Zombie Bodyguard-Chapter 1680 - 1677: Actual Combat (Part 2)

"Kid, I couldn’t see who was pretending to be a ghost, so I had to hit you both. Blame the person who played ghost," Brother Yong grinned at Qiao Xiaoyi, looking as if he expected you to accept your bad luck.

But Qiao Xiaoyi replied very honestly, "Classmate, I just started practicing too, so if I accidentally hurt you due to poor control, I sincerely apologize."

"What nonsense are you babbling? Take a punch from me first!" Brother Yong couldn’t understand what Qiao Xiaoyi was saying and had no patience to figure it out, so he swung a punch toward Qiao Xiaoyi’s jaw.

Qiao Xiaoyi remembered Lin Tian’s teaching not to confront head-on—besides, he guessed he couldn’t match up anyway. However, when it came to reaction speed, Brother Yong was far inferior to him.

He quickly dodged to the side, swiftly formed a fist, protruded the knuckle of his middle finger, and suddenly punched, landing directly under Brother Yong’s ribs.

Brother Yong felt a slight numbness, then stared at Qiao Xiaoyi, perplexed: "Kid, what are you doing messing with my ribs? You pervert."

Not far away, Lin Tian heard this and was speechless, thinking to himself that Qiao Xiaoyi was too hesitant; he didn’t dare to exert strength. Being naturally kind-hearted, he had a psychological barrier in fights, which would cause him to lose badly.

Qiao Xiaoyi’s face turned red, and he said apologetically, "Sorry, I didn’t use enough force."

"Are you insane? Get lost!" Brother Yong cursed, kicking toward Qiao Xiaoyi. This Brother Yong didn’t have much fighting skill, just regular punching and kicking like an ordinary person.

Qiao Xiaoyi quickly retreated, putting some distance between himself and Brother Yong, missing the earlier opportunity. However, acupoint fighting is a short-range skill, and creating distance essentially negates its effectiveness.

"Hey, Xiaoyi, can you be more serious? I taught you for a whole night, it was exhausting," Lin Tian shouted at him amidst the chaotic battle, feeling helpless.

"Okay, I’ll try my best," Qiao Xiaoyi replied, embarrassed.

"Kid, surrounded by seven of us, you still have time to worry about others? Guys, beat him up," the tank-top man growled, calling for his mates to close in, but Lin Tian still moved with ease.

"Kid, your reflexes are pretty good. Let’s see how long you can dodge," Brother Yong sneered as he watched Qiao Xiaoyi retreat, then rushed up in two steps, swinging another punch.

Qiao Xiaoyi dodged to the side again and simultaneously launched a punch, hitting Brother Yong’s ribs once more. With a dull thud, Brother Yong froze as if struck at an acupoint.

His face showed a pained expression and after a while he let out a groan, falling to the ground. Numb and in pain, he couldn’t move; any slight movement intensified the ache, causing cold sweat to break out on his face as he lay there motionless.

However, the pained expression showed he wasn’t quite comfortable lying there.

"Your Brother Yong is down," Lin Tian had already noticed the situation over there, so he shouted to the other seven.

The seven turned and indeed saw Brother Yong lying on the ground, condition unclear. As they were about to rush over and check on him, a shadow flashed past each of them, and suddenly, intense numbness and pain radiated from under their ribs, causing all seven to fall like Brother Yong.

Lin Tian leisurely walked over to Qiao Xiaoyi, patted his shoulder, and smiled, "Not bad, although you made some mistakes at first, your reaction awareness is very good."

Qiao Xiaoyi, instead of feeling happy after taking down his opponent, seemed worried: "Brother Lin, are they going to be okay?"

"They’ll be fine; the numb and aching sensation will disappear in a few minutes," Lin Tian replied nonchalantly. This was just friendly sparring, not a life-and-death battle, so he wasn’t going to teach him how to hit lethal acupoints.

Qiao Xiaoyi felt a bit relieved, squatting down and saying to Brother Yong, "Sorry, classmate, I hit too hard."

He meant it sincerely, but to Brother Yong, it sounded like mockery, yet he could only glare at Qiao Xiaoyi, not daring to move.

"Forget about him, let’s go. This will serve as a lesson for them," Lin Tian said indifferently and pulled Qiao Xiaoyi along, walking out of the woods, leaving eight people staring at each other with dumbfounded expressions, utterly confused by their defeat.

By this time, it was already past eleven; few were wandering the campus, and no one had noticed what happened in those bushes.

"Xiaoyi, your reaction awareness is indeed good, but you need to overcome this mental barrier. Understand that this isn’t mindless fighting but friendly sparring. Even in the Martial Arts World, this is common; there’s no right or wrong. Just focus on the competition," Lin Tian advised him as they parted ways at the intersection, lest he overthink things.

"I understand," Qiao Xiaoyi nodded.

"Oh, by the way, you can paint a target in your dorm and practice accuracy. Your opponent practices karate, probably has skills on par with Kunno Saburo. Without a Martial Arts foundation, hitting them will be challenging."

"Remember, you might only have one chance. If you miss and your opponent realizes your intent, you won’t get a second chance. Hit points are just that—a point. If the opponent consciously defends, at your skill level you’ll have difficulty landing the hit again," Lin Tian reminded him with some considerations.

Qiao Xiaoyi scratched his head, feeling a bit nervous: "Brother Lin, what you said made me a little tense. But I will give it my all."

Lin Tian patted his shoulder, soothingly saying, "Relax, just perform normally. Winning or losing doesn’t matter, besides, there’s Mu Binglan and me, right?"

Qiao Xiaoyi nodded vigorously and parted with Lin Tian, heading back to his dorm. Lin Tian didn’t linger either, returning to his apartment.

When he opened the door, the living room light was still on, but Xiao Manxuan had fallen asleep on the sofa. The little girl had waited long for Lin Tian to return and finally succumbed to fatigue.

Lin Tian felt a warmth in his heart but also a touch of pity—how uncomfortable to sleep on the narrow sofa, rather than a proper bed.

After switching off the TV, Lin Tian slid one hand under her neck and another under her legs, effortlessly lifting the little girl.

The girl’s body was soft, with a faint fragrance wafting off her, a scent that, if smelled too much, could lead one’s imagination astray. So Lin Tian hurriedly carried her back to her room and then stepped out.

Unbeknownst to Lin Tian, once he left the room, the "asleep" little girl opened her eyes, looking towards the door. Her face showed a playful smile, but there was also a hint of disappointment—matters of a girl’s heart, probably even she couldn’t fully understand.

In the following three days, Lin Tian spent every spare moment training Qiao Xiaoyi. Although called training, it was really just one move: striking acupoint.

Only three days—it’s impossible to train him into a martial arts expert. Others spend years training; no matter how naturally gifted he is, three days can’t prepare him for a direct confrontation with such a skilled opponent.

The only option was relying on surprise, which isn’t shameful—history is full of examples where the weak prevailed over the strong.