Repeatedly fended off, Cheng Ziang was growing frustrated. Looking at Yalunte’s unruffled composure, he felt a surge of anger from within, involuntarily triggering his malicious intent.
Once again, with a resounding battle cry, he lunged at Yalunte, only to be parried once more. Of course, this was but a feint. He took a step back and then hurled his last throwing knife at Yalunte.
Yalunte shook his head, even though the knife was just inches away, it posed no threat to him. With a slight swing of his longsword, he effortlessly deflected the knife. Just as he prepared to continue the duel with Cheng Ziang, he realized that Cheng had already prepared for his next attack.
In Cheng’s hand was a pistol and he was glaring venomously at Yalunte, the pitch-black barrel aimed right at his forehead. Seeing Yalunte looking back, Cheng hesitated for a moment, but when he saw his incoming sword attack, he finally couldn’t resist pulling the trigger.
The revolver’s thunderous sound scared the wits out of the three onlookers. They thought it was an ordinary sparring match, but unexpectedly, Cheng Ziang had pulled out a gun and fired it.
Just when they were worried for Yalunte, they found out that he hadn’t sustained any injuries. Before Cheng Ziang could pull the trigger, Yalunte had preemptively deflected the barrel of the gun with his sword tip causing the bullet to miss its mark and graze past his ear, severing several strands of his hair.
Cheng Ziang couldn’t believe that Yalunte was capable of evading the bullet in such an extreme manner. Seeing the sword pointed at him he relented, laid down his pistol, and ceased his resistance.
Remarkably, Yalunte didn’t make a fuss about Cheng using his gun. He touched his ear, unscathed, just a burnt hair smell on his hand.
Then, he once again directed his longsword at Cheng Ziang’s throat. Cheng closed his eyes, awaiting judgement from Yalunte, as three spectators grew restless, rising to plead for him.
"Why didn’t your gunshot hit me?" Yalunte’s question took Cheng Ziang by surprise.
"Didn’t you deflect it?" Cheng Ziang quickly turned his gaze, not daring to meet his eyes.
"How could I deflect it if your aim was accurate?" Apparently, Yalunte had perceived his earlier hesitation.
"Isn’t your question redundant?" Cheng Ziang retorted, looking back at him with a furrowed brow, "I didn’t intend to kill you!"
"We were fighting and you didn’t want to kill me - seems ridiculous!" a regretful expression crossed Yalunte’s face.
"We were merely sparring, is it necessary to kill you?" Cheng Ziang replied, his brow still creased.
"No," Yalunte shook his head, then added, "When I asked for your attack, it was so you would combat me with lethal swordsmanship. Of course, it doesn’t have to be necessarily swordsmanship, any method will do. You haven’t mastered the enemy-controlling sword skill yet, so, not holding back is not something I expect from you."
"So, your intention is for me to fight with the goal of killing you?" Cheng Ziang asked, puzzled.
"Yes," Yalunte nodded, and then continued, "Because I believe you can’t kill me."
"Aren’t you too arrogant considering even if you’re a sword saint, you wouldn’t be faster than a bullet? If I shoot you dead, can you deflect the bullet?" Cheng Ziang replied, bewildered.
Confidence painted Yalunte’s face as he retorted: "How do you know I cannot deflect a bullet?"
Cheng Ziang was at a loss for words, momentarily unsure of what to say in response. Yalunte with sheathed his sword and then said, "Currently you cannot apply the enemy-controlling sword skill, in other words, you are incapable of holding back. So, don’t go easy in future fights, doing so might lead to a disadvantageous situation and might even cost you your life."
"Is this what your lesson intended to teach me?" Cheng Ziang, furrowing his brows, inquired.
"Of course!" Yalunte laughed, as he nodded in affirmation.
"Being the esteemed, number one Sword Saint in the mainland, is this really your advice?" Cheng Ziang said, somewhat puzzled.
Yalunte chuckled and shook his head, then added with a hint of nostalgia, "These are experiences I’ve gathered over my twenty-plus years of wandering the continent. Without these experiences, I might have been dead."
Speaking, he turned to look at Cheng Ziang, and advised seriously, "Listen, you’re still young and fail to distinguish good from evil, black from white. If you intend to kill someone, show them no mercy."
"What happens if I kill the wrong person?" Cheng Ziang asked.
"Follow your heart. If you don’t really want to kill the person, don’t fight them. However, if you intend to kill, then do not hesitate; hesitation always leads to defeat!" Yalunte instructed.
Hearing his words, Cheng Ziang respectfully nodded. Seeing his acceptance, Yalunte, satisfied, sheathed his longsword, and then casually said, "Alright, lesson over."
"Wait, you haven’t taught me anything yet!" Cheng Ziang was dumbfounded as Yalunte sheathed his sword.
"Haven’t I already taught you?" Yalunte shrugged.
"I didn’t come to learn theory, I came to learn swordsmanship!" Cheng Ziang stated anxiously.
"Haven’t you learned already?" Yalunte revealed a sly smile.
"I have?" Cheng Ziang questioned, confused.
"Did you not notice? Why are you panting heavily whereas I am breathing evenly, without even breaking a sweat?" Yalunte replied with a chuckle.
"That’s because..." Cheng Ziang pursed his lips, speaking in a somewhat enlightened tone.
"Learning to manage your own stamina is part of swordsmanship. You attack too aggressively, too eager to win, so you consume too much stamina. Once you learn to control it freely, we can move on to the next course!" Yalunte spoke and then turned to walk towards Luo’er and the others.
"Thank you, Mr. Sword Saint!" Luo’er responded gratefully.
"Time to pay your tuition!" Yalunte said with a light laugh.
"Um, about that..." Luo’er scratched his head.
"Just kidding, can you treat me to a drink?" Yalunte asked.
"Sure, but not too much, like last time. After all, we still have a mission." Luo’er stated hesitatingly.
"Well then, two drinks?" Yalunte held up two fingers and asked.
"Sure!" Luo’er nodded his head in agreement!
Having won Luo’er’s agreement, Yalunte laughed again, as delighted as a child. Though he was older and more mature than Luo’er, he was happy to accept the elf captain’s authority. Hu Daoke told him that while everyone was usually willing to follow Luo’er’s orders, they liked to tease him from time to time. So Yalunte wanted to give that a try, too.
The group left the open space and returned to their inn, which was so remote that they were its only guests. When Cheng Ziang had fired a shot earlier, the innkeeper had disappeared out of fright, and when they entered, they found only Hu Daoke sitting at a table. Seeing them return safely, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Who just fired that shot?" Hu Daoke asked bluntly.
"Oh, they were having a practice duel." Luo’er pointed to Cheng Ziang and Yalunte, shaking his head.
"A duel with guns? Typical style of yours!" Hu Daoke gave Cheng Ziang a scornful look. But Cheng Ziang didn’t notice, still immersed in the recent battle.
"Bro, let’s have a drink!" Yalunte’s mood brightened when he saw Hu Daoke, and he beckoned him over.
"Let’s drink!" Hu Daoke said happily.
"Where’s the boss?" Luo’er scanned the first floor counter and then asked.
"The boss is missing. There was no one in sight when I came downstairs earlier. Probably got scared off." Hu Daoke shrugged.
"Oh well," Luo’er sighed, "I’ll go check what ingredients are in the back and cook something for you guys."
"Hell yeah!" Hearing that Luo’er was going to cook, Hu Daoke immediate became excited.
"Why so excited?" Yalunte sat down next to him and asked.
"You don’t get it, boss is our team’s top chef. If he’s cooking, we’re in for a treat!" Hu Daoke said with a contented look on his face.
"Is he really that good?" Yalunte looked skeptical. The cooking level in Otherworld generally wasn’t high, even lower than that of British cuisine, not to mention Chinese cuisine.
"Ever had our food?" Hu Daoke asked.
"Me," Yalunte thought for a moment then nodded, "Yes, I did. At the headquarters, I had one meal."
"What did you eat at the headquarters?" Hu Daoke curiously asked.
"Um, what’s it called again, oh right, instant noodles!" Yalunte remembered.
"Ha, you actually had that stuff?" Hu Daoke said in disbelief.
"What’s wrong? I found those things delicious. I still miss that taste to this day." Yalunte replied.
"What’s so good about instant noodles? We only eat that stuff in emergencies. Normally, we wouldn’t give it a second thought." Hu Daoke responded.
"Speaking of which, I was very hungry back then, so I asked the folks at the headquarters to make me a meal." Yalunte reminisced.
"That really sucks!" Hu Daoke shook his head. He couldn’t believe that Yalunte had lived such a miserable life working for the headquarters for decades. It was contrary to the headquarters’ style.
"No worries," Hu Daoke patted his shoulder and comforted, "Wait until the boss is done cooking. We’ll taste it together and you’ll experience the culinary skills of Earth!"
Despite the age difference, Hu Daoke and Yalunte really clicked. They were truly buddies in drink and meat – once you’ve shared meals and drinks together, you’re basically fast friends.
Just as everyone was having a great time, Tangmo suddenly felt magical fluctuations on her hand. She briskly took out a piece of paper and imprinted the contents of the magical message onto it. Just as she was about to take it to Luo’er in the kitchen, Hu Daoke stopped her.