Chapter 19 - Practice Makes Perfect

Chapter 19: Practice Makes Perfect

Chen Yuze and Old Hu cautiously approached the dilapidated shed. Midway, Chen Yuze suddenly stopped and nudged Old Hu’s lower back. Old Hu glanced back at him, Chen Yuze kept his gun trained on the shadowy figures ahead, but his eyes flicked downward to their right. There, half-buried in fallen leaves, lay a bleached-white skull. They couldn’t make out the full details, but there was no mistaking it. Old Hu gave Chen Yuze a silent nod, and the two continued forward.

“Can you two hurry up? It’s only a dozen meters, you’ve been creeping along for minutes! If whatever’s in there was alive, it would’ve attacked by now or run away!” Hu Yifei, never one for patience, couldn’t stand their slow advance.

Before either could respond, she yanked out her dagger and hurled it straight at the shadowy figure. Old Hu and Chen Yuze froze in disbelief—was she trying to get them killed?! They immediately dropped into a crouch, barely suppressing curses.

Clatter!

The dagger struck the figure—and its head toppled to the ground. Everyone flinched. Lingzi shrieked—the sight was horrifying. From their angle, it looked like Yifei’s throw had decapitated the figure.

Fatty, snapping out of his shock, flicked off his rifle’s safety and aimed at the headless silhouette. There were multiple figures in there. If one moved, the others might too.

Old Hu and Chen Yuze steadied themselves, shooting Yifei a glare before speeding up their approach.

“What’re you two grown men scared of? Corpses? Pathetic!” Yifei taunted from behind.

Chen Yuze finally snapped. “Shut up! We knew they were dead the second we stepped out! We’re checking for landmines under their uniforms! If you don’t know what you’re doing, stay back!”

“Yifei… that was reckless,” Fatty muttered, patting her shoulder.

CRACK!

A sharp, unmistakable sound of bone dislocating echoed in the silence. Chen Yuze and Old Hu spun around—just in time to hear Fatty’s agonized wail.

“AHH! Sis, I’m sorry! It’s—it’s broken!”

“Oh damn it, I forgot about that!” Chen Yuze groaned, already piecing together what happened. Sure enough, Fatty was writhing on the ground, clutching his limp arm. Yifei stood frozen, wide-eyed—she’d forgotten to suppress her reflexes.

“Yifei, fix it before it sets wrong!” Chen Yuze barked.

“R-right!” Yifei rushed over, but Fatty scrambled back like a frightened animal.

Fatty’s scream had nearly given Old Hu a heart attack. He took a deep breath, then shot Chen Yuze a questioning look.

Chen Yuze rubbed his neck awkwardly. “Yifei’s trained in martial arts since childhood. Touch her unexpectedly, and she’ll… react. I’ve been on the receiving end too. Usually just a dislocation—pop it back, and it’s fine.”

Old Hu sighed. “Like how we still dive for cover at gunfire. Got it.” He glared at Fatty—who just casually touches a girl in their line of work? These weren’t ordinary women. You didn’t survive tomb-raiding without skills.

“Quit whining. It’s just a dislocation. You two need to stop screaming at every little thing—you’ll scare us to death!” Old Hu grumbled. His patience was fraying—this team was exhausting.

“Man up! It’s one dislocation. Hold still—if I set it wrong, that’s your fault.” Yifei grabbed Fatty’s arm, her glare silencing his protests. She wanted to make a good impression, but his howling was ruining her “gentle and refined” image.

Fatty went rigid, eyes watering. He hadn’t meant anything by it—to him, Yifei was clearly Chen Yuze’s girl. You don’t mess with a brother’s woman.

With a sharp click, Yifei snapped his arm back into place. “Move it. See if it’s aligned.”

Fatty gingerly flexed his arm, then grinned in relief. “Damn, sis, you’re good! Feels normal!”

“Practice makes perfect,” Yifei said casually.

The group fell silent. Those four words carried weight. Just how many arms had she dislocated to get this skilled? Fatty subtly edged away. Note to self: Never. Surprise. Yifei.

If she had practiced enough to master this, the rest of them needed to avoid becoming her practice dummies. Cherish life. Stay away from Hu Yifei. Fatty had just unlocked the same life lesson as Teacher Zeng.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuze and Old Hu—long done with the duo’s antics—reached the shed. Inside, jumbled skeletons in tattered Imperial Japanese uniforms littered the ground. Time had eroded the fabric, and some bones were half-buried under leaves.

After a thorough check, Old Hu picked up a rusted rifle and shook his head at Chen Yuze. Useless. The barrel was clogged, the metal corroded—firing it would blow their hands off.

He tossed it aside. “Too decayed. Watch for grenades, anything here could still blow.”