Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Past

Chen Hongxu withdrew his gaze from Li Tao and glanced at the three burly men drawing ever closer. He knew that if he didn’t reveal some of his true strength now, Li Tao might slip away. With slippery types like him, once they get away, finding them again becomes nearly impossible. Besides, time had dragged on long enough; who could say if some well-meaning customer or the shop owner hadn’t already called the police? True, in a society where traditional morals had somewhat eroded, such things were rare, but still—what if? Chen Hongxu hadn’t yet thought up a good explanation for why a fight had broken out...

He no longer hesitated. Silently, he activated the Art of the Strategist. To circulate power through one’s entire body had its pros and cons. The benefits were obvious—he could take on anyone, almost superhuman—but the drawback was plain to see: the faint flush that spread over his skin as his energy coursed through him.

Li Tao had been watching Chen Hongxu closely. For reasons he couldn’t explain, the young man unsettled him. When he noticed Chen Hongxu’s body start to emit a faint red glow, he didn’t hesitate—he turned and bolted.

But it was already too late.

Li Tao felt as if something had pinned him in place. He tried to shake his shoulder free, but couldn’t. Confused, he glanced back and met eyes as sharp and cold as a hawk’s, locked onto him with deadly focus. He had seen his share of big scenes and mingled with important figures, but eyes so devoid of life—like Death itself—filled him with nameless dread and made him struggle all the harder.

Chen Hongxu’s eyes glowed crimson. He didn’t know why, but lately, every time he used the Art of the Strategist, a surge of restlessness rose within him—a desire to destroy everything. He was cautious, fully aware that if he couldn’t suppress this emotion, it would lead only to his own destruction, never anyone else’s.

As the energy slowly ebbed from his body, Chen Hongxu’s eyes cleared. He placed one hand casually on Li Tao’s shoulder, yet no matter how desperately Li Tao struggled, he couldn’t break free.

Even without channeling his full power, Chen Hongxu’s body, transformed by the Soldier’s Embryo, was far beyond anything a street punk with a few years of fake martial arts could hope to match.

Li Tao was arrogant, but he cherished his life. Having clawed his way up from nothing, he was shrewd and quick-witted. He knew that further struggling was pointless. He turned to face Chen Hongxu, exhaled in relief—the deadly red gleam had faded from those eyes. As long as he faced a normal human, there was still room for reason.

At that moment, Li Tao’s own survival left him no time to worry about the four hulking men lying unconscious on the floor, nor did he care why the remaining three had gone down without even managing to put up a fight.

His violent struggles had left him drenched in sweat, fear as much to blame as exertion. Still, he managed to compose himself. “Brother, I was in the wrong just now. Name the terms—give me a way out.”

Chen Hongxu released his grip. He was confident that even if he allowed Li Tao to leave now, the man wouldn’t dare. Given the display of strength he’d just witnessed, unless Li Tao wanted to flee the city for good, he’d have to settle things here and now.

“Tao… Brother Tao, isn’t it?” Chen Hongxu asked with a cold smile.

By choosing to question rather than strike again, Chen Hongxu gave Li Tao a glimmer of hope—proof that he still had value. But Li Tao dared not posture; his life was in another’s hands, and any bravado would be reckless. Having dabbled in martial arts, Li Tao knew that a true master had a thousand ways to kill, many of which required no violence at all.

Li Tao feared death, valued his life, and so, not yet completely desperate, he immediately lowered his stance, bowing slightly in humility. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare…”

He barely finished speaking before Chen Hongxu’s hand whipped out and slapped him hard across the face.

A sharp crack echoed. Li Tao was flung sideways, crashing down at the shop’s entrance. Shaking his head, he spat out a few bloodied teeth, then shuffled back to Chen Hongxu, head bowed and eyes downcast. Notably, he was so cowed he didn’t even dare stand upright, crouching at Chen Hongxu’s feet like a dog, his eyes confused but utterly devoid of hatred.

Chen Hongxu withdrew his hand, glanced at the cowering Li Tao, then let his gaze wander to the street outside. “Do you accept that slap?” he asked quietly.

“Y-yes… yes… y—” Li Tao stammered, the word escaping in a breathy hiss, his missing teeth making it hard to speak clearly. He raised a trembling hand to his mouth, looking up in terror, afraid Chen Hongxu might seize any excuse to strike him again.

“I never planned to involve myself in your little turf wars,” Chen Hongxu continued, “but you brought trouble to my girlfriend. Do I look that harmless to you?”

Seeing that Chen Hongxu wasn’t going to make a fuss over such a minor issue, Li Tao finally relaxed. This man’s blows were far more merciless than his own—just one slap had left half his face numb. He grimaced, unsure how to answer. He couldn’t very well say, “How was I supposed to know you were this tough if you didn’t fight back?”

Of course, Chen Hongxu’s words were just a prelude to the real questions. In this day and age, even criminals had to justify their actions with some pretense of righteousness. That Li Tao didn’t reply was only to be expected.

Undeterred, Chen Hongxu went on, “Scarface has fled, Shunzi’s out of the game, so why do you keep harassing him? If you can’t explain yourself today, you might never get another chance.”

Li Tao breathed a sigh of relief. So that was what this was about. He really didn’t mind talking—he was just a lackey here, with plenty of bosses above him. If this living death really wanted to pursue the matter, by the time it reached Li Tao, everything would already be over.

Just as Li Tao was about to speak, Xue Xi, seeing that the trouble had passed, skipped cheerfully over to Chen Hongxu, linked arms with him, and shot Li Tao a look. “Darling, this jerk wanted to toy with me for two days—are you really going to just let him go? Maybe you should chop off his hand instead. Whatever you want to ask, he won’t dare refuse.”

Gazing at Xue Xi’s playful face, Li Tao realized she was not joking. He didn’t wait for Chen Hongxu’s answer, but immediately spilled everything he knew.

It was all very simple. A young man had brought their boss a photograph, saying that, except for the woman, everyone in the picture was to be utterly destroyed. Apparently, this was a joint mission for every underworld group in the city. Even though the photo only showed people from behind, Scarface was well-known enough to be recognized instantly, so everyone started with him.

As for those Northeast hitmen, they kept to themselves and had their own assignments, separate from the local gangs.

Now Chen Hongxu was even more certain of who was behind all this, though he still didn’t understand why that person was making things so complicated. After all, they’d already met face to face; if someone wanted to make trouble for him, why not just send people directly? Why bother with all these twists and turns?

He pulled the still-ranting Xue Xi to his side, then beckoned Shunzi over. “You’d better lie low for a few days. Things might get heated.”

Shunzi hesitated, seeming to have some concern. Chen Hongxu suddenly understood, clapped Xue Xi on the shoulder, and said, “Have your family’s bodyguards arrange a safe place, bring Shunzi’s mother out, and make sure there’s medical care. This should all be over in a few days—after all, keeping a whole crew on standby costs real money.”

Xue Xi nodded, already having a good idea who was behind this. She took out her phone and made a few calls.

Soon, a group of bodyguards in black appeared at the shop entrance. They nodded amicably to Chen Hongxu, glanced mischievously at the battered men inside, then left with Shunzi.

When everyone was gone, Chen Hongxu approached Li Tao, who was lying with his eyes closed, feigning death, his breath shallow. Chen Hongxu placed a foot on his back and said calmly, “That’s it for today, but you still have to do me a favor. Pass the word along that the young man everyone’s looking for has appeared. I know most people probably already know, but you’ll send the message for me.”

Li Tao grinned ingratiatingly. “It’s my honor to serve you, brother. What should I call you?” He suddenly remembered something, hurriedly shook his head. “I’m not trying to get revenge, I swear on my life—I just need to know who to say sent the message.”

“Chen Hongxu. In fact, I’d love to see you try.” Chen Hongxu gave his name, flashed a meaningful smile, took Xue Xi’s hand, and walked away.

Li Tao muttered the name to himself. As he looked up, watching Chen Hongxu and Xue Xi’s receding figures, he shuddered. The man was the spitting image of the young man in the photo they’d all been hunting.