397: Chapter 397: Ambushes Everywhere 397: Chapter 397: Ambushes Everywhere The two of them walked casually, as if they were in their own little world, completely forgetting about Guo Momo and the others.
They didn’t know how long they had walked, but this orchard was indeed vast.
“Hey, Tangyu, look quick, there’s a green apple on that tree ahead,” Lin Feifei suddenly pointed out.
Tangyu looked over and saw that, on an apple tree ahead, there indeed hung a green apple.
What was most surprising was that all the other apples were big and red, exceptionally beautiful, like giant gems, their skins crystal clear.
On other trees, green apples were not to be found, as this type of apple would only be slightly green when it was very young, becoming white with a slight blush as it grew, and then entirely red as it aged.
“Yeah, it’s so peculiar to see a green apple.” Tangyu also expressed surprise, and the two approached the green apple, gazing up at it.
“I wonder if it tastes good,” Lin Feifei said, wanting to pick it.
With a smile, Tangyu suddenly had a thought, “Could this be a sign from heaven?”
“What sign?” Lin Feifei looked at Tangyu, puzzled.
Tangyu said, “You know the story of Adam and Eve, right?
The fruit they stole was a green apple.”
Lin Feifei was first stunned, then a flush quickly spread across her face, becoming charmingly red.
Anyone who had heard the story should know what the green apple symbolized, as it was also known as the forbidden fruit.
Seeing Lin Feifei looking so shy, Tangyu also smiled, wanting to take a bite, she was just too tender.
“Danger!” Tangyu’s brow suddenly furrowed, his heart tensing sharply.
In the face of danger, people often have a premonition, a subtle intuition that is hard to explain scientifically.
This intuition can be strong or weak, and many are not sensitive enough to feel it.
However, Tangyu was acutely aware of such warnings.
So, the moment he sensed danger, he didn’t hesitate at all, immediately tackling Lin Feifei to the ground.
Luckily, they were beside an apple tree, which could serve as cover.
“Bang!”
As expected, almost simultaneously with Tangyu’s tackle, a muffled sound came from behind them, obviously from a suppressed gun.
Tangyu felt a surge of heat pass over his head as a bullet streaked past above him.
Had they not dived to the ground, it surely would have hit him.
As they fell, Tangyu also cast a glance behind, seeing three armed assassins converging from three directions at high speed, walking and shooting at the same time; they were clearly professional gunmen.
Rolling on the ground with Lin Feifei in his arms, Tangyu quickly got behind the apple tree.
“Bang, bang, bang!!!”
Gunshots rang in his ears, some hitting the ground, some the trees.
Lin Feifei was surprisingly calm; this was not her first time in such a situation, she had long lost her naivety, now incredibly composed.
With Tangyu by her side, she feared nothing.
From the sound of footsteps on the ground, Tangyu could tell that the three men were surrounding them.
The trees in the orchard were spaced too far apart; any movement would expose them, putting them in danger.
After all, no matter how quick one is, it’s hard to outpace bullets, especially against three opponents, and it was broad daylight.
These assassins were audacious, not waiting for nightfall to make their move.
Thinking it over, Tangyu understood; he wouldn’t be out at night, giving the assassins no chance to strike then.
Evidently, they had been tracking him, and taking advantage of such an opportunity, chose to act.
Danger lurked on every side!
Three gunmen with three guns, each one a sharpshooter.
Even confident in his own speed, Tangyu didn’t think he could definitely evade the onslaught of three gunmen.
In such a critical situation, he had no choice but to act, opening his mouth to spit out the Flame Demon Scorpion King, his biggest trump card and life-saving talisman, not to be deployed lightly.
Only in extreme danger did he choose to use it.
Lin Feifei just saw a flash of light before her eyes and looked at Tangyu with some surprise, not knowing what he had spit out.
The Flame Demon Scorpion King turned into a streak of light, darting towards one of the gunmen.
It wasn’t really flying; with one leap it could cover a hundred meters, giving the illusion of flight.
Moreover, it was extremely fast, almost too quick for the eye to follow.
“Uh—” A soft grunt of agony followed, and one of the gunmen fell to the ground, his face instantly reddening.
The other two gunmen were greatly alarmed, watching the red streak warily; they had seen the object, but could not name it.
But seeing their comrade brought down after one bite, they understood its danger.
“Damn it, hurry, kill them!” one of the gunmen shouted, pushing his speed to the limit.
Such a situation forced him to burst past his limits.
The other gunman, aware of the urgency, didn’t dare hesitate.
Both were vigilant of the Flame Demon Scorpion King while speeding towards the apple tree Tangyu was hiding behind.
They kept firing, preventing Tangyu and Lin Feifei from escaping, as a single emergence would surely lead to getting shot.
The two of them, one on each side, sealed off any retreat, their coordination evidently well-practiced.
“Get out of my way, what the hell is that!” An assassin lifted his gun and shot at the Flame Demon Scorpion King flying towards him, but missed.
Just as he was about to fire a second shot, he realized it was already too late.
A sharp pain spread through his body, quickly erupting like fire, causing fever and dryness, as if he were bathing in flames.
The boundless agony surged like an overflowing river, making him wish for both life and death.
His body lost control, and he fell to the ground with a ferocious expression.
He knew he was going to die.
What he thought was a simple task had turned out to have such a huge unforeseen mishap, even though they were fully prepared before they took action.
He didn’t even know what had bitten him to death before his demise.
“Damn it, I want you dead!” The last gunman screamed hysterically as he rushed to the front of the tree and leaped towards it.
But just then, a figure pounced at him like a leopard hidden in the bushes.
“Die!” The assassin saw clearly who was pouncing towards him—it was his target this time.
Initially, he just wanted to wound Tangyu and then capture him, leaving him to the person who wanted him dead to finish the job.
But now he was utterly enraged; his two companions had both died right in front of him in less than ten minutes.
His hand was quickly grabbed by another.
“Bang, bang, bang!!!” The gun fired several shots into the air, emptying the chamber’s bullets, before the noise finally ceased.
Tangyu seized the opportunity.
His fingers pointed towards several of the gunman’s acupoints, and the struggling gunman suddenly became quiet, his body stiffened, unable to move.
Tangyu then released the assassin, who looked at him with a strange and ferocious expression.
He couldn’t understand what kind of demon art the young man had cast on him—his body was so stiff he couldn’t move, and his limbs were out of control.
What the hell was going on?
He had been roaming the jianghu for years and had never heard of such bizarre things.
Things like the Acupuncture Technique were only seen in martial arts TV shows, but how could such martial arts exist in real life?
Tangyu ignored the assassin’s astonished gaze and asked indifferently, “Who sent you to kill me?”
The assassin sneered, “If I tell you, will you let me go?”
Tangyu shook his head and replied, “No, I killed your two companions.
Actually, to be precise, I haven’t killed them yet because they’re not dead.
They will suffer for twenty-four hours before they die.
Not knowing whether they’re alive or wishing for death for twenty-four hours—I wonder what that feels like.
I suppose it can only be asked when they’re about to die.
You can look at them; their expressions do seem to be in great pain.”
The assassin looked at his two companions and indeed saw the unbearable agony on their faces.
“Are you threatening me?” the assassin asked.
“You can think of it that way.
In fact, I prefer to see it as a reminder.
Letting you go is indeed impossible.
With your two companions dying at my hands, letting you go would just invite trouble back to me.
Although I’m not afraid of trouble, I also don’t like it.
So, today you have to die.
Of course, you can choose how to die.
I could simply shoot you and end it quickly, or I can make you suffer for twenty-four hours like your companions.
Oh, and you’ll have two companions with you, so you won’t be lonely,” Tangyu said.
Dealing with such assassins, Tangyu had no trace of mercy.
Professional assassins do not belong to the world of ordinary people.
Different worlds have different laws of survival.
If an assassin fails their mission, that in itself means death.
This is the most basic lesson for anyone entering the assassin’s world.
“I’ll give you five seconds to think about it.
I don’t necessarily need to know who sent you.
The ones after my life are just a few, and it’s quite guessable,” Tangyu stated somewhat nonchalantly.
The assassin’s eyes flashed with an unusual color as he weighed his thoughts and struggled.
Professional ethics for an assassin meant to die rather than betray their employer’s information.
This was a creed for an assassin.
Without this creed, one would not be a qualified assassin.
To be disqualified as an assassin was in itself an insult to one’s personal honor.
“Just kill me,” the assassin said, closing his eyes.
Tangyu shook his head, finding it indeed difficult to pry open an assassin’s mouth.
Of course, Tangyu had methods to force the information out, but he couldn’t be bothered to try.
Who was the mastermind?
Was it important?
Knowing would be better, of course, but not knowing wouldn’t hurt either.
A tortoise would not always hide; eventually, it would stick its head out.
Tangyu believed that the mastermind behind this would soon reveal themselves.
The recent events made Tangyu think about the abduction he had encountered on his way here.
He was assessing whether these two incidents might be the work of the same person.
The list of suspects who wanted him dead was short.
Shouldn’t Zhou Tao and his son be too busy to involve themselves with him by now?
Zhou Jie should have made his move.
It wasn’t likely for Sun Wukong to do such a thing, while evil youth Liu Dingyang might be a possibility.
And then, there was Cai Long from Linwu County.
The corner of Tangyu’s mouth lifted into a cold arc.
Whoever it was would have to pay the appropriate price for this incident.