Chapter 019: A Case of High Blood Pressure

Thinking about the latest mission issued by the Peach Blossom Manual, Lin Feng was at a loss for words. There might really come a day when he'd have to make a request to look at Bai Xuewu's chest.

Not daring to argue, Lin Feng turned and left the school campus.

Lin Feng's home was in the old district — a sparsely populated area with a complicated layout. Every time he headed home, he'd take a shortcut to save time.

The shortcut required passing through a run-down alleyway.

At the entrance of the alley, a beat-up van was parked. Lin Feng paid it no mind at first — but just as he walked alongside it, the van door was suddenly yanked open. More than ten people climbed out. Lin Feng recognized several of them, including Li Haidong, who he'd beaten up once before.

From the look of Li Haidong and company, they were clearly here to cause trouble for Lin Feng.

Connecting the dots back to when Wang Jun had brought Li Haidong and the others to ambush him at the school gate, and then to the confrontation with Wang Jun in the school cafeteria earlier that day, Lin Feng knew Li Haidong must be acting on Wang Jun's orders.

Li Haidong's group had already suffered at his hands once, yet they still dared to come back for more — they'd clearly come prepared. Lin Feng swept his gaze over the crowd and spotted, in addition to the usual thugs hanging around Li Haidong, a towering man standing over six feet tall, with a barrel chest and thick arms — built like an ox.

"Buddy, I don't really want to make trouble for you — but you've offended someone you shouldn't have. Sorry about this," Li Haidong said, delivering his obligatory speech.

Coming after Lin Feng today, Li Haidong had thought things through carefully.

After their last fight, he'd replayed it in his head and figured out that Lin Feng only had some External Hardening Kung Fu like Virgin Kung Fu — his raw strength was nothing special. If they hadn't fought so haphazardly last time, but instead had pinned down Lin Feng's arms and legs first before beating him senseless, they never would have lost.

Of course, to be safe and avoid unnecessary casualties, Li Haidong had brought along a trump card — the big man beside him, who was strong as a bull and had an impressive tolerance for pain. He was the ace up Li Haidong's sleeve for subduing Lin Feng.

"You mean Wang Jun, right?" Lin Feng asked.

Li Haidong didn't answer. He turned to the big man and said, "He doesn't have much strength. Even if he hits you, don't worry about it — just go in and grab him."

The big man glared at Lin Feng and stepped forward with heavy strides.

If all he had was the Iron Shirt technique, today would have been a disaster. But now, a faint, playful smile curled at the corner of Lin Feng's mouth. He didn't dodge or retreat — he simply thrust a palm forward toward the big man's chest.

Lin Feng wasn't short by any means, but compared to the big man, he looked small. Combined with what Li Haidong had said about Lin Feng, and the big man's own confidence in his durability, when he saw the palm strike coming, a look of disdain crossed his face. He paid absolutely no mind to Lin Feng's slender arms and legs.

As Lin Feng's hand connected squarely with his chest, the big man threw his arms wide open — and wrapped them around Lin Feng.

Li Haidong saw this and a look of smug satisfaction spread across his face. He was clearly quite pleased with his tactical arrangement — capturing Lin Feng without a single casualty. He laughed. "Buddy, knowing a few tricks is nothing to brag about. A person should stay humble. In a moment, Brother Dong will teach you a thing or two about how to conduct yourself."

"AAAARGH!"

Suddenly, the big man let out a wretched howl. He stumbled backward a few steps and dropped onto his backside, his face a mask of horror and agony.

Li Haidong was startled. He stared at the big man with a questioning look.

Seeing the man's face twisted in pain, blood already trickling from the corner of his mouth, Li Haidong's expression went blank with confusion.

That wasn't right at all!

When Lin Feng fought him last time, the guy had used a brick — and even then he hadn't broken any bones. How had a light palm strike made someone built like an ox cough up blood?

A thought suddenly occurred to Li Haidong. He called out to the big man: "Did your high blood pressure flare up?"

Lin Feng's Iron Sand Palm had reached the Transcendent State. Though his raw strength was limited, the technique's destructive power was absolutely terrifying.

It was like a child — too weak to hurt anyone with punches and kicks alone — but hand that child a hammer, and even an adult would be done for. Right now, the Iron Sand Palm was exactly like an iron hammer in a child's hand — an invisible iron hammer, at that. Naturally, it was utterly devastating.

Even with the big man's exceptional pain tolerance, one strike wasn't enough to kill him outright — but he'd likely spend the rest of his life unable to care for himself.

The big man collapsed on the ground, spitting blood and froth, his face drained of color. In his heart, he cursed Li Haidong with every ounce of hatred he had left.

It had only been a few days — Li Haidong refused to believe Lin Feng could have changed so drastically in such a short time. He waved his hand and led his subordinates to surround Lin Feng.

Li Haidong had only told the big man to restrain Lin Feng — he hadn't briefed his other lackeys on the plan. So when they rushed in, they reverted to their usual brawling: punching, kicking, every man for himself.

Lin Feng didn't even need to use the Iron Sand Palm. He beat Li Haidong's thugs until they were crying for their mothers.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Li Haidong's eyes. He reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a switchblade, then slipped around to Lin Feng's back and drove it viciously toward Lin Feng's side.

Having been ambushed by Li Haidong last time, Lin Feng had been keeping a close eye on him this whole time. The moment he saw Li Haidong creeping around behind him again, he spun and backhanded a palm straight across Li Haidong's face.

Li Haidong saw it coming. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing to take the slap — as long as he could still stab Lin Feng, it was worth it.

But he regretted that decision very quickly.

A backhand Iron Sand Palm was far weaker than a full strike — but it was still more than Li Haidong could handle. It didn't feel like a slap at all. It felt like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer.

Li Haidong let out a wretched scream. He spun a full 540 degrees before crashing to the ground. Terrified to his core, but still thinking fast, he scrambled desperately to his knees — only to find he'd completely lost his sense of direction. His backside was facing Lin Feng. He kowtowed frantically, pleading, "Boss, that's enough — that's enough! I know I was wrong! Please, don't hit me anymore!"

Seeing this, Li Haidong's lackeys immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

Having been harassed by Li Haidong time and again, Lin Feng wasn't about to let this slide so easily. He picked up the switchblade Li Haidong had dropped, walked over, grabbed Li Haidong by the hair, pressed the blade against his face, and said, "Now — can you tell me what's going on?"

"I'll talk, I'll talk," Li Haidong said, blood seeping from between his lips. "It's Young Master Jun. He says you stole his girlfriend."

"Which Young Master Jun?"

"Wang Jun — Wang Jun from your school. Wang Zhengjun's son, Wang Jun."

"Who's Wang Zhengjun?"

"The chief of the district public security bureau."

"How do you know Wang Jun?"

Feeling the pressure of the blade against his cheek ease slightly, Li Haidong exhaled in relief and answered quickly: "I'm with the Heavenly Wolf Gang. Our boss is friends with Wang Zhengjun."

Lin Feng had heard of the Heavenly Wolf Gang — it was one of the more notorious gangster outfits in the city. Things were starting to look more complicated.

Wang Zhengjun probably wouldn't come after him personally, but as Wang Zhengjun's son, Wang Jun could certainly put pressure on the Heavenly Wolf Gang to do the dirty work. Now that Li Haidong had failed, the gang would likely send someone else. To eliminate the threat entirely, he'd have to dismantle the Heavenly Wolf Gang completely.

Once upon a time, taking down an entire gang single-handedly would have been nothing but a pipe dream for Lin Feng. But now, with the Peach Blossom Manual, anything was possible.

To bring down the Heavenly Wolf Gang, he needed sufficient strength. To gain that strength quickly, he had to rely on the Peach Blossom Manual.

Completing the newly issued mission would earn him 5 Peach Blossom Points. While 5 points wouldn't dramatically increase his power, he had to complete the task before the Manual would trigger the next one.

Lin Feng decided it was time to have a talk with Bai Xuewu.

The next day at noon, after lunch, Lin Feng went to the security office.

Several security guards were inside. Bai Xuewu was there too — though her face carried its usual icy expression that kept the world at arm's length. No one was about to invite humiliation by trying to chat her up.

When the guards saw a student come to the security office looking for Bai Xuewu, more than a few of them exchanged looks of surprise. Bai Xuewu had been working security at the school for a while, but she'd never paid any attention to anyone on campus. This was the first time any of them had seen her have contact with a student.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you," Lin Feng said, steeling himself.

Bai Xuewu didn't speak. She simply looked at him with questioning eyes.

"About what you talked to me about yesterday — I'm willing to consider it. If you're interested, meet me on the school track at eight o'clock tonight."

From start to finish, Bai Xuewu said nothing.

After Lin Feng returned to his classroom, his mind refused to settle.

He had a feeling that Bai Xuewu would show up at the track at eight. What he couldn't be sure of was whether she'd stay calm after he made his request.

If she flew into a rage and decided to sever his immortal root with her sword, that would really be the end of him.

But with a powerful enemy looming, Lin Feng knew he had to grow stronger — and to do that, he had to get over this hurdle. Besides, he desperately wanted to grow strong enough to offer some protection to Bai Yichen.

After school that afternoon, instead of heading home, Lin Feng went to the internet café near the school gate.

Lin Feng was a regular there and no slouch at gaming — but today, his head just wasn't in it. For some reason, he wasn't particularly worried about angering Bai Xuewu. Instead, every time he thought about tonight's meeting, his heart gave a little flutter, and his mind kept drifting back to the captivating sight of Bai Xuewu's chest.

Watching the clock in the lower right corner of the screen, Lin Feng's mood was a tangle of contradictions — part of him wanted time to fly by, another part of him wished it would never reach eight o'clock.

Before he knew it, the time had crept to seven-thirty.

Lin Feng paid for his session, logged off, and headed to the track. He had no intention of disrespecting Bai Xuewu — he simply had no other choice. Since it had to be done regardless, he found himself letting go of his moral anxiety. Amid his nerves, a strange impulse and anticipation bloomed in his chest at the thought of seeing her.

The night was still and quiet, a cool breeze drifting through — yet Lin Feng's heart was anything but calm.

"Say it."

An icy voice cut through the air, startling him. He spun around and found that Bai Xuewu had appeared by his side at some point without him even noticing.

Lin Feng knew that after what had already happened between them — kissing her chest — putting on the act of a proper gentleman would only be revolting. So he let a roguish smile play across his lips and said, "I'll agree to be Bai Yichen's part-time bodyguard — but you have to agree to one condition of mine."

"Another chance to take liberties with me?" The chill radiating from Bai Xuewu surged sharply.

There was no turning back now. Lin Feng nodded. "Got it in one. Think of me however you like — shameless, depraved, whatever. But I consider this a transaction. You're free to refuse."

Bai Xuewu's composure cracked. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her fury clearly reaching a point beyond measure. Yet — perhaps because Bai Yichen meant too much to her — she neither drew her sword to sever his immortal root, nor ran him through on the spot.

She drew a slow, deep breath. Through clenched silver teeth, she said quietly, "What is it you want?"