Chapter 0010: Defeating Centipede with Wits

The commotion woke the prisoners stationed near Wang Yan’s hut. One by one, ten-odd inmates rushed to the scene to investigate. They all belonged to Little Ugly Girl’s gang and were all Foot Soldiers.

With his crowbar in hand, Yang Wu emerged from the stone hut. Seeing the inmates, he snarled, “I have crippled Wang Yan. Submit, and accept my brother as your new leader. Do this, and I’ll let the matter rest. Refuse, and you will all suffer the consequences.”

“How insolent! How dare you challenge the Ugly Girl Gang, injuring Elder Sister Wang?! Get him!” one of the prisoners, a Medial Grade Foot Soldier, shot back.

The man then led several of his comrades in a charge, surrounding Yang Wu.

“Brother Yang, let me fight with you!” Skinny Monkey yelled, lifting his crowbar and stepping forward.

“Stand back! For now, I want you to watch.” Yang Wu held up a hand to stop his friend before diving into the group of enemies.

Doing as he was told, Skinny Monkey witnessed an astonishing event.

Yang Wu fought like a vicious wolf in a pack of sheep as he brandished his weapon. None of the inmates were strong enough to counter his attacks, and after a single hit, each fell to the ground, screaming.

“Ahh, aaah …!”

The young man was ruthless, his strikes both fast and furious. Unopposed, he advanced.

Not even the prisoner with six stones of strength could stand against Yang Wu. Before the inmate could even process Yang Wu’s techniques, the young man slapped him hard enough to send him flying through the air.

This was the difference between those with combat techniques and those without.

Yang Wu had once been a Consummate Grade Foot Soldier, often sparring with his clan’s guards. He had a wealth of combat experience, which most cultivators lacked.

Within seconds, Wang Yan’s reinforcements had been laid flat. Only Yang Wu stood tall, radiating an imposing air.

“In the future, I will become an unrivaled force, just like Brother Yang!” Skinny Monkey excitedly promised himself, clutching his crowbar.

“Anyone else not convinced?” Yang Wu asked, his tone frigid, as he scrutinized the prisoners.

Naturally, none of them spoke up. The young man’s prowess had left them all shaken.

“Excellent. From now on, my brother, Skinny Monkey, is your boss,” Yang Wu informed the inmates. “Your first task is to throw that fat bitch as far from here as possible. Collect the Scarlet Steel Rock from the hut, count it all, and leave it here!” he barked.

Fortunately, Wang Yan’s stone hut held at least five hundred kilograms of Scarlet Steel Rock, a lucrative reward.

“Understood!” the defeated inmates respectfully replied.

“Let’s go, Skinny Monkey. We have more work to do,” Yang Wu called to his friend, who was still dazed.

“Huh? Where are we going?” Skinny Monkey asked.

“Subduing that fat bitch won’t be enough to become the next leader of the cellblock. We also have to tackle Centipede, who works for Black Ape. Once that’s done, no one will dare oppose us!” An ambitious light flashed in Yang Wu’s eyes.

He knew that word of tonight’s battle would spread by the next day. Thus, he might as well get rid of both issues once and for all.

As the saying went: the soldier who strikes first and unannounced wins.

“But I’ve heard that Centipede is very cautious. He’ll have men standing guard outside his hut throughout the night. If we go there now, I’m afraid we might lose,” Skinny Monkey whined nervously.

Skinny Monkey had been imprisoned longer than his sworn brother, and as such, he was far more familiar with the cellblock and its inhabitants.

“It’s not a big deal. We might not have the numbers, but we can take him out with our wits!” Yang Wu’s eyes sparkled with a calculating light.

Skinny Monkey did not dare to question the decision, following Yang Wu without another word.

——

Centipede was the head of the Black Ape Gang in cellblock 68. He was also a Medial Grade Foot Soldier and only a step away from Superior Grade. Although he was more powerful than Wang Yan, he had never challenged her out of fear for her boss, Little Ugly Girl, who held more authority than his own boss. He knew better than to ruffle that scary woman’s feathers.

Like Wang Yan, Centipede resided in a stone hut. Unlike her, he was a rather good-looking, middle-aged man. However, a long scar down his face marred his features.

The husband of a woman Centipede had violated gave him the scar, slicing open his face. After killing the woman, her husband, and a couple of others, Centipede had been sentenced and imprisoned.

He was considered an evil bastard through and through, but there were so many evil people in the Smoke Signal Mountain Prison that his claim to the throne fell on deaf ears. In the end, he had submitted to Black Ape, collecting Scarlet Steel Rock and representing the man in block 68.

Centipede was also a careful man. He had dug two small dens near his stone hut for his two right-hand men. These guards would alert him if they noticed any strange movement approaching the abode, granting Centipede peace of mind.

Hedgehog was one of Centipede’s followers, but he wasn’t his boss’s confidante. Naturally, Centipede was upset that one of his men had been injured, but it hadn’t been enough to make the man lose his cool. That being said, Centipede did keep a mental tally and swore he’d avenge the insult. However, he had more important tasks at the moment.

His current task was to attend to the frail young lady lying in his hut.

The girl, dressed as a prisoner, looked to be around sixteen. Her disheveled hair obscured her pretty, petite face, hiding her from others’ eyes. She had also tightly bound her form, making it hard to tell that she was, in fact, a young woman.

“Stop hiding, Xiaoman. I know you’re dressed as a man. Once I tear your clothes off, I’ll be able to prove it!” Centipede said, gazing at the withdrawn girl in the corner with a lewd expression.

Xiaoman was new to the mountain prison, and until now, no one had suspected her gender. She had painted her face with a thick layer of soot, only improving her disguise as a man.

Alas, no matter how well she had concealed her identity, an experienced bastard like Centipede had seen through her disguise.

Once he had realized the truth, Centipede had sent his men to deliver the girl to his lair.

“I-I … really am a man! Please, let me go …,” Xiaoman begged her captor tenderly.

Xiaoman’s situation was truly pitiable. She had come from a poor family and been purchased by a rich clan to serve as a maid. The young master of the household had taken a liking to her, demanding she serve him as his personal handmaiden. He had been an ugly fellow, but she had been resigned to her fate. He was, after all, a man with a fortune. Before he managed to take advantage of his position, however, the household had been raided and confiscated in the night. Rumor had it that the clan had harbored a felon the imperial court sought. And the poor girl had been sent to prison as collateral damage.

Still, she had been wise enough to disguise her gender. She had dressed as a manservant before she had been caught. Hearing that female servants were often sent to serve the military as whores, she knew she had to protect herself.

She had escaped notice at first, but after a few days in the prison, someone had exposed her identity, leaving her bitter.

“It seems like you won’t admit it. Alright, then, I shall reveal the truth myself.” Centipede approached the girl with a slimy laugh, staring at her hard as if he could already see her soft, smooth skin under all of the clothing.

The girl broke into tears. She would rather die than let this evil man sully her body.

Suddenly, one of Centipede’s guards shouted from outside the den, “Who dares approach so late at night? You must have a death wish!”

The instant he heard the yelling, Centipede stopped what he was doing. Brows furrowed, he decided the interruption wasn’t worth his concern and continued to pull away Xiaoman’s clothing.

“Ahh, aaahhh!”

Two horrified screams tore through the night, alerting Centipede that the situation was more serious than he had originally assumed.

The girl was abruptly unimportant. Scooping up his crowbar, Centipede shouted to his guards, “Meng Da, Meng Er, what’s happening out there?!”

When he received no reply, he began to worry.

“Who the hell is being a nuisance?!” Centipede demanded. It wasn’t his style to hide in his hut during moments like this, and as such, he ventured out of his safety zone.

Centipede was no fool and proceeded with caution. He paid careful attention to his surroundings as he emerged, wanting to avoid an ambush.

True enough, as he neared the door, a large rock flew toward him.

His reaction speed was quick, and he ducked to one side, avoiding the projectile. He then heard someone call out to him. “Centipede, come meet your maker!” A moment later, a crowbar swung around the corner, aimed for his head.

Centipede lifted his weapon and blocked the attack before the crowbar landed. The blow was enough to tell him that his attacker only had average strength at best.

Where did this scoundrel come from? He’s courting death by messing with one of Black Ape’s envoys! Centipede thought to himself as he turned to pursue his attacker.

This evil man only served as Black Ape’s minion due to his status as a Foot Soldier and nine stones of strength. He had also trained with an Inferior Grade Warrior Class combat technique, making his strikes quite powerful.

The inmate assaulting Centipede crumpled under the counterattack, losing their crowbar in the process. Blood splattered across the ground.

“How is he so strong?!” the invader shouted, turning to flee without further ado. Gloating silently, Centipede gave chase.

“Do you really think I’ll just let you come and go in my territory so freely?! That I’ll let you go without consequences?!” Centipede asked.

Just before he caught up with his attacker, a strong gust of wind blasted Centipede in the side. It had been so sudden that his attacker could not have been responsible.

Despite his reaction speed, Centipede couldn’t avoid the attack in time and suffered a critical blow from a crowbar to his shoulder. Hissing, he retreated a few meters away and lashed out. “Despicable! How dare you launch such an ambush?!”

“Calling the kettle black, aren’t you? We’re all just prisoners here,” Yang Wu said with a faint smile, appearing out of the shadows.

After defeating Wang Yan, Yang Wu and Skinny Monkey had encroached on Centipede’s territory. However, they had not merely relied on brute force for their assault. First, Yang Wu took out the guards; then he lured his target into an ambush. He had sent Skinny Monkey in as bait, ensuring that Centipede would assume his foe was weak and lower his defenses.

This witty strategy focused on leaving a false impression, fooling one’s enemy into defeat.

As for being despicable, Yang Wu did not argue against it. As he said, they were all inmates, without honor to protect. Relying on valor to take out one’s enemies was little more than pulling down one’s pants to fart. There was simply no point.

——