The thought popped into my head, and I was immediately overcome with grief. I looked at the fat man lying there, blood trickling weakly from the corner of his mouth, yet he was still desperately trying to laugh.
I felt something wet flowing down my face. At that moment, all hatred for him vanished. I quickly bent down and tried to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, but it was no use. The blood kept flowing. As soon as I wiped it away, more flowed out!
My heart ached terribly, but the fat man chuckled. His eyes, with only a sliver of life left, looked at me with warmth: "Kid...live well...stay alive..."
"Yes! Yes! Let's live well! Let's live well together." I gritted my teeth and forced a smile: "Fatty, I haven't taken you to Shanghai for drinks yet! I haven't taken you to see my new company! And my new house... Oh right. You haven't seen my wedding photos either... And... do you know? I just bought a really, really big clubhouse... Fatty, you don't have a wife yet, right? How about I introduce you to some beauties... How about it?"
The fat man no longer had the strength to laugh; his "hehe" laughter had turned into a soft hum.
"Fatty... say something... fuck! Say something, please! Please!" I finally burst into tears, grabbing Fatty's clothes and gritting my teeth, "I'll drink with you! I'll go to the market with you... I'll go find pretty girls with you... please?"
The fat man shook his head weakly, his eyes beginning to glaze over. Suddenly, his lips parted forcefully, and I quickly moved closer, only to hear a low murmur escape his lips: "Sigh... I really want to take a puff of a cigarette before I die..."
Cigarettes! Cigarettes!
I frantically searched my pockets, but after looking all over, I only found a cigarette pack that was already soaked through by the river. Tears streaming down my face, I threw the cigarette pack on the ground.
"I'm sorry... Fatty, I'm out of cigarettes right now... Hang in there! Hang in there! When we get to Shanghai! I'll buy you cigarettes! I'll buy you Zhonghua cigarettes! I'll buy you Panda cigarettes! I'll buy you cigars! I'll buy you Cuban cigars!!"
The fat man's eyelids twitched, and he seemed to regain some of his spirits. I saw it, but my heart turned to ice! I knew very well! This was probably a final burst of energy before death!!
“Xiao Wu…” The fat man took a deep breath, his chest deflated like a shriveled balloon: “I… I’m asking you for a favor… You must promise me.”
"You tell me!" I immediately grabbed his broad hand tightly. "Fatty! You tell me! You tell me!"
"Hehe..." The fat man's cheek muscles twitched slightly as he turned his neck and looked into my eyes. "I know that things between you and Ye Huan... can't end well... but Jin He... Jin He..." He suddenly closed his eyes. "Little Jin, in the future, you... you spare his life, don't kill him. After I die, among our group of comrades... he is... he will be the last one."
I nodded frantically, but suddenly I heard a sigh from behind me: "Sigh, Fang Dahai... he's almost dead, and you still can't let go."
I turned around abruptly, only to see that someone had already appeared standing there!
The man had a calm expression, was of medium build, and appeared to be in his forties. He was holding a dagger in his hand, and upon closer inspection, I recognized it as the very dagger I had lost during my fight with that expert dagger-wielder!
"Kid... when I gave you this dagger years ago, I told you to use it well. I didn't tell you to just throw it away." The man seemed to smile, then with a flick of his wrist... he snatched it!
The dagger grazed my cheek and embedded itself in a large tree beside me!
Old... Old Cat!
I finally recognized the person—it was one of the two veteran assassins from the Big Circle who had trained me in killing techniques back then! And before we parted, Old Cat had given me a dagger!
When I suddenly saw someone I knew, my first reaction was joy! But then I immediately realized what was going on!
Behind him, the fat man lay on the ground, letting out a weak sigh: "You dead cat... are you here to send me on my way? Heh heh... very good, very good..."
"A person of the martial world, a path of the martial world, a final destination in the martial world." Old Cat said casually, "You and I will both have this day sooner or later, whether it's good or bad, what difference does it make?"
As he spoke, he slowly walked over, his footsteps rustling through the fallen leaves and twigs on the ground.
“Old Cat…” I turned around and stared at this guy: “You…why!”
"Kid, no need to ask anymore." The fat man behind him suddenly mustered his strength and laughed loudly. Facing Old Cat, the dying fat man suddenly seemed to regain some spirit: "Looks like I guessed right! There's chaos within the Great Circle! Old Cat, isn't that right!"
A complex look appeared in Old Cat's eyes as he said in a low voice, "Fatty, we've known each other for years, I'll give you a choice."
After a few seconds of silence, the fat man suddenly smiled and whispered, "Thank you."
Before I could understand what they were talking about, the fat man was already looking at me: "Xiao Wu, do me a favor... kill me!" I was startled, and the fat man whispered, "To die at the hands of a traitor, or to die at the hands of your own brother... I choose the latter! If you still consider me a brother... please, send me on my final journey!"
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Eighty-Six: Fallen
The place became extremely quiet, with only the fat man's heavy but weak breathing. His chest, which had been holding back his energy, began to rise and fall rapidly, and the red glow on his face gradually disappeared.
"I've had my share of glory and good wine and women in my life, so I haven't lost out. But when I'm about to die, I don't want to writhe and pant like a dead dog in front of a traitor... Xiao Wu, you, you help me."
My face was filled with grief and indignation, my teeth were clenched until they bled, but I couldn't utter a single word.
Old Cat nodded, sat down cross-legged, and even casually picked up a blade of grass, put it to his mouth and gently chewed on it, saying indifferently, "Chen Yang, are the people I've trained so soft-hearted? Can't you see how much pain he's in right now? Give him a quick death and send him on his way."
Blood gushed out again as the fat man breathed. The old cat shook his head repeatedly.
I retorted angrily, "Nonsense! Old Cat, if you're here to kill us, I'll take you down first, then carry Fatty out!"
After saying that, I raised my hand and forcefully pulled the dagger out of the tree trunk, held it in my hand, and assumed a fighting stance.
"It's no use." Old Cat chuckled, looking at the fat man on the ground. "He's bleeding internally and only has a little time left to live. Even if I let you out now, you can't possibly carry him out alive."
I could feel my fingertips trembling.
"Chen Yang... come here, come here." The fat man's voice was weak. I turned my head. The fat man's face had turned completely ashen: "This damn... cat is... annoying, but it still... left... a little bit of affection. Let me finish giving my... last words."
I slowly squatted down, but the fat man suddenly raised his hand and grabbed my wrist. He was clearly dying, but I didn't know where he got such strength from! After grabbing my wrist, before I could react, he had already swiftly squeezed the dagger in my hand and pressed it hard against his chest!
puff!
I froze for a moment, then my soul seemed to leave my body. I watched as the fat man pressed the dagger into his own heart, and I was completely stunned.
"Good...good lad." A hint of relief flashed in the fat man's eyes, and then he opened his mouth. At that moment, my heart trembled, and I pounced on the fat man's side like a madman.
The fat man's eyes were almost closed, but he suddenly tried to open them a crack, and his lips moved slightly. I quickly moved closer.
"Old Cat... his legs are injured... you... you shouldn't fight him... run!... run... he can't catch you..."
Looking at the fat man, I suddenly felt completely empty inside! Absolutely empty! Just watching him struggle to open his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing…
"Only by living can you take revenge... From now on, be careful. Don't be so... so stubborn anymore..." The last glimmer of light in the fat man's eyes gradually faded. Before he died, he suddenly roared with wild laughter, "Haha!! Brother will go first! I'll scout the way for you! Decades later, we'll drink and eat meat in the afterlife!"
After saying that, the fat man laughed three times and then died!
My mind went completely blank, truly blank. I just watched the fat man die before my eyes, and amidst the grief, an indescribable bitterness welled up inside me!
The fat man... the fat man is dead!
I don't know how long I remained silent. As expected, the old cat behind me didn't take the opportunity to attack, but sat there quietly, chewing on a blade of grass, its eyes fixed on the sky.
I suddenly stood up, then bent my knees and knelt heavily beside the fat man's corpse, then kowtowed three times in a row!
"Fatty... I'm so grateful to you. I'll repay you when I'm done with this!" I wiped away the tears from my eyes and tore off a piece of my clothes to carefully wipe the blood off Fatty's face and mouth. "Don't worry, today is definitely not my day of death."
As I said this, my mind suddenly became completely clear...
Although the heartache and grief remain, my mind seems unusually clear... as if this body, these thoughts, are no longer my own. It's as if another version of myself is watching coldly from the shadows, observing my sorrow and grief...
This feeling...
Seeing the fat man still smiling even after he died, I sighed, gritted my teeth, and turned my head away, unable to look any longer.
“Old Cat.” I stood up and faced the old assassin from the Big Circle who had once trained me.
"Are you done saying goodbye?" Old Cat's expression was calm, but a faint sadness and a hint of indifference from someone accustomed to life and death were revealed in his eyes.
I took a deep breath and looked at him: "Back then, when you and Lao Kong were teaching me, I never imagined that one day you would come to kill me... I... I used to regard you and him as my masters, and I was very grateful to you."
The old cat didn't speak.
"When we parted years ago, I remember you promised me... if I did well, then the next time we met, you would allow me to call you Master..."
“It’s impossible.” Old Cat interrupted me, looking at me. “I remember what I said very clearly. I said, ‘I promise you, if in the future, one day, the three of us can meet again, and the three of us are still alive and well.’ But now it’s impossible. Perhaps you don’t know yet… Old Kong is dead. He died in an operation two years ago.”
My heart sank, and I shook my head.
Old Cat slowly walked towards me: "Everyone else has been lured away by your two men. But I know this fat man too well; he certainly wouldn't reveal his whereabouts so easily. So I left everyone behind and came alone. You are someone I trained, so naturally I will personally send you on your way."
"Oh... In that case, there's no need to talk about the master-disciple relationship."
“There was no need to consider these things in the first place.” The old cat seemed to smile. “Once you embark on this path, there is no turning back. Today I kill you, and in the future someone else will kill me. No one can escape this day.”
He now held a dagger in his hand: "Let me see just how strong you've become."
I slowly stepped back, saying, "Sorry, I can't fight you to the death today! I can't lose my life here!"
After saying that, a glint of light appeared in Old Cat's eyes, and he flicked his wrist! The dagger shot straight toward my throat like a flash of cold light!
Old Cat taught me how to use a dagger, so I naturally know how powerful he is! That's why I was prepared as I retreated step by step! As soon as I finished speaking, Old Cat had only raised his hand halfway when I fell backward in a bridge-like position, dodging the deadly dagger!
I could even feel a cold glint of light graz my scalp, even shaving off a patch of my hair! Old Cat truly lived up to his reputation as a senior master of the Big Circle; his dagger flew from his hand, and he was already upon me! I had barely managed to stand up when I saw Old Cat's elbow thrust across my face!
Bang! My vision went black as I took a blow to the face. My left arm was already pierced by a military dagger, and half of my body was powerless. I staggered backward, but Old Cat was incredibly agile. Before I fell, he was already behind me, and with a pull of his hands, a thin rope appeared between them! With a gentle shake, he looped it over my head from behind!
I knew that if he caught me in the noose and put the rope around my neck, I would be dead for sure in the hands of this old assassin!
Without a second thought, I immediately sat down on the ground! Old Cat's plan failed, and I was already sitting on the ground, hugging his leg, and then pressing down on him!
Before Fatty died, he told me that Old Cat had injured his legs, so his lower body skills must be limited! Sure enough, although Old Cat reacted quickly and I managed to grab one of his legs, his other leg swiftly kicked into my chest! The pain made me cough up blood on the spot, but even a strongman like Old Cat couldn't break my ribs with one kick. It seems that his leg skills are indeed flawed!
I made the right bet!
Old Cat kicked me over and I grabbed his leg, rolling to the ground. I only had one arm with strength, so I raised my fist to punch his chest, but Old Cat quickly raised his arm and blocked my elbow, making me unable to exert any force. At the same time, I felt a pain in my arm!
A flash of blood, and I was horrified. Knowing something was wrong, I jumped up and retreated hastily. Old Cat had already stood up. He snorted, a thin knife between his right thumb and forefinger: "You think I only have one knife?"
"Hmph!" My chest was still throbbing with pain from the kick, and I couldn't speak. I could only grunt, then I took two steps back and suddenly raised my hand and swung it!
When the old cat saw me raise my hand, he immediately lowered his body, but after dodging, he found that there was nothing in front of him. He couldn't help but get angry and said, "You little rascal, you've learned to cheat!"
As soon as I raised my hand, I turned around and ran!
It's not that I'm cowardly or weak; those few exchanges just now gave me a good assessment of Old Cat's strength! With one arm severely injured and only one hand functional, I simply don't have the strength to even fight him. Since I can't beat him, and Fatty told me to spare my life for revenge, I naturally won't recklessly throw my life away!
I had only taken two steps when I felt a cold wind behind me! I could only roll on the spot, but it was too late! A sharp pain shot through my shoulder blade! I staggered, but I didn't dare stop. I just reached behind me, pulled out a small knife, and threw it back without looking back.
I knew that this shot would most likely not hurt Old Cat, but it would at least slow him down a couple of steps, so I took the opportunity to run away as fast as I could.
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Eighty-Seven: Evil!
Sure enough, Fatty was right. Old Cat's legs were injured. Although he was still agile in close combat, he was no match for long-distance chases.
As I ran, I turned back and shouted, "Watch out for the knife!"
The old cat dodged once, and seeing that I was cheating again, he couldn't help but snort angrily. The second time, I turned around and raised my hand again. This time, the old cat still thought I was cheating! But suddenly a cold light rushed towards him, and the old cat raised the knife in his hand to block it!
bite!
In the darkness, a steel needle was cut in two and fell to the ground! But blood was already dripping from the old cat's eyebrow, and in the end, he couldn't completely dodge it.
This needle is my last weapon. It was the one Fatty used to stitch up my wounds when I was unconscious. I have no other weapons on me now. Although Old Cat's legs are not agile, the mountain road is rugged and difficult to walk. I was running in front, and I encountered all the tree branches and vines that blocked my way first. The people chasing behind had a much easier time because of my clearing the way.
In addition, I was also seriously injured, especially with a severe injury to one arm. When I ran, I inevitably lost my balance and almost fell several times.
So although he had built up some distance from the old cat behind him, there was no way to completely shake him off.