Volume One, Chapter Nine: The Reckoning!

Zhao Hu lay on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, groaning incessantly.

The shrill, piercing screams echoing through the private room sent the burly men inside into a fit of rage. A flash of murderous intent surged instantly in Zhao Xiong's eyes.

"Boy, who are you? How dare you injure Zhao Hu! Are you looking for death?"

One of the brawny men stood up with a start, his body radiating lethal intent. He was shirtless, his muscles coiled and knotted, clearly the mark of someone who had undergone rigorous training. As he spoke, the other hostesses in the room scrambled and crawled their way out in a panic.

Qi Wuxie’s expression remained cold. He sneered, "Oh? Then I’d very much like to see how you plan to kill me!"

The arrogant remark incited further fury among the other men in the room.

"You little beast, you’re too cocky! For daring to barge in here, I guarantee you won't walk out of here alive today!"

"I’m going to snap his limbs and show him the consequences of offending Brother Xiong!"

The men were stunned for a moment, then began shouting in anger. They had never encountered anyone so insolent. Not only had he wounded Zhao Hu, but he had also trespassed on the territory of the Green Dragon Gang! Throughout the entire East District, who didn't know that the Green Dragon Gang was the king of the underworld?

Watching his younger brother beaten until he was unrecognizable, Zhao Xiong felt his eyelid twitch.

"My friend, who are you? Did my brother offend you in some way for you to beat him like this?"

Zhao Xiong was, after all, the third-in-command of the Green Dragon Gang. Even with his own brother severely injured, he maintained his composure. Because of the recent trouble surrounding that plot of land in the East District, he wasn't sure who had sent this young man. No one from the other gangs would be reckless enough to intrude into Green Dragon territory like this.

Qi Wuxie replied coldly, "You ask why? Because your brother deserves to die! No, wait—all of you deserve to die!"

Hearing this, Zhao Xiong grew even more suspicious. He didn't recall any such young man among his list of enemies.

"Big Brother... he, he is Qi Wuxie, that brat from the Qi family back then! Brother Tai told you to kill him!" Zhao Hu suddenly shrieked.

As the words reached his ears, Zhao Xiong’s pupils constricted. Then, as if a memory had been triggered, a tidal wave of shock surged through his heart.

"Brother Xiong, do you know this guy?" The others in the room, seeing Zhao Xiong’s expression, were all curious about the origins of this youth named Qi Wuxie, wondering what could possibly make Zhao Xiong lose his composure.

Zhao Xiong regained his senses, his expression replaced by a flash of wild joy. "You little beast, I didn't expect it to be you! You’re certainly lucky to still be alive! But now that you’ve delivered yourself to my doorstep, Young Master Tianhao will surely be pleased if I kill you!"

Zhao Xiong laughed loudly. He finally remembered why the young man looked so familiar. Five years ago, it was supposed to be him tasked with killing Qi Wuxie in a hit-and-run, but Zhou Tianhao hadn't trusted him, giving the job to Zhou Tai instead. He had been frustrated by that for a long time. If he had been the one to complete the task, his status might have been even higher than Zhou Tai's.

Qi Wuxie watched Zhao Xiong's excited expression and raised an eyebrow. "You know me?"

Zhao Xiong laughed. "Of course! I’ll remember this face of yours for the rest of my life! I used to think I was just unlucky, but it seems Heaven is helping me after all! After all this time, you’ve finally fallen into my hands!"

A murderous glint appeared in Zhao Xiong's eyes. He knew well the grudge between the Qi and Zhou families. Now that Qi Wuxie had returned alive, Zhou Tianhao would certainly want to eliminate this nuisance. If he were to finish off Qi Wuxie himself and report it to Zhou Tianhao, it would be a monumental achievement! By then, Zhou Tai, who bossed him around every day, would likely have to answer to him.

Thinking of this, the smile on Zhao Xiong's face deepened, and a flicker of killing intent erupted in his eyes. "Do it! Break all four of this little beast's limbs!"

Having figured out Qi Wuxie's identity, Zhao Xiong didn't hesitate to give the order.

Boom!

As soon as he spoke, more than a dozen burly men in the room surged forward, surrounding Qi Wuxie. The man who had spoken first wore a cruel grin as he closed in. "Little beast, you’ve offended Brother Xiong; ten lives wouldn't be enough to pay for it! Keep your eyes open in your next life and don't provoke people you shouldn't!"

Boom—

As he spoke, the man lunged, his fist whistling through the air as he struck ferociously at Qi Wuxie. These dozen men were Zhao Xiong’s trusted lieutenants, all former mercenaries with extraordinary combat skills and blood on their hands. A single punch from one of them was enough to leave an average man severely injured.

Seeing the fist descending, Qi Wuxie remained expressionless, side-stepping the blow.

"What?!" The man was shocked, but before he could react, Qi Wuxie backhanded him across the face.

Slap!

The man spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew backward, crashing into the wall with a thunderous thud, his face shattered. This happened so suddenly that everyone in the room, except for Zhao Hu, was caught off guard.

"Not much to look at," Qi Wuxie said indifferently.

The words reached the others, and only then did they react, their expressions shifting to shock and fear. What... what was going on? He had sent a man flying with a single slap?!

Zhao Xiong was completely bewildered. He had anticipated that Qi Wuxie might be capable, otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to barge in alone. But he never imagined Qi Wuxie’s skill would be this terrifying—one slap to send a two-hundred-pound man flying! He knew the man, Sun Wang, had once single-handedly taken down seven special forces soldiers during his time as a mercenary. Yet now, he was left barely breathing from a single strike.

"What are you standing there for? Kill this little beast!" Zhao Xiong roared, his eyes filled with murderous rage.

The remaining dozen men, fueled by malice, charged at Qi Wuxie together. Seeing this, Qi Wuxie stepped forward and plunged into the crowd.

As a series of shrill, agonizing screams echoed through the room, in mere seconds, these mercenaries—who had once struck terror into the hearts of everyone in the East District—lay sprawled on the ground, dead or dying.

Watching his trusted men being wiped out, Zhao Xiong retreated repeatedly until he slumped onto the sofa. His face was pale, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at Qi Wuxie. "You... what do you want! Qi Wuxie, I’m warning you, I’m the third-in-command of the Green Dragon Gang, and I’ve already alerted the others! If you kill me, you won't make it out of here alive today!"

Even now, Zhao Hu continued to threaten him.

Qi Wuxie looked on coldly, walked up to Zhao Xiong, and stepped firmly onto his chest. The immense force caused Zhao Xiong to scream, his face turning the color of pig’s liver.

"A bunch of weaklings, and you think they can stop me? For the past five years, my mother and sister haven't been spared from your brothers' 'care.' Tell me, how should I repay this debt?"

Zhao Xiong’s face turned deathly white, and he struggled. "It... it was all a misunderstanding! It was Zhou Tai who made us do it; we were just taking money to do a job! Qi Wuxie, if you let me go, I can give you ten million—no, fifty million! And I promise I’ll never harass you again. Even if Zhou Tai held a knife to my throat, I wouldn't do it!"

Zhao Xiong begged repeatedly. Feeling the indifference in Qi Wuxie’s gaze, he had no doubt the man would kill him. He had one final question in his heart: what had happened to Qi Wuxie over these five years to turn a wealthy young master into such a ruthless killer?

"Fifty million?" Qi Wuxie sneered. "The humiliation my mother and sister suffered cannot be wiped away by money! Since you enjoy being a lapdog for the Zhou family, we shall begin settling the accounts of these past years with you people, one by one!"

Boom!

Qi Wuxie stomped down hard. Zhao Xiong spat out blood, his chest caved in, and he stopped breathing.

Zhao Hu, still lying on the ground, watched his older brother trampled to death. His face turned ghastly pale, and his pants were soaked.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me... Ah!"

Qi Wuxie stepped over him and kicked him to death. After disposing of Zhao Xiong and his men, Qi Wuxie found Zhao Xiong’s phone, unlocked it, located Zhou Tianhao’s number, and dialed.

"Hello? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?" a displeased voice came from the other end.

"Zhao Xiong is dead. Zhou Tianhao, it will be your turn soon!"

Boom!

Qi Wuxie said this coldly and crushed the phone.

Far away, in a manor in Yun City, a sophisticated-looking young man held a glass of red wine in his left hand and the phone in his right, his expression turning extremely dark.

"Darling, who’s calling you?" a pair of soft arms wrapped around him from behind, a flirtatious voice whispering.

"Nothing, just a dead man walking."