Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Old Zhao Seven’s sudden appearance at the door nearly scared the soul right out of my body.

I stared at him blankly, my face a mask of awkwardness and helplessness. This Old Man was uncanny-he had actually predicted we would come tonight.

“You’re here early.”

Old Zhao Seven said gloomily, “Breaking into someone’s home without the owner’s permission… what do you call that?”

I figured since I’d already been caught, there was no point in being afraid of him. “What, like you’ve never trespassed before? Don’t act all high and mighty with me. Fine, I’ll just leave.”

With that, I scrambled onto the windowsill, preparing to jump out.

But I had clearly underestimated Old Zhao Seven. He had no intention of letting me go. He lunged forward with a burst of speed and hauled me back inside.

I slammed heavily onto the floor, the impact nearly knocking the wind out of me.

“Seventh Master, there’s no need for this! We’re all friends here, don’t get physical…”

Before I could even finish, I reached out and grabbed his calf, intending to trip him.

But this Old Man was trained. His physique was similar to Meng Yifan’s, and he didn’t give me a single opening to take him down. Instead, he delivered a sharp kick toward me.

I wasn’t a martial artist, and I couldn’t defend against the strikes of someone who was. I let out a cry of pain as the kick sent me sliding across the floor.

Right then, a burly figure charged in from outside the door, heading straight for Old Zhao Seven like a battering ram.

Caught off guard, Old Zhao Seven took the full force of the collision. Given his age, he couldn’t withstand Meng Yifan’s reckless charge and was sent flying.

However, the man must have been a real tough guy in his youth. He didn’t make a sound as he hit the ground and quickly scrambled back to his feet, pointing a finger at Meng Yifan and me.

“You little punks! You actually had the nerve to come to my house to steal!”

“Do you think I’m just some Old Man you can push around?!”

Meng Yifan and I glared at him coldly. “You’re a traitor! You sold us out! Hand over the goods. We know what you’ve been doing behind the scenes. You swapped Du Mingyang’s ashes-where did you hide them?”

As I spoke, I saw Old Zhao Seven’s expression visibly shift.

He really had hidden Du Mingyang’s ashes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Du Mingyang’s ashes were buried long ago.”

Old Zhao Seven narrowed his eyes and snorted. “But just the night before last, some thieves broke into the cemetery and robbed his grave. That was you two, wasn’t it? You’ve got some nerve, stealing anything you can get your hands on.”

I didn’t admit it, but I didn’t deny it either. The fact that we were in his house looking for the ashes was proof enough that we had been to the cemetery.

“Just hand over the ashes, and I won’t hold it against you for selling us out.”

“Heh, what are you going to do about it?”

Old Zhao Seven let out a cold laugh. “So what if I sold you out? What can you do to me? If you’re stupid, don’t blame others.”

Dammit!

His words stung. Meng Yifan couldn’t hold back any longer and charged straight at him.

“You sold us out and you’re still this arrogant!”

Cursing loudly, Meng Yifan swung a hand to slap Old Zhao Seven, but he forgot that Old Zhao Seven was trained.

No matter how well we could handle ourselves in a street scrap, we weren’t even in the same league as Old Zhao Seven.

In short order, Meng Yifan was caught in a Qinna hold and forced down to one knee.

I rushed in as well.

But my intervention was useless. I was also caught by Old Zhao Seven, took a hard kick to the backside, and was sent sprawling onto the floor again.

“You two little runts… I’ve walked the underworld for so many years, did you really think you could-”

Old Zhao Seven was about to mock us, but before he could finish, another person burst in from outside.
This guy was way tougher than Meng Yifan and me. He launched himself into a flying knee strike with such speed that Old Zhao Seven was forced to let go of Meng Yifan to defend himself.

Song Xiaotian’s toughness wasn’t your average kind. I suspected his skills hadn’t been acquired during his time as a police officer; he must have studied martial arts since he was a child.

Though I wasn’t an expert, I could see that his moves weren’t limited to standard grappling; he switched styles with effortless fluidity.

The two of them were locked in a fierce struggle, and for a moment, it was impossible to tell who would come out on top.

Meng Yifan and I watched in a daze, feeling like we were in an action movie.

However, the fight didn’t last long. Whether it was because Song Xiaotian was too fierce or Old Zhao Seven was getting on in years, the old man eventually failed to parry a blow and was pinned directly to the floor by Song Xiaotian.

“Let go of me, kid! You think I’m joking? I’ll cast a curse that’ll kill you!”

“Go ahead! Try moving an inch and see if I don’t beat the life out of you today!”

As Song Xiaotian spoke, he hurriedly told us to find some rope to tie Old Zhao Seven up.

I had spotted some rope earlier, so I ran to the living room to grab it and came back to tie Old Zhao Seven securely to a chair.

Finally, he settled down, glaring at Song Xiaotian with a face full of rage.

“Fine, you’re tough. It’s only because I’m old. If I were as young as I used to be, I’d have beaten you to death!”

“Stop talking trash.”

Song Xiaotian tossed his head back with a look of disdain. “I suggest you recognize the situation you’re in. Don’t be so arrogant. Behave yourself!”

Old Zhao Seven began to curse. “Three little brats playing these games with me. Kidnapping, is it? Kill me if you have the guts, otherwise, I’m calling the cops on you!”

I looked at him coldly and said, “We’re not going to waste our breath on you. We know exactly what you’ve done. You swapped Du Mingyang’s ashes. Tell us where they are now, and we’ll wipe the slate clean.”

Old Zhao Seven snorted. “I never swapped anything. Don’t go framing me.”

He still wouldn’t admit it.

However, people have subconscious movements-reactions that are the most honest, instinctive responses made before a person can put up a facade.

I happened to catch such a reaction: his eyes had just flickered toward the side.

I immediately looked in that direction, but there was only a wall. On the other side of that wall was another room.

I asked Meng Yifan, “Boss Meng, did you search the room next door?”

Meng Yifan said he had searched half of it but hadn’t finished.

I told him, “Go search the other half. Du Mingyang’s ashes are hidden there.”

About ten minutes later, Meng Yifan came back trotting happily, holding an Ashes Urn. It also had talismans stuck to it, though not nearly as many as the fake one from before.

“Hahaha, found it! I found it!”

We really found it this time!

Old Zhao Seven’s expression instantly turned as foul as if he’d just eaten a pile of shit.

We looked at him mockingly. “Seventh Master Zhao, what’s this? I thought you said you never swapped them?”

Old Zhao Seven stopped pretending. His face turned ashen as he said, “I suggest you put that back. This little brat died a violent death before he was even born. He’s not much weaker than his mother. You’d better be careful, or he’ll haunt you.”

I sneered. “It’s fine. We’ll be returning him to his mother later. I doubt she’ll make things difficult for us.”

To my surprise, Old Zhao Seven became even more agitated. “You’re creating even bigger trouble! He is a Fierce Ghost, and so is his mother. Both mother and son died violent deaths together-this is called a mother-and-child evil spirit! Do you have any idea how dangerous a mother-and-child evil spirit is? You cannot handle the consequences!”