Chapter 1187 — A Tragedy of Misunderstanding

But no one had anticipated that Er Gou Dan would not hold Mr. Pi in the slightest regard. He caught the hand Mr. Pi swung at him, gave it the gentlest of tugs to one side, and Mr. Pi went flying off the third-floor staircase, tumbling all the way down to smash onto the marble coffee table in the first-floor sitting room. With a thunderous bang it was plain he had not landed lightly — he was knocked stone cold unconscious. And yet, for all that, Mr. Pi was an early-stage Profound-tier expert, and that made him a formidable presence by any measure. Never mind falling from the third floor — he could have dropped straight down from the fifth and walked away unharmed. A man who trained in the external school, his physical constitution was nothing short of savage.

Today, however, he had capsized in the gutter, so to speak. For one thing, he had underestimated his opponent: with no guard up whatsoever he was flung down the stairs by Er Gou Dan, and by the time he grasped what was happening it was already too late. For another, just how immense was Er Gou Dan's strength? Even had he reacted in time, he could never have matched that inexhaustible power. And when Er Gou Dan hurled him, hidden force rode behind the throw — it would have been a miracle if he had not been knocked senseless!

Er Gou Dan's sudden move left Elder Pi thunderstruck. He had not expected the young man to be so formidable — dispatching Mr. Pi with his very first gesture. True, Mr. Pi's own carelessness had played its part in it, but it still proved that the man before him was no bungler.

What mattered more, Er Gou Dan had struck in a single flash; before Elder Pi could even make out what grade of expert he was, the blow was already withdrawn. Elder Pi felt a stab of regret — he had only himself to blame for not paying attention. Yet the more he dwelled on it, the angrier he grew: he had lost face before a mere youngster!

"Boy, which faction do you belong to? What are you doing here?" Elder Pi decided to feel out Er Gou Dan's identity and origins before anything else.

"Old man, I came here for the lion, not to make trouble! As for that fellow just now, he swung at me first, so I threw him out." Er Gou Dan was a man of reason. "Hand the lion over, let me kill it with one punch, and I'll be on my way!"

"Boy, you don't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth! And you dare make such demands of me?" At Er Gou Dan's words Elder Pi flew into a towering rage. "Good, very good! You have nerve. Few men have dared swagger so before me! You truly do not hold me in the slightest regard. Boy, whoever you are, today you will pay the price!"

Er Gou Dan's refusal to show deference only inflamed Elder Pi further. This was naked contempt. Within the Pi family he was no mere plodder either — he was reserve talent on the verge of breaking through to the Earth tier. And here he was, looked down upon by some green-behind-the-ears brat?

Er Gou Dan regarded Elder Pi with some bewilderment. "I don't even know who you are, yet here you stand calling yourself this old man and that. Are you here to stand up for the lion, or have you simply nothing better to do? If it's idleness, step aside — I don't want to beat you up."

"Waaagh! I am Pi Yangyang!" Elder Pi was so incensed by Er Gou Dan that smoke poured from his seven orifices — and the boy didn't even want to beat him up? For years Elder Pi had been a name to reckon with among the hidden great families; when had he ever suffered such an insult? So he announced his name outright — the name that even today's Eight Great Families had to show some respect.

"Huh?" Er Gou Dan stared, dumbfounded. "Your skin's itching?"

Er Gou Dan's thoughts were in a tangle. The old man really did have nothing better to do than meddle in other people's business — and all because his skin itched! Er Gou Dan was a plain, straightforward fellow, but today even he was at a loss. The old man had blocked him at every turn over nothing more than the fact that he was itching for it! Didn't "itching for it" simply mean he was asking to be hit?

But he had no grudge against the man, and Er Gou Dan rather lacked the heart to beat him. Judging by the situation, though, unless he sent this old man packing, the old man would never let him go looking for the lion.

So Er Gou Dan had no choice but to ask, "You're itching for it?"

"That's right! I am Pi Yangyang!" Seeing the faintly embarrassed, troubled look on Er Gou Dan's face, Elder Pi assumed the boy had heard of his famous name, and a smug pride swelled in his heart. So his reputation still carried weight! In this mundane world he was a mighty presence, and the cultivators all knew it. That made things very simple: since Er Gou Dan recognized him, the boy would surely disclose his master and his origins — and if he came from some minor sect or minor family, Elder Pi would naturally shake them down on the Pi family's behalf.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to extort a handsome sum! Pi Yangyang thought to himself that if he could leverage this into a payday, the clan head would be very pleased indeed.

"Sigh. I didn't want to hit you, but since you're itching for it, I've no choice — I'll have to beat you first. Otherwise I don't suppose you'll let me go looking for the lion!" Er Gou Dan sighed in helpless resignation, then raised his fists and came raining blows down on Pi Yangyang's head and face.

Pi Yangyang had just heard Er Gou Dan's words without quite following them and was still puzzling over what they could mean when, the next instant, a fist the size of a bucket crashed over and beat him utterly senseless, stars bursting before his eyes.

Not to mention that Pi Yangyang was a peak late-stage Profound-tier expert, and his body's defensive power was fearsome indeed — ordinary blows simply did not land on him, unless thrown by an opponent of a higher grade. But Er Gou Dan was an exception: after only a few punches, Pi Yangyang's mind had gone blank.

"I am Pi Yangyang — Pi Yangyang, not 'your skin itches'!" After the thrashing, Pi Yangyang finally worked out what had happened: the brat before him had taken his own name to mean his skin was itching! Once it clicked, he began bawling at the top of his lungs, all the while wrapping his arms around the vital points of his body.

It hurt dreadfully! Even as humiliation and rage boiled in Pi Yangyang's heart, a chill of alarm crept in as well. He knew his own power full well — and anyone who could make him ache this badly, this惨 — anyone who could hurt him this badly, this wretchedly, had to be at least at the mid-Profound tier.

The boy before him actually possessed such strength? But the next moment Pi Yangyang was seized with even deeper horror, for there came a sharp crack, a bolt of pain tore through his right leg, and Pi Yangyang discovered, in tragedy, that his leg had been snapped in two by Er Gou Dan.

To break the leg of a peak late-stage Profound-tier expert who had already guarded his vitals — what terrifying realm did that place his own strength at? Could he already have surpassed the peak of the late Profound tier?

At the thought, Pi Yangyang's eyes went dead-ashen grey. How could he be so unlucky — to run into a monster of an expert like this?

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