Chapter 32: The Wolf Pack (Part 3)

Li You's arrow shot straight through the head of a gray wolf; the tremendous force drove all the way to the arrow's tail and dragged the already leaping wolf body backward in mid-air.

It flew up high at once, then crashed heavily to the ground, blood gushing across its head; its body barely twitched before it went stiff and died.

"Bang... Whoosh... Whoosh..."

Li You didn't even look; after releasing the string, he immediately retrieved another arrow, nocked it, set the string, pushed the bow and drew the string, and released—all in one fluid motion—while at the same time a piercing wolf howl rang out!

Li You moved like a monkey, his center of gravity basically upright, yet his limbs agile and graceful; as he shifted swiftly, using the bowstring's rebound after his right hand released, his right hand naturally landed on the quiver on his back to draw an arrow.

He pushed the bow and drew the string, then released again; his right hand, aided by the rebound after release, landed once more on the arrow shaft protruding from the quiver behind him...

All of this flowed like clouds and water, as if he were the God of Archery.

He had already fired three arrows, killing two and wounding two.

Liu Longjin was no longer nervous; staring dumbfounded at Li You as he nocked another arrow, a surge of hot blood rose within him. He clearly saw that Li You's right hand, gripping the arrow, did not use the common fist grip but the Phoenix Eye grip; this grip stabilizes the arm but requires greater finger strength, arm strength, and back power.

"Full draw, another full draw! Xianggong Li, such great strength?"

Liu Longjin had watched with his own eyes as Li You, in an instant, drew the bowstring back to his ear; after releasing, the arrow shot out like a mad thing, aiming at several wolves over by Wa Qingyun's side!

To fire so rapidly without conserving strength would have left anyone else's arms limp as cloth, and even their feet would have become unsteady, since power originates from the feet.

"Pfft..."

The arrow, with the speed of lightning, plunged into the belly of a gray wolf; the arrow quickly sank in, the tremendous force flipping it over. The majority of the arrow shaft, now protruding like a blood-red viper, stabbed again into a gray wolf that had run up behind it, skewering both of them together...

"Oh my mother, two of them!"

Liu Longjin and Wa Qingyun exchanged glances; both had their mouths wide open and eyes bulging: Damn it, even novels and operas wouldn't dare write this!

Most importantly, Li You's body movements while shooting were perfectly seamless; it looked less like archery and more like dancing, stirring the blood of onlookers and filling them with awe.

"Bang..."

In the instant they exchanged glances, Li You fired his final arrow, this one aimed at another wolf king mingling at the rear of the pack. Seeing Li You aim at it, the wolf king ran sideways, hiding behind two gray wolves on its right.

The wolf pack was now only a little over ten paces away; Li You, disregarding everything and knowing this was his last arrow, suddenly exerted force. Power rose from his feet, transmitted upward through his erector spinae core; the bowstring was drawn full once more, and he immediately released...

"Whoosh!"

This iron-boned, sharp-coned armor-piercing arrow plunged directly into the lower back of a gray wolf; it must have grazed a wolf bone. Although it still pierced through, it only lodged in the front belly of the wolf king behind it, not very deeply.

The wolf king let out a shriek; in pain, it jumped and thrashed wildly. The blood-soaked heavy arrow tilted downward; only because the arrow had a barb did it hang in the flesh without falling completely off, while fresh blood gushed out along the arrow's groove...

"You two stay right here and guard the children... If they come to harm again, don't blame me for turning ruthless; consider this a military order!"

After releasing the string, Li You tossed aside the Dragon Spine Bow; with a "clang," the Miao Dao in his hand drew from its sheath, and his figure leaped forward, leaving only those words drifting on the wind...

He had to charge out; otherwise, three people could not protect so many children. The wolf pack's assault was not yet dispersed enough; if he went up, he could block most of the gray wolves.

Moreover, the hot blood surging in his body urgently needed him to vent it through reckless close-quarters combat.

He charged straight at the wolf king with the arrow lodged in it. Although the wolf pack still wanted to attack fiercely, the successive agonized cries of their companions had already startled them, leaving only eight gray wolves.

In the instant Li You charged out, they actually slowed by half a beat. The wolf king with the arrow lodged in it let out a howl, and the pack, no longer hesitating, accelerated and closed in.

The first two black shadows to rush forward flashed; two vicious wolves leaped up one after another, and like lightning, they lunged through the air to bite Li You's neck.

"Come on!"

A low growl rose in his throat; the one-foot-two-inch handle allowed Li You to grip it firmly with both hands. The three-foot-nine-inch blade (1.63 meters) bristled with cold light, especially the ghostly-white steel edge, which resembled a gigantic, blood-filled maw...

Li You brought the handle to his lips and aligned his eyes with the blade's tip; it was as if the blade became infinitely large and his entire body hid behind the handle. Thus, wherever the tip went, his body followed. Chop, scrape, cut, lift, flick, push, thrust, stab—the blade moved with the human body like a shadow. This is what "man and sword as one" means, nothing more.

After advancing further into the Iaijutsu stance, his right foot swept outward a small half-step. Originally, the blade's spine was pressed tight against the outer side of his thigh; in that instant, he suddenly slashed diagonally upward from left to right, first cleaving the gray wolf that had rushed his left flank in mid-air into two halves!

Then his left foot, which had remained motionless, quickly stepped out in a scissor-like motion. At the same time, his hands gripping the handle rapidly changed their grip, becoming right-hand-high and left-hand-low. With the blade's posture halted above and to the right front, using his right hand in front of the handle as a pivot point,

he suddenly slashed downward again at the gray wolf lunging from behind. The three-foot-nine-inch blade, about the same size as the gray wolf, with this downward chop, possessed tremendous momentum and weight, splitting the wolf's head cleanly in two and lodging it in the ribcage.

Li You had long prepared for the blade getting stuck; he raised his left foot, kicked the wolf's front belly, and quickly withdrew the blade. Then, as his left foot and hand moved, he landed to the left front, his right foot hovering lightly. Responding to the sudden attack, he prepared to flick the blade upward, ensuring he could immediately slash downward again, forming a simple and clean circular blade technique.

But the problem was that his ruthless methods in this flash of lightning were simply too fast; they were so fast that afterimages seemed to appear.

Not only did this stun Wa and Liu, the two behind him once again, but more importantly, the rain of blood splashing through the air stunned the wolf pack.

Although the wolf pack closed in, most were still five or six paces away; whoever his blade tip pointed at quickly moved aside.

"The wolf pack has lost its momentum!"

Wa Qingyun also noticed the wolf pack's hesitation and immediately grew excited.

"Tsk tsk... Xianggong Li is truly Xiang Yu reborn. One of those two was cut in half at the waist, the other at the neck... And as for his sword technique, I dare say it is the Xin You Sword Technique of Yuan Fei and Yuan Hui from the Border Army."

Liu Longjin stated with absolute conviction. He had seen Niu Jinku practice the sword; his technique was much like Li You's—simple, brutal, fierce, and savage, with none of the flashy tricks of street acrobatics. Every strike aimed to kill; it was purely a technique for murder.

Behind the two of them, a group of children finally regained some composure. The little girls still covered their eyes from time to time in fright, especially Little Orange, who did so every time she saw a wolf pounce on Li You. The boys, however, watched with boiling blood, their faces flushed red, their small mouths forming little "O" shapes.

Especially Hei Liuzi and Yu Zhengchun; both clenched their small fists, their eyes fixed on Li You's upright figure, which shone brilliantly.

"They're not charging? Then I'll charge!"