“Damn it, is this kid not coming after all? I haven’t even told him where we are yet, and he just hung up!” Nie Feng cursed.
Huang Ling’er’s heart sank. Her nose stung, and glistening tears began to gather and shimmer in her eyes.
He probably won’t come, right…
Yeah, I heard his lover is really capable. She’s the chairman of Zhao’s Pharmaceutical, beautiful, considerate, and understanding. Why would he care about me? I was just something he played with on a whim back then.
She didn’t want Jiang Tian to come, but somehow, realizing that he really might not come made her feel incredibly disappointed.
“What a coward!”
Nie Feng shook his head, looking frustrated as he walked to the window, studying the terrain outside and thinking about his setup.
I have to admit, Nie Feng, having spent a few years in the Qingyun Society, knew how to pick a good spot for murder and body disposal.
This was a famous unfinished building complex in the Nanjing Economic Development Zone. The main structure of the building was about halfway completed, but the exterior walls and other work hadn’t been done.
The factory owner was originally from Hong Kong, planning to build a chip factory. But for some reason, the workshop wasn’t built, the office building was only half-finished, and he just took off. Maybe chip manufacturing just wasn’t profitable in China back then.
Having been abandoned for three or four years, the factory grounds were overgrown with weeds, stray dogs and cats ran everywhere, and the office building looked increasingly rundown.
Someone had even jumped to their death here a year ago, and there were all sorts of urban legends about ghosts demanding lives, so ordinary people didn’t dare set foot inside.
Kill one or two people, pour some gasoline, destroy the bodies, and the police would never find out.
Actually, Nie Feng had been waiting for his dad and brother to get revenge on Jiang Tian. But after waiting three months with no sign of action from them, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Jiang Tian’s whereabouts were mysterious, his residence hard to find. At the pharmaceutical university, he only ever appeared in public settings.
So, Nie Feng decided to go all the way. He kidnapped Huang Ling’er, who was close to Jiang Tian, to lure him out.
“Little Feng, this little lady is quite something, huh? Been well ‘developed’ by that bastard Jiang Tian since her college days.”
Sun Lingyu, around forty years old, was tall and sturdy. A fierce, worm-like scar ran diagonally from his left eyebrow across to his right cheek, giving him a sharp, dangerous aura.
He kept glancing back at Huang Ling’er on the sofa, a greedy, burning desire flickering in his eyes. He sneered,
“I, Old Third Sun, have played with plenty of college girls over the years, but I’ve never seen one as lovely as this. I really want to try her out!”
“Come on, Third Master. If you want to have fun, wait until after we’ve dealt with Jiang Tian. Then you can do whatever you want. Don’t mess up the main job!”
Nie Feng shook his head, then looked at Huang Ling’er curiously. “This girl is seriously strange.”
Yes, earlier, several of their men had tried to beat and assault Huang Ling’er, but somehow, they were inexplicably knocked back, one even breaking a rib. It only stopped happening after a while, and Nie Feng was completely baffled by it.
“What’s so great about Jiang Tian? I know him. He’s just a useless piece of trash!”
Sun Lingyu said dismissively. “I remember about five or six years ago, when he was still in college, I ran into him at Xindi Bar. That female bar owner was pretty hot. I’d had her on retainer for a while, you know. That clueless Jiang Tian was flirting with her. I walked right over, gave him three hard slaps across the face, and he didn’t even dare say a word. He just left quietly. Ha ha!”
“Come on, that was back in the day!”
Nie Feng rolled his eyes at him, frowning. “This Jiang Tian is also strange. That day at the Qixia子弟 private club, he kicked me over eight meters away with one foot, breaking several of my ribs. And several of my men were no match for him! This guy is definitely trained in martial arts.”
“Trained in martial arts? No matter how good he is, can he be stronger than a gun? Even if he could handle a handgun, could he handle a Barrett?”
Sun Lingyu smiled arrogantly. “A Barrett? What does that mean? Heh heh, I’ve fired one before. One shot, and half a person’s skeleton would be shattered. Even if his whole body were made of iron, how many nails could it grind down?”
Although Xu Ruocheng said Jiang Tian’s cultivation had greatly decreased, Nie Feng wasn’t rash. He had made the most thorough preparations possible.
This time, he had invited the current president of the Qingyun Society, Sun Hao’s uncle – the man he should call “Uncle” (by marriage) – Sun Lingyun’s younger brother, Sun Lingyu, to personally take charge.
Last winter, Sun Hao had disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
According to his secretary, Sun Hao had wanted to see Jiang Tian, Zhang Wanqing’s son from Qixia Pharmaceutical Factory, that night. But he vanished without a trace, alive nor dead.
Tang Shaoze, who had gone with him that night, claimed Sun Hao had been kidnapped by a group of foreigners.
But the Sun family called the police, checked the surveillance footage, and the Qingyun Society made inquiries around the Fengyi Tower where it happened, yet they found no suspicious vehicles or people.
Crucially, the owner of Fengyi Tower had also fled overnight and couldn’t be contacted – highly suspicious.
Later, news broke that the Jiang family, along with Tang Shaoze and other forces from Yangcheng, had jointly acquired the Fulong Mountain land. The Nie family also found out that Jiang Tian was a martial arts expert.
The Sun family wasn’t stupid. Putting two and two together, they strongly suspected Jiang Tian was behind Sun Hao’s disappearance.
Sun Lingyun hated Jiang Tian to the core. A father’s vengeance for his son was a must. So, they spared no expense for this operation.
Not only did they deploy all the top fighters of the Qingyun Society, but they also hired three ace snipers from abroad, equipped with Barrett sniper rifles, to shoot Jiang Tian dead.
“Do you understand anything about martial artists? People like my aunt!”
Nie Feng said seriously. “I once saw her catch bullets with her bare hands! She was like a god or immortal.”
“Martial artists… are they really that powerful? How is that possible?” Sun Lingyu couldn’t believe it, his eyes filled with shock.
“Supposedly, Jiang Tian definitely had that kind of strength originally, but his cultivation has dropped now. Guns should be able to kill him.”
A glint of coldness flashed in Nie Feng’s eyes. He sneered, “This is our best chance to take him out! Anyway, we absolutely cannot let our guard down. This opportunity is rare!”
“All the marksmen we’ve set up are sharpshooters. There shouldn’t be any problems. I just worry he might not dare to come,” Sun Lingyu said.
“Third Master, Young Master Nie, the kid is here!”
Suddenly, a voice came through the speaker from a lookout positioned on the roof of a neighboring building, overlooking the entire factory area.
Soon, a tall, slender figure appeared in the drafty, unfinished building.
“Jiang… Tian! Wu wu wu—!”
The moment she saw Jiang Tian, Huang Ling’er shook her head desperately and tried to shout, but her mouth was taped shut. Only muffled sounds escaped. Her eyes were filled with anxiety and despair.
Seeing her covered in injuries, hair disheveled, and that pained, desperate look in her eyes, it was clear she had suffered greatly and was terrified. Jiang Tian’s heart clenched painfully.
Sorry, I’m late.
The empty floor was cluttered with aluminum window frames, concrete chunks, bags of cement, and steel reinforcement cages.
It was late at night, but several miner’s lamps placed on the ground sent beams of light up to the ceiling. Tiny insects and moths fluttered around the light columns.
Jiang Tian was a hundred meters away from Huang Ling’er, but he could still hear her muffled sobs.
Huang Ling’er twisted her body desperately, shaking her head wildly, trying with her eyes to shoo away the figure walking towards her.
But her mouth was tightly sealed; she couldn’t make a sound. In her despair, tears streamed down her face in a torrent.
Jiang Tian had come alone. He hadn’t called the police. In an instant, Huang Ling’er felt both moved and utterly hopeless.
She had just seen them setting up the gunmen. There were at least seven or eight inside the building, and three snipers positioned high up in the office building outside.
What good would it do for Jiang Tian to come alone? How could he possibly be a match for them?
But strangely, she felt deeply moved. It was a heart-wrenching kind of emotion.
She had once hated him so much, and now her own life was in immediate danger, yet she still didn’t want to see him come, didn’t want to see him get hurt.
“Jiang Tian, I really didn’t expect you to be such a romantic fool! For your little kept girlfriend, you’d actually walk right into the trap alone. You’ve got some nerve!”
Suddenly, after a moment of stunned silence, Nie Feng let out a strange, high-pitched laugh.
His smile was filled with hatred and malice.
The injury that had ruined his voice made it even more piercing and hoarse, like sharp glass scraping across an iron pan – exceptionally grating.
“Why should I be afraid of you?”
Jiang Tian’s gaze was cold and indifferent, looking at him with disdain as if he were an insignificant ant. “Just a few pathetic little fire sticks. You think they can hurt me?”
Seeing Jiang Tian so calm and confident, even aware of the gunmen’s presence, Nie Feng was momentarily stunned. But then he threw his head back and laughed as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.
“Haha, you’re so arrogant! I know you’re a martial artist, but your skills have greatly deteriorated! Last time, my bodyguard was able to slice your hand. Can you really withstand guns? That’s hilarious!”
Just as Nie Feng was laughing,
Sun Lingyu, standing nearby, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Using his hands behind his back, he made a ‘fire’ gesture to the seven or eight gunmen.
Despise your enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically.
Having started brawling on the streets at eighteen, Sun Lingyu was a veteran of the underworld.
He had founded the Qingyun Society back in the day, weathered bloody storms, and after Sun Hao disappeared, he had come out of retirement to take control again.
Sun Lingyu naturally understood the principle of using full force even when hunting a rabbit.
For Jiang Tian to dare show up alone meant either he was brainless, or he had some kind of ace up his sleeve.
Especially given the rumors that Jiang Tian had some fighting skills.
If they weren’t careful, they might end up capsizing in the drainage ditch.
Handguns!
Huang Ling’er saw, with Sun Lingyu’s gesture, the seven or eight gunmen draw pistols from their bulging waistbands!
In an instant, Huang Ling’er’s tears burst forth like a dam breaking, crystal droplets streaming down her face.
How she wished she could warn Jiang Tian. But she couldn’t make a single sound or even a gesture.
So much hate!
So much hatred!
Huang Ling’er could only strain her eyes wide open, blinking frantically, trying to use her gaze to tell Jiang Tian to leave, to run fast!
But through her blurred, tear-filled eyes, she saw – Jiang Tian’s gaze was very calm, even showing a hint of… compassion.
“Ling’er, close your eyes.”
The moment these words left Jiang Tian’s mouth, the gunman nicknamed “Black Skin” within the Qingyun Society had already drawn his pistol as fast as lightning, aimed at Jiang Tian, and pulled the trigger all the way, firing brazenly.
