Zhan Ri Fei let out a soft sigh. “And how, Huo, could you be so sure that what struck my left side was the Great Compassion Palm?”
Huo Xiao Di sneered. “If it were anyone else, you might have fooled them, but you can’t fool me! The Great Compassion Palm, despite its name, is a technique of brutal force, capable of shattering a person’s heart and lungs without leaving a trace—an act that violates the very principles of Buddhism. It was named the Great Compassion Palm to remind its users to always act with compassion and avoid harming others unnecessarily.
“Shang Qing Temple has adhered to the Chivalry Plaque’s summons for years precisely to prevent the innocent from being harmed in ambiguous situations. The ferocity of this palm strike causes the victim’s blood vessels to boil, leaving them covered with dark red spots that look like burns. The closer these marks are to the left side, the darker they appear. The blackened marks near your left side—what else could they be but evidence of the Great Compassion Palm?”
As he spoke, Huo Xiao Di grew increasingly agitated, his voice rising. “The righteous and demonic sects have always been irreconcilable, yet both have left their marks on you. Could it be that all your talk of honor and morality is a façade? Are you nothing more than a demon hunted by both sides? I was utterly blind to your true nature!”
For an instant, a voice from his childhood seemed to echo in his ears: “In this world, there are smiling Buddhas and smiling tigers.” The memory was accompanied by a familiar sigh.
Without realizing it, his eyes grew red, and the veins on the hand gripping the Yin Yang An stood out sharply.
His gaze held a mix of resentment, disappointment, and pain. “You’ve deceived me so thoroughly. In the end, you’re just another person after Chang Hong Bi. Was I truly wrong about you?!”
A sudden flash of light appeared in Zhan Ri Fei’s eyes—briefly carrying a hint of anger—but it quickly faded. He sighed lightly and said, “The people of Ling Long Manor are truly brilliant and perceptive. Listening to you, I almost feel as though I am exactly what you describe.”
He cast a sidelong glance at Huo Xiao Di. “If you’ve already decided I’m a vile and irredeemable villain, why haven’t you struck yet?”
His deep, serene eyes reflected no disturbance, as still as a bottomless abyss. In their dark depths, Huo Xiao Di’s flushed face was visible, along with the gaze of the boy standing behind him.
— At that moment, the small, sharp eyes of Chang Hong Bi glimmered with an unmistakable excitement.
Huo Xiao Di’s hand trembled, and his body shook slightly. His face turned alternately pale and flushed, and the veins on his forehead throbbed visibly.
Slowly, he raised his short sword. The act seemed to take immense effort, as if the blade weighed a thousand pounds. The Yin Yang An in his hand emitted a faint, hissing sound, like a black serpent coiling itself, poised to deliver a deadly kiss to its target.
— The Yin Yang An seemed to possess an eerie power. Beneath its venomous aura, a faint, foul smell wafted through the air, mingling with the blade’s sinister hiss.
The black blade reflected Zhan Ri Fei’s face, which remained unnervingly calm.
After a long silence, Huo Xiao Di gritted his teeth and suddenly lifted his foot, breaking the seal on Zhan Ri Fei’s pressure points.
The unexpected move caught Chang Hong Bi off guard. His questioning gaze shifted to Huo Xiao Di.
But Huo Xiao Di didn’t look back at him.
“Draw your sword!” Huo Xiao Di growled through clenched teeth, his words sharp and deliberate, as if squeezed out from between his teeth.
Chang Hong Bi almost thought he had misheard.
Even Zhan Ri Fei couldn’t help but ask, “What?”
Huo Xiao Di’s gaze remained filled with anger and pain, and his teeth stayed tightly clenched. His voice sounded as though it had escaped through sheer force of will: “I caught you off guard and restrained you. Surely you’re not convinced it was fair.”
He kicked Zhan Ri Fei’s longsword lying on the ground toward him and continued, “Ling Long Manor’s reputation will not be tarnished in my hands. If you have any honor, draw your sword!”
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