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Chapter 21: Soul-destroying and Traceless, Three Thieves of the Gate

  Chapter 1: The Entanglement of Fate and Enmity, Haicheng's Solitude

  That night, Li Ya Rong and Da Dingzi had a duel, and Li Hu Qiu witnessed the whole process, which was very shocking.

  He also had a soul hook, and even the hook he made was more exquisite than the two in their hands. But after watching that battle, he suddenly realized that his hook compared to theirs, except for being exquisite, was nothing else. The difference lay in the fact that his soul hook was dead, while Li YaRong's and Da Dingzi's soul hooks were alive. Those who could use the soul hook as if it were an extension of their arm could be called a master. Li Hu could barely be counted among them. But true top masters could imbue the soul hook with a spirit, allowing it to hook targets at will, as if it had come to life.

  Gao Longyu didn't say a word from start to finish, silently observing the group of thieves in the house. Da Dingzi and Li Shu were two old thieves he had high hopes for, and even said that he had already decided on one of them in his heart. As for which one, it may be possible to see the outcome now.

  Dà Dǐngzi's sleeve flashed with a white light, and the soul hook's fluffy rope was like a spirit snake that flashed and disappeared. Lí Yàróng let out a cold laugh and took a step forward to stand in front of Dà Dǐngzi. "If you're going to make a move, then do it. I'm not afraid of you." The two men's hands were tightly clasped together. Lǐ Hǔqiū clearly saw the soul hook in Dà Dǐngzi's sleeve come alive and drill out of his sleeve to wrap around Lí Yàróng's arm. Before the hook came out, Dà Dǐngzi had flicked his elbow twice, which seemed to be how he released this clever energy. On the surface, it only looked like this, but there were many subtle movements that Lǐ Hǔqiū couldn't see. Dà Dǐngzi was formidable, and Lí Yàróng was no ordinary person either. His sleeve also had a hook that was flung out with his movement, wrapping around Dà Dǐngzi's wrist. The tungsten steel hook seemed like a poisonous snake.

  The two men's hands were clasped tightly together, their wrists swinging back and forth in a blur of motion as they exchanged blows and dodged each other's hooks. The sharp tips of the hooks glinted with a cold light, capable of slicing through tendons and blood vessels with just a slight touch.

  In the private room, a group of thieves watched the battle between Li and Hu with bated breath. Bad Dog and Black Fox compared themselves to the two in their minds and concluded with four words: "We are no match!" Li Tiger Hill watched with rapt attention, not willing to miss any detail. As for who would win or lose, he was the most discerning person. These two old thieves had been sworn enemies for years, but if there was a gap in their skills, they would have settled the score long ago. Based on what he saw and thought, Li Tiger Hill determined that neither could gain the upper hand, which suited this little thief just fine as he snuck in to learn from them.

  Things didn't go as Li Huqiu had expected. When Da Dingzi and Li Yaorong's noses started sweating, they both let out a loud "Hiss!" at almost the same time. Their wrists moved in unison, twisting and turning, but their hooks ended up getting tangled together. The two old thieves stared at each other in shock, taking a big step back. Two thin ropes connected the two soul-snatching hooks, tied tightly together! Li Yaorong let out a dry laugh and said: "Zhang Baoding, you've been practicing behind closed doors for 20 years, but you still can't take down old man me. If you have the guts, let's put aside the hooks and play a game of absolute skill instead?"

  Dà Dǐng Zi said: "You motherfucker, draw a line on the ground and come at me! If you lose, I'll chop off your hands!"

  The two of them shook hands and withdrew their bets. Li Ya Rong said that the thief's door has three ultimate moves: scooping copper coins from a pot of boiling oil, peeling eggs with chopsticks, and taking steel rings from behind an electric fan. Choose one, as you please! Da Dingzi showed no fear, and boldly said: "Let's go one by one, two out of three wins, and we'll settle the score!"

  Reaching into a pot of boiling oil to grab copper coins, as the name suggests, is literally reaching into a pot of boiling oil with your bare hands. It's not entirely bare-handed, though - before doing so, you dip your hand in cold water, and then reach in. This task first tests one's eyesight and speed, but most importantly, accuracy! In the instant when your hand enters the pot, because it's cold, the surface moisture will be rapidly vaporized by the oil temperature, a process that takes about one-tenth of a second. Most people can manage to lightly touch the oil with their hands still wet, but if you want to instantly grab the copper coins from the bottom of the pot, your hand movements, eyesight, speed, and accuracy must all come together perfectly; otherwise, you'll end up eating fried pig's trotters.

  Gao Longyu, as the host, had no intention of mediating, but others suspected that he also knew about the hatred between these two old thieves. Everyone lost their appetite and got up to leave. After Gao Longyu paid the bill, they all returned to the villa together. Just as they entered the courtyard, a fierce fight broke out under the lamp!

  Gao Longyu organized the Huaxia Thief King Competition, and what he wanted to see was a battle of wits among various thief kings. Now that there's such an intense competition, it's perfect for watching a thrilling show.

  In the courtyard, the oil in the pot had been heated to a boil. Da Dingzi and Li Ya Rong stood facing each other, with the boiling pot of oil between them. Hei Hudie brought over a large basin of cool water, and the two of them simultaneously put their hands into it. Xie Zha'er came over with a copper coin and flipped it into the air, landing it in the pot. Xie Zha'er quickly counted to three. Da Dingzi and Li Ya Rong both made their move at the same time, and before the copper coin had fully sunk to the bottom of the pot, both of them had pinched it between their fingers. In a flash, they lifted their hands out of the oil pot, with four fingers clamping down on the slippery copper coin like a tiger's claw. Not a single drop of oil stuck to their hands, only a layer of water vapor that had been evaporated by the high temperature drifted away in the wind.

  Money doesn't fall to the ground, hands don't get greasy, and suddenly the whole room erupts in applause. Li Huqiu has also practiced this skill with Old Lamey, and upon observing their techniques, he finds that both of them are faster than Old Lamey. In his heart, Li Huqiu compares himself to the two of them and comes to the conclusion that he can be even faster by a hair's breadth. That is to say, he has the confidence to retrieve the copper coins before the steam dries up.

  Hei Hu Li smiled and asked Bao Wen Jing: "Old sister, aren't you famous for making a fortune with this trick? How do you think your skills compare to theirs?"

  Bao Wenjing shot him a white look and said irritably, "What generation are they? What generation am I? My master has lived until now and may not be able to achieve the skill of 'hands not touching oil, money not falling to the bottom'!"

  Everyone agreed to discuss the result of the game, and both sides drew again. Dajingzi said continue! Li Yaron hummed and said: "I'm afraid you don't dare to compare, let's play with raw eggs!"

  Rolling egg with fingers. A raw egg is placed on the fingertips and rotated, using a small blade hidden in the finger seam to peel off the eggshell without damaging the egg white. The competition is about who can do it faster and keep the egg white intact. This skill requires great dexterity. It's said that top masters can even peel a raw egg with their fingers. Except for the host, Gao Longyu, Li Huqiu, and Gao Chufeng, everyone else in the courtyard was a notorious thief, but none of them had ever seen anyone peel a raw egg before. After the eggs were brought out, they were not cooked according to Li Yaron's request.

  Dà Dǐngzi and Lí Yàróng each picked one up and placed it on their fingertips, where they stood steadily. The eggs were standing upright on their fingertips, stable and unwavering. Gāo Chúfèng, who was watching from the side, had his mouth agape in amazement, his tongue hanging out. Xiè Zǎiér came to the middle of the two and said "begin". The two eggs on the tips of their fingers started rotating together. As the friction between the eggshell and the fingertips increased, a cracking sound was heard, and the eggshells flew off in all directions. Dà Dǐngzi's egg had its white and yellow contents intact, wrapped inside the inner membrane. On the other side, Lí Yàróng's situation was exactly the same as Dà Dǐngzi's, and in an instant, they both peeled off the eggshells.

  But this time, there was a clear winner and loser, and Dà Dǐngzi lost! Just as he was about to make the final cut on his egg, the woman brought by Lí Yàróng let out a sigh and said, "What's worth fighting over when that woman's face is already scarred like that?" Upon hearing this, Dà Dǐngzi's hand trembled, and the egg fell to the ground. The crowd gasped in unison. Li Hǔqiū narrowed his eyes, pondering whether he could replicate this feat himself. He had tried something similar with a duck egg before, but the inner membrane of a duck egg was thicker, making it slightly easier. As for using a chicken egg like this, he hadn't attempted it before and wasn't very confident.

  The bet is three absolutes, and there's one last absolute. Dà Dǐng Zi must win, otherwise he'll have to cut off both hands and give them to Lí Yà Róng.

  Behind the fan, take a steel ring, move an electric fan with one, two, three gears, and plug it in. The person showing off is ready in front of the fan. Someone throws a steel ring from behind the fan. The person who threw it must stretch their hand into the fan when the steel ring passes through the fan's rotation range and grab the steel ring. This is called "grabbing the steel ring from behind the fan".

  The electric fan was turned on and emitted a humming noise, now it's on the first gear. Dà Dé Zi made the first move, and Gāo Chú Fèng threw the steel ring. As a result, Dà Dé Zi's hand easily passed through the rotating electric fan, caught the steel ring, and quickly pulled it back.

  Ba Gou Er is known as the fastest hand in the Jianghu, and his signature skill that brought him fame is being able to thread a steel ring onto an electric fan with his hands. This kind of skill, among all the thieves in the world, those who can pass the first level are extremely rare, like phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. If one can pass the second level, they are basically top-notch thief kings. Among the people present, Hei Hu Li and Xie Zha Er both have confidence in passing the second level. But as for passing the third level, among all the people present, only Ba Gou Er has publicly performed it.

  Li Ya Rong's means are definitely no worse than those of Crab Claw and Black Fox, so he easily passed the first two rounds with Da Ding Zi.

  The green-red electric fan, its speed adjusted to the third gear. The rapidly spinning blades were almost invisible. Da Dingzi approached the fan with bated breath, suddenly let out a loud shout, and the black butterfly was startled, causing his hand to shake, and the coin fell down. Da Dingzi's hand moved faster than lightning, catching the coin and pulling it back. Only in the instant when he withdrew his hand did the blade touch the coin, producing a clear ringing sound. "Your turn, castrated donkey!"

  Li Ya Rong sneered and clapped her hands, laughing: "Good! You're indeed the ancestor of thieves. I admit defeat this time, but we've only tied for now. If you want to chop off my hands, you'll have to wait for next time."

  Gao Longyu finally arrived at the scene and said to the two: "Tomorrow is the day, when everyone will have a chance to show off their skills. The rules for this time are slightly different from last time, I'll explain them in detail tomorrow. Tonight's competition ends here, as long as you two participate, I guarantee that you will have a chance to win or lose. You've all worked hard today, so go back and rest well, we'll meet again tomorrow." After finishing speaking, he bid farewell with a fist bump and led Gao Yufeng onto the car and left, leaving only Bao Wenjing here to greet everyone.

  The crowd dispersed with some people still having unspoken thoughts, each returning to their own rooms.

  Li Huqiu couldn't sleep, turning over and over in bed, thinking about the competition between Dajingzi and Lirong, no matter how he thought about it, he felt that although the two were really competing, there was a bit of a showy flavor to it.

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