Chapter Twenty-Four: Guoguo Stirs Up Trouble

Chapter Twenty-Four: Guoguo Throws Everything Into Chaos

“Ah—!” Gong You had no time to dodge. Xu Yun’s devastating kick landed squarely on his back, sending a shockwave of pain through his chest and a metallic taste rising in his mouth before he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xu Yun landed solidly and steadied himself, while Gong You crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, his strength spent. But just then, Qin Hu seized the opportunity and lunged forward like a wild tiger descending a mountain, executing his flawless Black Tiger Steals the Heart technique, his clawed hand whistling toward Xu Yun’s chest.

Xu Yun wasn’t about to give him such an opening. He swung his iron fist forward without hesitation, meeting Qin Hu’s claw head-on in a clash as explosive as a volcanic eruption. Though Qin Hu’s tiger claw was powerful enough to shatter stone, it was nothing against Xu Yun’s formidable inner strength, capable of reducing rocks to dust. Their hands met with a sickening crack. Qin Hu screamed and withdrew his hand, his fingers broken by the impact.

At that very moment, as Qin Hu recoiled in pain, Xu Yun bent his left knee, and his right leg shot out like a cannonball, landing a brutal kick between Qin Hu’s legs. Qin Hu tumbled backward and crashed to the ground, sprawled out in agony.

The night air was torn by Qin Hu’s howl, the pain of shattered knuckles and the excruciating blow below the belt overwhelming both his body and spirit.

Xu Yun finally caught his breath. At least these two were now out of commission.

Inside Xu Yun’s room, Chou Yan’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the screams. She took a deep breath, rearranged her inner flow so her entire body felt invigorated, and in a flash, was dressed and at the open window. She vaulted effortlessly to the rooftop.

Her sudden appearance shocked all three men.

“So fast?” Xu Yun was startled. Normally, it wasn’t easy to realign one’s internal energy after an injury, but Chou Yan had done it in just a few minutes.

“Chou Yan!” Despite his pain, Qin Hu struggled to call out her name. Facing Xu Yun alone was already more than he and Gong You could handle; the sudden arrival of the Violent Fox Sovereign spelled certain doom for them.

Just then, Gong You sprang to his feet. Taking advantage of the distraction caused by Chou Yan’s arrival, he leapt into the air like an eagle and tried to escape from the rooftop of the medicinal restaurant.

It wasn’t that he was a coward, but he knew they stood no chance against Xu Yun—let alone with the Violent Fox Sovereign now present. If both of them died, there’d be no one left to report back to their boss. Better Qin Hu die alone than both of them; Gong You had to survive to deliver the news.

A sharp wind whistled through the darkness—a slipper shot through the air like lightning!

Gong You was struck mid-flight, his body contorting impossibly as he crashed from the rooftop with a tremendous crash, after which all was silent.

Chou Yan’s eyes turned to ice. In a single motion, her waist-level soft sword, Longyuan, was in her hand, its cold gleam flashing before Qin Hu’s eyes. He caught only the shimmer of the blade as pain exploded in his heart—pierced clean through. In that instant, no matter how he gasped for breath, not a trace of air reached his lungs.

For the beast that was Qin Hu, there was nothing in death but regret.

Before Xu Yun could intervene, Chou Yan had already vaulted from the rooftop, heading straight for Gong You. She showed them not a shred of mercy. In her eyes, these men deserved to die—as they had dealt with the Feng family, so would she repay them in kind.

Xu Yun didn’t hesitate, leaping after her. He had no intention of letting Chou Yan turn the area around the restaurant into a graveyard. But as he landed, he was stunned—

What the hell! Why was Qin Wan’er here at this moment?!

“Don’t move!” a crisp, commanding voice rang through the night. Qin Wan’er stood below, her pistol steady in her hands, aimed straight at Chou Yan.

She had been startled by the scene herself. The moment she received the call, she hurried to the medicinal restaurant, only to see someone plummet from the rooftop as she got out of her patrol car. Before she could process what was happening, Chou Yan leapt down like a ghost, followed by Xu Yun, who had always piqued her curiosity.

What on earth was going on? Was this some kind of movie? An action scene, no less!

Gong You, seizing on everyone’s momentary shock, suppressed his internal injuries and tried to make a run for it. But Xu Yun gave him no chance. In a blur, he blocked Gong You’s path and lashed out with a lightning-fast whip kick to his abdomen, sending the already injured man crashing to the ground by the entrance, completely spent.

Qin Wan’er’s wide eyes were fixed on Chou Yan, for one reason: the soft sword, Longyuan, glinting in her hand. Such a weapon was strictly controlled in China. According to regulations, there were legal procedures for carrying, producing, and selling such restricted blades.

Qin Wan’er only believed what she saw: Chou Yan wielding a sword from the rooftop, chasing a wounded man, who was now barely alive after Xu Yun’s last kick.

“Drop your weapon!” Qin Wan’er barked at Chou Yan.

Chou Yan’s gaze passed over Qin Wan’er with frigid indifference. Even wounded, she didn’t see a mere policewoman and a standard-issue pistol as any kind of threat.

Qin Wan’er could not tolerate such blatant disregard, and no matter how warmly Guoguo called Chou Yan “sister,” she wasn’t going to go easy on her. “Drop it!” she demanded.

“I advise you not to interfere,” Chou Yan replied coldly. “For Guoguo’s sake, I won’t harm you. Leave now.”

“What?!” Qin Wan’er’s eyes flashed. “I’m already being polite for Guoguo’s sake. You’d better put down your weapon and cooperate with law enforcement. Come with me to the station and explain yourself!”

Xu Yun was at a loss—there was simply no way to explain all this.

Qin Wan’er, for all her brashness, was a relentless and just officer, while Chou Yan was the infamous Violent Fox Sovereign of the underworld. They were from completely different worlds.

Xu Yun saw the glint of a killing intent in Chou Yan’s eyes.

Damn it! He threw himself between them just as Chou Yan was about to strike. “Qin Wan’er, you call yourself a cop? The criminal’s the one on the ground! We intervened out of good citizenship. Don’t arrest the wrong people!”

“Good citizenship?” Qin Wan’er was unimpressed. “Do I look like a three-year-old? Since when do good Samaritans carry swords? You think this is some kind of martial arts flick? If you keep covering for her, I’ll arrest you too!”

Chou Yan had run out of patience. This was the sort of trouble easily resolved by eliminating the officer on the spot. The chill of the Longyuan sword flashed—one gentle flick would be all it took to end Qin Wan’er’s life.

At that critical moment, a childish voice rang out from the restaurant.

“Wan’er, you’re here! Huh? Dad, what are you and Sister Chou Yan doing?” Guoguo’s sudden appearance changed the atmosphere entirely.

Ruan Qingshuang, looking bewildered, came out holding Guoguo, firing off questions. “Xu Yun? Chou Yan? What are you—?”

“Guoguo, did you call the police again?” Xu Yun was utterly defeated by this girl’s fascination with law enforcement. At the slightest hint of trouble, she was on the phone.

Guoguo rubbed her sleepy eyes and nodded seriously. “Safety first.”

“Watch out!” Chou Yan shouted suddenly.

But it was already too late. Gong You, who had been kicked to the doorway by Xu Yun, suddenly sprang up, snatching the drowsy Guoguo from Ruan Qingshuang’s arms. Caught off guard, Ruan Qingshuang was shoved to the ground, unable to hold onto Guoguo.

“Nobody move! Anyone takes another step, and I’ll kill her!” Gong You snarled, pressing a short blade to Guoguo’s throat.

It all happened so fast that Guoguo was too stunned to even cry. Ruan Qingshuang, knocked to the ground, was completely frozen in shock.

Chou Yan’s phoenix eyes flashed with lethal intent, her body radiating a killing aura. If Gong You hadn’t been holding Guoguo so tightly, she would have struck him down in an instant.

Qin Wan’er was equally stunned. That man—after falling from the rooftop and taking Xu Yun’s brutal kick—could still stand? Was he even human?

When had the world become so insane, full of such monstrous freaks? What were these people made of?

Xu Yun narrowed his eyes, cold and calm. He regretted not finishing Gong You off earlier—if the man were dead, he wouldn’t be threatening his daughter now.

“Put the child down!” Qin Wan’er shouted, raising her pistol and chambering a round with a loud, decisive click.

Gong You sneered, hiding behind Guoguo as he roared, “Go ahead, shoot! Let’s see how accurate you so-called cops really are! Did you know, a child’s head exploding is a beautiful thing to watch!”

A dreadful silence fell over the night.

Qin Wan’er had always been confident in her marksmanship—she’d taken first place in the last citywide shooting competition. But now, faced with a real criminal and Guoguo in his hands, her confidence evaporated.

“If you don’t want this kid to die, drop your gun and kick it over here!” Gong You barked, pressing the blade harder against Guoguo’s neck.

Qin Wan’er’s hands went weak. All her resolve to confront the criminal drained away.

Xu Yun and Chou Yan were both poised to strike the moment Gong You made a mistake—but a second-rate fighter like him wasn’t about to make a rookie error.