Chapter 519
Chapter 519
Zhong Sisi had finished all her preparations. She wore an extremely exquisite and expensive suit of soft armor, which perfectly accentuated her figure. Moreover, she had even properly affixed a menstrual towel. This item was an invention of Shen Lang's, sold by the Heavenly Dao Society. At the exorbitant price of half a silver tael each, only the wealthy and powerful could afford them. The shops of the Heavenly Dao Society sold these menstrual towels briskly, reaping immense profits.
Xue Xue said with a serious expression.
"Sisi, your martial arts are a thousand times stronger than Shen Lang's, but that scoundrel is cunning beyond compare. He also has a hidden weapon called the Storm Pear Blossom, so you must be careful."
Zhong Sisi replied dismissively.
"I know of that weapon. It fires too slowly; I can easily block it with my sword. Besides, the rules of the duel clearly state that hidden weapons are not allowed."
"Shen Lang also has a very strange poison. They say even a small sip will make you lose all reason. Although there's no proof that you can be poisoned just by smelling it, you should still hold your breath during the duel. It would be best to breathe again only after Shen Lang is down and you've crippled him."
Zhong Sisi nodded.
‘That way, there won't be even the slightest chance of a mistake. Even if Shen Lang is cunning beyond compare, I will surely be able to kill him.’
* * *
When the time came, Shen Lang and Zhong Sisi appeared in the center of the dueling grounds. Zhong Sisi, clad in flame-red soft armor, her beautiful figure even more pronounced, was a sight that could stir any heart. In contrast, Shen Lang wore no armor but had on a face-covering helm and even gloves, looking quite peculiar. The two stood ten meters apart, and by then, the spectator stands on both sides were completely filled.
"Lady Zhong Sisi, castrate that bastard! End this in one blow!"
"Shen Lang, you trash! Trash!"
Numerous scions of powerful families shouted at the top of their lungs. And they all raised their middle fingers in an orderly fashion. Damn it, he had just taught them that, and they were already using it on him. This must be what they call getting a taste of your own medicine.
Shen Lang said.
"Zhong Sisi, since those men are so eager to please you, why don't you bestow upon them the water you soak that thing in after you've used it?"
Zhong Sisi looked like she was about to explode again. Never in her life had she met someone as shameless as Shen Lang. He was a man with no boundaries. Though she was arrogant and haughty, she was still an innocent maiden with a sense of decorum to uphold. Hearing such filth, she couldn't even retort.
"Shen Lang, just you wait. I will first castrate you, then cut off your arms and tongue, and finally, I will ruin that pretty-boy face of yours!"
"Zhong Sisi, you just wait, too. You struck my wife and injured her, making her cough up blood. This time, I will make you bleed from both top and bottom!"
"You're asking to die!"
Zhong Sisi's face turned beet red, and even her beautiful eyes became bloodshot. But she remembered Xue Xue's words: she had to hold her breath and give the monstrously cunning Shen Lang no opportunity whatsoever.
*Clang!*
The first gong sounded, signaling that the duel would soon begin. Everyone's eyes were wide open, not even blinking. Because the duel would end with Shen Lang's instantaneous defeat, a single blink might cause them to miss the most exciting part. Both Shen Lang and Zhong Sisi drew their swords, aiming at each other from a distance. Soon, the second gong would sound to officially start the duel, and at that moment, Zhong Sisi would flash forward like lightning, strike Shen Lang down within half a second, castrate him, and disfigure his face. It might not even take the full half-second. When the second gong rang, Shen Lang would be finished.
But the despicable Shen Lang had no intention of waiting for the second gong. With five seconds, then four, then three remaining before the second gong, an autumn breeze blew, kicking up dust. In that instant, Shen Lang pressed a mechanism on his sword.
*Whoosh!*
A completely colorless, odorless, and soundless gas suddenly shot out from the sword. It was invisible and imperceptible. What was this gas? It was ethyl ether, but that was merely a medium for his trump card. Inhaling a large amount of ethyl ether could make a person dizzy, but that would require several minutes of continuous inhalation. Any gas that could supposedly knock someone out with a single whiff was fake, just a rumor.
Shen Lang's trump card was the neurotoxin that had been inside Xue Yin's body. The parasitic worms of Mount Fudao secreted a neurotoxin so potent that even a Grandmaster like Xue Yin couldn't withstand it, let alone Zhong Sisi. What good would holding her breath do? When the neurotoxin, carried by the gas, was sprayed directly onto her skin and entered the mucous membranes of her nose, it would paralyze her almost instantly. Shen Lang had extracted a minuscule amount of this neurotoxin from numerous parasitic worms; it was an item a thousand times rarer than gold.
This time, Shen Lang had mixed about 0.5 milliliters of that precious substance into the ethyl ether gas. Since ethyl ether was a highly volatile gas, Shen Lang had to contain it in a small device and fire it instantly like an air gun. The trump card was fired towards Zhong Sisi's face. The moment Zhong Sisi smelled a faint, sweet scent, she held her breath. But just then!
*Clang!*
The second gong sounded, and the duel officially began. Zhong Sisi roared.
"Die!"
‘Shen Lang, you are a dead man.’
Then, the sharp sword in her hand flashed like lightning as she thrust forward. Everyone stared with wide eyes, waiting for the scene of Shen Lang's instant defeat.
‘Shen Lang is finished. The royal palace will have one more eunuch.’
However, Zhong Sisi didn't even make it two meters before her beautiful body stiffened and she pitched forward. At the same time, Shen Lang dashed forward.
"Hyaaaaaaah!"
He let out a loud cry, aimed for Zhong Sisi's chest, and kicked with all his might. Zhong Sisi's body flew two meters. Then, Shen Lang closed in on her again, aimed for her lower abdomen, and kicked hard once more.
*Thwack!*
Everyone who witnessed the scene was momentarily stunned.
‘What kind of dirty trick is this? And he's even wearing iron-soled shoes?’
Zhong Sisi fell to the ground. Shen Lang straddled her chest and aimed for her beautiful face.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack.*
Then, he swung his arms left and right, raining down punches like a madman. It was the kind of brawling technique you'd see in a street fight. Zhong Sisi's delicate and beautiful face was battered by Shen Lang's fists, her nose gushing blood, and in an instant, it swelled up like a pig's head.
*Thwack!*
With one final punch, Zhong Sisi's high, attractive nose collapsed.
‘How incredibly satisfying! My wife, I have avenged you!’
Shen Lang stood up, took a few steps back, and bowed as if he were a grandmaster of martial arts.
"I am Shen Lang. The people of the martial world call me the Invincible East. I won thanks to your concession!"
The training ground fell into a deathly silence. Struck dumb as if by lightning, the onlookers could not believe the scene before their eyes.
‘Am I seeing things? Or has the world gone mad? Wasn't Shen Lang supposed to be defeated in an instant? Why did the exact opposite happen? To think Zhong Sisi would be defeated in a single blow.’
No! In truth, she wasn't defeated; her body had instantly stiffened, after which Shen Lang kicked her a couple of times, knocking her to the ground. Shen Lang had put every ounce of his strength into those two kicks. Immediately after, he had rained down punches, beating Zhong Sisi's face until it resembled a pig's head. Everyone there could easily tell that Shen Lang possessed no martial arts whatsoever, yet he had actually won.
‘It's truly baffling, isn't it? Zhong Sisi's martial arts are so profound, how could she lose to that martial arts trash, Shen Lang? What on earth happened? Shen Lang must have cheated. But we didn't see him use any hidden weapons.’
What was even more astounding was that everyone who had been eagerly anticipating Shen Lang's instant defeat, castration, and disfigurement had felt a strange sense of satisfaction as they watched him straddle Zhong Sisi's chest and beat her relentlessly.
‘To trample a beautiful goddess so cruelly. Shen Lang, you bastard, how could you strike such a delicate and beautiful face? Zhong Sisi looks so wretched right now. It's one thing that she's beaten to a bloody pulp, but to break her high, beautiful nose... Shen Lang, you are truly... truly too cruel, aren't you? When you said earlier that you would make her bleed from top to bottom, everyone thought you were joking. Who knew you meant it literally.’
* * *
Xue Pan was also stunned. First, he was shocked by Zhong Sisi's defeat, but he found it even more unbelievable that Shen Lang had acted so viciously.
‘Zhong Sisi isn't a princess, but she's treated better than one. She is the most beautiful and noble woman in the entire State of Yue. Shen Lang, by doing this, you're provoking the Zhong Clan and courting death. Weren't you rumored to possess monstrous wisdom? Why did you act without any thought for the consequences?’
After a long moment, two female warriors from the Zhong Clan quickly came forward and lifted Zhong Sisi. Xue Xue covered Zhong Sisi's face with a piece of silk. They absolutely could not let any more people see her current state.
A beautiful female commander looked at Shen Lang and said coldly.
"Shen Lang, what trickery did you use? If anything happens to Sisi, not even ten lives would be enough to save you. You're finished. The Zhong Clan will not let you go."
Shen Lang asked her.
"Is your name Zhong Miao, and are you the adopted daughter of the Zhong Clan?"
Zhong Yao's adopted daughter, Zhong Miao, said coldly.
"It's good that you know. You've already caused an irreversible disaster. If you bind yourself now and go to Zhenxi Province to beg my foster father for forgiveness, you might still have a chance to live."
Shen Lang extended his hand, and Ku Touhuan handed him a bowl of tea. Shen Lang drank half and used the other half to rinse his mouth.
*Ptooey!*
Then he immediately spat the rinse water at the Zhong Clan's adopted daughter. Zhong Miao was dumbfounded. With her martial arts, she could have easily dodged it, but she never imagined Shen Lang would be so vulgar as to spit rinse water in her face.
"To snap you out of it, I ought to spray you with my yellow piss, but my 'dragon vein' is far too precious and can only be seen by my wife. So, snapping you out of it with my piss would actually be doing you a favor, wouldn't it? That's why I spat water on you instead to bring you to your senses."
Zhong Miao stared at Shen Lang in disbelief, then turned to look at Xue Pan.
‘Does such a person really exist in this world? He has not a shred of nobility and doesn't seem to worry at all about offending the Zhong Clan. Just how audacious can one be?’
Shen Lang said scornfully.
"Can't you accept defeat? If I were the one who had lost, would Zhong Sisi have let me go? She would have surely castrated me, broken my arms, and disfigured my face. She's allowed to beat me, but I'm not allowed to beat her?"