Gao Jian moved in the darkness, heading straight for the area Li Gan had gone to, trying to scout their target. He could feel that something had gone wrong.

He didn't like doing things sloppily, he always moved as per the plan and expected others to do the same.

This time, the plan was that Gao Jian would finish another task while Li Gan investigated the target. Then they would launch a perfect ambush together.

He knew something had gone wrong because Li Gan didn’t return at the appointed time. He had waited after finishing his own task but when he couldn't see any trace of Li Gan, he decided to make a move himself.

Since the situation was different from what he had planned for, he was already growing irritated. He decided to give Li Gan a piece of his mind for acting against the decided course of action.

While Gao Jian thought that something was amiss, he didn't expect anything too serious. Even if Li Gan got discovered or messed up a little, he could just run away and they could ambush the target again. He was curious about what made Li Gan so late.

'Maybe that impatient bastard decided to attack by himself.' he thought as he came right up on the clearing where Yun Fei and Li Gan had fought.

What greeted his eyes was trampled grass, small shrubs and bushes beat into the ground. The ground itself was upturned in places. It was clear that people had fought here, supporting Gao Jian’s assumption.

He scanned the place while he thought, 'Hmmm, did Li Gan take after the target, could he have escaped?'

He thought that was it, until he moved further ahead. This was the region out of the clearing, here Gao Jian saw a lot of blood puddled at one place and a body lying in the bushes, a distance away from it.

He drew closer to the body and started in shock when he saw it's face and condition.

The tattered body looked mostly unharmed but the chest of the person had collapsed in, the blood was gushing out. The red liquid spurted whenever the person breathed in.

He was still living.

Gao Jian's face kept changing expressions, flitting from surprise to contemplation to worry and then solemnity. This person with a collapsed chest was surprisingly his own partner Li Gan.

He turned serious as he shuffled through Li Gan's clothes and took out a round plate. This plate had a blue dot currently moving away from a red dot that signified the position of the plate.

Seeing the prey drawing further away, he considered giving chase but stopped.

'If the target was alone, he should also have some serious injuries. Although Li Gan is impatient, his strength isn't weak. However, why did he even fight with someone in the same cultivation level?

I specifically told him to never engage with any opponent who had a comparable cultivation, fighting fairly is a waste of time.'

Reasoning further,

'Was he ambushed? He got noticed and couldn't get away. However, if the opponent were so capable then that wouldn't explain why they escaped as soon as I came.

Aaaaaahhhhhh!!

Shit! I can't chase the target with insufficient information. We will always have the upper hand since we know his position, he is surely unaware of this. If I go and chase after the target right now, this fool will definitely die here.

The primary mission is still to join the City Guards; I have to save him. After he speaks about the incident, we can plan carefully before taking action.'

He took out a healing pill and put it in Li Gan's mouth. He then used his Qi to run his own healing technique in Li Gan's body.

After some time, Li Gan finally opened his eyes which welled up with relief. He struggled to contain his rising anger when he remembered Yun Fei’s face. He would have actually died if Gao Jian hadn’t saved his life.

His rage soon turned into embarrassment and shame when he realised that he'd have to recount this disgrace to Gao Jian.

It should've been a fight he could never lose, but all the coincidences and his own stupid decisions had collaborated in fabulous manner… bringing him to his knees.

While all his Qi was exhausted, his opponent suddenly burst with that huge blow and decimated him. Li Gan felt a chill run across his spine as he imagined Yun Fei persevering through such abuse to make that blow a reality.

His loss could also be attributed to the weirdness of his opponent and his various abilities, but this was only the whining of a loser.

It was like a nightmare where all his punches didn't do any damage and the opponent kept standing no matter what, such a body was unprecedented.

Gao Jian broke Li Gan out of his introspection and said,

"Use your own healing technique now. That would be faster."

Li Gan nodded and used his arm to prop himself up against a tree. He then started using his own healing technique to mend the wounds and recover faster.

Currently, his bleeding had stopped and he wasn't in any mortal danger.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Even so, he still required further recovery. Knowing this, Gao Jian didn't pester him with any questions. Even though he was very curious about the situation.

Yun Fei ran, staggering against the obstructions in his way. His vision was crystal clear but he had lost blood and was leaking even more from his stomach, thigh, jaw and his hand. His body weaved as he grew lightheaded.

He had wrapped his wounds with gauze Devanshu had prepared for him. The situation was too perilous and the priority was to get to safety.

This fight could be considered his win; he would've finished it perfectly with his opponent’s death if there was no external involvement.

He only hoped that the newcomer wouldn't help his dying opponent and spare him from any future troubles.

As Yun Fei became painfully aware of all the injuries he had suffered in the intense fight, his fatigue started kicking in with a vengeance. He finally encountered a cave which he could hide in; on the side of a hill.

He entered the cave and sprawled across a plainer contour which looked soft enough. The darkness and the ambience of the cave felt nostalgic, reminding him of his time in the jungle where he started his life with a new resolve.

'I should be far enough from that place. They shouldn't be able to find me here.’, he thought as he caught his breath and lay sprawled on the ground.

'The current priority is to heal as fast as possible. The situation will turn ugly if someone with a searching talisman nears this area.'

Yun Fei swiftly took out the crown made from branches and wore it on his head. He could feel the changes instantly. His Qi started recovering at a monstrous rate and all the mental fatigue that he had accumulated was melting like snow under the spring sun.

With continuous observation of how his body healed itself Yun Fei knew that the restorative process required Qi. With a clear head he utilised this information and operated how he thought would be the fastest way to heal his body.

He concentrated his Qi into those parts of his body which were injured, such as his jaw and the right hand. As he did this along with wearing the crown, he could feel his natural regeneration work even faster.

To heal the missing flesh in his leg when he had just been introduced to Qi, it took a long time. However, now he had progressed on the path of cultivation and his regeneration was faster than that time.

Since his regeneration worked better with abundant Qi, Yun Fei rummaged through the space pouches he had in search of rich supplements.

He came across different kinds of pills that he had gotten off of he robbed. He put all the ones he felt might be useful, into his mouth and chewed them up like snacks.

He would only understand the ramifications of his action after a few minutes as his face twisted into a grimace. Yun Fei sat up straight with his legs crossed as he tried to survive the situation he had created for himself.

The night grew deeper while both Yun Fei and Li Gan concentrated on regenerating themselves.

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Cries of a new-born echoed out in an ill constructed hut. A beaming man held a baby in his arms while a sweat streaked beauty leaned and looked on with motherly love.

As her pale hand caressed the baby's cheek lovingly, she voiced out in a tired voice.

"Let's name him, Yun Moxie."

3 Years before........

The river Knull was a torrential monster of a water body. The tremendous volume of liquid flowed at breath-taking speeds, often forming dangerous eddies and rapids.

It cut through many countries and regions while making its way across the continent. Spawning countless tributaries as they split and diverged, back into the maternal flow.

Among those, who profit from within the shadows, an upheaval took place. A large smugglers syndicate took form. It changed shapes from trader to thief to dacoit as it spread through the countries relying on the Knull to smuggle and transport goods.

During a certain period of time their reach was such, that it was taken, as a given that a product the syndicate could not procure did not exist.

Between two nameless nations, that were often in conflict if not full blown war, this nameless organization was the sole means of transport.

A tributary of the Knull provided covert passage between these nations and at a most optimal location where the criminal barges often took reprieve, a small hamlet came into existence.

Inhabited mostly by former criminals the community was slow to progress but the land was fertile and the river provided for the hamlet, so progress it did.

Peasants farmed the land, and traders found it a comfortable place, ideal to utilize the river's traffic.

Centuries later after the unnamed syndicate had long collapsed and the two nations not long after it, the hamlet still stood, not much bigger than back in the day but much richer in its history.

As it is: where the rivers flow, civilizations flourish. Even if cities fell, new cities soon rose up to take their place and capitalise on the fertile land near the river as well as the accessibility it provided to different regions.

In one such city by the name of Crive; a bustling hovel for all kind of degenerates lived Yun Rong. He haunted the bars and restaurants scattered across the city, buttering up rich fools quite expertly and then slipping his hand within their garments making off with their purses.

Sharpening his skills since he was just six years old, Yun Rong was quite the expert at small time cons and thieving.

After a certain point, he just stopped getting caught and his trust in his own skills reached the peak. He felt untouchable. He actually was untouchable, until he was not.

Your life could turn around faster than a flip of a coin and it could all come crumbling down in a second. Yun Rong realised the meaning of this when he made a move on someone he shouldn't have.

A cruel smile flashed along with the glint of a sword and Yun Rong's decapitated arm fell to the floor.

His life had been spared but he had lost his edge to the sword's edge.

Along with that, he lost his talent and the living that it had offered him in the merciless slums.

Though in relieved his life was spared, the defeated Yun Rong knew, that staying in the city would just be a death wish now that he didn't have the facilities to protect himself.

Naturally he had gotten on the wrong side of many people in his long criminal career, grudges that were hard to erase and if those people knew of his situation, they wouldn't hesitate to move.

"Zhilan, there is future for us in the city. I don't have it in me to survive here anymore."

Tears trickled down Liu Zhilan's face as she cleaned Yun Rong's wound and bandaged it. She had always been scared for his safety and now her fears had come true.

"What will we do then? I won't let you leave me behind and move away alone. Wherever you go, I will follow."

Yun Rong's eyes also grew wet as he looked at the determined expression of Liu Zhilan. She had always been there for him. Even now, when he was crippled and people were coming after him, she had still not left him.

He felt a little guilty, pulling her into such a distressing situation, it would've been good if he had just listened and started honest work.

"You always wanted to live in peace and start a family, that is what we will do. I know a remote place we can settle down.

I know it will be hard, but we can make ends meets. I will take on an honest job and we can raise a family together."