Right into His Hands

Little Spoon had good luck. The underground fighter he managed to find was no ordinary person, but rather a practitioner of dark sorcery from the underworld, surnamed Jiang and nicknamed "Jiang the Gate-Giant." Though lean in appearance, he possessed heavy fists and tremendous strength, making him a formidable hand at illegal boxing. However, underground bouts involved gambling, and the Qin State Wushu Association had long since denounced such activities as contrary to the spirit of traditional martial arts. With the law strictly prohibiting them and crackdowns growing increasingly severe, Jiang the Gate-Giant faced heavy daily expenses and gradually found his income falling short of his outlays, forcing him to lower his pride and accept Little Spoon's commission.

The time for the sneak attack was chosen as Friday evening. People tended to relax their minds and lower their guard on weekends, making success easier. The location was selected beside the flowerbed at the corner of the anti-doping center, which happened to be a blind spot for the security cameras. The plan was to deliver a kick to the opponent's shin when he was off guard, snap the bone, and quickly leave without a trace or any loose ends. However, neither Little Spoon nor Jiang the Gate-Giant knew that Sima belonged to Division Two. The Division Two cafeteria provided dinner, which was especially lavish on weekends. Since the next day was a day off, various alcoholic beverages flowed freely, and none of the resident Gu masters would ever miss it. They trickled out only after 7:00 PM, leaving Jiang the Gate-Giant waiting in mounting irritation. He resolved to kick all the harder and put Sima out of commission for several extra months.

Through a twist of fate, the problem lay precisely with Jiang the Gate-Giant. While an ordinary person might have managed an ambush against an unprepared target, the Gu worm inside Jiang's body shone like a firefly in the pitch-black night, making it impossible to ignore.

Sima had lingered briefly in the general office. Today, Bian Yaoshun had enthusiastically brought over a second pair of knuckles, more exquisitely crafted, polished to a brilliant sheen, and featuring a detachable "nine-linked ring" mechanism. Sima had tried them out, only to find himself all thumbs; he couldn't take them apart at all, ending up with them hopelessly tangled in a messy clump. He had no choice but to completely dismantle the nine-linked ring and reassemble them into two separate pairs of knuckles, leaving behind an extra connecting loop and numerous small matching parts. The hour was already late, so Sima simply stuffed the knuckles into his pockets, turned off the lights, and left, intending to ask Bian Yaoshun for help next week to reassemble the nine-linked ring. As for this pair of knuckles, they would be just right for trying out his skills at the Pingxi Boxing Gym on Sunday.

As he walked out of the anti-doping center, the psychic Gu inside Sima's body gave a violent twitch, warning him that an unfamiliar Gu master was lingering not far ahead, seemingly harboring malicious intent. Sima paused slightly, feeling somewhat undecided. He pulled the knuckles from his pockets, slipped them onto both hands, and clenched his fists. His courage immediately surged—the moment for a real-world test had arrived. After enduring so much hardship and shedding so much sweat, he wanted to see just what blind fool had blundered into his path!

Raising his vigilance to the absolute maximum, he pretended to be entirely oblivious and walked forward at his usual pace. Just as he reached the corner, a figure darted out and kicked fiercely toward his lower leg. Kicking and stamping were strictly forbidden in boxing matches, and Sima had received no specialized training for it, but having been forewarned, he stepped back half a pace and dodged cleanly. When Jiang the Gate-Giant's kick missed entirely, he realized the ambush had failed. He let his foot land on the ground, arched his back, and assumed a boxing stance. Sure enough, Sima struck first with a powerful, heavy jab from his left hand, hardly resembling a tentative probe. Jiang the Gate-Giant sneered inwardly, raised his right arm to block, and coiled strength into his left fist, intending to deliver a liver blow. Suddenly, a sharp pain flared in his right arm, and he could not suppress a groan.

The weather was hot and the clothing thin; the knuckle-dusters struck his upper arm, instantly tearing open the flesh. For an ordinary person, this blow would have been enough to fracture the arm bone, but Jiang the Gate-Giant was an underworld sorcerer who raised a Gu worm within his body, endowing him with robust tendons and bones. He managed to endure the impact through sheer toughness, though it remained a superficial wound. Taking advantage of his opponent's distraction, Sima followed up with a right hook. Jiang the Gate-Giant was forced to abandon his attack and bend his left elbow in defense. This time, the knuckles struck his elbow joint in a hard collision, accompanied by a crisp, cracking sound as a fine fissure split the bone. Jiang the Gate-Giant knew with absolute clarity that his opponent was not bare-fisted, but wearing weapons like knuckle-dusters. He had been far too arrogant and had worn no protective gear; once his head, face, chest, or abdomen took a direct hit, he would be doomed.

Having landed his initial blow, Sima unleashed a subsequent flurry of combinations like a raging storm. Jiang the Gate-Giant was forced to curl into a ball, protecting his head and face as he retreated continuously, his arms battered to a bloody pulp beneath the onslaught of the knuckles, the bone surfaces filled with tiny micro-fractures. Although caught off guard and driven onto the back foot, Jiang the Gate-Giant did not lose his composure. As he retreated, he brewed a counterattack, his chest and abdomen expanding and contracting in unison as his Gu worm devoured his vital essence, sending a surge of warm energy coursing through his entire body. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. The very instant Sima pulled back his fist, Jiang lashed out with a right punch of astonishing speed and power, striking his opponent's jaw with lightning velocity. Sima instinctively tilted his head back to deflect most of the impact, then forcefully engaged his core and waist to deliver a sweeping right kick that caught Jiang the Gate-Giant squarely on the outside of his knee, sending him crashing to the ground.

Realizing things were going badly, Jiang the Gate-Giant scrambled up in a flash, but Sima had already scooped a handful of dirt from the flowerbed and flung it into his face, lunging forward to pummel his ribs and lower back. With dirt in his eyes and temporarily unable to see, Jiang relied on the supernatural strength of his Gu worm to endure several heavy blows. Seizing an opening, he threw a blind, haymaker hook that landed heavily on Sima's shoulder, sending him staggering backward and finally buying Jiang a moment to catch his breath. Jiang's eyes streamed with tears, leaving his vision blurred. Enduring the pain, Sima lunged forward again, circling and attacking him. Yet a living human was not a punching bag, and while landing blows, Sima also took several counter-hits to the face and chest that pierced him with agony, particularly his shoulder, which he could no longer even lift.

Sima could confirm that the other man harbored a combat-type Gu worm within his body, one that reinforced the host's physique, including strength, speed, explosive power, and shock resistance, with an especially pronounced enhancement for boxing. If he hadn't known beforehand and put on knuckle-dusters, the one lying on the ground right now would undoubtedly be him. Gritting his teeth and willing to drain his very last drop of stamina, Sima rained successive heavy blows upon his opponent's vital points. Covered in blood and unable to see his attacker clearly, Jiang the Gate-Giant could finally hold out no longer. His guard flew wide open, and Sima smashed a crushing punch into his chest and abdomen. The Gu worm within was severely battered, and both internal and external injuries erupted like a mountain torrent. Jiang crashed backward onto the ground, striking the back of his head against the flowerbed, and instantly lost consciousness.

The duel between the two men had lasted only two or three minutes—equivalent to a single round of boxing—yet the intensity far exceeded a twelve-round professional match. Sima let out a long breath, his fingers trembling so violently that he could scarcely keep his grip on the knuckle-dusters. The Division Two Gu masters arrived late upon hearing the commotion, led by none other than Yang Zirong. Glancing down at Jiang the Gate-Giant, Yang frowned slightly and turned to order his men to drag him into the headquarters for a thorough interrogation. "Hawk of the Nest Mountain" acknowledged the command, hoisted Jiang the Gate-Giant up by the scruff of his neck as easily as an eagle snatching a chick, and dragged him away like a dead dog.

Yang Zirong looked Sima up and down with a satisfied expression, stepped forward to pat his shoulder, and said, "Well fought! That's how you do it. When walking out in the world, we can never lose the imposing spirit of Division Two!" Sima grinned through a wince, only then realizing that the skin on all ten of his fingers had been scraped raw by the knuckle-dusters, throbbing with a bloody, intense pain.