voice, "Good lad, you almost fooled me. I knew this man's survival was no fluke; Xie Laosan's map was most likely handed over by him."

Lian Youming frowned and said, "Map? I've already given the map to Li Da. If you're so tough, go ask him for it. What's the point of causing trouble for me? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

The middle-aged man's eyes flickered slightly. "We can't beat him."

Lian Youming remained expressionless. "You are indeed honest."

Having landed a successful blow, he didn't rush into a full-scale attack, but instead slowly retreated.

Several brushes with death had taught Lian Youming a lesson: never put yourself in danger unless absolutely necessary. As for letting the tiger return to the mountain, once he had mastered his skills, why would he fear these cowardly creatures?
They were all cleaned up one by one.

But the two men opposite him clearly wouldn't let him do that. One of them raised his hand, revealing a throwing knife in his palm.

Just as they were about to fight to the death, Lian Youming suddenly grinned and said, "Wait, I don't think we need to fight to the death. What's in that underground fortress? Tell me, and I'll release her. We can go our separate ways and pretend nothing happened, how about that?"

The middle-aged man and the young man exchanged glances. They knew they had underestimated Lian Youming's strength and seemed even less willing to fight to the death.

The middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "Kid, you should know that there are all sorts of old medicines in this martial arts world, right? There's a rumor that a prescription is hidden in that underground fortress, and it's said that the medicine made from it can prolong life... That was something the Qing Dynasty searched high and low for back then..."

The other person stopped abruptly halfway through their sentence, clearly out of consideration for something.

Lian Youming's aura deepened; he knew that Li Da was hiding something from him. That bastard.

"Since this map is so important, where did Xie Laosan get it from?"

The middle-aged man said coldly, "This matter was extremely secretive, and we knew nothing about it... Release my sister immediately!!!"

Lian Youming seemed to be deep in thought. Judging from the other party's words, that so-called old medicine seemed to have a wide-ranging influence, which could be traced back to the Qing Dynasty.

“Wait a minute, I need to get back to a more crowded area. You can follow me. Don’t worry, I mean what I say. I won’t kill her, I absolutely won’t.” He grabbed the woman and said as he retreated. “Li Da got the map more than two months ago. If you were smart, you wouldn’t have come looking for me.”

The young man said with a sinister look, "Kid, don't underestimate us. The map is just a side thing; we're here to investigate a grudge. Among the five people killed by the old man guarding the mountain, wasn't one of them a swordsman?"

Lian Youming raised an eyebrow. "So that's how it is. You want to seek revenge on the old man guarding the mountain? Sigh, I advise you not to go and throw your lives away."

The middle-aged man asked, "Where is he?"

As they were talking, Lian Youming had already retreated to the main road leading into the mountains. Listening to the sounds of the trucks passing by, he shook his head and said, "I don't know... and even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you."

Without exchanging many words, Lian Youming simply tossed the woman in his arms aside, then vanished into the twilight and swiftly hopped onto a truck heading into the mountains.

He frowned as he watched the three figures disappear from sight in a flash.

Just now, Lian Youming even wanted to say that he would take responsibility for the old man guarding the mountain's grievances all by himself.

Unfortunately, they lacked the necessary strength.

It seems the White Lotus Cult still doesn't intend to let that grandfather and grandson go.

The old man guarding the mountain is probably dead. What kind of difficult situation will Yang Shuang fall into alone? Even if he hides deep in the Greater Khingan Mountains, with the methods of these White Lotus Sect demons, he will be found sooner or later.

Lian Youming still can't quite understand how the old man guarding the mountain, this capricious and eccentric old man, could pass on two genuine skills to him, even though they didn't have much interaction.

Was it because he realized he was nearing the end of his life, and wanted to prevent his unique skills from being lost?
Or is it to enlighten those who come after?
Repay kindness with kindness and revenge with hatred.

Although the other party had dragged him into danger, Lian Youming was grateful to them nonetheless.

Only as one's skill deepens can one truly understand how rare and exceptional those two techniques are.

If given the chance, I must repay this debt of gratitude.

……

When he returned to the forest farm, it was already dark, but as soon as he entered, he could see a sidecar motorcycle parked there.

It wasn't Qin Yuhu who arrived, but Li Da.

The man seemed to have been waiting for a long time. He was wearing a white shirt and green military pants and was squatting on a tree stump, eating the forest farm's food from a large bowl.

"Hey, you're back. The food here is pretty good."

Lian Youming pursed his lips. With those three people in front, he even suspected that the reason this person brought him along was because he was worried that the map was fake. At the same time, he sighed inwardly. It seemed that none of those who could cultivate martial arts to this level were simple-minded. In the end, it all came down to relying on oneself.

"Is it time?"

Li Da wiped his mouth. "Let's leave now. I've already informed your platoon leader."

(End of this chapter)