Chapter 74: The Trap

The electric light in the room clicked on, stinging He Yuzhu's eyes and making them blur.

He squinted, and after a long moment, he saw clearly—an Eight Immortals table, a heated brick bed piled with bedding, and a jowly Zhao Datou glaring at him.

"I finally waited for you to come," Zhao Datou said in a hoarse voice.

He Yuzhu felt the cold sweat on his back nearly soaking through his cotton-padded jacket.

If the other party had opened fire directly, he might not have been able to dodge it.

"Zhao Datou, you've put on weight. Today, I want to get things straight. Where exactly did I, He Yuzhu, offend you that you have to make things difficult for me?"

"If I haven't guessed wrong, it must be because you killed my older brother, Dengzhao," Zhao Datou said with a gloomy face.

He Yuzhu nodded: "You're not wrong, I did it."

"What right did you have to kill my brother?"

"He was the one who kidnapped me first!"

"But my brother didn't want your life; he just wanted to sell you to human traffickers. He didn't intend to kill you, and besides, he was acting on someone else's behalf."

He Yuzhu sneered: "So, all the logic in the world belongs to you people, is that it? If you can do the first, don't blame me for doing the fifteenth!"

Zhao Datou was so angry that he kicked a girl who was tied up like a dumpling to the floor.

His mouth twitched a few times, but he couldn't manage to squeeze out a single word.

The girl had already been tortured beyond recognition, her face swollen high, and after being kicked like that, she passed out cold.

"Zhao Datou, I used to think highly of you. To abuse a girl like this, it's truly beneath contempt!" He Yuzhu said, suppressing his rage.

"This is a traitorous wretch! If I hadn't been cautious, your schemes would have succeeded long ago!" Zhao Datou gripped two Box Cannons tightly, their pitch-black muzzles pointed straight at He Yuzhu.

"Put the guns down! Let's have a proper talk. I haven't even drawn a weapon, are you really that nervous?"

"Kid, I know you've got some skills, but today is going to be your burial ground."

"Can you tell me how you guessed it was me who killed your brother?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Sun Qiang said at my brother's funeral that the one who killed him was the hostage. Later, I investigated you, but I never believed you had that kind of ability until Xiao Erduo told me that you and your Siqiang had injured over a dozen of their men. That was when I became certain it was you," Zhao Datou laughed heartily.

"If you kill me, aren't you afraid of offending Miss Liu?"

"Don't think that just because you've latched onto Miss Liu you can run wild in Si Jiu Cheng. I have people behind me too, and they are big shots," Zhao Datou sneered.

"Zhao Datou, that day you wanted to kill the Japanese devils in the street, it was me who threw the Flying Knife at your hand. I respect you as a man; take your people and withdraw from Si Jiu Cheng. Don't keep hanging around with Zheng De."

"You've got some nerve, kid. Even at a time like this, you aren't kneeling to beg for mercy, but instead, you're trying to persuade me? Are you out of your mind?" Zhao Datou sneered.

"Right now, do you really think you can kill me?"

"You really are arrogant, kid," Zhao Datou chuckled.

"Today, I'll let you go. Take your brothers and withdraw from Si Jiu Cheng, go to Hong Kong to make a living! That place would be paradise for you," He Yuzhu said earnestly.

He truly meant it; with Zhao Datou's skills and courage, he might not do worse than the Xiang family if he went to Hong Kong.

"Stop trying to stall for time with me. Do you see the courtyard? I've arranged thirteen brothers, every one of them a top-tier expert. Today, you won't be able to fly away even with wings!" Zhao Datou roared.

"Good words are hard to use to persuade a ghost destined to die. Since you won't listen, don't blame me," He Yuzhu sighed.

"Then I'll have to avenge my brother!" Zhao Datou said, preparing to pull the trigger.

Just then, a miracle happened; he only felt a blur before his eyes, and the gun in his hand was somehow already in He Yuzhu's hand.

Zhao Datou looked blankly at his empty hands, then at He Yuzhu: "You, what kind of sorcery are you using?"

"My hands are just faster. There aren't many people in this world faster than me."

"I, I..."

Before Zhao Datou could finish his sentence, He Yuzhu flicked his hand, and three Flying Knives shot out, precisely piercing his throat, mouth, and heart.

Zhao Datou fell slowly, unwilling to accept his fate.

"I really didn't want to take your life, but you were just too stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason. Kill them! Don't just stand there, why waste so much breath!" He Yuzhu muttered to himself, but his movements didn't stop; he flew out of the window like a ghost.

The wood shavings from the shattered window frame scattered in the courtyard.

Those dozen or so men still didn't know what had happened inside the room; they were all pointing their guns at the door, never expecting He Yuzhu to come out through the window.

When He Yuzhu appeared in the courtyard like a ghost, everyone was terrified and scrambled to turn their guns.

He Yuzhu focused his mind, and these people disappeared as if by magic—in reality, he had collected them into his space.

He Yuzhu picked up Chuntao and walked toward the alley entrance, the heavy snow falling upon them.

Arriving at Liugongguan, he knocked hard on the gate.

Pingping opened the door quickly; it was clear that she and Miss Liu had not yet gone to sleep.

"How did it go?" Pingping asked anxiously.

"Let's go inside and talk!"

He Yuzhu carried Chuntao into the living room.

Liu Rusi was sitting on the sofa in silk pajamas; seeing Chuntao's swollen face, she was startled: "What happened? How did she end up like this?"

He Yuzhu let out a long breath: "Sister, if I didn't trust you, I would have really thought this was a trap. When I entered Zhao Datou's room, he had already set an ambush."

"Chuntao, you tell me! What exactly happened?" Liu Rusi was already showing signs of anger.

Chuntao sobbed and said: "I was caught after I finished delivering the intelligence. They kept hitting me, and I couldn't take it anymore, so... Miss, it's my fault for being useless, please kill me!"

Liu Rusi was so angry she paced the living room and slammed a teacup onto the floor: "If Zhuzi hadn't come back, I would definitely have killed you! This time... forget it, you haven't received professional training, I don't blame you. Go get some rest!"

"Miss, you're really not going to kill me?" Chuntao couldn't believe it.

He Yuzhu smiled: "I'll vouch for you; Miss keeps her word."

Liu Rusi nodded, looking at He Yuzhu with amazement: "You dealt with over a dozen people by yourself? How did you do it?"

Pingping also leaned in: "I don't believe it, demonstrate it for us!"

He Yuzhu felt helpless, knowing that if he didn't convince them today, he would inevitably be suspected in the future.

"Pingping, take the bullets out of those two Box Cannons of yours. You and Sister Liu each take one and stand in front of and behind me. When someone shouts 'start,' pull the triggers. But you must shout 'start' before pulling, not pull and then shout."

Liu Rusi smiled and said, "Fine, I understand."

"Start!" After Liu Rusi shouted, she went to pull the trigger.

But her vision blurred, and the two guns were already in He Yuzhu's hands, with the muzzles pointed directly at them.

The two of them still couldn't believe it and tried a few more times, but the result was the same, and only then were they truly convinced.

Liu Rusi touched He Yuzhu's head: "I finally know what your greatest reliance is. I used to think your Siqiang was the most formidable, but I didn't expect it to be you yourself."

"My hands have been exceptionally nimble since I was a child, and after training, they became even faster. My speed is two or three times faster than someone who hasn't trained," He Yuzhu said proudly.