Chapter 40: Taking Action

“Bah! Just yesterday you swindled a hundred bucks from me!”

“You gave it to me of your own free will, saying you could steal it back. If you couldn’t manage, who else is to blame?”

From as far back as he could remember, the foreign thief had trained relentlessly in the art of thievery. Among a dozen or so fellow apprentices, he was the most skilled, and had always been viewed by the King of Thieves as the chosen successor. Yet as he grew older, he grew resentful of Jia Changtai’s gang stealing life-saving money from people in the tumor hospital. That was when he rebelled, left his master, and set up his own path in the underworld. He had always taken great pride in his craft, and now, being called “inept” by Xiao Cheng, felt like suffering a grave humiliation.

“Kid! You’re just asking for a beating!” With that, Wang Yang lunged at him, moving to strike even before reaching the soft patch of earth in the northeast corner.

In that instant, Xiao Cheng’s focus reached its peak. Every detail of the surroundings and Wang Yang’s every move stood out in sharp relief. As he retreated, Xiao Cheng nudged a wrench with his foot right into Wang Yang’s path. According to his predictive system, this had about a thirty percent chance of tripping his opponent. But the foreign thief was just too agile. Even as he charged, he sidestepped the wrench with nimble footwork, never losing momentum.

That single movement rendered most of Xiao Cheng’s predictions useless. This boy could not be measured by ordinary standards. Not only were his hands skilled, but his legs were top-notch as well—his leaps and bounds could rival the best parkour athletes online, with an air of legendary lightness skill about them. The scattered parts and two old cars in the yard became props for Xiao Cheng, but almost nothing could slow Wang Yang. If not for Xiao Cheng’s ability to anticipate the direction of his opponent’s force and adjust in advance, he would have been caught long ago.

At that moment, Wang Yang himself was frustrated. His “lightness skill” was so impressive even Tiger Master had nothing but praise for it, yet chasing Xiao Cheng was awkward and constraining. Whenever Xiao Cheng darted left, Wang Yang would push off with his right foot, but the instant he exerted force, Xiao Cheng would switch direction. If Wang Yang adjusted before committing, he could keep up, but Xiao Cheng always managed to time it perfectly, changing direction just as Wang Yang’s old force was spent and new force hadn’t yet begun, leaving him exasperated.

Tiger Master sat on a small stool, hands busy, his eyes occasionally observing the two’s movements. He paid no mind to the chaos in the yard. The players are lost in the game, but the spectator sees all. In Tiger Master’s eyes, these minutes of pursuit had a charm of their own. In terms of speed, agility, and familiarity with the terrain, no one could match Wang Yang. In this small county, especially in this PF district, if he ran, no number of cops could catch him. He could take two steps up a wall and land on a rooftop, moving across the tiles as if walking on level ground—skills even Tiger Master admired. Yet after several minutes, he hadn’t even touched a hair on Xiao Cheng’s head. Xiao Cheng, for his part, always managed to slip away at the last second, even when cornered, using feints to trick his opponent and escape through gaps.

Perhaps this was what they called natural talent.

Wang Yang had been groomed as the successor by the King of Thieves since childhood, brimming with natural spirit, and his lightness skill was unmatched. Yet before Xiao Cheng, he gained no advantage. And Xiao Cheng had never trained a single day in martial arts! Could he have some special ability?

“Stop!” Tiger Master’s command finally ended the chase.

“Tiger Master said stop!” Xiao Cheng panted.

“I told you two to go to the northeast corner! Why are you tearing up the whole yard?”

“He was trying to beat me!” Xiao Cheng protested.

“And you couldn’t try to fight back?”

“How could I beat him?”

Tiger Master chuckled. “How do you know if you don’t try? Besides, running may not be any better than fighting.”

This struck Xiao Cheng. Normally, even ten of him would have been caught already. But ever since his awakening, his mind was sharper and his reactions quicker, letting him anticipate Wang Yang’s moves and hold out this long. If he could use this for escape, why not for fighting?

With that thought, Xiao Cheng stopped running. He and Wang Yang obediently walked to the soft earth in the northeast corner—a patch a bit over six meters square, only slightly larger than a boxing ring. Xiao Cheng moved to the center, sizing up Wang Yang. His hair was just long enough to stick up, his height a bit over 1.7 meters, his arms a little shorter than Xiao Cheng’s, but his strength was clearly superior. In close quarters, Xiao Cheng would only end up thrown to the ground. Wang Yang’s agility far surpassed his own, and his control over his body exceeded expectations. Other than height, Xiao Cheng had no advantage—how was he supposed to win? Just rely on prediction?

Wang Yang, meanwhile, was eager to go. “Come on, I’m under orders to beat you up. Don’t hold it against me. If you beat me, you’ll be the senior brother!”

If he really could beat Wang Yang, even Lv Qi probably wouldn’t be a match for him!

“All right, let’s try it! This time I won’t run!” Xiao Cheng bowed his head slightly, raised his hands before his chest, and set his legs one before the other. Though untrained, the defensive posture came almost instinctively, for only this way could he react quickly to his opponent’s moves.

Seeing Xiao Cheng ready himself, Wang Yang didn’t let his guard down. Tiger Master had never formally taught him martial arts, but with what he’d picked up and his background in thievery, he was hardly a novice. He’d thought trouncing a bookish type like Xiao Cheng would be easy, but this kid was slipperier than an eel—he’d run rings around the yard for ages. If it came to blows, Wang Yang knew he had to watch for strange tricks.

“Hey, Wang Yang, how about we team up and go after Tiger Master instead?”

After holding his stance for so long, Wang Yang was feeling a bit deflated. “Are you kidding? The two of us could form a whole soccer team and still not match a single hand of Tiger Master’s. Enough chatter, let me give you a beating, I promise I’ll go easy.”

“Who says we have to win to challenge Tiger Master? If we refuse to fight each other and challenge our master instead, he might not say it, but he’d be pleased! And even if we can’t beat him, he’d never really hurt us.”

Wang Yang considered it. Xiao Cheng had a point. Tiger Master had said if Wang Yang didn’t beat Xiao Cheng, he’d beat them both. So why not challenge their master together? That way, they’d be seen as standing up for each other, not bullying the weak! He nodded at Xiao Cheng, then turned to Tiger Master and gravely declared, “Master, you taught me that in martial arts, we must not bully the weak or harm our own. Though Xiao Cheng and I have never formally become disciples, we’re brothers in arms, and I’m four years his senior. I can’t bring myself to hit him. Just now you said if I didn’t beat him, you’d take on both of us. We’ve decided—we two challenge you together!”

Xiao Cheng stepped up to stand beside Wang Yang, facing Tiger Master with solemn respect. “It’s no heroism to fight two against one. Let Wang Yang go first. If he can’t do it, then I’ll take my turn!”

Wang Yang turned, eyes wide, but at that moment, Xiao Cheng struck—his left hand feinting for Wang Yang’s eyes, right hand seizing his little finger, twisting his arm, and sweeping his legs out from under him, throwing Wang Yang to the ground. Even after he was down, Xiao Cheng refused to let go, gripping the little finger tightly.

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Tormenting Wang Yang is especially satisfying—are you all enjoying it?