Chapter 48: Lies
Doctor Mo landed gently on the spot where Han Li had originally stood. Without pause, he turned around to face Han Li. The proud look on his face was gone; instead, all that remained in Doctor Mo’s eyes was shock.
At this time, Han Li wasn’t doing very well either. He kept inhaling deeply while sweat collected on his forehead. Although his face was pale, his cheeks were flushed with a strange red color.
These were all signs that pointed towards one fact: the evasion technique that Han Li pulled to save his life had consumed most of his energy. It was highly probable that he would not be able to pull off the same trick the next time.
Taking a deep breath, Han Li tried to relax his body in order to relieve his muscles’ strains from using Shifting Smoke Steps. All he could do now was to make the most of any time to recover so that he would have a better chance of winning in the next exchange.
Han Li glanced down again at his left hand, which was still slightly shaking. There was no way he could use his numb left hand to wield his short sword. It seemed that all the hard work he spent training himself to wield the short sword with his left hand was all for naught. He could only count on his right hand for the rest of the fight.
When he thought about it, he smile bitterly to himself. He lost most of his energy and couldn’t use the marvelous Shifting Smoking Steps anymore. Even worse, he could only use one hand to fight. Since the situation couldn’t get any worse, he decided to use his trump card.
Han Li looked at the sun outside the house, estimated its position, and thought that it was a good time to execute his next technique.
He peeked again at the short sword stuck in the wall, and knew that it was impossible for him to get back his weapon. Doctor Mo wouldn’t let him just go and take it back.
Han Li mumbled for a little bit and pulled out another weapon from his bag. This one was also a half-foot short sword with a scabbard, but since it was too short, it was more fitting to call it a dagger instead of a sword. When pulled out of its scabbard, it looked like a normal dagger with an abnormally thick blade that had been polished and sharpened.
Han Li threw the scabbard aside and switched the dagger to his right hand. He extended his right arm, pointing the dagger at Doctor Mo in an offensive stance.
Doctor Mo saw what Han Li was doing, but he didn’t hurry to attack. He put both of his hands on his back and spoke softly with a kind face:
“Han Li, you surprised me when you repeatedly dodged my attacks, but do you think your luck will last forever? The movement technique you used just now was quite good, but it has its own limitations. Judging by your physical strength, it’s impossible for you to pull it off again. Just surrender like you should have in the beginning. You should be able to see by now that I have no intention to seriously hurt you. Just listen to me, maybe it won’t be as bad as you thought.”
Doctor Mo’s change of attitude made Han Li have goosebumps all over his body. He had changed from a gentle teacher to a cold-hearted and unfeeling figure. Now, he was using meaningful and heartfelt words to try to convince Han Li to surrender– Han Li didn’t know what to say. Doctor Mo actually thought Han Li would be that stupid and fall for this obvious lie?
However, his words caused Han Li to gain some confidence. Doctor Mo wouldn’t have used this childish trick to fool Han Li if he wasn’t growing desperate.
Han Li thought seriously for a while. He then signed and shook his head. Without a word, he waved his dagger at Doctor Mo and showed him his refusal.
Doctor Mo’s veins on his forehead suddenly bulged. Seeing Han Li ignore his words and use his weapon to provoke him, Doctor Mo couldn’t suppress his anger any longer.
“You don’t know what’s good for you!”
He quickly took a big step forward and ferociously said, “So close yet so far apart.”
Suddenly, Doctor Mo’s body nimbly moved to a spot only a few steps from Han Li, as if he were capable of shrinking space, a feat that evoked extreme fear in those who had witnessed this technique before.
Han Li, too, had a look of extreme shock displayed on his face. He swiftly retreated two steps backwards, increasing the distance between him and Doctor Mo, before brandishing his dagger horizontally in front of his body. The blade weaved a dance of cold light in the air, blocking Doctor Mo’s path forward as if Han Li had forgotten the previous suffering he had faced after clashing directly with Doctor Mo.
Doctor Mo coldly laughed. Of course he would not remind his opponent. He separated his palms and attacked Han Li from two directions, completely disregarding the dagger’s strange dance.
As the two silvery hands approached the rays of light emitted from the dagger’s dance, a bright laughter floated out, akin to what a hunter would do as he watches his prey step into a trap that was prepared beforehand. It was a laugh filled with immense satisfaction.
The laughter dulled Doctor Mo’s reactions and made his heart slightly tremble. As he slowed down his attacks, he heart a cold voice saying:
“You have completely fallen for my trap. Look at the dagger in my hand!”
After hearing this, Doctor Mo involuntarily shifted his gaze over, only to see that the dagger had stopped its dance. In place of it, Han Li made a strange stance. He arched the upper half of his body and moved the sword down to his waist. The lower half of his body was stretched tightly like a nocked bowstring. His overall posture was similar to an arrow that was about to be shot from a bow.
Other than emitting rays of green light, there wasn’t anything else strange about the dagger in Han Li’s hand. This caused Doctor Mo to be astonished. Could it be that Han Li adopted such a weird posture just to distract him?
Thinking of this, glee blossomed in his heart. Doctor Mo wanted to sneer at Han Li, only to find Han Li rushing forward like an arrow of incomparable sharpness. Shooting forward like a bullet, Han Li’s advance caused Doctor Mo’s expression to change.
Hurriedly, Doctor Mo once again joined his separated palms together, intending to use his palms to suppress the edge of his opponent’s blade. Strangely, the dagger only slightly wavered and somehow transformed into more than ten daggers that waved around in the air before piercing towards Doctor Mo from different directions.
Doctor Mo loudly snorted. In his heart, his evaluation of Han Li dropped by a few degrees. In front of an expert such as him, Han Li actually chose to use such an ordinary technique? Wasn’t that equivalent to seeking death? Doctor Mo could tell with a single glance where the body of the true dagger was.
As such, he squinted his eyes, targeting the position of the true blade. He increased his attack speed with the intention to crush the real dagger into pieces, causing Han Li to lose a weapon.
