Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth

Chapter 112

The other party chuckled, "How could that be?" and obediently shuffled and drew cards.

You are indeed surnamed Yin, but unfortunately, the Yin family doesn't belong to you. If it weren't for needing your help, let alone 300,000, even if you only owed me 30,000, I would have chopped off your arm as a souvenir!

Yin Wu was having a great time making a fuss, but a few days later, he called his friend with a long face, but he couldn't get through no matter what he did. He had been put in solitary confinement by the old man. He complained on one hand, but was also glad that his friend had suddenly disappeared—three million was not a small amount of money after all, and he was not Yin Yeyao!

It is said that the best Longjing tea is found at Lion Peak. They didn't go to Lion Peak, but instead to another unnamed mountain village. Following the Nine Streams and Eighteen Ravines into the mountains, a gentle breeze rustled through the sparse woods and along the paths. The mountains were deserted, and the murmuring of the streams was like heavenly music. Shanglin loved the scenery along the way, especially the clear water. Walking barefoot on the stones in the water, the slightly chilly water felt even more refreshing as he stepped on the pebbles at the bottom.

Because she was going hiking, she specially changed out of her skirt and wore a pair of linen cropped pants and soft-soled flat sandals, walking quickly and steadily.

Everyone else had no trouble walking, but An Lan suffered the most.

Because everyone in Qiu Shanglin had been wearing skirts the past few days, all with elegant, flowing hems, she didn't want to be left behind and dressed up carefully every day before going out. Although she knew she was going to climb a mountain, she always thought that a mountain was just a small hill, so she wore a long, pure white chiffon pleated skirt and a pair of high-heeled, strappy crystal sandals. This was an outfit she would wear to a beauty pageant—it just wasn't suitable for a rural activity.

Everyone was walking in the water or along the water's edge. She was wearing high-heeled sandals, and she trudged through the uneven pebbles, twisting her ankle every three steps, frowning and complaining about how hard it was.

Because she was walking by the water, Qiu Xialin deliberately stomped heavily on the water, splashing it onto her skirt and gradually wetting it. She then accidentally stepped on the mud, leaving muddy marks.

Of the group, she was the most disheveled.

Fortunately, as we ventured deeper into the mountains, the tea bushes began to spread along the slopes. They were low-lying, roughly round, somewhat resembling orange trees, but shorter. The summer tea had not yet been picked; the buds were just sprouting, their downy hairs were light, and the leaves were upright and curled. The morning dew had not yet evaporated completely under the sunlight, making the buds appear as tender as lotus hearts, too delicate to touch.

Shanglin wandered amidst the tea mountains and seas of tea, utterly captivated. She was mesmerized by the tea groves, and two other people watched her with delight.

One of them was Yin Yeyao, who was always not far away, a smile on his lips, letting her playfully dart around in the tea grove.

One of them was Li Changsheng, who pulled out his sketchbook from somewhere and sketched a few lines, bringing the image of a girl picking tea to life on the paper. But that wasn't all; he was already planning what to use as a base and what to use for coloring, determined to work hard and create an oil painting.

An Lan, however, seemed somewhat distracted, glancing at his watch every now and then and urging everyone to go down the mountain to the tea factory.

The tea factory was located halfway up the mountain, some distance from the village. It wasn't the season for roasting new tea, so there was no one inside. Cheng Yuanfang somehow managed to summon an old man who opened the door for them, explained the tools, and tossed them a basket of freshly picked tea leaves to admire. Fortunately, Qiu Shanglin, despite lacking practical experience, possessed a wealth of theoretical knowledge. Thanks to the four large shelves of books in his study, he could readily recount methods for identifying spring, summer, and autumn teas, the new tea-making process, and various tea-related anecdotes and stories, which the group listened to with great interest.

Feeling hungry, Xia Lin urged everyone to go down the mountain for lunch. An Lan, no longer hesitant, chimed in, "Let's go, it's getting late."

She spoke with a lack of confidence, looking rather guilty. Although Cheng Yuanfang found her strange today, he didn't say much. He locked the gate, handed the key to the old man who had appeared out of nowhere, and headed down the mountain.

As they walked, Changsheng chatted and laughed all the way down the forest, admiring the scenery and surveying the mountain terrain. He said, "Brother, don't you think this valley looks like a good place for an ambush? If someone were to ambush us on these two slopes and launch a surprise attack down the mountain, not to mention the few of us, even a thousand troops would be buried at the bottom of the valley..."

Just as Shanglin was about to laugh at his wild thoughts, a tea farmer walked towards him from around the corner.

The tea farmer, carrying a load on his shoulder, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, coarse and durable clothes, and black cloth shoes with thick soles made by the farmer himself, walked steadily toward them without raising his head.

Shanglin found it quite amusing and casually asked, "Fellow villager, are you going to pick tea?"

Perhaps because of the distance, or perhaps because the other person couldn't understand Mandarin, they not only didn't answer, but didn't even look up.

As they spoke, they took a few more steps closer. Cheng Yuanfang shielded Yin Yeyao on the outside, turning past the tea farmer. Shang Lin and Chang Sheng were a few steps behind them, even closer to the tea farmer. Shang Lin curiously peered over, wanting to see what he was carrying in his load. Chang Sheng, however, warily pulled her back, standing still, and asked in a deep voice, "Fellow villager, where are you from?"

The other party was already beside them. He raised his face, grinned at Shang Lin, revealing a set of neat white teeth that gleamed blindingly in the sunlight—no, what was dazzling was not the white teeth, but a knife.

The moment Changsheng finished speaking, the tea farmer threw down his load, drew a short knife, and stabbed Qiu Shanglin in the waist with lightning speed. His movements were so swift that Qiu Xialin saw it all clearly from behind, but didn't have time to utter a cry of alarm.

The situation suddenly changed. Qiu Shanglin was walking on the outside, close to the tea farmer, while Li Changsheng was walking on the inside. He watched helplessly as the other party drew his knife. Before he could react, he forcefully pulled Qiu Shanglin's arm and tilted her half a step. The tea farmer's sharp blade grazed Shanglin's side.

He was clearly a veteran; missing his first strike, he followed up with a second. Changsheng, however, had already pulled Qiu Shanglin behind him, nimbly dodging the second thrust. The two then engaged in a fierce fight. Although Changsheng had practiced martial arts for many years, his skills were primarily for fitness, with assassination as a secondary purpose. His opponent's skills, on the other hand, were clearly more practical; he was a master of killing, his moves ruthless and deadly.

Moreover, Qiu Shanglin was right behind Changsheng, and he dared not hide from Shanglin. He was caught in a dilemma, fearing to harm the innocent.

Everyone else, even the fools, quickly realized what was happening.

Yin Yeyao and Cheng Yuanfang rushed over and protected Qiu Shanglin in a safe position. Cheng Yuanfang stepped forward to help Li Changsheng fight, while Yin Yeyao quietly comforted the terrified Qiu Shanglin.

She had witnessed a knife fight. But who were those people? At best, they were petty thugs, all talk and no action. Even with knives, they only threatened to kill them; their knife-wielding skills were clearly amateurish. But this man before her was different. Every move he made was deadly, clearly intent on taking her life; his murderous aura was chilling.

The opponent's kung fu was indeed formidable; even with Li Changsheng and Cheng Yuanfang working together, they were unable to defeat him for the time being.

Just then, the situation on the field changed again.

Xia Lin and An Lan were separated by their fight and fell behind. Xia Lin cleverly found a relatively safe place to take refuge, and looked at Shang Lin from a distance across the fighting. In the middle of the fierce battle, Xia Lin suddenly shouted in surprise, pointing at Shang Lin and yelling to be careful.

Shang Lin turned his head and looked back in the direction he was pointing, feeling as if his heart had been plunged into ice.

Yin Yeyao also sensed something was wrong. He turned around and saw five people dressed the same way leaping down from the hillside in the bushes, the very spot Qiu Xialin had just said was suitable for hiding and ambushing people. They were only a few steps away from them.

The five opponents were clearly skilled fighters as well. Their black cloth shoes scraped against the mud, splattering mud everywhere, but this did nothing to slow their advance. In the blink of an eye, they were in front of them, brandishing their knives and lunging forward. Xia Lin's eyes turned red, and he yelled, ignoring the fierce fighting in the middle, as he charged towards the other side.

Damn it, my sister is well-versed in both Chinese and Western learning, studying literature, science, and the erhu, but she has never learned how to fight—if you're so capable, come at me! What kind of nonsense is it to stab a defenseless, weak woman with a knife!

With his strange cry, Cheng Yuanfang and Li Changsheng realized the seriousness of the situation. They exchanged a glance and both abandoned their opponents to rush to save the people most important to them. However, their opponents were using delaying tactics and were unwilling to let them go. Not only that, the five people who arrived first did not rush towards Yin Yeyao and his group all at once, but instead sent one of them to engage Cheng Yuanfang, who had just escaped, forcing them to be too busy to pay attention to him.

The old fox of the Yin family had gone to great lengths to train an heir, so how could he only teach him deceit and treachery without teaching him how to protect himself? Yin Yeyao had learned a wide variety of things since childhood, but he was not proficient in any of them. Fortunately, he had studied under famous masters, and he himself was quick-witted and adaptable. For a time, even the four assassins could not do anything to him.

Qiu Shanglin stood there stunned, thinking to herself that she was doomed. She knew that running away was useless, and was just wondering whether she should accept her fate or ask who was really targeting her, so that she could at least have an explanation before the King of Hell—but the other party ignored her completely and rushed straight at Yin Yeyao.

Now it all makes sense.

So, they were after Yin Yeyao, and their group was just made scapegoats?

Damn it, why did you all attack me in the first place? When you rushed down, you all seemed to be coming for me too. Were you trying to scare me?

He was filled with rage, and his anger overwhelmed his reason. He picked up a rock from the ground and threw it heavily at a man who was fighting Yin Yeyao with his back to him.

The man was startled when attacked from behind, and his movements were a little slow. Yin Yeyao seized the opportunity and used the sharp dagger she carried to cut his arm, causing blood to gush out.

The man did not back down, but changed his position and continued to fight, glaring fiercely at Qiu Shanglin. Shanglin initially flinched, but then glared back.

What are you looking at? It's not like I hurt you. You're trying to scare me, can't I even hit you?

She wasn't stupid; she pulled out her phone to call the police, but there was no signal. That's when she understood why those men were so brazen.

Cheng Yuanfang has shaken off his opponent and joined Yin Yeyao's side to help, while Qiu Shanglin has been protected to a safer place by the red-eyed Xia Lin.

Yin Yeyao was injured in both his arms and legs; his opponent's moves were ruthless and deadly. He knew he had been ambushed today.

The enemy's calculations were perfect. For convenience, he had left his family's bodyguards in the city, with only a few people at the foot of the mountain. They waited until they were alone on their way down the mountain before striking, aiming for a fatal blow. It's likely their original plan was to feign the killing of Qiu Shanglin to lure Cheng Yuanfang away, with the remaining five being the final killing blow.

While he was filled with worries, he was unaware that the leader of the assassins was also secretly groaning.

They were several of the most trusted henchmen of the Sichuan underworld, specializing in murder and robbery.

Don't try to scare people by saying China has entered a society governed by the rule of law. Where the law doesn't apply, there is lawlessness. Sichuan has a long history of powerful figures; "Pao Ge" is a respectful term for big shots in the underworld. In their line of work, who isn't connected to influential figures?

No matter how bright the sun shines, there are always places it doesn't reach.

They were specially invited here at a high price. The other party made it clear beforehand that there was only one target: a man surnamed Yin. 500,000 for breaking an arm, 700,000 for breaking a leg, and 8 million for taking his life.

This kid is worth a lot of money.

They thought the plan was flawless and a sure thing. Little did they know that not only was the man surnamed Yin a formidable talent, but even the unassuming Li Changsheng, who wasn't part of the plan, was quite skilled in martial arts, something that wouldn't be achieved without ten years of dedicated training.

Just then, Shanglin, who had been watching Changsheng closely, cried out in alarm, "Changsheng, be careful!"

The person surrounding Yin Yeyao trembled almost imperceptibly and quickly glanced back at Li Changsheng.

He had just stabbed his opponent in the stomach with the knife that was thrust at him, wiped the blood from his face, and walked menacingly toward his own side.

The leader noticed his men approaching and whispered quickly, "Brother, let's retreat."

The leader glared: "Nonsense! The boss vouched for this deal, how am I supposed to explain this when we get back?"

I refuse to believe that six people can't beat three!

He quickly replied, "The other party is Li Changsheng—the personal disciple of Lord Jie. Have you forgotten Lord Jie's great kindness to the Gelaohui, and the oath the Gelaohui swore before his spirit tablet?"

The leader, incredulous, quickly glanced at Li Changsheng, who was helping Qiu Shanglin up. Seeing the certainty in his brother's eyes, he gritted his teeth, about to refuse, but then realized something was wrong. The men left behind at the foot of the mountain sensed something was amiss and had already caught up, their figures already visible as they rushed off.

Knowing he was doomed to fail today, he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go!"

Just as Shang Lin breathed a sigh of relief as the enemy withdrew, she heard the wind howl and a sharp blade slashed through the sky, heading straight for her chest.

She looked up and gave the guy who had just been hit by a rock a sinister stare.

The change came so quickly that it caught everyone off guard.

Cheng Yuanfang was checking Yin Yeyao's injuries when Qiu Xialin ran to pull the sprawled An Lan away. Li Changsheng was only three steps away from Shanglin and couldn't pull her away in time.

Shang Lin watched helplessly as the knife flew towards her at lightning speed. A thought popped into her mind: "Little Li's Flying Dagger." Before she could slap herself and curse herself for talking nonsense, or before she could lament the fickleness of fate, a black shadow flashed before her eyes, and the flying knife arrived, but it did not pierce Qiu Shang Lin's body.

Li Changsheng groaned and slumped softly into Qiu Shanglin's arms.

Qiu Shanglin trembled like a leaf, her eyes reddening and moistening, but she held back her tears. Trembling, she reached for the handle of the throwing knife, her words incoherent: "Eternal...life..."