The Deceptive Word

1,233 words

Doctor Mo landed lightly on the spot where Han Li had just stood. Without the slightest pause, he ghosted his body around, facing Han Li once more. The pride that had been on his face was completely gone, replaced by utter woodenness. Yet a faint, barely noticeable strangeness flickered in his eyes.

Han Li, for his part, was not in good shape either. He was panting heavily, his face pale, beads of cold sweat on his forehead, and an unnatural flush on his cheek.

All of this made one thing clear: the life-saving maneuver he had just used had drained most of his stamina. It was very likely he would not be able to execute such a technique a second time.

Han Li exhaled deeply, forcing his body to relax as much as possible to ease the massive strain the "Smoke Step" had placed on his muscles. At this moment, he had to seize every opportunity to recover a bit more strength, to have any hope of winning in the next round of combat.

He looked down at his still-trembling left hand. It was completely numb, without any feeling yet, and couldn't even lift a sword. The left-handed swordsmanship he had painstakingly trained was effectively crippled for now. He would have to fight with only his right hand.

At this thought, he laughed bitterly to himself. Now, with most of his stamina spent, unable to use the subtle Smoke Step, and worse, only able to fight with one hand—this was truly the worst possible situation. It seemed he would have to resort to the final, secret trick he had been saving.

Han Li glanced at the sun outside the window, estimating the time. It was about right, perfect for this move.

He then looked at the short sword still embedded in the wall. There was no chance to retrieve that weapon; the other man wouldn't let him walk over and pull it out in broad daylight.

After a moment of deliberation, Han Li drew another weapon from his chest. It was another short sword in a sheath, about half a foot long. It was so short that 'dagger' would be a more accurate description than 'short sword'. He pulled the blade from its scabbard. It was much thicker than an ordinary dagger, gleaming brightly, and looked very sharp.

Han Li tossed the scabbard aside, switched the weapon to his right hand, extended his arm, and pointed the sword tip diagonally at his opponent, assuming an offensive stance.

Doctor Mo took all of this in but did not rush to attack. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back, and his expression suddenly turned amiable. In a gentle, coaxing tone, he said, "Han Li, you have dodged me twice now. That is indeed beyond my expectations. But do you truly believe you can be so lucky a third time and escape from my grasp again? That footwork you used just now was quite miraculous, but it has obvious limitations. From the look of your stamina, you cannot possibly execute it again. Surrender obediently! You should be able to see that I have no intention of gravely injuring you. If you comply, things may not turn out as badly as you imagine."

Doctor Mo’s sudden transformation, like a chameleon, gave Han Li goosebumps. One moment he played the kind teacher, the next he was cold and ruthless, and now he was earnestly advising him to just wait for death. Han Li didn't know what to say. Did the man really think he was so confused that he would fall for such a blatantly cheap trick?

But this speech actually boosted Han Li’s confidence. If Doctor Mo weren’t wary of him, why would he resort to such childish methods to deceive him?

In an instant, Han Li understood everything perfectly. He sighed, shook his head gently, and said nothing. He simply pointed his short sword at the man and made a few gestures, making his meaning perfectly clear.

The veins on Doctor Mo’s forehead bulged and twitched. Seeing that Han Li completely ignored his persuasion and even taunted him with his weapon, he could no longer suppress the rage in his heart.

"You don't know what's good for you!"

He suddenly took a large step forward, and then added in a harsh tone, "Inch of Heaven."

Then his entire figure drifted lightly through the air, arriving just a few paces away from Han Li, as if he had used some miraculous earth-shrinking technique. It was breathtaking.

Han Li, seemingly startled, showed a face full of alarm. He hastily retreated two steps, putting some distance between them, then held his short sword horizontally in front of him, flourishing it into a small patch of cold light to block Doctor Mo's advance. It seemed he had completely forgotten the lesson he had been taught in their last exchange.

Doctor Mo gave a cold, inward sneer. He certainly wasn't going to kindly warn his opponent. He separated his palms and attacked Han Li from two directions, utterly disregarding the cold gleam of the blade.

Just as the two silver hands were about to plunge into the sword light, a light laugh suddenly came from the opposite side. The laughter was full of delight, like the triumphant chortle of a hunter who sees his prey step into a trap.

Doctor Mo’s heart tightened. He unconsciously slowed his momentum, his figure faltering for a moment, only to hear a cold, biting remark:

"Right now, you are the one who has been fooled. Look at the short sword in my hand!"

Hearing this, Doctor Mo involuntarily looked at the short sword. He saw that Han Li had, at some point, stopped his flourish and assumed a strange posture. His upper body was slightly arched back, the short sword held horizontally by his side in one hand, while his lower body was in a tight, forward-lunging stance, like a drawn bow ready to fire. He looked like a man about to shoot an arrow.

But the short sword in question had nothing unusual about it, except for a faint, greenish light. This left Doctor Mo rather stunned. Could the boy be using this strange posture, combined with deceitful words, to confuse him and gain an advantage?

At this thought, Doctor Mo found it somewhat amusing. He was about to ridicule the boy when he saw Han Li suddenly lunge forward. As if shot from a powerful bow, he turned into a human arrow, launching himself from across the room. The speed of his charge was such that even Doctor Mo’s expression changed.

Doctor Mo quickly brought his separated hands together, intending to clamp the blade between his palms. But the short sword in front of him seemed to sway lightly, transforming into over a dozen identical blades, stabbing straight at him from different angles, making it impossible to tell truth from illusion.

Doctor Mo snorted, his estimation of Han Li dropping a few notches. Using such flashy, impractical moves in front of a master like him—wasn’t that just asking for death? He could see the location of the real blade at a glance.

He widened his eyes, locked onto the true sword’s trajectory, and, without changing the nature of his technique, actually increased the speed of his hands, attempting to shatter the blade in one move and force his opponent to surrender unarmed.

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Reading Guide Decoding

Faking Panic, Setting the Trap

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

This chapter is a masterclass in the Mortal Stream’s core tenet: deception outweighs raw power. Han Li’s ‘defensive stance’ is a carefully baited trap. He’s using a well-known fighting principle—the ‘fake panic’ to lure an overconfident enemy in. Doctor Mo’s technique, "Inch of Heaven" (咫尺天涯), is a common trope in Chinese martial arts fiction, describing a movement art that collapses distance, making the user seem to teleport. The name literally contrasts the small physical distance with the ‘immeasurable’ distance of the horizon, giving it a poetic yet deadly weight. The ‘sword splitting into many’ is another classic wuxia/xianxia visual—it’s not a real multiplication, but a high-speed illusion created by the blade’s movement and the user’s qi, meant to confuse the opponent’s eye. The key here is that Doctor Mo, being a higher-level martial artist, claims he can see through it. But Han Li’s true trap isn’t the illusion itself—it’s the fact that he used a verbal deception to create the opening for his attack. This reinforces the ‘dark forest’ logic: even a simple lie is a valid weapon when your life is on the line.

Chapter Overview

Alright, fellow Daoists, buckle up. Chapter 48 is where the cat-and-mouse game between Han Li and Doctor Mo reaches its boiling point. Our boy Han Li is running on fumes—his stamina’s shot, his left hand is useless, and his prized Smoke Step is off the table. But instead of folding, he does what any Mortal Stream protagonist worth his salt would do: he digs deeper into his bag of tricks. This is a chapter about deception layered upon deception, where the true battle isn’t waged with silver hands or blinding speed, but with who can outthink whom. Doctor Mo tries the soft sell, then the hard sell, but Han Li is already three moves ahead. Get ready for a fake-out that flips the hunter and the hunted.

Key Plot Points

Han Li is physically spent after his last evasion, with his left hand paralyzed and his primary mobility technique unusable. He’s forced to switch to his right hand and draw a hidden dagger-like short sword, signaling a shift in tactics. Doctor Mo, rather than pressing his advantage, attempts psychological warfare, switching to an amiable, coaxing tone to persuade Han Li to surrender. This is a crucial tell: Doctor Mo is wary, and he knows a direct confrontation could still cost him. Han Li, unimpressed, responds with silent defiance and a weapon gesture. Enraged, Doctor Mo unleashes his ‘Inch of Heaven’ technique, closing the distance in an unnerving display of speed. Han Li feigns panic, retreating and putting up a defensive flourish—a classic setup. When Doctor Mo’s silver hands are about to breach the defense, Han Li laughs triumphantly and calls out a deceptive warning. The momentary hesitation from Doctor Mo is all Han Li needs. He shifts his stance into a bow-like lunge and launches himself with explosive speed, his short sword splitting into a dozen illusory blades. Doctor Mo scoffs at the ‘flashy display,’ confidently locking onto the real blade and accelerating his counterattack to crush the weapon. The chapter ends with this clash in mid-air, leaving the outcome of the feint hanging in the balance.

Reading Guide

This chapter is a perfect litmus test for how the story treats combat. Forget epic, drawn-out clashes of supernatural power; this is a brutal, resource-management brawl. Pay close attention to Han Li’s thought process. He isn’t just fighting; he’s constantly auditing his remaining stamina, his available weapons, and his opponent’s psychological state. His victory (if it comes) won’t be earned by a hidden godly technique, but by a well-timed lie and an unorthodox stance. This is the ‘Chicken Rib’ principle in action: Han Li is using every marginal tool at his disposal because none of them are perfect. Enjoy the tension of watching a cornered underdog rely on his wits. And note Doctor Mo’s character—his arrogance is a fatal flaw. He’s too confident in his ability to see through a ‘junior’s’ tricks, and that very confidence is what Han Li is weaponizing against him.