Chapter 35: Knife Mountain and Sea of Fire, Lotus in the Flames

  When men and women are in love, the man often says that he would brave knife mountains and fire seas for his lover. These are just crazy words spoken during courtship, but when it comes to the real thing, these knife mountains and fire seas are not easy to brave.

  Li Huqiu narrowed his eyes as he sized up the two rows of twenty people forming a knife mountain and the ten-meter-long sea of flames connected by charcoal fires. Without hesitation, he took off his shoes and socks, wet his feet in the cold water basin beside him, and said, "I'll make a fool of myself!" With one leap, he jumped onto the sea of flames.

  The knife-wielding men on either side swung their blades down to chop at him, but Li Huqiu didn't dare stop or exert any force. In this situation, being in mid-air wasn't much better than being on the ground. Dealing with the knife mountain relied entirely on one's eyesight and handwork.

  These were all Li Huqiu's strong points. The moment a knife came down, Li Huqiu quickly grabbed its blade, borrowed force from it, and leaped high into the air. As he split his legs in mid-air, he kicked two of the knife-wielding men to the ground while snatching two knives away from them.

  Li Huqiu didn't wait for his body to fall, and had already thrown the knife into the charcoal fire. He stepped on the first knife with one foot, and then threw down the second knife. At the same time, the knives of the second group of knife-wielding men fell again. Li Huqiu suddenly shifted his waist, snatched a knife, and jumped onto the second knife in the fire heap while throwing out the third knife. He continued to snatch and throw knives all the way until he reached the end of the Knife Mountain Fire Sea. The host shouted loudly: "Honorable guest has successfully passed through the Knife Mountain Fire Sea! Please step on the Lotus Platform, and offer a lotus flower in the fire to the true Buddha!"

  After passing through the Knife Mountain and Sea of Fire of Yi Xing She, in front was a wooden platform that was round like a drum. It was five meters high, the entire platform was smooth to the point where it was impossible to get a grip, on top were inserted dozens of sharp pointed knives. To climb up could only rely on these pointed knives for support, this thing was more like Knife Mountain than the previous one. Li Hu Qiu looked at the platform and asked: "After passing this platform can we see the true Buddha?" The receptionist nodded.

  "Alright, I won't be polite!" Li Huqiu took a step forward and jumped up from the ground, his body flipping in mid-air as he grasped a knife with two fingers. With a burst of strength, he landed on the high platform. The hidden swordsmen inside the platform didn't even have time to react. This agile skill was unique to Li Huqiu, closely related to his mastery of the "Empty Fist" technique and his cultivation of the Way of Martial Arts.

  On the top of the platform, a large brazier was placed. The fire was burning fiercely, and in the center of the brazier, there was a cylindrical column with a small hole on top, from which the flames were erupting. Next to the brazier, a plate held a small iron bead. The blue flames were swirling, indicating an extremely high temperature, and this small iron bead was used to block the fire-spewing hole. It required great skill to accurately insert the small iron bead into the small hole on top of the cylindrical column in an instant. The difficulty lay in the fact that there were twelve fire-spewing holes in the brazier, but the small bead could only be placed in the central hole. This was called "planting a lotus in the fire!" The blue flames had a temperature of over a thousand degrees, and if one's movements were even slightly slow, their hands would be burned off.

  Li Huqiu's hand moved as swiftly as lightning, picking up the small iron bead. After a moment of hesitation, the servant below urged: "Please, noble guest, plant the lotus!" Li Huqiu let out a cold laugh and said: "Do you think I'm hesitating because I'm afraid?" He chuckled and continued: "Today, I'll show you something you've never seen or heard of before." With that, he rolled up his sleeves high and pinched the small iron bead between two fingers. He said with a smile: "Please, behold!" The servant was secretly displeased but replied aloud: "I'm eager to see your extraordinary skill, noble guest!"

  Li Huqiu's hands moved like lightning, and after dipping his fingers into the water basin next to him, he inserted the steel ball into the fire with his fingers. In an instant, he blocked the ignition hole in the middle, and then without stopping, his arm swept through the fire in an instant, blocking all the ignition holes. Finally, his hand stopped above the fire basin, still holding the small iron bead, which he casually tossed into the ignition hole in the middle.

  Li Huqiu lives up to his reputation as the "Young King of Thieves", this move is a stunning display of his speed and agility, showcasing his quick reflexes to perfection.

  The guests watched with their eyes wide and mouths agape, even the next move to invite the real Buddha was forgotten. A burst of applause came from a corner of the hall, "Good!" Gu Kai Ze walked out from there, shouting: "Indeed, heroes emerge in youth, such a move is unheard of and unseen, truly worthy of being the king among kings chosen by the Great Bandit King Competition!"

  Li Huqiu jumped down from the 'Lotus Platform' with a fist and said: "May I ask if Big Brother is Gu Lao Da of Yi Xing Society?"

  Gu Kaize returned the courtesy with a smile, saying: "It's all because of these brothers' kindness, what's this 'old big' and 'not old big', Tiger Hill is a good fellow with great skills and integrity, I, Gu, truly admire you from the bottom of my heart. If you don't mind, just call me 'older brother', and I'll call you 'younger brother'."

  Li Huqiu hastily said he didn't dare. Gu Kaize laughed and said, "The rules of our Yi Xing Society have been passed down from my master since the late Qing dynasty, and for over a hundred years now, you are the first one to come in fully qualified. Although it's said that those who are good at talking about seniority and rules can be considered masters, there is also a saying that 'those with exceptional skills can be considered masters'. With your skills, you can easily be our master, I'm afraid I'm not worthy of calling you brother."

  Gu Kaize's underworld status is high, and his seniority is also high. Just from the name alone, Li Huqiu's master Hao Cunzi was far inferior to him in his heyday. Li Huqiu has always respected those who are righteous, so he yielded again and again, until he couldn't yield anymore, and finally called out "Old Brother". Gu Kaize laughed heartily and said: "From today on, we two brothers can be considered friends, whether or not you have a gun is a small matter. Old Brother wants to drink with you and chat about why I'm looking for you."

  Many people who travel the world are afraid of being deceived, and there have been cases where someone was poisoned in their drink and lost their life. This is a test to see if Li Huqiu really wants to befriend Gu Kaize. Li Huqiu smiled and said: "It just so happens that I'm also hungry, so I'll take advantage of your hospitality for a meal. Besides, there are some things I don't quite understand, and I was thinking of asking for your advice."

  On the wine table, all the big shots of Yi Xing Society gathered together. But everyone drank with restraint and there was no barbaric toast. Li Huqiu had been drinking a large quantity of wine brewed from tiger bones for a long time due to his practice, so he never got drunk even after drinking thousands of cups. The wine was freshly sealed in bottles, and Li Huqiu's eyesight was extraordinary, if someone put medicine in the wine, they would definitely not be able to deceive him. Therefore, without anyone's persuasion, he himself drank until the cup was empty, drinking very generously. Gu Kaize and others looked at each other, all secretly praising Li Huqiu for being great, and having a strong sense of justice!

  After three rounds of wine, Li Huqiu opened the door and asked, "Old brother, I've been feeling really bad lately. The country has been continuously punching the Jianghu Road with heavy fists, not only are we small-time thieves in trouble, but you big-time thieves who sit on the ground and divide the spoils are also key targets of attack. What do you think about this?"

  Gu Kaize said, "This is something I was going to tell you anyway, little brother. To be honest with you, I've decided to retire and leave the Jianghu world behind. This storm is too powerful, and it's not just targeting big fish, but also small ones like us. Even lone wolves like you are being targeted. Besides, I have some news that concerns you."

  Gu Kaize took a bite of his food, and Li Huqiu nodded and asked, "What is it?"

  Gu Kaize continued, "A few days ago, someone surnamed Huang came to see me and offered 3 million yuan for your head. I agreed, not because I'm greedy for the money, but because I want to find a powerful backer. This Huang has connections with the authorities, and that's why I agreed to his proposal. According to him, this storm has been brewing for a long time, ever since the Great Thief Tournament. You're the only one who escaped unscathed, little brother, but you've already been marked by them. They've even sent the famous detective Duanmu Ye to catch you."

  Li Huqiu asked curiously: "Is this Duanmu Ye's name very big? Why didn't the old cripple ever mention it to me?"

  Gu Kaize said: "Hao Qiu Zi? I'll say something that might not be offending you, but your master is not even qualified to disturb Duan Mu Ye, he's not even at the level to understand who the Four Great Special Commissioners are." Li Huqiu nodded and said: "Not at all offending, aren't you clear about my relationship with Old Qiu? You tell me specifically."

  Gu Kaize said: "Duanmu Ye is a Yangzhou native, his ancestors have been eating six-panel door rice for generations. His father's generation was known as the 'divine detective' after liberation and had personally caught the notorious thief Li Shengwu. The Duanmu family's martial arts skills are very high, having served in the police force for thirty years and solved countless major cases. Therefore, he is known as one of the 'Four Great Special Commissioners' along with Shen Cheng's Sun Jun, Xianyang's Guo Baofeng, and Yanjing's Qin Lao Hu. This man's greatest skill is catching thieves, especially those with high martial arts skills like you, a lone and powerful thief!"