As the old Chinese saying went, “If one is destined to finish an important task, then he will be tested several times by the Heaven.” Qin Sheng now used this saying to comfort himself. But it was still impossible for him to give up. If he gave up, Qin Sheng wouldn’t have survived in the previous incidents. It was his perseverance that supported him to go so far. So this time, Qin Sheng would stick to struggling as before.

After all, he believed that he would finally soar to heights as long as he was still alive.

Qin Sheng and Gu Qingyang were now swimming in the freezing cold river, struggling to escape from those people following behind. Fortunately, this was a branch river, with relatively stable flow of water and was not deep for it was winter now. But if it was summer, one who was not very good at swimming might die in the river.

Feng He, leading Gu Xiaobo and other six capable underlings, followed Qin Sheng and Gu Qingyang. Qin Sheng was good at swimming. When he lived in Zhongnan Mountains in his childhood, his grandfather had often asked him to practice swimming in the pool there. His grandfather had said that what one learned now might save their life one day, which came true today.

Gu Qingyang was not so good at swimming. Fortunately, some of those people chasing behind were not either. As a result, only three people were still following after. After Gu Qingyang and Qin Sheng got on the riverbank, they rushed into the forest nearby right away, with the three people tracing. Feng He and Gu Xiaobo came later, with two underlings who were poor in swimming struggling to follow. When Feng He and Gu Xiaobo entered the forest, they finally got on the riverbank.

At this very moment, Zhuang Zhou and Nan Gong arrived. They looked at and nodded to each other to communicate. Then, they rushed forward in a second.

The two underlings of Feng He didn’t expect that there were other enemies behind. Adding that the two underlings were almost exhausted when swimming in the cold river, and they were much less observant now, Zhuang Zhou and Nan Gong got their chance.

When the two underlings realized that they were in danger, Zhuang Zhou and Nan Gong had appeared in front of them. Even Chu Sikong or Feng He, who were masters of martial arts, couldn’t beat Zhuang Zhou and Nan Gong. Let alone these two underlings. They were capable individuals but not as good as Chu Sikong and Feng He.

Zhuang Zhou approached with his back bending. He estimated the direction and angle, half-relying on his luck, and hit exactly the man’s jaw with an uppercut. The man, who was muddleheaded, lost two teeth and bled all over his mouth. Before the man realized what happened, Zhuang Zhou seized the moment, grabbing the man’s neck and giving another hit with his knee. The man fell unconscious with his whole face covering blood.

As a Chinese poem said, “A hero would tear when he was to die before he won in the war.” These two underlings were appointed to kill Qin Sheng, but they were stunned by Zhuang Zhou in a second before they started a fight with Qin Sheng. They had to reflect on their shortcoming of the ability to swim after they woke up later. If they hadn’t lagged behind, then they would not have run into Zhuang Zhou.

Compared with him, the other man was in a worse situation for his rival was a woman. Nan Gong, though a good-looking woman, was cold and cruel when killing. Others might misunderstand her as a delicate and weak person for her charming appearance, which was a camouflage to deceive. When others underestimated her, they would receive the strongest attack from her. That was the way Nan Gong operated.

She ran up to jump high, entangling the man’s neck with her legs. With inertia and her own weight, she trapped the man on the ground and threw two punches into the back side of his head. The man fainted before he was able to see who his enemy was.

“All right,” Nan Gong said with a naive smile of a maid.

Zhuang Zhou nodded to her. Of course, he trusted Nan Gong was capable enough to handle this. This woman was really tough. Zhuang Zhou didn’t want to waste any time, and he said in a low voice, “Let’s go.”

They rushed into the forest. This was the beginning of a Tom and Jerry play.

At the same time, on the other side of the riverbank, Chang Baji and Chu Sikong were fighting fiercely. It was hard to say whether they had tried their best. It was a horse and horse situation. No one could tell who would win this fight. They were both at the master level. This fight would never end unless one of them carelessly stuck his neck out.

When they began to fight, they were probing. Chu Sikong had learned the Southern China martial arts, which focused on speed and explosive force. In other words, it focused on the technique. He had totally mastered Wing Tsun Boxing and applied to a set of mysterious leg movements, giving Chang Baji great pressure in fighting. Chang Baji had suffered a lot in this fight, feeling an ache in his shoulder. Chang Baji, however, had learned the Northern China martial arts, which paid attention to power and large movement range. Its practice was like a tiger swooping down on its prey. Chu Sikong got this and never attacked face to face for the front side was Chang Baji’s advantage. But he still failed sometimes and received strong hits twice from Chang Baji.

“Chang Baji, you deserve others’ praise. I respect you.” Chu Sikong was always polite to any rivals, especially to Chang Baji, who was really excellent. He had been amazed by Chang’s skillful and tricky moves of turning back and punching from the side of the lower back.

At this moment, Chang Baji was far more stressed than Chu Sikong. Chu Sikong cared about nothing but this fight, but Chang Baji was worried about Qin Sheng’s situation. Since Chu Sikong had succeeded in hindering him here, Qin Sheng must be in trouble now. And he was deeply concerned about Qin Sheng’s safety. Was Qin Sheng still alive?

“Mr. Chu, you deserve to be my rival. Yangtze River Delta is an exactly wonderful place to cultivate masters like you,” Chang Baji answered with his eyes squinting. Chu Sikong’s downward attack just now had made him suffer hugely, and his arms continuously felt painful.

Compared with Chang’s concern and worry, Chu Sikong was calm and easy. He asked, “May I ask where did you learn the Eight Poles Boxing and Eight Diagrams Palm?”

“I’m not talented and also not a good learner. I never tell others my Master’s name for fear of embarrassing him one day,” Chang Baji answered casually. It was not a total lie. He and other disciples never told others the name of their Master, but for others might go to disturb their Master.

Chu Sikong laughed out and said, “You’re really modest. If you’re not a good learner, then I can hardly imagine how good your mates are.”

Chang Baji sneered and said, “Mr. Chu, are you stalling for time?”

“No. I never play this kind of trick. I don’t care about other people’s business. I’m here only to have this meeting with you,” said Chu Sikong. This was true of his mind. He never bothered to play any tricks and didn’t give a sh*t to whether Qin Sheng would die or not. Those things were none of his business.

Chang Baji was annoyed and said, “Come on. Let’s continue.”

In a second, Chang Baji moved to attack, thinking that he had to beat Chu Sikong as soon as possible since he couldn’t afford to waste any time today. Chu Sikong was excited. He was willing to continue this fight with Chang. He had gotten what he wanted. It might be a long time before he could fight with another powerful rival.

Chang Baji approached Chu Sikong and stopped when he was half a meter away from his rival. Then, he tried to hit Chu Sikong’s head with a hacking boxing attack but failed due to Chu’s swift dodge. This was actually a deceptive movement. Chang Baji stroke Chu Sikong’s side back with his knee, while Chu Sikong held Chang Baji’s knee with his two palms and then used explosive force to push the knee in his palms strongly. Chu Sikong was clear that he had to control the rhythm of this fight, rather than let Chang Baji do it.

Chang Baji stepped back. At this moment, Chu Sikong at once kicked Chang’s right leg, but Chang Baji defended with his foot. The two people had several rounds of fight in this small area.

Chu Sikong didn’t have any advantage, so he changed his strategy. Chu Sikong suddenly gave Chang Baji a punch at the artery of his neck. Chang Baji defended with his hands. Chu Sikong, however, was calm and relaxed toward Chang Baji’s defense and began to practice a routine of Wing Tsun Boxing. Everything went as Chu Sikong planned. As a result, Chang Baji was trapped in Chu Sikong’s rhythm, controlled by Chu Sikong.

Chang Baji realized his mistake and tried to change this situation right away. But he had no other ways but resort to a strategy which hurt himself as well. Chu Sikong’s advantage was his fast speed, while Chang Baji was good at power.

So when Chu Sikong punched Chang Baji’s right shoulder, the latter turned around and dodged. Chu Sikong’s leg swept toward Chang Baji, presuming that Chang Baji would try to dodge. In fact, Chang Baji used his whole body as his weapon, jumping forward and swooping down to Chu Sikong. When Chu Sikong realized that Chang Baji was going to do, it was too late to avoid the attack. Chu Sikong swept his leg toward Chang Baji’s back, but the latter’s shoulder was almost hitting into Chu Sikong’s face. Chu Sikong was still calm, even in this dangerous situation. In a second, he used his arm to be a shield, defending Chang Baji’s attack. But this shield only gave him the time to react and reduced the power of Chang Baji in some way. Finally, Chu Sikong was knocked into the air by Chang Baji’s whole-body attack. Chang Baji, however, also suffered a great strike at his back.

Chu Sikong put his hand on his chest. Chang Baji had a slight hunchback. Both of them got out of breath. After all, this was a real fight between two masters of martial arts, rather than the fighting game between children. Any carelessness might lead to death.

The two looked at each other and said nothing. Chang Baji was alarmed and bewildered, which indicated danger. Calmness was the most important thing in the battle between masters.

In the forest near the riverbank, Qin Sheng and Gu Qingyang were still struggling to escape. However, those people followed behind more and more closely. Once those people caught up with them and surrounded them, then they would die.

Gu Qingyang was afraid that he would encumber Qin Sheng, so he pulled Qin Sheng and said, “Brother Qin, give me a chance to do something for you. You leave, and I’ll back up. Or we’ll both die here.”

“Qingyang, don’t give up. Two hours. When day breaks, we’ll win.” Qin Sheng never gave up on his brothers easily, especially Gu Qingyang, who had overcome all those difficulties with.

Gu Qingyang stopped and said, “Brother Qin, no hesitating. I won’t hate you for leaving me here. If you don’t, I’ll absolutely hate you. You’re born to become somebody. You shouldn’t end your life here. You have to live and take revenge for me.”

“Qingyang…” Qin Sheng had a mix of feelings. It was hard for people to face death calmly. Lu Xun, a great writer, had said that a real fighter was brave enough to face the cruel reality of life and the most horrifying blood. But most of us were no more than common people who were fearful of death and would try all the best for survival.

Gu Qingyang was irritated by Qin Sheng’s hesitation. He shouted at Qin Sheng loudly, “Brother Qin, go!”

Gu Qingyang had never spoken to Qin Sheng this way since they had known each other. Qin Sheng suddenly remembered how he had met Gu Qingyang for the first time. This big boy had come to lead him at the foot of the mountain, and hadn’t said anything to him all along the way. After that, Gu Qingyang had followed him to Hangzhou, obeying his orders and carefully finishing his task. Gu Qingyang only minded his own tasks and never made any mistakes. He was talkless and kind. Qin Sheng was content with him since Gu Qingyang was his driver. This young man talked less but was capable.

At this moment, Qin Sheng finally saw the other personality hidden at the bottom of this young man’s heart. He had no idea of Gu Qingyang’s thoughts now. Qin Sheng was in a real dilemma where he was too sad to make a choice. This choice was too difficult for him.

“Go!” Gu Qingyang cried out loudly and hopelessly.

Hearing Gu’s crying, Qin Sheng’s eyes were red. He had no alternative but to leave with tears.