ATPnovel Chapter 18: Ambush and Counterstrike
Chapter 18: Ambush and Counterstrike
“” Xiangzi said, squatting and offering the paper bag.The old man thanked him, snatching the buns and passing them to the girl.
“” He shielded her head, taking one bun and nibbling slowly. “”
The girl stared at the buns, nodding after a pause, sniffling. “”
The savory meat aroma wafted, drawing hungry glares from nearby ragged refugees.
Wolf-like ferocity flashed in their eyes, targeting not just the buns but Xiangzi, the generous .
In South City, kindness came at a cost.
“” Xiangzi said gruffly. “”
The old man froze, then nodded, pulling a bun he’d hidden in his coat.
Fresh from the steamer, the bun could scald skin, but he’d stayed silent.
Xiangzi said nothing more, eyeing the creeping refugees and picking up a broken brick.
With a slight squeeze, the brick crumbled to dust in his palm.
The refugees flinched, backing off—
No one dared eye the buns now.
Had Xiangzi left after tossing the buns, the old man and girl wouldn’t have lasted the night.
In his past life, he’d heard,
In South City, a few buns were treasure enough to kill for.
The old man shakily finished, picking up crumbs from the ground to eat.
As Xiangzi rose, the old man grabbed his pant leg, whispering, “”
Xiangzi’s eyes tightened, but his face stayed calm. He nodded, setting down the bean juice.
Removing his blue shirt, he draped it over the shivering girl and stood slowly.
Yet in Forty-Nine City, it proved true.
Had he not helped this pair, he’d have walked into a trap.
Two men followed him—one fat, one thin, their steps marking them as vitality barrier breakers.
A surprise attack might’ve overwhelmed even Xiangzi’s pillar of vitality.
“” Xiangzi sneered, fear absent.
Thinking this, he halted, then shot forward like an arrow.
Though his martial artist profession remained locked, with only the title on his panel, was no small feat.
His running speed was stunning—ordinary ranked fighters couldn’t keep up.
Seeing Xiangzi bolt, the two stalkers knew they’d been made. Dropping stealth, they drew gleaming daggers and charged.
Relying on their vitality barrier strength, they barreled through the crowd.
But the ahead grew farther away, shocking them.
Panting, they chased into a dark alley, losing his trail.
“” The fat one gripped his dagger, twirling it furiously. “”
The thin one spat, scanning around. “”
The fat one hesitated. “”
“” the thin one snapped. “”
The fat one scratched his head, chuckling nervously, and ran to the other alley.
“” the thin one muttered, edging along the wall with his dagger.
He cursed his luck.
A Ma Liu guard, he’d followed Fat Master for years.
Back in the teahouse, he’d been the first to lunge at Xiangzi, only to fail, losing face.
Unable to swallow it, he’d vowed to Fat Master to cripple this ignorant third-class puller.
Dusk fell, the sky streaked with blood-red clouds.
The alley was deathly quiet, not a soul in sight.
A sudden .
The thin one tensed, snapping into a stance—only a wild cat darted out, yowling.
“” he cursed, relaxing.
Then a bamboo basket toppled with a , and a shadow leaped out! Content orıginally comes from novel-fire.ɴet
“”
Before he finished, a cloud of powder hit his face, burning his eyes like needles.
“” he gasped, eyes useless, swinging his dagger wildly while retreating.
Xiangzi didn’t back off. Planting a stance, he crouched and swept his right leg low.
Liu Tang’s had five moves; Xiangzi mastered best.
With his panel’s precision, he struck the thin man’s ankle.
With leg strength that could snap a tree trunk, a human leg was nothing.
A rang out, the thin man’s ankle twisting grotesquely.
A scream tore from his throat.
Terror flashed in his eyes—
Xiangzi pressed on, twisting his waist, left leg chaining into a flurry.
Leg shadows rained on the thin man’s lower body, shredding his shins to twisted flesh, barely held by skin.
Unsteady, the thin man faltered.
Xiangzi, prepared, sank his weight and rammed his shoulder into the man’s chest, targeting his heart.
The shoulder strike, taught by Uncle Jie, came from a spear technique.
With Xiangzi’s pillar of vitality, it roared with force.
The thin man’s heart burst, his scream muffled to a groan.
A —he slammed into the wall like a broken kite, blood trickling from his mouth, his lime-caked eyes still.
Xiangzi paused, tossing a stone at the man’s forehead—no response.
“” Xiangzi muttered, dazed, his gaze dropping to his chest.
At some point, the thin man’s wild swing had slashed his shirt.
Luckily, the cut was shallow, only tearing cloth.
Unluckily, the kraft paper packet of vitality broth in his chest was sliced open.
Scarlet powder spilled out, ruined.
Xiangzi’s heart bled.