Chapter 148: Injury
"I don't need to answer your question."
Wielding his saber, he slowly stood up. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he jumped down from the vehicle and charged at Xia Yu.
The saber descended upon Xia Yu with immense, crushing force.
Xia Yu did not dare to be careless; he could sense that this man was an expert.
Stepping back, he skillfully evaded the blow before thrusting forward with his short blade.
Neither gained the upper hand in the first exchange. The semi-masked man's expression turned solemn, surprised by Xia Yu's strength, and he no longer dared to underestimate him.
"Now this is an opponent."
A fiery light burned in Xia Yu's eyes, his fighting spirit blazing intensely as he took the initiative to charge. The short blades in his hands moved with blinding speed.
The semi-masked man reacted with agility, countering with calm composure while leveraging his own advantage—an abundance of feints.
Facing Xia Yu's incoming short blade, he appeared to dodge, but the saber stealthily swept upward, slashing toward him.
Caught off guard, Xia Yu tried desperately to dodge, but he was a fraction too late; a blade grazed his chest.
Shocked, Xia Yu retreated several meters before steadying himself.
Fresh blood seeped from his chest, staining his white shirt red.
Yet Xia Yu's expression remained unchanged. He glanced down, then stared coldly at the semi-masked man.
Ever since returning to the country, Xu Minjie had been the toughest opponent he had ever encountered, yet the man before him was even stronger than Xu Minjie.
At least Xia Yu did not have absolute confidence that he could win. Truly, hidden dragons and crouching tigers were scattered across the vast nation of Yan.
"You're very strong. I'm really curious whose man you are."
Unreconciled, Xia Yu asked again.
"When you're dead, I'll tell you."
Holding his saber horizontally, the man said in a deep, expressionless voice.
"Perhaps you're the one who will die!"
Xia Yu's killing intent was ignited. The opponent posed too great a threat, and he wanted him dead just as much.
He aggressively took the initiative, lunging at the semi-masked man once more.
Faced with the provoked Xia Yu, the semi-masked man swung his saber. Unexpectedly, Xia Yu didn't dodge at all; instead, he leaped into the air, driving his short blade straight toward the man's heart.
The semi-masked man was startled. At Xia Yu's speed, even if his saber struck Xia Yu, he wouldn't be able to avoid the short blade, and being hit by it meant certain death.
At this critical juncture, he dared not take the risk, quickly withdrawing his saber and retreating several steps.
However, Xia Yu gave him no breathing room. Before he could recover, Xia Yu rushed forward again, hands and feet moving in a flurry of vicious techniques.
"Is this guy insane?!"
The semi-masked man was somewhat at a loss; he had never encountered such a lunatic before.
Xia Yu completely discarded conventional combat methods, adopting a suicidal, mutual-destruction fighting style—simply going all out to see whose will to live was tougher until the end.
In truth, many people fell into a misconception regarding Xia Yu, assuming he was a traditional martial artist.
That was wrong. While he had practiced martial arts, his understanding differed entirely from those who practiced it in the traditional sense.
He lacked the rigid rules of martial artists; surviving the battlefield was forged through this brutal, savage approach.
On the battlefield, it was a frequent occurrence to be surrounded by dozens of enemies. There was no energy to waste on fancy forms; pure, unadulterated slaughter was the only way to walk out alive.
Those familiar with him knew this was what truly made Xia Yu terrifying. Otherwise, someone as proud as Xiao Jun would not have maintained such enduring admiration for him.
The semi-masked man gradually found himself on the defensive. He had crossed paths with many masters, but he had genuinely never met anyone so reckless with their life.
Yet his opponent's strength was undeniably formidable; an ordinary person would have collapsed long ago.
He was caught in a dilemma: if he attacked and Xia Yu didn't dodge, Xia Yu would viciously drive his blade straight for his heart or head. He simply dared not risk a head-on collision.
The two engaged in a fierce, chaotic struggle. The semi-masked man spent most of his time dodging while Xia Yu relentlessly pursued him, leaving the former looking rather disheveled.
After countless rounds, several gasps of exhaustion escaped the semi-masked man, and multiple wounds opened across his body.
Two more bloody trails marked Xia Yu's flesh, yet his expression remained unshifted, freezing cold, without even a frown. He pressed on with relentless assaults, vowing to send the semi-masked man to his grave.
"A madman! I can't keep fighting this lunatic, or I'll end up burying my bones here."
A sharp sense of alarm washed over the semi-masked man. The intel he received before coming made no mention that Xia Yu was a martial artist, let alone a top-tier one.
His combat prowess far exceeded expectations. He had anticipated that a clash of skills would easily eliminate him, but the reality was far from it.
Feeling his stamina plummet drastically, the semi-masked man dared not continue. With a sweeping blow of his saber that forced Xia Yu back, he sprinted straight into the pitch-black mountain forest.
"You lunatic, we shall meet again! It was my carelessness this time, but next time I will definitely kill you!!"
With the crisis averted, Xia Yu bent over, breathing heavily, covered in sweat.
His physical exertion was immense, and his legs trembled continuously.
He might have appeared as fierce as a tiger, but his stamina drainage far exceeded the semi-masked man's; he was merely putting on a brave front to keep the enemy from seeing his weakness.
The two had been true equals in strength.
"Damn it, if I had a gun, I wouldn't have had to put in so much effort."
Catching his breath, he inspected his wounds and applied a simple bandage, though a trip to the hospital would still be necessary.
To make matters worse, he had taken a kick to the crotch from the semi-masked man during the skirmish, and a dull ache lingered. He truly worried something might be wrong with his little brother and needed a medical checkup.
Starting the car, he drove straight to the People's Hospital.
The night was quiet, with few people around. Xia Yu registered for the emergency department and quickly reached the treatment room.
A female doctor wearing a white lab coat walked in.
"Xia Yu, why is it you?" she asked in surprise.
"Ziyu."
Xia Yu was equally startled, feeling a touch of awkwardness.
"I'm on night shift today," Su Ziyu walked over, her voice laced with concern. "You're hurt. Let me take a look right now."
Xia Yu smiled and let her examine his injuries.
"What on earth happened to you? These are all knife wounds. Did you get into a fight with someone?"
Su Ziyu frowned deeply. "You're going to need stitches."
"Ah..." Xia Yu fabricated an excuse. "Well, I drive for my boss, right? He got drunk today and started a fight with others, and I got hurt protecting him."
"What kind of boss is that? Driving for someone puts your life in danger."
Su Ziyu said angrily, "Wait here, I'll have a nurse assist me with the procedure."
"Sorry to trouble you."
Xia Yu smiled, offering no further explanation.
Moments later, a nurse pushed a medical cart into the room.
"Xia Yu, time for the local anesthetic."
Su Ziyu put on her gloves, wearing a serious and solemn expression—a stark contrast to the kind and easygoing girl he had met last time.
"No need for anesthetic. I don't like it. Just sew up these minor cuts directly."
"Are you sure?"
Both Su Ziyu and the nurse froze in astonishment.
"It's going to hurt a lot, you know. Are you sure you can endure it?"
"Anesthetic is bad for the body. It's just a bit of superficial skin damage. Let's begin."
Xia Yu said without a trace of hesitation.
"Then take off your shirt."
Without further ado, Su Ziyu immediately prepared to begin treatment.
As Xia Yu removed his shirt, revealing the countless intertwined scars and bullet grazes crisscrossing his torso, both women were left utterly dumbfounded.