Chapter 43: The Most Crucial Position

In Room 2002 next door, Tian Li was slumped on the sofa, hugging a cushion, and asked Lin Lin, “Brother Tian came in for just a moment earlier, then left again, saying there was something urgent and we should be careful on our own. Do you know what he went to do?”

Lin Lin glanced at the closed door and replied, “I’m not sure either, but I think if he could have told us, he certainly would have.”

“Then why did he tell us to turn the TV volume up as loud as possible?” Tian Li fiddled with the remote control in her hand, bored.

“He must have a reason for it. Just do as he says,” answered Lin Lin.

Both girls chose to trust Hua Tianyu, but the sound from the television really was deafening!

The noise made Situ Dao irritable, too. Whose TV was blaring like this? Did they want the whole world to know they owned a television? Or was someone in their family deaf?

No matter. First, he needed to deal with Shu Yue and complete the task for the Hall of Senluo.

Still, Situ Dao remained cautious. He feared something unexpected might happen when capturing Shu Yue, so he doubled back and did something to the door.

Now, after his handiwork, this door could no longer be opened by anyone except himself, neither from the inside nor outside.

Situ Dao’s mind was completely at ease. There were only two people in the room: himself and the young woman showering. The door was securely locked.

Everything in the apartment, including the woman, was now his for the taking.

With a few casual steps, he reached the bathroom door and tried the handle lightly—it wasn’t locked!

Ha! What a foolish woman. If she’d locked the door, he’d have had to put in some effort, but now there was no need at all!

The reward, the woman, all within reach.

He shoved the door open and barged right in.

The shower was running, water gushing down in a steady stream.

The light was on, illuminating every corner of the bathroom.

But—where was she?

She should have been right under the shower.

A sudden chill swept through Situ Dao’s heart. What the hell...

“What are you looking for? Need any help?” A lazy male voice, as nightmarish as before, sounded behind him, with the same tone and phrasing as last time.

In that instant, Situ Dao felt as if reality blurred. He had the illusion of being transported back to that day at Swan International Tower, facing that man again!

But he knew it was just a hallucination; he wasn’t at Swan International Tower. Yet, incredibly, he had indeed run into that man again!

He turned slowly. Behind him stood two people—one was the man he remembered so vividly.

Standing beside him was Shu Yue.

Shu Yue’s hair was still damp, her cheeks flushed from the hot shower. A pink bath towel wrapped her from the shoulders down, hiding every lovely curve, revealing nothing but her feet.

She looked every bit the picture of youthful beauty—so enchanting that Situ Dao felt a surge of heat.

Apparently, Shu Yue had only just noticed him enter and hadn’t had time to dress.

But what puzzled Situ Dao was how he hadn’t heard them come in.

Suddenly, he understood—the damn television!

Nevertheless, Situ Dao was unafraid of Hua Tianyu today. In fact, encountering him now stirred a secret excitement—at last, his chance for revenge had come!

His eyes narrowed to slits, tracking Hua Tianyu’s every move. His left palm crept to the trigger of the “No Trace Remains” device at his waist. His whole body tensed, radiating danger.

He shouted, “Hua Tianyu! Today you’ll die for this woman!”

Without waiting for a reply, he lunged forward, determined to strike first. If he could take care of Hua Tianyu, everything else would fall into place.

He charged straight at Hua Tianyu, left hand hidden at his waist, ready for a lethal blow.

Though a master thief, Situ Dao had never neglected his fighting skills. While his attack wasn’t lightning-fast, it shot forward with the force of a released arrow.

At his movement, Hua Tianyu stepped forward, shielding Shu Yue, his body exuding a chilling aura.

This was the presence honed by countless battles amid corpses and blood. A normal person would be terrified out of their wits.

Situ Dao, though not ordinary, had mostly dealt in sneaking, not bloodshed. Under the pressure of this formidable aura, his breathing stalled, a nameless fear rising from his feet, sending a shiver through his body.

What a terrifying presence!

He forced himself to steady his nerves, feeling for the device on his wrist—his trump card tonight. No matter how fierce Hua Tianyu’s aura, he would leave his corpse here!

He silently bolstered his courage, gritted his teeth, and charged again.

Hua Tianyu’s eyes narrowed. His figure flickered like a phantom, closing in with ghostly swiftness.

He knew that master thieves always carried various gadgets for escape and self-preservation. Since he had no intention of letting him go tonight, none of those could be left on him.

His hands darted over Situ Dao’s waist and other spots, swift and light as a dragonfly skimming water. Then his palm rose, whistling through the air like a mountain crashing down—aimed straight at Situ Dao’s right cheek.

Before the slap landed, the gust of wind from his palm already burned Situ Dao’s face.

Situ Dao’s expression changed dramatically. He finally understood the source of his earlier fear—but it was too late.

Before he could react, the slap landed with a thunderous crack on his right cheek.

The sensation was bizarre: his head felt like a ping-pong ball, Hua Tianyu’s palm the paddle, sending him spinning through the air with a powerful topspin.

As the ceiling, walls, and floor spun past in dizzying succession, he landed in a heap, his head reeling so much he nearly vomited.

“Pfft!” He managed not to throw up, but every tooth loosened in their last encounter finally tumbled out of his mouth.

Hua Tianyu smiled as he looked at his left cheek.

Seeing that gaze, Situ Dao clutched his left cheek in terror—he suddenly remembered, not only did this man favor slapping faces, he was compulsive about symmetry!

Shu Yue, meanwhile, was utterly bewildered. Hua Tianyu had clearly slapped his right cheek—the swelling and finger marks made that obvious—so why was the man clutching his left?

Brain damage? Quite possible!

After all, she’d just seen him spinning through the air, then rolling several times after hitting the ground.