Chapter 524: Deception and Deception
Wei Yang felt a sudden sense of dread.
The voice in Qiao Jiajin's mind was thunderously loud, and the punching motion he imagined had already included the image of hitting Wei Yang himself.
A wave of danger washed over Wei Yang. He felt as if he had encountered a true killer. Before he could even feel fear, the pitchfork in his hand had already thrust forward.
He felt that if he didn't act first this time, he would really be sent flying.
The pitchfork shot out like a spear released from a hand, aimed straight at Qiao Jiajin's abdomen. Wei Yang deliberately gripped the very end of the handle, ready to change the direction of the thrust the moment the other showed any sign of dodging. Countless people had already fallen to this attack.
"Mind-reading," after all, was still "Mind-reading," an "Echo" that could suppress all combat skills.
Just as the pitchfork was about to pierce Qiao Jiajin's belly, Wei Yang heard nothing in his ears.
"Kid... you're not dodging...?"
The pitchfork shot forward, but Qiao Jiajin, with the tines only a finger's width away, expressionlessly stepped to the side, evading the lethal strike.
Wei Yang looked incredulously into Qiao Jiajin's eyes. At the moment of making such a crucial dodging move, the young man in front of him had thought of nothing.
It was as if his body moved on its own; his brain had issued no commands from start to finish.
The next instant, Qiao Jiajin lunged forward two steps, closing the distance to Wei Yang. He sank his right fist to his waist, stretched out his left hand to grab Wei Yang's collar, stabilizing the man's stance, and then his right fist flew upward like a rocket.
"You...!"
Before Wei Yang could speak, his chin took a heavy blow. His upper and lower teeth slammed together with a loud crack.
His vision went black. Before he even felt the pain, his feet had already left the ground. The dark red sky filled his view for a full two or three seconds before something crashed into his back, sending dust flying.
The excruciating pain in his jaw, mixed with dizziness, slowly invaded Wei Yang. Panicked, he reached out and touched his face, only then realizing he was lying on the filthy ground.
How many years had it been since someone had landed a hit on him?
Ever since he had mastered "Mind-reading," this should have been the first time he was actually sent flying.
After about twenty seconds, Wei Yang could barely make out the scene before him. The ochre sun in the sky twitched slightly.
"The sky here is really beautiful..." Blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth. "This song paired with the sky... how my heart yearns for it."
"Farm boy." Qiao Jiajin kicked the pitchfork away from him, then crouched down beside him and looked down, saying, "Hear what's in my heart now?"
"I can hear it... but I can't avoid it..." Wei Yang lay on the ground with a bitter laugh, feeling like his teeth were loose. "What a fierce punch..."
"This punch doesn't count for much," Qiao Jiajin said. "Compared to the holes you left in those 'natives,' it's still very light."
"I think I took a punch from you once before... heh heh... now I'm stronger than before, and I can dodge several times in a row..." Wei Yang laughed. "Sure enough, if you don't keep your memories, you just get weaker and weaker..."
"You've got it wrong." Qiao Jiajin smiled slightly. "If I were using my own body right now, you'd have fallen with the first punch."
"You..."
"I'm not used to this body." Qiao Jiajin said. "The first two punches were purely me adapting, not because your skill was superior. Can you understand that, you bastard?"
Seeing Qiao Jiajin take down Wei Yang, Chen Junnan glanced back at Qi Xia and exchanged a look. The two of them then walked into the farm one after the other.
The madman in front of them was indeed dangerous. Not only had he set up a killing trap here, but he also had a deadly pitchfork. Paired with his "Mind-reading," it was hard for ordinary participants to survive against him.
Seeing Qi Xia and Chen Junnan approach, Qiao Jiajin nodded to them and asked, "What do we do next?"
"First, put on some clothes," Qi Xia said.
"Yeah, Old Qiao." Chen Junnan also sighed in exasperation. "When are you going to break that habit of stripping down before a fight? You think you're Xu Chu?"
"Uh..." Qiao Jiajin awkwardly walked over, picked up his shirt, dusted it off, and put it on. "You might not know this, but back in the day, clothes were expensive. If they got cut up, I couldn't wear them anymore. And I was pretty poor, so I usually took them off before a fight. Over time, it just became a habit..."
"What kind of dark joke is that?" Chen Junnan was taken aback. "You can't wear clothes if they get cut, but if your flesh gets cut, it'll just scab over on its own, right?"
"A bit funny, I guess... but that's how it really was. If I got cut, I just had to tough it out and it would scab over. But if my clothes ripped, I couldn't wear them anymore." Qiao Jiajin shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyway, this body is fine in every way, except it doesn't seem like one that's been fighting on the streets."
As they spoke, Qi Xia had already come to Wei Yang's side. Their eyes met at that moment.
In that instant, not only did Wei Yang frown, but Qi Xia also felt something was off.
"Wei Goat...?" Qi Xia asked softly.
"Ha... haha..." Wei Yang stared into Qi Xia's eyes, grinning widely, his smile particularly ugly. "No way. In front of you, how could I be the Goat? You're the Goat... haha... Goat..."
"I'm the Goat." Qi Xia nodded. "So you're also the Goat?"
"Of course I'm the Goat..." Wei Yang widened his eyes and laughed. "You're really something... Even without any memories, you can guess everything..."
"So you're definitely the Goat." Qi Xia asked again. "Which Goat were you? What kind of Goat?"
"Qi Xia... hahahahaha..." The longer Wei Yang stared into Qi Xia's eyes, the more he couldn't hold back his laughter. "What the hell... a con artist? Hahahahaha..."
"What did you say?"
"You really went all out, didn't you?" Wei Yang slowly got up from the ground, then spat out a mouthful of blood. "To escape from this hellish place, you didn't even spare yourself. Do you remember that? Back then, because I was afraid I'd hear your inner plans, you kicked me out first. And now you come knocking on my door yourself... How ridiculous is that?"
"Ridiculous." Qi Xia grabbed Wei Yang by the collar. "I dared to look even the 'Heavenly Serpent' in the eye, so why would I be afraid of your mind-reading?"
"Hahahaha!" Wei Yang laughed loudly. "What's a piece of trash like the 'Heavenly Serpent'? Can he read through you?"
"So can you?" A slight smile curled at the corner of Qi Xia's mouth. He had found another logical flaw in the other's words.