Chapter 108: The Knife Can Fly

The ability to spin a knife is Lin Yang’s signature skill. With a series of dazzling rotations accompanied by the clashing of metal, he created some distance between himself and Leng Sha.

Bullets are blind, and in the pitch-black night, the men armed with silenced pistols dared not act rashly, fearing that a stray shot might hit their own boss.

The distance between them was short—only a meter—and the two men locked eyes, staring at each other like snakes.

Leng Sha held a weapon somewhat similar to Leng Tu’s Wusha blade. Its edge was ten centimeters long, yet the entire piece was a gleaming silver. Under the faint moonlight, it was piercingly bright. The blade was curved like a crescent moon, thin on the inside and thick on the outside; with every strike, the sharp hook faced upward, resembling a scorpion’s tail.

On the side facing upward, under the dim moonlight, a black tyrant scorpion was indeed engraved. Its front claws were spread wide, vivid and lifelike, and even more daunting was the scorpion’s tail, held high as if ready to strike its prey at any moment.

After drawing apart, Lin Yang couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. His own formidable strength was largely due to the supplemental power of the "Heavenly Spirit Thirteen Blades" internal energy. He had assumed his opponent could not possibly practice such techniques, yet the man’s speed, skill, and power were in no way inferior to his own. This shocked him; it was the first time in his life he had encountered such a powerful adversary.

The first exchange was a draw, and both had sustained injuries. Lin Yang had been nicked in the waist by the opponent’s curved dagger, and drops of fresh blood began to seep out, quickly staining his clothes deep crimson.

Compared to Lin Yang, Leng Sha’s injury was much more severe. On his left arm was a ten-centimeter gash that was both shocking and deep. Unlike Lin Yang’s slow drip, Leng Sha’s blood was practically gushing, though he quickly tore a piece of cloth from his clothes to bind it.

"You are strong," Leng Sha said, staring intensely at Lin Yang after finishing his bandage. He spoke with admiration, and although his voice was low, one could tell he was being sincere.

Lin Yang couldn't be bothered to respond. Leng Nini had been taken away and was badly hurt; that alone had sealed the fate of everyone present tonight.

Lin Yang moved. Once again, he launched the attack, his sharp blade aimed directly at Leng Sha’s throat. He intended to end this quickly.

Had it been anyone weaker, this strike might have been a fatal one, just like the ones he had dealt to the underlings earlier. But Leng Sha was no amateur; being a squad leader in the Leng family’s assassin organization was proof enough of his extraordinary skill.

*Clang!* After a fierce collision, Lin Yang stepped back half a pace, while Leng Sha retreated a full two steps. From this impact, the wound Leng Sha had just bandaged began to bleed profusely once more.

Outmatched, Leng Sha backed away, choosing not to force a direct confrontation. While trading blows with a master was an exciting prospect, it was better than losing his life.

"Second brother, come here! This kid is tough; I’m not his match." He didn't care about saving face; a loss was a loss. Having crawled out of a living hell, Leng Sha wasn't about to throw away the life he had fought so hard to keep.

"I’ve been waiting long enough! Hahaha, I didn’t expect this kid to be so formidable—even your Devil Scorpion Dagger is no match for him. It seems if we don’t join forces, neither of us will make it out alive." Leng Tu strode over to Leng Sha. With a flick of his sleeve, the Wusha blade hidden within appeared in his hand. With a graceful spin, he gripped the snake-headed hilt tightly, the ink-black blade aimed squarely at Lin Yang’s heart.

Beside him, Leng Sha, despite his severe arm injury, pulled his makeshift bandage tighter. The tip of his curved blade was aimed at Lin Yang’s throat. The two were clearly intent on killing him.

Seeing Leng Tu’s black Wusha blade, Lin Yang grew more cautious. That poisonous black dagger was still fresh in his memory. He glanced down at his own scabbed-over wound and assumed a fighting stance.

"Hmph, kid, how did you like the taste of the mamba venom? Don't worry, that wasn’t even the most potent poison I have. Once I capture you, I’ll let you taste the most lethal snake venom in the world—an enhanced version of the King Cobra venom. Hahaha, it’s a toxin that even an elephant couldn't withstand!" Leng Tu held his Wusha blade halfway to his eyes, inspecting it under the dim moonlight while sneering.

Before the two could attack, Lin Yang moved. He knew that only by striking first could he gain the upper hand. Though he was puzzled as to why Leng Tu had stood on the sidelines earlier, he had no time to ponder it now. If things went wrong tonight, he might really end up buried here on this mountainside.

The area was desolate; even if a car passed by, it was unlikely to notice them, and no vehicles had passed for a long time.

Meanwhile, the unconscious Leng Nini had no idea that Lin Yang was in such a desperate situation because of her. Since she had only been scratched by tree branches, her life was not in danger, which explained why Leng Sha hadn't hesitated to toss her to his subordinates.

As Lin Yang thrust his blade toward Leng Sha’s chest, Leng Tu moved. With a crafty upward flick, he aimed his Wusha blade at Lin Yang’s chin. The ferocity of the strike sent a gust of wind that stirred Lin Yang’s hair. Had Lin Yang not ducked just in time, he would have been finished. Even so, the razor-sharp blade sheared off a few strands of hair by his ear, which drifted away in the cold wind.

*Bang!* Before either of them could react, Lin Yang’s left foot whipped out with lightning speed, kicking Leng Sha directly in his injured left arm.

Leng Sha realized it too late. He had no choice but to brace himself and raise his arm to block. Already severely wounded, the force of Lin Yang’s vicious kick sent him flying, and the blood on his left arm spread even further than before.

"Ah!" A hysterical scream escaped Leng Sha’s lips for the first time. Even when Lin Yang had first slashed that ten-centimeter wound into his arm, he hadn't let out a peep, which showed that this injury was far worse than the last.

The brothers were truly troublesome when fighting in tandem. No matter how hard Lin Yang tried to separate them, they moved as if tethered together. Even when Leng Sha was kicked away, they remained linked.

"Big brother, are you alright?" Leng Tu asked in a deep voice, keeping his blade pointed at the restless Lin Yang. He had wanted to reach out to help Leng Sha, but after assessing the situation, he pulled back. He couldn't afford to leave an opening for Lin Yang to exploit.

"I’m fine, but my left arm is likely dislocated," Leng Sha replied grimly. He would have liked to hide it, but it was obvious to anyone with eyes.

A dislocated arm was certainly not good news in a life-or-death struggle. Hearing his brother’s words, Leng Tu’s expression darkened.

The remaining men had long since been sent away by Leng Sha to guard the unconscious Leng Nini, including Leng Tang.

"Big brother, if it comes to it, let's use *that*!" After a few seconds of silence, Leng Tu looked up at Leng Sha, who was contorted in pain, and spoke in a low voice.

"No! Not yet. And once that thing is used, we’ll both die." Leng Sha refused firmly, ignoring the bone-deep pain in his arm to glare at the poised Lin Yang.

Though they spoke in hushed tones, Lin Yang, with his highly focused senses, heard them. It wasn't the first time he had heard them mention a "trump card." They hadn't clarified what it was, and he couldn't guess, which made him all the more vigilant. Unknown threats were always the most terrifying.

Scanning the two, Lin Yang found nothing unusual, which only heightened his wariness. *Nothing?*

Forcing himself to endure the stinging pain in his left arm, the severely wounded Leng Sha suddenly launched an attack. He lunged at Lin Yang from the side, while Leng Tu followed closely, flanking from the other side. This combination was ruthless; even if Lin Yang blocked Leng Sha’s strike, he would be slow to react to Leng Tu, and that was when Leng Tu would deliver the fatal blow—especially with the mamba venom on his blade.

The plan went as Leng Sha anticipated, but he overlooked one thing: in order to finish off the most severely wounded of the two, Lin Yang was willing to take a heavy wound himself to trade for Leng Sha’s life.

Ignoring Leng Tu’s strike, he locked his focus on the approaching Leng Sha and raised his throwing knife. This time, Lin Yang showed Leng Sha the true purpose of the blade.

*Whoosh.* Before Leng Sha could get close, a black shadow struck him like lightning. Caught completely off guard, Leng Sha was pierced through.

With a look of disbelief, he stared at the hilt of the blade, which had buried itself entirely into his chest. Leng Sha collapsed into a pool of blood, his life extinguished.

The moment Leng Sha fell, Leng Tu’s advance faltered. The two brothers had been deeply devoted to each other, and Leng Sha’s death dealt a devastating blow to Leng Tu.

Lin Yang felt fortunate—fortunate that Leng Tu was distracted by his brother’s death, or else his own undefended back might have been pierced by the enemy.

"You... you deserve to die! You killed him! You killed my brother!" Leng Tu rose to his feet, his eyes bloodshot like a ravenous beast. He raised his Wusha blade and hacked ferociously at Lin Yang.

Without a weapon to block, and facing a poisoned dagger, Lin Yang was forced to retreat step by step, clearly suppressed and on the defensive.