Chapter 18: Chapter Nineteen

The police had already figured out Bai Lang's movements over this period, even visiting each of the tour group members who had joined him on the Japan trip, and of course the few people he had taught martial arts to in the park were also visited; even the video of Bai Lang practicing martial arts that someone had recorded on their phone was taken by the police.

Bai Lang didn't mind those people recording the video, because he never cared whether his kung fu would be stolen or spread, and he could never have imagined that just over a month later he would become a wanted criminal entangled in a homicide case. Moreover, those who watched his video and studied his materials were far more than just the police.

The gathered experts included specialists in human physiology and exercise science, as well as experts in Chinese martial arts; of course there were also practical combat specialists—mainly veterans from certain special units, and even professional fighters joined the video analysis. "According to the data we have collected so far, this initial video was obtained by us from the Japanese side through some special channels, namely the first time the target revealed his 'kung fu' in the footage captured by surveillance while he was saving someone."

The expert giving the commentary paused, let the video play to the end, then switched to footage filmed on a young person's phone. "The suspect—well, we'll still call him a suspect, after all he has five lives on his hands. His physical ability, including striking power and reaction speed, should have reached the limits of human capability, and in some aspects even exceeded what humans ought to be capable of—given his build, that's the case. According to tests, he killed ***....." The screen cut to the second victim's headshot and body image, "When he killed ***, the two palms—one shattered the entire ribcage, the other directly broke the collarbone and compressed and fractured the ribs."

At the same time the video switched again to a wildlife scene, showing a deer for some reason provoking a tiger drinking water—clearly the tiger was probably semi‑tamed, living in a zoo or wildlife park, not very wild, yet in the video the tiger, as if playing, effortlessly and nonchalantly used its forepaws to snap the deer's cervical vertebrae......

Everyone intuitively felt that the suspect Bai Lang was probably just like that—he had killed the second victim with extreme ease. Then the screen split in two: on one side Bai Lang was practicing his martial arts in a measured, steady way; an expert researching traditional Chinese martial arts whispered, "Sit on the Golden Throne!" In the picture, Bai Lang paused on one foot, brought his hands together in front of his dantian, his aura as stable as Mount Tai as he sank down, giving the impression that the whole video trembled slightly and then was pressed down.

Another screen showed photos of the third, fourth, and fifth victims, likewise giving the impression of a tiger effortlessly killing those deer or goats—easy, relaxed, natural. Even through the screen one could sense that aura of utter disregard for life, "Surely he bears a lethal weapon, and killing intent arises spontaneously." Someone remarked, and this was exactly the same as Bai Lang's own self‑assessment.

"Yeah, with this power that surpasses human limits—no matter how you say it, his killing blow is comparable to a tiger's; even a professional boxer couldn't generate such force. According to mechanics and autopsy conclusions, each strike exceeds one ton."

"Those few people whom the suspects had once 'taught,' we have also taken into custody and had them undergo recall and physical tests; the result is merely the level of ordinary martial arts enthusiasts—at present there is nothing exceeding the average." The police said likewise, "Just how did this person train to achieve this?" said the Chinese martial arts expert, while the professional athletes and special‑unit experts simply watched silently as Bai Lang practiced his martial arts on screen. His figure rose and fell, the 'Great Dragon'—his spine—undulating in tandem with his punches and kicks, as if a truly upright tiger were performing its forms.

"We'd also like to know, but we can't catch him, so there's nothing to talk about." Including the police experts, everyone sighed; Bai Lang's whereabouts were actually clear to all present—he must have gone over mountains and ridges, but nobody knows where he ended up. Scanning tens of thousands of square kilometers makes apprehension impossible.

As for the protagonist they were concerned about, Bai Lang is now rather miserable in the mountains. A map plus a wilderness compass can only be said to be of slight use at best; in most situations it leads to a dead end—because the compass sometimes fails when there are underground iron ore deposits, and even when there's no problem it can still fail, while Bai Lang's map‑reading skills are practically zero. Having left the normal highways where he could ask for directions and entered mountain towns, he quickly lost his sense of direction.

The maps in those atlases are only suitable as tourist or road maps; for someone truly in the wilderness they are of little use—many mountain contours and water flow directions aren't marked, and they're not topographic maps...... In fact, Bai Lang is lost; he can only say he is following the south indicated on the compass, but as to where exactly he is—sorry, it's completely impossible to determine.

All the way over mountains and ridges, relying on his martial arts he's basically fine; the only trouble is resting at night—he avoids making a fire, fearing that a possible helicopter overhead might spot him. The dried food and water he carries, if rationed, can last him a while. His physical fatigue is tolerable, but the mental exhaustion is truly unbearable.

At this point Bai Lang's clothing is still mostly intact, but his shoes are about to give out; the trek over mountains and rivers has proved that so‑called outdoor footwear is unreliable, and those few‑hundred‑dollar outdoor boots he bought are truly unreliable......

However, in the circulation of this internal force, the Golden Bell Shield technique has made progress; because he constantly directs his qi to different parts of the body to avoid injury while climbing, this method of qi regulation has become ever more proficient, gradually turning into an unconscious, spontaneous activation—with the mind following the intent, no special attention is needed, and the internal force naturally flows and erupts.

Likewise, the most dangerous Chinese giant hornet‑headed wasp, a yellow jacket widespread across Sichuan‑Tibet, cannot harm him either, and Bai Lang has also found a few wild beehives, trying to dig out some honey and such as high‑calorie food. "At least I have a compass, so I won't go around in circles in the mountains." Bai Lang said this cheerfully despite his hardship—to counter his mental fatigue he adopted the habit of speaking aloud to himself.

Indeed, that's the case; with a map and compass Bai Lang can at least guarantee he walks in a straight line, otherwise if he were to wander around in the mountains, even his martial arts might ultimately fail to save him.

Indeed, that's the case. With a map and compass, Bai Lang can at least guarantee he walks in a straight line; otherwise, if he were to wander around in the mountains, even his martial arts might ultimately get him killed.