Chapter 154: Absolutely No Showing Off
Chapter 154: Absolutely No Showing Off
Li Zian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood something, and kicked out.
Pan Renlong gritted his teeth and endured it.
Li Zian cursed, “Damn, what are you thinking? What kind of person do you take me for?”
Actually, it wasn’t his fault if others misunderstood him—his actions just then were very much like those of a certain type of person.
“Then, then why are you pulling down my pants?” Pan Renlong was still very nervous.
For a tough guy like him, if he were to suffer that kind of humiliation, it would be worse than death.
Li Zian said, “To take pictures. I’m going to strip you completely, then strip Xu Cheng completely too. After that, I’ll pose the two of you in some suggestive positions and take a few compromising photos.”
“You’re scum!” Pan Renlong roared.
Li Zian wasn’t bothered at all; he even flashed a gentle smile. “Even though I recorded our conversation, I still don’t think it’s enough. You said it yourself—you have the United States backing you, and you have Diplomatic Immunity. I’m scared, so I need to have some leverage in my hands. Don’t worry, I’ll just take a few photos. I won’t actually help you and Xu Cheng get together. But if you don’t behave or refuse to listen to me in the future, I’ll release both the recording and the photos.”
“You’re scum—”
Before Pan Renlong could finish the word “scum,” Li Zian kicked him in the head. Pan Renlong grunted and passed out.
Although Li Zian had a lot of Movement-Halting Ointment, that was his secret weapon. Of course, he couldn’t use it in front of Pan Renlong. Besides, if he used the Movement-Halting Ointment, Pan Renlong would likely remain unconscious for two or three more hours. If he just left him there like that, he wasn’t entirely at ease. If Pan Renlong really died there, it would become his problem. A kick to knock him out was much simpler—with Pan Renlong’s robust physique, he would wake up in at most fifteen minutes.
After knocking out Pan Renlong, Li Zian untied him and stripped off his clothes. Then he dragged Xu Cheng over, untied him, and stripped off his clothes as well.
Various poses.
Pleasing poses.
Stimulating poses.
Click, click, click…
A few minutes later, Li Zian emerged from the woods and returned to the bumpy Village Road.
If he went forward five kilometers, he would reach the villa Pan Renlong had mentioned, where Huang Bo was.
If he turned back, he would return to the city, where he could easily catch a taxi home.
Should he venture deeper into the tiger’s den, or should he quit while he was ahead and go home now?
Li Zian thought for a moment, then suddenly started running forward.
There might be more than just Huang Bo in that villa—Huang Bo’s accomplices could be there too. That villa was an extremely dangerous place. He was alone and had no backup; going there like this was really risky. The sensible thing to do would be to leave now. But whenever he thought about the Lutu Company, and the secrets of those symbols and patterns, he couldn’t help but make a risky decision.
The sky was covered with dark clouds; even the Moon was invisible. There was no moonlight to speak of.
The Master’s mouth, a lying ghost.
Li Zian ran very fast, reaching 3.0 times his normal speed. One kilometer took only three minutes.
In the past, he could run up to 5.0 times his normal speed.
But back then, he wasn’t a Master yet.
The Village Road was rough and uneven, and it was pitch black all around with no houses in sight. Not far away was the Ocean, where the waves crashed against the Reefs and Beach, making a rushing sound.
The five-kilometer distance passed quickly. By this time, Pan Renlong had probably just woken up. He wondered what Pan Renlong would feel when he saw Xu Cheng lying on top of him.
A Villa came into Li Zian’s sight. It was situated on a hillside facing the Ocean. The side facing away from the Ocean was covered in dense woods, while the side facing the Ocean was all bare Reefs. The white villa was lit up, with a swimming pool, beach chairs, and an outdoor tea area in front. At the back was a spacious garden with neatly trimmed lawns, a swing, a barbecue grill, and other things.
Li Zian took a quick look but didn’t see anyone.
He estimated the distance: from where he stood on the Village Road to the villa was at least 300 meters in a straight line. If you included the height of the hillside, the distance would be even longer—at least over 400 meters.
He reached into his pocket and took out a syringe containing sandalwood incense, then removed the small piece of sandalwood incense. However, he didn’t light it immediately. Instead, he left the Village Road and moved through the woods toward the small hill.
After all, from such a great distance, the effects of the Incense Burning State would be greatly reduced.
Li Zian carefully moved about 200 meters closer to the villa and then stopped. He looked around and chose a tree several dozen meters tall, then climbed up it.
From the tree, he could see the villa on the hillside clearly at a glance—much clearer than before—but he still didn’t see anyone.
Li Zian turned his back to the villa, used a lighter to light the sandalwood incense, and took a deep breath of the rising smoke.
Boom!
The Great Sluggish Cauldron instantly awakened, with wisps of smoke rising.
The Incense Burning State was activated.
Countless sounds flooded into Li Zian’s ears like a tide. The sound of the waves was the most obvious, followed by the sound of the sea breeze, the rustling of leaves, the sound of crabs crawling on the Beach, the sound of fish swimming in the water…
Filtering out those sounds, Li Zian focused his mind and locked onto the villa. Soon, he heard the sound of people talking.
“Professor Huang, why hasn’t Pan Renlong brought the person over yet?” a man’s voice said. “Even if there was traffic, he should have been here by now. Could something have gone wrong?”
So there were accomplices after all.
“Professor Huang, should I drive over to check?” came another man’s voice.
There was more than one accomplice.
Li Zian felt secretly relieved. Luckily, he hadn’t been overconfident and barged directly into the villa to catch Huang Bo. Otherwise, by this time next year, Yu Meilin would probably be bringing Li Xiaomei to pull weeds from his grave. As for Mu Chuntao, she would probably place a bouquet of flowers and a big bag of peaches at his Tombstone.
Just then, a low, hoarse voice reached his ears: “No need to rush. That guy would never suspect this is a trap. He’s not a Divine Immortal—he doesn’t have that kind of power. That night, if that woman hadn’t suddenly appeared and saved him, I would have already killed him.”
It was Huang Bo’s voice.
“Professor Huang, didn’t you say we had to capture him alive?” a man’s voice asked.
It was the first voice he had heard.
Huang Bo’s voice: “At the time, I didn’t know who he was. I had no idea he was the person we’ve been looking for all along.”
“Professor Huang, should we report this to the company?” the other subordinate’s voice asked.
“Do you want to die?” Huang Bo’s voice suddenly turned cold. “Don’t forget, your lives belong to me. The next time you dare question my decision, I’ll kill you.”
Thump!
The two subordinates knelt on the ground.
“Professor Huang, I was wrong.”
“Professor Huang, whatever you ask me to do, I will carry out your orders.”
Huang Bo snorted coldly. “I’ll let it go this time. Get up.”
The two subordinates stood up.
Li Zian’s ears then picked up the sound of a Mobile Phone dialing.
This was probably a call to Pan Renlong.
The call connected quickly.
Huang Bo’s voice: “You still haven’t arrived yet. What’s going on?”
Li Zian strained his ears, but he was too far away to hear the sound from the phone’s earpiece.
Still, he could guess what Pan Renlong would say to Huang Bo.
“What?” Huang Bo roared. “He actually escaped? You useless fool! You couldn’t even handle such a simple task!”
He still couldn’t hear what Pan Renlong was saying.
Huang Bo’s voice: “Did he see through your identity?”
Li Zian stood up on the branch, leaning his ear as far toward the villa as possible, but he still couldn’t hear anything.
Soon, he heard Huang Bo’s voice again, full of rage: “You know what happens to those who betray me!”
Hearing this, Li Zian sighed inwardly: “If Pan Renlong doesn’t have an explanation that Huang Bo will believe, given Huang Bo’s cunning and ruthlessness, he’s likely to be silenced.”
But then again…
Would it really matter if he died?
Just then, Li Zian’s ears caught the sound of someone running.
He immediately felt a bit uneasy. He quickly stuck the half-burned sandalwood incense into the tree trunk. A few sparks shot out from the trunk, and he blew them out with a puff.
A figure suddenly appeared on the open balcony on the second floor of the villa. The figure was tall and thin—it was Huang Bo.
Li Zian hid behind the tree trunk, only peeking through the gaps in the leaves toward the villa.
Even though he was over 100 meters away, he was still very tense, not daring to take a deep breath. Because Huang Bo was strong, and his two subordinates definitely wouldn’t be weak either. If any of the three had guns, a bullet would cover the 100-plus meters in less than a second.
Safety first, absolutely no showing off.
Huang Bo’s gaze swept quickly over the surroundings, including the spot where Li Zian was hiding, but his eyes didn’t linger—they just passed over.
That was normal. After all, he wasn’t an owl—he couldn’t see someone hidden in a tree over 100 meters away in such dim light.
Li Zian could see him only because there was light on the balcony.
“Li Zian!” Huang Bo suddenly shouted. “I know you’re nearby! Come out. I mean no harm—I just want to discuss a big business deal with you!”
Li Zian cursed inwardly: “Idiot, are you insulting my intelligence?”
Huang Bo continued, “It’s fine if you don’t come out. Just talk to me from where you are.”
Li Zian: “…”
You’re almost a retired old man—how can you still be so naive?
The two subordinates also appeared on the balcony.
Unfortunately, they were too far away to see their faces clearly. He could only make out their general body shapes and what they were wearing. One of them wore a black Tang Suit, while the other wore something like a tank top and shorts.
Li Zian suddenly felt that the Tang Suit wasn’t as classy as he once thought.
Both had strong builds but weren’t tall. He estimated they were only about 1.67 meters tall, with the one in the tank top and shorts slightly taller.
Li Zian memorized all the visible features. Even though he couldn’t see their faces clearly, remembering these traits would help him recognize them later. At the very least, he’d have a sense of familiarity and wouldn’t be completely caught off guard.
“Let’s go!” Huang Bo said.
The two subordinates followed Huang Bo into the villa.
Li Zian then slid down from the tree and ran back through the woods, avoiding the Village Road.
He hadn’t gone far when a car drove out of the villa’s garage and headed in the opposite direction along the Village Road.
Li Zian was slightly puzzled.
Shouldn’t they be going to find Pan Renlong? Why were they heading in the opposite direction?