Chapter 625: [Surprise Attack] (Part 2) Extra chapter for Sky's dance and floating red

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Hu Xiaotian's body leaned back, using a standard bullet-dodging move from The Matrix to evade the opponent's shot; although he had only cultivated the basic internal energy of the Formless Divine Skill, his senses in every aspect had undergone a fundamental improvement, and with the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps taught by the old beggar—originally one of the most mysterious footwork techniques in the world—his reaction speed and agility had already placed him in the top tier.

Hu Xiaotian dodged that arrow, his steps not slowing; whoosh! Another cold arrow shot toward his chest. Hu Xiaotian's vision was sharp; he could actually see the arrow's trajectory, and even the minute energy fluctuations caused by the arrow rubbing against air in flight could not escape his perception. His steps shifted, the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps came into use naturally, and a sudden turn let him evade the arrow.

The two archers could hardly believe their eyes—this kid had no weapon, yet he could dodge their fiercely shot arrows at such close range.

The two nocked arrows again, but it was already too late; Hu Xiaotian closed the distance to one zhang, then his hidden weapons flew forth—whoosh! whoosh! —two tiles hurled straight at each of their heads.

Bows suit long-range attacks; in close combat they are useless. The two blocked the tiles with their longbows, but Hu Xiaotian seized the moment and charged forward like a tiger bursting from a gate. He had always used the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps to escape; today was the first time he used it to attack. In fact, when he had previously employed the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps against experts like Xu Mitian and Li Chang'an, these archers were obviously not their equals.

Hu Xiaotian's ghostly, agile footwork left the two dazzled; in an instant he had moved behind one of them. The Profound Ice Yin Wind Claw seized the opponent's throat, fingers contracting inward—crack! —a clear sound of breaking bone rang out, and Hu Xiaotian crushed the throat to powder in one grip.

The other archer panicked, reaching for the saber at his waist, but had only drawn it halfway when he saw Hu Xiaotian leap into the air, raise the arrow in his hand, a cold flash tracing an arc—puff! —the arrowhead pierced deep into the archer's right eye.

Hu Xiaotian snatched the saber from the opponent's hand and, with a backhand slash, cut the throat clean through; blood spurted like a fountain from the severed passage. In a life-and-death struggle there is no room for gloom—if you don't kill the enemy, the enemy will kill you.

The two archers hiding on the eastern ridge were shocked by the scene; Hu Xiaotian had disposed of their two companions in an instant. As the two recovered from their shock and adjusted their positions, they fired repeatedly at Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian grabbed an archer's corpse and held it before him; several arrows struck the body, their heads piercing through and emerging from the back. He pushed off with the balls of his feet and sprinted forward—whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! —arrows rained at him like a volley gun; missing, they thudded! thudded! thudded! into the ridge tiles, shattering them. The broken tiles slid down the sloping roof like rain, a terrifying sight.

Clang! Huo Shengnan thrust her short sword straight at the blade net before her; the sky-full of blade shadows vanished with that ring. Sword tip met the horseman's blade tip, their powerful inner energies like two surging, roaring torrents colliding, then spreading outward in waves, kicking up dust everywhere; even the tiles and debris falling from above were lifted by that force and flung upward.

At the point where blade met sword, a cold gleam flashed; the attacker's gray-brown pupils contracted sharply, his arm pulled back, the horseman's blade retreated a foot, then after gathering strength again he lunged at Huo Shengnan with unstoppable momentum.

Huo Shengnan used her sword as a shield to block the blade; the attacker bellowed, thrusting the horseman's blade forward with all his strength. Huo Shengnan's feet slid backward on the ground; suddenly she twisted her lithe body to the right, the blade slipping past her flank, and the attacker instantly shifted his technique—changing from a thrust to a cut, then a reverse cut aimed at her neck.

Huo Shengnan gripped the hilt, blade pointing down, again blocking the opponent's heavy, powerful strike; the distance between them had closed to within five feet. She clenched her left fist and punched forward; the opponent, both hands on his blade, had exhausted his move and could not retreat in time. Her punch struck his chest—bang! —sending him stumbling back three steps. Huo Shengnan followed like a shadow, arriving before him in a flash. The attacker hastily raised his horseman's blade to chop down again; Huo Shengnan blocked it with her short sword, then landed another punch on his right ribs. She heard the bones break—this blow had fractured at least three of his ribs.

After taking two punches, the attacker was flustered; Huo Shengnan then unleashed a storm-like assault, her sword light flashing like the Yangtze River surging forward. In an instant she had stabbed his arms and thighs several times; the attacker could no longer hold up and collapsed with a thud.

At that moment two miserable cries came from the roof—the remaining two archers had been defeated by Hu Xiaotian; he slew one on the spot and kicked the other off the roof. One cried out while flailing his limbs, crashing heavily onto the central street and knocking himself unconscious.

Huo Shengnan pressed her short sword to the attacker's throat; he stared at her, eyes nearly bursting, roaring like a beast, blood trickling from his teeth, his face grotesque and terrifying. She reversed her sword and struck his jaw with the hilt, knocking him out cold on the spot.

Hu Xiaotian also jumped down from above at this point, looking at the two unconscious assassins on the ground, and asked curiously, "Who are they?"

Huo Shengnan glanced at him; her eyes no longer held the earlier stranger's wariness, but instead held a hint of gratitude. Although they had only just met, seeing how Hu Xiaotian had risked himself to rescue her showed he was also a bold and capable person. She admired bravery above all, and said softly, "I wouldn't have guessed, but you're not bad."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I can't handle a big boss, but minions are no problem."

"Big boss?" Huo Shengnan asked curiously.

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Just a formidable character."

Huo Shengnan nodded, used her sword to lift the assassin's collar, and saw a blue wolf tattoo on his chest; from that she could tell his identity. "It's a Black Hu," she said. "I never expected them to infiltrate Yongdu and try to assassinate me."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Is it because you killed some Zha'erchi?"

Huo Shengnan replied, "Possibly that's the reason."

At that moment a urgent horse whinny came from afar; both felt alert, looked up, and saw a cavalry riding toward them—all girls, indeed Huo Shengnan's female troops.

Leading them was Huo Shengnan's deputy commander, Chang Hongzhu; they rode up to Huo Shengnan, dismounted, and Chang Hongzhu led the salute: "General Huo, we're late for the rendezvous—please forgive us."

Huo Shengnan asked, "How did you know I'd be here?"

Chang Hongzhu replied, "Just now we saw Black Wind running back to camp on its own, so we followed its trail—yet we didn't expect to still be a step late."

Huo Shengnan said, "It's not really late, and I'm fine anyway." She pointed at the two on the ground and ordered, "Take them back, clean up the battlefield, and keep this quiet for now—I'll decide after interrogating them myself."

"Yes!"

A neigh sounded—Black Wind, Huo Shengnan's mount, had come to her side; she patted its forehead affectionately and swung up onto its back.

A female soldier led over Hu Xiaotian's reddish-brown horse as well.

Huo Shengnan said, "Sir Hu, the South Wind Inn is not far ahead; we'll see you there."

Hu Xiaotian swung onto his horse, laughing, "I'll go back myself—after all, I have no enemies in Yongdu."

Huo Shengnan said, "Just because there's been no trouble before doesn't mean there won't be later—you helped me repel the Black Hu assassins today; they may have seen you, and they'll likely seek revenge."

Hu Xiaotian burst out laughing.

Huo Shengnan asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"If you're worried about revenge, I wouldn't have lifted a finger either." After that life-and-death battle fought side by side, the distance between Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan seemed to have suddenly shrunk considerably.

When Huo Shengnan first met Hu Xiaotian, she was still full of doubts; after he cured Empress Dowager Jiang with his unheard-of medical skill, her view shifted from suspicion to curiosity, but once she learned his true identity she began to doubt his motives. Although Da Yong and Dakang had not fought in recent years, their bones remained hostile; Da Yong grew stronger while Dakang waned, and this shift let the people of Da Yong see Dakang clearly, believing its court held no talent.

Hu Xiaotian's performance today has already changed Huo Shengnan's opinion of Dakang people—she never expected Dakang to still have many capable individuals.

Amid the escort of the female troops, Hu Xiaotian became a splash of red among green; before long they reached the South Wind Inn. Gao Yuan, standing at the door, stared at the scene, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground in shock.

Hu Xiaotian bowed his hands to Huo Shengnan and said, "General Huo, I live here—thank you all, ladies, for seeing me off."

Huo Shengnan glanced at the South Wind Inn's sign, nodded, and said, "Sir Hu, take care!"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "General Huo, take care!" After seeing Huo Shengnan and her female troops depart, he finally dismounted; Gao Yuan came up to meet him, Hu Xiaotian tossed the reins to him, and Gao Yuan asked, "Uncle, what's the situation?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "What kid has that much curiosity?"

Fourth update delivered—extra chapter for sky's dance and floating red, Alliance Chief V5! Zhangyu will keep striving! (The novel "Medical Unification" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, plus a 100% prize draw for everyone! Now open WeChat, tap the "+" in the top right to "Add Friends", search for the public account "qdread" and follow—hurry up!)(To be continued…~^~)

The fourth extra chapter is presented, Extra chapter for Sky's dance and floating red, Alliance leader V5! Zhangyu will continue to strive! (The novel Medical Unification will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there is also a 100% draw grand prize for everyone! Now open WeChat, click the '+' icon at the top right 'Add Friends', search for the public account 'qdread' and follow, hurry up!)(To be continued~^~)