Chapter 165: East, West, North
Chapter 165: East, West, North
It was late at night, and a Ride-Hailing Car bumped along the Village Road.
The Villa was getting closer.
Li Zian said, “Driver, please stop here.”
The Ride-Hailing Car driver said, “It’s not much farther. I can drop you right there.”
Li Zian took two hundred yuan from his pocket and placed it beside the gear stick. “You’ve worked hard. I really need to pee badly and can’t hold it anymore. I want to get out to relieve myself. Please just drop us off here.”
The Ride-Hailing Car driver smiled and said, “Alright then. Thanks. You’re not only handsome but also very considerate.”
Li Zian felt a bit embarrassed.
It’s the middle of the night and pitch black—couldn’t you at least pretend not to see?
The car stopped.
Suddenly, Da Chui reached out with a thin rope in his hand, aiming to loop it over the Ride-Hailing Car driver’s head from behind and strangle him.
But before he could slip the rope over the driver’s head, Li Zian, sitting beside him, suddenly bumped into him, elbowing him in the head.
Thump!
Da Chui’s head jerked sideways and hit the car door. In that split second, a large, dark bruise swelled on his head, and his vision swam with stars.
The Ride-Hailing Car driver glanced back and asked in surprise, “What happened to your friend?”
Li Zian smiled and said, “My friend had too much to drink. He hit his head while opening the car door. It’s fine, driver. You can turn around and head back from here.”
“Alright then, take care, you two,” the Ride-Hailing Car driver said as he turned back around.
Only then did Da Chui catch his breath, but he still saw stars and his head throbbed with pain. Li Zian was still pressing down on him, making it impossible for him to move. Just as he was about to push Li Zian away and try again, the car door was suddenly pulled open by Li Zian. Da Chui was already squeezed against the door, and as it opened, he lost his balance and tumbled right out of the car.
Li Zian stepped out, carrying the alloy toolbox, and closed the door behind him.
By then, Da Chui had scrambled up from the ground and threw a punch at Li Zian’s head.
Li Zian dodged and said, “I hit you once, you hit me once—we’re even. If you hit me again, I’ll fight back. Do you still want that part of your body?”
As he spoke, he pointed toward the area between Da Chui’s legs.
Da Chui had already raised his fist, but upon hearing this, he slowly lowered his hand.
The Ride-Hailing Car had already turned around and was heading back toward the city along the road it came from.
“You don’t even know that person. Why did you stop me?” Da Chui said coldly.
Li Zian replied, “You don’t know him either. I purposely asked him to stop here so he wouldn’t get close to the Villa. He knows nothing. Why did you want to kill him?”
Da Chui said coldly, “Professor Huang gave orders. I was only allowed to bring you. That driver had to die!”
Li Zian looked back along the road they had come from. The Ride-Hailing Car’s headlights were already at least a kilometer away. After a glance, he turned back to Da Chui. “He hasn’t gone far. If your qinggong is good enough, you might still catch up to him. Go ahead and chase him. I’ll wait here for you.”
Da Chui looked down at his right foot, swollen like a steamed bun, then glared at Li Zian with a fierce expression.
Damn it! You stepped on my foot and injured it, and now you tell me to chase a car!
You scoundrel, you’ve gone too far!
Li Zian smiled and said, “Oh, sorry, I forgot about your foot. If you’re not going to chase the car, let’s go.”
He picked up the alloy toolbox and headed toward the Villa.
A sinister glint flashed in Da Chui’s triangular eyes. In his view, Li Zian was as good as dead.
Scoundrel, enjoy your arrogance while it lasts!
Li Zian walked along, whistling casually. It felt as if he wasn’t heading into a deadly situation but returning home after selling insurance.
Da Chui hobbled behind Li Zian, his balls aching and his foot hurting, making each step difficult.
Li Zian didn’t wait for him but walked quickly, opening up a gap of about thirty meters. Then he stopped by the roadside, unzipped his pants, and relieved himself.
While urinating, he used his left hand as paper and his right index finger as a pen, drawing and writing on his palm.
He could have performed Divination for himself at home, but he felt doing it at this dangerous place would yield better results than making up for it at home.
It was not good for a Divination practitioner to perform Divination for themselves; it could even bring misfortune. But tonight was extremely dangerous, and the slightest mistake could cost him his life. So, he had to adapt to the circumstances.
The Great Sluggish Cauldron awakened, with green smoke curling upward.
One minute later, the Divination Symbol appeared.
Within a chaotic tangle of lines, a plump bird emerged.
Then the Hexagram Interpretation appeared: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; a killing intent waits a hundred yards away; the clever plan may not work, so be ready to bet your life; going east or west spells doom, head north instead.
Li Zian’s face immediately turned pale.
This Divination was ominous!
“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; a killing intent waits a hundred yards away”—these two lines referred to Old Qiang, who was lying in ambush about a hundred yards away. That person was a Sniper. Old Qiang had fired many shots at him last night. If he hadn’t jumped into the sea and escaped by diving, he might have taken a bullet from Old Qiang.
“The clever plan may not work, so be ready to bet your life”—this referred to his idea of using the False Celestial Fragrance to deceive Huang Bo. It wasn’t a brilliant plan; most likely, the moment he took out the False Celestial Fragrance, he would be discovered. This was a life-or-dealth gamble, betting not only his own life but also the lives of Kang Haichuan and Kang Xin.
“Going east or west spells doom, head north instead”—this meant that if he won the gamble tonight, he could not escape east or west. Fleeing in those directions would be extremely dangerous. The words “east” and “west” here suggested the unknown, the unsolvable, the vicious and cruel. Adding the word “toxic,” one could imagine just how perilous those directions were.
As for the south, he shouldn’t even think about it, since the Hexagram Interpretation didn’t even mention it. This was expected. Last night, he had escaped by diving into the sea. How could Huang Bo not be prepared? Possibly, there were killers waiting in the water with oxygen tanks and spearguns, just waiting for him to jump in.
Li Zian looked north. To the north was a range of low hills covered with dense Forest. It was pitch black, and there were no houses in sight.
That was the correct escape direction.
Li Zian only glanced briefly before looking away, thinking to himself, “Tonight’s situation is quite complicated. According to my plan, Huang Bo will definitely want to see the Celestial Incense. As long as he stands beside me, I’ll light the Celestial Incense as soon as I take it out. He won’t even have time to escape. Once Huang Bo is taken down, Da Chui is already injured and poses no threat to me. That leaves only Old Qiang as a threat, but he can only be in one direction. So why does the Hexagram Interpretation mention that three directions are certain death?”
This Divination Symbol and Hexagram Interpretation were indeed somewhat strange.
Li Zian suddenly thought of the word “oriole” in the Hexagram Interpretation: “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.” He figured he was the mantis. Huang Bo and his two subordinates should be grouped under the “cicada.” So, who was The Lurking Foe? Oh no—could it be that besides Huang Bo and his two men, there was someone else targeting him tonight?
His mood instantly grew heavy. Dealing with Huang Bo was already a gamble with his life. If an even more formidable person showed up, his predicament tonight would be truly dire.
Footsteps sounded behind him.
Li Zian sheathed his sword and zipped up his pants.
His sword, of course, was a peerless treasure.
Da Chui walked over, seeming to catch a whiff of something, and spat in disgust.
He didn’t know that even the wastewater released by the Master was a remarkable medicinal ingredient.
Li Zian showed no reaction. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small container, then took out a stick of sandalwood incense and lit it with a lighter.
Da Chui looked at him suspiciously. “What are you doing?”
Li Zian said, “Just now, while I was peeing, a mosquito bit my bird. There are so many mosquitoes in this damn place. I need to light some incense to keep them away. Weren’t you bitten by mosquitoes?”
Da Chui snorted contemptuously. “You, a grown man, afraid of mosquito bites? You’re so fussy. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
Li Zian smiled indifferently. “Life should be refined and careful. That’s what makes it interesting. Never mind, why am I talking about this with a rough guy like you? You wouldn’t understand anyway.”
Da Chui, humiliated and angry, opened his mouth: “Your mother—”
“Hmm?” Li Zian glared at Da Chui, his eyes suddenly turning cold, and one leg bent slightly, ready to strike at any moment.
Da Chui immediately shut his mouth. Without another word to Li Zian, he limped toward the Villa.
With his back to Li Zian, his eyes were fierce, and his expression was vicious.
Scoundrel!
Just you wait! You won’t be arrogant much longer!
Later, I’ll make you beg for life and plead for death!
I’ll make you taste the feeling of a beer bottle opening a chrysanthemum!
He didn’t know that even the mutterings he could barely hear himself were clearly heard by the handsome guy behind him.
But Li Zian let these words go in one ear and out the other, not retaining a single word.
As he walked toward the Villa, Li Zian listened to all the sounds within a few hundred meters.
Slap!
A faint slapping sound suddenly came from a slope to the west. The buzzing of a mosquito that had been there abruptly stopped.
It was the sound of someone swatting a mosquito.
The sound came from a little over two hundred meters away, at a height of about 120 to 130 meters.
Li Zian glanced in that direction. Based on the terrain of that slope, he quickly pinpointed the approximate location of the person who had swatted the mosquito.
That guy was in a clearing on that hillside. Though he couldn’t see anyone, the location was unmistakable.
If nothing went wrong, that person was Old Qiang. He surely had an excellent Assault Rifle, or possibly even a Sniper Rifle. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen such a distant sniper position.
But Li Zian wasn’t in a hurry to open the alloy toolbox and transform it into a Bulletproof Barrier in front of him. This time, he had brought the Celestial Incense. Huang Bo would surely want to see it with his own eyes to verify its authenticity. Old Qiang would only fire upon receiving the signal.
Before he knew it, they had reached the Villa.