Chapter 531: Acupoint
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Old Man Mu kowtowed to the Dragon King in public to express his loyalty so that he would be protected by the Khan. After that, he did something surprising.
“You must think that I am brazen and afraid of death. I can be cursed, but I need to consider the reputation of the Dragon King, so you shouldn’t scold him. Now, I am willing to give up the protection of the Khan voluntarily and temporarily so that you can take your revenge on me. However, the promise is only effective before dawn and I have just one requirement: you must fight with me one-on-one, with no limit to the number of duels. We should compete fairly and without regrets, not caring about life or death!” said Old Man Mu.
Gu Shenwei intended to find an excuse to drive him out of the Dragon Army, but after hearing his impa.s.sioned speech, he didn’t know how to do it.
At that time, Old Man Mu’s skills had been greatly reduced to 67%. He was not an invincible kung fu master, so agreeing to fight was a concession.
The people of the Naihang Tribe knew that Old Man Mu was not the same as before. They had caught the five fanatics who had burst into the camp of women soldiers at night, and from detailed interrogations of them, had learned two things: Firstly, Old Man Mu had changed his appearance to become a dwarf. Secondly, the skills of the old devil had fallen dramatically, and those five machetemen had been able to resist him for a while.
n.o.body knew whether Old Man Mu’s skills had actually fallen or not, but when General Zhe Su saw Old Man Mu flatter the Dragon King, he began to believe it.
Zhe Su agreed to Old Man Mu’s proposal, because doing so would not only avenge his people, but also avoid offending the Khan. He wagged his horsewhip and said, “Well, I agree with you. I know that your skills have dropped a lot, but I admire you for returning to the North Court and fighting. However, I must take revenge, so prepare to die.”
After that, Zhe Su turned to the Dragon King and bowed to him twice asking, “What do you have to say?” He tried to be polite, because he didn’t want to create any more problems deliberately. He just wanted to kill his enemy as soon as possible.
“It is G.o.d’s truth that one should seek revenge for himself. As long as the compet.i.tion is fair, you can do anything,” said Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei drew his reins to let his horse take a step back, allowing the compet.i.tors to play.
Old Man Mu looked up at Shangguan Ru and said, “Good girl, I kowtowed to the Dragon King, but I am entering the kung fu compet.i.tion for you, because you have turned me into a better person. No matter if I live or die, I have no regrets. Even if I have no chance of winning, I will never resort to using the killing desire again.”
Old Man Mu was like a great actor. He could be shameless, impa.s.sioned, and pitiful. Although Shangguan Ru had been cheated by him before and didn’t completely trust him, she was still a little touched, so she nodded at him and then turned to look at Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei remained silent as usual. Still, despite having spent very little time with him these past few years, Shangguan Ru immediately understood what he was thinking: Old Man Mu would never be in danger.
Shangguan Ru felt a little relieved and then retreated back.
The leader of 1,000 soldiers of Norland also felt relieved. The forces of the Queen’s family were very strong, so it was the best way for both sides to resolve the matter. As for who would live or die, that was not important.
The Naihang Tribe Cavalry carried a lot of torches, which illuminated the field like daylight. Zhe Su and several leaders gathered to decide who would be the best person for the first compet.i.tion.
A gust of cold wind swept through the field, making Shangguan Fei sober up a lot. He hid in the back until he found out that the people seeking revenge had nothing to do with the Golden Roc Fort or the Dragon King. Relieved, he rode out to the Dragon King. Seeing the performance of Old Man Mu, he was deeply shocked and thought that Old Man Mu must be the most shameless, contemptible, and insidious person in the world.
“Well, this old guy is really… I almost want to wors.h.i.+p him as a teacher,” Shangguan Fei admired him sincerely to the Dragon King.
“What did you see him do?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“Old Man Mu kowtowed to the Dragon King so that the enemies would not fight against him all at once. He proposed to hold a kung fu compet.i.tion, which gave the Dragon King dignity, yet still forced you to accept his loyalty. Moreover, the sun is rising. His opponents can send at most three or four people to fight him, so he will be completely safe as long as he can hold them off for a little while. It’s only a small risk. I admire him for his ability to adapt to the situation so cleverly,” answered Shangguan Fei.
Shangguan Fei was bright-eyed and became very excited about what was happening, but Shangguan Ru didn’t like her brother’s att.i.tude and she said, “There is something brewing in your eyes. What’s really going on?”
“Well, sister, you are too naive. Old Man Mu kowtowed to the Dragon King mainly because he wanted to please you,” he replied.
Shangguan Ru blushed and then whispered, “Enough of your nonsense.”
Shangguan Fei stuck out his tongue and didn’t say anything else. The compet.i.tion had already begun, but Shangguan Ru was still thinking about what her brother had said. She moved her horse to keep a few steps away from the Dragon King.
The people of Norland were skilled in riding and shooting, but they also liked kung fu. There were a few decent sects in the gra.s.sland that had recruited several kung fu pract.i.tioners from different countries, but the Naihang Tribe was very powerful and had first-cla.s.s kung fu masters. This time, they brought more than half of them along to catch Old Man Mu.
The first compet.i.tor was a young macheteman in his twenties and very slender, with a short-saber. He walked very steadily. It seemed that he was a master of Lightness Skills.
“I am Ye Buluo, the Flying Dragon of Tianshan, and I’m here to ask Senior Mu for some advice,” he said.
This man was very young, but he was very worldly. He had heard many rumors about Old Man Mu, so he was very polite to him.
Old Man Mu curled his lips and said, “You are Ye Buluo, and I am Old Man Mu. What a coincidence! I advise you to change your nickname, and remove the words ‘Tianshan’ and ‘Dragon’ because they sound tacky. There are many good words in the world, but people always compete for them and they often get hurt. Why? Dragon King, I’m not talking about you, or the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountains. You are the real dragon, but he is a fake dragon.”
Ye Buluo wasn’t unknown to the public. Upon hearing this, he became very angry and said, “Old Man Mu, I called you senior, but you shouldn’t be too proud of yourself. It’s not the time for you to dominate the jianghu so…”
Old Man Mu had said what he wanted and began to take action. He curled up and then rushed towards Ye Buluo. He was not like wood, but instead like stone.
Ye Buluo was stunned, but he reacted very quickly. He tiptoed and then jumped backward several steps, like a rabbit. As expected, he was a master of Lightness Skills.
The people of the Naihang Tribe had a very simple idea. First, they sent a person with good Lightness Skills to test Old Man Mu’s kung fu, and then they sent a kung fu master to kill him.
One chased while the other eluded, and for quite some time, they did not fight with each other at all. Only the cheers of the people in the Naihang Tribe added any excitement to the kung fu compet.i.tion.
Shangguan Fei was very confused. “I thought that Old Man Mu would delay the fight, but he has been chasing Ye Buluo. Is he really that eager to win?” he asked.
Gu Shenwei was focused on watching the compet.i.tion so he did not respond. Shangguan Fei was very smart and could always talk about strategies, but when it came to martial arts, he was clueless.
After the compet.i.tion stopped, Shangguan Fei finally understood the tactics of both parties. Old Man Mu had used offensive tactics as a means of defense. Although he had been chasing Ye Buluo, he did not show his real kung fu skills. Ye Buluo, however, deliberately showed his weakness, waiting for a chance to fight back.
Old Man Mu and Ye Buluo chased each other for almost fifteen minutes, but the compet.i.tion was won with a single move.
Ye Buluo was good with his Lightness and machete skills. After awhile, he found the best time to pull out his saber, and instead of retreating, went forward to hit his opponent.
Old Man Mu was chasing after him and could not escape.
They brushed past each other. The kung fu compet.i.tion stopped, but the scene surprised everyone.
Ye Buluo stood in a lunge position. His right arm was stretched straight out as if he was prodding forward with a short sword, but there was nothing in his hand, so his pose looked ridiculous.
His scabbard was empty.
Old Man Mu stood behind Ye Buluo, and appreciated the short sword. He nodded and praised, “It really is a good saber, which must have been customized. I think that it must have been made by a famous craftsman. It’s too bad that the saber belongs to Ye Buluo.”
Then, he looked up at Zhe Su and the huge cavalry of the Naihang Tribe behind him and said, “Look, my skills haven’t regressed too much, and he is very disappointing. Quick, get someone else. There is still time.”
Old Man Mu was ruthless and tough, and that had caused him to have many enemies. But now, he had little hope of recovering his skills, so he wanted to speak more.
Zhe Su’s black face turned reddish. He shouted, “Ye Buluo, get out!”
“Yes, my Lord,” Ye Buluo answered with respect, but he didn’t move. The crowd soon realized that he was unable to move and too embarra.s.sed to ask for help.
In fact, Old Man Mu had seen through the intentions of Ye Buluo early so he deliberately showed some flaws to trick him. A few people knew his skills, but they were confused by the fact that the Old Devil had not poked the key acupoint. So what had made Ye Buluo freeze?
Only Shangguan Ru knew the truth. During the time when Old Man Mu had lived in seclusion to heal, inspired by the kung fu of the New Moon Hall, he created a set of seven circles and seven apertures using the Heart Stopping Finger technique. With this, he could transfer strength to targeted acupuncture points. There were seven moves, most of which were fatal. Only one move could make the opponent freeze, which showed Old Man Mu’s mercy.
Ye Buluo blushed more but Old Man Mu ignored him and continued to appreciate the short saber, tossing and turning it. He really seemed to be admiring it.
“Unlock his acupoint, and return the saber to him,” Shangguan Ru ordered.
In order to please Shangguan Ru, Old Man Mu bowed to her and then slowly moved towards Ye Buluo. “I will unlock your acupoint, but you should stay still and quiet. Don’t try to fight against me again as soon as you can move. Remember that you are a famous macheteman, not a mad dog,” he warned.
Ye Buluo grinded his teeth and then shouted, “Old Devil Mu, you should get out of here. I…” He couldn’t move, so he didn’t know what else he could do.
Shangguan Ru sighed, and understood why Old Man Mu had so many enemies. He killed people at random, but the biggest reason was that he had a big mouth. He went over to release Ye Buluo when suddenly a man came out of the Naihang Tribe Cavalry. He patted the body of Ye Buluo, and then unlocked the unique acupoint technique of Old Man Mu.
Both Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru knew this man. He looked strange — his eyes were too far apart, and he only had one arm. He was the killer Wildhorse with the half-tongue who had been abandoned by the Golden Roc Fort and had previously served Old Man Mu.