Chapter Nineteen: Harboring Hidden Agendas

As expected, the tall plainclothes man took a few long strides forward and landed a solid punch on Lin Tian’s face.

His movements were fluid and swift—so fast it startled everyone.

Lin Tian wasn’t unwilling to dodge; it was just that, first, relying on his enhanced vision, he hadn’t been too cautious, and second, there was still a good six or seven meters between them. If anyone needed to be wary, it should have been those closer to him.

Caught off guard, he took the heavy blow squarely. The bones in his face throbbed painfully, leaving him speechless.

“That punch is for me, Cai Yue. I’m teaching you a lesson for being so disrespectful!” Li Qiang twisted his wrist, his eyes cold and his tone indifferent yet scornful.

If it weren’t for Xiao Cai Yue’s prior instructions not to cause fatal harm, Li Qiang’s usual style would have left this arrogant brat with a lesson he wouldn’t forget.

“Xiao Tian, your face…” Lin Ruyu steadied Lin Tian, her heart aching as she looked at his swollen face marked by the bright red fist imprint. Then she fixed her gaze fiercely on Li Qiang.

“Who exactly are you?” she demanded.

If only she knew his name—she would make sure to return this insult many times over in the future.

Li Qiang merely sneered arrogantly, flicking his fingers. “I’m too lazy to tell you. You’re not worthy of knowing.”

As the second young master of the Li family, his status in City B was well-known. Moreover, he had apprenticed under Murong Chong, a renowned martial artist in Dragon Nation, granting him immense prestige.

Most people treated him with utmost respect, afraid to offend him in the slightest.

Even the few with comparable backgrounds had to show him face, which only fueled his arrogance and contempt for others.

Frankly, coming to such a backwater and punching Lin Tian was already a favor in itself—anyone else wouldn’t even be granted the dignity of being struck by him.

“So arrogant!” Lin Ruyu’s teeth clenched in anger, and she cried out into the air, “If not now, then when?”

No sooner had she spoken than two swift, sharp figures leapt from the shadows—her personal bodyguards who had been following her all along.

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“This is somewhat interesting…” Li Qiang immediately recognized the two as professional fighters, their aura even more imposing than that of his own men.

But to him, it made no difference—all would fall in a single move.

Instead, he keenly sensed something and grew curious about Lin Ruyu’s identity.

“Before I lose my temper, you’d better leave with your people. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to deal with all of you!” he warned.

At his words, the two bodyguards whispered near Lin Ruyu, “Their thugs are numerous, and that tall one has a strong presence. We should leave.”

Lin Ruyu shot them a sharp look and snapped, “All talk and no action. When it comes down to it, they’re nothing!”

If Lin Tian weren’t there, she might have cursed them out.

The two guards lowered their heads in shame, thinking, “If the boss were here, we wouldn’t be afraid of them.”

Still, Lin Ruyu refused to stand aside quietly. She shouted, “If you have the guts, come take us all out! Otherwise, you’ll never get another chance!”

Li Qiang raised an eyebrow and sneered. “I only wanted to take him away, not harm anyone else. But since you’re being shameless, I’ll just teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!”

“Go!” With his command, more than ten men surged forward like moving mountains, their force overwhelming.

This caused the group who had initially intended to kill Lin Tian to pause, opting to watch from the sidelines and seize any opportunity later.

“Second brother, these people are trying to take that kid away too. They’ve come to snatch him from us!” muttered a scar-faced, fierce-looking man in a rough voice. He addressed his “second brother”—a tall, stout man with a bushy beard, eyes narrowed in contemplation.

“Do you remember the big job our boss took from Xiao Siren before he disappeared? I think there’s something fishy about it,” he continued.

His men shuddered, thinking, “Could it be a case of betrayal within the underworld?”

He went on, “If we had already succeeded tonight, wouldn’t it mean we’d have to compete with these newcomers for the spoils?”

“That would be one thing, but what if it’s even more underhanded… What if these people were also hired by Xiao Siren, and neither side knew about the other?”

Hearing this analysis, the men were infuriated, finding the move shameless and a blatant violation of underworld etiquette.

“Of course, Xiao Siren said the big brother contacted him, claiming that their two teams were defeated by an unknown young boy, and even blinded. Who’d believe such nonsense? It’s like trying to fool a three-year-old.”

“Besides, the kid who sent our third brother to the hospital must be strong, but he couldn’t stand against our gleaming machetes. Is the one who blinded our brother really using sorcery?”

Though Lin Ruyu initially used clever leverage techniques that made them suspect supernatural skills, they soon realized that was not the case.

They didn’t believe in such things, so Xiao Siren’s explanation was unconvincing.

“Second brother, should we still put in the effort?” the scar-faced man asked nervously.

The stout man scratched his smooth, round head with one hand, stroked his beard with the other, and said grimly, “Of course we’ll make the money. We must also avenge our third brother. Let’s wait for them to finish, then we’ll strike!”

Li Qiang and his men were well aware of these thoughts.

That’s why they left a few behind to watch over those armed with machetes, an unstable variable.

Though Li Qiang’s forces had overwhelming numbers and strength, they weren’t reckless. They had orders to capture Lin Tian alive, injure him, and then abandon him in another city.

That’s why they couldn’t finish the job quickly.

“Useless!” Li Qiang scoffed at his incompetent subordinates, then personally joined the fray.

The skill of a master is evident at the first move.

Within only a few strikes, Li Qiang unleashed a devastating assault that brought down four fighters who had been barely holding on.

Then, with one hand, he gripped Lin Tian’s neck tightly, hoisting him up with a mocking smirk.

“Kid, this is where it ends for you!”