Chapter Eighty-Two: Oh, you're awake?

“Well, how do you like this place?” Xue Tian’ai asked with a beaming smile, his eyes fixed on the burly men who seemed momentarily stunned. “Does it meet all your requirements for getting things done?”

From the moment these four hulking men began tailing him, Xue Tian’ai had been acutely aware of their clumsy attempts at surveillance. To be precise, their tracking skills were so poor they didn’t even reach the lowest rung of the ladder. Even a D-ranked hitman picked at random would have done a better job than these four.

He had also noticed that the two men who’d followed Lv Buyu earlier were among this group, which made their intentions immediately clear to him. Normally, he wouldn’t have spared such amateurs a second thought.

But tonight, Xue Tian’ai was in a foul mood. First, he was completely in the dark about this so-called Guxia Medallion. Second, his hatred for that mysterious Mr. Y had grown stronger—if Mr. Y truly wiped out the Ye family for the sake of the Guxia Medallion years ago, and now sought to kill his wife for the same reason, then Mr. Y was his mortal enemy, one with whom he could never coexist.

Yet he had no leads whatsoever on Mr. Y, which infuriated him. On top of that, the old man back home had told Hai Ruo everything about the Guxia Medallion but kept him ignorant, adding a layer of frustration to his anger. So he decided to vent his rage on these four unlucky fools.

Hearing Xue Tian’ai’s question, the four men stopped in their tracks in shock. Was it possible this kid had known they were tailing him all along?

“What’s the matter? After following me for so long, why stop now?” Xue Tian’ai regarded them with utter contempt, though his handsome face still wore a gentle smile.

“You knew we were following you from the start?” The bald brute felt a wave of dread wash over him.

“What else? Did you think I had nothing better to do than wander into alleyways for fun? By the way, tell that Lv Buyu of yours—if he really thought the four of you could handle me, that’s just laughable.” Xue Tian’ai’s tone was indifferent as he stared them down.

“Don’t get cocky, kid! Do you even know who we are?” The bald man, stung by Xue Tian’ai’s mocking tone, was both shocked and offended.

“Do I need to know the name of a hard-boiled egg?” Xue Tian’ai shot back, eyes glinting with mischief as he stared at the bald man’s gleaming scalp. “Eggs should stick to what they’re made for. Why bother playing at being a tracker?”

“Kid! If I don’t twist your head off and use it as a football today, I’ll take your surname!” The bald brute, catching the insult, flew into a rage. Nothing irritated him more than jokes about his baldness.

He charged out of the group, barreling straight towards Xue Tian’ai.

As the bald man lunged, Xue Tian’ai’s face remained calm, but inwardly he was delighted. Perfect timing—he needed someone to take out his anger on, and this guy would do nicely.

Still, he felt a touch of regret. Why hadn’t the other three rushed him together? It would save the trouble of dealing with them one by one.

“You’ll pay for your arrogance and that filthy mouth of yours!” The bald man, now right in front of Xue Tian’ai, clenched his fist and swung at his face.

As the fist, charged with power, closed in, a savage grin spread across the man’s face. In his mind, Xue Tian’ai was finished; at this distance, dodging was impossible. He’d worried for a moment that this kid might actually have some real skills, but now he saw he was just a braggart who didn’t even know how to dodge.

Xue Tian’ai, watching the fist whistle towards him, smiled faintly and raised his cola bottle, aiming the mouth of the bottle directly at the oncoming fist.

There was a dull thud.

A pained cry rang out immediately after.

He tilted his head and grinned at the bald man, who was clutching his right hand and stumbling backward. “Heavens, why are you attacking my cola bottle?”

“What did you do?!” The bald brute, trembling, pointed at Xue Tian’ai. The move had happened so fast, he hadn’t seen it at all.

“Oh? Looks like you’re fond of my cola bottle,” Xue Tian’ai said, shaking the empty bottle. “I’ve already finished it. Do you still want it?”

“Here, let me give it to you!” With a flick of his wrist, Xue Tian’ai hurled the bottle at the bald man.

With a whoosh, the seemingly weightless bottle, propelled by Xue Tian’ai’s wrist strength, sliced through the air like a bullet, heading straight for the bald head.

Clang! The bottle smacked hard against the shiny scalp, bounced up, struck him again, and finally rolled to the ground, satisfied.

The bald man’s ears were ringing, and stars spun before his eyes.

Thud! After a few wobbly turns, he crashed to the ground. Even as he lost consciousness, he had no idea how Xue Tian’ai had taken him down.

The remaining three men stared, utterly dumbfounded. The bald brute was their strongest, yet he’d gone down so easily? Was this a dream, or a movie shoot? Who could possibly knock someone out with a plastic bottle?

Now, as they looked at Xue Tian’ai, it was as if they were staring at a grim reaper. The young man had smiled harmlessly throughout, but his methods were terrifying.

“Oh? Aren’t you three coming?” Xue Tian’ai flashed a dazzling smile, waving at the three stunned men as if greeting old friends.

“Run!” the crew-cut man shouted, recovering his senses. He bolted for the mouth of the alley.

As if they could fight someone like this? The bald brute hadn’t even laid a finger on the kid and got laid out by a bottle.

The crew-cut man had no fight left in him; he felt like a helpless rabbit about to be slaughtered if he stayed.

“Oh? Haven’t you heard? You should never turn your back on the enemy,” Xue Tian’ai said with a light laugh as the man fled.

In a blur, Xue Tian’ai darted after him like lightning, appearing behind the crew-cut man in the blink of an eye. He grabbed the man by the collar as easily as plucking something from a bag, then spun him around and hurled him hard against the wall.

The impact made the man’s body convulse violently, writhing on the ground as if in the throes of a seizure.

Swift, precise, ruthless—Xue Tian’ai embodied all three.

Next, he turned to the two men in sunglasses, who were frozen with shock. “Why aren’t you running? Just now was your perfect chance,” he said with a devilish grin.

Terror had completely overtaken the two men; their legs felt like lead, unable to move. In their eyes, Xue Tian’ai was no mortal—his smile, his tone, his skills were downright demonic.

A nameless dread spread through them. The bald and crew-cut men were stronger, yet both had been dispatched like stray dogs. What courage could they possibly have left to face this young man?

Desperately, the two tried to force their heavy legs to move, to escape this place and the youth they’d dismissed from the start. They’d thought he was just a pretty boy, a nobody who only relied on his looks to con girls, someone who had to hide behind Old Huang to speak up.

Reality slapped them hard. This weak-looking young man was, in fact, a dangerous force to be reckoned with.

Xue Tian’ai had no patience to ponder what the two men were thinking; his figure blurred once again, vanishing from their sight.

“Where’d he go?” one of them asked in terror.

“I don’t kno—”

“Hey, over here!” Xue Tian’ai’s voice sounded suddenly behind them.

They spun around in panic.

Xue Tian’ai’s fists shot out, slamming hard into the stomachs of both men just as they turned. The pain doubled them over. Then, shifting to the right, he delivered a powerful kick, sending one man flying. The force knocked the other off his feet too, and both crashed to the ground, stacked atop each other, foaming at the mouth and unconscious.

“How boring, so weak! I’m done here, what a waste of time.” Xue Tian’ai looked at the four sprawled men in disappointment, clapped his hands, and prepared to leave the deserted alley.

At that moment, the bald man who’d been knocked down first let out a sigh of relief. The bottle had hit him hard, but he’d regained some consciousness. He’d dared not move, afraid Xue Tian’ai would notice and beat him again.

He lifted his head slightly, squinting toward the alley’s exit. Seeing that Xue Tian’ai was gone, he finally relaxed enough to prop himself up, though he still couldn’t stand.

He exhaled deeply, feeling as if he’d just had a brush with death.

But before he could fully relax, a quiet voice sounded behind him.

“Well, you’re awake?”