Chapter 70. Burning

How many corpses could fit into that pit?

Because of this trap, Li Longjun did not combine forces with the Yunhui and did not flee somewhere like his subordinates.

When Li Longjun pressed the teacup again and twisted his wrist, the teacup spun with a clinking sound.

Then, with the sound of friction, various parts of the garden sank, and in some places, pillars rose.

It was as if the entire garden floor had turned into a Go board with black and white stones.

White was the place you could step on, and black was the pit that would cause a fall. The safe and unsafe spots were mixed chaotically. As soon as I saw it, I guessed that even the 'white stones' might be traps.

Only that guy would know which ones were safe to step on.

Li Longjun said, "This is just right. Let's see who's better now."

I took a step back and smiled slightly.

"Insane bastard, now I understand why you had less fame than the Great Monk."

Li Longjun looked at me.

"What good is fame?"

"You've been here for forty years, dropping people into pits. No one knew about you. You ate, drank tea, and slept on top of the corpses you killed. Now I understand why your face is so pale. Was the江湖 (jianghu) that scary?"

Li Longjun smiled.

"You're talking nonsense."

"I've seen many like you. Setting traps and being unable to escape from them, not hunting like a beast, not traveling the world to challenge the strong. You've spent your life rotting away, burying your subordinates, friends, and anyone who crossed you. Every time the pits open and close, the smell of decaying corpses shakes. It's a pity for the Great Monk."

"What's the point of a dead man?"

I looked around the mountain lodge.

"He probably studied this place to kill you. You didn't show any weakness, did you?"

Li Longjun laughed with a strange expression. His pale face made him look like a ghost laughing.

"You're right. The Great Monk didn't show any weakness to me either."

"You're of the same kind, then."

As I kept stepping back, Li Longjun showed his sparse teeth.

"Where are you running to?"

"I'm running because this place is disadvantageous. You're a cripple. Asking pointless questions."

Li Longjun extended his hand with a satisfied look.

"The exit is not that way."

I turned around and saw only vines where the path should have been. It seemed to be a simple illusion, but as Li Longjun said, there was no exit. If I had brought all my troops, more than half would have died here.

"You're an interesting old man. Did you learn formation techniques? Are you imitating the ancient Gui Guzi?"

"How does a young man know about Gui Guzi?"

I may look young, but I'm actually old.

I'm a child with a youthful face, a gift from heaven. I didn't say it out loud because it sounded too ridiculous.

Gui Guzi was a figure from the Warring States period, a hermit in the jianghu. To some jianghu people, he is the founder of mechanical and formation knowledge. His nickname comes from the Gui Gu Mountain Lodge where he lived in seclusion.

I know something about Gui Guzi that only I know.

The founder of the Golden Chicken Technique, Jixingzi, hates Gui Guzi the most.

Gui Guzi wrote a book called "Gui Guzi."

In the book, it says:

"Gain the trust of your opponent and maintain a close relationship.

Seize the weaknesses of the close opponent and prevent them from escaping."

At first glance, it seems like a way to deal with people, but in the strange mental world of jianghu people, it is not a way to deal with people but is in line with what Li Longjun is doing.

Of course, this old man is not a direct descendant of Gui Guzi.

Many in the jianghu are influenced by the actions, words, books, and thoughts of ancient people.

I revealed one of my secrets to Li Longjun.

"Hey, you're a piece of trash, a distant descendant of Gui Guzi. Unfortunately, one of my spiritual mentors hates those who hide like you."

Li Longjun replied.

"Is there such a person?"

"His name is Jixingzi. You might not have heard of him. Ignorant old bastard."

"Never heard of him."

"I'm telling you that I have learned a martial art he created to deal with people like you. When faced with the Three Caves of the Cunning Rabbit, deal with it mercilessly with the Three Pure Fires. How unlucky for you to be caught by someone like me. It's amazing."

A clever rabbit digs three caves.

Jixingzi said to burn all three caves.

So, the martial art he created is the Flame Chicken.

I smiled and prepared the Flame Incense on the left palm.

Li Longjun, sensing something ominous, hopped around like a rabbit, stepping on the white stones.

I pulled Li Longjun away from the table, gathered the Flame Incense, and moved around, checking the garden.

"During the preparation of the ultimate move, it's..."

"...the way of the jianghu to wait, right?" I didn't have time to finish the sentence. Li Longjun chased me with a snake-headed staff. Where did that weapon come from?

And it had a snake head.

A snake isn't scary by itself. But a jianghu person putting a snake head on a staff means they don't take me lightly.

In other words, the snake head on the staff has poison, so don't mess around.

So, it's wise to be careful.

I moved, stepping on places like stepping stones, and eventually drew out the Black Cat to strike Li Longjun's staff.

Clang!

But the staff and sword didn't clash as usual. There were pits in between.

I stepped on the white stones and prepared mentally. Sure enough, when I stepped on a seemingly normal white stone, a hidden weapon shot out, aiming precisely at me.

Whizz!

I deflected the hidden weapon with the Black Cat, and a staff flew at the back of my head. I tried to jump over a few white stones to land on flat ground, but my right foot sank.

It was a trap disguised as a white stone.

I shot a palm wind from the left palm to rise.

As Li Longjun waved his flowing robe, dozens of needles shot out from under my feet.

Old ginger is spicy...

I grabbed the robe with my left hand and swung it. The needles and the innocent robe fell into the pit together.

In your next life, find a good owner and be a dress for a date. Suddenly, a raging fire surged in my chest, and the Black Flame Chicken inside me stirred.

'You're done.'

I didn't have a specific plan.

'You're done in a bit.'

I remembered the positions of the white stones that were safe to step on. I'm not usually good at memorizing, but in a life-threatening situation, I can remember things incredibly well.

The human mind is mysterious; when you're in a bind, your memory improves.

I don't know why.

Although it was embarrassing to run from an old man, I fought with a calm mind to eliminate variables.

The pillars had already sunk three times, and hidden weapons had shot out twice. If Li Longjun, who knew the traps, forced me to a specific spot during the fight, it would be troublesome. So, I decided to take the hits first and move around.

After a while, I allowed him to track me and turned to face Li Longjun again. I had already figured out the traps around me.

Now, the next thing to be careful about is poison.

I was impressed by the old jianghu.

It seemed he had consistently practiced his weapon, as he wielded the heavy iron staff well. To be honest, even without fighting in this mountain lodge, I didn't think any of my subordinates could defeat Li Longjun.

I deliberately wrapped the Black Cat with the Flame Chicken and sent fire demons to various parts of the mountain lodge whenever Li Longjun dodged.

When you can't think of a specific strategy, you think:

'Somehow it will work out.'

As I started to burn the perimeter of the mountain lodge with the Three Pure Fires, Li Longjun couldn't hide his anxious expression.

"Are you trying to die together?"

I took advantage of the moment Li Longjun opened his mouth and swung the Black Cat fiercely. If the amount of internal energy I had infused into the Black Cat before was 50%, I increased it to 70% when Li Longjun opened his mouth. I still kept 30% as a reserve.

Even so, Li Longjun's staff became slower.

If I stood firm on one white stone and fought, Li Longjun would have no choice but to use his next technique.

It would probably be poison.

Forcing the opponent to use poison and being ready to counter it.

When Li Longjun judged that deflecting the Black Cat was difficult, he pressed something on the staff and swung it forward.

A green poisonous mist spread before my eyes.

At the same time, Li Longjun retreated to the table...

I extended my left palm and used the Absorption Technique to draw the poison in a mist form into a whirlwind.

Whoosh!

I wrapped the Black Cat with a wind technique and sent the compressed poison, like peeling an onion, toward the pit.

At the same time, as Li Longjun struck the table...

Surprisingly, large spikes shot out from all the pits and rose into the air.

Boom!

It was a technique to finish with a mechanism when trying to avoid the poison mist.

I looked at the spikes rising from all around, amazed, and muttered.

"Very vicious. I'll praise you."

Li Longjun, whose combination technique failed, had a dazed look for the first time.

"..."

I put the Black Cat back into its sheath in a normal way and then drew it out again like a lightning strike, releasing a sword aura.

Swoosh!

Startled, Li Longjun grabbed the staff with both hands and deflected the sword aura.

Boom!

I raised the Black Cat again and released a vertical sword aura. Li Longjun's old and pale face trembled violently each time he deflected my sword aura.

I raised the Black Cat again and said,

"Is it over? Nothing else? Think fast. You're about to die."

"Alright. Come over here."

"No way. From what I understand, this is the safest spot."

I released the sword aura again. I released it thirteen times in a row from the same spot, and Li Longjun blocked them all without a chance to turn around.

Occasionally, Li Longjun tried to get me to come over, to face him, and spewed insults and provocations, but I didn't hear any of it and kept swinging the sword.

On the seventeenth consecutive sword aura, Li Longjun finally lost his balance while holding the staff. I released the sword aura monotonously at the rising Li Longjun.

Plop!

Now, I could see the blood gushing out.

Plop!

This time, one of the hands holding the staff fell to the ground. Then his arm was cut off, and the other arm was also severed by the sword aura.

When Li Longjun, who had lost both arms, knelt down, I sent the sword aura to his knees.

Plop!

I watched Li Longjun's expression and put the Black Cat back, then wrapped my finger with the Flame Incense.

I focused on making the Three Pure Fires actually look like flames. I also compressed the Flame Chicken's energy to the maximum.

Li Longjun was saying something to me with a desperate look, but I was so focused that I couldn't hear it clearly.

I sent the flame I had completed at the tip of my finger to Li Longjun with the lightest possible movement. Then, I watched Li Longjun's expression change interestingly.

The expression of facing death must be like that.

The flame flew like a dancing dragon, wriggling and touching Li Longjun's body, which was trying to escape, and then rose vertically like a fire dragon ascending.

Whoosh!

I crossed my arms and watched the fire dragon's flame dance for a moment. The flames were truly beautiful.

I watched Li Longjun, who was enveloped in flames, and muttered softly.

"...Burning."