Chapter Six: A Different Xia He

Xia He, who had effortlessly escaped from the encirclement on her motorcycle, was the first to arrive at the rendezvous point. It wasn’t long before Lü Liang pulled up in a seven-seater van, the same model seen in Syria.

Getting out, Lü Liang walked straight over to Xia He.
“Sis, did you shake everyone off?”
Leaning against her bike, Xia He glanced at her phone screen and replied casually, “Don’t worry, no one was chasing me at all…”
“Huh?” Lü Liang was bewildered.
He couldn’t help but ask again, “Sis, why do I feel like you’re acting so strange?”
“Strange?”
“Me?”
Suddenly Xia He lifted her head, fixing her gaze on Lü Liang. The intensity of her look threw him into a panic, and he quickly waved his hands in defense. “Sis, I just mean that after meeting you in person, you’re not quite like the rumors about you among the Four Madmen.”

“How am I not like them?”
Putting down her phone, Xia He questioned him further.
“Well…” Lü Liang scratched his head, “Before I actually joined Quanxing, my impression of the Bone Scraper from the Four Madmen was someone capricious and unpredictable…”
“But after actually meeting you, Sis, I realized it’s not what I expected…”
He hesitated, but Xia He interrupted, “You want to say I’m trashy, slutty?”
“No…” Lü Liang hurriedly protested, but Xia He seemed utterly unconcerned: “I don’t care what others say. As long as there’s one person who truly understands me, that’s enough.”

Xia He tilted her head, not angry in the slightest.
That eased Lü Liang’s anxious heart considerably. He knew his own limits well, and to speak so boldly before Xia He required no small courage.
Yet, to his surprise, Xia He wasn’t angry at all, as if she truly didn’t care.

For the first time, Lü Liang felt he was really beginning to understand Xia He—the Bone Scraper, the embodiment of desire among the Four Madmen, famed as an enchantress.

“Let’s go.”
Xia He was in high spirits. She waved her hand nonchalantly, mounted her bike, and prepared to leave.
Lü Liang was utterly confused.
“Sis, where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Home?” Lü Liang was still baffled. “But isn’t everyone at the company supposed to be hunting us down right now…?”
“So what?”

Xia He spoke with absolute confidence, “They wouldn’t dare make a mess at my place anyway.”
With that, she started up her motorcycle.
“But…”
Lü Liang still hesitated.
In his view, the best solution right now was to find a safe place to hide.
But Xia He didn’t care in the least. That left him uncertain.

Should he go with her?
Seeing Lü Liang standing there motionless for so long, Xia He, who had waited patiently, finally lost her patience.

“Kid, are you coming or not?”
“I’m coming.”
Urged, Lü Liang gritted his teeth.
After all, he was already a wanted man with nowhere else to go; he might as well follow Xia He—maybe he’d be safe.

He glanced at the Syrian-style van beside him and sighed helplessly,
“Sis, this car seems dead. How about you just give me a lift?”

Xia He tucked her hair behind her ear,
Smiling brightly, she said,
“Letting your big sister drive you? No problem at all. Just afraid you might not see the sunrise tomorrow.”

“So, are you getting on?”
She patted the seat behind her.

Lü Liang: “…”

Night fell. Seven fifty p.m.
Jinnan, an unfinished building.

“Brother-in-law, is this where you and Ding An are set to duel? Feels pretty remote.”
Ye Yan led Feng Shayen, Feng Xingtong, and others into the place he had agreed to fight Ding An.
It was Feng Xingtong’s first time in such a place, and she was curious about everything around her.
Feng Yaya was much the same.

“Remote places have fewer people.”
Ye Yan surveyed the surroundings as he replied.

Originally, Ye Yan had intended to come alone to this duel with Ding An. But word had already spread, and he couldn’t shake off Feng Xingtong and the others.

Aside from Feng Shayen and Feng Xingtong, many from Tianxia Society had also come along—Chen Guo, Tan Chang, Yuan’er, and several other officers clamored to join.
They claimed, of course,
to witness a duel between masters and broaden their horizons.

Apart from Feng Zhenghao, who truly couldn’t leave, and ‘Old Hu’, the officer forced to stay behind to ensure Tianxia Group’s defense didn’t collapse, Tianxia Society had almost emptied its ranks.

Ye Yan was surrounded by the crowd, who appeared to be laughing and joking, but with a glance, he could see clearly all those hidden in the darkness.
Though their identities were unclear,
Ye Yan guessed that such shadowy figures were likely from Quanxing, or possibly Small Pavilion or Yao Xing Society.

Of course, besides these, there were others who openly stood at the entrance, as if watching a show.
Among them, Ye Yan spotted a few familiar faces—such as Xiaotaoyuan of Tianmen, Xu Si from the company, Liu Man the assassin from Quanxing, and so on.

But most faces were unfamiliar.
Ye Yan felt no surprise at this.
After all, news of his duel with Ding An had spread everywhere. Even in software used only by insiders, people were discussing it hotly, and there were threads online predicting the outcome.

Even though the time and place of the duel hadn’t been publicly announced, for those with intent and means, it was impossible to keep it a secret.

Ye Yan possessed no special sensory abilities, nor was his cultivation of Qi advanced.
But darkness—
was his domain.
He didn’t even need his eyes; a single thought swept through, and everything hidden in the shadows was laid bare before him.

This was a unique ability of the Lord of Night. Though he hadn’t yet mastered that special form, in darkness, his perception and power were noticeably heightened.

Those who thought themselves hidden in the dark, not only were completely exposed, but even their underwear color, body measurements, and, frankly, their most private details—Ye Yan could see them with perfect clarity.

“Brother Yan, good luck!”
As Ye Yan was observing, a loud shout with a strong Tianjin accent snapped him back to reality.

He turned to see the speaker was Liu Fang, the boss of Xiaotaoyuan—a guy whose loose tongue nearly got his head bashed in by Ye Yan’s Soul Hammer.

Unexpectedly, he was here to cheer for him.

Ye Yan responded with a smile.

Nearby, Xu Si, who had come running to watch the excitement, didn’t speak, but tossed Ye Yan a cigarette, which he caught deftly and placed between his lips.

“All right, you all wait here. I’ll walk the rest of the way alone.”
Lighting up, Ye Yan took a deep drag, then spoke to Feng Xingtong and the others.

“Be careful.”
Feng Shayen whispered softly, then raised her hand to tidy Ye Yan’s collar in front of everyone, but he dodged with a tilt of his head.

The young lady’s eyes were filled with embarrassment and longing.