Ding Fei yelped as the piece of fabric fell to the floor without any warning.
"Say that again, I dare you," Yue Niang scowled. "My husband and I don't keep blunt knives in the house! This knife is my darling, it just hasn't warmed up yet; it'll work once it tastes some blood."
If Tai Xuan and Xue Ning were her blood children, then this knife, Nangong Jin, was her steel child, her babysitter, her precious best friend. How dare this miscreant trespasser insult its capabilities!
There was another pause, and Ding Fei swallowed unsteadily.
"That's ridiculous… hahahah…" Ding Fei laughed weakly to bolster his own courage. "That knife is not alive…"
"Keep talking and you won't be alive either," Yue Niang said sweetly. Ding Fei let out a horrified croak, but blessedly kept silent.
Ming Guang held the knife in his hands, this time with more reverence. Was it his imagination, or did it thrum in excitement under his hand? He always had a fascination with sharp blades, but he had never wielded any blade like this before, a blade that was so beautifully sharp it could cut from the very tip.
And it even had a name! Such a grand imposing name! If he were less composed, he'd be screaming in excitement.
How did a noodle stall couple get their hands on something like this? It was truly mysterious.
"Thank you for this knife," Ming Guang bowed low again. "I'll cherish it for the rest of my life."
Yue Niang snorted. "Let's see you handle the rest of those pesky kidnappers first. I'm not entrusting one of my precious babies to you!"
"Yes Mrs Li," Ming Guang nodded, immediately leaping out the window so that he could hide within the bushes, cradling the knife in his hand so tenderly as though it was his lover and first-born rolled together in one.
And so he waited patiently, surrounded by the comforting smell of leaves and possibly chicken manure.
And waited.
And waited.
Just as he was beginning to think that they got it wrong - that there was no one else in the house, he saw shadows on curtains. There was movement in the living room!
It could be the Li siblings, but he highly doubted it. The toilet was tucked close to the bedrooms, and the siblings should have enough sense to stay put when there were strangers invading their homes, trying to kidnap one of them.
On second thought, maybe it was them. What was he thinking? Those kids didn't have much sense - that's why they hired him!
Before he could go and check it out, he sensed a dangerous presence behind him.There was a strong smell of blood wafting through the air. A strange pressure was building at the back of his head, and all warning bells went off even as his feet froze in sudden fear.
Something cold tickled his neck.
Ming Guang immediately whipped out the knife, just in time to protect his own neck from being sliced into two. The blades kissed with a sharp hiss, and Ming Guang quickly rolled out from the bushes, ready to strike at the assailant - only to realise that the person attacking him was Mr Li!
"Mr Li?" He asked, not believing his eyes as he looked him over. The blood he smelled earlier was from his clothes, which were decorated with blood splatters like a child's art project. He held two knives with the ease of a veteran.
He should have looked ridiculous, but somehow he was terrifying!
"Ming Guang?" Meanwhile Tai Cheng was also shocked to find one of Sun Jingwei's bodyguards lurking in the bushes like a pervert. If he didn't have good enough reflexes, Tai Cheng would have killed him! "What are you doing here?"
His eyes widened as they noticed the knife in Ming Guang's hands. He was holding his wife's precious knife: Nangong Jin!
"I'm here too, guys? Hello?" Jingwei waved his hand. That wasn't a problem - the problem was that he was waving the hand that was still holding a knife!
Both men turned to stare at Jingwei. Ming Guang despaired, wanting to take it away from him before he stabbed himself with it.
"What? I just wanted to remind you I'm also here." Jingwei said, finally putting it down before getting down to business. "Ming Guang, how are things inside? Is Xue Ning safe?"
"She's fine. I locked her in the toilet." Ming Guang said, hurriedly crouching down and gesturing for them to follow suit. "Mrs Li gouged out the eyes of two men. Now we suspect there's more of them in the house."
"Excuse me?" Jingwei did a double-take. "Did you just say Xue Ning's mom gouged out someone's eye?"
"So you're just waiting for them to escape?" Tai Cheng asked disapprovingly, ignoring Jingwei's exclamation, as though the fact that his wife was fully capable of inflicting bodily trauma was just common news.
"Where's your initiative? How could you not sweep through the house?"
"Mrs Li told me to do it. We got their phones and laid out a trap for them." Ming Guang said defensively.
He wasn't going to argue with the woman that could induce partial blindness with brute force and who let him use one of the most beautiful deadly knives in existence.
"And you just agreed…" Tai Cheng sighed. "Son, you have to offer suggestions!"
"She lent me her knife," Ming Guang replied, as though that was sufficient reason to listen to her. And maybe to him it was! He cradled it protectively to his chest, something Jingwei thought was very strange since the knife was meant to protect him, not the other way around.
Tai Cheng shook his head. He'll sort that mess out later.
"Mr Li, what happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?" Ming Guang asked worriedly. "Are you injured?"
"I'm fine. There were… complications." Tai Cheng said, wincing at his strained back muscle.
"Mr Li stabbed three men that tried to burn down the restaurant. Chopped off a few fingertips," Jingwei helpfully elaborated, even as his stomach churned with nausea. "They are still bleeding to death outside."
"Oh." Ming Guang said faintly, gazing at Li Tai Cheng with renewed fervour. Who was this man really?
Before they could continue their conversation, they saw a body from the window.
It was Wei Yan!