The Rogue Villager Chen Erbao

Gesang flicked his wrist, spinning the Dagger in a flourish as he slowly approached Chen Erbao.

Chen Erbao held his short blade horizontally before him, moving forward to meet him step for step.

When they were about five meters apart, Chen Erbao's pupils shrank, and he swung his short blade forward with sudden force.

"TING!"

A crisp clang rang out. In the next instant, both figures moved like phantoms, vanishing from their original spots.

Chen Erbao used a profound footwork technique, his body seemingly weightless as he weaved and dodged around Gesang. Gesang's expression, however, remained calm. His Dagger jabbed out around him at a terrifying speed, each light thrust striking sparks from the air.

A moment later, they clashed again. The short blade and the Dagger came to a halt, each pointed at the other's chest.

After a moment of silence, they both retreated.

Chen Erbao's eyes grew brighter. He chuckled. "This is a real thrill. Again!"

With a furious roar, his Spiritual Power surged. His entire aura changed in an instant, becoming like a tiger descending a mountain as his attacks, now broad and sweeping, targeted Gesang's vital points.

Gesang's style changed in response. He became like a slippery eel, narrowly avoiding Chen Erbao's blade with every strike.

It seemed like a hair's breadth, but the difference was as wide as an ocean.

This tiny gap was like an impassable chasm.

Even when Chen Erbao pushed his speed to the absolute limit, Gesang could still rely on his keen instincts and superb combat experience to evade every blow.

Though Chen Erbao's mind was racing, his hands didn't slow in the slightest. He fought faster and faster until his hands were a blur of afterimages. The short blade danced up and down, its soul-chilling glint flashing in the air. Life and death hung on a single moment!

As the saying goes, a long defense is bound to fail.

Chen Erbao delivered another powerful, heavy chop that sent Gesang's Dagger trembling. His eyes lit up—he had found an opening.

Chen Erbao's Spiritual Power erupted from his body. He decisively threw his short blade, sending it flying viciously toward Gesang's ribs.

Gesang was unable to dodge in time. He could only twist his body forcefully, but it was too late. The sharp edge sliced through his bronze skin and pierced the muscles of his waist.

Dark red blood flowed down the blade, quickly staining the ground.

Seeing his attack land, Chen Erbao halted his assault. He was about to try and reason with Gesang, but to his surprise, Gesang's eyes suddenly turned vicious.

Having walked the line between life and death for years, injury was a common occurrence for Gesang. He had long since learned to maintain extreme calm in a life-or-death struggle. Even when at a disadvantage, he could complete a stunning reversal through sheer force of will.

The moment Chen Erbao paused, Gesang ignored the searing pain in his ribs and exploded forward with his legs, pouncing on Chen Erbao like an agile cheetah.

Caught off guard, Chen Erbao was pinned directly to the ground. In his peripheral vision, he glimpsed a cold glint stabbing toward his temple. Without a second thought, he unleashed a violent torrent of Spiritual Power, blasting Gesang away.

"BANG!"

Gesang slammed heavily onto the ground, unable to catch his breath for a long moment.

Chen Erbao scrambled to his feet, still shaken, and glared at Gesang, his face a mask of fury.

"Are you fucking crazy? We have no quarrel with each other. How much do they pay you a month that you're willing to die for it?!"

Gesang wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, looking at Chen Erbao with equal shock. "You're an Ancient Martial Grandmaster!"

Chen Erbao had heard that title from Chuck more than once, but he didn't understand how people could tell. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's a Grandmaster? Tell me."

Hearing this, Gesang was also stunned. "You don't know?"

"I've been learning from an old Chinese doctor in the mountains since I was a kid. I don't understand your terminology. The old doctor passed away, so I never had a chance to ask. The last person I met called me a Grandmaster, too. How can you tell?"

Gesang's feelings became incredibly complicated upon hearing this.

'A Realm that so many people fail to reach in a lifetime was actually achieved by someone who doesn't know the first thing about it!'

'Which mountain has this old Chinese doctor? Tell me! I want to go study under him too!'

"The move you used to blast me away just now was the external projection of Internal Strength, a clear sign of a Grandmaster's power... Don't tell me you don't know what Internal Strength is!"

"Internal Strength, huh... Yeah, I know what that is."

'In truth, Chen Erbao had no idea. He figured Internal Strength was probably just a lower-tier energy compared to Spiritual Qi.'

'Looks like I'll have to conceal my Spiritual Power in the future. Otherwise, people will keep recognizing it and I'll end up revealing all my secrets!'

Having learned about the distinction of a Grandmaster, Chen Erbao chuckled. "Seriously, we can say we've gotten acquainted through this fight. You can find another chance to repay your favor later. If I miss this opportunity, it won't be easy for me to earn twenty million USD again. Let's both take a step back. I'll spare your life, and you'll give up this mission."

Gesang was stunned. "You're not going to kill me?"

"I'm not some homicidal maniac. What would I kill you for?"

Gesang fell silent. After a long while, he slowly rose to his feet. "I can't beat you, so this mission was impossible to complete from the start. You've spared my life, and I'll remember the favor. If you have trouble in the future, you can look for me... then again, you're much stronger than I am. If there's a problem you can't solve, I'd be useless anyway."

Despite saying that, Gesang still tossed out a card. On it was only a string of numbers—a phone number.

As he silently watched Gesang pick up the short blade and turn to leave, an idea suddenly struck Chen Erbao.

"How about you come work for me?"

Gesang stopped in his tracks and looked back at Chen Erbao.

"If you work for me, I guarantee it'll be worth your while. I've got plenty of money. Don't be fooled by how I fought you over this twenty million today—I only did it because I was confident I could win. Twenty million is just whatever to me. It's basically free cash, and it'd be a shame not to take it. I'll match whatever you were making before, and you won't have to fight for your life. Just help me manage my security company. What do you say?"

'His security company was in desperate need of an expert like Gesang to hold down the fort. After all, he couldn't stay at the company forever!'

Gesang was silent for a moment before giving a bitter smile. "You're an interesting person. Thank you for the offer, but I'm not free to leave right now."

With that, he left without looking back.

Chen Erbao watched Gesang's retreating figure, thinking what a shame it was.

'If he could have recruited Gesang, he could have had him handle any inconvenient matters in the future.'

'It seemed Gesang had his own troubles he couldn't speak of. Once his own strength improved a bit more, he'd give him a call and find out what was going on.'

With the assassin gone, the two battered men from the south finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The man in the lead walked over with a grateful expression and grabbed Chen Erbao's hand.

"Sir, thank you, truly. I can never repay you for saving my life..."

"Cut the crap and pay up. There's nothing personal between us; this was just business."

'Chen Erbao was afraid the bastard would try to back out of the deal now. After all, he couldn't actually kill the guy over something like this.'

Hearing this, the man hurried to say:

"Don't worry, sir. I, Qiu Shijie, am a man of my word!"

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