His body shot backward, but the sword light surged forward. His body crashed into the wall behind him, while his long sword was driven into a tree ahead.

  He fell—and never moved again.

  Guo Dalu stood still, staring at his fist, as if surprised, as if puzzled.

  It was as if even he hadn't expected that a single punch would be enough to take his opponent down.

  No one else had expected it either.

  Yan Qi least of all. He stood there in shock for a long moment before rushing forward, his face a mix of astonishment, delight, and a hint of unease. Laughing, he said, “I told you to stay away from him—why did you charge straight in?”

  Guo Dalu grinned and said, “Maybe because I'm a fool.”

  His smile did look a little foolish.

  But, of course, he wasn't foolish in the least. The moment you thought he was, he would suddenly become incredibly sharp—sharper than most.

  Yan Qi ughed. “Who says you're a fool? I just don't understand—how did you know he wasn't using a short sword this time?”

  Guo Dalu chuckled. “I didn’t know—I guessed.”

  Yan Qi was momentarily stunned. “What if you had guessed wrong?”

  Guo Dalu replied, “I wouldn't have.”

  Yan Qi asked, “Why not?”

  Grinning, Guo Dalu said, “Because I'm lucky.”

  Yan Qi stared at him for a moment, then suddenly burst into ughter. “You may not be a fool, but you're certainly not honest—not one bit.”

  Guo Dalu was indeed not an honest man.

  Because he knew how to py the fool.

  Of course, he had already seen that the bck-cd man wasn't using a short sword this time.

  The man had pced his sword hilt on his left shoulder but was drawing it with his right hand. When he pulled the sword, his chest and abdomen instinctively retracted, shifting all his strength forward.

  That movement created a weakness between his chest and lower abdomen.

  Guo Dalu had spotted it.

  And he struck precisely at that weak point.

  As long as his aim was true and his judgment correct, one punch was enough. There was no need for a second.

  For experts, the first strike is often the most decisive.

  If that punch doesn't take the opponent down, then it may very well be the punch that seals one's own fate.

  Victory and defeat often come down to a single strike—sometimes, even a single thought.

  Suddenly, Yan Qi said, “There's still something I don't understand.”

  Guo Dalu raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  Yan Qi asked, “His arm is much shorter than the sword. So how was he able to draw it in one swift motion?”

  Guo Dalu thought for a moment, then grinned. “I have no idea.”

  Wang Dong spoke up. “I do.”

  He walked over, holding the bck-cd man's scabbard in his hand.

  Yan Qi took the scabbard, examined it, then ughed. “Now I understand.”

  Anyone who saw this scabbard would understand.

  It actually held two swords—one long, one short. Yan Qi had already considered that possibility.

  What he hadn't expected was that the scabbard wasn't a true sheath at all—it was a mechanism.

  The sword wasn't drawn from the top but released from the side.

  Yan Qi chuckled. “It’s just like an egg.”

  Guo Dalu blinked. “An egg?”

  Yan Qi grinned. “Do you know how to make an egg stand upright on a table?”

  Guo Dalu said, “I don't know.”

  Yan Qi ughed and said, “You fool, just crack the rger end of the egg, and won't it be able to stand on its own?”

  Guo Dalu ughed and said, “You're truly a genius. I can't believe you came up with that.”

  Some things in this world are just like an egg.

  What seems complicated is often somewhat simple.

  Some people are also like an egg. No matter how useless they may seem, once you crack their shell, they can stand on their own.

  There was now a new grave in the courtyard.

  A dog's grave.

  Yan Qi personally pced the bck dog into the coffin and sighed sorrowfully, “You came from a coffin, and now you return to one. If this was your fate all along, why did you come at all?”

  Guo Dalu smiled bitterly and said, “If it hadn't come, we'd be the ones in coffins now.”

  Lin Taiping sighed, “When it first arrived, I even kicked it. Who would've thought it would end up saving our lives?”

  Wang Dong said, “Dogs aren't like people. They don't hold grudges; they only remember kindness.”

  Guo Dalu said, “That’s right. Give a dog a bone, and the next time it sees you, it'll wag its tail. But some people, no matter how much good you do for them, will turn around and bite you instead. So…”

  Lin Taiping continued, “That's why dogs are more loyal than people—at least more loyal than some people.”

  Guo Dalu said, “Then we should put up a tombstone for it.”

  Lin Taiping asked, “What should we write on it?”

  Guo Dalu replied, “‘Grave of the Loyal Dog.’”