Chapter 1036: I Am Still Standing
Qiao Jiajin felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead. Just as it reached his eye, Zhang Shan moved.
He dared not blink, letting the sweat cut across his eyeball, leaving behind a salty, stinging pain.
Zhang Shan took a big step forward, his heavy fist cocked behind his head, and threw a plain, unadorned punch straight at Qiao Jiajin's face.
The punch seemed ordinary, but Qiao Jiajin felt a massive gust of wind rushing toward him. He pressed his back against the wall and sidestepped to dodge, and Zhang Shan's iron fist slammed into the wall.
*Crack!*
The loud noise was somehow different from before—Zhang Shan's fist had actually cracked the wall, leaving fine fissures.
Seizing the moment Zhang Shan's punch hit nothing, Qiao Jiajin mustered all his strength and struck Zhang Shan's ribs with a hook punch. But Zhang Shan merely grunted and quickly countered.
The two exchanged rapid punches in mid-air. Each of Zhang Shan's blows was like a bullet, filled with monstrous strength. Qiao Jiajin, cornered against the wall with no room to retreat, could only dodge left and right or block with his arms. Though he appeared unharmed, his arms went numb with every block.
Zhang Shan's fists continuously pounded the white wall behind Qiao Jiajin. Soon, large sections of the wall crumbled, and the debris burst into white powder like shattered ice sculptures.
Finding an opening, Qiao Jiajin used his left arm to intercept a heavy punch from Zhang Shan's right hand, then, enduring the bone-shattering pain, he abruptly drove his right elbow up, smashing it into Zhang Shan's chin.
Blood immediately filled Zhang Shan's mouth. He seemed to lose consciousness for a moment, involuntarily spinning half a turn before suddenly accelerating his rotation and swinging a thick right fist back.
Qiao Jiajin instinctively ducked, but the lightning-fast fist still scraped a large patch of skin off his face. Gritting his teeth, he charged forward, alternating his elbows in rapid thrusts that slammed into Zhang Shan's chest.
Zhang Shan retreated hastily, blocking awkwardly until Qiao Jiajin leaped up and drove his knee forward. Zhang Shan abandoned his defense, letting the knee smash into his own chest while simultaneously grabbing Qiao Jiajin mid-air and twisting to slam him to the ground.
Taking advantage of Qiao Jiajin's immobility, Zhang Shan launched himself into the air and stomped down hard. Qiao Jiajin rolled away at the last crucial moment, then swept his leg viciously at Zhang Shan's, dragging him to the ground as well.
They had gone from exchanging blows on their feet to grappling on the ground. By now, adrenaline had taken over their entire bodies. They momentarily forgot fatigue and pain.
They fought purely on instinct—throwing punches and blocking.
After trading a few more blows on the ground, they both scrambled to their feet again and continued punching each other in the face.
The force of their punches was terrifying. To survive, they had to block these strikes.
But at this moment... how could they still block?
Their strength and awareness could no longer process complex thoughts. Their faces were drenched in blood. Finally, Qiao Jiajin could hold out no longer—a punch from Zhang Shan landed squarely on his temple.
The power in that punch was far beyond what he could imagine. He felt his head snap to the side, and both ears instantly rang.
The world spun around him. All consciousness began to fade.
An ordinary human body really couldn't topple a mountain... Was this it? Was he about to fall?
He wasn't a mountain, but the burden on his shoulders was heavier than one.
"Brother Rong, I don't know anything except how to fight. You saved me and Jiu Zai. From now on, I'll follow you and fight for you."
"Liar boy, you've got brains, I've got fists. Let's work together, yeah?"
Only when he raised his fists did he truly feel he existed.
Only when he fought desperately for others did he feel he could repay their kindness.
Qiao Jiajin felt himself slowly sinking in a pitch-black void, surrounded by absolute silence.
After getting out... what exactly was he supposed to do?
Repay a debt of gratitude? Or take revenge?
He didn't know.
After all, everyone important to him in this world was already gone.
In the darkness, he slowly opened his eyes and saw two youths running forward, tattoos on their backs, smiles on their faces.
Compared to back then... this journey was extraordinarily exhausting.
The last time he was this exhausted was when he went to the casino with Brother Rong and over thirty men chased them with knives. He pulled Brother Rong along, running and fighting, fighting and getting wounded.
But there were too many of them... One down, another came. Ten down, ten more came.
So if he fell... would it all end?
If he fell... could he set down the weight on his shoulders?
If he fell, and Zhang Shan broke through their "gate" to charge in, who could stop him?
His fists were as hard as steel, his speed as fast as bullets. His body was like a mountain—even after taking dozens of his punches, he wouldn't fall.
So...
Zhang Shan saw Qiao Jiajin lose his balance. He took a step forward and threw another heavy punch. If this punch hit the face, the fight would truly be decided.
Just as the fist was mere centimeters from Qiao Jiajin's cheek, Qiao Jiajin's hand shot out like a reflex, gripping Zhang Shan's massive fist.
"So I cannot fall..."
"Even if I die, I cannot die on my knees..."
"As long as I am still standing, the enemy dares not touch the people behind me..."
Qiao Jiajin's eyes snapped open. With a roar, he threw a right fist with all his might, striking Zhang Shan squarely in the face.
Before Zhang Shan could even process what had happened, the violent punch sent him staggering back five steps, and his vision went black.
Zhang Shan inwardly cursed, quickly collecting himself into a defensive stance.
What followed was a storm of wild punches from Qiao Jiajin. Surging adrenaline numbed them both to the pain. Zhang Shan simply abandoned defense and started punching back into the onslaught.
Neither of them blocked anymore. Numbly, they just kept throwing punches at each other's faces.
Blood sprayed from their mouths, scattering everywhere. With each heavy blow, blood flew from their bodies, dyeing the entire "riverbed" with specks of crimson.
Around them, there was only deathly silence—nothing but the whoosh of fists and occasional thuds of flesh hitting flesh.
Qiao Jiajin didn't know if it was from blood loss or the aftereffects of too many hits, but he could no longer see anything. Only a blurry red-black remained.
But Zhang Shan was right there.
As long as he threw a punch, it would hit him. He was right there.
So he couldn't move a single step, couldn't retreat a single step. If he took that step away, he would never hit him again.
Ten punches. Twenty punches.
The speed of their punches gradually slowed, but they still accurately struck each other's heads.
More blood and sharper whistling winds scattered everywhere.
After dozens of punches, both seemed to go quiet. Qiao Jiajin couldn't even speak anymore. His ears rang, his mouth dripped blood. Yet the fight was still not over.
He slowly lowered his head, waiting for the punch that should have come but never did.
Zhang Shan was right there.
Now the other side had stopped... This was a good chance...
Qiao Jiajin slowly raised his fist, following muscle memory to throw a straight punch.
But it hit nothing.
Nothing... Why did this punch hit nothing?
Zhang Shan... did you pull back?
You know I can't see... So you pulled back?
Qiao Jiajin changed his angle, struggling with all his strength to lift his arm, then viciously stabbed out another punch.
Again, nothing.
Don't leave, Qiao Jiajin thought to himself. I haven't fallen yet. You can't leave.
As long as I'm still standing here, you can't touch any of my teammates.
He could only turn his body again and throw another punch into the void.
He didn't know how many punches he threw—ten or dozens—into the empty air. Then a pair of hands gently pressed down on his shoulders, and reached out to hold his fist.
The owner of those hands spoke softly to him:
"Your fists... it's over... You've worked hard... He's down..."
Qiao Jiajin stood there for a long time, stunned. He had lost all feeling in his face, so he didn't know if he was crying or laughing. He only remembered making some expression before slowly collapsing.
He didn't remember hitting the ground. He was caught again.
This time, what caught him was the burden on his shoulders.