Chapter 19: Chapter 15 Fierce Battle
```
As the distance closed, the sounds became clearer, no longer intermittent as they were at the beginning, but correspondingly, the stench of blood grew stronger.
Slowly, a muscular middle-aged man came into Lin Fei's view. He sat on the forest floor, bloodstains sticking to his face and wearing a black baseball cap, his bare upper body showcasing muscles that were pale and twisted like little mice squirming under the skin.
The man kept talking to himself, with no one else around. Only in front of him lay the blood-covered body of a woman, dressed in a red dress. From Lin Fei's angle, she could only see the woman's exposed feet, painted with red nail polish, her toes delicate and clear.
From the curves, complexion, and dressing, Lin Fei deduced that she must have been a quite refined woman.
The middle-aged man sitting beside the woman, with a full beard and indifferent eyes, was lit by the sunset glow, creating a bright reflection from the ground. It was a small fruit knife, still with some dried blood on it.
Lin Fei's heart tightened to the extreme, it was obvious that this man was a desperate fugitive who had just killed someone and was in an unstable emotional state. If he discovered Lin Fei spying on him at such a moment, he would undoubtedly kill without hesitation.
However, the more dangerous the situation, the calmer Lin Fei's heart became.
"Silently backing away is the best option, I must not be discovered by him, for if I am, it's bound to be a fight to the death."
In both his past and present lives, Lin Fei had actually been just an ordinary person. Although he resolved to face life and death head-on in this reborn life, it was only when confronted with such a scene that Lin Fei truly understood, the mental resolve needed was definitely not something that could be supported by the mere determination he had at the start.
In this era of the rule of law, killing someone meant a violation of the law, a direct defiance against the entire nation's system and order, a direct confrontation with the massive and terrifying state machinery.
The severe consequences of such an action were akin to stepping wrong and finding oneself between heaven and earth. So at this moment, he didn't even bother to assess whether the other person was an opponent he could handle; instead, he chose to retreat. This situation was nothing like the one at the Martial Arts Club. That time was just the use of some covert little tricks, and it was not fatal. This time, however, was completely different.
Lin Fei slowly retreated, afraid to make even the slightest sound. The man, very cooperatively, remained sitting on the ground, muttering to himself with some inexplicable sad words, completely unaware of Lin Fei's presence.
But as things often go against one's wishes, what Lin Fei feared most came to pass.
While crouching and moving backward, when his right elbow brushed past some shrubs, a rustling sound suddenly erupted, presumably from something Lin Fei had disturbed.
There was more than ten meters between Lin Fei and the man, a distance at which the noise was only equivalent to that of a normal conversation. But the sound caused the man sitting on the ground to jump up as if electrocuted, grabbing the small knife beside him and flinging it in a throw.
Lin Fei was startled, his body abruptly rolling to the left, only to hear a 'thunk' against a large tree behind him.
Upon checking his shoulder, he saw a fine tear in his shirt.
```
"A master!!" He concluded instantly. Lin Fei's first reaction was to flee.
If it were an ordinary person, he could have subdued the opponent, but confronting a fellow martial artist of equal skill in a life-or-death struggle was definitely beyond his current capabilities.
Just as Lin Fei flipped over, intending to stand and run away, he had not expected the man to close the distance with exceptional speed. With a couple of lunges, the man was in front of him, a fist as large as a bowl aiming straight for Lin Fei's lower abdomen.
Lin Fei hastily retreated backwards, his responsiveness honed through hardship in his previous life kicking in just in time, narrowly dodging the man's punch by a hair's breadth.
However, the man followed up immediately with an elbow strike that sailed towards him. Lin Fei could even clearly see the bulging muscles on the man's strong elbow, twisted tight, and the large tendons smashing down with the power of a bronze pillar.
This was seizing the initiative—a tactic critical when the strength of two competitors is similar. Once someone takes the advantage, the other is likely to be dragged into a quagmire of defense.
And now, Lin Fei was in such a situation. In a moment of urgency, he gripped the Bear Claw in his hand and stabbed upward fiercely, hooking towards the man's elbow.
The middle-aged man seemed to recognize the lethality of the Bear Claw and decisively pulled back. Another knee strike came from below. Lin Fei could only counterattack the man's attacking limb once more with the Bear Claw.
After several exchanges of blows, Lin Fei suddenly grunted, leapt backward, and exited the fray. His right hand, clutching the Bear Claw, swelled up quickly—it was evident that the man had targeted the fingers holding the weapon during one of the attacks, seeking to disarm him barehanded, but without success.
The man did not pursue him. The strong body merely stood silently in front of Lin Fei; in comparison, the man was nearly double in both height and girth.
"You're not from the company," said the man indifferently.
Lin Fei did not know what he meant, but the most pressing issue was to find a way to extricate himself and escape. A fierce martial arts expert wasn't terrifying—it was a martial arts expert who fought with a do-or-die attitude that was truly fearsome.
Seeing that Lin Fei did not respond, the man shook his head, as if feeling regret about something, then moved again, pouncing at him once more.
Another few rounds of silent combat ensued, where the man launched brutal, relentless strikes at the most vulnerable and lethal spots on Lin Fei's body with powerful force and a very clear rhythm. Moreover, listening to the man's stable breathing, Lin Fei could tell that the opponent had studied the rhythm of attacks, making him a rhythm-type expert.
Against such an opponent, once the initiative was lost, one might fall into the intricacies of their attack pattern, have their breathing disrupted, leading to a rapid depletion of physical strength.
Lin Fei continuously used the Bear Claw to block the man's attacks, none of which he could afford to take at this time. He had already been caught in the man's rhythm, having to muster all of his strength and focus at all times to guard against the opponent's sudden full-force strike. The attacker, on the other hand, could adjust his state with ease.
Lin Fei barely had time to take deep breaths, let alone shout out. The significant drain on his physical stamina and the high mental concentration required left him frantically coping with the heavy blows of the punches and kicks, akin to blunt weapons.
In just ten seconds of exchanging blows with this nameless man, Lin Fei had nearly been hit in the chest by the man's knee several times. It was obvious that the man employed the style of Muay Thai, extremely adept at using elbows and knee strikes, occasionally supplemented with whip kicks and punches. His attacks were savagely ferocious.
The two separated once again, and after a muffled sound, Lin Fei clutched his right hand tightly, his face pale.
"Snap." A drop of red blood fell to the ground.
There was silence in the woods.
The middle-aged man calmly watched Lin Fei, a hint of faint surprise on his face. He probably hadn't expected this ordinary youth who had suddenly appeared to hold out this long against a Muay Thai expert.
"Right."
The man looked puzzledly at Lin Fei who had suddenly spoken.
"What?"
Lin Fei's head hung low. His face was indiscernible. Only the sound of his extremely heavy breathing could be heard. Big droplets of sweat streamed down his temples and then dripped from his chin.
"Whoosh..." A breeze blew through, causing a rustling sound among the leaves in the woods. The golden-red sunlight was chopped into tiny fragments by the leaves, falling upon the two of them.
"Hiss!" Lin Fei didn't speak again but suddenly lunged forward, his Bear Claw cutting through the air with specks of blood, viciously stabbing towards the man's chest.
The latter took a small step back, his waist powered up, and his right leg instantly lashed out like a shadow toward the side of Lin Fei's body.
The man's face remained calm as he attacked Lin Fei again.
"Right!! That's it!!!" Lin Fei suddenly shouted, blocking the man's side-kick with a thud.
He lifted his head, his eyes flickering with an unexplainable excitement. A hint of confusion was hidden deep within them as well.
The man's expression changed slightly, his attacks coming even faster now. His nerves, honed from years on the brink of danger, gave rise to an inexplicable sense of crisis.
"Right!! This feeling!!" Lin Fei murmured deeply, firmly blocking every one of the man's attacks. The sunlight fell into his eyes, reflecting a broken golden-red hue.
The man's sense of crisis grew even more intense.
Suddenly, after another elbow strike was solidly blocked by Lin Fei, the youth burst into a neurotic laugh.
The laughter grew from soft to loud.
"Just like this!! Exactly like this!!! Hahaha..." Lin Fei laughed crazily. The Bear Claw in his hand slashed out trajectory after trajectory, turning from defense to offense.
The middle-aged man, although still having the upper hand with each exchange, couldn't help but feel a chill rise uncontrollably in his heart.
Some people feel fear in the face of danger, others fight back desperately, and some shout loudly to intimidate or bow their heads to beg for mercy.
But there was no one, not a single one!! Who was like the youth in front of him!!
Insane!!
Ferocious!!!
That kind of reckless assault, like a tempestuous storm, time and again bearing down like a colossal and unavoidable force; the fear of being utterly torn apart if he slowed down even slightly crept quietly into Fang Xiaobin's heart.
Sweat slowly trailed down his cheeks. Watching the youth in front of him, splattered with blood yet smiling broadly, the man distinctly felt a sense of fear growing in a heart that had never known fear before.
"You're insane!!" The man's low voice carried a hint of panic.
The breeze gently caressed as Lin Fei suddenly withdrew his blade and stood still in the wind. Leaves drifted down, brushing past his hair tips like raindrops.
His eyes shone with the glistening sheen of lake water.
The Bear Claw in his hand spun rapidly, emitting a whooshing sound.
"Snap!" The Bear Claw stopped instantly, tightly gripped and angled towards the ground.
"If that's your last words." A corner of Lin Fei's mouth curled up, his eyes revealing a sense of relief and realization.
"Then you can die."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone