Chapter 44

“I choose the waterway,” Master Long said decisively.

Chen Hao gazed at the three paths, his gaze flickering.

Among the three paths, clearly the one in the middle was the easiest to walk, for it was a straight path into the depths of the palace. This fellow is choosing to walk on the narrowest bridge on the pond? Why did he choose that one? Could it be that Master Long actually knows that that path is the safest but isn’t planning on telling me?

That can’t be it. Master Long can’t be that retarded to entrap his teammate before even confirming the existence of evil spirits in there.

That means Master Long knows some information and deduced that the waterway has the highest probability of being the safest path. That’s why he took the initiative to claim that path first and make me test the other two paths.

Damn. It’s a trap! No way. I must… Wait a minute, there’s a problem.

Could this fellow have deliberately chosen first to tempt me into exchanging with him? That means that the waterway is the least safe, and he’s deliberately choosing it to confuse me so that I’ll get suspicious and initiate an exchange.

Damn. This fellow doesn’t look so devious! Could I be overthinking this?

“Master Chen, are you done considering? If you feel that the waterway is the safest, I can let you have it,” Master Long said with a broad beam, assuming an easygoing manner.

Chen Hao raised a brow and snorted inwardly. He said, “I choose the square.”

Regardless of how he looked at it, the waterway was the least safe. Once the mechanism was triggered, he would have no place to hide.

On the other hand, the square was different. It at least had a large surface area. Now that he had a preliminary understanding of the Dipper Steps, such an environment was most suited for him. Even if there was a trap, he would have space to dodge.

Hence, regardless of Master Long’s intention, Chen Hao decided to choose according to his own circumstances and ignore everything else.

“The square? You’ve made your choice, Master Chen?” Master Long pressed, seemingly eager to exchange.

Chen Hao calmly said, “Master Long, you’d better prepare. We’re pressed for time.”

He then walked over to the square.

Bai Ru subconsciously wanted to follow him, but Chen Hao said, “Don’t come over first. Wait for me to call for you before coming over.”

Bai Ru hesitated a moment, then nodded.

All she could think of now was what Chen Hao said about the chance to turn things around. Hence, Chen Hao’s words were like an imperial edict to her, and no one else mattered.

When he got to the square, Chen Hao carefully sized it up.

The square wasn’t considered small—it was ten-odd meters wide and thirty-plus meters long. The ground was laid with neat rows of slab stones, and on each of the two sides, there was a row of warriors wearing armor and holding swords and guns. Also, there were two rows of army weapons racks, on which there were swords, guns, rods, and all kinds of army weaponry that one could think of. However, as they were left underground for several centuries, under the influence of the dark energy and the moisture, they were awfully rusted.

From the surface, there didn’t seem to be any problem with this square.

But the ancient people’s wisdom wasn’t to be belittled. The safer a place seemed, the more likely there was a problem with it.

Chen Hao calmed his anxious heart down and quietly glanced at Master Long. He realized that Master Long was standing next to the bridge looking at him.

As both of them were wearing gas masks, neither could see the other’s expression, but both knew in their hearts.

They were risking their lives by barging in by force this time.

Master Long had received an expensive gift and accepted this task, so even if he were to risk his life, he had to accomplish this mission.

Chen Hao, on the other hand, was provoked into doing this by Master Long. After all, this was a business deal he agreed to take on, and since the other master wasn’t afraid, if he showed cowardice and backed off, it would be a smudge on his path to becoming a great master. This was something Chen Hao refused to let happen.

Nearly at the same time, both of them started moving at their fastest speed possible, barging forward directly.

On Master Long’s side, the bridge was curved, so he had to keep turning his body as he walked, observing his surroundings and controlling the direction as he went along.

It was more straightforward for Chen Hao. He simply had to go in a straight line, until he dashed to the front.

Shortly after, the two of them entered the mid-section of the path they had respectively chosen.

Just then, Chen Hao suddenly heard a clicking sound, and the next moment his entire body involuntarily lurched forward.

Damn. This square is a dead path!

Chen Hao gasped in his heart. Sensing a pain between his brows, he subconsciously did a somersault.

Swoosh swoosh!

The two hidden arrows went through Chen Hao’s original position with a swoosh wound before nailing the wall.

Holy crap! Nearly scared me to death!

Startled, Chen Hao felt his entire body going weak and his bladder swelling up.

But before he could catch his breath, the slab stone he was holding up with his left hand started making “clack-clack” sounds.

Chen Hao’s mouth twitched, then he saw the slab stone sink down slowly.

F*ck! Again! Is this ever going to end?

Chen Hao’s expression changed drastically as he scolded inwardly. But his body didn’t dare hesitate. With a clumsy roll, he shifted away from his original position.

But very quickly, he was stunned.

Surrounded by the continuous clicking sounds, he could see the slab stones sinking one by one.

Clearly, he had triggered a domino effect.

It was indeed a dead path!

Chen Hao wailed internally. Unable to care about anything else, he summoned his focus, and his body subconsciously followed the footwork of the Dipper Steps, helping him move distances of several meters unpredictably in an instant.

Swoosh swoosh! Swoosh swoosh! Swoosh swoosh!

The hidden arrows flew past him in a swift and urgent manner.

But luckily, these arrows were triggered by a mechanism, and every time they came shooting, he would hear the triggered sound. Although Chen Hao didn’t know how to determine where the sound came from, when he heard it, his body would naturally shift using the Dipper Steps.

After it happened several times, Chen Hao felt delighted.

Surprisingly, experiencing danger had its benefits too. His sensitized body had now begun getting used to the Dipper Steps.

After all, he completely understood the wonders and meaning of the Dipper Steps. It was just that his body was too weak and couldn’t keep up. Even though he had practiced it hundreds of times over the span of several days, he was still in the elementary stage.

But now, when faced with the danger of death, it was like the muscles and bones in his body had been activated. Instinctively, he could follow the movements of the Dipper Steps. When it sensed the movement of the mechanism, his body would automatically combine the appropriate movements and flexibly apply it, helping him dodge from the traps easily.

Right now, Chen Hao could completely feel the wonders and magic of the Dipper Steps. Experiencing it for himself was totally different from absorbing the knowledge passively.

The commotion on this side startled the others in the back.

So there was really a trap? Those who had initially wanted to put up a good performance before Xue Chuang felt glad they didn’t act recklessly. Else, they would probably have a hundred holes through them now.

Looking at the master again, tsk tsk. He was indeed a master. Could this be the legendary qinggong[1]?

Master Long, who set off at the same time as Chen Hao, was observing the latter as well.

When the mechanism in the square was triggered, he had halted in his footsteps. When he saw how Chen Hao managed to dodge the traps with his footwork, a shocked expression emerged underneath Master Long’s gas mask.

Unlike outsiders who only knew to watch the fun, an insider would know what was really going on.

Chen Hao’s steps contained the Big Dipper Technique. Combining the elements to the Chinese zodiac, it contained 36 variations that resulted in unpredictable changes. This was divine footwork. Even though his sect had existed for several hundred years, they didn’t pass on something so divine. Isn’t this fellow a warlock? Where did he learn this from?

The incredulous Master Long suddenly had a bad feeling. He subconsciously retreated, and his expression changed before dashing forward.

But just then, splattering sounds came from the originally calm water surface. Several hideous-looking weird fishes about one meter long each and with sharp teeth jumped out of the water, attacking Master Long from both sides.

[1] A technique in Chinese martial arts that is visually reminiscent of parkou