The two were fighting fiercely. Accompanied by the harsh clanging of metal as their weapons collided, they were almost grappling with each other. In a state of madness, Xiang Cheng attacked without any pattern. His movements were extremely frenzied, and every strike was extremely vicious.
However, Yu Shuang had received Shen Qingfeng's order not to kill. As a result, he suffered many setbacks in his moves. From Shen Qingfeng's perspective, the two were almost in a defensive - offensive situation.
Xiang Cheng waved the heavy chain. With a violent swing, the chain slammed into the ground, making a deafening thud and kicking up clouds of dust. With the already dim light, it was even more difficult to see clearly.
Yu Shuang was not to be outdone. Since he couldn't deliver a fatal blow each time, he always punched from very tricky angles, hitting Xiang Cheng's soft tendons or numb - points to consume his energy.
Xiang Cheng was used to living in the dark. Compared to Yu Shuang, he was more adapted to the environment here. Yu Shuang could only rely on the faint firelight and his ability to locate by sound to fight against Xiang Cheng.
Because he was afraid of hurting Xiang Cheng, Yu Shuang's attacks seemed like teasing. Before long, Xiang Cheng let out another roar, as if his most primitive anger had been stirred up. His eyes turned red, and he rushed at Yu Shuang recklessly.
Yu Shuang didn't expect him to go so crazy. He failed to dodge in time and was hit in the chest. He took several steps back and slammed into the wall of the circular stone chamber.
"Cough!"
There were many wooden and stone grids embedded in the walls of the stone chamber. Although the embedding angles were very delicate and the grids fit tightly with the walls, there were still some protruding parts. Yu Shuang hit them and grimaced in pain, taking a sharp intake of breath.
"Be careful!" Shen Qingfeng shouted from afar and threw the burning fire - starter over. Yu Shuang was startled. He suddenly looked up and just caught sight of Xiang Cheng flying towards him with his mouth wide open.
"Damn it!" Yu Shuang cursed under his breath and quickly rolled to the side.
"Bang! Click, click, click..."
There was a sound of something being broken in his ears. Yu Shuang immediately did a somersault and sprang up. He tapped his toes on the ground and quickly retreated several zhang away.
He quickly took out the remaining two fire - starters from his bosom, lit them with a flick, and threw them in two other directions.
"Swish—"
The stone chamber wasn't very big. Three fire - starters and one torch were enough to light up all the dark corners.
In this way, Xiang Cheng could no longer use the darkness to cover his movements. Almost everything he did was in Yu Shuang's sight.
Yu Shuang knew that it was a bad idea to waste time here with him. Moreover, no one knew what other traps there were in the tomb. It was too dangerous to be wrestling with someone like this without confirming the safety of the place.
His expression became solemn. He decided not to continue wasting his own strength but to end the fight quickly.
But Xiang Cheng was extremely strong. It wasn't that easy to deal with him. The two wrestled for a while longer. Suddenly, Yu Shuang leaped into the air, stepped on a certain part of the stone wall, spun around in the air, and then used the momentum to kick Xiang Cheng in the small of his back.
Xiang Cheng bent down in pain. Yu Shuang landed on the ground as fast as he could, then reached out and grabbed the iron chain on the ground. He wrapped it across Xiang Cheng's mouth, bending his whole body into an arch. Then, taking advantage of Xiang Cheng's struggle, they both fell to the ground. During the continuous wrestling, Yu Shuang took out another section of the chain from somewhere and tied it together with the chain in Xiang Cheng's mouth, binding him in a strange posture that he couldn't break free from by himself.
During this period, Xiang Cheng kept struggling, but Yu Shuang had twisted the iron chain into several loops around his body. It wasn't that easy to break free in a short time. While he was struggling, Yu Shuang took out ten thin needles from his bosom and held them between his fingers. Then he stepped on Xiang Cheng's head from behind and pressed him to the ground. He then bent down and accurately inserted the ten needles into several major acupoints on the back of Xiang Cheng's head.
Xiang Cheng let out a sharp scream. Then his eyes rolled up, and his whole body went limp. It seemed that he had fainted.
Yu Shuang straightened up, wiped the sweat off his forehead, kicked the motionless Xiang Cheng on the ground resentfully, and cursed under his breath.
Shen Qingfeng walked over with the torch in his hand and patted Yu Shuang on the shoulder. "Well done."
"Thank you, my lord." Yu Shuang clasped his fists at Shen Qingfeng.
Shen Qingfeng looked down at Xiang Cheng, then slowly squatted down and held the torch forward. The firelight made Xiang Cheng's face more clearly visible. His face was as pale as paper, and there were even some sores on some parts of his face due to the long - term lack of sunlight. He looked extremely creepy.
"My lord..." Yu Shuang hesitated for a while and said, "May I venture to ask who this person is?"
Shen Qingfeng paused. He reached out and gently pinched Xiang Cheng's bony arm. "This person will be one of your brothers who will fight with you through thick and thin in the future. He is the second person in the Wind - Listening Pavilion I'm going to establish."
"The Wind - Listening Pavilion?"
Shen Qingfeng took a deep breath. "It's okay to tell you now. I'm going to establish a secret organization to fight against the court. Nowadays, eunuchs are in power, and corruption is rife in the court. King Xia Jie has been blinded by Qi Yan. Instead of appointing capable officials, he has made Qi Shuhuan his confidant. It's not an easy task to change this situation. I need an organization to help me collect information."
Yu Shuang looked a bit confused. "My lord, do you mean... you want to establish another Wuchen?"
Shen Qingfeng nodded. "If the king is incompetent, we can replace him. But removing the king's evil advisors doesn't necessarily mean starting a rebellion. I promised you that I would create a peaceful and prosperous era. But the premise of a peaceful and prosperous era is no war. War is too costly and exhausting for the people. A war will cost the people at least five or even ten years of hard work. It's not necessary."
Yu Shuang pursed his lips and remained silent.
Shen Qingfeng looked at him and smiled. "What, don't you want to do this job anymore?"
"No." Yu Shuang replied. "I just didn't expect that one day I would have this kind of identity."
Shen Qingfeng smiled. "I once said that you are a sharp blade, Yu Shuang. Don't underestimate yourself. No matter what your identity is in the future, this blade of yours will always be useful."
Yu Shuang stared at Shen Qingfeng fixedly, and something glistened in his eyes.
Shen Qingfeng patted his sleeves and stood up. "Alright. Anyway, he's fainted. Let's untie the chains on him and carry him back!"