The wind whipped grains of sand against his face like countless fine needles—then he suddenly understood:
No one was coming.
Not a single one.
Yet his heart had long been clear as a stream whose bottom lay in plain sight.
The Lin family was simply not a tough opponent the Fierce Tiger Gang could afford to provoke.
The thought had barely formed when the wind seemed to spring beneath his feet—he had no intention of turning back.
Go back? That would be nothing more than offering his own neck to the blade.
Rather than throw his life away for nothing, he might as well gamble on a way out.
Before the words fell, he was already smoke and mist, slipping out of Western Liang City's north gate in the blink of an eye without leaving a trace.
A shichen flashed by, yet outside the city remained deathly silent.
Reinforcements? Not even half a shadow appeared.
Seeing this, Hu Xiaolin felt as though an ice awl had pierced straight through his heart, cold rushing to the crown of his head.
He had never imagined that the trusted confidant he had sent racing for help would vanish without a trace, man and message alike.
Heaven meant to destroy the Tiger family—it would not even grant them a chance to catch their breath.
Lin Chen watched coldly until then, then slowly stepped forward, the hem of his robe fluttering lightly.
His gaze was like a blade, stabbing straight into Hu Xiaolin's eyes:
"Some debts must be settled sooner or later."
"Today is the day you repay the debt you wrote with your own hand."
Hu Xiaolin's legs gave way, and with a thud, he knelt down, his forehead striking the bluestone slabs heavily.
That last shred of luck had been hanging his life