"Escape!"

Seeing their path ahead blocked, the two men didn't think twice before turning to flee the way they had come. But as soon as they turned, they froze in shock. They saw two people respectfully helping Su Xuan up from the ground.

"Brother Su, you've had a rough time."

The two were Zhao Wei and his companion from the Five Poisons Sect. They not only helped Su Xuan to his feet but also thoughtfully smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes. The plan to assassinate Su Xuan had been their idea; they had indeed gone to great lengths to earn Du Zilong's money.

The pair then stepped into the middle of the road, blocking the men's retreat. "Stop running. You're not getting away!"

What followed was simple. A crowd surged forward and pinned the two men to the ground.

"They haven't had a drop to drink!" Du Zilong sniffed, noticing no scent of alcohol on either of them.

"Sect Leader, look at their phones!"

His junior sister, Ji Xiaoxuan, pulled out the men's phones and discovered they had just sent the photos they took to someone.

"Take them away!"

With a wave of his hand, Du Zilong ordered his disciples to drag the two men off. He turned to thank Su Xuan, only to be left dumbfounded. Su Xuan had already gone home and securely shut his front door!

Master Su is right not to get involved in this, Du Zilong muttered to himself. I, Du Zilong, will remember this favor. I shall repay it in the future!

He cupped his fist toward the front door of Su Xuan's house, then turned and left.

「Fifteen minutes later.」

In a cluttered alleyway.

"Gentlemen, we were just..." the two men who had feigned drunkenness began to speak, trembling, but Du Zilong immediately interrupted them.

"Did I give you permission to speak?"

With a kick, Du Zilong sent one of them sprawling. He stepped on the man's body, raised his sword, and brought it down.

SWISH!

The blade sliced off one of the man's ears. Apparently not satisfied, he swung his sword again, piercing through the man's shoulder. Unable to bear the pain and utterly terrified, the man's eyes rolled back in his head as he fainted.

HUFF.

Du Zilong let out a breath and turned to the other man. "Now, you can talk. Who sent you to kill my people? Explain everything, clearly!"

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" The other man's legs quivered as he began to spill everything he knew.

「Twenty minutes later.」

Du Zilong pushed open the door to a room in a cheap motel. Inside the small, cramped space, he met Cai Ruifeng, the finest throwing knife artist in Shanhaiguan.

"Du Zilong, spare me!" Cai Ruifeng pleaded with a woeful expression the moment he saw him. "I really can't beat that Su fellow. He's far stronger than me. He even showed mercy last night, otherwise I'd already be dead!"

Cai Ruifeng glanced at his shoulder, then touched the bandages on his head. Both were injuries from Su Xuan.

"It was a misunderstanding," Du Zilong said, slightly embarrassed. "Master Su didn't kill my men."

"What?"

Cai Ruifeng's facial muscles twitched. You son of a bitch, can you be trusted at all?! He didn't kill your men, but you sent me after him anyway?

"There's no mistake this time." Du Zilong placed a severed ear in front of Cai Ruifeng. "I've found the real killer. I need you to act one more time. After this, our debt is settled."

With that, Du Zilong also placed one hundred thousand yuan in cash before him. Ten years ago, Du Zilong's late father had saved Cai Ruifeng's life by chance. Du Zilong needed this debt repaid. Besides, Cai Ruifeng had murders to his name; he had killed people from the martial world as well as ordinary folk.

"This new target..." Cai Ruifeng eyed the cash, his eyes narrowing. "Compared to that Master Su, is she stronger or weaker?"

If she was stronger than Su Xuan, he would rather refuse the hundred thousand yuan than make a move. He could do that math just fine.

"It's a woman," Du Zilong said coldly. "A physically frail woman, but one with the venomous heart of a snake."

"I need knives," Cai Ruifeng said.

The mere mention of knives made the muscles on his face twitch again. When he had woken up, he discovered that every single one of his throwing knives was gone. Du Zilong had told him Su Xuan took them all.

"I have them ready for you." Du Zilong handed a bundle to Cai Ruifeng. "Bought these at a hardware store. They'll have to do."

"What the hell!" Cai Ruifeng's eyes widened. "Screwdrivers?!"

「Half an hour later.」

The Bai Family Villa.

"Daughter, Mom has prepared a feast of all your favorite dishes!"

"Here, have some bird's nest soup. It's your favorite. And drink this ginseng soup. Even though the cold energy is gone from your body, you still need to build up your strength."

Lady Bai had arranged a full spread of food and wine, and she sat across the table from her daughter. In the center of the table sat a smartphone, its screen lit up, clearly displaying a photo of Su Xuan lying dead on the ground.

Lady Bai glanced at the photo. Now *this* is the main course, she thought. The highlight of the feast. A pity it can't be eaten, only looked at, but it's just as satisfying. After all, the bird's nest soup is Su Xuan's flesh, and the ginseng soup is Su Xuan's blood. The mother and daughter intended to celebrate Su Xuan's death in style.

"Mom, I feel this is a bit excessive," Bai Wei said, pursing her lips. She was dressed in traditional Hanfu. "He's dead. We should probably eat vegetarian for a few days. After all, a life was taken unjustly... sent away by your hand through a proxy."

She didn't say he was killed. She said "sent away." It wasn't proper for a well-read young woman like herself to use such brutal language.

"Haha, eat vegetarian? We should count ourselves lucky we're not setting off firecrackers to celebrate!" Lady Bai laughed.

"Mom, I'm really not in the mood to celebrate," Bai Wei said, gazing at the feast. "I just want to read the works of the sages again to calm my heart. His death has left me very uneasy."

Hearing this, Lady Bai blinked. "Alright, then. You read, and Mom will listen."

She causes a man's death, and her only penance is to read the classics a few more times. My daughter truly has the makings of someone great! With a daughter like her, the Bai Family might just make a comeback one day!

"Who's there?!"

"Get out!"

Just then, harsh shouts erupted from outside.

Startled, Lady Bai and Bai Wei exchanged a glance and hurried toward the sound to see what was happening.

CLANG!

THUD!

The next second, two bodyguards were thrown through the doors, collapsing onto the hall floor. Ever since Bai Yongnian's incident, they had been cutting costs. The once large team of bodyguards had been reduced to just two.

Lady Bai looked down at the fallen bodyguards, her heart hammering in her chest. A screwdriver was embedded in each of their foreheads.

"Are you Lady Bai?" a figure asked, striding into the hall from outside. "You had a friend of mine killed. I've come to take your life."

The man was none other than Cai Ruifeng. He was remarkably skilled with screwdrivers too.

"I'm just a woman..." Lady Bai began to plead.

"Tell that to my friend in the afterlife!" Cai Ruifeng gave her no chance to explain. With a wave of his hand, a flash of cold light shot through the air, striking Lady Bai squarely between the eyes.

A screwdriver was buried to the hilt, with only its handle visible. Lady Bai died with her mouth agape, as if trying to finish her sentence.

Bai Wei stumbled back, letting out a piercing, agonized scream. "Mom!"

Cai Ruifeng's gaze fell upon her...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.