Chapter Sixty-Six: The Ultimate Technique

Where there are arrivals, there are departures; this is the law by which the world maintains a relative balance. Han Mei’s child has come, while Yellow Hair has gone. As for what it means to come—Xiao Man must now leave.

Hearing the wailing cries of a newborn and a man's hearty laughter from the delivery room, Zhang Xiao Man released Yellow Hair's lifeless, cold hand, no longer muttering. He found the blood-stained photograph Yellow Hair had hidden in the left sleeve, gazed at it with an icy expression for a few seconds, then slipped it into his pocket. Noticing that the wound on Yellow Hair’s right abdomen was more pronounced than the left, he pondered for a moment, squeezed the left pocket of Yellow Hair’s coat, and retrieved the rattle drum, its skin dyed red with blood.

“You fool, if the rattle drum is broken, just buy another…” Zhang Xiao Man shook the drum a few times, listening to its dull thudding, and suddenly recalled Yellow Hair’s recent visit to the real estate exchange center. He searched Yellow Hair’s body once more, found the red property deed in an inside pocket, glanced at the owner’s name, sighed deeply, and walked slowly toward the delivery room.

Just as he stepped out of the ward, he bumped into He Wei, who was holding the newborn. Zhang Xiao Man handed him the rattle drum and property deed, expressionless. “These are gifts from Yellow Hair for your child. Keep them safe…”

He Wei looked at the bloodied drum and deed in his hand, then at the blood stains on Zhang Xiao Man, stunned and speechless. “Where’s Yellow Hair?”

“He Wei,” Zhang Xiao Man didn’t answer directly, his gaze deep and distant. “Today I lost twenty thousand yuan, and a contact. Both money and people gone… Uncle Man feels very unbalanced, and wants to seek justice…” He turned his head to look at the baby, who was laughing at him. “What a blessed child, but sadly, Yellow Hair will never see him.”

He Wei’s grip on the drum and deed tightened, veins bulging, eyes reddening. “I’ll go with you!”

“You’d better stay here.” Zhang Xiao Man patted He Wei’s shoulder and walked straight toward the hospital exit. “Take good care of your wife and child. There’s no second Yellow Hair now…” He stroked the stubble on his chin. “Besides, I’m just heading back to the station for a chat. Even if you come along, it won’t help.” He paused, then added, “Also, Yellow Hair wanted you to pass a message to Han Mei: ‘Mei Mei, I’m off to do something big, and I’ll be gone a long time. Don’t miss me too much.’ Those are his exact words, I didn’t embellish them…”

“That bastard… Uncle Man!” He Wei watched Zhang Xiao Man’s departing figure, his eyes burning with rage. “I beg you, make sure those bastards who killed Yellow Hair pay the price! Not a single one can escape!”

“Of course.” Zhang Xiao Man stopped, a cold smile curling his lips. “I’ll let them know what it means for the law to be inescapable, for good and evil to be repaid in the end! If you commit evil, be prepared to rot in prison for life. I’ll see to it that they never leave those cells!”

He Wei watched Zhang Xiao Man leave, then turned into Yellow Hair’s ward. He saw the coroner placing Yellow Hair into a black body bag. Cradling the suddenly crying infant, he approached Yellow Hair, choking out, “Wait, let my child say goodbye to his godfather.”

The coroner nodded and stepped aside, silently turning his face away.

He Wei sat by the bed, gazing at Yellow Hair’s stiff, pale smile, biting his lip as a tear slipped from the corner of his eye. He placed Yellow Hair’s hand on the baby’s cheek and softly uttered the words he’d often used to turn Yellow Hair away over the years, “Why haven’t you left yet…”

“There’s still time before you go…”

Zhang Yunxi crossed her arms, leaning against the motorcycle seat, acting as though nothing had happened. She winked slyly at Sun Tiantian. “Let’s see what this guy has learned from Sima Bei.”

Shen Yixia, leaping high, laughed and spread his arms wide, hands shaped like crane claws, and drew his legs in. “Watch closely, Yunxi and Tiantian, today your senior will show you some true skills… First up—” He shouted, “Little Sparrow catches Green Worm!”

Crack!

The man in sunglasses, arms raised in front of his face, shoulders slumped, his face twitching, stood frozen.

Everyone else in the arena paused, staring blankly at Shen Yixia kneeling on the sunglass man’s shoulders. Sun Tiantian was so shocked her mouth fell open and her lollipop dropped to the floor.

Shen Yixia convulsed, looked down between his legs, realizing that his crotch was only 0.01 centimeters from the man’s forehead. A quarter of a second later, he heard the sound of eggshells cracking, his face flushed, and he quickly leapt off, legs pressed tightly together, left hand guarding his groin, right hand curled in a delicate gesture, cursing, “Bastard… what did you eat, your neck’s so long!”

Zhang Yunxi’s lips twitched as she covered her face with her hand. “Shen Yixia, is this your… skill? The end of the line?”

The man in sunglasses trembled with rage, tore off his jacket, revealing muscles as hard as stone all over, his face dark as he glared at Shen Yixia, growling, “Bastard! A man can be killed, but not humiliated! I won’t let this go today!”

“Not letting go…” Shen Yixia pouted disdainfully. “Find someone else, I only like women, men are off the table… Besides,” he threw a flirtatious look at Sun Tiantian, “my heart is already taken. Forced fruit isn’t sweet.”

Sun Tiantian burst into peals of laughter, clapping her hands. “So fun! Really fun! Whatever your name is—stretch once stretch twice—keep going, show me what other amazing tricks you have!”

Shen Yixia flicked his hair, flashed an “ok” sign, and grinned. “Since Tiantian has asked, I won’t hold back. That last bit was on purpose… Now witness what true, devastating martial arts look like…” He suddenly charged at the sunglass man, both fists raised. “Golden Monkey cracks Walnut!”

The sunglass man watched Shen Yixia coldly. As Shen Yixia drew close, he lifted his right leg and kicked Shen Yixia squarely in the abdomen.

Shen Yixia’s eyes bulged, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, rolling painfully as he kicked at the sunglass man. “Take this… Old Lady burrows into Quilt!”

The sunglass man let Shen Yixia kick him, waited for him to tire, then grabbed Shen Yixia’s right foot with iron pincers, sneering, “Quite the skill…”

Shen Yixia slapped the ground. “Ouch… I’m dying… you’re hurting me, I give up, I surrender, let go…”

The sunglass man squinted. “Begging already?” He twisted Shen Yixia’s foot. “I’m just warming up. You’re not as tough as those two girls… You’re like Cao Pi’s wife in the vegetable patch—Zhen Ji picking greens!”

The black-uniformed crowd burst into laughter. Sun Tiantian gaped and turned to Zhang Yunxi. “What did this guy learn from Sima Bei, deep in the mountains?”

Zhang Yunxi flushed, wishing for a hole to crawl into, acting as if she’d never met Shen Yixia. “Who knows… I’m not close to him!”

Shen Yixia pouted. “The wise man knows when to yield…” Seeing the sunglass man let his guard down, the pressure on his foot eased, Shen Yixia grinned wickedly, spun in the direction of the twist, and kicked the man hard under the jaw. He freed his right foot and alternated kicks to the man’s face. “Yellow Dog pees!”

The sunglass man was caught off guard, kicked several times under the jaw, blood trickling from his mouth as he stumbled back, raising his arms to block Shen Yixia’s attack.

Seizing his advantage, Shen Yixia pressed forward, drew a small knife about fifteen centimeters long from his waistband, his steps shifting in a strange rhythm. He darted left and right, then stood behind the sunglass man, knife to his throat, brushing dust from his clothes with a laugh. “I was pretending just now, waiting for a fool like you to fall into my trap.” He tapped the man’s face with the knife. “Cao Pi’s wife in the vegetable patch… talking so much, anyone would think you’re some big shot!”

“I hate most when someone holds a knife to my throat,” the sunglass man spat blood, his face gloomy. “I’ll count to three. If you don’t drop the knife, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

“Oh, still so tough,” Shen Yixia tapped the man’s face again. “Figure out who’s in control here, counting to three. Let me help, three, two…”

Before Shen Yixia could say “one,” Zhang Yunxi cried out, “Shen Yixia, watch your back!”

Shen Yixia was about to turn around when he felt a hard, cylindrical object pressed to the back of his head. Instantly, he froze, forcing a strained smile. “Why so serious? I was just joking with Sunglass Bro… bringing out a gun, brother… put it away, or we’ll be in real trouble. Possessing firearms is a serious crime.”

The sunglass man slowly turned, took the knife from Shen Yixia, flexed his neck, squinted. “A joke? I don’t find it funny at all…” He slapped Shen Yixia’s face with the knife. “You were pretty arrogant just now, claiming control—try it again!”

Shen Yixia chuckled awkwardly. “Sunglass Bro, we don’t have any deep grudge, just working for others… It’s just a jar of pickles, if you want it, it’s yours…” He called to Sun Tiantian, “Tiantian, hand the pickles to Sunglass Bro, I’ll buy you ten jars later!”

The sunglass man raised his chin, full of disdain. “You think I went through all this trouble just for pickles? Stop acting crazy. Hand over everything you took from that woman’s house, then kneel and call me ‘grandfather’ a few times. Maybe I’ll let you go. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?” A deep, resonant voice rang out suddenly. A red dot appeared on the sunglass man’s forehead. A middle-aged man clad in international designer brands entered, holding a black sniper rifle. “Think guns are impressive? Coincidentally, I have one myself, and it’s sharper and faster than your hunter’s rifle. If you doubt it, we can compare!”