Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Keep Melee Away at a Distance_1
SWISH!
A throwing dagger tore through the air, aimed straight for the center of Su Xuan’s brow.
Su Xuan frowned slightly and tilted his head. The dagger grazed his cheek and continued toward the road outside the alley.
CLINK!
The window of a passing car shattered. The driver slammed on the brakes and pulled over, utterly confused about what had just happened.
"So quick-witted?"
"He actually dodged it!"
Du Zilong and his men were shocked. They had thought Su Xuan would be skewered on the spot!
"The kid’s got some moves!" Shanhaiguan’s number one flying dagger expert, Cai Ruifeng, shouted sternly. His hands were a blur as he drew two more daggers and flung them toward Su Xuan.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
One dagger aimed for Su Xuan’s face, the other for his heart.
"Is this all you’ve got?" Su Xuan murmured, no longer dodging as he raised both his hands.
By now, he had completed sixteen special missions, and his senses had been enhanced sixteen times. Cai Ruifeng’s daggers might have been sharp, but in his eyes, they weren’t that fast.
In the blink of an eye, two throwing daggers appeared in Su Xuan’s hands.
"What?!"
"He actually caught them!"
"How is that possible? Is he even human?"
Du Zilong and his men were horrified. They never imagined that Su Xuan could catch throwing daggers barehanded, let alone two at once.
But Cai Ruifeng was even more stunned. He had made his name with his throwing daggers. Although they weren’t as fast as bullets, they were not something an ordinary person could simply catch. His eyes bulged in disbelief as he quickly drew two more daggers, ready to hurl them at Su Xuan.
"My turn," Su Xuan said, surprisingly striking first. He flung the two daggers back at Cai Ruifeng.
However, he had never trained with throwing daggers. He had the strength but not the accuracy. One of the daggers flew crookedly toward Cai Ruifeng’s shoulder. The other missed completely, striking a rusty trash can in the alley.
CLANG!
Cai Ruifeng failed to dodge in time. The first dagger struck his shoulder squarely, causing him to stagger back two steps before regaining his footing.
But what no one expected was that the dagger that hit the trash can ricocheted and embedded itself right in the center of Cai Ruifeng’s forehead. At first glance, he looked like a Teletubby.
Du Zilong and his men stared, dumbfounded. They could tell Su Xuan was unskilled with throwing daggers, yet both of the ones he threw had hit Cai Ruifeng. That was a hundred percent hit rate, even better than Cai Ruifeng’s own.
Cai Ruifeng’s luck was just terrible.
"Outrageous!" Cai Ruifeng touched his forehead, and a trickle of fresh blood flowed from the wound. He didn’t dare pull out the dagger stuck in his head. Clutching another in his hand, he prepared to throw it at Su Xuan, but in the next second, he hesitated. Su Xuan can catch throwing daggers! If he catches another one of mine... what if he returns it?
In that moment of hesitation, Su Xuan closed the distance and said coolly, "As a ranged fighter, you should never let a melee opponent get close. Otherwise..."
Cai Ruifeng stared at Su Xuan’s strikingly handsome face and stammered, "Otherwise what?"
THUD!
Su Xuan answered with action. He pressed a palm against Cai Ruifeng’s chest. With a burst of force, Cai Ruifeng went flying backward and landed with a thud deep in the alley, becoming silent.
With a merciless expression, Su Xuan continued deeper into the alley.
"Cai Ruifeng is defeated!"
"Everyone... attack together!"
"We must avenge Yuan Zheng tonight!"
In his shock, Du Zilong gestured to his men, brandishing his short sword as he charged toward Su Xuan. The others hurriedly drew their weapons and followed suit.
But when they were two or three meters away from Su Xuan, they all stopped dead in their tracks, looking as if they’d seen a ghost. Standing next to the unconscious Cai Ruifeng, Su Xuan now held a large handful of throwing daggers. He had looted all of Cai Ruifeng’s blades!
"Master Su, please calm... calm down!" The previously aggressive Du Zilong immediately lost his nerve. Faced with the handful of daggers in Su Xuan’s hand, he began to back away. If Su Xuan threw all those daggers, he was bound to get hit, even by a blind toss.
The others had the same thought and retreated with fearful expressions.
"Heh." Su Xuan looked at the daggers in his hand and chuckled. He had no intention of using them against Du Zilong and his men. He just thought throwing them seemed fun and decided he would practice later for self-defense.
"Sect Leader Du," Su Xuan said to Du Zilong, "let’s be frank. I didn’t touch your people. Just think about it—what good would harming your people do me? I suggest you hurry up and find the real culprit."
After speaking, he swaggered right past Du Zilong, carrying the handful of daggers.
"Where do I find the real murderer?" Du Zilong asked, his voice filled with a deep sense of dread.
"Sect Leader Du, if you’re free tonight, you can come to my place. I might have an answer for you," Su Xuan said in a low voice. "Remember, don’t use the main entrance."
"Alright, I’ll be waiting for you!" Du Zilong watched Su Xuan leave the alley.
「...」
"Brother Zhao, are you and Brother Wei free tonight?" Su Xuan called Zhao Ling and Wei Haojie from the Five Poisons Sect as he drove home.
"Yes, yes! What can we do for you, Brother Su?" Zhao Ling’s voice came through the phone. "You’re not calling to ask for your money back, are you? We... we can’t pay you back yet."
He and Wei Haojie had just borrowed 20,000 yuan from Su Xuan. The money had barely warmed their pockets, and Su Xuan was already calling to collect?
"It’s not about the money," Su Xuan said. "Do you have time to come over for a bit? I’ll treat you to some good tea."
"Ah?" Zhao Ling was astonished and had no idea what Su Xuan was planning. However, he felt it would be inappropriate to refuse the invitation, so he had no choice but to agree.
A short while later, Su Xuan arrived home. Just as he parked his car, Zhao Ling and Wei Haojie appeared.
"Brother Su, what’s going on?" the two couldn’t help but ask as soon as they saw him.
"Let’s talk inside." Su Xuan led them into his home.
When they saw Old Butler Liu setting up a tea table in the courtyard at Su Xuan’s request, Zhao and Wei were even more puzzled. Is he really just inviting us for tea? Could it be that Su Xuan really considers us friends?
The thought that Su Xuan might want to use them for something never crossed their minds. After all, with Su Xuan’s status and wealth, he had no reason to.
"Is that money enough?" After they sat down at the tea table, Su Xuan started chatting with them as if they were old friends.
"Only enough to tide us over for a few days," they replied.
"Would you be interested if I introduced you to a job that pays well?" Su Xuan asked.
"What kind of job?" Their eyes lit up at the question.
"You’ll find out soon enough," Su Xuan murmured, glancing up at the night sky.
More than half an hour later, a figure silently vaulted over the wall on the far side of Houhai Street and into Su Xuan’s property.
Before Su Xuan could say a word, Zhao and Wei shot to their feet. "Thief!" they bellowed.