Chapter 198: Chapter 190: Who Assassinated Who?
The birthday banquet began, and the engagement ceremony of Xia Xue and Xiao Lin had also concluded. Others stepped forward one after another to congratulate Elder Xia on his birthday. As the parent of Xiao Lin and Xia Xue, Xia Yusheng naturally led the two around the main stage to toast. Although Xiao Lin felt a bit helpless, he didn’t show any impatience. After all, he had eloped with their daughter, and he had to do something.
Fortunately, Xiao Lin had quite a good tolerance for alcohol and managed to handle it well.
Half an hour after the 80th birthday banquet of Elder Xia and the engagement ceremony of Xiao Lin and Xia Xue, Hua Muyun and Elder Chen left one after another. Being able to stay for such a time was already sufficient.
As Hua Muyun was leaving, he found a moment to tell Xiao Lin: "Be careful on your way home tonight. The Qu Family and the Wang Family are not easy to handle. If need be, I can call the Yanjing Military Region now!"
"No need to mobilize so many people, it would be too humiliating for the Dragon Soul if I couldn’t handle such a small matter!" Xiao Lin refused with a smile. Even if the Qu Family or Wang Family wanted to do something to him, they had the means to harm him. However, Xiao Lin was not an arrogant person. He wasn’t afraid, but he would still be vigilant.
Night, midnight.
Xiao Lin did not stay overnight at the Xia Family but prepared to drive back alone to the Yan University campus.
"It’s so late, why don’t you stay here for the night? We can go back together tomorrow!" Xia Xue felt a bit uneasy about Xiao Lin. Although Xia Xue knew Xiao Lin was skilled, he had just offended both the Qu Family and Wang Family. Offending the Qu Family wasn’t much, but the Wang Family was one of the four major families in Yanjing, deeply rooted, and who knows what retaliation there might be.
Xia Yusheng also advised from the side: "Xiao Lin, it’s safer to stay here overnight. Otherwise, I could send some people to protect you on the way back?" Xia Yusheng knew the Wang Family far better than Xia Xue. He knew the Wang Family certainly wouldn’t spare Xiao Lin. Whether or not Hua Family members stood by his side, even knowing that Xiao Lin had wiped out the Jiangling Zhang Family in one night under his command wouldn’t shake the Wang Family’s determination; the Wang Family had had it too smooth over the years.
"Uh... Xia Xue... Dad...!" Xiao Lin felt a bit awkward. Having just gotten engaged to Xia Xue, he needed to start calling him ’Dad.’ This was the first time Xiao Lin had addressed Xia Yusheng as Dad, and he stuttered a bit naturally, then smiled and said, "It’s fine, I can handle it!" Actually, Xiao Lin also followed secular customs. Spending the first night of engagement at the bride’s home was not quite proper.
Hearing Xiao Lin address him as Dad, Xia Yusheng felt quite gratified. He naturally knew Xiao Lin’s identity background was absolutely huge. Although he still couldn’t figure out his family background or if he had ever mentioned it, Xia Yusheng was not in a hurry to ask. Xiao Lin would say when he wanted to.
Moreover, with Hua Muyun and Elder Chen as witnesses to the wedding, he wasn’t worried about Xia Xue not being able to marry in. After all, the Xia Family still had considerable potential.
"Then be careful yourself. If anything happens, call immediately!" Xia Yusheng reminded, finding Xiao Lin more and more pleasing to the eye. Having such a son-in-law was not only a blessing for Xia Xue but also for the Xia Family.
"Yes, thank you... Dad!" It was still a bit awkward for Xiao Lin to call, but it was much better than the first time he tried. Afterward, they exchanged personal numbers, and Xiao Lin once again said goodbye to Xia Xue and Xia Yusheng before walking towards his QQ car.
The Xia Family Villa was about four or five kilometers from the main road. Driving down from the small hill and making a turn, he could drive straight out. Coming down from the hill, with the light from the Xia Family Villa, he could see other small hills not far away, the scenery was still passable, and Xiao Lin wasn’t in a hurry to return to the city. He drove slowly, leisurely admiring the night view on both sides.
The sky over Yanjing City in the distance was as white as ever, even after coming down the hill and leaving the lights of the Xia Family Villa, the surroundings remained faintly visible.
Xiao Lin’s driving habits were different from others. While others usually preferred to keep the windows closed when driving, Xiao Lin generally liked to drive with the windows open, especially at night. Keeping the windows closed could make one feel sleepy, especially on roads where you constantly hold the gas pedal, making it easier to become slack.
Xiao Lin didn’t drive fast. The gentle breeze brushed by; the early autumn breeze was slightly cool but invigorating, especially after Xiao Lin had drunk quite a bit of alcohol that night. The slight cool wind on his face made him feel rather comfortable.
Suddenly, a flash of light appeared on the small hill to the right in front of the car window. Xiao Lin’s demeanor instantly tensed up, instinctively, his foresight before danger allowed him to react instantaneously. At the moment he sensed danger, his body was already outside, and then he rolled into the grass beside the road without any hesitation.
Almost at the exact moment when Xiao Lin rolled to the side of the bushes, the QQ car had only traveled five or six meters when a dull explosion was heard. The QQ car was immediately blasted into the air, flipping over to the side of the road, but it didn’t trigger a gas tank explosion.
At this moment, on a small hill fifty meters away, a middle-aged man in his fifties put down the rocket launcher in his hand and mumbled to himself, "Lion is really getting more timid with age, he wanted me for such a simple task. Wouldn’t it have been enough to send a lackey instead?" He didn’t make any moves to check the car, just stood still, looking towards the blasted car with a hint of surprise that it hadn’t exploded.
"The quality of this car isn’t bad at all. Even though the bomb didn’t hit the car body directly, it did strike the ground in front of it. With such powerful rocket, it still didn’t cause that inconspicuous QQ car to explode!" He observed for a while and mumbled again.
The middle-aged man, who appeared to be about fifty, was actually the deputy leader of the Liger Gang, known as Tiger. He was the strongest among the Liger Gang. As for Lion, no one had ever seen him make a move; it was usually Tiger who took action. Moreover, throughout the past two or three decades, the Liger Gang had gradually gone legitimate and even founded Liger City, and their business operations have all been legal. Thus, it was rare to need Tiger to take action; it had been almost twenty years since he retired from that sort of work.
Xiao Lin was about to head to that small hill when his cellphone rang in his pocket. Xiao Lin immediately answered the call. It was Xia Xue on the other end, anxiously asking, "Xiao Lin, there was a loud explosion just now, what’s going on? Are you hurt?"
"No, I’m driving right now. That loud noise startled me too; I guess it’s probably the nearby quarry blasting rocks!" Xiao Lin casually made up an excuse. Since the other party possessed such powerful weaponry, even if the Xia Family’s bodyguards came over, they would just be courting death. As a Dragon Soul Military Doctor, he certainly wouldn’t let innocent people die for him.
"You scared me to death! So it was just the quarry blasting rocks. Be careful on your way. I feel that the Qu Family and the Wang Family will make their move against you in less than two days!" Xia Xue said with concern.
"Got it. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up. My phone’s almost out of power, so I’ll turn it off. I’ll text you after I charge it!" Xiao Lin, worried about being interrupted by another call from Xia Xue, decided on a reason to turn off his phone, thinking whether it was the Qu Family or the Wang Family making a move this time.
"Okay, be careful then!" Xia Xue said gently, with unspeakable friendship and affection.
Xiao Lin hung up the phone and immediately turned it off. Even while on the phone, he kept his attention on the small hill. There was no commotion from there, and just as he was about to approach, he suddenly noticed a figure appearing on the small hill. Xiao Lin quickly ducked down, worried about being discovered, silently ambushing in the bushes.
Tiger observed for two minutes. Given that the car wasn’t severely damaged, the people inside should have also been unharmed. According to intelligence, the person inside had quite a good skillset and was an expert. The car should have had some commotion by now, but nothing was showing yet.
Tiger was the first to lose patience. Whether the others were dead or alive, he needed to check things out. Relying on his skill and daringness, after setting aside the rocket launcher, he donned a wolf fang mask and agilely moved towards Xiao Lin’s QQ car.
For Tiger, the fifty-meter distance took only a few seconds. His tall frame appeared particularly lightweight at this time, reaching three meters from the QQ car swiftly. Observing through the broken glass window, he noticed the inside was empty.
"Not good!" At that moment, Tiger realized the danger from behind. Tiger, true to his name, didn’t even glance back but suddenly bolted forward, using the car’s rebound to turn and meet the incoming fist head-on.
"Bang!"
A muffled punch sounded, and Tiger’s body flew back five or six meters, standing straight on Xiao Lin’s QQ car. He was slightly surprised, for while he was sneak-attacked, he had still managed to use seven layers of his strength in retaliation, yet was still pushed back so far. The opponent was clearly a skilled fighter.
"Young man, you’ve got decent skills, but unfortunately today you’ve met me!" Tiger lowered his voice and said deeply.
The one who ambushed Tiger was, of course, Xiao Lin, the Military Doctor. Watching Tiger swiftly approach from the hill, Xiao Lin realized he wasn’t just any hitman—weapons aside, he was exceptionally skilled. Thus, he lay in ambush. However, he didn’t expect the opponent to be so adept, evading his ambush, even countering based on the terrain, showcasing formidable skills.
Facing Tiger’s slight disdain, Xiao Lin didn’t get angry nor felt wrong about his ambush. He merely responded coolly, "With such skills, to be in this line of work, even if you achieve something, it’s limited!" (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian () to vote on recommendations or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)