Chapter 396: Ambush

“Good eyes, good eyes. As expected of the man bold enough to kidnap our young master. Unfortunately, you’re destined to die here today.” A middle-aged man stepped out from the forest, looking at Lin Xiao with a face full of admiration.

He knew very well that this seemingly unremarkable young man had single-handedly swept through all of Wan Shixuan’s forces in Jiangnan Province, even capturing Wan Shixuan himself.

If he hadn’t known that this young man had just fought Lei Qianting, an expert from the capital, he wouldn’t have dared to appear before him.

As the middle-aged man spoke, a dozen fully armed mercenaries emerged behind him, even wielding heavy weapons, eyes locked on Lin Xiao like predators eyeing prey.

“You were sent by Wan Shixuan’s father?” Lin Xiao looked at the middle-aged man, recalling Lei Qianting’s earlier warning.

“That’s right. I know you’re a martial artist, but you’ve just fought Lei Qianting; your qi must be completely depleted. How much strength do you think you still have now?” The middle-aged man looked smugly at Lin Xiao, threateningly said, “If you know what’s good for you, surrender now and I’ll leave your corpse intact. Otherwise…”

“You really are meticulous,” Lin Xiao said calmly, looking at the mercenaries slowly surrounding him as if they didn’t exist.

Still, Lin Xiao was a bit surprised. Lei Qianting had already informed him that Wan Shixuan’s father had tried to recruit him to deal with Lin Xiao.

Out of pride as a martial artist, Lei Qianting rejected the plan and chose to face Lin Xiao alone. To prevent the Wan family from interfering, he hadn’t disclosed the duel location and had even selected this Dongxu Manor last minute for secrecy.

Lin Xiao naturally believed Lei Qianting. Not only because of his character, but also because if Lei had sided with the Wan family, he wouldn’t have said what he did.

Yet now, the Wan family’s men were clearly prepared and had set up an ambush here. Someone must have leaked the information. It couldn’t be Lei Qianting, and the martial artists from Jiangnan were all invited at the last minute.

So who leaked it?

A face flashed in Lin Xiao’s mind, and he had a faint guess.

“Meticulous? You could say that. Our young master’s forces in Jiangnan were wiped out by you alone. I wouldn’t dare underestimate you,” the middle-aged man laughed loudly, eyes full of vigilance and pride as he looked at Lin Xiao. “So, have you made up your mind? No matter how strong you are, you won’t escape today.”

At the same time, he was filled with triumph. 

So what if you’re powerful? So what if Lei Qianting didn’t cooperate? You still fell into my trap.

Lin Xiao’s voice remained calm, “Is that so? Your planning is indeed not bad, but you’ve underestimated my strength. In my eyes, you’re not even worth mentioning.”

By the end, Lin Xiao’s face showed unyielding arrogance, a domineering air of looking down upon all.

No matter how many schemes, I break them with force.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man’s pupils contracted, an ominous feeling suddenly rising in his chest. But he quickly dismissed it.

Impossible.

As someone from the Wan family, he understood martial artists and knew Lei Qianting’s strength, at peak Dark Force. After that duel, Lin Xiao’s internal energy had to be drained.

A group of fully armed mercenaries, equipped with heavy weapons, facing a martial artist with depleted energy—this should be a piece of cake.

And if Lin Xiao still had energy left? Ridiculous.

Lei Qianting was peak Dark Force. Facing such a martial artist, you still expect to hold back? What do you think he is—a legendary Flowing Force stage grandmaster?

At that thought, the man grew angry at his earlier fear and shouted, “Putting on airs! Since you refuse the toast and want the penalty, don’t blame me! Open fire! Kill him!”

As soon as he gave the order, the mercenaries—already on edge—pulled their triggers, their guns spitting fire.

A blazing, violent line of fire surged from their barrels, rushing toward where Lin Xiao stood. Within the blink of an eye, a hail of bullets slammed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

“Dead?” The middle-aged man looked toward where Lin Xiao had been, his voice doubtful.

“Haha, relax. We’re using Vulcan guns. They were once the fastest rate of fire in the world. He couldn’t have escaped.” A burly man laughed nearby.

“Good.” The middle-aged man smiled, only for his face to suddenly twist. He shouted, “Careful! He’s not dead!”

“What?!”

The burly man turned toward where Lin Xiao had stood. The dust had cleared—there was no one there.

“This…”

The burly man opened his mouth to speak. But in the next instant, he felt a sharp pain in his head. The last thing he saw was the middle-aged man’s horrified, terrified expression.

With a loud thud, the burly man collapsed to the ground. A peanut-sized wound marked his temple—yet Lin Xiao was nowhere to be seen.

“Fire! Fire!! Kill him!” The middle-aged man screamed in fear, nearly hysterical.

Even before his words finished, the mercenaries had already gone wild, firing in all directions. Though battle-hardened, none of them had experienced anything like this.

One moment their target vanished, the next a man was dead. If not for the daylight and visible wounds, they might have thought it was a ghost.

They didn’t spare a single corner. Bullets flew in a frenzied storm. But it was useless. One by one, just like the burly man, they died, and the survivors finally began to panic and retreat, attempting to flee.

But Lin Xiao, hidden in the shadows, had no intention of letting them go. In fact, the faster one ran, the sooner they died.

At last, after the mercenaries went through surrender, begging, and madness. Lin Xiao killed them, leaving only the middle-aged man collapsed on the ground in fear.

Lin Xiao reappeared, step by step, walking up to him, looking down from above. “Now, am I still putting on airs?”

“Sp… spare me… I was only following orders… spare my life…” The man looked up at Lin Xiao, trembling in terror.

“Answer a few questions, and I’ll let you go.”

“Yes… Yes… anything you say.” The man nodded quickly.

“Who leaked the location of today’s duel?”

“It was Lei Qianting’s disciple, Tang Heng. He told me.”

Lin Xiao wasn’t surprised. He had already suspected it.

He asked a few more questions.

“Does Wan Shixuan’s father have any other forces stationed in Jinghai?”

“No, just me…”

After the questioning, Lin Xiao didn’t even look at the man again.

“You can go.”

“Th… thank you…” the man said with delight, thanking Lin Xiao profusely.

He stood up and ran off. But as he turned his back to Lin Xiao, his eyes filled with resentment. ‘Just wait, next time, I’ll make sure you die without a grave!’

But that hatred quickly froze in place—his body collapsed forward.

“I said I’d let you go, but I didn’t say how many times. That was once. This is the second.”

Lin Xiao looked calmly at the man’s corpse.

Eradicate evil, root and all—that was Lin Xiao’s principle. Though the middle-aged man wasn’t the mastermind, there was no rush, he’d soon find the true one.

After finishing the man off, Lin Xiao’s gaze turned toward a bush not far away.

“Master Lei, come out.”