Chapter 17

The crisp morning air breezed past Xia Tian’s house. The house was dead silent, and though many other families had lived within the suburb, Xia Tian’s house was at least a mile away from all of his neighbors. This was another weird trait of his father, who enjoyed peace and quiet.

Due to this, they had moved their house to this area, and if the Quicksand personnel were to murder him now, no one would ever know.

Xia Tian had no confidence in his ability to face the three assailants as he was only armed with two Tai Chi techniques, both of which were stolen from Old Fan and were no doubt counterfeits. While the techniques were useful for dealing with the average street thug, that would not be the case against actual experts.

The greatest asset Xia Tian currently possessed was his Insight, not only could it see through garments, it could also detect one’s weak spots. As long as Xia Tian could strike at the right moment, there was still a sliver of a chance for him to win.

“Xia Tian, I’d advise you to think properly about where your father had left his possessions. We have limits to our patience.” The man wearing gray clothes spoke in a chilly tone. After Xia Tian’s previous escape attempt, they now understood that unless they obtained the item in the near future, Xia Tian would escape from their sphere of control sooner or later.

“Alright, first, I don’t even know what my father had left for me, and second, I haven’t found it. What on earth do you want me to do?” Xia Tian glared vehemently at the people in front of him. Even if he had found his father’s belongings, however, he would never give it away to Quicksand. After all, how could someone simply give away something that belonged to their father?

“It seems that you’re set on going against Quicksand.” The leader of the gray-clothed men spoke, “Don’t think that you’re on our level just because you’ve defeated both of Shan’s lackeys. With our combined strength, not even Shan would stand a chance against us.”

The name Shan was known throughout Jianghai City. Whether one belonged to the light or the darkness, they had all heard of Shan’s name before, and they all knew him as the Xu Family’s brawn.

This reputation of his was by no means a farce, and it was a result of his labor. The only reason Xu Qinghua was who he was today was due to Shan’s efforts. Back then, the Xu Family had spilled a river of blood to claim the role as the family’s head as Xu Qinghua’s brothers had attempted to sabotage and frame one another. There were even those who had hired hitmen, but when the dust settled, it was Xu Qinghua who had claimed the title.

It was clear to all that it was Shan who aided Xu Qinghua in removing all these threats back then.

While it was true that none of the three killers had the ability to defeat Shan alone, once they combined forces, even Shan would be powerless against them.

“Xia Tian, who are these people?” Ceng Rou stumbled out of the house and stared nervously at the three men.

“Go back into the house. Don’t come out no matter what you hear.” Xia Tian gave Ceng Rou a reassuring smile, which soothed her nerves. Although Ceng Rou had her qualms about backing off, she nevertheless returned to her room after seeing Xia Tian’s expression.

Once Ceng Rou returned to her room, Xia Tian diverted his attention to the three men. He did not waste his energy discerning the trio’s faces; their looks no longer had anything to do with him.

“I already told you, I can’t find it. If you’re really that adamant about me handing it over, then bring it on.”

Xia Tian locked his sights onto the three men. He already understood that there was no talking out of the ensuing battle, and as such, he needed to pay full attention to them. He could not make any careless steps, as it was clear from the way Shan regarded them that they were no small fry.

Through the windows of the house, Ceng Rou observed the scene anxiously.

“Oho, it seems that you’ve forced our hand.” The leader nodded his head at one of his accomplices.

A moment later, the man wearing gray clothes dashed towards Xia Tian at a breakneck speed. Had this person participated in a track and field event, he was sure to attain a placing. Once the man was directly before Xia Tian, he sent a fist flying towards his face.

Quick and deadly, with zero traces of mercy. That was the technique of a killer.

Xia Tian instantly activated his Insight and quickly formulated a plan of attack. He shifted his right leg to the back and then with his right hand on the man’s arm, he hurled his opponent away.

However, the assailant was not someone to be trifled with. After somersaulting in mid-air, the man then launched a spinning kick towards Xia Tian.

Boom!

With no chance to think, Xia Tian quickly raised his arms before his body. The impact from the blow had sent Xia Tian stumbling several steps backwards before he regained his balance.

“The punk was using Tai Chi earlier. It seems that he has some sort of relation to Fan Zuifeng. We must not spare him. Otherwise, we can no longer deal with him once he takes refuge within Greenwood Manor.” The leader of the trio uttered icily.

Pulses of numbness besieged Xia Tian’s arms. His opponent was extremely strong, and he had never experienced such a blow before. Had the necklace not strengthened his body, the blow he received just now would have undoubtedly shattered his bones.

‘It seems that I’ve underestimated them.’ Despite being able to locate his opponent’s weakness, Xia Tian was unable to fully exploit them as the only offensive skill he had were the two Tai Chi techniques. Furthermore, the technique were only able to turn the opponent’s strength against them and it was useless against the Quicksand members.

Without giving Xia Tian a chance to think, the Quicksand member once again sent a fist hurtling towards Xia Tian’s face. Xia Tian hurriedly attempted to nullify his opponent’s force, but it was at this moment that his opponent pulled back his right fist and launched his left instead.

The first attack had been a feint, and while the feint would not fool any experts, it was almost enough for Xia Tian, who had near zero combat experience.

Had Xia Tian’s Insight not caught a glimpse of the fist’s path at the last second, Xia Tian feared that the battle would have ended then and there.

‘Drats, what now? Am I going to die today?’ Xia Tian’s heart was burning with panic, and at the same time, his mind was racing through his memories. However, his father had never bestowed any combat knowledge to him.

Not even a method to train his body.

‘No, not today.’ Boundless combat spirit surged out of Xia Tian’s body, and when he saw his opponent’s fist coming towards him, he made no effort to dodge. Instead, Xia Tian rocketed a fist of his own, and at that instant, the golden aura that he radiated began to seep into his right arm.

Boom!

Ka-pow!

“Arghh!!” Following a scream of agony, the man clothed in gray collapsed. His arm had been broken by Xia Tian, and as he endured the pain, the man in gray stumbled back up.

“How is this possible?” The leader frowned as he spoke. The sudden burst of power that Xia Tian had displayed had shocked even him, and the scene had reminded him of Xia Tian’s father.

‘Didn’t he say that he didn’t wish for Xia Tian to take up martial arts? He also never taught Xia Tian any combat skills, so what on earth was that power he displayed earlier?’

The leader did not walk forward. Instead, he produced a gun from his pocket. They were killers, and as such, they had no incentive to fight chivalrously. Now that Xia Tian could no longer be controlled, they needed to put an end to him.

After all, they feared what Xia Tian would become in the future when he reminded them of Xia Tian’s father.

‘A gun!’

Xia Tian laughed bitterly. Before this, the only time he saw a gun was on the guards who protected the armored trucks. However, counting today and the day before, he had seen a real gun twice. He was also well aware that he could not dodge the bullets, as even if he could see the path of the bullets with his Insight, he had no way to escape them.

“Although searching for the item would become much more difficult with you gone, you would definitely become a major threat to us in the future if we were to let you go,” said the leader as he pointed his gun at Xia Tian.

“Tsk, am I really going to die here?” Xia Tian sighed. He had originally thought that his destiny was about to take a turn once he obtained Insight. He thought that he finally had a chance to investigate his father’s death and his mother’s whereabouts.

However, now that the merciless gun was pointed directly at him, he realized how powerless he was.

Ceng Rou rushed out of the house and stood in front of Xia Tian.

“What are you doing?” Xia Tian furrowed his brows. “Go back.”

“No, I refuse! If you’re going to die, then I’ll die along with you!” Ceng Rou had already set her heart in stone. She could not imagine how life without Xia Tian would be, as the hope that was just recently rekindled would be extinguished yet again.

She did not want to return to her past lifestyle.

“Why do you need to do that for? I’m just a poor orphan after all.” Xia Tian shook his head in exasperation.

“Be-Because I’ve already fallen for you! I can’t hold back my emotions any longer, and I don’t want to imagine a life without you!” Ceng Rou was teary-eyed.

Seeing this, Xia Tian’s heart immediately melted. Although Ceng Rou had once ridiculed him with money, he knew that it was necessary for a woman like her to act this way. She needed some way to protect herself and as such, she had chosen this method to hide her true self.

However, now that it had come to a matter of life and death, one’s true personality would be revealed. Seeing Ceng Rou standing up for him in such a crucial moment was enough to make up for all the things she did in the past.

“To think that you lovebirds are still in the mood to argue even in the face of death.” The leader attached a silencer onto his gun. Although Xia Tian’s house was the only one within this area, firing a gun would no doubt alert any passer-by. “Then let me be the one to send you off into your journey. I’ll turn you two into a pair of dead mandarin ducks 1 .”

Woosh!

Was it the sound of wind brushing past? No, was it the sound of shifting sand? No, was it the sound of rustling leaves? No.

It was the sound of a man landing on the ground. It was a soft landing, and the man was wearing white clothes. His attire was out of place; ancient Chinese clothing, along with a jade belt buckle. Since it was summer, the man’s attire looked extremely warm. Even those from Quicksand were wearing short-sleeved gray clothes.

The man looked especially well-groomed. His brows were well-trimmed, and he had a smoldering gaze. No one could have told that behind his piercing gaze, laid a sword in his hand.

‘What year is this? It’s already the twenty-first century, but there’s still someone who’s carrying a sword around.’