Crisis Comes Knocking

Fang Mo had just returned home, heated a cup of milk, and was about to eat his steamed buns.

Suddenly, hurried pounding and shouts came from outside the door.

"Open up! Open the door, now!"

His eyes narrowed slightly as he secretly became wary.

He had no acquaintances in this place, and normal people would not knock so rudely.

He instinctively grabbed his clothes to put them on, but then stopped, his gaze falling on his grimy Martial Hall training uniform.

He walked to the courtyard gate and peered outside through the crack.

Two burly men in black were pounding hard on the door, with such force that even the iron gate shook.

"Open up, now! If you don't, we'll smash it down!"

With a crash, Fang Mo yanked the door open. His gaze turned icy as he stared at the two men and said in a chilling tone, "Try smashing it."

The two burly men froze for a moment, just about to lose their tempers.

But when their eyes fell upon the character "Martial" on Fang Mo's training uniform, their expressions changed at once.

A Martial Hall student!

The shorter man recovered quickly, hurriedly plastering a smile on his face as he said politely:

"Sorry about that. We're looking for someone, so we knocked a little urgently!"

"I don't have anyone you're looking for. If you dare smash my door again, I'll cripple whichever claw does it!" Fang Mo barked coldly, slamming the door shut and nearly hitting their noses.

"Damn it, what rotten luck. How did we run into someone from the Martial Hall?"

The taller man rubbed his nose and said irritably.

"Let's go!!"

The shorter man pulled him away. "Check the next house. Boss specifically told us not to clash with people from the Martial Hall. Those Martial Hall people are too overbearing, they actually have real skills, and they all have backing. If they beat us up, there'll be nowhere to seek justice!"

"Why are we in such a rush? Didn't they say the Vice-leader had already found someone who saw him and would soon bring them over to identify him? Why not wait until the Vice-leader gets here before searching?"

"What the hell do you know!"

The shorter burly man said with contempt written all over his face, "If the Vice-leader finds him first, what will be left for us? Whoever finds him first gets a thirty-thousand reward!"

"That's right! How did I forget that?"

Hearing this, the taller man immediately smacked his forehead and cried out excitedly.

Behind the door, Fang Mo listened. When he learned that the Vice-leader had found someone who might identify him, it felt as though a massive boulder had slammed into his heart, stirring up towering waves.

He stood in the dim courtyard, his hands clenched into fists, his fingernails nearly digging into his palms.

Run!

He knew that once he was discovered, all his dreams would burst like bubbles.

"I can't give up just like this!" Fang Mo muttered, a resolute glint flashing through his eyes.

He quickly packed the necessary belongings. With every item he picked up, his heart sank another inch, as though he could hear the urgent tick-tock of time.

Fang Mo had originally planned to leave through the gate, but just as he reached for it, he heard chaotic footsteps. It seemed quite a few people were coming over.

He hurried to the wall and climbed over it.

Keeping close to the wall under the cover of night, Fang Mo looked over and saw a group of people coming through the alley across from him.

Every one of them was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, carrying clubs in their hands, brimming with murderous intent. Among them was a woman in her fifties, who was shoved forward from time to time and staggered as she walked.

"Granny Wang!"

Seeing the woman under the streetlamp, Fang Mo's heart tightened sharply. She had seen him before.

How could he dare delay? Soundlessly, he slipped into the night. Behind him lay the small courtyard where he had temporarily found shelter; ahead was an unknown escape route fraught with peril at every turn. Every step landed upon his racing heartbeat, and the urgency of flight clung to him like a shadow.

The tall and short thugs had just finished checking the second house when they saw Huang Jun arrive. They hurried forward. "Vice-leader, you're here!"

Huang Jun was not tall, but his steps were steady, and he carried an authority that needed no anger. Several gang members naturally made way for him. As his cold gaze swept over them, the two burly men lowered their heads and nervously swallowed, while the air around them seemed to freeze with his arrival.

"What are you doing?"

"Didn't I tell you to wait for orders and act only after I arrived?"

At those words, both men trembled. The shorter one hurriedly said with a fawning smile:

"Vice-leader, we just wanted to search faster and find that person as soon as possible, so we could hand him over to you!"

"Hmph!"

Huang Jun snorted coldly, shooting the two men a fierce glare before turning to Granny Wang and asking in a deep voice:

"Which house is he in?"

"Ri... right up ahead!" Granny Wang trembled as she pointed forward.

"You'd better not have lied to us. If we find him, we promise not to make things difficult for you, and we'll even reward you. But if you led us to the wrong place, you'll be sorry!" Huang Jun said with a sinister gaze and a threatening tone.

"I... I wouldn't dare!" Granny Wang replied shakily.

In the night, Granny Wang's figure looked especially small and helpless beneath the dim yellow streetlamp.

"That's for the best. Why aren't you leading the way?" Huang Jun barked. Granny Wang hurriedly hobbled forward, with the group following close behind.

The tall and short thugs also hurried after them. When they followed Granny Wang to Fang Mo's courtyard gate, their expressions changed slightly, though they still clung to a sliver of hope.

However, when Granny Wang trembled and pointed at Fang Mo's gate, saying, "He lives here!" both their bodies stiffened. Their faces went pale, and their footsteps involuntarily slowed.

"Did you search this house?" Huang Jun asked, his sharp eyes fixed on the two men.

The two men jumped in fright. The shorter one stammered, "We... we searched it!"

"What kind of person lives here?" Huang Jun asked in a deep voice.

The shorter burly man hurriedly described him. "In his twenties, dark-skinned, with somewhat long hair, wearing a Martial Hall training uniform!"

"Was it him?"

Huang Jun turned to Granny Wang and demanded harshly.

Granny Wang shuddered. Hesitation filled her eyes, but faced with Huang Jun's ferocious gaze, fear overcame her. She said tremblingly, "It... it was him!"

"I'll settle accounts with you two later!"

Huang Jun glared fiercely at them again, then waved at the others. Several men spread out and guarded the courtyard walls while two went forward to knock on the door.

"Open up!"

"Open the door, now!"

After several rounds of pounding, there was no movement inside the courtyard. Huang Jun turned back to look at the two men.

The shorter burly man hurriedly said, "He was still here two minutes ago!"

Hearing that, Huang Jun's expression changed slightly. He said in a low voice, "Get in!"

At once, two burly men leaped up, vaulted over the courtyard wall, pressed lightly against it, and floated down into the yard.

Before long, the door was pulled open. The two men looked at Huang Jun outside and said urgently, "No one in the room. Only the lights are on!"

"Damn it, he ran!" Huang Jun's face changed drastically. Then he shouted in a deep voice, "Notify the people on the perimeter at once! Seal off every alley entrance around here and intercept him with everything you've got. You must keep him here!"

"Yes!" the gang members shouted in response, hurriedly taking out their phones and making calls.

"Seal off all intersections!"

"Look for a dark, sturdy young man wearing a Martial Hall uniform!"

"Long hair, in his twenties!"

With an ashen face, Huang Jun walked up to the two men and slapped each of them across the face. He roared:

"What are you standing around for? Go after him! If you let him get away today, I'll skin you two alive!"

"Yes!" The two men hurriedly covered their faces and ran off.