Fighting a bigshot

Ayan swam to the shore and, without wasting a moment, began climbing the nearby cliff. His limbs ached, but he pushed through, entering the thick forest. He ran with all his might, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the lake, hoping the dense trees would offer some cover.

Suddenly, a man in white clothes and black spectacles appeared in front of him, blocking his path like a tall mountain.

"I just went outside the villa to enjoy my day and you had to cause a great ruckus at that time," Tang said with an irritated expression.

He tried to escape in another direction and changed paths several times but somehow the man always appeared in front of him, standing in his path with his smiling face as if it was all a game.

"I've to admit that you run too fast for someone your age," Tang said, his voice mockingly pleasant. "But, in front of real experts, it's nothing much."

Exasperated, Ayan fired his gun at Tang's heart but strangely, the bullet passed straight through him as if he wasn't even there. He shot a few more times aiming at different parts but the result was the same.

"You shouldn't play around randomly with such toys," Tang remarked.

Throwing caution to the wind, Ayan went and punched the man but he simply caught his fist in mid-air. Ayan tried to move his fist but it seemed stuck. He quickly swung his leg to attack in desperation but Tang's other hand caught it just as easily, stopping the attack. Ayan struggled, his limbs locked in place, powerless. He felt like an ant trying to shake a tree.

"What a savage temper, throwing fists and kicks like an untamed animal," Tang chided, shaking his head.

With a flick of his wrist, he released Ayan's fist and leg simultaneously, causing him to stumble and crash face-first into the dirt.

Before Ayan could recover, Tang sat on his back, and Ayan felt as though a great mountain pressed down on him and he couldn't stand up.

"With your inborn abilities, you could have done great things if trained properly. Why waste them in meaningless fights?" Tang sighed. "Why don't you join us?"

"I would rather die than join you guys who only know how to deceive others," Ayan rebuked in anger.

"Youngsters nowadays are so impulsive," Tang said while shaking his head. "Heaven's path is open, yet you turn away; Hell has no gate, yet you want to barge inside."

"Now, I'll have to capture and take you back."

Suddenly, the faint sound of a zither began to play, mingling with the rhythmic ticking of a clock, the air seeming to shift around them. Tang's weight lifted off Ayan's back, and in an instant, Ayan found himself standing, his body no longer trapped.

A calm voice broke the eerie silence, "I'm afraid you can't take this boy just yet."

Two figures appeared beside Ayan—a tall man seated on a rock, stirring the strings of a zither, and a short man wielding a long, mysterious staff.

Tang's face lit up with excitement as he took off his spectacles. "The infamous 'Men in Black.' Will I have the honor of facing the both of you?"

The zither's melody sharpened, and translucent energy blades materialized in the air, slicing toward Tang. His figure blurred, dodging them with astonishing speed. "You'll have to do better than that," he taunted.

The short man leaped forward, his staff whipping through the air with the power of a tempest, each strike aimed to trap Tang.

"Don't get too comfortable," the short man growled, his movements perfectly in sync with the energy blades, leaving Tang with less room to maneuver.

Tang's speed increased further, his movements fluid sometimes flickering out of reach sometimes twisting like a shadow darting between the attacks narrowly avoiding the sweeping staff and the sharp, humming energy that sliced through the air.

"Fast," he muttered, "but not enough."

He leaped into the air, his palm glowing with dark energy as he slammed it down, sending a shockwave that scattered the energy blades. The short man tried to block with his staff, but the force sent him skidding back.

Undeterred, the tall man shifted his tune, and the zither's energy blades intensified, forming a deadly web around Tang. Additionally, the sound of a ticking clock echoed through the air. Strangely, Tang's movement slowed down and he was barely dodging the energy blades.

The short man seized the moment, his staff a blur as he struck at Tang's chest. This time, Tang couldn't fully dodge—the staff clipped his shoulders sending him spiraling backward.

Tang stood up with a grunt, blood staining his lip. "You're skilled," he admitted. "But this isn't over."

Dark energy crackled around Tang's body as he launched a flurry of punches and kicks at the shorter man, effortlessly weaving between the incoming energy blades. Each strike was fierce, his movements like a storm unleashed. But the short man's staff shimmered with golden light, meeting every blow head-on, an unyielding shield against Tang's relentless assault.

As the zither's melody intensified, blending with the ominous ticking of the clock, Tang's movements began to falter. The rhythm seemed to seep into his very muscles, slowing him down, as though time itself was weighing him down. His fists, once swift and precise, now lagged as the golden light of the staff repelled him again and again.

"It seems the rumors are true," Tang said through gritted teeth, his body strained under the continuous assault. "Within the cultivation levels limits of this world, you two are nearly invincible. Your zither and the sound of the clock combine to affect the mind of your opponent slowing them down, making it difficult to dodge the attacks as more time goes on."

Though it appeared as if Tang was struggling more with each blow, he remained unscathed even after several rounds.

"You live up to your reputation as well, Black Hound Tang," the short man replied. "With great speed and a body as tough as steel."

Tang laughed lightly, stepping back. "You got lucky, kid," he called to Ayan. "I don't want to waste my time and energy anymore in this pointless battle."

With that, Tang disappeared into the trees, his presence evaporating like a ghost in the wind.

The Men in black heaved a sigh of relief. The short man's staff became small and disappeared, while the tall man carefully kept his zither inside a bag.

"You're a tough one to track down, kid," the short man remarked, eyeing Ayan with interest.

"Tch, you made us travel all the way to that remote village only to find you'd already left," the tall man grumbled, clearly annoyed.

"Jaxon should've mentioned that someone would come to visit you. Why didn't you just stay in that village instead of running off to so many different countries, all in this short time? Also, how come your tickets, passport, and all other documents are confidential? Do you even know how hard it is to find you?" he ranted, practically spitting with frustration. "And when we finally find you, you're hiding inside some mafia stronghold. And to top it off, you had to cause a ruckus attracting a big shot. You almost started a big war between the mafia and—"

"Alright. Enough, Kay," the short man interrupted. "Let's go somewhere safe first."

Kay nodded, still grumbling under his breath, and the two men grabbed Ayan, dragging him swiftly out of the forest, leaving the chaos behind them.