Chapter 603: Chapter 603 Li Qing’s Doubt_1
After the two had discussed and decided on their plan, Li Qing leisurely made his way down the slope.
Meanwhile, Lü Zong lagged behind by two steps, seemingly admiring the surrounding scenery.
Having heard Li Qing’s explanation, he had been prepared to take the lead in the attack, believing that Li Qing’s combat ability might not be as good as his.
But he couldn’t talk Li Qing out of it, and in the end, he had no choice but to go along with Li Qing’s plan—supporting while Li Qing led the attack.
As the two descended, the shepherd happened to drive the sheep out of the gully, his forehead slick with sweat and cursing under his breath.
Seeing his awkward manner of brandishing the whip only reinforced Li Qing’s judgment.
How could a shepherd who couldn’t even handle a whip properly be a good shepherd?
Plus, these days it’s rare for shepherds to use whips at all; that’s an old-fashioned practice.
As Li Qing and Lü Zong approached, the shepherd curled up a sneer at the corner of his mouth and asked, "You’ve come down from there? Taking this route really takes you the long way around."
Li Qing responded with a grim smile. Suddenly, he swung a punch, "Little bastard, quite good at playing the part, aren’t you!"
The shepherd nimbly ducked his head. His feet, as if greased, slipped deftly backward and avoided Li Qing’s punch.
"What do you mean by that? Why strike at someone for no reason?" the shepherd shouted angrily.
Seeing the shepherd’s movements, Li Qing no longer had any reason to doubt—it was almost certain.
With his current strength, an average person couldn’t have dodged his punch.
"What do you think?" Li Qing retorted coldly, "You play the part well enough, but let’s see how many punches you can take!"
"Lü Zong, do not engage. You’re no match for this kid."
Lü Zong, who was about to strike, suddenly froze upon hearing these words.
But inside, he was puzzled. If I’m not his match, can you defeat him?
The smile on the shepherd’s face gradually faded as he pulled a sharp knife from behind his waist, "I didn’t expect to encounter a fellow martial artist. Which side are you from? No unnamed ghosts die under my blade, state your name."
"I’m your dad!" cursed Li Qing. "You’re giving up the act?"
Lü Zong’s expression shook violently. He hadn’t expected this fellow to truly be up to something shady.
When Li Qing had spoken before, he hadn’t taken it seriously, just thought Li Qing was being paranoid.
Now he was thoroughly convinced.
The shepherd gripped the dagger in his hand and suddenly lunged forward. The knife stabbed towards Li Qing’s heart while he exclaimed, "What’s the point in pretending once you’ve been uncovered? What difference does it make if you’ve found me out? Just two more corpses in the ravine is all. Too bad there are no wolves in these mountains nowadays, or I wouldn’t even have to bother digging a grave for you two!"
"You sure talk too much!" Li Qing dodged the dagger sideways and swung out a heavy slap, "Let’s see you dodge this!"
With a bang, the shepherd was sent flying.
Li Qing’s slap was cunning, striking just as the shepherd’s body was still unbalanced from the missed stab.
Dust billowed, and the shepherd struggled to emerge from the ground, spitting out several bloodied teeth.
"Little bastard, I underestimated you, actually daring to attack my meal ticket! You’re asking for death!" the shepherd snarled furiously, and charged again.
Li Qing’s gaze grew sharp, "It appears you do have some skills after all."
He knew very well how powerful his slap was; he could snap a thick willow tree on the mountain top with one slap, yet this man had only lost a few teeth.
No wonder Lü Zong and his men were no match for these people.
The opponent Lü Zong had provoked this time was unbelievably strong.
Li Qing fiercely shook off his hand, dodging the shepherd’s stabbing blade and launching a punch at the back of the guy’s heart.
But in that split second, the shepherd’s body twisted strangely, and his pointed knife slid up from Li Qing’s groin.
This move sent chills down Li Qing’s spine. "You son of a bitch, you still want to operate on me!"
Li Qing was furious, and his full strength surged up instantaneously, his momentum skyrocketed in a moment.
He grabbed the shepherd’s arm and kicked out viciously with his leg.
The shepherd had not expected Li Qing to have reserved his strength. Blindsided by the kick, his body curled up like a shrimp and he collapsed to the ground, losing his knife to Li Qing in the process.
Li Qing, holding the sharp knife in hand, pounced on the shepherd and started beating him left and right.
Strike while the enemy is sick, take his life.
Although Li Qing had mostly dealt with demons and ghosts since his cultivation began, fighting them had some similarities to fighting humans.
At any rate, you must not allow them the chance to fight back.
With a succession of rapid slaps, the shepherd’s cheeks visibly swelled up, turning a patchwork of black and blue.
He seemed almost on the verge of passing out but was jolted awake by Li Qing’s slaps.
In this repeated cycle, the shepherd still tried to resist, but he could no longer muster any strength.
"Where is Lü Zong?" Li Qing demanded sternly.
"You bastard, what are you talking about? I don’t know," the shepherd shouted indistinctly.
Even in defeat, his spirit hadn’t waned, appearing just as ferocious as before.
Li Qing swung his palm again for another round of left and right slapping.
His arm was getting sore from all the slapping.
Gong watched from the side, grimacing; the sound of the slaps was painful even for him to watch.
No wonder Li Qing said he wouldn’t be a match for this kid. It seemed quite true indeed...
But he was puzzled; when had Li Qing gotten so good at fighting?
He remembered clearly the few incidents Li Qing had faced before were all sorted out by him.
Back then, he was beaten so miserably by a few hoodlums.
It was as if, all of a sudden, a feeble scholar had turned into a fierce general leading armies with unparalleled bravery.
The difference was just too great!
"Will you talk or not?" Li Qing, gripping the shepherd’s neck and pressing his fist against the man’s Dantian, warned, "With one punch, all the effort you’ve put in your first half of life will go to waste. This is your only chance for redemption. Think carefully."
"If you have the guts, just kill me!" the shepherd roared viciously, his mouth full of blood.
Li Qing’s expression suddenly turned ice-cold. "Don’t reject the face given to you. I won’t kill you, but I can make your life worse than death. Actually, killing you doesn’t mean much to me. Don’t think I won’t dare—I can make it very clear to you, killing you... it’s legal!"
The shepherd’s expression changed abruptly, "Who exactly are you?"
"You already know we are from the same world, and knowing what you’ve done, who do you think would come after you? I’m giving you one last chance. Tell me what I want to know now, and you might still have a chance to start over. Otherwise, wait for death!" Li Qing said in a heavy voice.
The shepherd’s face, swollen like a pig’s head, showed a flicker of uncertainty, "Can... can you make the decision here?"
"Here, I can," Li Qing said.
