The Heir to the Seven Killers in the City

Chapter 24: The Landlord

“Hold on.” Just as Qin Yu was about to strike, he saw the Second-in-Command make a “hold on” gesture. What kind of trick was he up to now? Qin Yu instinctively sensed something was wrong. Sure enough, no sooner had the Second-in-Command finished speaking than the bathroom door suddenly swung open. Standing in the cramped, narrow space were several Fire Scorpion Gang members wearing dark sunglasses, and on the chair at the very front sat a frail, unrecognizable man who had been bound and was now unconscious. The landlord! Qin Yu was shocked to the core and instinctively moved forward, but Lao Er “kindly” called him back: “Wait. Take one more step forward—do you see that knife around his neck? If even the slightest thing goes wrong, your poor landlord will suffer the consequences. Kid, we’re just showing off a little!” The second-in-command wore a mocking grin, making Qin Yu grind his teeth in fury. He was finally getting a real, firsthand taste of the Fire Scorpion Gang’s treachery and cunning! At that moment, he desperately wanted to wipe out every last one of these scum, but his reason told him he couldn’t. Qin Yu slowly unclenched his fists: “You bastards, let the innocent people go. Do whatever you want to me—kill me, skin me alive, whatever.” “Oh, what a fucking hero you are.” The Second-in-Command stared at Qin Yu with a sneer. “Words alone aren’t enough—I’ll put you to the test first.” With that, he pulled a handgun from his pants pocket and aimed it at Qin Yu. “Fire!” “Ah!” Qin Yu had never known that being hit by a bullet could hurt so much—it felt as if his bones were cracking. He dropped to one knee, clutching his wounded calf, his face drenched in cold sweat, unable to speak. Only then did Number Two tap him on the head with the butt of the gun, looking satisfied. “You’re finally behaving yourself, kid. Come back with us and make up for what we missed last time.” Qin Yu bit back another cry of pain, his brow furrowed in helplessness as he was tied up like a rice dumpling—a pitiful sight indeed. The Fire Scorpion Gang members all burst into laughter. “Second Brother, what should we do with this little brat?” One of the gang members asked Second Brother, pointing at the unconscious landlord. “Take him out.” All the way there, Qin Yu felt like he could tear the Second-in-Command to pieces. He felt anger, but more than that, he felt a bitter sorrow—because of him, an innocent person had been sacrificed. Ultimately, this was all his own doing, and he should pay for it! A gunshot rang out from the room behind them. The Second-in-Command grabbed Qin Yu by the hair, yanked him forward, and spat a thick glob of phlegm right in his face. “See that? That’s what happens when you play the hero. Happy now?” Of course he was filled with remorse. Qin Yu was tossed into the trunk of the van as the Fire Scorpion Gang members sped toward Shazhou. They’d finally caught this strange kid—he’d actually managed to escape from their island! If it weren’t for the Boss insisting on meeting him in person to force some information out of him, they’d have crippled him right then and there! Blood was still flowing steadily from his wounds, and Qin Yu felt wave after wave of dizziness wash over him. Finally, they arrived at their destination, where a ferry was waiting for them across the water. Having successfully completed their mission, the Fire Scorpion Gang members opened the trunk with a sense of triumph—only to be shocked to discover that the trunk, filled with clutter, was empty of Qin Yu, who had been tied up like a rice dumpling! All that remained was a pool of blood and a bundle of rope in the center of the trunk. This doesn’t make sense! How could Qin Yu have untied the ropes and escaped on his own? Besides, the trunk was locked—no matter how skilled he was, there’s no way he could’ve done that without them noticing! The Second-in-Command slapped the driver across the head. “Damn it, such carelessness! Don’t you want to live anymore?” No, wait—the knot in the rope hadn’t even been untied yet. It was as if Qin Yu had simply vanished into thin air. “Could he have been possessed by a ghost?” one of the henchmen muttered under his breath, only to be shot a withering glare by Number Two and fall silent. Number Two, frowning in distress as he pondered how he’d explain this to the Boss later, ordered his men, “Go back the way we came and search! If you don’t find him, don’t bother coming back. I’ll send your wives and kids to join you in the grave first.” But how did Qin Yu manage to escape? It turned out that this young man had loved reading martial arts novels since childhood and was particularly fascinated by the “Bone-Shrinking Technique” described in them. After obtaining the Seven Kill Sutra, he had been wondering if he could use it to master this martial art—one that usually only appeared in novels. As it turned out, he actually managed to figure it out on his own through his own research. At that moment, Qin Yu realized that the *Seven Kill Sutra* could truly be called a universal cultivation method—as long as one’s skill reached a certain level, one could continually innovate upon its foundations and create one’s own unique secret techniques. He wondered what kind of figures the sutra’s previous owners must have been. As the car sped along, he timed his move to slow down at a curve, rolled out into the grass by the roadside, and took off his shirt to wrap around the wound. If he kept bleeding like this, he feared he’d be dead before he even found a place to stay. This area must be near Mingshan, where his brother Zhang Xiaofei lived. Zhang Xiaofei and he had been close friends since childhood—they’d grown up together running around bare-assed—and there was nothing they couldn’t talk about. After growing up and going their separate ways, they’d gradually lost touch, but Qin Yu believed that if he were in trouble, Zhang Xiaofei would definitely take him in unconditionally. “Who’s there?” The moment Zhang Xiaofei opened the door, he was utterly surprised to find a tall, muscular man standing outside wearing nothing but a tank top. His face was swollen, as if he’d just been beaten, and his leg was wrapped in a blood-soaked shirt. He stood there dumbfounded for a full thirty seconds before calling out uncertainly, “Yuzi?” “Xiaofei, it’s me. Can you let me in? My leg hurts like hell.” Qin Yu chuckled, and Zhang Xiaofei hurriedly ushered him inside. “No offense, Yuzi, but how come after just a year apart, you’ve turned into such a mess? When did you start working out? Why are you so pale now? You look like a sissy. Did you get into trouble with the underworld? When did you get these injuries?” Zhang Xiaofei’s mouth was like a machine gun; he didn’t even expect Qin Yu to answer. He poured a glass of water and shoved it into his hand, while instructing, “Keep your leg away from the couch—don’t get blood on it. It’s expensive.” Qin Yu sat down on the floor, torn between laughter and tears, and said petulantly, “Is this okay now?” His childhood friend had always been a nagging, sharp-tongued guy, but he had a big heart. Anyone else, seeing him in this state—being chased and hunted down—might not even have been willing to open the door. “Zhang Qiqi, hurry up and bring your first-aid kit—Big Brother Qin’s about to die!” Zhang Xiaofei shouted up the stairs. Hearing this, Qin Yu sighed and pressed his hand to his forehead in exasperation. “What’s going on!” A girl in a cute nightgown covered in little bunnies scampered down the stairs. When she saw Qin Yu sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa, a look of sheer terror flashed across her beautiful face: “Big Brother Qin, why do you look like a ghost!” “Just like a real brother and sister—your brother just said the exact same thing to me a moment ago,” Qin Yu said, tilting his head helplessly and pointing to the wound on his leg that was still bleeding. “Do you have any bandages to stop the bleeding? I feel like my health bar is about to run out.” Zhang Qiqi quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to run upstairs, her ponytail swinging behind her in a graceful arc. “I’ve got some! Wait a minute, Big Brother Qin!” Qin Yu watched Zhang Qiqi’s flustered retreating figure and saw Zhang Xiaofei frowning as he carefully unbuttoned his shirt for him; his heart couldn’t help but feel warm.