Eternal madness

Chapter 8 Special Skill
Liang Yixin took the short spear and stabbed it into Lin Shaocong's back.

Zhang Laifu felt a tremor in his body, but he didn't feel any pain. Fortunately, Lao Liang held back his strength, fearing that Lin Shao Cong and Zhang Laifu would roll down the mountain, so this blow failed to pierce Lin Shao Cong's body.

Lin Shao Cong lowered his voice and said to Zhang Laifu, "Lie down."

Fall down?

This is not easy.

The hillside in front of us was so steep that it was impossible to stand still; if we fell forward, we would roll right down the hillside.

Falling backwards won't work either, as it doesn't conform to the principles of mechanics. Besides, Lin Shao Cong has willow branches stuck in his back, and if he falls backwards to the ground, he might actually end up like a string of candied hawthorns.

Zhang Laifu tried to choose a suitable angle and fell to the side.

Old Liang smiled. Was this a real collapse or a feigned one?
It didn't matter whether it was real or fake. He pulled a few more willow branches, peeled the bark in his hands, bent the branches, intertwined them, tightened them, and repeated the process.

Several willow twigs coiled between Lao Liang's fingers like snakes. Zhang Laifu couldn't see Lao Liang's technique clearly, but he could see that the willow twigs were woven into a plate, with the edges of the plate curving upwards and quickly growing side walls.

What is a plate with side walls?
Lin Shao Cong glanced at Lao Liang out of the corner of his eye and whispered, "He's a basket weaver, so be careful not to get caught by him."

Willow craftsmen are artisans who make household utensils from willow twigs and branches; they are one of the 360 ​​trades.

Before he could finish speaking, Lao Liang had already woven a willow basket and threw it toward Zhang Laifu and Lin Shaocong.

The basket wasn't big, and it wasn't moving fast, but it was difficult to dodge. No matter which way Zhang Laifu dodged, the basket kept hovering over his head.

Left with no other option, Zhang Laifu shook off Lin Shaocong, who was behind him.

With the burden off his back gone, Zhang Laifu managed to dodge the basket, but Lin Shaocong was caught.

Through the holes in the basket, Zhang Laifu could see Lin Shaocong's curled-up body inside.

Liu Jiang's unique skill - the collarbone basket!

Lin Shao Cong was still struggling in the basket when Lao Liang tightened his grip, making his fist. The willow branches on the basket moved back and forth, and the entire basket tightened accordingly.

Liang Yixin advised, "Young Master Lin, don't move. The more you move, the more you'll suffer."

Lin Shao Cong stopped moving, and Lao Liang turned to look at Zhang Laifu.

"Laifu, the play here is over. Come back to the seedbed with me and we'll perform the next scene."

Zhang Laifu got up and ran, but Lao Liang turned around, grabbed a willow twig, stripped off the bark, and swung it at him.

This is a basic skill of the willow craftsman, called the willow whip. With Lao Liang's skill, he could break Zhang Laifu's bones with just one flick.

Zhang Laifu stumbled and staggered as he ran up the hillside, but through a combination of skill and luck, he managed to dodge the whip.

Old Liang caught up in two steps, swung the willow branch horizontally, and swept it across his waist.

It's really hard to dodge at waist height. If he wanted to jump, Zhang Laifu couldn't jump that high. If he wanted to squat down, he couldn't squat down on this slope.

Seeing that the willow whip was about to strike, Zhang Laifu simply sat down on the hillside.

Zhang Laifu dodged it again, but sitting down was easy, but standing up wasn't so quick.

Old Liang swung his willow branch again, and Zhang Laifu didn't know how to dodge.

The willow branch was raised above his head, about to strike Zhang Laifu, when he suddenly noticed that Old Liang's gaze had frozen, and his right hand, which was holding the willow branch, slowly fell down.

He seemed to be injured, but Zhang Laifu couldn't tell where he was injured.
Old Liang shouted, "Who! Who did this?"

He looked at the willow basket with a look of astonishment.

Lin Shao Cong was trapped in the willow basket, making it impossible for anyone else to get out or launch a sneak attack from inside. This was the willow craftsman's specialty, and now that he had mastered it, Lao Liang was absolutely confident that he could trap Lin Shao Cong.

If it wasn't Lin Shao Cong in the wicker basket, then who else could have done it? Could there be someone else here?

Old Liang turned his head and looked behind him.

As Lao Liang turned his head, Zhang Laifu saw the back of Lao Liang's head.

A clay dagger was stuck in the back of Lao Liang's head.

The blade of the dagger was completely embedded in the skull, with the hilt protruding and slowly wriggling.

On the hillside, right where Lin Shao Cong had just stood, he crawled out of the mud using only his hands.

The dagger was thrown by Lin Shao Cong and stuck in the back of Lao Liang's head.

Isn't Lin Shaocong in the basket?
Now that Lin Shao Cong is in the mud, who is in the willow basket?

Old Liang couldn't figure out what Lin Shao Cong had done, because the dagger stuck in the back of his head made his thoughts unclear.

Lin Shao Cong was exhausted and could no longer maintain his special skill. He no longer needed to pretend.

The fake "Lin Shao Cong" in the wicker basket became increasingly loose, and some mud slowly seeped out of the basket's holes.

There's a mud figure in the basket!

A clay figure with the same build and appearance as Lin Shao Cong!

Old Liang finally understood: "You're a clay maker..."

Clay figurine craftsmen, also known as clay figure craftsmen, are artisans who sell clay figurines from a cart; they are one of the 360 ​​trades.

Lin Shao Cong nodded and said, "That's right, I'm a clay sculptor, and my ancestor's surname is Zhang."

He explained the secret: Clay Figure Zhang was the patriarch of the clay figure making industry.

Liang Yixin looked back at Zhang Laifu and finally understood something; this was a trap they had set.

Although he understood, Lao Liang couldn't understand how he could have been outsmarted by these two fools after so many years of navigating the world of martial arts.
When did Lin Shao Cong use his special skill?
Could it be when they were first discovered at Guaizipo?
Old Liang remembered something. Lin Shao Cong had gotten off Zhang Laifu's back first before speaking.

Why did he insist on getting off Zhang Laifu's back?
Because there was mud on the ground, he was trying to create an opportunity for himself to use his special skill.

The person who got off his back was Lin Shao Cong himself, while the person Zhang Laifu picked up again was a mud figure.

Zhang Laifu ran forward carrying the mud figure, attracting Lao Liang's attention, while the real Lin Shao Cong had already burrowed into the mud on the ground.

This is the craftsman's specialty: clay figures made from clay.

But this skill isn't something you can use easily.

First, you have to quickly make a clay figure that is the same size as Lin Shao Cong, and then you have to switch places with the clay figure without them noticing. How difficult is that?
The fact that Lin Shaocong was able to demonstrate his exceptional skills in such a short time proves that his craftsmanship far surpasses that of Lao Liang.

But when Lin Shao Cong was kidnapped, he didn't resist at all.

Old Liang shook his head slightly: "That doesn't make sense. When they arrested you, why didn't you make a move?"

Lin Shao Cong wiped the mud off his face: "Because Song Yongchang was there, I couldn't beat him."

Old Liang still couldn't understand: "If you can't beat them, you don't even try?"

Lin Shao Cong didn't even try to fight back: "I can't win anyway, why should I fight? What's the point of fighting again? What if you accidentally kill me?"

Old Liang shook his head: "We didn't intend to kill you, we just wanted to capture you alive."

Lin Shao Cong shook his head: "You're looking for an idiot. If I had hit him back then, would you still consider me an idiot? Would you still let me live?"
Even if they don't kill me, how could they not be on guard against me? How could I possibly escape?

Old Liang looked at Lin Shao Cong with great puzzlement. Was he a rich young master or a gangster?

No matter who he is, he must be killed now.

Old Liang rushed over, carrying willow branches.

He was about twenty paces away from Lin Shao Cong. Lin Shao Cong was unable to walk due to his leg problems. If Lao Liang ran more than ten paces, he could hit Lin Shao Cong with the willow branch in his hand.

If a willow branch were to strike him, it could potentially kill Lin Shao Cong.

Lin Shao Cong was a little nervous. The clay dagger he had made was still stirring inside the back of Lao Liang's head, but Lao Liang's life was far more tenacious than he had imagined.

He made another dagger out of the mud on the ground and threw it at Lao Liang's forehead. Lao Liang waved the willow branch in his hand and smashed the dagger to pieces.

The quality of this silt was far inferior to the clay that Lin Shao Cong had carefully selected. Lin Shao Cong didn't bother to make a dagger and directly made mud balls and threw them at Lao Liang.

Old Liang was beaten bloody by the mud balls, but he still charged forward. He had only one thought: even if it cost him his life, he had to kill Lin Shao Cong.

Lin Shao Cong will definitely notice that bowl. He's the young master of the Lin family, a craftsman, and he'll definitely recognize its value.

If he lives, the bowl will be exposed, which will definitely implicate the Second Master.

He couldn't remember anything else; he felt like he had a dagger stuck in his head, and his thoughts weren't clear.

Old Liang was less than ten steps away from Lin Shao Cong, and Lin Shao Cong was a little flustered.

His skills are superior to Lao Liang's, but he has a physical disability, which would put him at a great disadvantage in close combat.

As Lin Shao Cong was pondering a solution, he suddenly saw Old Liang stagger and drop the willow branch in his hand to the ground.

After running a couple more steps, Lao Liang's legs gave way and he fell down the hillside.

Lin Shao Cong noticed a dagger on the back of Lao Liang's head. He had also made the dagger out of clay and had given it to Zhang Laifu.

Zhang Laifu, standing behind Lao Liang, threw the dagger at the back of Lao Liang's head. He didn't have such superb skills; he relied entirely on the magic of the clay to hit it so accurately.

Old Liang lay on the hillside, twitched a few times, and then fell silent.

Zhang Laifu stood silently beside Lao Liang for a long time.

Lin Shao Cong didn't know what Zhang Laifu was up to, and he was worried that Zhang Laifu was going to lose his mind.

If a fool also goes insane, is there any hope for him?
Zhang Laifu squatted down, pulled two clay knives from the back of Lao Liang's head, handed one to Lin Shao Cong, and put the other in his own pocket.

"Great props," Zhang Laifu praised.

Lin Shao Cong breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that Lao Liang's body would roll down the mountain and push the mud around him toward Lao Liang.

Following Lin Shao Cong's gestures, the silt continued to accumulate, rapidly wriggling towards Lao Liang and soon enveloping his corpse.

The corpse rolled around in the mud until it was completely swallowed up. Not long after, a clump of willow catkins emerged from the mud.

Lin Shao Cong crawled closer, picked up the clump of willow catkins from the mud, carefully held it in his palm, and looked at Zhang Laifu, saying, "Don't be afraid, it's all special effects."

Zhang Laifu got up from the ground and nodded: "Great special effects."

Lin Shao Cong looked at the mud on the ground again: "For a man of the martial world, dying in the mud is a way of returning to one's roots."

Zhang Laifu nodded again: "A good home."

Lin Shao Cong held up a clump of willow catkins and said to Zhang Laifu, "This is a finely crafted and very precious piece. Do you want it?"

"I don't want it." Zhang Laifu didn't know what "master craftsmanship" meant.

Lin Shao Cong tucked the willow catkins into his clothes: "I won't take advantage of you. He hid something in which willow tree just now. Whatever it was, it's yours."

P.S.: Which is more valuable, exquisite craftsmanship or a beautiful bowl?

Thank you to Alliance Leaders Xingmengjue and Jetaime for your strong support of this work.

(End of this chapter)