Chapter 350: Seriously, I Give Up

“Ahh… Lin Xiao, be gentler.” Ning Xi smacked Lin Xiao’s hand, giving him a slightly resentful look. “Are you trying to get back at me for making you carry me this afternoon? Why does it hurt so much?”

“…” Lin Xiao paused, speechless. “Sister Ning Xi, I’m already being very gentle. I’m barely applying any force at all. If I go any lighter, it won’t have any effect.”

After Ning Xi was bitten by the venomous snake, they returned to the village just in time for dinner. They enjoyed a delicious meal of wild game at Little Xue’s home before heading back to their room.

Due to the swelling around Ning Xi’s wound, Lin Xiao offered to massage it to help alleviate the pain. However, her constant complaints made him feel a bit helpless.

“Really?” Ning Xi looked at Lin Xiao with suspicion.

“Really.” Lin Xiao felt a little guilty under her gaze.

He had to admit he was slightly distracted by her fair, flawless legs and might have used just a bit too much force.

Fortunately, Ning Xi didn’t overthink it. “Alright then, I’ll let you handle it. But you can’t blame me if I complain. Who told you to be so rough? You’re about to break me.”

Lin Xiao’s mouth twitched. “Sister Ning Xi, can you not say it like that? It sounds like I did something bad to you. People would get the wrong idea.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just the two of us here.” Ning Xi stretched lazily, her seductive curves on full display. “Besides, I’m a woman, and I’m not afraid. What’s a big man like you so nervous about? Now hurry up and keep massaging. My leg is still swollen.”

“Alright.”

Lin Xiao resumed massaging her thigh. Under the warm glow of the lamp, Ning Xi’s jade-like legs appeared dazzlingly fair. As his hands kneaded and pressed against her smooth, supple skin, the sight was undeniably tempting.

As he continued, Ning Xi’s expression gradually relaxed. The tension between her brows eased, and she let out a soft hum.

It was as if Lin Xiao’s hands contained some mysterious magic. With every press, the pain in her wound faded bit by bit, replaced by a cooling sensation that left her feeling weak and numb.

After about ten minutes, Lin Xiao withdrew his hands and tucked her leg under the thin blanket. “Sister Ning Xi, you should sleep now. By morning, your injury should be completely healed.”

Ning Xi gazed at him through half-lidded, misty eyes. Biting her lip, she murmured, “Lin Xiao, it’s just the two of us here. Won’t you keep me company and sleep with me?”

Lin Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. But he knew she was deliberately teasing him, so he mustered all his willpower to resist the temptation. “You go ahead and sleep. I’m going outside to practice my martial arts.”

“Practice?” Ning Xi rolled over on the bed, looking intrigued. “I don’t even know what kind of martial arts you train in. I want to watch.”

“When I practice, I can’t have anyone watching. It disrupts my concentration and could lead to internal deviation.”

Lin Xiao’s voice was deadly serious, so convincing that even he almost believed it. “Sister Ning Xi, no matter what, you mustn’t secretly follow me to watch. The consequences would be unimaginable.”

Before she could protest, Lin Xiao swiftly slipped out the door, giving her no chance to argue.

Ning Xi stared blankly at the spot where he had disappeared. After a long pause, she furiously pounded her pillow.

“That guy… is he even a man?! Seriously, I give up on him.”

***

Outside the retreat, Lin Xiao moved through the forest like a specter.

The dense woods were pitch dark, with barely any visibility, but Lin Xiao navigated effortlessly, leaping and sprinting like a phantom.

Caught up in his momentum, he climbed a towering tree with the agility of an ape. Within moments, he had reached the treetop, gazing out at the rolling mountains stretching endlessly into the distance.

Above him, the bright moon hung high in the sky. Below, the vast mountains loomed in silent majesty.

The silvery moonlight cascaded down, covering the land in a thin veil of light, creating an ethereal, dreamlike beauty.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath, feeling an overwhelming sense of freedom. He had been stuck in Jinghai City for so long. Though prosperous, the city’s towering steel buildings could never compare to the breathtaking vastness of nature.

Unable to hold back, he let out a long howl, his voice reverberating through the mountains like the cry of a dragon or tiger.

“Awooo!”

“Roar!”

In the distance, the deep growls of wild beasts echoed in response.

Lin Xiao inhaled deeply, his sharp eyes gleaming.

He shook his body slightly, his joints cracking in unison. Then, standing atop a thick tree branch, he took a stance—Chen-style Fist.

Thunderous energy surged through his limbs. The essence of the Chen-style Fist—shock force, spiral force, and lateral force—merged seamlessly as Lin Xiao moved. His fists cut through the air, merging with the howling mountain wind, sending powerful ripples outward.

Over time, his mastery of the Chen-style Fist had become nearly flawless. Even the old master of the Chen family wouldn’t be able to execute it better than him.

After finishing the routine, Lin Xiao shifted his stance, his aura becoming sharp and fierce, like a predator poised to strike.

Eagle Claw Technique.

Lin Xiao had learned the technique step by step—first from Jiang Linfeng, then from Duan Changhan, and finally from the Golden Claw Sect Master, Wang Changguang. Through battle, he had absorbed the essence of their skills, refining his own mastery.

When the final move was completed, Lin Xiao’s body steamed with white mist, as if he had just stepped out of a hot spring, despite it still being summer.

“Chen-style Fist has already fused into my Thunderbolt Fist. As for Eagle Claw Technique, though I haven’t fully mastered it yet, it won’t be long before I do. Once both techniques merge, the result will be beyond imagination.”

Standing atop the tree, Lin Xiao felt his martial arts approaching a breakthrough. Though there were still gaps in his technique, he was no longer as lacking as before.

The cool night breeze ruffled his clothes, filling him with exhilaration.

Spreading his arms, he leaped from the treetop.

The tree was over thirty meters tall—jumping from such a height would be fatal for an ordinary person.

But Lin Xiao wasn’t reckless. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he tapped lightly on a lower branch, his inner energy bursting forth. The force of his fall was instantly neutralized, allowing him to land gently, as if executing a legendary light-footed martial arts technique.

By the time he returned to the room, Ning Xi was already fast asleep.

Lin Xiao carefully adjusted the blanket over her, then sat cross-legged beside the bed, closing his eyes and entering a meditative state.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when his ears suddenly picked up the faint hum of engines.

The sound came from an extremely far distance, so faint that, to most, it would be no louder than the buzzing of a mosquito. But Lin Xiao’s senses were too sharp to miss it, even in deep meditation.

“Hmm?”

He listened intently, then abruptly opened his eyes. In the dark room, his gaze shone like a flash of lightning.

Silently, he got up, glanced at the sleeping Ning Xi, slipped on his jacket, and barefoot, stepped outside.

***

At the village entrance, seven black sedans lined up in a row.

More than twenty burly men, dressed in black T-shirts and armed with various weapons, stood by the cars. Their expressions were fierce, radiating killing intent.

Some carried blades and daggers, others held steel pipes and baseball bats. A few even gripped firearms.

At the forefront, Qiao Fei stood with his hands behind his back, surveying his men with a sense of absolute authority.

“This is Summer Retreat Lodge,” he announced, gesturing toward the village behind him. “The ones who killed our brothers are hiding here. We don’t know who they are or what they look like. But as the saying goes, better to kill the wrong person than to let the guilty escape. Seize everyone, and the murderer will have nowhere to hide.”

A cruel smile spread across Qiao Fei’s face.

“Now charge in and avenge our brothers.”