The Heir to the Seven Killers in the City

Chapter 19: Ambush

Qin Yu stared in disbelief at the people closing in on him from all directions. They were all bareheaded, brandishing guns of varying lengths, and advancing toward him in an orderly fashion. Qin Yu was stunned for a moment, then instinctively tossed his dagger to the ground, raised his hands, and looked innocently at the burly man in the crowd—the only one not holding a gun—who appeared to be the leader. “Who’s this reckless little brat who dares to break into my Fire Scorpion Gang in the dead of night?” The burly man was truly massive; clad only in a tank top, his muscles were sharply defined, gleaming like they’d been coated in oil in the dim night. However, in stark contrast to his physique, he was currently holding his hand in a delicate, elegant gesture, leisurely picking his teeth with something that looked like a toothpick. “Second Brother, one of our brothers didn’t get the message and carelessly ran into him—that little bastard killed him.” ” A low-ranking henchman stepped forward to report. Upon hearing this, the burly man paused in his tooth-picking. “Oh, quite the talent. Killing members of my Fire Scorpion Gang time and time again—this ‘hero’ is quite something!” With a single gesture, the man closest to Qin Yu pressed a gun directly against his temple. It turned out that this unremarkable-looking burly man was the Fire Scorpion Gang’s second-in-command! He didn’t seem to have as much presence as Brother Rong—you really can’t judge a book by its cover! Qin Yu had only learned how to dodge bullets, but that was on the premise that a gun wasn’t pressed against his forehead. In this situation, he was as good as trapped. Qin Yu groaned inwardly, but his expression remained calm. “It’s true—the Fire Scorpion Gang oppresses the common people and runs rampant in the countryside. I’m upholding justice on behalf of Heaven. What’s wrong with that?” Qin Yu stood tall, his voice brimming with righteous indignation. The Second-in-Command snorted derisively as his massive frame loomed over him. “Uh-uh, ‘upholding justice’! On the Fire Scorpion Gang’s turf, Heaven’s the boss, and I’m second in command! Stop spouting all that nonsense. Do you dare claim you came here with no ulterior motives?” Qin Yu’s eyebrows twitched, and he felt a sudden chill rise up his spine: “Did you know I was coming tonight?” That didn’t make sense. Aside from Lin Hao and Lin Xiaorui, no one knew about his plans for tonight—so who could have leaked the information? Lin Hao? Impossible—no one would shoot themselves in the foot. Lin Xiaorui? Out of the question too—shooting her godfather in the foot would only shoot her in the foot as well. While Qin Yu was racking his brain, the second-in-command did indeed snort coldly. He loosened his grip on Qin Yu’s wrist, tilted his head, and cracked his knuckles. “What’s the point of knowing so much? He’s going to die anyway.” He called out to those on either side, ““Guys, we’re gonna have some serious fun with this one tonight. He looks so soft and delicate—he might even be exceptionally gifted. Those of you with special interests can go wild tonight. But take it easy—don’t maim him too badly. We’ve still got his slow torture and dismemberment to look forward to! We’ve got to show this kid just how formidable the Fire Scorpion Gang is—so that when he meets our fallen brothers in the underworld, he’ll have to go out of his way to avoid us!” As soon as the Second-in-Command finished giving his orders, men stepped forward with ropes and syringes, *smiles* still plastered on their faces. Holy shit, what the hell are these perverts planning to do! He, Qin Yu, was as pure as they come! Qin Yu suppressed his inner revulsion, maintaining a calm, non-resistant posture as he quietly accepted the intramuscular injection, even striking up a casual conversation with Number Two: “Where’s your boss?” “Fuck, is the boss someone like you, you little bastard, can even ask about?!” The second-in-command, who had been joking around with his men—who’d put down their guns—slapped Qin Yu hard across the face the moment he heard the question, sending his head lolling to one side as a trickle of blood slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth. “I’m warning you: behave yourself and take your punishment, or it’ll be doubled!” Number Two gripped Qin Yu’s chin; chive leaves were still stuck to his front teeth, and the foul breath made Qin Yu wrinkle his brow. The syringe seemed to contain a drug that sapped one’s strength. Qin Yu heard the Second Brother say, “This shot will make sure he can’t escape even if he grew wings. No need to tie him up—he won’t have the strength to run anyway.” Qin Yu, limp as a noodle, was shoved forward; it seemed he was being taken outside the small prison to “play.” This suited him just fine—only two men were watching him dawdle behind, while the rest had rushed into the small building up ahead to “get ready.” Qin Yu, who had been walking with his head hanging low and muttering under his breath, suddenly seemed like a different person. He straightened his back and snapped his fingers in the darkness; the two men behind him fell straight to the ground, unable even to utter a cry. “You want to mess with me? Try again in your next life!” Qin Yu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth—blood drawn by Lao Er’s blow—and turned his gaze away from the two men with disdain. This was the benefit of practicing the Seven Kills Sutra: it granted him a strong resistance to drugs, allowing his body to automatically break down anything injected into him. This was also why Qin Yu had refused to see a doctor when he had a fever—because of his drug resistance, no fever-reducing injections worked on him. Laughter and merriment echoed from the small villa in the distance; its occupants were completely unaware that their plaything had already escaped. Qin Yu quickly retraced his steps and rushed back to the villa, only to discover it was completely empty—not even a dog was there! Yang Yong definitely wouldn’t be at Shazhou tonight! Qin Yu glanced back at the bonfire in the distance, still billowing blue smoke, then plunged headfirst into the icy water. When he returned to the hotel, Lin Hao was waiting for him on the sofa, while Lin Xiaorui stood nervously behind it. The moment she saw Qin Yu, her eyes lit up—as if she’d been waiting for him for a long time. Qin Yu walked in, looking somewhat exhausted. He ran his fingers through his hair, sat down on the sofa, picked up the purple clay teapot, and began gulping the tea. Anyone with eyes could tell this was the reaction after a failed mission. Lin Hao twirled the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand; he seemed about to say something but ultimately held back, merely instructing Lin Xiaorui to take good care of Qin Yu today. Only after downing an entire teapot of premium Junshan Silver Needle did Qin Yu have a moment to observe Lin Hao’s expression. Although Lin Hao’s face was expressionless, his features remained gentle. “I failed,” Qin Yu apologized gloomily. “Someone leaked the information. They knew I was coming beforehand. Yang Yong wasn’t there, so I walked right into their ambush and nearly got maimed.” “Are you okay, then?” Even with Lin Hao present, Lin Xiaorui couldn’t help but ask with concern. Qin Yu felt a warm glow in his heart and secretly let the corners of his mouth curl upward. He’d deliberately exaggerated how badly he’d fared to elicit sympathy, but he hadn’t expected it would actually earn him the concern of such a stunning beauty. Lin Hao was somewhat surprised by Qin Yu’s words. He’d long suspected that Qin Yu hadn’t completed his mission, but he hadn’t expected the reason for the failure to be a leak—and weren’t the three people present the only ones who could have known? “What’s going on?” Lin Hao mused, his usually smiling face clouding over. “Xiaorui, did you let something slip?” Lin Hao’s sharp gaze swept over Lin Xiaorui, causing her to shiver: “No. Mr. Lin, I stayed right by Brother Qin Yu’s side the whole time; I didn’t go anywhere.” Qin Yu quickly nodded in agreement: “I’ve been thinking about it—none of us three had any motive to leak the information, so this matter needs to be investigated further. “But in any case, since I failed to complete the mission, the terms of the agreement are now void, and I’ll be moving out of here tonight. However, the Fire Scorpion Gang won’t let me off the hook—I’ll make sure Yang Yong pays the price for his evil deeds!” Qin Yu clenched his fist, looking determined to succeed. A smile suddenly broke across Lin Hao’s serious face: “Young man, you’re underestimating me again. Can’t I even afford this little bit of lodging? Stay here. We’re in a long-term partnership, and I’ll be counting on you in the future—please don’t be so formal with me! You worked hard today; get some rest early!” This display of genuine sincerity made Qin Yu feel a bit embarrassed. But on second thought, he’d nearly lost his life over this—Lin Hao’s gesture was only fair. Although Lin Hao hadn’t gotten the result he wanted, he didn’t seem too disappointed. Before leaving, he called Lin Xiaorui into the guest room to give her some instructions. When Qin Yu saw Lin Xiaorui come out with a grave expression, she actually blushed as if she’d been stung when their eyes met. “What’s going on? This is so weird,” Qin Yu muttered to himself, unable to help but feel suspicious. “Is this girl trying to pull a fast one on me again?” As it turned out, his hunch was spot on! Just as Lin Hao was taking a shower, the bathroom door suddenly swung open from the outside. Lin Xiaorui, wrapped in a black silk robe and wearing high heels, stepped inside, moving gracefully like a cat with each step. When she reached the showerhead, she yanked off her robe, revealing a matching black spaghetti-strap top underneath. Lin Hao, who was in the middle of his shower, had his mouth wide open, and the shower water accidentally splashed in. With a loud “gulp,” he swallowed. This woman was definitely up to something!