65: Chapter 64 A Warrior Who Emerged from Hell

"Young man, do you know why I say you and I are very much alike?"

The mysterious man spoke in a hoarse voice. He pointed to the scar on his neck, then rolled up his sleeve to reveal a clear knife scar on his left arm as well.

Burns from raging fire, wounds like those from swords and axes—what on earth had this man experienced in the past?

Li Changsheng did not want to hear his story, but maintaining this situation was fine. He was still adjusting his mindset, because once they made a move, it would be a fight to the death; only one of them could leave alive.

"In the first few years of the new century, I had already achieved success in practicing martial arts. The old master took me as his apprentice when I was very young, but you should also be aware of those years back then; everyone was suffering.

I got married at twenty, and at twenty-two, my wife gave birth to our child. It was a difficult labor. I wanted to save her, but unfortunately, I had no money!"

"At first, I really hated practicing martial arts. For a time, I loathed myself for having practiced martial arts since I was young; things aren't like they used to be now.

What use is high martial prowess? Can it put food on the table? Or can it be used to beat someone up and steal a meal to fill your stomach?"

"That year, my wife passed away. I took my child and went south to work. At that time, I worked for a construction foreman, moving between various construction sites. I would be happy for a long time if I could earn one yuan a day.

Later, there were often armed fights between different construction teams at the site. I single-handedly took down over twenty men, beating them until they fled in terror.

Afterward, I gained the appreciation of the big boss. I became the person in charge of this construction site. Every time another construction team came to cause trouble, I would lead men to fight them.

Whether they were beaten to death or crippled didn't matter. When the boss wanted me to do dirty work, I didn't even twitch an eyebrow—killing people! As long as the boss said the word, whoever he told me to kill, I killed. If he told me to bury some blind fool alive, I buried him!"

"The boss was very generous and gave me a lot of money, and I was very loyal. I did all kinds of dirty work!

But what happened! After the beginning of the century, what did he give me? A rope, a bucket of gasoline, and a knife to slit my own throat!"

As he spoke, the man's expression turned ferocious. He laughed—laughed quite maniacally. With bloodshot eyes, he looked no different from a madman!

Listening to this, Li Changsheng frowned slightly. In the era the man was talking about, he was just a little kid, but he also knew about the situation back then from his grandmother.

At that time, the whole country was not wealthy. A regular worker could only earn one or two hundred a month, and then came the massive factory layoffs.

Jobs in every place were very limited, and it was also during that time that the trend of heading south emerged; this man was one of them.

But why?

Why did he end up with such a result?

After a pause, the man continued with a miserable laugh: "I was really good at fighting back then! If he wanted to move against me, he had to use a gun, but in that era, he dared not use that thing.

He used my... child! I compromised and let the boss have people tie me up. I asked him why, do you know what he said?"

Without waiting for Li Changsheng to ask, he began to speak on his own. This time his tone was cold, as if he were talking about an insignificant matter.

"They said, things are not like before; the construction company is starting to formalize. You know too much and cause too much trouble. We can't hand you over to the police, and we can't let you continue to stay here. So there is only one path—a path that will keep me silent forever!"

As he spoke, the man looked at Li Changsheng with gloomy eyes, a sneer on his face.

"But why? I killed so many rivals for him, and this is how he treats me?

What's even more hateful is that he threw my five-year-old child into a raging fire right in front of me!

Unfortunately, I didn't die. Even the King of Hell wouldn't take me—it's fate!

That night, I held my poor child in the ruins of the fire and cried all night..."

Hearing this, Li Changsheng fell into silence.

Perhaps people of this generation cannot understand the situation back then. In fact, back then, especially in high-profit industries like construction, maritime trade, and even smuggling, those were often the places where the most underhanded tactics occurred.

Murder, kidnapping, threats, fighting to the death over a small project, and even threatening the other party's family. These were all standard methods.

"I walked out of the fire myself. I was in pain back then; every inch of my body, both inside and out, even my Soul, was in pain.

I used my hands to dig a mud pit nearby and buried my child in it.

I found a portion of the money I had earned previously in the place where I hid it, and I lay in the hospital for a month. To avoid that guy finding me, I hitched a ride to Guangzhou and stayed there for a long time.

The doctor told me that with such injuries, a normal person should have died from suffocation and organ failure long ago. But perhaps it was my child who let me survive by luck.

However, my body is very weak. The doctor told me that from now on, my body would likely be worse than an average person's, and I would constantly suffer from the pain of fire poison."

As he spoke, he gave a faint laugh, and then his expression suddenly turned ferocious, like a schizophrenic patient.

"He suggested that I stay in the hospital as much as possible in the future, so that I could at least hang on for a few more years. But I refuse to accept that! Why?

I left the hospital and started practicing martial arts again. All kinds of martial arts—as long as it could save my life, I practiced it! I even practiced your Xingyi Five Elements!

I remember a sentence the boss often reminded me of: 'A-Qiang, don't always mess around with fist and foot techniques. What era is this? Guns!'

Yeah, it wasn't hard for the boss to get a gun back then, but I wasn't used to using that thing. So later, I used my own fists and feet to shatter every one of his bones bit by bit, including his skull!

His family was the same. I even specially traveled to his hometown; I said I would kill his whole family.

I didn't let a single one go, including the few old hens his wife, whom he despised, raised at home. To be honest, the old hen soup tasted quite good."

"Then why did you want to kill other innocent people?" Li Changsheng's expression was calm. Although he knew that if such a thing happened to him, he would likely go mad just like the other person, he would not kill unrelated people like this.

It is said that a murderer must pay with his life. Of course, Li Changsheng did not accuse the other party by saying things like "misfortune should not involve family." He wasn't that saintly, nor did he have the right to say such things.

"Heh, I just wanted to prove that if you practice martial arts to become the best in the world, you don't even have to fear guns! Hahaha! Do you think this is ridiculous?"

As he spoke, he let out another nearly maniacal laugh.

"My master once said that the true Great Masters of the past, Sun Lutang and Master Du Xinwu—once they reached their Realm, firearms were just toys to them! They could do it, and I can do it too!"

A madman! This was simply a madman!

Listening to this, Li Changsheng felt very complicated. This was a person who had experienced great ups and downs and whose personality had become completely twisted and paranoid. The pain of losing his wife in his early years, followed immediately by betrayal, and then the pain of losing his child!

He had no emotional anchor left; the only thing that could support him was the thought of constantly advancing toward higher levels of martial arts.

As for the two Great Masters he mentioned, Li Changsheng had actually learned about them. Ever since the old master often mentioned the Chinese Martial Arts Great Masters of the past, he had also looked up relevant information about these two.

Sun Lutang could defeat a hundred men single-handedly without a scratch, and when facing a Japanese Martial Artist who disregarded martial ethics and pulled out a gun to shoot, he arrived behind him in the blink of an eye.

And Master Du Xinwu once served as Sun's bodyguard. Facing the threat of several gunmen, he used lightning-fast speed to quickly disarm these people's firearms.

They didn't even have a chance to fire their guns; their martial arts skills were evident.