Chapter 335: Chapter 289: Mental Attack
Yang Xiao had never expected to be so easily exposed; it seemed the other party had merely been putting on an act, sending away his underlings to better engage him without restraint. Yang Xiao knew he had encountered a tough opponent today.
The underling he had killed in the parking lot hadn’t been lying; this fellow was confident in his own strength, and was certainly not someone to be taken lightly.
Now that he had been found, there was no point in hiding any longer. Yang Xiao, wearing a mask and a duckbill cap, stepped out from the shadows.
Huang Sanbing sized up Yang Xiao and frowned slightly, as if Yang Xiao did not match the image Huang had in mind. He did not rush to attack but instead clasped his hands together and said, "How should I address you, young friend, and where do you hail from? Have I, Huang Sanbing, offended you in any way?"
Yang Xiao remained silent. He was there to kill, not to chat. The only reason he hadn’t made a move yet was because he was still looking for Huang Sanbing’s magic artifact.
Seeing that Yang Xiao remained speechless, Huang Sanbing dropped his pretense, his face turning sinister and terrifying, "Since you refuse to speak the truth, don’t blame Lord Huang San for being ruthless. Even if I slaughter you, your elders cannot blame me."
As soon as those words fell, Huang Sanbing flicked his wrist, and a wooden stick slid out from the loose sleeve of his fur coat. As he caught it in his hand, it twisted a few times; the next second, Huang Sanbing lifted his arm and swung the stick through the air towards Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao hadn’t expected the wooden stick to be flexible, hidden against Huang Sanbing’s arm inside his sleeve. The swing seemed ordinary, but the pressure it exerted on Yang Xiao was unparalleled; he felt a strange force coming at him from midair.
Fortunately, Yang Xiao was highly vigilant and quick to react. He dodged to the right, and although it was a close call, he narrowly avoided the attack.
The strange force collided with the wall where Yang Xiao had been standing moments earlier without causing any damage or even a sound. Just as Yang Xiao was puzzled, the force rebounded off the wall like a rubber ball, heading straight back towards him.
Now Yang Xiao began to panic. This force seemed similar to the Ming Paper Money on his Nether Garment that pursued its target relentlessly until their demise.
However, the Ming Paper Money required contact with the opponent, while this stick seemed to lock on with a mere swing. How the hell was he supposed to fight this?
Yang Xiao dodged left and right, the strange force doggedly pursuing him. Thankfully, its speed wasn’t very fast, and gradually, Yang Xiao discerned a pattern: the force was weakening over time. But even so, it would catch up to him before it completely dissipated.
After narrowly avoiding another strike, Yang Xiao seized the opportunity to charge at Huang Sanbing. At that moment, Huang Sanbing was holding the strange wooden stick firmly in front of him, feet apart in a horse stance, his face contorted and body trembling, as if he was performing a ritual to control the bizarre force chasing Yang Xiao.
If he could get close and deal with Huang Sanbing first, the force pursuing him would dissipate on its own, and there was a chance Huang Sanbing would even suffer backlash from the artifact.
In the real world, it wasn’t appropriate to use the horsetail whisk, so Yang Xiao quickly drew out the Mountain Splitter Blade from his backpack and charged at Huang Sanbing. Judging by the speed of the eerie force behind him, he was certainly faster. Huang Sanbing had no way to avoid this blade.
As the distance closed, Huang Sanbing’s look of terror intensified. Yet just as Yang Xiao could see his own reflection in Huang Sanbing’s pupils, Huang Sanbing suddenly laughed, his face unable to hide his smugness. Yang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat, and the next second, the force chasing him vanished into thin air. Huang Sanbing turned the wooden stick towards Yang Xiao, pointing it at him, and another, faster, stronger force erupted instantly, shooting straight at Yang Xiao’s face.
They were too close, and Yang Xiao’s forward momentum left him no room to maneuver. In desperation, he summoned the Ghost Lantern to shield himself. The next instant, both Yang Xiao and the lantern were blown away by the peculiar force, crashing heavily onto the ground. It took him a moment to sit up, his mind a complete mess, the surroundings unfamiliar. He felt as if he had forgotten many things, and more terrifyingly, his Ghost Lantern had been extinguished.
That Huang Sanbing could still sit up after being struck surprised Huang Sanbing. Gathering his strength for another blow, Huang Sanbing swung the stick once more. Sensing danger, Yang Xiao scrambled on hands and feet towards a nearby car, and quickly pulled out the Soul-Capturing Mirror, ducking into the Mirror World.
"Hu——"
"Hu——"
The moment he stepped into the Mirror World, Yang Xiao collapsed to the ground, his head splitting with pain. He hadn’t expected Huang Sanbing to find him so soon, and without having donned the Underworld Robe in advance. Now he tore open his backpack and slipped on the robe. Gradually, Yang Xiao’s chaotic thoughts began to calm, and his lost memories slowly pieced back together, like shards being fitted into place.
Leaning against the wall and resting for about 10 minutes, Yang Xiao regained his ability to think. Huang Sanbing’s magic artifact was devilishly effective; he had no serious injuries, only some scrapes and bruises from his fall. But his mind had taken a severe blow.
Yang Xiao immediately thought of the two martial artists who had once been hired to assassinate Huang Sanbing. They were unharmed, yet they had become simpletons with diminished intelligence. Even hospital tests revealed nothing.
Indeed, Huang Sanbing’s artifact didn’t physically injure, but attacked the mind, and had the ability to seek out its target. It was incredibly troublesome.
Looking at the Ghost Lantern beside him, Yang Xiao’s thoughts stirred, and the extinguished lantern lit up once again. At this moment, the green light covering his body didn’t make him feel chilly. On the contrary, it brought him comfort.
The instant that power struck the Ghost Lantern, Yang Xiao lost control of it, feeling as if the psychic energy he had instilled in the lantern was instantly drained away.
Capable of imposing a tracking-capable psychic assault and able to interfere with the use of magic artifacts, it was indeed a treasured artifact. No wonder the owner of the Drama Robe was so obsessed with it.
But the more sinister a magic artifact is, the more psychic power it consumes and the stronger the side effects it imparts, demanding more from its user. With attacks of this caliber, Yang Xiao guessed that Huang Sanbing wouldn’t be able to use it many times. Otherwise, the Liehu Gang would have dominated the region long ago, and the Hailong Club wouldn’t even be an issue.
Having rested enough, Yang Xiao approached a reflective car door to check the situation outside. Just as he expected, Huang Sanbing’s condition wasn’t much better than his—still standing in place, clenching his teeth and gripping his stick, ever vigilant of his surroundings.
A moment later, a series of footsteps ran over—it was Huang Sanbing’s dozen or so underlings. Yet, instead of asking them to help search for Yang Xiao, he hid the stick under his clothes, roared at the underlings in the distance to stand guard outside the parking lot, forbidding them from entering without his command, and reminded them to kill anyone leaving the parking lot.
"He’s not calling for help?"
Yang Xiao couldn’t help but reevaluate Huang Sanbing, seeing him as even more ruthless—a man determined to kill him that day.
The reasoning was simple: he had seen that magic artifact, or rather, its capabilities. It was indeed a treasure. If he got away and leaked the news, those who would come knocking could raze the Liehu Gang to the ground.
During his time at the Patrol Defense Bureau, Director Nalan had reminded him to keep a low profile and not to reveal the Underworld Robe lightly. The reputation of the Patrol Defense Office itself could not deter those madmen, let alone a small Liehu Gang located in a remote area.
Yang Xiao also realized that the wooden stick magic artifact, though powerful, demanded extremely high levels from its user, requiring immense psychic strength, which Huang Sanbing clearly lacked.
The fellow was no less cunning than himself, with impressive acting skills. Yang Xiao dared not take him lightly. Since his adversary wasn’t fleeing and was resolved to fight to the end, Yang Xiao would drain Huang Sanbing’s psychic power again. When it was almost depleted, he would strike with a fatal blow.
The plan was simple: go out and draw fire, then use the Mirror World to dodge the attacks. No more than two times should be enough to exhaust him.
After confirming his plan of action, Yang Xiao found a spot somewhat distant from Huang Sanbing to emerge, and shouted in a subdued voice, "Huang San-dog, I’m calling you out, dare you respond?"
"Whoosh—"
The moment Huang Sanbing turned his head, he swung his stick at Yang Xiao. This time the force was much weaker than the first. With the Drama Robe on his body, Yang Xiao felt confident, thinking he might not have too much trouble even taking the hit directly, but to be safe, he retreated into the Mirror World.
When the force outside had dissipated, the exhausted Huang Sanbing stopped pretending and started to run towards the outside, shouting for help.
Yang Xiao knew his opportunity had come and immediately took action, pulling Huang Sanbing into the Mirror World. This tug gave Yang Xiao a rough estimate of Huang Sanbing’s true strength, which was a notch below the Venerable Level Heretic Cultivator, Granny Hong. After all, he had once tried to pull Granny Hong in, but failed to do so.
Once inside, this was Yang Xiao’s home turf. Huang Sanbing staggered a few times, barely avoiding a fall. It seemed that after using the wooden stick magic artifact three times in a row, he was already running on fumes. The moment Huang Sanbing, who had just steadied himself, saw Yang Xiao approaching with a large blade, he pleaded loudly, "Brother, don’t do it! Are you sent by the Hailong Club to kill me? We have no old grudges or recent quarrels. If you let me go today, whatever the Hailong Club offers, I’ll triple it, no, quintuple it! If you agree, we’ll gang up and slaughter the Hailong Club’s boss, and I’ll let you be the chairman!"
"The Hailong Club agreed to pay cash, 10 million to take your life. You’re offering five times that, can you honestly pay up?" Yang Xiao walked toward Huang Sanbing with a smile.
"I can pay; I can pay!!" Huang Sanbing’s body trembled as he bowed to rummage through his pockets. "Just wait, brother, I have a check here, and..."
The next second, Huang Sanbing suddenly brandished the stick in his hands and struck at Yang Xiao, but Yang Xiao had anticipated the trickery. He instantly took out the Ghost Lantern and held it in front of him. This time, the flame inside the lantern just flickered violently a few times but didn’t go out.
Yang Xiao wasn’t about to indulge him and charged at the spent Huang Sanbing with his blade. As Huang Sanbing turned to run, Yang Xiao caught up and cut him down from behind.
One strike after another, each a critical hit, the scene was extremely bloody. But he had no choice; he’d promised to take a photo—otherwise, he would have used the horsetail whisk.
