Chapter 143: Kill Him for Me

By then, Lin Le had no intention of wasting any more time with them.

He had already been delayed long enough. His mother might well be waiting anxiously for him by now.

Without sparing Xie Xinglong or Xie Dong so much as another glance, Lin Le turned and walked toward his car.

Xie Xinglong stared viciously at Lin Le’s retreating figure, standing perfectly still.

“Brother Xinglong.” Xie Dong and Xie Ziyun came to his side. The sight of Xie Xinglong before them filled them with fear from the depths of their hearts.

They knew that, given Xie Xinglong’s temper, he would certainly refuse to let the matter end here. They were no more willing to accept defeat than he was, but their opponent was simply too powerful. No matter how unwilling they were, there was nothing they could do.

“Xinglong…” Qin Zhong watched Xie Xinglong’s condition, at a loss for what to do.

“Kill him for me!” Xie Xinglong suddenly said in a low voice.

“What…” Qin Zhong froze, unable to believe his ears.

“I said, kill him now!” Xie Xinglong looked into Qin Zhong’s eyes and repeated each word slowly.

“But…” Qin Zhong did not think that he was incapable of defeating that man. The problem was that he was merely a bodyguard hired by the Xie family, not an assassin.

If someone from the Xie family killed a man, perhaps they could still settle the matter. But he was only a bodyguard. To put it bluntly, in the eyes of the Xie family, he was useful only as someone to take the blame. If he really killed someone, would the Xie family truly resolve every problem for him as they would for one of their own?

Qin Zhong had serious doubts.

“Kill him now. My family will settle everything for you. In addition, you’ll receive fifty million as payment.” Xie Xinglong looked into Qin Zhong’s eyes, his voice icy cold.

Those words jolted Qin Zhong. He stared at Xie Xinglong with widened eyes.

A moment later, his expression darkened. He turned toward Lin Le in the distance.

Lin Le was already almost at his car and would soon be getting in and driving away.

There was not much time left.

Qin Zhong rapidly weighed the pros and cons. His opponent was certainly powerful, but Qin Zhong’s own martial cultivation was no sham. Otherwise, he could never have entered the Xie family’s service and become a personal bodyguard to one of its members.

At the beginning of the fight, Xie Xinglong had indeed suppressed his opponent completely, leaving Lin Le no opportunity to strike back for quite some time. It was only because Xie Xinglong had not yet mastered the True Dragon Force that he had ultimately lost.

Strictly speaking, Xie Xinglong had only reached the minor achievement stage of internal force cultivation. His martial foundation was still somewhat weak. Even with the assistance of the Ascending Dragon Fist, his strength was still inferior to Qin Zhong’s.

Therefore, Qin Zhong was confident that he had a chance of defeating the young man.

Besides, if he killed that boy, he would receive fifty million.

Fifty million! That was fifty million!

With that amount of money, he could live freely and comfortably for the rest of his life. Why would he need to remain a bodyguard, living each day on the edge of a blade?

Once this thought occurred to him, murderous intent immediately surged within Qin Zhong. The ruthless nature of the martial artist he truly was finally emerged in his eyes.

Brat, don’t blame me. Blame yourself for being too blind to recognize who you could and couldn’t afford to offend. Of all people, you just had to provoke the Xie family. You can only blame your bad luck!

Without another moment’s hesitation, Qin Zhong drew a short blade from behind him. His figure blurred, and he charged at Lin Le from the rear.

Qin Zhong’s martial cultivation was at the early stage of major internal-force achievement, a level already considered extremely high.

After only a few steps, he had reached Lin Le’s back. Throughout the entire approach, Qin Zhong made not the slightest sound. Like a ghost, he had silently crept up behind Lin Le.

Xie Xinglong, Xie Dong, and the others watched Qin Zhong with eager anticipation.

They knew Qin Zhong’s strength well. He had already reached the stage of major internal-force achievement and was absolutely beyond the comparison of ordinary martial artists.

Even in a head-on confrontation, Qin Zhong might not lose, let alone in a surprise attack from behind.

Moreover, they knew that before joining the Xie family, Qin Zhong had spent several years as a mercenary overseas. Ambushes and surprise attacks were precisely his specialty.

Fanatical expressions appeared on the faces of Xie Xinglong and the others. They were all waiting for Qin Zhong to cut down that arrogant brat with a single stroke.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Zhong had reached Lin Le’s back. Lin Le had shown no sign of noticing him from beginning to end, which gave Qin Zhong even greater confidence.

Seeing that one slash would bring him fifty million, Qin Zhong was overcome with delight.

Brat, exchanging your life for my fifty million means you’ll have died for a worthy cause!

With that thought, Qin Zhong suddenly raised the short blade in his hand and brought it down toward the back of Lin Le’s neck.

But just as the blade was about to strike Lin Le’s throat, something wholly unexpected happened.

Lin Le caught the blade in one hand.

From beginning to end, he had not even turned his head.

“What…” Qin Zhong stared at the blade, its edge crushed out of shape between Lin Le’s fingers, and stood there in a daze.

The short blade had been forged from hardened steel. Yet in the other man’s hand, it was as fragile as if it had been molded from clay, completely incapable of resisting him.

Qin Zhong could scarcely believe his eyes. Although he had already attained the major internal-force stage, he knew that he could never accomplish something like this.

He was struck dumb with astonishment. His opponent’s strength was actually greater than his own. Just what level had that man reached?

While Qin Zhong was still reeling from the shock, Lin Le, still facing away from him, calmly said, “Was it worth becoming crippled for fifty million?”

“What?!” Qin Zhong’s scalp prickled with terror.

He and Xie Xinglong had been speaking from more than twenty meters away, and their voices had been extremely low. Yet the other man had heard every word. Such hearing was downright terrifying.

So the ambush he had believed to be flawless had actually been seen through from the very beginning.

A chill ran through Qin Zhong’s heart. He suddenly felt that his opponent was truly frightening.

These thoughts flashed through Qin Zhong’s mind. In the next instant, before he could react, Lin Le raised his elbow and slammed it heavily into Qin Zhong’s chest.

With a muffled boom, the powerful hidden force contained in that blow passed directly through Qin Zhong’s body and struck his spine.

Qin Zhong heard a sharp crack from within his own back. Then, carried by the tremendous force, his entire body was sent flying backward.

He landed on the ground like a pile of soggy mud.

To his horror, Qin Zhong discovered that everything below his chest had completely lost all sensation.

Only then did he suddenly remember Lin Le’s words.

For fifty million, he had become a cripple.

“Ah!” Qin Zhong let out a piercing, anguished scream.

“I’ll kill you!” After being crippled by a single elbow strike from Lin Le, Qin Zhong was nearly driven insane. He exerted all his strength, but he could not even crawl back to his feet.

Nearby, Xie Xinglong, Xie Dong, and Xie Ziyun were all utterly stunned.

Xie Xinglong in particular had gone pale with terror.

He had never imagined that even Qin Zhong, a high-level martial master, would lose to that boy.

And the other man had crippled Qin Zhong with only one move.

Xie Xinglong suddenly felt an immense sense of bewilderment. With his own strength, he was no match for Qin Zhong. Yet why had Qin Zhong been defeated after only one move before that boy, while he himself had managed to withstand so many exchanges?

A shocking thought suddenly flashed through Xie Xinglong’s mind.

Could it be that the other man had been holding back against him?

If he had not shown mercy, would Xie Xinglong’s fate have been even more terrible than Qin Zhong’s?

At the thought of this, Xie Xinglong was gripped by a bone-deep chill, and his scalp tingled violently.

Just who was this young man standing before them?