Chapter 18. Bone Shrinking - Jiaoling

Chun Guiyin laughed and once again unleashed his golden saber and short sword.

At the moment the short sword pierced his side, Hou Gong swung his sleeve to push it away. At the same time, he turned and grabbed Chun Guiyin's back, brushing past his body.

Thud!

With a hand seal, Hou Gong struck near Chun Guiyin's spine and then let go. The position was a pressure point, but he didn't actually press it. It was merely to heighten his vigilance, a way to convey his full strength.

"Ah!"

Startled, Chun Guiyin hastily turned and adjusted his stance.

He had never imagined that he would expose his back so completely, and his eyes were filled with shock.

His hand almost touched the Dazhui point on his spine in a nearly defenseless state.

Perhaps it was because there was no true qi, the point wasn't pressed. Fortunately, there were no symptoms in the pressure point. But he wasn't completely foolish.

Even if he could somehow escape, he couldn't accidentally turn around. Moreover, he hadn't even touched the collar. Without the subtlety of footwork, it was impossible.

Suddenly, Fan Yun's words came to Chun Guiyin's mind.

He said that the Young Master was learning martial arts.

At the time, Chun Guiyin had dismissed it as nonsense after watching the Young Master's cudgels.

But...

'Only the one who experiences it firsthand can understand.'

It was hard to guess how much skill difference was needed. The hesitant movements he had shown earlier were not clumsy. His back felt cold.

"Great Young Master, it's difficult to make you commit suicide. Instead, let's pretend you were murdered."

"Right, now you understand my meaning. There are forty-two moves left. Let's warm up a bit."

Swish!

Chun Guiyin threw the short sword at Hou Gong's forehead and simultaneously unleashed a palm strike. The smile on his face disappeared, and he unleashed his Six Yang Palm as if facing a formidable opponent.

The palm strikes poured out, making it seem as if the surroundings were covered by his hand shadows.

This was the attack Hou Gong had been waiting for.

Because it was quite fierce, his steps, which had been more frequent, became even busier, and he had to occasionally release his hands from behind his back.

After about twenty moves, Chun Guiyin's face turned yellow. He couldn't understand the current situation. Despite doing his best, the Great Young Master's movements were almost like a stroll.

Just a while ago, the Great Young Master had struggled to tear his legs, yet he now disappeared from the shadows of the Six Yang Palm. He retreated, leaned back, took a half-step, and then another step, always appearing in a completely different place.

His movements were concise, with no unnecessary actions, and his evasion path was extremely short. Shockingly, the distance between them, which had been less than half a zhang (1.5 meters), had never changed. Even now, the distance was the same, but Chun Guiyin felt a sense of hopelessness, as if he could never reach him.

As Chun Guiyin's frustration deepened, a change occurred.

"Alright, now that it's fifty moves, let's see you roll."

Hou Gong extended his right hand and lunged at Chun Guiyin.

Swish.

He brushed past Chun Guiyin and struck his waist with a hand seal. When Chun Guiyin tried to shake him off with a palm strike, Hou Gong had already changed position.

Then, he continuously brushed past his shoulder and the bicep pressure points.

"What are you doing!"

Chun Guiyin roared.

It was a cry of confusion.

The points where the Great Young Master's hand touched were Jianyu and Xiabai pressure points.

He then struck the Chize point on the elbow.

Continuing, he tapped the lower abdomen, wrist, and chest, and then smoothly retreated, placing his hands behind his back as if nothing had happened.

Chun Guiyin also stopped.

His face was already red with shame, beyond pale.

He hadn't touched a single hair, yet the Great Young Master had struck seven different pressure points as if mocking him and retreated with ease. During this time, he had been unable to respond at all.

The meaning was clear.

It meant that he could kill him whenever he wanted, and it was a real possibility.

"Great Young Master... What's going on?"

The skill gap was stark. Chun Guiyin admitted it.

But despite his admission, he couldn't suppress his anger. He growled, trying to control his rage.

"Why did you only tap seven different pressure points instead of striking the death points? Does this mean you want something from me?"

"..."

"Do you want me to side with you?"

Hou Gong smiled.

"You have a talent for making people laugh. Me, someone like you? Stop talking nonsense and roll and shrink."

"Roll and shrink?"

Chun Guiyin frowned, unable to understand.

'Does this mean he'll consider it after I do this?'

Does this mean he needs to do this to forgive him? But while rolling made sense, he had no idea how to shrink.

While he was pondering, something unexpected happened.

His neck suddenly bent.

It bent to the point where his ear almost touched his right shoulder.

"Choke!"

Chun Guiyin's eyes widened.

His neck bent involuntarily, not by his will.

Trying to straighten it, he found he couldn't control it.

Next, his arms moved.

Crack, crack.

Both arms began to twist. Not only that, his wrists bent, and his elbows twisted, making continuous cracking sounds. With his neck turned to the side, Chun Guiyin had to watch his body. His arms and wrists moved involuntarily.

Crack, crack.

This time, it was his legs. They twisted and bent, causing him to fall, and even after falling, his entire body continued to twist and shrink. His left arm moved on its own, twisting behind his back and curling up. Moving involuntarily, his shoulder dislocated, and his wrist broke.

Crack, crack!

"Ugh... ugh..."

His wrist finally broke, and the joints in his wrist twisted and shattered. His right leg twisted in an impossible way, making continuous cracking sounds, and his left foot crawled up toward his face, moving on its own.

In the midst of this, his face was not spared.

One side of his mouth twisted up, revealing his gums, and the other cheekbone protruded, almost piercing through the skin.

"Ugh... ugh..."

As multiple bones broke and some shattered, Chun Guiyin lay curled up, twitching. He couldn't control his body, which continued to move on its own. Every time it seemed to pause, it would crack and twist again, shrinking, and each time, he could barely breathe, let alone groan.

'Shrink... this is what it means...'

By the time Chun Guiyin understood, his body had twisted and shrunk to about two-thirds of its original size.

Hou Gong clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Tsk, tsk, you should have known better than to be arrogant. What a disaster. Do you know who I am?"

"Ugh... ugh... Great Young Master..."

Hou Gong extended his hand at Chun Guiyin's desperate plea for his life.

"Quiet."

Snap!

He pressed an acupoint to stop the groaning. Now, only the cracking of bones could be heard.

Hou Gong frowned, looking toward the door.

Someone was approaching.

'Who is it? Hmm, two?'

He soon realized it was two people.

As they got closer, a smile appeared on Hou Gong's face. He left Chun Guiyin as he was and opened the door, shouting.

"Yun, Bu Meng, come here."

Yun and Bu Meng, who had been whistling and walking leisurely, ran over with wide smiles.

"Ha ha, Brother! How did you know we were coming?"

"Big Brother, did you wait for us?"

But as they entered, they both took a step back in shock.

"Brother... What is this?"

"Monster... Why is there a monster..."

Chun Guiyin was already unrecognizable, still twitching and bones breaking, so it was natural that Yun and Bu Meng didn't recognize him.

"It's Chun Guiyin."

"What? Chun Guiyin, the head of the guard? What...?"

Yun blinked in disbelief, but Bu Meng thought Big Brother wouldn't lie.

"Big Brother... Is this it?"

"Huh?"

Hou Gong was puzzled by what Bu Meng said.

Bu Meng exclaimed confidently.

"He's gone mad! The head of the guard has gone mad! Wow, is madness this terrifying?"

He immediately suggested taking him to a doctor.

Yun also agreed, getting busy.

Hou Gong, who had regained his senses, waved his hand.

"Quiet. Someone might come, so I can't explain here. Let's move to another place. Carry this guy and follow me."

Hou Gong led the way to the study.

Standing in front of the winter bookshelf, Yun and Bu Meng's eyes widened.

"Are you going into the winter?"

"Yes."

Hou Gong took the book and reinserted it, causing the ceiling, floor, and walls to collapse. The surroundings instantly turned into a snowy field.

Here, even if you shouted, the sound wouldn't reach outside, and no one could see inside.

Hou Gong explained what had just happened.

Yun and Bu Meng showed disbelief but didn't argue.

The confirmation was left to Chun Guiyin.

After releasing his acupoints, Hou Gong asked.

"Now, tell me. How did this start, who initiated it, and who else was involved?"

"Ugh... I was wrong... Forgive me... Ugh..."

Chun Guiyin, with his twisted mouth, recounted the events, begged for forgiveness, and named the people involved.

The initiator was the Chief Steward.

Among the 32 guards, 8 were involved.

The head of the guard, deputy head, and 6 defenders.

One from the academy.

Five from the management and accounting, all brought in by the Chief Steward.

As they listened, Yun and Bu Meng's doubts turned to shock, and then shock turned to anger.

"Chief Steward Guo, how dare he!"

"How can someone be so evil!"

Hou Gong shouted at them.

"Is it the Chief Steward's fault? What have you been doing all this time? How did the family come to this state? I've lost my taste for it, but what have you been doing?"

"Brother, we... We've also lost our taste for it."

"..."

Hou Gong couldn't press further. In his memory, these two had always followed and loved Fan Hang the most, so they had suffered the most.