Chapter 286 Nothing Is Burning

"Fair enough," Tai Cheng said, refusing to waste any time - if they were already pouring kerosene, chances are a lighted match would not be far behind. "Follow me, but not too closely. Keep low, and make sure your feet don't make any noise. Don't cast any shadows if possible."

Jingwei nodded fervently, biting his lips to stop himself from panicking. Xue Ning's father seemed to have a lot of experience dealing with delinquent arsonists - was that something normal in this town, along with the random cows in the fields?

He would have to ask that, once his mind stopped shrieking at him. His hands were beginning to tremble, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down, only to be hit with the stench of kerosene. It seemed to be getting stronger, the closer they got to the outside.

"How much of this is enough?" Jingwei heard a voice ask. "It smells fucking terrible."

"Just pour the entire thing. Make sure to splash it around! We need this whole place to go up in flames."

"I hope we have enough. Is Jia already done on the other side?"

"I finished already; both of you are so slow. Stop talking and get to it! We've already got the easier job."

"I know I know, don't nag. There's just a bit more…"

Tai Cheng narrowed his eyes as he peered from the corner, keeping himself hidden in the shadows of the walls. The moonlight was bright enough to illuminate the silhouettes of three men in their twenties, and they were clad in black from head to toe, clearly up to no good.

Even outnumbered, there was nothing they could do to him.

Well. Thankfully there was more than one criminal. He could kill two of them and interrogate the last one. He turned to Jingwei and put a finger over his lips. Jingwei nodded, keeping quiet. Was Xue Ning's father going to burst through the door like a sheriff and start threatening them?

"Hello gentlemen, I must say, our restaurant is closed now. Please come back during opening hours." Tai Cheng's voice echoed from the restaurant, startling all three men.

"Fuck! There's someone here?!" Their heads began to whirl around in shock, looking for the person who spoke.

"Didn't you check if the restaurant was empty?" One yelled, stomping his feet in frustration.

"Why would I do that? There shouldn't be anyone in the first place!" Another complained.

"Fuck! Sir is going to kill us!" The last one wailed.

"Who cares! Let's just set fire to this place and - " The last one said, holding a lighter in his hand as he prepared to fling it at the kerosene-soaked walls of the restaurant.

But what they were going to do after, Jingwei never found out, for Xue Ning's father slipped out with incredible grace and stealth that belied someone of his years, like a panther stalking through the foliage.

Those three men barely had time to blink, let alone yell a warning when they saw a middle-age man approach them while holding two knives!

"What - "

Before they could complete a sentence, Li Tai Cheng had whirled around like a martial arts pugilist from a wuxia novel, quickly slashing through their wrists in the amount of time it took for Jingwei to scuttle to the entrance for a closer look.

Jesus Christ. Was Xue Ning's father an assassin? What was this? Jingwei wanted to rub his eyes, because he was certainly seeing mirages now, but then he remembered he was still holding a knife in his hands.

"I'm bleeding!" One cried out.

"Fuck! Help me!" Another wailed.

"Shit!" The lighter dropped harmlessly on the pavement with a loud clatter.

"Don't worry, you won't die so quickly," Tai Cheng said. Those words were meant to be reassuring, but somehow, all three men felt shivers travel down their spine when they heard Tai Cheng.

"Who are you old man?!" One party screamed and Tai Cheng frowned. He was going to attract undue attention!

"You're trying to burn down my restaurant, and you don't know who I am?" Tai Cheng shook his head in disappointment. "Punks these days have no respect for social order…"

"Respect this, you stupid old man!" Another man screamed and tried to grab his knife, even with his bleeding wrist. Tai Cheng rolled his eyes, here was a kid that had more guts than common sense!

As such, Tai Cheng decided to show some mercy. He slashed straight through his belly expertly, as though cutting through a salmon to make salmon sashimi.

A faint line appeared on that person's stomach, before he collapsed in shock. Blood began to emerge from the fine cut, slowly staining his outfit!

"Who are you?!" He screamed breathlessly, but Tai Cheng wasn't concerned about him. He wouldn't be moving for a while - and he needed to get the other two that were starting to run away!

They ran with their backs facing him. A rookie mistake. Good thing Tai Cheng had two knives, so he didn't need to chase after them! He simply flung both knives straight at them. Jingwei watched with bated breath as the blades spun in perfect circles, reflecting the glow of the moon, before they embedded themselves blade first into the backs of the escaping men.

Their bodies fell with a thud.

"Ah, I still got it," Tai Cheng said, nodding proudly to himself, even as he held a hand to his back. "This back… I really should up my training…"

Jingwei shivered as he gathered his courage to look more closely. They didn't look like they were moving! The knives had spun like pinwheels in the wind, easily stabbing the two men. Jingwei didn't know whether he wanted them to be dead or not.

And Xue Ning's father was the one that threw them! He was either a professional assassin, or he worked as a knife thrower in a circus. Jingwei was still desperately hoping for the latter.

"Jingwei, look after this one," Tai Cheng gestured to the man bleeding on the floor before he cheerfully jogged over to the fallen men to retrieve his knives. They were expensive! He didn't want them to get a taste of human flesh and blood, but the universe just didn't want to make it happen.

"Be careful Uncle!" Jingwei called out, worry crawling up his throat. Oh wait, that was bile. He swallowed it back down as he stared at the black-clad man lying on the pavement, bleeding heavily from his belly as though he was a pregnant woman undergoing caesarean surgery.

"Sun.. Jingwei…" the man gasped out as he stared unblinkingly at him through the eyeholes of his ski mask. "You're really here!"