Chapter 49: A Trap Within a Trap

Just as the two sides were about to make contact, Han Li slightly twisted the blade in his hand, tilting the angle just a little. It was only a tiny change, but in the eyes of Doctor Mo, it was a cataclysmic shift.

Doctor Mo felt a flash of light before his eyes, and suddenly, over a dozen blindingly bright white orbs erupted. This radiance was intensely powerful, shining directly into his eyes without the slightest obstruction.

Secretly cursing, "Bad," he hurriedly retreated and immediately squeezed his eyelids shut, but it was already too late. The white light had instantly entered his vision, leaving him no chance to react.

Doctor Mo felt a sudden heat in his eyes, followed by an unbearable, stinging ache in his eyeballs. Tears gushed out uncontrollably. He couldn't even spare a moment to wipe them away; gritting his teeth against the discomfort, he forced his eyes open to look out, but he saw only a vast, white expanse. Never mind seeing objects clearly, even the outlines of things had become a blur of overlapping illusions, indistinct and hazy.

At this moment, he was both shocked and furious, feeling deep regret that he had been careless and fallen for the opponent's trick once again.

However, Doctor Mo had spent a long time wandering the Jianghu and possessed a wealth of experience in dealing with various dangers. On one hand, he retreated without stopping, putting distance between himself and his opponent to buy time; on the other, he retracted his palms and waved them incessantly in front of him, relying on his invulnerable Demon Silver Hands to shield the vital points of his upper body.

He had already made up his mind: until his vision returned to normal, he would absolutely not take the initiative to attack. All offensives would have to wait until he could see clearly again, lest he fall into the trap of this cunning little brat once more.

By now, Doctor Mo had long since cast his original contempt to the winds. This struggle with Han Li was no less dangerous than the several life-and-death battles he had fought against formidable enemies in his youth.

Although he couldn't see the opponent's movements, Doctor Mo pricked up his ears, concentrating intently, hoping to judge the opponent's next move from the sound.

He seemed to vaguely see a human figure flicker in front of him, followed immediately by a sharp sound accompanied by a cold wind, attacking him from directly ahead.

Regarding Han Li's assassination attempt, Doctor Mo was not only unpanicked but actually felt a surge of joy.

The opponent's methods were indeed still somewhat naive. If he had hidden to the side and launched a sneak attack without a sound, Doctor Mo might have truly been worried. But to attack so brazenly from the front—what was there to fear? He had long since mastered the skill of identifying positions through sound; never mind a straight thrust from a short sword, he could hear even a slender embroidery needle coming his way with perfect clarity.

Doctor Mo heard it clearly, but he deliberately slowed his hand, leaving a small opening in front of him. Sure enough, the sound of the surprise attack immediately shifted, drilling in through that gap and heading straight for his throat.

A ferocious grin appeared on Doctor Mo's face. His right hand, which had been waiting for a long time, suddenly struck out, grabbing the blade like lightning and locking it tight, showing no fear of the short sword's sharp edge.

The opponent clearly realized something was wrong and tugged the short sword back violently several times, but under the control of the Demon Silver Hands, it couldn't move a fraction; it was all wasted effort.

Doctor Mo felt a surge of triumph, but he dared not be careless with his hand. Fearing the opponent might realize the situation and let go to run away, he didn't care that his eyes hadn't returned to normal. With one hand, he suddenly exerted ten percent of his power, pulling the short sword toward him, intending to drag Han Li over from the opposite side and then subdue him by hand. Yet, he felt the hand go light, as if it were holding nothing at all.

He was greatly shocked. He was clearly still gripping the blade in his hand, so how could it suddenly become so light? Even if Han Li had let go, it shouldn't be this weightless.

Before Doctor Mo could figure out what was happening, he felt a sharp, air-tearing sound erupt just inches from his throat. It seemed a sharp, slender object was stabbing toward him at an extraordinary speed. Before the object even arrived, the air current from the strike had already caused his Adam's apple to sting slightly.

He had no time to think; his body reacted with a reflex, making an evasive move first. His head suddenly tilted to one side, straining to lean away, his neck twisted at an incredible angle in an attempt to avoid this fatal blow.

The profound foundation he had painstakingly trained over many years finally played its part at this moment. Doctor Mo felt a chill on his neck; the sharp object grazed past his neck, only slightly scratching the skin, without causing him any greater harm.

After dodging this move, Doctor Mo, fearing the opponent had a follow-up move he hadn't used yet, didn't dare to think further. He actually mimicked Han Li's initial escape tactic, falling to the ground and performing a lazy donkey roll, moving far away from Han Li before he dared to stand up again.

After Doctor Mo stood straight, he felt a burning pain on his neck. He couldn't help but touch the wound, feeling his hand come away wet. It seemed quite a bit of fresh blood had flowed out.

He hurriedly used two fingers to seal the nearby blood vessels, finally stopping the bleeding.

Only then did he feel a lingering fear, realizing that he shouldn't have been able to dodge that last strike. He hadn't expected his body's instinct to perform so extraordinarily, allowing him to escape a disaster by a stroke of luck.

Thinking of this, Doctor Mo couldn't help but look up at Han Li. Only then did he realize that things in his eyes were already clearly visible; his vision had returned to normal at some point.

He saw Han Li glaring at Doctor Mo with an expression of unwillingness, clearly very unhappy that the opponent had escaped disaster once again.

In his hand, he was holding a sharp, inch-long weapon. From its shape, it looked like an incredibly short awl, but the handle was the original sword hilt. Overall, it looked quite strange, and there were even bloodstains on it. It was precisely the strange weapon that had wounded Doctor Mo.

Doctor Mo's expression was cold, his eyes filled with rage. He could no longer tolerate the fact that he had nearly lost his life time and again. Just as he was about to explode, he suddenly felt that his right hand seemed to be gripping something.

He looked down and saw it was a hiltless sword blade, light as a feather. Picking it up to examine it closely, he suddenly realized: the blade was hollow. Looking at the size and shape of the opening, what had been hidden inside was precisely that sharp awl. This sword blade was merely an outer shell worn over the awl to deceive the eye.

Instantly, his overflowing rage was extinguished completely by this unexpected discovery.

===== CHAPTER 50 =====