Chapter 737: Chapter 737: Assassination
Claude instinctively took a step back; it was this half-step retreat that bought Claude a lifeline. He successfully dodged the dagger’s fatal blow, although his shoulder was still sliced open with a wound, but compared to being pierced through the heart, this little injury was hardly worth mentioning.
The assassin disguised as a servant glared fiercely, then planned to turn and leave, blending into the crowd, waiting for the next opportunity.
But Xu Ke didn’t give him a chance to leave. Xu Ke swiftly dashed forward, sliding to a stop in front of the assassin, blocking his escape route.
The assassin’s eyes bore into Xu Ke mercilessly; he didn’t waste words on Xu Ke and directly lunged with the dagger, targeting Xu Ke’s weakest points. Each stab was intended to be deadly.
He had no intention of letting Xu Ke live; anyone in his way he didn’t want alive. This was the message Xu Ke read from the assassin’s eyes and actions.
In just a few blinks of an eye, the two had exchanged blows several times, evenly matched, neither able to overcome the other.
"You go quickly, leave this to me," Xu Ke said to Claude.
Claude realized the situation now, knowing that standing there, not only wouldn’t he provide Xu Ke with any help, but he might also cause a distraction, slowing Xu Ke down.
So Claude did not hesitate, turned around, and ran out, wanting to call over a few security guards to subdue this assassin appearing out of nowhere along with Xu Ke.
The assassin watched Claude trying to run and knew he could no longer delay. His gaze toward Xu Ke grew even more ferocious, and correspondingly, his attacks sped up.
He panicked.
Xu Ke noticed the panic in his opponent and knew that the opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived.
When people panic, their brains stop thinking. This is when they are most likely to leave an opening.
Sure enough, the assassin quickly exposed his flaw. When attacking Xu Ke’s chest, he accidentally revealed a vulnerability, exposing his own soft chest and abdomen to Xu Ke.
Xu Ke raised one hand to block the opponent’s knife while breaking through his defense with a swift kick aimed at the opponent’s chest.
The full-force strike landed on the chest, causing the assassin to lose breath for a moment. Breath stuck in his chest made his face flush uncomfortably.
In a duel of experts, delaying even a moment is unacceptable. As he tried to adjust himself, his attack momentum faltered due to the lack of fresh air, becoming disordered and weak.
Xu Ke seized the moment to disarm the assassin of his knife. However, the assassin was no ordinary person; even though his own breathing was uneven, affecting his performance, he didn’t let Xu Ke gain any advantage; the dislodged knife ended up neither in their hands but kicked to a distance.
Yet he didn’t know that this instinctive reaction made Xu Ke form a preliminary judgment of him.
Xu Ke’s attacks grew fiercer, like a summer storm, fists raining down on the assassin. Not knowing which acupoint Xu Ke hit, the breath just settled, greeted again by joint weakness and pain.
The assassin staggered, seized by Xu Ke, with a throat-lock maneuver to subdue him.
When Claude hurriedly arrived with reinforcements, what he saw was Xu Ke pinning the assassin beneath him.
"What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and help, do I need to teach you something so simple?" Claude watched the security guards standing motionless behind him, feeling a surge of anger.
Reflecting on the earlier situation, Claude thought that if the person standing beside him wasn’t Xu Ke but these security guards, his corpse might have already gone cold, and this bunch of fools probably wouldn’t be able to apprehend the killer.
Honestly, he didn’t know how they got hired in the first place. Each one of them was like a piece of wood, requiring a kick to move, and without it, they’d maintain the same posture all day long.
Really, spending a lot of money to hire them; it would have been better to buy a few robots or save this money for renovating the estate, possibly making him much safer now.
Watching the security guards apprehend the assassin and confirming that he was securely bound, Xu Ke finally relaxed.
"Thank you so much for earlier. Without you, I might be a cold corpse by now. From today onward, you’re a friend of mine, Claude. If you ever need anything, please do tell me. Anything within my power to help, I will do so without hesitation." Claude bowed solemnly in front of Xu Ke and said.
"You’re my student; it’s my responsibility to protect you. Please don’t be so formal with me." Xu Ke reached out and helped Claude up.
"Your performance just now was amazing. I’m curious, do all Easterners know martial arts?" Claude’s always serious face broke into a slight smile.
He asked casually, but Xu Ke didn’t answer casually. Xu Ke chuckled and naturally denied, "Of course not everyone learns martial arts. I learned because I was not in good health as a child. My father made me learn martial arts at the Shaolin Temple to strengthen my body. I stayed at the Shaolin Temple for a long time, which is why I was luckily able to prevail today. If you think that all Easterners know martial arts, that’s a huge misunderstanding."
"Is the Shaolin Temple really powerful?" Claude first mumbled the words ’Shaolin Temple’ to himself before speaking with apparent interest.
"Of course, wasn’t my earlier performance obvious enough?" Xu Ke replied with a smile.
"Of course not, you were amazing. But is it true that your Shaolin Temple has strict entry requirements? Can anyone go there?"
"The Shaolin Temple’s admission requirements aren’t strict. Anyone who wants to enter can do so, as long as they pay the annual tuition. Perhaps you are interested as well and want to study there for two years?" Xu Ke, seeing Claude’s very interested look, also smiled back with a question.
"If you want to study martial arts at the Shaolin Temple, you can come to me. I have quite the experience in this matter. I can recommend the schools I’ve attended and ask the teachers to pay extra attention to help you improve and grow. But if you go to the Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts, you’d need to shave your head completely bald first." Xu Ke mischievously said.
Upon hearing that he’d have to shave his head, Claude showed a hesitant expression.
"I’m indeed very interested in Eastern martial arts. If I get a chance in the future to study martial arts in the East, I will contact you," Claude replied to Xu Ke with a smile.
The injuries on Xu Ke’s body weren’t significant, not even requiring stitches. With a simple bandage, he was enthusiastically invited by Claude to stay for dinner.