CHAPTER 61: ANNOYING AN ENEMY TO DEATH

*Clink* *Screech*

Instead of sinking into Xuhan’s flesh, the tip of the dagger encountered a solid layer of metal made specifically for blocking a backstab.

Han Xuhan felt a pang of dull pain coursing through his back as Shen Kai’s dagger slipped across the metal backplate, only managing to leave a shallow mark.

Less than half a second later, Shen Kai himself crashed into his back, unable to maintain his balance due to the surprising development.

The inhuman momentum gathered in Shen Kai’s soaring form transferred over to Han Xuhan’s scrawny body in that painful moment. Like a ragdoll, both of them were thrown across the small clearing, headed straight towards the illusory trap in the middle.

Shen Kai’s surprise from the botched attack lasted for only half a second. His body was tilted at an awkward angle, limbs tangled with Han Xuhan’s. Skidding across the flat ground at such velocity, it was extremely difficult for one to change their posture.

But Shen Kai somehow managed to twist his body away from Xuhan like a flying worm. He even kicked Han Xuhan’s back from an impossible angle, sending both of them flying off into opposite directions and avoiding falling into the underground layer.

Perhaps he had thought that Han Xuhan would take the opportunity to stab him back, or that he was trying to escape into the tunnel where Mu Ran could help him.

However, he was overestimating Xuhan’s capability. Let alone striking in retaliation or scheming to escape, Han Xuhan was barely conscious.

In fact, Shen Kai’s kick, combined with the momentum of their clash, had sent him off flying in such an exaggerated manner that it could fit the scene of a rabbit getting hit by a warhammer.

His body traversed a long distance, ’performed’ a full spin in the air, barely avoided the edge of the underground tunnel, and crashed into a thick tree quite far away from Shen Kai’s landing spot.

By then, Shen Kai had recovered from his surprise, steady as ever and back on his feet. Without any hesitation, he leaped across the clearing like an agile beast and landed right in front of Han Xuhan’s crumpled figure.

"What did you put on your back, kid?"

Han Xuhan groaned and tried to sit up. He had worn the backplate hoping to survive an ambush. But he hadn’t imagined that he’d experience an ambush so early.

And it wasn’t as if the backplate had protected him from pain. Shen Kai’s kick had nearly cracked his spine with sheer power!

He had suspected that his opponents in this mission would be powerful, but not in the expensive Martial Path, and certainly not THIS powerful and cunning!

He had even managed to fool the town chief into a perfect collaboration! Or was that man complicit in this plan?

Shen Kai had claimed earlier that his cultivation level was at the fourth realm of a Mystic Art. But his actual trump card was his achievements in the Martial Path. He had to be much stronger than Xuhan’s earlier assessment, maybe even stronger than Mu Ran!

Han Xuhan, with his uncultivated second-layer base, was no different from a child fighting an adult. His Mystic Art wasn’t even focused on combat.

If he fought back now, he would be little different from a chicken being butchered. Even if he attacked Shen Kai with all of his strength, he wouldn’t be able to leave any serious injuries on him unless Shen Kai welcomed his attack without putting up any sort of defense at all.

Internally, he flamed Mu Ran’s eighteen generations while trying to buy time.

"Brother Kai, what do you mean by this?!"

Shen Kai rolled his eyes, as if he couldn’t believe that someone could ask such a question after surviving a dagger to the back.

"We have no grievances between us, Brother Kai. Have I offended you somehow? I had eyes but I couldn’t see mountain Tai! Please have mercy!"

Han Xuhan put up his hands in the air and surrendered as soon as he managed to sit up.

Shen Kai was stunned for the second time. He had never expected his target to be so weak, to begin with. On top of that, Han Xuhan looked like he was about to cry while begging him to spare his life.

What kind of sniveling brat did the Crimson Snow sect send here? This question was almost painted over his countenance.

But almost immediately, Shen Kai’s eyes narrowed into slits. He knew the Crimson Snow Sect’s reputation. They wouldn’t select a weakling like this if he wasn’t some sort of cultivation genius.

To him, Han Xuhan seemed useless from every point of view. The only remarkable thing about him so far was the fact that he had just survived an assassination attempt by somebody much more powerful than him. But that could be attributed to luck, right?

Han Xuhan, meanwhile, was stammering away with a painful expression on his face as he slowly inched backwards on the ground.

Despite the pleadings for mercy coming out of his mouth in a frenzy, his nerves had become calmer. Before Shen Kai had revealed his murderous intention, the enemy in his mind was something unfamiliar. Things were different now.

The unknown is always much scarier compared to enemies out in the open, flaunting their abilities. Of course, Han Xuhan was aware that his enemy was much stronger than he had anticipated, but it didn’t mean he would just lie down and wait for death.

When overpowered with brute strength, one can only rely on wisdom’s guidance.

Shen Kai snorted at Xuhan’s ceaseless begging.

"Hey, look at you! Not so high and mighty now, are you? Where did all that pomp and eloquence go? Crimson Snow Sect’s disciple, my ass!"

He naturally wasn’t willing to waste his time mocking his weak opponent. But the failure of his perfect ambush made him unwilling to face another surprise.

He was quite experienced when it came to life-and-death battles. Lucky weirdos like Han Xuhan didn’t go down that easy.

What if this kid had some secret cards to play?

The aim of his verbal abuse was to stir up Han Xuhan’s anger and make him eager to retaliate. An eager warrior is a dead warrior when the final outcome is either life or death. And people in Han Xuhan’s age demographic were the easiest to rile up.

However, the possibilities he imagined didn’t happen. Han Xuhan stuck to begging for mercy while crawling away like a worm.

What irked Shen Kai even more was that his words sounded like they had been taken out of a cheap soap opera written by someone who has never been in an actual fight.

The longer he waited, the more lines he came up with!

"Big brother Shen Kai, you’re a dragon among men. You’re a real man! How can you ambush and bully weaklings like me? Please spare this shrimp’s life and you’ll definitely accumulate great positive karma, enough to push even a smelly dungworm to the celestial realm!"

Oh come on, haven’t you yapped enough?

Don’t you have any other plans?

Shen Kai roared in his heart. However, Han Xuhan refused to relent.

"Even if you cripple my cultivation, I’m fine with that! Just don’t kill me. Killing is wrong! Killing me will bring great bad karma to you—"

"Okay, shut the fuck up!"

Shen Kai had heard enough of this bullshit. His time and patience—both were running out.