Chapter 42: Shi Jinwu's Enlightenment in Desperate Situation

  Shi Jin was trapped in this formation, but he really had no bottom line. In front of him, except for the flames, were fierce and evil-looking soldiers, basically unable to see any hope, actually never having much expectation to begin with. The ruthless appearance from just now made people's hearts cold. But now, even he himself felt disheartened.

  However, Shi Jin suddenly thought of a sentence that Zhong Guoliang had said: A centipede dies but does not stiffen.

  He was using all his skills to protect himself, while involuntarily thinking in his heart that with his current appearance, whether he counted as a centipede or not. If he did count, how could he exert the mighty power of being "not stiff"? And if he didn't count, then how could he become a centipede?

  In the eyes of all officials and soldiers, Shi Jin is the culprit who let the thieves go, but he is also a man with iron bones. They looked at him struggling like a trapped beast, and they all speculated that in his heart, he was probably terrified beyond measure. Who would have thought that Shi Jin, who had made up his mind to die, yet stubbornly refused to admit defeat, would suddenly think of such a trivial question that had nothing to do with his own life or death?

  But in Shi Jin's view, if this matter were placed on an ordinary day, he would also have let it pass or not cared about it. But at this moment, with the knife blade drinking fresh blood in his hand, pondering over these words had a great flavor to them.

  That day, Zhong Guoliang blocked Shi Taigong's hearse halfway, speaking with great passion and crying to the point of being heartbroken. This hundred-legged worm was described by him as a depiction of the real power of the Song Dynasty. At that time, this phrase was heard for the first time by Shi Jin, who only thought it was novel and wondered if the centipede really had a hundred legs. He secretly remembered it in his mind, thinking that he would ask someone to explain it clearly later on.

  Now, however, Shi Jin doesn't know how, but the eight words that couldn't be beaten to death have come to his mind by themselves. Only under these circumstances, he can no longer think about "what that worm looks like and how it walks".

  With each slash of Shi Jin's knife, the government soldiers were left with broken arms and legs, their blood splattering everywhere. Through the shocking and bloody scene, Shi Jin gradually became entranced. Despite the intense battle, the knife he had picked up earlier was now stained with blood, its blade chipped or curled from blocking swords and chopping through bones. Yet in Shi Jin's hands, it danced with an extraordinary ferocity.

  At this moment, Shi Jin's heart was fearless, and he could do whatever it took. He wielded the wooden sword with reckless abandon, pointing east to strike west, pointing south to strike north. In his mind, he thought of the meaning of "hundred feet", and the blade unknowingly aimed at the soldiers' hands and feet. Shi Jin's moves also became cunning and ruthless, which made those who underestimated him suffer. They took advantage of Shi Jin being alone, each using their skills with reckless abandon. But unexpectedly, Shi Jin, who was on the verge of entering a state of frenzy, wielded his sword with precision, and with just a slight carelessness, he chopped off their arms.

  Shi Jin stared at the arms splattered with hot blood, and for a moment, he was enchanted. He hacked and killed his way forward, completely abandoning any defensive moves, every slash and chop a killing blow.

  At this moment, Shi Jin saw a long spear mixed among the many pu dao, silently stabbing towards his left ribs. Shi Jin's hands were quick, and with a swift swing of his knife, he parried the sword that was chopping towards him. He then followed through with a pull on the hilt of his knife, and the blade swiftly slashed past, sticking to the handle of the spear. Along with a loud cry of pain, the two hands holding the spear were severed at the wrists.

  Shi Jin's move was quite flashy, and he had used it to its fullest extent. However, due to his relaxed waist and extended arm, he was too far away, and for a moment, he couldn't retract his stance. He clearly sensed the knife wind coming from behind, but he didn't have time to turn his blade to block it. With just a twist of his body, he dodged the vital spot on his back, but in doing so, he was cut open by a solid slash on the left shoulder, exposing his flesh.

  Suddenly, fresh blood flowed down Shi Jin's left arm, and the pain was deeply rooted in his heart. But now that he was surrounded, there was no time to feel the pain. Shi Jin didn't even have time to look at his wound when a knife came straight at him from the other side. Shi Jin's painful left arm couldn't move for the moment, so he spun around on the spot and dodged the blade by a hair's breadth. Taking advantage of the attacker's momentum, Shi Jin's right hand instinctively dropped his wooden sword and grabbed the man's arm, pulling it forward to increase the force of the knife. With a "whooshing" sound, not only did the knife pierce the chest of another imperial soldier on the other side, but the soldier who had wielded the knife also blocked the blades for Shi Jin with his body. At this moment, Shi Jin's mind suddenly cleared, and he seemed to understand the meaning of "hundred feet".

  Shi Jin lost his martial arts skills, and the officials and soldiers were even less afraid of him. One by one, they swung their knives towards Shi Jin's head. Once Shi Jin understood in his heart, his ears became extremely sharp, and with a calm breath in his dantian, he excluded the shouting and killing sounds from his ears, leaving only the sound of the knife blades cutting through the air.

  Shi Jin heard the sound, distinguished the position, and dodged the knife's trajectory with all his might. In his eyes, he only targeted the pu dao in front of him. When the knife's momentum had passed its peak, he grabbed the person's wrist holding the hilt with one hand, and pulled the person's waistband with the other, using his foot to exert force and twisting his waist to fling the person holding the pu dao out horizontally. A chorus of pained cries erupted as another person was knocked to the ground, and mutual injuries were inevitable.

  Taking advantage of the chaos on one side, the soldiers on the other side came up again with a skeptical attitude. Shi Jin was even bolder this time, his eyes fixed on the trajectory of the two knives, neither dodging nor avoiding, and when the two blades were close to his body, he suddenly took a step forward, grabbed the wrists of the two officers with one hand each, and pulled them with force. The knives in their hands went along with Shi Jin's force, and with two "pu" sounds, they stabbed into each other's abdomen.

  Shi Jin now thoroughly understood what was meant by the true "hundred-legged worm". The so-called "hundred legs" didn't have to grow on one's own body, let alone be aesthetically pleasing or cumbersome. In fact, speaking straightforwardly, it was just a matter of using force against force, borrowing a knife to kill someone.

  At this desperate juncture, Shi Jin suddenly grasped the underlying principle and with empty hands against white blades, slightly guided the incoming knife edges to redirect them according to his will. With just a flash of dodging and parrying, he once again set off a new round of mutual slaughter among the government soldiers.

  Although Shi Jin was happy to play, he was still trapped in the siege of others. As the saying goes, "people are the cutting board and I am the fish meat", it's only a matter of time. Even if Shi Jin could fight again, he might not be able to hold on until dawn. Moreover, the wound on his left shoulder continued to bleed during Shi Jin's intense movements, slowly draining his strength. As he lost more and more energy, Shi Jin felt his body becoming heavier and heavier, and his strength was dwindling.