Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 639 Phantom of the Future
Now let's turn our attention to Shuangxie's side.

Because the distance was far from the start, and Gu Qiying was not familiar with Wudang, after Sun Huang and the others darted around and made their way, Old Gu only managed to catch up with them at the narrow path leading to the forbidden area.

At this moment, with Gu Qiying's lightness skill, if he wanted, he could actually go a step further and directly burst forward to block the intersection.

However, just as he was about to do so, he happened to see the eight large characters "Forbidden Area in the Back Mountain, No Entry Allowed," and at the same time, he caught a glimpse of the general terrain at the other end of the narrow path through the cliff.

This allowed him to instantly determine that the area behind this narrow path, the so-called "forbidden zone," had only this one entrance and exit.

Based on this, it seems better to let them in?

Because if they are kept outside the forbidden area, they might turn back or run away separately if they are forced to their limits... No matter how powerful Gu Qiying is, he can't create shadow clones, right? In addition, Wudang is quite large, and it's hard to say how many ways there are to get down the mountain. What if these five people split into five groups and one or two manage to escape in the end?
However, if they are deliberately allowed to escape into the forbidden area, the situation will be more controllable. If the group of martial arts practitioners who follow them then block the narrow path, and Gu Qiying re-enters the forbidden area, it will be like playing an infinite-time "Dead by Daylight" game.

Thinking of this, Gu Qiying's movements also paused slightly.

Of course, he didn't stop and wait immediately, because he knew Shuangxie's cunning and was afraid that if he made it too obvious, the other party would see through his intentions. Therefore, he only slowed down a little bit.

In this way, he was able to approach the five men from behind just as they ran into the narrow passage.

As the saying goes, when the wind chimes on the eaves tinkle, a deadly aura is brewing in the gorge.

Now that we're here, Gu Qiying thought to herself: Why don't I kill one here first?

So he stopped, raised one arm, and with a breath, struck Niu Siji, who was running at the back, with a palm strike from a distance.

This palm strike was executed with almost no build-up of power, and there was no exaggerated shouting; Gu Qiying was indeed not fighting too seriously, because he felt that such a move was more than enough to kill a "second-rate scum".

Bang!
However, the palm strike was met with a loud bang and was neutralized in mid-air by a similar palm strike from a distance.

"Oh? Is that so?" Gu Qiying saw it clearly too. The person who stepped to the side, turned around, and timely struck out with a palm to save Niu Siji was Chun Kong.

At this very moment on Mount Wudang, if we were to say who could rival Gu Qiying in martial arts, it would indeed be Chun Kong.

The others, whether it was Abbot Jizhen of Shaolin, Headmaster Yao of Wudang, or the members of the True Hero Hall who were lying in ambush halfway up the mountain... in a one-on-one fight, they really couldn't outmaneuver Old Gu in the slightest.

"This little monk, is his name Chun Kong..." Gu Qiying still remembered Chun Kong. Of course, this was not only because the other party had performed outstandingly at the Young Heroes Gathering, but more importantly... when Sun Yixie came to him and Shen Youran to ask for the "pass token", the pretext he used to trick them was that he had "taken a fancy to the little monk Chun Kong".

Old Gu was drinking tea at the time when he heard this and almost choked to death. It was impossible for him not to remember it.

"It's only been a few years, and he's already reached such a level of cultivation. I'm afraid Lin Yuancheng is no match for him now, is he?" Gu Qiying thought to himself, and inadvertently remembered another young man who had left an impression on him back then.

But in reality, neither Gu Qiying nor Chun Kong realized just how strong the other was at that moment.

Based on the exchange of blows just now, Gu Qiying believed that the opponent had likely used all his strength, or at least close to it; while Chun Kong had no idea how much strength Gu Qiying had used, nor did he know how much he had used. He was just anxious to save people and instinctively struck out with a palm, but he didn't expect that its power would just be able to neutralize the opponent's palm force.

This also shows that when Chun Kong faced Chun Xin before, he did have the opportunity to "injure without killing". However, he was ultimately compassionate. In a situation where he might "kill", he would tend to think more and be more patient, as if he was subconsciously trying to find a reason to show mercy. But now that he was in a situation to "save someone", he did not hesitate to act.

"You all go first, I'll hold them off here!" After a moment, Chun Kong suddenly shouted this, and then he left alone on the narrow path.

This move may seem sudden and impulsive, but if we weigh the pros and cons, it is indeed the best option at present.

Firstly, Chun Kong is, after all, a Shaolin disciple with a good reputation. If he were captured today, he would most likely not be killed. The Shaolin people would definitely protect Chun Kong's life first, and then slowly discuss what exactly happened between him and the Hunyuan Star Gate people. This would create room for negotiation.

Secondly, among the five people who are currently fleeing, only Chun Kong can truly hold the line and buy time for the others to escape.

Shuang Xie could obviously figure out the score; moreover, as time travelers, they had seen too many similar movie scenes like "You guys go first! I'm not going! Hurry up and go! We'll die together! If you don't leave, I'll kill myself!" They knew that if they did that, those who deserved to die would still die, and even those who didn't deserve to die might die because of it. Therefore, the two of them would not waste Chun Kong's determination.

"Here you go!" Without further ado, Huang Donglai tossed the whisk he was carrying to Chun Kong.

He deliberately left this treasure behind, not so that Chun Kong could use it as a weapon, but because he considered that Chun Kong might be framed by Chun Xin after being captured, and this thing would be useful then.

At that time, with Chun Kong's freedom restricted, he could propose that a fair third party, such as Headmaster Yao of Wudang, use the whisk to open the grotto in the forbidden area; as long as the scriptures in the cave and the "letter from the Buddhist niche and the deep sea" left there by Shuang Xie are made public, all of Chun Xin's accusations... regardless of whether they are true or false, will vanish with the bankruptcy of his credibility, and Chun Kong's pressure will be much less.

"Be careful!"

"I cannot express my gratitude, young master, please take care!"

A few seconds later, Sun Yixie and the Niu brothers also turned around and shouted a few words to Chun Kong without slowing down their escape speed. Then they all crossed the narrow passage with Huang Donglai.

At this point, some people might be wondering, "What's the point of them running into this forbidden area? Aside from the path leading to the Wudang Sect, aren't the other sides of this forbidden area in the back mountain all sheer cliffs? Won't they just get trapped inside in the end?"

This might be what you forgot, as we mentioned in the previous article: Sun Huang had already devised a "backup escape plan" from the very beginning when he climbed up the cliff behind the mountain.

Now that they have been hiding in this forbidden area of ​​the back mountain for so many days, they have long prepared an escape route. As long as they run back to the cliff they climbed up, they can follow the rivets and ropes they have hammered into the mountainside over the past few days to get down.

Moreover, this route down the mountain was unknown not only to those chasing them, but even the True Hero Hall couldn't prevent it.

In short, let's look at Chun Kong first...

After receiving the whisk thrown by Huang Donglai, he hurriedly turned around and prepared to fight.

Unexpectedly, Gu Qiying had already reached him at a speed far exceeding Chun Kong's expectations.

"Hmph..." Old Gu then echoed Chun Kong's earlier words, "Hold them off for a bit? Can you even hold them off?"

As he spoke, he tensed his forearm, spread his fingers slightly, and suddenly unleashed a grappling technique.

Chun Kong had just received the whisk and turned around when he saw that the opponent's attack was coming so fast that he had no time to adjust. So he simply flung the whisk he had just received forward, hoping to use it to repel the opponent's advance.

Gu Qiying didn't think much of it either. Seeing that Chun Kong's casual strike was neither a proper move nor a threat, he simply reached out and grabbed the whisk's tassel.

However, the next second... just as the two of them grabbed both ends of the whisk at the same time.

A strange, indescribable "vision," or rather, a fleeting thought, suddenly appeared before their eyes.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

Gu Qiying saw that a handsome young man was kneeling on the ground and crying loudly for some reason. As he cried, the young man collapsed and vomited a large amount of black liquid, which flowed all over the ground.

Chun Kong saw a large group of martial arts practitioners screaming and fleeing towards the cave entrance inside a huge stone cave. Chasing them from within was a row of figures he couldn't make out, seemingly shrouded in black mist. Just as despair was setting in, someone stepped forward, shielding the group from the black figures. And that person… was none other than the "Zheng Dongxi" he was currently fighting.