Chapter 53: Su Muqing in Tears

Everyone saw a sudden flash before their eyes, as if a white arc streaked past. In the next instant, the brightness at the villa entrance returned to normal.

“Stand up.”

Qin Xuan stood calmly before Lei Jinde, who by now had collapsed on the ground in terror.

“Damn it, where’s the sniper?”

Lei Jinde was terrified, but dared not make a sound. At this moment, Qin Xuan was holding the Taiqing Sword across his throat, leaving him no room for the slightest movement.

Little did he know, the sniper upstairs was now staring ahead, stupefied.

A celestial sword from the heavens, a fleeting glimpse of brilliance.

Qin Xuan had unleashed a move from the Shushan Sword Sect—not to deal with the sniper, but to destroy the sniper rifle itself. That weapon was now nothing but a heap of twisted, shattered parts, completely ruined by the dazzling sword light.

“Qin Xuan!”

Su Muqing ran over, sobbing. “Stop trying to be a hero, come with me to the hospital!”

“Don’t worry. I’m alright. Call the police,” Qin Xuan replied. Though he’d been shot in the left shoulder, he hadn’t made a sound of pain.

Seeing Lei Jinde limp and pale, Qin Xuan couldn’t help but curse his cowardice. He knocked him out with a blow from the sword’s back, sending Lei Jinde’s eyes rolling back as he fell unconscious.

Raising his head to survey the scene, Qin Xuan saw the fear etched on the faces of the gang members around him.

They didn’t know why the sniper upstairs had failed to fire a third shot, but the fact that two shots had missed already filled them with dread. Even more so, the image of that streak of white sword light was now seared into their minds.

“Shit, run!” shouted a blond-haired youth without hesitation.

“Our boss is here, how can we run?” a burly man retorted angrily. Having followed Lei Jinde for years, first in Yunnan and now in Jinling, he felt he couldn’t just abandon his leader and flee.

“Do you want to wait for the police? The Russian upstairs on the third floor probably isn’t going to make it. That guy is so freakish, not even the sniper rifle could stop him. What else can we do but run?” the blond sneered darkly. “If we don’t get out of here now, we’ll all end up in the station. Who’ll be left to bail the boss out then?”

At that, the others fell silent.

Within moments, the blond youth led a large group as they fled into the woods behind the villa. Only Lei Jinde, knocked out by Qin Xuan, and a few unlucky ones with broken legs who couldn’t escape, were left behind.

“Qin Xuan, the police will be here soon. Are you alright? Please, let’s get you to a hospital!” Su Muqing pleaded as she supported him.

“I’m really fine…” Qin Xuan shook his head, then called out to Gao Tie and Xiao Gang, who were still standing there in shock. “You two, stay here and watch this guy. When the police arrive, help them out. I don’t want to see the police, so I’ll be leaving first.”

“Qin… Brother Qin, what happened to the sniper upstairs? Did you really take him out with that move just now?” Gao Tie asked, barely able to believe it.

“I took care of the gun. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine holding onto this fat guy. Just wait for the police,” Qin Xuan explained, then turned to leave.

“Wait!” Su Muqing called after him, but he didn’t stop, disappearing into the woods behind the villa along with the fleeing gangsters.

Gritting her teeth, Su Muqing didn’t hesitate to chase after him.

Meanwhile, Gao Tie and Xiao Gang dragged the unconscious Lei Jinde into a taxi. Gao Tie asked, “What now?”

Xiao Gang flexed his muscles. “Why are the cops taking so long? We called them as soon as we left, bunch of useless turtles.”

“Do you think Brother Qin will be alright after getting shot?” Gao Tie asked, a note of worry in his voice.

“He’ll be fine, definitely. Didn’t you see that sword light just now? Damn! It was like a movie! Brother Qin isn’t an ordinary person. Let’s not worry,” Xiao Gang replied carelessly.

At that moment, the sound of sirens grew closer. Soon, over a dozen police cars arrived at the villa. Gao Tie and Xiao Gang personally handed Lei Jinde over to the officers.

A middle-aged officer, apparently the leader, came over and patted Gao Tie’s shoulder in praise. “Young man, you’ve done a great service for the country this time!”

“Heh, it wasn’t me,” Gao Tie replied with a smile. “But we’ve caught the guy, so you can handle the rest. Oh, there’s a sniper rifle upstairs, and there might be other weapons in the villa. You’d better search thoroughly…”

“What? A sniper rifle?” The officer’s expression changed. He’d assumed this was just a common brawl, maybe some kidnapping at worst, but with firearms involved, this was a whole different matter.

“Search the villa, top to bottom!” he ordered.

The police sprang into action. Though this could turn out to be a major achievement, the officer’s face showed resignation. If this case was as big as it seemed, the credit would certainly be claimed by Director Yang. Official reports would say Yang had personally solved several major cases, but in reality, he’d never been involved in any of them…

Qin Xuan slipped into the woods, vanishing after only a few steps. Since there was only one mountain road leading to the villa, and he wanted to avoid police trouble, he could only leave through the forest.

Although the sniper’s bullet had struck his left shoulder, he hadn’t been seriously injured. At the critical moment, he’d used his inner energy to protect himself, stopping the bullet after it had penetrated only a third of the way. It was nothing more than a superficial wound to him.

He took out his phone. “Hello, Senior Brother Zhao?”

“Haha, it’s me. Qin, I heard about what happened at Jinling University today. Sounds like it was quite a scene,” Zhao Long’s hearty voice came through.

“You mean beating up that Japanese exchange student? That was nothing,” Qin Xuan replied with a laugh. “I want to ask you something. Do you know where Li Shihao is right now?”

“Li Shihao? Why are you looking for him?” Zhao Long asked, surprised.

Qin Xuan explained everything about Yang Ling.

As an outer disciple of the Shushan Sword Sect, Zhao Long didn’t dismiss Qin Xuan’s story as nonsense. His expression changed as he listened. “What, he did that?”

“That’s right. I want to bring justice, to make him pay in blood.”

A cold glint flashed in Qin Xuan’s eyes.

“Qin, don’t act rashly!” Zhao Long urged. “I’m not trying to stop you, but I honestly don’t know where he is. The Li family has businesses all over Jinling—it won’t be easy to find him. Besides, this can be handled through official channels. Qin, in the mundane world, sometimes you don’t need to get your own hands dirty…”

“Li Shihao has powerful connections. If I don’t deal with him myself, who in the mundane world could touch him?” Qin Xuan replied in a low voice.

“Qin, in any case, let’s take our time with this. You’re a true cultivator—if you kill someone in the mundane world, not only you, but even Master would get into trouble.”

Qin Xuan fell silent at these words.

He knew Zhao Long was right. Though he desperately wanted to kill Li Shihao, the consequences were not something he could bear alone. His master would have to handle it. The elders of the cultivation world were not to be trifled with…

“Qin Xuan! Qin Xuan!”

Su Muqing called out through her tears, stumbling as she chased after him. When she finally caught sight of his figure, a trace of joy appeared on her face.

Qin Xuan stopped and turned around.

She was pale, with two streaks of tears on her exquisitely beautiful face. Her pure white dress was covered in dust, torn in several places by branches, exposing patches of snow-white skin. On her slender thigh, a fresh red scratch from the woods caught Qin Xuan’s eye, making his heart tighten.

To catch up with him, Su Muqing had run desperately, heedless of everything, not even noticing when the branches had scratched her…