Chapter 103: Fifty Steps
Chapter 103: Fifty Steps
"Hmm?"
Chen Mu narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing towards the courtyard outside.
Upon reaching the pinnacle of Sinew Transformation Perfection, a warrior not only gains immense strength capable of snapping steel, but their abundant Qi and blood also enhance their senses, making them far more perceptive than ordinary people. While they may not hear the fluttering of an insect's wings, they can detect even the faintest sounds of wind and grass from a relatively close distance.
The strange noise originated from the direction of Yu Zhen's residence.
If it were daytime, Chen Mu might not have paid much attention, but at this late hour, he had been immersed in the study of the Thunderbolt Map in his bedroom until this moment. Stepping into the courtyard to relax and clear his mind, he was about to rest.
A faint glimmer flashed in Chen Mu's eyes, and without making a sound, he lightly leaped, covering several zhang in a single graceful jump, and disappeared into the darkness.
...
Under the dim moonlight, a figure swiftly moved through the darkness, quietly evading a patrol team from the Yu Clan. Heading north, they soon reached the outermost perimeter of the Yu Clan's headquarters.
Wearing a black headscarf and a dark night cloak, the figure glanced back as they approached the outer boundary of the Yu Clan. A cold smile flickered in their eyes, and they quickened their pace, intending to leave the Yu Clan's territory swiftly.
However.
Just as they were about to cross the last outer alley of the Yu Clan's headquarters.
A figure emerged from the darkness ahead, silently standing as if waiting for a long time.
"Hmm?"
The black-clad figure's expression changed slightly.
Their first instinct was to evade, but at that moment, the dark clouds obscuring the moon parted, revealing a brighter moonlight. It illuminated the figure standing in the darkness.
The person wore a thin nightgown, appearing to have just gotten up from sleep. They looked quite young, barely in their twenties, and stared at the figure with a puzzled expression, seemingly confused.
The black-clad figure's heart sank.
It's settled.
They had thought a Yu Clan expert was blocking their path, but it seemed to be just a coincidence that a young Yu Clan member was up at this late hour, possibly on a secret tryst. It was an unexpected encounter, posing no threat.
Once he crossed this street, he would be out of the Yu Clan's territory. He could hide calmly, and by the time the Yu Clan realized what had happened, even if they turned their headquarters upside down, they wouldn't find him. After all, he had only kidnapped a female infant from a side branch of the Yu Clan, and they wouldn't start a war over it. They wouldn't risk antagonizing other clans by searching throughout the inner city.
At that moment, the black-clad figure stopped evading and boldly approached the young man. As he reached him, he struck out with a palm, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind, intending to kill him with a single blow.
However, before he made his move, the sudden attack caused the young man's initially puzzled expression to turn sharp, and his face became cold.
In the moonlight, the young man also raised his hand and struck back with a palm.
Bang! Their palms collided in mid-air, emitting a deep, muffled hum.
The black-clad figure's expression changed dramatically.
He felt an overwhelming, terrifying force transmitted from the point of contact between their palms, causing him to lose sensation in his hand instantly. The powerful force continued to spread, making his entire arm crack with a 'kacha' sound. Instead of knocking him back, the force exploded within his arm.
In a mere instant, his entire arm twisted and contorted like a twisted rope, going limp.
"You..."
He stared at Chen Mu in shock and panic, then leaped back, trying to escape.
He couldn't believe what was happening.
Bone Forging Realm!
The terrifying force confirmed it was the Bone Forging Realm. How could he, with his Sinew Art Major Success, not withstand even a single strike? Moreover, the young man's appearance was almost unfamiliar, and he had never seen him before. And he was clearly under thirty years old.
Where did the Yu Clan find such a young Bone Forging Realm expert?
In his panic, he hadn't fled far when Chen Mu's figure appeared once more in front of him. With a cold gaze, Chen Mu asked, "Speak, who are you, and what are you doing at the Yu Clan?"
He had followed the black-clad figure, unsure of his identity and intentions. So, he hadn't intervened, finding the situation odd. But now, without warning, the man had attacked him, revealing his malicious intent.
"Hehehe..."
The black-clad figure's left arm was twisted and broken, hanging limply. With a cold smile, he placed his right hand on his chest and snarled, "Don't move, or I'll kill her!"
Chen Mu's eyebrows furrowed.
Then, he saw the black-clad figure tearing open the slightly bulging pocket of his night cloak, revealing a small female infant.
With the close distance and brighter moonlight, Chen Mu recognized the infant's face and the familiar rouge mark on her cheek—it was Yu Zhen's daughter, Yu Yao, who had just turned one month old.
Although he didn't know why the man wanted to kidnap a one-month-old infant, his malicious intent was clear.
"Who is she?" Chen Mu asked as he saw the man backing away into the darkness, holding the infant in his right hand.
With a cold smile, the man said, "Don't lie to me. You must know who she is. Even if you don't, you can guess she's from the Yu Clan. If you don't want her to die, back off."
"As he spoke, he continued to retreat into the darkness."
But Chen Mu didn't stop. He kept pace, his expression unchanged, and said indifferently, "Let her go, and I'll let you leave. Otherwise, you won't get away."
At this moment, hesitating would be the most foolish move. The black-cloaked man had no information, and if Chen Mu let him go out of concern for Yu Yao's life, it was highly unlikely that the Yu Clan would be able to find her again. After all, the man dared to do such a thing, which meant he had a plan, and it was even possible that someone from the He Clan had secretly instructed him.
"Stop!"
The black-cloaked man shouted repeatedly, but he couldn't scare Chen Mu. Seeing that Chen Mu wasn't chasing him down, he maintained a distance and followed, and the face behind the mask turned extremely ugly.
The person before him was not only young in appearance but also possessed astonishing strength and remarkable composure in his actions. He didn't attack, forcing the man to take desperate measures, yet he didn't let him go, persistently blocking his path.
Just then, a faint firelight appeared in the distance, as Yu Clan's night patrol approached the area.
Seeing the situation turning increasingly unfavorable, the black-cloaked man knew that if he were surrounded by Yu Clan's men, there would be no chance of escape. He gritted his teeth and said, "Thirty steps! Give me thirty steps, and I'll let her go. Otherwise, I'll take her with me!"
"..." Chen Mu glanced at the firelight not far away.
The black-cloaked man's judgment was indeed astute. Through the previous palm strike, he assessed Chen Mu's strength to be around the Bone Forging Realm. The distance of thirty steps was very subtle, just within the range where Chen Mu could catch up.
As expected, the black-cloaked man slowly retreated, reaching a position about thirty steps away. He gently placed the baby girl he was holding on the ground, picked up a pebble, and stared coldly at Chen Mu while continuing to move backward.
Thirty steps—Chen Mu could definitely catch up. The baby was placed thirty steps away from Chen Mu, and within fifteen steps, the black-cloaked man's pebble would undoubtedly be faster.
So, before the black-cloaked man retreated another fifteen steps, Chen Mu wouldn't dare to chase.
With this, the additional fifteen steps made it a total of forty-five steps. Even if Chen Mu was at the Bone Forging Realm, it would be difficult for him to catch up in the darkness, let alone take the man's life from forty-five steps away.
As Chen Mu witnessed this, he narrowed his eyes slightly, standing still.
The black-cloaked man, however, was determined. He aimed the pebble in his right hand at Yu Yao and continued to retreat step by step, until he was about fifteen steps away from Yu Yao, or forty-five steps from Chen Mu.
Hiss!
He suddenly threw the pebble at Yu Yao and, at the same time, turned sharply and sprinted into the darkness.
"Hmm!" Chen Mu coldly snorted, a pebble already clutched in his hand. He suddenly threw it, and it burst forth with a piercing sound, reaching the black-cloaked man's pebble from thirty zhang away, hitting it first despite being thrown later.
The two pebbles collided in midair, exploding with a 'pa' sound, like the crackle of firecrackers.
"Waaahhh!"
A cry rang out in the night.
It was unclear whether it was the splinters from the pebbles or the loud noise that finally woke Yu Yao.
Hearing Yu Yao's cry, Chen Mu heaved a slight sigh of relief. He had initially intended to check on Yu Yao's condition, but at that moment, he suddenly turned and flipped his hand, revealing a second pebble.
Then, a flash of killing intent appeared in his eyes as he looked towards the black-cloaked man, who had already escaped fifty steps away, his figure almost invisible in the night. He clamped the pebble between his index and middle fingers and, in a swift motion, threw it.
This time, the pebble didn't produce a loud, piercing sound as it broke through the air. Instead, there was an eerie silence, as if a beam of light had torn through the darkness, disappearing into the night, leaving only a faint 'pachi' sound in its wake.
In the distance, the black-cloaked man was running for his life, secretly rejoicing in his quick thinking that had saved him. Even the pain in his left arm seemed to have lessened.
But just as he was sprinting, a faint 'hiss' sound came from behind, sending a chill down his spine. He felt something was terribly wrong, as if a great terror between life and death had descended upon him.
Without even turning back, and without a moment's thought, his body instinctively struggled to move to the left, and he barely managed to shift his position slightly. But then, a spray of blood suddenly appeared before his eyes, and a blood-stained pebble whizzed past, leaving a trail of blood-red light before piercing something several dozen steps ahead.
The black-cloaked man's steps slowed.
He looked down at his chest and saw a clear, front-to-back hole, completely piercing his entire right chest, from which blood gushed relentlessly.
He came to a complete stop, blood spilling from his throat and out of the corners of his mouth. His body, gradually losing strength and vitality, revealed eyes filled with despair and disbelief.
"Con...cept..."
With his last bit of strength, the black-cloaked man struggled to turn his head, looking back. But from so far away, he could barely make out Chen Mu's features, only vaguely discerning his silhouette in the darkness.
Plop.
His body finally collapsed, his eyes gradually losing their luster.
A tiny pebble, a master of the Black Jade Sinew Art, from fifty steps away... a fatal strike!
(End of Chapter)
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