Chapter Thirteen: Taking Action to Seize

As the four factions vied fiercely to raise their bids, Ling Tian had remained silent. Yet, the moment he spoke, all eyes turned to him. Gu Feng, in particular, twisted around and addressed Ling Tian with arrogant pride, “You must be from the Qingcheng Group. Go back and tell Mu Qingcheng that this batch of goods is mine. If she wants them, she’ll have to offer herself in exchange.”

“Get lost!” Ling Tian retorted angrily. Though Mu Qingcheng was his fiancée in name, he would tolerate no one’s insolence toward her.

Gu Feng was stunned. What was happening? He, the eldest son of the prestigious Gu family, one of the Four Great Houses, had just been insulted—by an unknown nobody at that. “Say that again, you bastard,” Gu Feng growled, his rage barely contained.

“Screw you,” Ling Tian replied again, then shrugged helplessly, addressing the others, “How odd—the bigger the forest, the more peculiar the birds. I never imagined there were people who actually asked to be cursed at.”

Nangong Ye burst out laughing, “Not bad—I admire you. If you don’t mind, let’s be friends. I am Nangong Ye. Might I ask your esteemed name?”

This one was shrewd.

Ling Tian smiled. “Ling Tian.”

“You’re Ling Tian?” Gu Feng and Nangong Ye exclaimed in unison. The name Ling Tian was already familiar to the Four Great Houses; rumor had it that upon arriving in Yunhai City, he’d beaten up Li Wenhao, the Li family’s young master, and defeated the martial artist Old Wolf from Dayi Boxing Academy.

Moreover, Ling Tian was the fiancé of Mu Qingcheng, the Mu family’s heiress, backed by the Mu family itself. Even the Four Great Houses dared not act recklessly. In terms of wealth and influence, the Mu family lagged behind, but if a major conflict broke out, even if the Mu family was destroyed, the Four Great Houses would suffer as well. The Mu family had already come forward and apologized, sacrificing some interests; the Gu and Li families had chosen to keep the matter contained, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Damn it, you brat—you ruined my plans. Old scores and new, I’ll settle them all with you today,” Gu Feng spat, his teeth grinding with rage. “Take him out!” he ordered his bodyguards.

Ling Tian glanced at Gu Feng with disdain. “Take me out? You’re already treading on thin ice yourself.”

As Ling Tian finished speaking, the short seller waved his pistol, and his men revealed their weapons—eleven identical Type 54 pistols, all aimed at Gu Feng and his entourage. “Put the money down, then get lost,” the short man said with a smile.

“Well, this just got interesting,” Ling Tian remarked, unafraid; he sat down as if settling in to watch the show.

Gu Feng was beside himself with fury—not only had Ling Tian cursed him, but now he was being double-crossed. What kind of mess was this?

“You bastards, none of you are leaving today!” Gu Feng shouted. With a faint gunshot, four of the short man’s people dropped instantly, while the rest scattered, searching for cover behind rocks.

Chaos erupted. Hidden gunmen and other factions revealed themselves, all aiming to seize the goods. If it had been a bidding war, perhaps restraint would have prevailed, but now that shots had been fired, all bets were off—the spoils would go to whoever could grab them.

All the pistols had silencers, so while the sounds were muffled, gunfire was rapid and intense. Gu Feng and Nangong Ye, protected by their bodyguards, found a safe hiding spot. Ling Tian ducked behind a reef, watching the melee unfold. Bullets flew, weapons flashed, sparks danced across the rocks as factions fought for control.

Ling Tian shook his head, commenting, “Their tactics are terrible, and their aim is worse.”

Dozens of men exchanged gunfire and hacked at each other with knives, but all advanced methodically toward the goods, each intent on claiming the prize.

Ling Tian’s curiosity grew. Aside from the mysterious item that could trigger spiritual resonance, what else could be so valuable as to attract so many factions? The inventory was vague; even Ling Tian didn’t know exactly what was there.

But one thing was certain: it was something extraordinary.

Time to act.

Ling Tian crouched behind the reef and shouted, “Stop right now!”

With true energy powering his voice, it thundered like an explosion, and everyone paused, turning toward him.

Ling Tian suddenly sprang into motion, hurling ten flashbangs in all directions, covering every area near the rocks. As each exploded, blinding spheres of light turned night into day.

For a brief moment, everyone but Ling Tian was blinded.

Taking advantage, Ling Tian darted to the crate, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and sprinted toward the shore. He also grabbed a Gu family money bag—though only one, it surely contained at least several million. Like a gust of wind, Ling Tian sped toward the shoreline.

Once their vision returned, the factions realized the goods were gone. Gu Feng, watching from his safe spot, noticed a money bag missing—each bag held three million. “Damn it, Ling Tian! I swear to the heavens, I’ll cut you into pieces!” Gu Feng howled in rage.

Ling Tian, now ashore, hid in the shadows, choosing not to leave immediately.

With so many factions involved, there were surely people stationed on the shore. If he tried to flee now, he’d be slowed by his loot and caught for certain.

Sure enough, not long after Ling Tian landed, a dozen vehicles raced toward the shore. Dozens of men searched with flashlights—the Gu family was the most relentless. Having been bested by Ling Tian repeatedly, Gu Feng was desperate for revenge.

They may have lacked tactics in the firefight, but their search was methodical. Teams split up, dividing the area and searching every section. Ling Tian, hiding in the shrubs near the shore, estimated they’d find him within five minutes.

Ling Tian set down his loot, then suddenly burst out of the bushes, hurling pebbles in all directions with sharp whistles. Dozens of stones shattered every light source, including car headlights. Then, cradling his goods, Ling Tian dashed through the crowd to his hidden car, and sped off toward the city.

By the time the factions realized what had happened, Ling Tian was already gone.

“Everyone, after him! Don’t let him escape!” Gu Feng shouted, stamping his feet.

Ling Tian drove wildly toward the city. If he made it there, even the Four Great Houses wouldn’t dare to openly rob Qingcheng Group. As for tricks in the shadows? Ling Tian was a master of those—anyone who tried, he’d deal with mercilessly.

Meanwhile, the ten unfortunate bodyguards hired by Wang Ling crouched in a cramped, damp cave, their hearts in their throats as they listened to the chaos outside.

After an eternity, the sounds finally faded. They struggled to move the stone blocking the entrance, and found the scene outside in utter disarray.

“My god! What just happened out here? What did our employer do?” one bodyguard asked, scanning for Ling Tian’s body. Hearing that thunderous shout earlier, he realized Ling Tian had made it out of the fight alive.

“Our employer isn’t ordinary—he handled it all alone. Why did he even bother hiring us?”

“For the show?”

“Bullshit! Who watches the show from a cave? Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t see a thing!”

“We’d better get out—before long, the police will be here.”