Chapter 33: Pleasure in The Chase

Duan Lei, who had just vanished from sight, appeared in Lu Xuan's vision in an instant. The two of them, one in front and one behind, shuttled incessantly through the forest.

Lu Xuan's movement technique was extremely fast, rotating between Deer Form and Crane Form, leaping through the trees like a startled deer and gliding like a crane.

Duan Lei, fleeing for his life, felt as if he were being haunted by a ghost. He ran like a madman, wishing he had four legs, because he knew that if he were caught, he would surely die.

Lu Xuan was in no hurry to catch up. He deliberately kept Duan Lei within sight, savoring the man's panic as he fled.

Every time Duan Lei thought he had gained some distance, Lu Xuan would close in again, letting him glimpse death before falling back and giving him a sliver of false hope.

He was enjoying the chase.

He wanted to watch Duan Lei exhaust himself, to watch hope drain from his eyes, and to savor the moment when his prey finally understood that escape had never been possible.

Sure enough, before they had covered a few hundred feet, Duan Lei's footsteps began to falter. He was already injured; the saber wounds on his arms and legs were still seeping blood, and after running all this way, blood had stained half his sleeve red.

"Thud!"

Duan Lei tripped over a tree root, fell to the ground, and scrambled forward on all fours.

"Don't... don't kill me... don't kill me..."

As soon as he turned over, he saw Lu Xuan already standing before him. The sunlight filtering through the swaying leaves above flickered, making it impossible to see the expression on Lu Xuan's face.

Duan Lei couldn't stop trembling all over, his lips quivering incessantly.

"Spare me, I... I won't tell anyone... I swear... I..."

Lu Xuan looked down at him, "You already told Lu Wanshan just now."

Duan Lei's face was as white as paper.

"I, I was forced... If I didn't say it, he would have killed me..."

"So you sold me out instead?"

Duan Lei opened his mouth but couldn't speak, Lu Xuan crouched down and looked at him.

"You ate my friend's peanuts, took credit for my work, and betrayed my secrets."

His voice was very calm.

"Tell me... where is there such a good thing in the world?"

Tears and snot streamed down Duan Lei's face together.

"Mercy... I'll give you all the banknotes... all the silver... just let me go."

He pulled the banknotes from his robe and held them up to Lu Xuan, he took the banknotes and tucked them into his robe.

"You forgot one thing."

"Wh... what thing?"

Lu Xuan said indifferently.

"If I kill you, the banknotes will still be mine."

Duan Lei's expression changed.

Lu Xuan raised his hand.

A single palm strike.

Duan Lei's head shattered like a watermelon falling from the sky, blood and brains splattering onto the weeds, destined to be a feast for the wild creatures of the forest.

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Lu Xuan didn't hesitate; he leaned forward and began to search the corpse. He searched once, and besides some loose silver, Duan Lei actually had a manual for a Cultivation Technique on him.

"Thunderclap Hand!"

Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow.

There really was such a cultivation technique.

It seemed that Duan Lei's nickname had come from this manual. Lu Xuan only hoped that the technique itself wouldn't be as trashy as the man who practiced it.

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After dealing with Duan Lei, Lu Xuan didn't go straight back to the escort agency. Instead, he turned into the woods by the roadside and caught two pheasants.

They were quite plump.

Then, carrying the pheasants, he entered the city.

Xiao Lin's home was in a narrow alley in the west of the city. The courtyard gate was still crooked, not yet repaired.

Lu Xuan pushed the door open; Aunt Lin was hanging laundry in the courtyard and was stunned to see him.

"Xuan'er is here?"

"Yes. Came to see Xiao Lin, Aunty."

Seeing the pheasants in his hand, Aunt Lin's eyes instantly turned red.

"You didn't have to bring anything... you child..."

"Just two pheasants, they aren't worth much."

Lu Xuan handed over the pheasants, then took out three silver pieces from his robe and pressed them into Aunt Lin's hand.

Aunt Lin looked down, her hands trembling.

"This, this won't do..."

"Take it. Buy some supplements for Xiao Lin and Uncle Lin."

Aunt Lin's eyes welled up. Her lips trembled, but no words came out; she could only clutch the silver tightly and nod again and again.

Lu Xuan walked into the room.

Xiao Lin was lying on the bed. His complexion was a little better than yesterday, but he was still pale and bloodless. His left arm and chest were wrapped in cloth bandages, making him look like a dumpling.

His eyes lit up the moment he saw Lu Xuan.

"Brother Xuan! You're here!"

Lu Xuan walked over and sat down on the stool beside the bed.

"Feeling better?"

"Much better!"

Xiao Lin grinned, but the movement tugged at his wounds, and he immediately frowned.

"It's just that the wounds itch. The doctor said that means they're healing."

"It's good that they itch."

Xiao Lin chuckled, then glanced behind Lu Xuan.

"Brother Xuan, what's that in your hand?"

"Pheasants. I brought them for you."

Xiao Lin's eyes lit up, then dimmed again.

"Pheasants... pheasants..."

He suddenly fell silent, his eyes reddening.

Lu Xuan knew what he was thinking.

Last time, he had spent days trapping a pheasant and prepared it specifically to give to Lu Xuan the next day, but Huo Tianba had eaten it.

"Don't think about it anymore."

Lu Xuan said, "If you want to eat them in the future, go catch them yourself."

Xiao Lin sniffled and gave a small grin, "Yeah! When I'm better, I'll catch ten! I'll give you eight!"

"Just keep that to two. I can't eat eight."

Xiao Lin chuckled, but his smile suddenly faded, "Brother Xuan."

"Hmm?"

"Huo Tianba... is dead."

Lu Xuan looked at him, "I heard."

Xiao Lin lowered his head, looking at his cloth-wrapped chest.

"Some say an expert killed him, others say he offended the Lu Family and was taken out by their people. Some even say Duan Lei killed him... Who actually killed him?"

"I don't know."

Lu Xuan said, "It doesn't matter who killed him. It's just good that he's dead."

Xiao Lin nodded, then looked up again, "Brother Xuan, do you think... I can become an expert too?"

Lu Xuan looked at him, "You can."

Xiao Lin's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Really. Recover well, and once you're healed, practice your cultivation diligently."

Xiao Lin nodded vigorously, pulling at his wounds again and grimacing, "Ouch..."

Lu Xuan turned to leave.

"Brother Xuan!" Xiao Lin called out.

Lu Xuan looked back.

Xiao Lin grinned, his eyes a bit red.

"Thank you."

Lu Xuan didn't say anything, just nodded and walked out, in the courtyard, Aunt Lin was still hanging laundry. Seeing Lu Xuan come out, she quickly wiped her hands.

"Xuan'er, at least stay for dinner..."

"No thanks, my wife is waiting for me at home!"

Aunt Lin chased him to the door, wanting to say more, but Lu Xuan had already walked out of the alley.

Aunt Lin stood at the door, clutching the three silver pieces and watching Lu Xuan's back disappear at the end of the alley.

Her eyes turned red.

"This child... it hasn't been easy for him either..."

She wiped her eyes and turned back into the courtyard.

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Late at night, Shen Yuyan was asleep.

Lu Xuan sat in the courtyard, holding the Thunderclap Hand manual he had taken from Duan Lei.

He flipped to the first page.

[Thunderclap Hand, Profound Rank High Grade. Driven by the power of the five internal organs, the palm strike is like a thunderclap, fierce and overbearing. Not to be practiced by those with weak inner organs, otherwise the meridians will shatter.]

Lu Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Profound Rank High Grade.

One level higher than the Five Animals Transformation Art.

He continued to flip through the pages, memorizing everything at a glance, he closed the book.

He closed his eyes, and the moves and mental cultivation method of the Thunderclap Hand appeared in his mind.

It was unknown how Duan Lei had obtained this set of techniques. No wonder he had delayed in practicing it and still carried a saber to roam the Martial World.

It turned out there were conditions for practicing the Thunderclap Hand.

But Lu Xuan was different.

With Five Animals Great Perfection, his five internal organs were as strong as a tiger's.

This set of techniques seemed tailor-made for him.

If I master it, then in the future, won't I be "Thunderclap Hand" Duan Lei?