Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Kill the Man in Black

Xia Tian switched the lights on in this room and the next, but there was nothing to be found.

“Show yourself. Do you need an invitation?”

“Who the hell are you supposed to be?

A man clad in black walked out from behind the curtain out of hiding. The game of cat and mouse was over once his presence had been discovered.

“My name’s Xia Tian.”

“Xia Tian? You?”

The man in black scrutinized the person before him.

“You’ve heard of me?”

“Of course, there isn’t a single person in Quicksand who doesn’t know who you are. You’re Xia Tianlong’s son after all.”

“Oho, so you know my father. Fine, tell me all you know about him and I’ll let you live.”

“And I suppose you think you can kill me.”

With a look of total disregard, the man in black locked eyes with Xia Tian and continued, “Quicksand knows everything about you. We know that you’re a goody-two-shoes student. How was it supposed to go again, ‘Like father, like son’? Why are you so different from Xia Tianlong? Half the country already knew his name by the time he was twenty-eight.”

“What else?”

“You’ve heard enough. Though, I might remember more if you hand over the Celestial Scroll Fragment.”

Xia Tian shattered the gemstone in the middle of his necklace and a wooden slip of paper promptly appeared in Xia Tian’s hands. “Tell me what I want to know, and this thing is yours.”

“Seems like it’s my lucky day.” The man in black stated with excitement, “So, about Xia Tianlong. It’s quite simple, almost everyone in our business knows of him.”

“Well, not me.”

“There are a total of four experts in China; the Eastern Lord, Western Lurker, Southern Slayer, and Northern Soldier. Xia Tianlong was the Western Lurker.”

“If he’s so great, how did he die?”

“Beats me. Alright, I’ve told you enough, hand the scroll over to me.”

“I have one last question.”

“Is this a joke?” The man in black stated coldly.

“Here you go.” Xia Tian tossed the Celestial Scroll Fragment towards the man in black with another question, “What’s this thing used for?”

“It’s used to find a piece of celestial treasure — something everybody wants.” The man in black shot a cold glare at Xia Tian. “Now that I’ve obtained the Celestial Scroll Fragment, I no longer need to kill you. Still, that woman must still die.”

“I’ll give you one last chance to live, buddy.” Xia Tian raised his head and looked at the man in black.

“Last chance to live? You? Giving me a chance to live?” The man in black looked towards Xia Tian with disdain. “It seems that I do need to kill you after all.”

In that instant Xia Tian vanished and reappeared in front of the man with his hand clasped firmly around his throat. With energy focused in his fingers, he struck the man’s hand and the Celestial Scroll Fragment dropped from his grasp, returning to Xia Tian.

“You have three sentences to save yourself.”

“You! How is this possible?!”

“That’s one.”

“I can tell you more about your father.”

“That’s the second.”

“There Celestial Scroll has eight fragments!!”

“Wrong answer. You failed.” Xia Tian rapidly struck the man’s acupoints with his finger with a flurry of attacks. The man’s limbs went limp and he fainted.

What Xia Tian wished to hear was the man in black giving up on Ceng Rou. However, he had gone down another route instead. After all, he would find out about his father sooner or later, and he had no interest in the Celestial Scroll Fragments. The only reason he was protecting his fragment was due to the fact that it was something his father left behind.

He had gained plenty of knowledge today, but what delighted Xia Tian the most was the fact that his father was an outstanding man.

In the past, the experts were given titles such as Evil East, Vile West, Emperor South, and Beggar North, but now, China had a new breed of experts who were the Eastern Lord, Western Lurker, Northern Solider, and Southern Slayer. These titled symbolized positions of great power even if they sounded odd.

‘The Western Lurker, Xia Tianlong.’

“Brother Xu, I need your help. Bring Lil Fei along as well.” Xia Tian gave a call to Xu Dechuan.

By the time Xia Tian entered the living room, Ceng Rou had already come out of hiding.

“Are you alright?” Ceng Rou looked worryingly at Xia Tian.

“Of course I am. How can I protect you if I have problems with any small fry that appears?” Xia Tian then slumped onto the couch. “Do you have any alcohol?”

“Yeah. Did something bad happen?”

“Not quite, it’s for something happy.” Xia Tian had molded the Celestial Scroll Fragment back into its original gemstone shape and returned it to his necklace.

“Alright, I’ll drink with you then.”

“I don’t think you should. I have a few friends coming in later.”

Ceng Rou put on a bathrobe and sat beside Xia Tian.

“You’ll be here, right? Always?” Ceng Rou plopped herself into Xia Tian’s embrace.

“Always.” Xia Tian nodded his head.

He did not know when it began, but now, whenever Xia Tian drank alcohol, he would no longer feel drunk. The only thing he felt was the rush that came from consuming alcohol.

Half an hour later, Elder Xu had arrived at the villa along with Gao Fei. Xia tian then opened the door for them and noticed that Lil Fei was now clad in a new set of clothes, probably as a form of courtesy from Elder Xu. Upon closer inspection, he also realized that Lil Fei’s apparel was even more luxurious than Xia Tian’s.

“What’s the matter, Lil Brother Xia?” Elder Xu sat himself down on the sofa.

“Two things, the first is regarding Lil Fei. He’s a good sport, and I hope that you can nurture him well.” Xia Tian patted Gao Fei’s back and continued, “The second is about the unconscious person in the room upstairs. I want you to toss him behind bars and hang the words ‘Quicksand Assassin’ on him.”

“Leave it to me.” Elder Xu nodded. Xia Tian was currently a person of value to Xu Dechuan as the match in Greenwood Manor was about to begin. Should Xia Tian achieve victory then, Elder Xu would no longer need to live in fear.

Although Xu Dechuan had no clue about Xia Tian’s relationship with Quicksand, he dared not ask.

Xia Tian sank back into the sofa after sending Elder Xu off and Ceng Rou promptly went back into his embrace.

“Let’s go get some rest.” Xia Tian could see that Ceng Rou was beginning to feel tired.

“Let’s go to that room over there.” Ceng Rou pointed towards another room.

Those words sent Xia Tian into a daze, they were not returning to the room Ceng Rou had given him to sleep alone — they were entering a new one. He could not help but take it the wrong way.

“Don’t overthink it. I only want you to hug me to sleep. After all, we can’t do much with Tian Tian sleeping in the middle,” explained Ceng Rou.

After hearing Ceng Rou, Xia Tian nodded and entered the other room with her. Upon settling into the bed, Ceng Rou immediately lunged into Xia Tian’s embrace. “Hold me.”

Ceng Rou was indeed terrified. She was a woman after all. She had encountered the same near-death situation twice and she was beginning to feel afraid. This time, someone had even managed to get into her home.

“We need to settle this once and for all, pull it up from the roots,” Xia Tian stated coldly.