Chapter 28: Clear Wind Past the Ears, Traveling a Thousand Miles

Before, Chu Tianshu had experienced a few times of switching between the two enlightened states, but none of them were thorough.

The release wasn't to the maximum, and the retraction wasn't to the deepest.

Even so, it already made him feel quite burdened, so he didn't specifically mess with it. At that time, his mental energy was mainly focused on fist technique cultivation.

Now, inspired in battle, at this instant, he released the spirit communication enlightened state to the maximum, and between thoughts, retracted it to the extreme.

It was like a person, with the greatest limit in his life, spitting out all the turbid air, and then wildly swallowing a mouthful of the fresh taste of wind and rain between heaven and earth.

In the surrounding scene, a large number of details came one after another.

Colliding in his mind were bright, brilliant, colorful, yet each line was profound and moving, distinct dynamic images.

At this time, the old eunuch had already killed toward him.

The wounds on that old face, the trembling of the wrinkles on his face, the change of expression from pride to gloom, all the details were reflected in Chu Tianshu's eyes.

His gaunt body maintained that posture: upper body leaning far forward, feet tensed and pushing off the ground at high speed.

That was the kung fu in the old frame of "Xingyi Fist."

This set of fist techniques, famous since the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, had always been known for its ruthlessness, and by the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, it had become much gentler.

But it was still evaluated by the direct-line fist master Li Laoneng as having more ruthlessness than stability, so he improved a set of Xingyi Fist, retaining the fierce characteristics, but the strikes were more stable, with more room for response.

In the past, the old eunuch was trained in the Forbidden City, and he did the work of killing people. Of course, the people above didn't care whether they were stable or not. Later, he had status, but his fist technique style had already permeated his character.

It was impossible for him to change the fist technique style he had practiced since childhood. Now, if he struck a little slower, he felt that his punch was in vain.

But he pondered that with the Gold Coin Body Armor, it could be considered as making up for the shortcomings from another angle.

Therefore, although he was old, his fists were more eager for speed than a few years ago.

His legs were like a powerful bow and crossbow; as they alternated, one relaxing and one tensing, he leaned forward and broke through the wind to shoot ahead, his fists striking based on this speed.

At the moment of close combat, the punch was like a cannon stone.

Bang!!!

Chu Tianshu almost saw that the air in front was slightly expanded by the punch.

And his right hand, at this moment, slashed into that mass of air, cutting into the inside of the old eunuch's right elbow.

His first reaction was that his palm had slashed into an iron rod.

The Gold Coin Body Armor was an all-around defense, even on the eyelids, and of course, it was even more so on the inside of the elbow. But to maintain the activity of the joints, the counter-shock force here was already slightly softer than elsewhere.

This palm strike deflected the opponent's arm, seemingly declaring a prelude.

The main theme followed closely, the old eunuch's punches were like a volley of arrows, the water droplets were beaten into mist, and the wind and airflow were like boiling soup and wild snow. 【2

Chu Tianshu's arms, meanwhile, slashed out like sharp blades, striking form where there was form, and striking shadow where there was none, doubling the chaotic turbulence of the airflow before him.

With his teeth gritted and his eyes glowing, he seemed to have only vaguely caught a glimpse of a shadow, yet he ignored everything else, his hands already striking that very spot.

The collision between the two did not feel like a string of firecrackers, with a sense of sequence.

It was more like taking a large iron bucket, filling it halfway with iron beans, and shaking it vigorously.

In just an instant, who knows how many iron beans had struck the iron bucket.

The sound was so intense it made one feel agitated, dizzy, and shaken!!

Not far away, Zhong Jinqiu held his breath at this very moment.

Based on his experience, he could at least be certain that in all the collisions he could see, Chu Tianshu's palms were cutting into or striking the inside of the opponent's elbows.

It was too precise, but even with such precision, Chu Tianshu's hands were likely not as hard as the inside of the opponent's elbows.

With such a high frequency of collision, it wouldn't take many seconds before Chu Tianshu's hands would also be sore and swollen.

Zhong Jinqiu suddenly snapped back to his senses, subconsciously wanting to lift his leg; at worst, he would lose another leg, but it might at least cause that old thing to be distracted.

But before he could even lift his foot, he heard a thunderous boom.

An exceptionally crisp yet deafening boom, just like someone using immense force to burst a sheepskin raft.

A palm, trailing an afterimage, slammed heavily into the side of the old eunuch's head, striking his ear.

The old eunuch's body tilted to the right and crashed horizontally to the ground, shattering several stone tiles.

Chu Tianshu's abdomen jolted, as if his stomach and intestines were exerting force, and his left foot abruptly scraped forward.

The toe of his shoe kicked directly into the old eunuch's eye socket.

Thud!!!

The old eunuch's body spun away, hitting the base of the wall, only then managing to let out a miserable shriek.

"Ah! You!!"

He rolled on the ground and stood up, one eye a bloody mess, dark red blood flowing from his ear, swaying as he looked at Chu Tianshu.

"You have only just learned insight..."

The old eunuch reached out to point at Chu Tianshu, filled with hysterical rage.

But he had only taken one step before he collapsed to his knees, hands supporting him on the ground, his head tilting left and right, blood dripping onto the stone tiles, unable to crawl up.

The extreme dizziness in his brain made him retch.

"Your eardrum has been shattered; do you still think you can stand steady?"

Chu Tianshu's lips trembled slightly, unsure if it was from panting or enduring pain, as he gritted his teeth and smiled.

"I indeed only just learned this skill of battlefield insight; I may not be as seasoned as you."

"However, the details one perceives must be processed by the brain; you injured your lungs earlier, and your brain is suffering from insufficient oxygen."

"When we both exert our full strength, if I stand my ground and trade blows with you, by the time we reach the end, your brain won't be as fast as mine."

That was why the old eunuch had been struck by that palm to his ear.

He hadn't waited for Chu Tianshu's hands to truly swell up before he had already suffered a fatal blow.

The old eunuch said hatefully: "So that's how it is..."

After Chu Tianshu spoke these few words, the soreness in his toes had eased; his body moved in a flash, reaching the old eunuch's side, and he kicked him in the other ear.

The old eunuch shuddered all over, his remaining eye filled with unwillingness.

If he could do it all over again, he wouldn't have chosen a high-speed, head-on assault; he would have switched to hit-and-run tactics, or simply fled...

His body rolled over to the side and collapsed to the ground, falling silent.

On the other side, Zhong Jinqiu also turned and kicked the ground, shattering the stone tiles, and two stone fragments flew through the air.

The two servants in the hall, seeing the eunuch defeated and about to flee, were struck in the back of the head by the stones and passed out.

Chu Tianshu switched hands, inserted a few silver needles into his own arms, and only then dared to heave a sigh of relief.

Once he let go of that tense breath, the pain doubled.

"Damn it all!"

Chu Tianshu flicked his foot, flipping the old eunuch over.

Ding!

A silver needle shot toward the tattoo on the corpse's chest but was deflected.

Chu Tianshu hissed softly.

He knew that this type of dark-art creation was different from ordinary possessed evil spirits; it would not suddenly wither and die just because the host body died.

To collect the evil spirit material, he had to destroy this dark-art creation as well.

But the old thing was already dead, and yet this tattoo couldn't even be pierced?

Fortunately, soon after, a sparrow flew over the courtyard.

Before long, Shopkeeper Ma came running in, panting.

"Is it done?"

Shopkeeper Ma looked around and said, "That's good, let's leave quickly; the screaming here has already caused some people at the street corner to start watching."

"The children are being looked after by the Meng family..."

Chu Tianshu interrupted, asking: "Does Uncle Ma have any other magical tools?"

Shopkeeper Ma opened the box: "Only a jar of cinnabar talisman ink left."

Chu Tianshu's eyes lit up; he took it, poured it directly into his palm, crouched down, and slapped it onto the old eunuch's chest.

After striking seven or eight times, the dark, evil energy of the tattoo lost its master's control, and being passively beaten, it gradually dissipated.

A moment later, the jade coffin in the hall was also smashed to pieces by his hands, which were covered in cinnabar talisman ink.

Outside the mansion, the Town Magistrate had already arrived with Wang Fu and the other guards.

"What's going on? Why was there screaming in the old master's residence?"

The Town Magistrate looked at the townspeople, but no one else knew either. "Where is the militia? Didn't the militia patrol come this way?"

Wang Fu said: "I heard the militia say a few days ago that when Zhou Fuguan was here, he told the militia not to come near this place, as the old master had his own guards."

A townsperson said: "I think I just saw Factory Manager Meng and Shopkeeper Ma go inside."

Just as they were speaking, several old men walked out carrying a group of children.

There were also some older-looking children following timidly behind the crowd.

Wang Fu had sharp eyes and noticed that some of the children who could walk still had silver needles left in their bodies.

The Town Magistrate was completely confused, both shocked and anxious: "What on earth is going on here?"

Meng Lianfa was holding his own Xiao Bao with immense pity, holding a wooden board in his hand, and just as he was about to say something, he heard the sound of approaching horse hooves.

Everyone looked toward the road junction.

In the drizzle, they saw a tall horse galloping toward them.

The horse looked somewhat familiar, but the person sitting on its back was not a tall, thin man in military uniform, but an armored general.

His helmet was gleaming, with fire-cloud ear guards on both sides, an iron mask covering his face, and his body covered in dense layers of armor; one hand gripped the reins, while the other held a large saber over five feet long.

The Town Magistrate and the others were stunned for a moment.

Although it hadn't been many years since they entered the era of guns and artillery, they had never seen such a general in their entire lives.

It was as if a great general had galloped out of a play or out of history.

Wang Fu and the other guards raised their guard, shouting: "Who goes there?"

The horse let out a long neigh, and the general lifted his leg and jumped off, as agile as if that fifty-jin heavy armor didn't exist.

As his footsteps thudded onto the street, the vibration reminded everyone that the armor was definitely not just for show.

"It's me!"

The general lifted his mask, revealing Zhou Fuguan's face, and scanned the crowd.

For a fist artist who has mastered the Guanyin Bone, wearing heavy armor does more harm than good; for a fist artist who has mastered the Shi Wei Xian, wearing heavy armor is like carrying self-imposed shackles.

However, for a fist artist who has mastered the Dragon Coil, their entire body's strength is like a living dragon.

Heavy armor is not much of a burden to them; its weight and inertia can even become part of the living dragon's wild power, with benefits far outweighing the drawbacks.

Zhou Fuguan did not know the specific mysteries of the sparrow spirit, but he roughly knew the maximum range a sorcerer could reach when "using a spirit to borrow eyes."

Once beyond this range, he immediately had people put armor on him, galloped on horseback, and took a detour back to town.

He had thought he could come to clean up the mess, but now it seemed he was still a little late.

"Zhou Fuguan!"

Meng Lianfa shouted, tears streaming down his face.

"You've finally returned. A group of scoundrels and swindlers disguised themselves as a theater troupe, deceived the old master, committed illegal acts in secret, and kidnapped many families' children."

"Physician Chu and the others discovered the clues and rushed to rescue the old master and the children, but unexpectedly, the old master was unyielding; knowing he had been deceived, he fought those scoundrels to the death."

A shrewd person would immediately realize this story was wrong; it was like a convenient excuse left behind, just waiting to see if you were willing to fill in the gaps yourself.

For instance, the Town Magistrate, having already thought of something, quickly clamped his mouth shut, not daring to say another word.

Zhou Fuguan's face was as stiff as wood; his mouth twitched: "Such a thing happened? And Physician Chu and the others?"

"After this ordeal, Physician Chu and the others felt deeply the dangers of the world and decided to retire into the mountains."

Meng Lianfa handed over the wooden board in his hand.

Zhou Fuguan took it and looked; the handwriting on the board looked as if it had been written with a finger.

Brother Zhou, this younger brother went out into the world to train and encountered many twists and turns; having achieved some success, I have decided to return to the mountains for further study. When I have time in the future, I will certainly return to visit you all.

Until we meet again!

Zhou Fuguan asked again: "The three of them, retiring together?"

Did not even one or two of the three of them die?

Meng Lianfa faced the general's gaze calmly: "Yes, would Zhou Fuguan like to go into the mansion to see?"

Once you enter the mansion, you should be able to see that none of the three died.

Zhou Fuguan lowered his mask again so no one could see his expression; after a while, he whispered in a way that was hard to detect.

"Truly old veterans, both tough and ruthless."

The three who actually took action and were the real threats have escaped, and while the remaining little ants in town are slow-footed, but... so be it.

After a moment of silence, the general let out a loud, earth-shaking cry and walked toward the mansion.

"Old Master, I thought about it over and over, realized something was wrong, and rushed here, but you were still harmed by those scoundrels!!"

Three scoundrels who struck once and fled a thousand miles.

Old Master, believe me, I never expected them to be so wicked!

(End of Chapter)