Chapter Ninety-Two: The Final Battle at the Summit of Mecca

Longing at Dawn

As Liu Yunfei carried Avari aloft, one thought kept turning in his mind: where in the world should he dump this brat? No place seemed safe, and wherever he chose would only waste time. He tore the cloth from Avari’s face, took out a spray bottle, and gave the boy a quick blast right under the nose.

Below, the believers had already gone into panic. Some raised submachine guns and sprayed wildly at the sky in Liu Yunfei’s direction, while several ability users rushed onto the roof and, pointing upward, cursed at Shadi: “You filthy coward, you vile insect, do you dare come down here?” No one noticed that Hadi had already slipped quietly off the roof, melted into the crowd, and vanished into the night.

“I’m coming down. Let’s see what you can do about it.” Liu Yunfei realized he had arrived at exactly the right moment. Everything was now under control. Wearing what he considered an elegant smile, he descended slowly onto the dark roof like a god.

“Little handsome, if you bring out the thing and succeed, you’ll get a share. What do you want?” Elder Wind was still very confident in her looks and figure. She could tell that if this boy simply walked away now, the whole plan would fail completely. And the fact that he had the nerve to come back made it even clearer that he was extraordinary. So she decided to use beauty first. It was a move that rarely failed her. As she spoke, she kept throwing seductive glances and deliberately lifted her chest, the high peaks trembling like mountains. Most men at a time like this would already be saying they wanted her.

Unexpectedly, the boy understood nothing of her charms. “What thing? Yours?” Liu Yunfei asked back.

“At any rate, not yours, little handsome.” Seeing that he completely ignored her seductive looks, Elder Wind felt a touch of irritation, but on her face she still kept that alluring expression. She stepped forward, quietly shifted the wind’s direction, and sent a faint, colorless, odorless, highly toxic gas into Liu Yunfei’s nose. She had used this trick many times before, always turning the tide in an instant when the enemy clearly held the upper hand. But this time she failed. It was not that Liu Yunfei noticed her move; he was simply immune to all such poisons.

“Stop talking nonsense with him. Let’s go together and kill this boy.” Elder Sand was very dissatisfied with his woman’s behavior. Though he had not yet truly won her, in his heart she was already his woman. Watching her flirt recklessly with that boy, he felt an indescribable jealousy and wished he could twist the boy’s neck until it shattered.

“If you think you have the ability to kill me, then come at me together.” With one sweep of his hand, Liu Yunfei knocked down a burst of machine-gun bullets fired up from below. He turned lazily and let out a soft sigh. “What a pity. I just bought this Armani coat. It cost me more than ten thousand euros.”

Elder Sand struck first. He could not tolerate his woman being fooled by this boy’s few words. Jealous men were terrifying. In the past, many men had tried to pursue Elder Wind; more often than not, it was actually Elder Wind who seduced them. Whoever made the first move, they had to die. Including this Chinese boy before him. Only after those wild men were all killed would that alluring woman lie peacefully in his bed.

Elder Sand’s body resembled a collapsing building, growing lower and lower. His feet, legs, torso, and head slowly turned into fine sand, like a winding sand serpent or a flowing little stream, whispering and trickling to Liu Yunfei’s feet. He did not move. Elder Sand was secretly delighted: in just a moment, the sand would bury his feet, and then he would not be able to escape. Next would come the legs, piling upward, and from there it could continue swallowing his entire body. Brat, bullets cannot kill you, but I will drown you in sand and strangle you. That is the fate of anyone who dares seduce a woman.

Liu Yunfei thought nothing of such tricks. After his calves were completely wrapped in fine sand, he suddenly lifted a foot and kicked hard, shaking the sand off one leg as if he were flinging away a torn sack. But Elder Sand was not afraid of that. Even if his body were completely dispersed, he could gather it again automatically. Yet the portion of sand flung away had no will of its own. As Liu Yunfei watched it rush back toward the center, his thoughts flickered, and he stored it inside his radiant jade slip. Using the same method, he then put the sand from the other foot into the jade slip as well.

Seeing that things were not good and that a good half of his body had vanished, Elder Sand hurriedly pulled back and reformed himself into a human shape. But because he had lost so much body mass, he could only restore himself as a short, stunted dwarf. Seeing a towering man turn into such a tiny figure, Elder Wind chuckled and stroked his head. “Whose child is this?”

Among the six elders, the craftiest was Hadi. The moment he saw Liu Yunfei arrive, he knew disaster was coming and had slipped away at once. Next came Elder Wind. She did not care at all about the resurrection of some true god. What she wanted was money, handsome men, and above all strength. So she decided not to act. She would let the others test the waters first. If this Chinese boy was truly formidable, she would surrender to him in bed. No man could refuse a beauty delivered to his door.

Seeing Elder Sand suffer a setback, the others were unwilling to become useless cannon fodder. None of them wanted to move. When Shadi looked their way, they all quickly raised their heads and admired the night sky. “What a fine night tonight.” “Yes, yes, the sky is really clear.” The words were pure nonsense.

Shadi was livid. Usually they collected their salaries as if seizing money from the heavens, but now, at the critical moment, none of them dared step forward. What was he supposed to do? No one wanted to be cannon fodder. In any age there is never a shortage of such disposable men—clueless characters with names like Private X and Private Y.

When the assault troops below saw what was happening, they rushed onto the roof with all kinds of firearms, but they were models of discipline. Without Shadi’s order, they would not act.

Shadi saw the elders still standing there chatting and had no choice. He had raised his arm, intending to signal them to attack, but after holding it up for a long while, he could only wave forcefully at the assault troops. Those poor men had been waiting only for merit and glory. Liu Yunfei ignored machine guns entirely; fists met fists, teeth met teeth. Anyone who grabbed and struggled with him was lifted up and tossed straight into the crowd below.

Still, Liu Yunfei did not strike ordinary people hard. Most were ignorant peasants seduced into believing. Those who were thrown down or crushed mostly suffered broken ribs or fractured legs and feet. Money and status mattered, of course, but to these believers life and health mattered more. When the brave few who charged up were howling and rolling on the ground, no one else dared come forward. It was as if the rooftop were a stage and they were all merely there to watch the show.

Naturally, the ones standing on the stage were not all eager to keep performing. Each of them was inwardly cursing his own stupidity for not having Hadi’s head. Look how clever that man had been—no one even knew when he slipped away. But the elders were not fools either. During Liu Yunfei’s beating of the assault troops, they had already held a brief meeting.

Facing this boy, who could both fly and fight, everyone spoke up with enthusiasm, studied the situation with seriousness, and explored it in depth. In the end they unanimously decided to shout one, two, three, then flee in separate directions. That way, whichever one Liu Yunfei chased would buy precious time for the others. In theory it was workable; at the very least, it could preserve some strength for the Sacred Church.

“One, two, three!” the elders shouted in unison.

But they were all clever people, and each hoped some fool would run first so Liu Yunfei would chase him and spare the others precious time. So after the count, no one moved. They stared at one another, each thinking: these bastards usually look so honest and decent—how are they all more cunning than ghosts at a moment like this?

The four elders all wanted someone else to run first. After shouting once, they still would not give up. Elder Wind suggested, “Again.”

“One, two, three.”

Still no one moved.

“One, two... three.”

“Hey, hey, hey, are you done yet?” Liu Yunfei finally could not help speaking. Watching them, neither fighting nor really chanting, endlessly shouting one, two, three, he felt utterly baffled. Could all these people be mentally ill?

Whatever game they were playing, Liu Yunfei stepped forward two paces and approached them. He took up the stance of a rough-and-ready taiji fist, copying Wong Fei-hung’s pose, and motioned with a hand. “Who goes first? Or do you all come together?”

Would you believe it, one brave one really did step out—the elder in white, who had three steps but took them in two, dashing straight forward. Liu Yunfei inwardly cheered: good, so he is a trained man after all. Quick on his feet. He raised a leg, ready to deal with him the way he had dealt with the black elder, but before the kick could land, the old fellow’s knee buckled and he dropped to his knees before him. Turning back, he cursed furiously, “Damn it, who pushed me?”

At that moment, the White Elder had completely forgotten about avenging comrades or brothers. After cursing, he turned around with tears streaming down his face and clutched Liu Yunfei’s two legs. “Young master, young master, spare this wretch’s life.”

Liu Yunfei frowned. Damn it, every fight always ruins my clothes. Fine if the shirt gets torn into a mesh of holes, but now this old bastard is wiping his nose on my trousers.

The same act, seen differently by different people, yielded different thoughts. The other elders still clung to a sliver of hope. Seeing the White Elder hugging Liu Yunfei’s legs, they thought: why is he holding both legs? Could it be that the White Elder has finally come to his senses? Is he buying time for us with his own life? White Elder, oh White Elder, what lofty spirit you have. Next year on this very day, we will burn two sticks of incense for you. Rest easy.

Unexpectedly, the White Elder suddenly sprang up and stood beside Liu Yunfei, saying, “Young master, which of them over there can you not beat? I’ll help you deal with him. That big-breasted woman can change the wind’s direction. That tall bastard can throw grenades. And that pockmarked fellow over there can turn into sand. And that church leader who looks like a fat pig...”

The White Elder could not continue. Shadi, like an enraged lion, had already pounced forward. “Liu Yunfei, I may not be able to beat you, but killing a traitor like him is more than enough for me.”

The White Elder was useless against outsiders, but against his own people he was remarkably fierce. He fought Shadi with surprising vigor, nearly matching him blow for blow. “Young master, this Old White is going to kill the thieves and earn merit today.”

Below, the believers were in utter chaos. Seeing the elders on the stage fighting the leader as well, the martial spectacle turned into a farce. As a tree falls, the monkeys scatter. They dropped their guns, abandoned their injured comrades, abandoned their dreams of wealth, and vanished in the blink of an eye. Even those with broken arms or fractured ribs slipped away. Only the ones with broken legs remained, crying out at the injustice of fate.