When Gak Liu saw Jin Kiat and his men ganging up on the young man earlier, he didn't hesitate to come to the youth's aid because he knew who Jin Kiat was. This Prime Minister's son had committed countless sins, especially seizing and defiling both married and unmarried women, relying on his status, wealth, and power.
Gak Liu despised this Prime Minister's son, the offspring of his greatest enemy, and he immediately charged at Jin Kiat with his axe.
Jin Kiat fought back with his sword and tried to find a way to escape. After knocking down two of Gak Liu's followers, he jumped out of the battle and tried to flee. Jin Kiat indeed was a coward. Seeing Si Muka Tengkorak still struggling against the young man, and then seeing Gak Liu, he became scared and tried to escape.
But with three long jumps, Gak Liu was already blocking his path. His hands gripped his bloody axe and his brave face looked ferocious, terrifying Jin Kiat even more.
"Gak Liu, move aside! Do you want to be sentenced to death like your father!"
This threat was misplaced. Gak Liu wasn't scared or retreating upon hearing it, but rather his anger flared up even more.
"You rotten scum, you'll be the one to receive the death penalty from me!"
He attacked with his pair of axes, and Jin Kiat had no choice but to fight him.
The fight was a matter of life or death, as both of them knew that the loser wouldn't escape death. Jin Kiat mustered all his strength and used all his sword skills to win the battle.
Meanwhile, the group of soldiers was under heavy attack from the fighters, pushing them back. The fight between Tang Boa Lu and Tiong Li was also becoming unbalanced.
No matter how cunning Si Muka Tengkorak was, he was finally overwhelmed when facing Tiong Li. Especially when Tiong Li played the martial arts of Ngo-heng-lian-hoan-kun, he was in great trouble.
In terms of inner strength, he couldn't compete with the young man. After fifty rounds, Si Muka Tengkorak started panting and sweating. He had exerted too much energy. Meanwhile, his opponent still looked fresh and even seemed to be growing stronger. Tang Boa Lu knew if he insisted on continuing the fight, he would lose.
He didn't want to risk his life recklessly because he was just a person loaned to Prime Minister Jin Kui. Why should he defend Jin Kiat to death? Seeing the young man continue to pressure him, he mustered the last of his strength, delivered a long-range punch, and let out a fierce shout. Again, he delivered a long-range punch called the Storm Wind Punch!
But this time Tiong Li didn't want to let him off. He welcomed the punch with his Tal lek-kim-kong-ji u! As the two mighty forces met in the air, the ground around them shook, and as a result, the body of Si Muka Tengkorak was thrown back, rolling over, with fresh blood coming out of his mouth indicating internal injuries!
He knew the danger, so he kept rolling, then jumped far away and fled. Tiong Li didn't chase him. Even though Si Muka Tengkorak was the cause of his master's death, he didn't hold a grudge, in accordance with the teachings of the late Рек Hong San-ji n. He just helped the fighters against the soldiers.
There were only six soldiers left fighting, and seeing that they were under such pressure, the six men ran away in different directions without a leader anymore.
Only Jin Kiat was left, still fiercely fighting Gak Liu. He no longer had a chance to escape as the pair of axes in Gak Liu's hands were pressing him hard. Jin Kiat's face had turned pale, his heart filled with extreme fear. Si Muka Tengkorak had fled, all his men were dead or had run away, leaving him alone. But Gak Liu didn't rely on his men either. He prevented his men who wanted to gang up on Jin Kiat.
"Let me face him alone!" he shouted when someone tried to help him.
His men dared not advance and just watched while surrounding the area. Of course, with such encirclement, Jin Kiat couldn't escape, so he fought recklessly and fiercely. He used all of his sword skills to fight, but the pair of axes in Gak Liu's hands were incredibly powerful, like a pair of dragons vying for a gem, attacking from all directions.
"Singggg ...... tranggg !!"
The attacking sword was parried by a pair of axes that pinched it, breaking the sword in two! A kick from Gak Liu made Jin Kiat fall to the ground. Now, Jin Kiat could no longer suppress his fear. He crawled and knelt, raising both hands above his head and begging for mercy.
"Hmm, remember when those girls and women were begging you for mercy? Did you forgive and let them go? You even laughed at them. Feel this!" The axe swung and hit Jin Kiat's head, instantly making him fall backwards with his head smashed. "This is your punishment. Take this, and this, and this ...!"
The two axes repeatedly struck the lifeless body. Among Gak Liu's men, some turned away, unable to bear seeing the horrifying scene. It seemed as if Gak Liu was venting all his resentment over the deaths of his father and brothers and expressing his anger toward the son of Prime Minister Jin Kui whom he despised.
Suddenly, his axe was stopped in mid-air. Someone was holding both his arms and he couldn't move his hands even though he had exerted all his strength! Gak Liu was surprised and turned around. It turned out that the person who had stopped his hands was the young man who had been fighting Si Muka Tengkorak.
"That's enough, twa-ko. Abusing a dead body that can't fight back is not the act of a hero, but the act of a person mad with revenge."
Hearing this, Gak Liu lowered his axes and looked at Tiong Li attentively, then he looked at the broken body of Jin Kiat, then heaved a long sigh.
"You're right, friend." He then ordered all his men to bury all the bodies, not just their comrades, but also all the soldiers, including Jin Kiat's corpse.
Afterwards, he invited Tiong Li to sit under a tree to chat and get acquainted.
"Your martial arts skills are very impressive, young friend. What's your name and how did you end up being ganged up on by Jin Kiat and his men?"
"My name is Tan Tiong Li, and before I tell you why they attacked me, I first want to know who this powerful twa-ko is?"
"Hmm, my name is Gak Liu."
"She Gak? It reminds me of General Gak Hui," said Tiong Li, becoming friendlier as he saw that Gak Liu was also friendly towards him.
"The late General Gak Hui was my father."
Tiong Li was shocked and quickly stood up to show respect.
"Ah, so you're the son of the late General Gak Hui, who was famously brave and virtuous!? I apologize if I behaved disrespectfully!"
Gak Liu heaved a long sigh, "Ahhh, my late father was indeed brave and virtuous. But me ....... I'm just an ordinary fighter who sometimes loses my temper, totally not virtuous. I don't want to ride on the fame of my father's name. Brother Tiong Li, I see your martial arts skills are very high. How come you were ganged up on by that little devil, the son of Prime Minister Jin Kui?" Once again, Tiong Li was shocked. He had long heard the name of Prime Minister Jin Kui, who was hated and cursed by many as a wicked minister who manipulated and persuaded the Emperor to yield to the Kin People. Was the young man who was just killed the son of Minister Jin Kui? Now he understood. He had heard that the death of General Gak Hui was caused by Prime Minister Jin Kui. So now, the son of General Gak Hui was avenging his father against the son of Prime Minister Jin Kui!
"Hmm, so he was the son of Prime Minister Jin Kui? No wonder you hate him so much, Gak-twako, certainly because of a grudge."
"Not just a grudge, Tan-te (brother Tan), but that young man was just as wicked as his father. He liked to toy with women and oppress people who didn't want to grovel to him. He deserved to die like that. So how did you manage to be his enemy?"
"I myself don't know clearly, twa-ko. I once helped a princess who was kidnapped by criminals. I escorted her back to the palace. The emperor wanted to award me a rank, but I didn't want that and I left the palace. Eh, unexpectedly, I was chased here by that group and the young man claimed that he was ordered by the emperor to kill me under the pretext that I was a rebel. I asked for the emperor's order as evidence, but he couldn't prove it so I fought back."
"Hmm, that scoundrel! Just like his father. Using the name of the weak Emperor to accuse everyone of being rebels. Tan-te, you're a highly skilled person, come join us!"
Glossary
- Gak Liu: The name of a character in the story who takes revenge on Jin Kiat, the son of his family's enemy.
- Jin Kiat: The son of a powerful Prime Minister who is notorious for his crimes, especially against women.
- Si Muka Tengkorak: A character known for his cunning in battle.
- Ngo-heng-lian-hoan-kun: A martial arts technique used by the character Tiong Li.
- Tal lek-kim-kong-ji u: A defensive martial arts technique used by Tiong Li.
- Tiong Li: A young and highly skilled martial artist in the story.
- Prime Minister Jin Kui: The father of Jin Kiat and a formidable enemy of Gak Liu's father.
- General Gak Hui: The late father of Gak Liu, a renowned and virtuous military general.
- Storm Wind Punch: A powerful long-range punch attack used by Si Muka Tengkorak.