Chapter Fifty-Six: Beggar Lu

After Beggar Lu finished speaking, he didn’t attack immediately.

“Wait,” Shen Ye raised his hand. “I have another question.”

“Ask away,” Beggar Lu replied generously. “After all, you’re about to die at the hands of this old beggar.”

“You appeared here so suddenly, which means this is a trap. Was all of this arranged by you, designed to lure me out?” Shen Ye asked.

“No, that’s actually a coincidence. Originally, Xiong Xinxing and I intended to use another method to draw you out and kill you. But then, this incident with those two little bastards murdering their master occurred. Xiong Xinxing said, knowing your temperament, you’d definitely show up here. So, we just set the ambush right here,” Beggar Lu declared, openly revealing Xiong Xinxing’s name.

“I see. So, Eastern Bear Xiong Xinxing has been secretly plotting against me already. Very well,” Shen Ye nodded calmly. “After I kill you, I’ll go deal with this Eastern Bear Xiong Xinxing myself.”

“You won’t get the chance, because today you’ll die right here.” Beggar Lu flicked his hand, and the cloth covering a table nearby was suddenly whisked away.

Beneath it were ten dishes: chicken, boiled duck, roasted duck, braised dog meat, chicken feet, red-braised pork, pig’s trotters, and others, all ten dishes made entirely of meat, not a single vegetable among them. The dishes appeared incredibly fresh, and a faint steam was still rising from them.

His sudden movement surprised many onlookers—no one knew what Beggar Lu was planning. Could it be that, before fighting, he wanted to sit down for a meal and a drink? That seemed far too incongruous.

Beggar Lu offered no explanation. His hand rested on the table, and suddenly, with a burst of force—

Bang!

The half-meter-high table was overturned in an instant.

The ten dishes—chicken, boiled duck, roasted duck, and the rest—shot toward Shen Ye from ten different angles, sealing off every direction: in front, left, right, above, and more. At the same moment, Beggar Lu, with a powerful step, flashed behind Shen Ye at incredible speed. In his hand, the pitch-black rod whistled through the air with a sharp screech, striking toward Shen Ye.

This was, in fact, a very famous ultimate move of Beggar Lu.

The move was called “The Beggar’s Ten Dishes,” one of the signature techniques of the Beggars’ Sect.

The Beggars’ Sect, after all, was composed of beggars.

Beggars usually relied on charity from others.

That, in itself, was nothing special. But among the Beggars’ Sect, some psychologically twisted elders couldn’t accept this reality at all.

So, they invented “The Beggar’s Ten Dishes.” First, ten different dishes were arranged in advance; then, a special secret heating agent of the Beggars’ Sect was added, raising the temperature of each dish to over a hundred degrees—sometimes close to two hundred. The ten dishes could then be launched to seal off an enemy’s escape from every direction, leaving the opponent with nowhere to go but to be hit by at least one of the dishes.

The enemy would likely dismiss the dishes as mere plates of food, thinking they’d only be embarrassed if hit. But in reality, when these dishes made contact, the temperature—reaching one hundred and fifty degrees—would immediately scorch and burn the enemy’s skin, inflicting severe injuries.

This was truly an attack that caught the foe off guard.

Those unfamiliar with the technique would never expect such a sinister trick, and would fall victim to the Beggars’ Sect’s treachery.

And die at the hands of its experts.

The Beggars’ Sect was an organization as devious as they came.

After laying this trap and using the Wolf King as bait to draw out the Chopsticks Demon, Beggar Lu had been preparing for this. Anyone who could kill his disciple Li Jinguo was surely no ordinary man.

Had Beggar Lu been in his prime, he would not have feared the Chopsticks Demon, but now, well into his nineties, both his strength and inner energy were waning. He worried he might not be able to overcome the Chopsticks Demon in a direct fight.

Thus, he set up “The Beggar’s Ten Dishes,” this unique secret of the Beggars’ Sect.

Now, the trap was sprung; every arrangement was aimed at the Chopsticks Demon.

A cruel, triumphant smile crept across Beggar Lu’s weathered face.

...

Shen Ye originally thought that having ten plates thrown at him would be nothing more than a bit embarrassing, nothing to worry about.

But when he saw the cruel, smug smile at the corner of Beggar Lu’s mouth, he couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. Instinctively, he sensed that these ten dishes were no ordinary attack and that he should avoid contact if at all possible. Yet, except for the space behind him, every direction was blocked by the flying dishes.

And behind him was cut off by Beggar Lu himself.

What now?

Battle has never been a simple matter.

There are far too many factors to consider: the terrain, the people present, the weather at the time, the glare of sunlight, the opponent’s condition, and more.

Shen Ye realized that he wasn’t without talent for combat—at the very least, he never panicked in a crisis and could think calmly throughout. As the ten dishes closed in, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Three chopsticks shot forward at lightning speed.

Ever since he’d been dubbed the Chopsticks Demon, Shen Ye had focused on mastering the skill of throwing chopsticks.

Swish, swish, swish!

Bang, bang, bang!

The three chopsticks struck the three dishes in front of him. Though bamboo chopsticks looked fragile, under Shen Ye’s immense power they flew with amazing speed—speed that translated directly into destructive force. In a flash, each chopstick pierced a dish.

Clatter! Crash! The three dishes fell to the ground in succession.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Ye burst through the circle of ten dishes, dodging the deadly convergence.

Only now did the first round between the two come to an end. And even in this first exchange, both wits and courage were tested to the extreme.

During the fight, Shen Ye cast a glance with his Eye of Justice—and was shocked by what he saw.

“Beggar Lu, ninety-eight years old, born in 1918. Over a lifetime, he has committed countless evil deeds: murder, arson, robbery, child trafficking, rape. He’s killed soldiers from the Chinese army, but also Japanese. After weighing his deeds, his evil score is eighty-five.”

The highest evil score Shen Ye had ever seen before was forty. Now, here was someone with an eighty-five—it was truly staggering.

But he quickly regained his focus—this was a perilous fight, and he could not afford a single mistake.

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