Everyday I Get up to See the Villain Stealing the Show 42

An Yuan was quiet, staring into the darkness. 

Three people had followed them. 

Han Changsheng’s voice fell, and it was quiet all around. Only the crackling of burning branches flickered through the air. Even if someone unskilled in martial arts was there, they would think Han Changsheng had made a mistake. 

Han Changsheng smiled, picking up a half-burnt piece of firewood. Without warning, he threw it into the darkness. A scream echoed back. A man rolled out from behind a mound, his shoulder alight. He beat at the fire, desperate to put it out until another man came to help him. Together, they extinguished it. 

At last, all three of them crept from the hidden hillock. They were strong, with big bodies and knives. Fierce as fiends, they stood with sturdy, muscled bodies. Wearing sackcloths, it was clear that they were bandits. 

One of them was the silver peddler who had blackmailed An Yuan. 

“You see, I told you to teach him a lesson,” Han Changsheng said, “And you stubbornly gave him silver. Not only did you waste Laozi’s silver, now you’ve made them think we’re easy pickings.”

An Yuan didn’t speak. He put down his uneaten pheasant, resting it on the fire. It continued to bake. 

The silver peddler neared, a broadsword at his side. “Give us all your silver, and we’ll consider letting you live.”

The one with the burnt shoulder raged, “Elder brother, stop talking nonsense. Just kill them and grab the silver!”

But, the peddler kept on, “Give up the money quickly, and we won’t take your lives.”

Han Changsheng smiled, malicious and evil. “I wanted your life to be useful. You see, I’m short of people for whetting my blade!”

The second man was furious at his words, he roared in anger. He rushed towards Han Changsheng with a knife in hand. The peddler wanted to stop him but didn’t. The third man ran towards An Yuan, ready to fight. 

Han Changsheng dodged and blocked An Yuan. After pretending to be Li Jiulong for so long, blocking swords and spears for An Yuan was second nature. He had a subconscious reaction to protect him. As soon as he saw someone wielding a knife or spear, he would jump in to protect him. He almost blurted, “If you have the courage, come at me.”

Just when he was about to speak, he remembered that this version of An Yuan was vastly different from the one he protected as Li Jiulong. It was almost funny. 

Since Han Changsheng was so active and considerate, An Yuan sat still and didn’t talk, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

The two men didn’t take Han Changsheng seriously. To them, he and An Yuan were just two rich men from the city. They had experienced nothing as rough as the life of a bandit and had never killed anyone. They had small arms and calves, the men could break them with only a wrench. 

“Bang!”

The man’s sword shot forward to Han Changsheng’s face. Acting fast, Han Changsheng drew out his own. The swords connected, tip to tip. His internal strength forced the man back two steps, coughing up blood. 

But, Han Changsheng didn’t take advantage of his retreat. A mischievous smile curled up his lip. 

They had a huge difference in strength. The three men had little internal power, they were blundering with reckless force. Their posture was terrible, they could only scare away novices who hadn’t learned martial arts. In the past, the fight would’ve taken more effort. But now, he could fight them off with just one finger.

With a power gap this wide, he could beat down the three weak men in a single move. Han Changsheng had a dark playfulness in his heart. He wanted them to know how weak they were. 

Seeing their companion forced away by Han Changsheng’s moves, the other two were shocked. 

Han Changsheng provoked them, “And here I thought you’d be powerful.”

The other man couldn’t restrain his rage and rushed toward Han Changsheng again. When the peddler looked at his injured comrade, he finally started to make his move.

The two men swooped in front of Han Changsheng, both of them drawing out their blades. Leaving his sword in its sheath, Han Changsheng dodged both of them. In their eyes, as long as they were more accurate than he was, they could cut him down. But, to Han Changsheng, it was far too easy. 

The men kept slashing one after the other, but each time they would find that their attacks missed. 

A huge pressure overwhelmed them. The peddler held his knife in the air, shivering. His arms were frozen midair, unable to move. Another man found himself even more embarrassed. Taking two steps back, he fell on the ground, his face white with fear. 

Han Changsheng, standing with his hands on his back, looked like he hadn’t done a thing. 

The two men looked at him, and he looked back. The hair on their arms stood on end. What happened? None of them knew! They were in a panic, short of breath, as if they’d been attacked by a demon. They had no strength in their bodies. 

Because the two men had never practiced their internal strength, they didn’t know the evil force that oppressed them stemmed from Han Changsheng’s powerful internal strength. However, because they had none, they just escaped a disaster. They were lucky they only felt flustered and short of breath, rather than going into Qi deviation and bleeding to death. 

Han Changsheng looked at the two shivering men, a satisfied smile on his face. The cultivation of internal skill didn’t only strengthen the body, it could also become a powerful weapon. Several sects in the Jianghu specialized in the internal skill. Under normal circumstances, the human’s acupoints were closed internally, and real Qi flowed in the body without overflowing. 

Just then, he reopened his path and released his real Qi. He formed an immense pressure on the bandits, so they would stop fighting and retreat. 

Internal power was limited, and as long as the internal skills were properly cultivated, real Qi could be regenerated infinitely. When the internal skill cultivation reached a certain level, one could also use Qi as a sword, such as the six pulses divine blade. 

Han Changsheng had practiced some kung fu before, but his internal skill wasn’t powerful enough to do much with it. Now, though, the mysterious old man gave him all his internal strength. After months of recuperation with An Yuan’s help, he finally had some control over it. 

This was the first time he tried to oppress his opponents with real Qi. The poor bandits were his small-scale lab rats, but he was proud. It was a great feeling.

“You. . .” Han Changsheng opened his mouth to speak, but his face changed. Suddenly, his Dantian was empty, and Qi began to move chaotically through his body. Every day, An Yuan helped him balance his internal force, and he hadn’t had Qi deviation by it for a long time. But now, it was recurring. 

Falling to the ground, Han Changsheng clutched at his chest. 

An Yuan, who watched for a long time, finally reacted. He frowned, walking to Han Changsheng’s side, and grabbed his hand. 

Han Changsheng closed his eyes and groaned miserably. 

The three bandits fell from their frozen stances, shocked. One of them reached for his broadsword, struggling to get up. Carefully, he approached An Yuan and Han Changsheng. He wanted to rob them, but An Yuan gave him a sharp look. “One step closer, and it’s your death. Get out of here!” His powerful, murderous tone made the men tremble and run back. 

The peddler covered his chest and climbed to his feet. “Let’s withdraw!”

Almost all three of them were injured. Even though An Yuan never stepped foot into their fight until the very end, he looked even more powerful than Han Changsheng. The three dared not to pester them anymore. Helping each other along, they ran off into the distance. The silver peddler ran a few steps, but hesitated, looking back at An Yuan. His companion gave him a quick tug, then ran on. In a moment, the three disappeared into the desolate night. 

Han Changsheng had sweat pouring down his forehead. Looking up at An Yuan, he asked, “Why did you let them go?”

Without feeling, An Yuan replied, “Shut up!”

Angry, Han Changsheng said, “I’m so kind to you. I taught you martial arts and I’m helping you investigate what happened to your father. In return, why are you so cruel to me? Those thieves tried to rob us in the middle of the night, and you just let them go?”

An Yuan frowned. “Shut up, if you don’t want to suffer!”

Han Changsheng was so furious, e wished he had a whip to lash An Yuan in the butt.

Cold sweat dripped from An Yuan’s forehead. His frown wasn’t only impatient but painful. Stunned, Han Changsheng swallowed his words and looked down. An Yuan had bled through his robe. 

When did An Yuan get hurt? He hadn’t fought at all. He was fine until then!

An Yuan hummed again. Something hit his right shoulder, and he shuddered, leaning back. He clutched Han Changsheng’s hand harder. Stunned, Han Changsheng suddenly regained control of his thoughts. The thieves didn’t hurt An Yuan, he did. He couldn’t control his Qi, his Qi path was still open, and the fierce Qi was overflowing. Every time he was angry, he unconsciously hurt An Yuan, but An Yuan said nothing. He just tried to help him suppress his rage. 

Han Changsheng bared his teeth, and his anger half gone. He tried to calm himself, helping his Qi return. It was an accident that he hurt the Dog Lord; he didn’t expect his Qi could run amok and hurt both of them. It was his misfortune!

Squeezing his eyes shut, Han Changsheng murmured, “I asked you to pass on the mantra or teach me to neutralize my internal power on my own. But you insisted on staying with me. If you had done as I asked, this would have never happened.”

Coldly, An Yuan replied, “Don’t even think about it. I said your life and death are in my hands!”