Chapter 13 Encounter

The rain pattered on the ground, constantly making a "shasha" noise.

The dim incandescent light couldn't illuminate the abandoned junkyard, just stretching the shadows of the few people standing in the center into the gloomy, damp mire.

Xia Huilan's face was pale, one hand gripping the suitcase handle tightly, the other holding a pistol.

In front of her, seven or eight men had a teenager shackled with chains, dragging him on the ground like a dead dog.

"Sis, you shouldn't have come!"

The teenager struggled and cried out.

—This teenager looked exactly like Wu Xiaode!

On the wall.

Ya cocked his head in surprise and asked, "Is this your real brother?"

"No, he's disguised himself to look like me," Wu Xiaode said.

"Let me see... oh, it turns out he's used almost the same disguise as you. He's disguised himself as you while you've disguised yourself as someone else. Interesting, really interesting!" Ya laughed.

At that moment, there was a new twist in the yard.

The men holding "Wu Xiaode" addressed Xia Huilan, "Many have died already, do you want him to die as well?"

"Stop it, let him go, and I'll give you the files," Xia Huilan shouted at the men.

"How can we trust you?" the leading man said.

"Send him over, I'll take him away, and I'll transfer the files to you via the internet. I mean what I say," Xia Huilan said.

"If you deceive us..." the man said.

"Wait, I have one more condition. You must withdraw the bounty on him. He's just a high school senior, alone and unsupported. You can't smear him as an arsonist and murderer!" Xia Huilan said.

"About the files, you're not playing us, are you?" the man said.

Xia Huilan gave a wistful smile and shook her head, "Since I have shown myself, it proves that you've already won, hasn't it?"

The leader feigned hesitation for a while before he finally said, "All right, don't try any tricks, or you both will die."

Another man crouched down, unlocking Wu Xiaode's shackles while loudly saying, "We're releasing you to Xia Huilan now, you're free, and we will clear your name of the charges."

He unlocked the teenager's shackles.

The teenager immediately ran towards Xia Huilan, crying out as he ran, "Sis, I'm so scared."

Xia Huilan seemed to sigh in relief.

The men quietly exchanged glances.

As soon as the teenager got to Xia Huilan's side—

She would be caught.

And the matter would be considered perfectly resolved.

The leader kept a close eye on Xia Huilan, and just as the teenager was about to reach her, he suddenly spoke, "This guy is yours now, in exchange, you must give us the goods."

His eyes were fixed on Xia Huilan.

Indeed, Xia Huilan was distracted, replying, "I will give them to you."

The teenager reached her.

He spread his arms—

"Little Wu, don't block my gun," Xia Huilan cried out in a hurry.

In a flash, an unexpected change occurred!

A black figure suddenly appeared among the group of men.

It was a young man who looked unsophisticated.

As "Little Wu" ran to Xia Huilan's side, it wasn't just her who was distracted; these men were all engrossed as well!

No sooner had the young man revealed himself than his hands moved like afterimages, continuously striking out.

—Iron Wire Fist·Grinding Force!

This move emphasized swift action, using instant force to crush the enemy's throat, back of the head, temples, and chest—four vital points. A hit meant no salvation, it was a ruthless technique for killing an enemy!

A series of striking sounds rang out.

The second hand ticked one second.

All the men were flung out, crashing to the ground, rolling away in all directions like scattered calabashes.

The second second.

The man turned into a crow, flapping his wings to cover dozens of meters in an instant, appearing behind "Wu Xiaode."

He transformed back into a man and chopped at "Wu Xiaode"'s nape with a hand knife.

"Wu Xiaode" immediately collapsed to the ground like a dead dog, motionless.

Three seconds.

The fight was over.

"Wu Xiaode!" Xia Huilan exclaimed.

"He is not Wu Xiaode—Sister Lan, do you remember the dinner you treated me to last winter? There was a credit card hidden in the cake, and you insisted that I take it," the plain-looking young man said.

Xia Huilan froze, her complexion changing repeatedly.

She looked at "Wu Xiaode" on the ground, then at the unfamiliar man in front of her, for a moment hardly daring to believe.

"Sis, it's me. I used some genetic drugs to temporarily turn myself into a stranger to evade the bounty," the man said earnestly.

"What happened when you were eight?" Xia Huilan asked.

"When I was eight, your parents took part in a top-secret experiment and sacrificed themselves, leaving only you behind. My parents then adopted you as their goddaughter to support your education and living expenses," the man said.

"And when you were eleven?"

"My parents were gone too... You started working part-time to support my schooling."

"What outrageous thing did you say to me?"

"You raised me for a few years, then I'll take care of you later."

"And the boy who bullied me?"

"That boy who liked to lift your skirt almost drowned, nearly dying, but luckily I saved him. He transferred schools afterward; there was also another one who kept calling you a jinx who killed your parents, I had a talk with him. He was so ashamed that he accidentally broke his arm falling down the stairs."

"It's really you, Little Wu."

Xia Huilan stepped forward, touched the face and body of "Wu Xiaode" on the ground, and said with relief, "It's a fake."

Wu Xiaode watched this unfold, his gaze growing even colder.

If he hadn't arrived in time, Xia Huilan might have been captured by them.

Her colleagues were all murdered, their bodies tied to chairs, with fire used to destroy the evidence of the corpses.

What would have happened to her?

Wu Xiaode took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions.

By then, the cold rain had already stopped.

In the night breeze, a crow excitedly flitted above the corpses scattered on the ground.

As the crow danced, faint points of light began to float up from the bodies, merging into its wings.

The Book of the Dead automatically flipped open, revealing lines of cold, icy crystal small characters:

"You have killed eight adult males."

"According to your agreement with the Crow Spirit, it is now drawing Soul Power from the corpses, which is a result of using your ability 'Book of the Dead,' equivalent to you being in action."

"The Crow Spirit has shared some Soul Power with you."

"Your maximum Soul Power has increased."

"Current Soul Power: 1/4."

"Soul Power continues to increase..."

"Your Soul Power has been replenished, current Soul Power is: 4/4."

Just moments ago, a battle had erupted in an instant, and Wu Xiaode had used Iron Wire Fist, once again depleting Soul Power.

Now, with the crow's replenishment, his Soul Power had recovered a bit and even increased his limit, which made Wu Xiaode breathe a sigh of relief.

He was beginning to understand just how important Soul Power was.

Had it not been for the Soul Power just now, he could never have achieved such an effect in the fight.

Wu Xiaode looked at Xia Huilan, only to see that she seemed unable to discern those luminous points or the Crow Spirit.

"Sister Lan, weren't you going to return to the countryside? Why haven't you left yet?" Wu Xiaode said.

"I was afraid of dragging you down, but before I had the chance to leave, they had already started killing my friends around me, and even you were wanted——"

Xia Huilan did not continue.

But Wu Xiaode already understood and asked, "Is the countryside safe?"

"I have prepared a refuge, it's in the mountains near my hometown, close to the primeval forest, and I think no one knows about it," Xia Huilan said.

"What exactly happened? I remember you worked at a large tech company and it seemed you were doing quite well," Wu Xiaode expressed confusedly.

"Little Wu, what was all that with your skills just now?" Xia Huilan asked, sidestepping his question.

"I had a master for a long time and there's a very strong force behind me, but for certain reasons, I had to remain incognito until I was forced to reveal my strength when I became wanted," Wu Xiaode explained.

Xia Huilan grasped his arm tightly and didn't speak for a long time.

Wu Xiaode thought to himself that perhaps Xia Huilan hadn't seen clearly how he had struck earlier.

The woman who was buried in the sea of fire.

The thug who had attempted to assassinate him.

The nation-wide manhunt.

——And the individual lying on the ground posing as him.

All of this indicated just how vast the enemy's power was and how determined they were to capture Xia Huilan.

Wu Xiaode held Xia Huilan's hand and immediately realized her body was trembling slightly.

——Perhaps the burden she carried was too heavy, and at that moment, she needed more confidence.

Wu Xiaode thought for a second before picking up a stone and gently crushing it to dust in front of Xia Huilan.

Xia Huilan stared unblinkingly at the pile of powder before finally snapping back to reality and looking toward the lifeless bodies.

With uncertainty, she asked, "They are...?"

"Dead," Wu Xiaode spread his hands and explained patiently, "They are real enemies that would threaten your life, so it's either do nothing, or do it thoroughly."

"You don't need to explain, you're not wrong," Xia Huilan said.

Wu Xiaode inwardly sighed with relief.

He had feared that Xia Huilan would not be able to accept him killing people, but it seemed that she was more mature than he was.

If he hadn't gone through the ordeal with the One-eyed Giant, he absolutely couldn't have gone to this extent.

"Little Wu, I can hardly believe it; I thought I could protect you... To think in the end, it's you who protected me," Xia Huilan said.

Dinglingling——

The sound of a phone ringing came.

The two turned their heads to look, only to see that it was a man whom Wu Xiaode had knocked away, who was the source of the sound.

Xia Huilan walked up, retrieved the phone from the man's body, and answered it.

"How's it going? Have you caught Xia Huilan?"

A cold voice came through the receiver.

A cold light flashed in Xia Huilan's eyes as she swiftly regained her composure.

"Teacher, I have been caught," she spoke cautiously.

"Ha ha, how could you escape my palm? Hand over the research results, and you could even continue working by my side. But from today on, you won't just be my assistant; you will be my woman," the voice declared.

"And if I refuse?" Xia Huilan responded.

"I know you're not afraid of death, but once the warrant for Wu Xiaode went out, you exposed your whereabouts and even thought about saving him, such a naive girl——"

The voice laughed and continued, "Take her back first."

Xia Huilan gave Wu Xiaode a look.

"Yes," Wu Xiaode answered vaguely.

The call ended.

"Is he your academic advisor?" Wu Xiaode inquired.

"He's also a leader at the company, he never bothers with me, but any paper I write, he wants to be the first author," Xia Huilan said indifferently.

Wu Xiaode displayed a look of recollection.

The tech company Xia Huilan worked for was world-renowned, and he had even been taken there for a tour several times by her.

Her advisor...

He was old enough to be her grandfather.

"What are you thinking about?" Xia Huilan questioned.

"Nothing."

Wu Xiaode broke into a calm smile.

The crow in midair suddenly tilted its head and glanced at the young man below.

"Ah ha, it seems I've guessed right, there's more Soul Power to harvest tonight, this deal is a big win!" the crow thought to itself, satisfied.