Chapter 143: Playing Dumb

An Shen Ziyang called out to his father, but seeing the middle-aged man still had no reaction, he turned his head to look at Li Miao.

"Sir, if you have a grudge against my father, my An family is willing to offer up all our assets to resolve the enmity."

"But, if you insist on crossing swords, I, An Shen Ziyang, am not made of mud!"

An Shen Ziyang said in a clear, loud voice, shielding the middle-aged man behind him.

Afterward, his hand quietly gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, his eyes fixed on Li Miao, putting on a show of being on guard against him. His footsteps, however, shifted slightly, bringing the middle-aged man into his own range of attack.

He was clever, and very good at playing dumb.

The Quanzhou An family was somewhat well-known throughout the martial arts world of the Huguang region. They were considered a standout among the wealthy households and martial arts families that had risen to prominence in recent years. There were only two people in the household: the head of the family, An Wenjie, and the young master, An Shen Ziyang. Their vast family business had been built by the hands of this father and son.

Compared to his father's good reputation, An Shen Ziyang's reputation was not pleasant to hear.

His martial arts world nickname was "Young Master Lingxu," but behind his back, people in the martial arts world called him "Young Master Kidney-Deficient." Because he was too fond of "that business," out of three hundred and sixty days in a year, he spent two hundred and fifty of them soaking in brothels. If he wasn't going to whore, he was on the way to whore; he was a notorious playboy. People in the martial arts world all said the An family would sooner or later be ruined by his hands.

It was just that the people in the Ordinary Ordinary Ordinary Jianghu did not know that his lingering in flower fields was half because he really liked that sort of thing, and half to cover eyes and ears.

Of the An father and son, the father, An Wenjie, was the face, while An Shen Ziyang was the one who did the dirty work.

In fact, if one thought about it carefully, one would know that the An family had only risen to prominence in recent years, and the father and son had started from scratch. An Shen Ziyang had been walking the Ordinary Ordinary Ordinary Jianghu with his father since he was twelve, walking all the way to today; how could he possibly be a simple character?

After what happened last night, he already knew to what extent the Ming Sect's disguise technique could go.

In an instant, many guesses had already emerged in his heart.

"That top-tier disguise of the Ming Sect just happened to be run into by me; is it really a coincidence?"

"Or... in order to cover eyes and ears, did they deliberately drag me outside, sneak into my house, and replace everyone in my family one by one?"

"Father... is he really still my father?"

With his thoughts racing, An Shen Ziyang's heart slowly sank to the bottom.

Whether it was the Ming Sect or this man before him with a lazy demeanor and heroic appearance, both were people he could not deal with.

How could he carve out a life for himself and his father between these two fierce tigers?

"Father, I will hold him off first; your Wu Gong is not as good as mine, so leave first."

"Remember to take 'that thing' with you."

An Shen Ziyang said without looking back.

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment and said, "Good, you be careful, do not be reckless."

Having said that, he was about to slowly retreat backward.

Clang!! —

In an instant, An Shen Ziyang drew his sword from its sheath and slashed directly at the middle-aged man's neck!

What kind of bullshit "that thing"! My An family has never had any "that thing"!

Even if your Ming Sect has probed the foundation of my An family thoroughly, you wouldn't dare say you understand it completely! As long as I speak vaguely about something that seems like it shouldn't see the light of day, you would agree to it first because you wouldn't dare be sure it doesn't exist!

You are a fake!!!

This sword strike was unexpected, and in the blink of an eye, it had already reached the middle-aged man's face.

The middle-aged man suddenly raised his hand, and a "Great Nine Heavens Palm" was struck out in mid-air, intending to smash An Shen Ziyang and his sword to pieces!

Whoosh! —

Clink!

The long sword flew out and stuck into the ground, humming incessantly.

And An Shen Ziyang had already retreated behind Li Miao, his face pale and gasping for breath.

"You, you motherfucking Ming Sect... this young master almost died."

"Aren't you awesome!? Try again with this gentleman here!"

Hiding behind Li Miao, An Shen Ziyang shouted while panting, and then looked at Li Miao with fawning eyes.

"Sir, I'm no match for him! You take him down!"

And Li Miao looked at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"This kid is a wonderful person!"

Taking advantage of that feint with the sword, the moment the sword body blocked the middle-aged man's line of sight, An Shen Ziyang suddenly let go and retreated, hiding behind Li Miao.

Upon knowing that his father had already been replaced and his life or death was unknown, he not only did not act impulsively, but in the blink of an eye, he suppressed his anger and terror, finding the only path to survival for himself.

This bit of cleverness, and this shameless, calm-in-the-face-of-danger temperament—he was truly a good seedling.

Li Miao was just lacking such a person under his command.

Someone who could knead Mei Mei Mei Qinghe, Wang Hai, and Li Xiaosi—three killers who were either blunt, ruthless, or sinister—together, smooth things over, and clean up the mess.

Thinking of this, Li Miao pointed behind him: "You hide further away."

"Yes, yes, understood."

An Shen Ziyang nodded and bowed, and with a flash, he hid far away.

Li Miao turned his head to look at the middle-aged man, looked him up and down, but frowned.

"Ji Ji Ji Tianrui ran away?"

"Sir—"

"Enough, enough, stop pretending. I've already come to your door, do you still think you can muddle through?"

Li Miao waved his hand.

"Your Ming Sect really has many tricks; you just caused a scene with witchcraft, and now another disguise has popped up. Your cultivation method is even more brilliant than that top-tier one; even I can't tell if you are a man or a woman."

"However, it doesn't make a difference."

A trace of a grim smile appeared on Li Miao's face.

"When I mince you into meat paste, it won't matter if there's three inches of flesh missing."

Before the words had faded, Li Miao raised his hand into a claw and grabbed at the void.

"I want to see how many Heaven-and-Man Realm experts your Ming Sect has for me to kill."

The middle-aged man had been guarding against Li Miao with all his heart, and seeing Li Miao make a move, he immediately dodged to the side.

But he didn't expect that just as his figure moved a few inches, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen!

"Qin Na Hand! True Qi leaving the body to take form! This fast!?"

He was also someone who had fought his way through life and death, so he made a prompt decision, joined his palms into a blade, and directly cut off a large piece of flesh from his abdomen.

Splash—

Blood splattered, he had no reaction at all, and with a "Great Nine Heavens Palm" from his right palm, he struck toward Li Miao!

The momentum was grand, and the overflowing True Qi actually flipped up all the bluestone slabs in the vicinity!

This person was clearly also a "Sumeru" expert, exactly the same as Lan Lan Lechuan!

Li Miao sneered and shook off the flesh he had grabbed. Without dodging or avoiding, he walked forward and threw a punch.

Horizontal-Vertical Fist!

A punch swept across, like a great spear, and a series of loud noises exploded in mid-air!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Smoke and dust filled the air, obscuring the line of sight.

Bang!

The middle-aged man had no intention of rushing into the smoke and dust at all; he stomped his foot on the ground, and his whole body rose into the air, intending to fly onto the roof and escape.

Just as he left the ground, he heard a shrill wind sound from above his head.

"Did I let you leave? Get down!"

Li Miao had appeared above his head, not knowing when.

At this moment, a leg-axe strike was descending from mid-air, aimed directly at his shoulder!

The middle-aged man was in mid-air with nowhere to borrow force, so he could only raise his arms to protect his head and neck.

Boom!

The roof for several zhang around instantly collapsed!

With a loud bang, he was like a meteorite, piercing through the roof and smashing heavily onto the ground.

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, he struck the ground hard with his palms, and his figure suddenly shifted several feet horizontally.

Boom!

Li Miao stomped his foot on his original position, and in an instant, the ground of the entire room exploded. The ground was lifted several feet and then fell.

People in half of Quanzhou City felt the ground shake, thinking it was an earthquake.

The roof beams broke, and the entire house collapsed immediately.

In the courtyard, the middle-aged man raised both palms and struck continuously toward the ruins!

Great Nine Heavens Palm!

Great Nine Heavens Palm!

Great Nine Heavens Palm!

He beat the pile of ruins into a ball of flying smoke and dust.

He did not dare to get close; after being engaged in close quarters by Li Miao, there was only a dead end.

But he was a "Sumeru" expert, his True Qi was endless; right now, he only needed to open up the distance, a game of "attrition"!

He did not dare to stop for a moment, constantly striking toward that pile of ruins, only hoping to exhaust Li Miao a little.

Suddenly, he heard Li Miao's strange voice coming from behind him.

"Who are you hitting?"

His pupils shrank, and he turned around and struck a palm!

But he saw, in his line of sight, Li Miao's fist, infinitely magnified.

————————

At the same time, An Shen Ziyang had already taken advantage of the two fighting and having no time to care about him, quietly running out of several courtyards, cursing as he ran.

"Motherfucker, motherfucker, is this still a human!? Is this still the Great Ming!?"

"What kind of thing is this, can this also be called Wu Gong!? Then what have I practiced all these years, Five Animals Frolic!?"

"When immortals fight, mortals suffer!"

Running to a courtyard, An Shen Ziyang pulled open the gate, lifted a table, tore open the carpet, and pressed something on the ground.

Click-clack-clack...

The floor tiles moved, revealing a deep, dark passage.

An Shen Ziyang did not go in, but reached out and touched the edge of the dark passage mechanism, grabbing a strand of hair.

He straightened the strand of hair and looked at its length.

"Sure enough, the hair is broken. Someone other than me and my father has been inside this secret passage."

"No matter how miraculous that disguise technique is, not everyone can practice it, and it's impossible to replace everyone in the mansion completely. Other Ming Sect people must have a place to hide."

"In their haste, they definitely wouldn't kill my father immediately, but would keep him to interrogate him constantly, asking about various details, so they could do it without me discovering any flaws. If they wanted to imprison him to cover eyes and ears, there is no second place to think of other than here."

"And my father definitely wouldn't tell them everything, but would confess bit by bit to delay time. That person being bluffed by me proves he doesn't have the confidence that he has already interrogated my father clearly."

"The commotion over there is so loud, it's possible the Ming Sect people will prepare to kill him to silence him and then flee. The Ming Sect is an enemy, and that man with extremely high Wu Gong doesn't know his origin, so he might not be a friend. Life and death must still be held in one's own hands."

An Shen Ziyang raised his hand to tear off all the accessories on his body, then tore off a piece of his lapel, tore it into cloth strips, and tied all the clothes on his body tightly. Finally, he took off his shoes, stood barefoot on the ground, drew his sword, and slowly walked into the secret passage.

"Father, we two have been through wind and rain, don't you die in our own home without rhyme or reason."

"Hold on, son is coming to save you."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 160 =====