The Heir to the Seven Killers in the City

Chapter 30: It’s Not Over Yet

Zhang Xiaofei drove for what felt like an eternity before finally pulling over. He opened the door to the old, dilapidated warehouse, but Qin Yu had already managed to stand up on his own. Zhang Xiaofei hurried over to support him, then shakily helped him into the warehouse. It was only a few steps, but Qin Yu struggled immensely to walk them; even after lying down again, he was still gasping for breath. “Are you okay? You look like that,” Zhang Xiaofei asked. “Try getting shot twice like that yourself—we’d be lucky if you even survived,” Qin Yu said irritably. Seeing Qin Yu like this, Zhang Xiaofei grew concerned as well. He then complained, “Do you even realize how badly you’re hurt? I told you we should’ve just gone back with me. With my sister there, someone would’ve taken care of you. Look at this place—it’s quiet, sure, but it’s not exactly clean. What if your wounds get infected?” “Come on, it’s not that bad. With a body like mine, antibiotics work like a charm—an infection’s out of the question. As for Qiqi, forget it. Seeing her right now would be worse than these injuries.” “You can hide from her for a while, but can you hide from her forever?” “Well, you’ll have to let me finish this first, so I can give you guys a proper explanation,” Qin Yu said with a sigh. “Wait, didn’t the Fire Scorpion Gang’s second-in-command die?” Zhang Xiaofei asked in confusion. “Isn’t the Fire Scorpion Gang still around? Isn’t the boss still alive?” Qin Yu struggled to sit up, leaning against the wall, a strange smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Seeing Qin Yu like this, Zhang Xiaofei didn’t know what to say. He wondered if his buddy had really lost his mind in the heat of battle—but then he realized his buddy had long since lost his mind; he’d probably already got dozens of people killed on his hands. Still, he thought to himself, it was pretty badass that he’d grown up playing in the mud and peeing together with a guy like that. If anyone dared mess with him in the future, wouldn’t they be asking for trouble? “I’m incredibly lucky. You should head back. Otherwise, with you being out this long, Zhang Qiqi is going to start wondering what you’re up to,” Qin Yu said, looking at the silent Zhang Xiaofei. “Are you sure you’re okay?” “I’m fine.” Zhang Xiaofei knew there was no way he could change Qin Yu’s mind once he’d made up his mind, so he had no choice but to go along with his brother. What Qin Yu said was true—if he stayed out too long, Zhang Qiqi would indeed start wondering what he was up to. The car roared to life, and before long, Zhang Xiaofei sped off. Qin Yu felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted; he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. He was truly exhausted. Although his body, enhanced by the Seven Killers Sutra, was terrifyingly strong, the pain from those two gunshot wounds was excruciating. Even if his life wasn’t in danger, his body had reached its limit. He didn’t know how long he’d slept, but when he awoke, the long night had already set in. Qin Yu checked his physical condition and found that the two gunshot wounds had mostly healed. He casually stretched his limbs, then sat cross-legged once more. As Qin Yu killed more and more people, the impure energy within his body grew increasingly heavy, reaching its peak the last time when Zhang Qiqi was humiliated. Looking back now, he recalled feeling as though he possessed an inexhaustible supply of strength at the time, along with an overwhelming thirst for blood. Fortunately, a sliver of reason remained, preventing him from losing control. Since then, Qin Yu had felt he’d hit a plateau. Previously, every act of killing had brought about a tangible transformation in his body, but now that was no longer the case—it was like a single drop of water sinking into the ocean: though it stirred a ripple, it was far too insignificant. However, Qin Yu never considered this a bad thing. What he needed was to consolidate his progress, not greedily absorb more. He discovered that after half a month of training, he had become increasingly adept at mastering the Seven Slayings Sutra, and no longer felt an excessive reliance on blood or a desperate urge to kill. Qin Yu had always kept his original intention in mind: he wanted to become stronger, but he must not indiscriminately kill the innocent; he must not wipe out all the evildoers in the world. It wasn’t until he met Zhang Xiaofei and Zhang Qiqi again that he once more longed for an ordinary life. And whether it was for the former or the latter, he needed to be able to control the Seven Kills Sutra—it couldn’t become a time bomb that could drive him mad at any moment. As Qin Yu pondered these things—perhaps because it was late at night and he was alone—his thoughts wandered further and further, leading him first to Jiang Rongrong, the one who had turned him into what he was in the first place, then to the Third-in-Command of the Fire Scorpion Gang, and finally to Lin Xiaorui and Lin Hao. The thought of Lin Xiaorui caused his emotions to suddenly surge. He had originally felt nothing for this woman—until that night. Perhaps it was a man’s sense of responsibility, or perhaps it was longing for her alluring figure; at that moment, Qin Yu had to admit that he harbored a faint, peculiar affection for Lin Xiaorui. Thinking of Lin Xiaorui led him to think of Zhang Qiqi. Qin Yu always had an indescribable feeling toward Zhang Qiqi. He wasn’t a fool; he could sense, to some extent, her attitude toward him. As for him, he simply regarded Zhang Qiqi as his own younger sister, and all his behavior toward her was that of an older brother toward a younger sister. But after that incident, Qin Yu didn’t know what to do. He felt he had let Zhang Qiqi down, and if he continued to treat her as a younger sister at this point, even he would think he was a monster. As a result, he now had no idea how to face Zhang Qiqi. “I’ll deal with the main issue first,” Qin Yu exhaled, muttering to himself with a heavy heart. If things went as Qin Yu hoped, his feud with the Fire Scorpion Gang would be settled within the next few days. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t over yet. Lin Hao was too mysterious, and what the Fire Scorpion Gang’s second-in-command had said didn’t sound like a lie. What if there really was an internal power struggle? Qin Yu shook his head again. If that were true, wouldn’t it be highly implausible for the Fire Scorpion Gang’s second-in-command to side with Lin Hao instead of his own boss? Clearly, Lin Hao had a plan to kill Yang Yong, the leader of the Fire Scorpion Gang. The proof was Lin Xiaorui’s appearance when he went to test the Fire Scorpion Gang, and the fact that Lin Xiaorui’s older sister had already sacrificed her life in the previous incident. Qin Yu’s head ached from thinking so hard, so he scratched his head and decided to put the matter out of his mind. After all, what did it have to do with him? He’d deal with the Fire Scorpion Gang first; if Lin Hao still wouldn’t let it go, he’d be next… As he mulled this over, with no sign of dawn breaking, he closed his eyes and drifted back into sleep. Just as Qin Yu drifted back into sleep, a plane landed at Jiangcheng Airport. A man in a suit walked slowly down the stairs, glanced around, sighed, and made his way toward the exit. The man walked out of the terminal, looked at the burly man approaching him, smiled, and said, “I didn’t expect anyone would actually come to pick me up.” “It’s all because of our underlings’ incompetence that we’ve ended up in this predicament.” “It’s fine. Now that I’m back, everything should come to an end.” Early in the morning, Qin Yu was woken by a text message. He didn’t recognize the number, and the message contained just a few simple words: “He’s back.” Qin Yu smiled contentedly and stretched toward the sunlight.