Chapter 10

Shan was no ordinary man. Although one of his legs was no more, he was still incredibly powerful. He had forcefully trained his leg techniques to be better than they were in the past. Naturally, his observational skills were off the charts as well.

Although Xia Tian’s move looked rather gentle, he made use of his enemies’ strength on themselves. It was a technique of Tai Chi.

After seeing Xia Tian taking care of the two men-in-black in a fash, Xu Dechuan was even more eager to meet Xia Tian’s master. He now understood why Xia Tian showed no fear at all. Not only was Xia Tian a master appraiser, he even knew martial arts.

Xia Tian knew only that much about Tai Chi as he had picked it up secretly from Old Fan. However, he was able to see through Old Fan’s Tai Chi due to his Insight.

The two men immediately countered after Xia Tian pulled them down to the ground. Although his attacked dealt considerable harm to them, they were still Shan’s subordinates and it was only natural that they were quite skilled.

The two attacked from both sides simultaneously as they reached to grab hold of Xia Tian’s hands.

“What a troublesome pair.” Xia Tian kept shifting backward, waiting for the right opportunity. However, the two did not plan to give Xia Tian any window of opportunity, chasing after him as Xia Tian pranced around swiftly.

The two men-in-black attacked with their legs. Xia Tian stopped moving and went on the offense instead of stepping back. He grabbed hold of one of them by the neck with his right hand and moved forward swiftly, pinning him to the ground and punching him right in the face.

The other man-in-black was clearly well-trained as he remained unflinching. He immediately tried to attack Xia Tian from behind but he rolled on the ground, evading the incoming attack. The battle had now turned into a one-to-one as Xia Tian immediately turned around and punched the enemy’s thigh.

He then followed up with an attack to the enemy’s stomach with both of his hands.

“Are you still taking me away?” Xia Tian looked at Shan. He knew that Shan was an expert and he might not stand a chance mano-a-mano with Shan. Although he was able to pinpoint Shan’s weakness with his eyes, he might not be able to keep up with Shan’s speed.

“You’re skilled but you’re still inexperienced.” Shan walked towards Xia Tian. His mission for the day was to bring Xia Tian back. “What’s your relationship with Fan Zuifeng?”

According to Shan, there was only one person in Jianghai City who knew Tai Chi. He was Fan Zuifeng. He was a person that was not to be messed with as his Tai Chi was unparalleled in the entire Jianghai City, let alone being backed-up by a very strong background.

“You speak too much. Come and attack me if you want to. I really want to see what you can do to take me away.” Xia Tiang clenched his fist and glanced around, not wanting to let go of any single detail. He knew that he had to act fast since he was facing against Shan.

Shan smiled gently the instant he heard Xia Tian’s words. Since Xia Tian did not state that he had something to do with Fang Zuifeng, Shan would be fine even if he really was related to Fang Zuifeng. It was his fault for not revealing his identity.

“Looks like I’m in trouble. It’s unfortunate that I’m too weak in martial arts. It would’ve been better if I were to learn a few more moves from Old Fan back then.” Xia Tian thought to himself. Although he knew that his body had been enhanced by the pendant, he did not know any techniques or martial arts at all.

He would not have felt threatened if he had known martial arts.

“Do you think you can defend against me, Shan, alone? Even God won’t be able to save you.” Shan looked at Xia Tian before he shifted his gaze to Xu Dechuan. “It looks like you haven’t given up yet. Be careful or it’ll be your funeral soon.”

Xu Dechuan was extremely frightened on the inside. Based on Shan’s words, he knew that the Xu Family was going to deal with him soon. He knew that with the amount of trust Xu Qinghua placed in Shan, the Xu Family would definitely make a move on Xe Dechuan if Shan were to report today’s incident to Xu Qinghua.

“Xia Tian, you mustn’t let Shan leave here today no matter what or we’ll have endless troubles coming towards us from now on.” Xu Dechuan was clear of his current capacity. Although he had his own business, he was still nothing in the eyes of the Xu Family.

“Hmpf, you’ve no idea about the situation you’re in.” Shan was already standing in front of Xia Tian when he spoke. “Do you still think that someone will save you now? If there’s someone able to save you from my hands, I’ll lower my head whenever I see you in the future.”

Shan refused to believe that someone would come and save them at such a place. Not only did he plan to bring Xia Tian back no matter what, but he did not plan to let Xu Dechuan off the hook either.

“So this is the legendary disabled Shan, the king of kicks.” Three men walked out of the alley all of the sudden. They were in gray attire and even had masks on their faces. The main thing was that their shirt had a bunch of red clouds imprinted around it.

“It’s Quicksand!!” Shan was on high alert when he saw the three men.

“Shan, I consider you a powerful man. I advise you to stop attacking Xia Tian.” One of the three Quicksand members spoke as he stared at Shan.

“I’ve promised my lord that I’ll bring him back with me. What is Quicksand up to? If you’re able to give way to me today, I’m willing to compensate it with money.” Shan knew very well what kind of an organization Quicksand was. Money was everything to an assassin organization such as Quicksand.

“I’m afraid I can’t step back this time. Xia Tian is on the protection list given by the captain.”

“Alright then. I, Shan will step back this time.” Shan gritted his teeth. Quicksand was an organization that he did not want to mess with. Despite these people being incredibly powerful, Quicksand would chase him until the end of the world even if he had the capability to kill all three of them.

Xia Tian stayed silent from the beginning until the end. He felt that everything unfolding before him was from a simulation. This situation would only happen in a movie but it was happening in his life.

He now finally understood that his world was now on an entirely different playground. These incidents did not appear out of the blue but had been flying past his head until now.

The name Quicksand was now etched in his heart. He knew immediately that these people were up to no good and there had to be a reason they were helping him. Although Shan was incredibly powerful, Xia Tian at least knew that Shan was doing it publicly.

However, Quicksand was different as Xia Tian did not know them at all. Nothing was free in this world, and these people refused money from him even though they were protecting him. The Xu Family was one of the Big Four Families and they certainly had a lot of money.

If an organization did not want any money, it meant that they wanted something that was even more important.

However, Xia Tian did not know what value he would have to them. No one would notice the Ancient Buddha’s Sarira, hence the next best thing he had on him now was the Blood Gemstone.

Although the Blood Gemstone was incredibly valuable, the Xu Family certainly did not lack the monetary means for that at all. Hence, the people from Quicksand were definitely not after this item. What could they be after then?

Shan picked up the two men-in-black and drove away.

“Who exactly are you people?” Xia Tian looked at the three men in gray.

“Xia Tian, please search for a relic left to you by your father. It’s a scroll.

“Don’t fool around, we’ve hundreds of ways to kill you.

“You’ve seven days. If you can’t find it, we’ll make sure you would rather die than live.”

The three Quicksand members around Xia Tian spoke to him in a manner that only he could hear before disappearing into the alley, leaving Xia Tian, Xu Dechuan behind, along with his four bodyguards laying on the floor. Although Quicksand was an assassination organization, they would not seek trouble on their own accord. This was the reason why Xu Dechuan was still alive.

“Brother Xia Tian, I’ll send you to wherever you’re planning to go.” Xu Dechuan’s respect towards Xia Tian had increased greatly after the entire incident. Now, his confidence was strengthened that Xia Tian was no ordinary man.

Quicksand coming out to protect him was proof that Xia Tian was backed by an incredibly powerful character.

“Alright, please bring me to the Sky River Hotel.”Xia Tian wanted to celebrate his cousin sister’s birthday but was interrupted. However, he had to head there immediately because he was acting as his cousin sister’s boyfriend.

“Sky River Hotel? Got it. Perhaps you’re going to a banquet; do you need me to buy some sort of gift for you?” Xu Dechuan did not mention Quicksand to Xia Tian. From his perspective, it seemed that Xia Tian wanted to keep this under the hood. Hence, it would be better for him if he knew less.

Xia Tian did not ask Xu Dechuan about Quicksand. From Shan’s behavior earlier, Quicksand was likely an incredibly secretive organization. On top of that, Quicksand had requested a secret scroll from him which he had zero knowledge about. His father had never mentioned anything like this to him before.

Quicksand had given him seven days to search for it. This meant that he had to find it within seven days, or that he had to acquire the ability to defend against Quicksand within the same amount of time. However, it was obvious that the latter was incredibly hard to achieve.

“Looks like I’ve to go back home tomorrow.” Although his father’s house had not been sold off from the time his father died, he had never returned ever since.

“Oh, it’s my cousin sister’s birthday. I’ve already prepared the present, which is that bracelet earlier.” There was nothing better than having that Blood Gemstone Bracelet as a gift to his cousin sister. The Blood Gemstone’s effect was very obvious, especially when a woman wore it. It could enhance a person’s beauty and even prevent aging.

Although his cousin sister was young to begin with, she would look like she was in her twenties if she kept wearing it until her forties.

“How could I forget that. The Gemstone is indeed a good gift.” Xu Dechuan smiled gently.

“You’re mine, the apple of my eye.”

Xia Tian’s phone started ringing.

“Hi cousin sister, I’ll be there in a minute.

“Alright alright alright. I’ll be calling you Qingxue. I’ll be your ultimate shield for the night.

“Where am I supposed to get you flowers.

“Alright. I’ll think of something.”

Xia Tiang hung up the call.

Xu Dechuan smiled softly when he heard Xia Tian speaking on the phone. He was an old-timer and it was only natural that he understood most of the context before him. “Brother Xia Tian, let me handle the flower issue for you. You should head over first, I’ll send it to you soon.”

“Hehe.” Xia Tian laughed awkwardly. “You have my thanks Elder Xu.”

“You don’t have to call me Elder Xu. If you don’t mind, you can call me Big Brother Xu.” Xu Dechuan commented.

“Haha, thank you Big Brother Xu.” Xia Tian smiled gently as he knew that people such as Xu Dechuan would be useful to him in the future.

The car soon arrived at the packed Sky River Hotel. There even was a congratulatory note written at the entrance for Ye Qingxue wisher her a happy birthday, and it was as beautiful as the entrance to the hotel was.