137 A Slap in the Face
Translator: ASB | Editor: Tonicquill /EndlessFantasy Translation
Jiang Fei was not the only one who was surprised. Nekoda was even more surprised. These emotions of surprise came from opposite ends of the spectrum. Pleasant, and unpleasant.
His sword had clearly struck the boy’s arm with full force. For some reason, not only was he unharmed, his treasured sword had also recoiled, as if he had just struck solid granite. Am I imagining things, or is this kid playing with black magic?
“F*ck you! Slash me again if you dare!”
Jiang Fei quickly found confidence in his invulnerability. He grabbed Nekoda by the collar and began to slap him really hard!
*Slap slap slap slap slap*
It did not take long for the ninja to turn limp.
Jiang Fei never stood a chance against one as competent as Nekoda. However, after that strange turn of events, any expert would be too startled to react accordingly.
As a result, when Nekoda was puzzled and lost focus, Jiang Fei managed to grab him. Jiang Fei had grown strong indeed, with his cheat source of power. A dozen of slaps later, Nekoda was disfigured!
“Baka!” Nekoda stirred to life again. He used his sword and thrust it right at Jiang Fei’s heart. Jiang Fei’s arm may be… Odd, but surely his heart was still flesh and blood, right?
*Ding*
It did not even make it past his skin.
“I’m taking that!” Jiang Fei reached out and grabbed the blade of the sword and started wrestling it away from the ninja.
“Mmm!” Of course, the ninja was not willing to relinquish his weapon without a fight.
“I. AM. TAKING. IT!”
Jiang Fei gave the sword a mighty tug.
“Fine! Have it!”
Nekoda quickly released the sword. He was not willing to expend energy in a pointless contest of strength. Jiang Fei was only grabbing the sword with one hand, but ninjas were only known for their speed.
Now, Nekoda was in big trouble. He had originally come to assassinate Jiang Fei. Now, Jiang Fei was grabbing Nekoda’s shirt collar with his left hand and he held the shiny, sharp sword with his right hand. The assassin was now the would-be assassinated.
*Clap clap clap clap*
As Jiang Fei hesitantly held the sword in his hand, he heard the sound of someone clapping from behind.
“You’re pretty skilled, young man!”
An old man leaped down the wall. He was dressed in a black tangzhuang[1] and a pair of cloth slippers.
“Err…”
Jiang Fei was too surprised to respond. As things were, he looked like he was committing armed robbery. If this old man reported it to the police, he would never be able to explain himself.
“Hoho, don’t be afraid, young man. We’re on the same side!” The old man smiled at Jiang Fei. Then, he pointed at the ninja and said to Jiang Fei, “If you kill him, you’ll be in trouble. Can you hand him over to me? I can promise you that Japanese who attack others on Chinese soil would never get out of here alive!”
“Oh? You want him? Take him then! But I wanna know who sent him!”
He had to somehow get rid of this ninja. If he killed someone as a student, his heart might never recover.
“Don’t worry, they always end up talking!”
The old man smiled and walked to the front of the ninja.
“Mmm!” As soon as Nekoda saw the old man approaching him, his eyes glowed with a hint of recognition. Eyes wide in terror, he attempted to bite open the poison sac placed in between his teeth!
“Hehe! Japanese, trying to pull this trick in front of me? You’re way too green!”
The old man’s hands were as quick as lightning. As he talked, he grabbed Nekoda’s jaw tightly. While grinning, he started plucking out Nekoda’s teeth, one by one!
Having your teeth plucked out without any anesthetic was unpleasant, to say the least. Teeth were packed with nerves. Nakoda started screaming and flailing about that Jiang Fei was terrified.
“What the f*ck…”
Jiang Fei had to take a few steps back. Who the heck was this sadistic, cruel, old man?
“Young man, don’t think I’m cruel. These Japanese are all twisted. They hide poison in their teeth. Even if you get the poison out, they will attempt suicide by biting their tongues. So, it’s better if these are dealt with in advance, or they’ll commit suicide during interrogation!” The old man explained to Jiang Fei.
“Oh! Go ahead, then! I’ll get going!”
Jiang Fei was far from convinced. He did not intend to spend a second longer in the presence of this old man.
“Alright!”
The old man nodded in acknowledgment. However, when Jiang Fei finally turned around, the old man said, “Kid, when you go back, tell your master to not just teach you external martial arts[2] like Iron Shirt[3]. Learn a few more techniques. You only caught this Japanese off guard by luck. A more experienced warrior might have reacted in time and gouged out your eyes. It would have been over for you!”
“Okay!” Jiang Fei agreed flippantly.
He was no longer interested to know who wanted him dead. Anyway, he had more or less figured it out already. He just wanted to get away from this old freak.
As Jiang Fei started to leave, the old man continued with his work. Nekoda cried and screamed. This was not a no-man’s land. People would be attracted here very soon, so the old man just casually tapped Nekoda’s body twice. The ninja fell to the ground, limp.
After that, the old man carried Nekoda on his shoulders and bent his knees slightly. Then, he took a huge bound and ended up on top of the wall.
“Kid, you best get out of here. The police will probably be here soon. I’ll bring this guy back and see what I can dig out of him. We’ll inform you when we have news!” the old man turned around and said to Jiang Fei.
“Oh! Doesn’t matter to me either way!” Jiang Fei shook his head. He had only offended one Japanese. He could already guess the culprit behind this attempt on his life. Moreover, this old man was a twisted old freak who plucked people’s teeth out with his bare hands! Jiang Fei wanted nothing to do with him again, ever.
“By the way, who is your master? You have mastered Iron Shirt pretty well at such a young age. Your master should be well known in these parts?”
“My master is Zhuge Shanzhen, a respected Taoist monk from Qian Kun Temple, on the Yunfeng Mountain!”
Jiang Fei had just completely made something up. If there was a Yunfeng Mountain and a Qian Kun Temple, so be it!
“Oh? Even though I can’t say that I’m well-informed, I’m friends with many martial artists. I never thought that the world would still hold such mysteries. Kid! Pass a message to your master for me, when I have time, I’d like to have a chat with him and have an exchange of views!”
“Shit…” Jiang Fei grimaced. He got too carried away with lying…
“Okay! You shouldn’t stay here for too long! Get out of here, quickly!” As soon as his voice fell, the old man jumped off the high wall and disappeared.
“You can look for whoever you want to have an exchange of views, I don’t care! I’m going home!” Jiang Fei muttered. He did not take the old man’s words to heart. Since the old man did not know Jiang Fei’s name or details, how was this old man going to find him again?
ASBTRANSLATOR
[1] A tangzhuang is a kind of pseudo-traditional Chinese jacket with a straight collar. It is an updated form of the Qing magua, itself a more fashionable adaptation of the riding jacket once worn by Manchu horsemen.
[2] The external martial arts, such as kung fu, boxing, karate, and taekwondo, generate powerful movements from tense, muscles and use muscular strength, bursts of physical tension, growls and sometimes overt aggression that is often catalyzed by the release of adrenaline.
[3] Iron Shirt (铁衫) is a form of hard style martial art exercise believed to help protect the human body from impacts in a fight. This is one of the 72 arts of the Shaolin Temple. Some martial arts are based on the belief that a correctly trained body can withstand more damage than one that is untrained. Iron Shirt is said to be a series of exercises using many post stances, herbs, qigong, and body movements to cause the body’s natural energy (qi) to reinforce its structural strength. Practitioners believe that directing energy to parts of the body can reinforce these parts of the body to take blows against them. In the Shaolin version of Iron Shirt, the practitioner would do things such as lying on a stump or supporting tablets of granite on the chest with the goal of toughening the body