Jiang Nian had been able to follow the salesman this far because, after the salesman had completed his task, he was of no further use. There was no need to be on guard against him—none at all.
But the man in sunglasses was different.
As the leader of this group, and the one holding the detonator, he could not afford any mishap before the bomb went off. So the instant Jiang Nian drew near, everyone’s attention snapped onto him. Their eyes were sharp and wary, their expressions far from friendly.
Jiang Nian paid them no mind.
They were just a bunch of small-time thugs, to be honest. If it weren’t for the fact that they were about to blow up the building and take him down with it, they wouldn’t even be worth his notice.
Still, considering that these guys might panic and set off the bomb early, Jiang Nian didn’t act too aggressively. Instead, he played the part of a passerby, eyes fixed on his phone as he walked past them.
As he brushed by the man in sunglasses—
Thump!
A dull impact.
Jiang Nian’s shoulder bumped straight into him.
“Tch! The hell’s wrong with you? You blind or something?”
Jiang Nian looked up, clearly annoyed.
The sunglassed man frowned, turning to face him, only to see Jiang Nian glaring back with equal hostility: “The hell you looking at? You got no eyes? Can’t move out of the way when someone’s walking? Moron!”
With that sharp curse, Jiang Nian brushed past him and strode off into the distance.
A flash of killing intent flickered in the sunglassed man’s eyes. His whole body trembled with barely suppressed rage.
Damn these Xia people!
How dare he speak to him like that!
He clenched his fists, unable to swallow the insult—but one of his men held him back.
“Boss, easy. He’s just some punk. Not worth your time. Let him act tough now—he’ll be dead soon anyway. Calm down, calm down.”
The salesman and the others tried to soothe him.
The sunglassed man took a few deep breaths, and his mood settled somewhat. Then, through his earpiece, he checked in with his hidden men. After confirming that everything was nearly in place, a smile finally crept onto his face.
But just then—
He reached into his pocket to grab the detonator—and froze in horror.
There was nothing there.
“What—”
His heart clenched.
“Did I put it in the wrong pocket?”
He quickly patted down his other pockets, but the detonator was nowhere to be found.
The others noticed his distress and asked, “Boss, what’s wrong?”
His face darkened. “The detonator. It’s gone.”
“What?!”
The salesman and the others went pale.
Almost in unison, their gazes shot toward Jiang Nian, who was now a short distance away, reuniting with Gao Yuan’er.
He was the only one who had gotten close to the sunglassed man. And right after that bump, the detonator had vanished.
“Damn it!”
Realizing that Jiang Nian was behind this, they couldn’t stay still any longer.
How dare he get in the way of their plan!
In an instant, their eyes turned savage as they locked onto him.
Meanwhile, Scarface, who had been watching their movements closely, figured the time was right. He pulled out his phone and sent another text to Liu Kai:
[Get the money ready.]
Then he dialed one of his underlings. “How’s it going?”
“All set,” came the reply. “We’ve cleared the area. No one should be coming by for a while.”
“Good. I’ll run it one last time. Once they get close, you fat guys go out first, pretend to argue and shove each other. Separate those two, grab the girl, and start a brawl—pull Jiang Nian into it. The rest of us will come in acting like we’re breaking it up, and when we get the chance, we’ll wreck his face. Then we bail immediately. Got it?”
Scarface laid out the plan.
The fat guys were about to say they understood—
But then the lookout at the park’s edge suddenly cut in: “Hold on, boss. Someone’s coming.”
“Hm?”
Scarface’s brow furrowed. “What’s going on?”
“There are people coming—and it looks like… they’re following Jiang Nian!”
“Following Jiang Nian?”
Scarface’s interest was piqued.
The fat guy asked, “Boss, should we still go out?”
Scarface thought for a moment. “Hold. Let’s see how this plays out.”
The situation wasn’t clear yet. A group had suddenly appeared, tailing Jiang Nian. If they were his people, Scarface and his crew would be at a disadvantage if they rushed in. But if they were here to take Jiang Nian down too—then Scarface’s group didn’t need to lift a finger. They could just sit back and watch the tigers fight, then swoop in when both sides were worn out.
Either way, staying put and observing was a win-win.
But to Scarface’s surprise, it was the sunglassed man and his crew who caught up with Jiang Nian and blocked him and Gao Yuan’er.
The sunglassed man gave a cold, crooked smile. “Brother, not so clean with your hands, are you? Stealing from me?”
Jiang Nian hadn’t expected them to figure it out so fast, so he played dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The moment the words left his mouth—
Click.
A sharp metallic sound. The salesman pulled a switchblade from his pocket, its tip aimed at Jiang Nian with murderous intent. “Cut the crap! You know damn well what you did. Hand it over, now!”
That set off a chain reaction. The others also produced knives, surrounding Jiang Nian with vicious looks.
But Jiang Nian almost wanted to laugh.
Seriously? This is it?
He’d thought they were tougher than this. All they had were knives?
He couldn’t have cared less. His attitude was dripping with arrogance.
But the girl beside him, Gao Yuan’er, didn’t share his composure. When several large men suddenly surrounded them, brandishing blades, she was terrified. Her face pale, she clutched at Jiang Nian’s sleeve. “Teacher Jiang, wh-what’s going on?”
“Just a little trouble,” Jiang Nian said casually. “Relax. I’m here.”
Those words carried an odd sort of magic, paired with his confident expression, and little by little, Gao Yuan’er’s frantic panic began to ease.
Seeing that, the salesman’s veins bulged with fury.
Arrogant!
Even with knives pointed at him, he still dared to act so high and mighty!
“Damn it, die!”
With a low growl, the salesman didn’t hesitate. He lunged and drove the knife straight at Jiang Nian.
But Jiang Nian didn’t even spare him a glance.
As if swatting a fly, he raised his hand—
BAM!
A thunderous slap landed squarely on the salesman’s face.
CRACK!
A sickening crunch echoed. The salesman, who had been charging at Jiang Nian, flew back like a ragdoll, his entire skull caved in.
“!!!”
Everyone’s expression changed.
Even Jiang Nian’s eyes flickered with surprise.
This was a lawful society, and self-defense had its limits. He hadn’t actually put much force into that slap—just enough to subdue the guy. But to his shock, it had caved in the salesman’s skull and killed him outright.
What the hell…
“Am I really that strong?”
——-
At the same time, Scarface and his crew, lurking nearby and waiting to spring their trap, nearly jumped out of their skins. They almost pissed themselves in sheer terror.
They stared at Jiang Nian, utterly horrified.
What the hell was that?
One slap—and he killed a man?
“B-b-b-boss…”
“L-Liu Kai wants us to… to teach him a lesson?”
The fat guy was so scared he could barely stammer out a sentence. There was only one thought running through his mind: You’ve got to be kidding me!
A monster like that—and they were supposed to rough him up and disfigure him?
That wasn’t just similar to suicide—it was suicide.
“Liu Kai, you son of a bitch!”
Scarface was cursing him inwardly too.
By now, it was crystal clear they’d been set up by Liu Kai. But knowing that didn’t help—they’d taken the job from their boss, and their only purpose was to get it done.
“Let’s watch a little longer. If it gets worse, we bail,” Scarface said, making the call.
He was deeply grateful that these other guys had shown up just as they were about to make their move. If they’d gone in, the one whose skull got caved in might have been him.
The fat guys nodded and kept watching from the shadows.
As for the sunglassed man and his crew—
They stepped forward to check on the salesman. After confirming that his brains had been splattered and he was dead beyond dead, their expressions hardened, and they looked at Jiang Nian with sheer terror.
Clearly, Jiang Nian’s combat ability had far exceeded their expectations. And taking the detonator back from him was now an impossibility.
“Plan’s changed. We need backup.”
Without wasting a second, the sunglassed man pressed his earpiece and spoke in a foreign language, his voice low.
Jiang Nian blinked, surprised. They were already willing to blow themselves up with the building, and they still had backup in the shadows?
But he didn’t let it bother him.
With his level of strength, what difference did it make? More enemies meant more free kills.
He was utterly unfazed. He even considered going on the offensive.
But then—
Buzz.
Suddenly, Jiang Nian sensed something and his scalp tingled.
A crushing wave of mortal danger surged toward him.
Without a second’s hesitation, he grabbed Gao Yuan’er and rolled to the side.
At almost the exact same instant—
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—
The air screamed as projectiles slammed into the spot where he had just been standing.
Jiang Nian looked over and saw sharp arrows embedded deep into the ground.
And not ordinary feather-tipped arrows either—these were armor-piercing crossbow bolts, as thick as two fingers pressed together, powerful enough to shatter the floor tiles on impact.
“Whoa—ambush from the shadows?!”
