Twelve Breaths, Eight Lying Down

Lin Fan's footsteps, guided by the moonlight, transitioned from the solid feel of bluestone to the yielding softness of packed earth, signaling his arrival in the shantytown where he lived.

The bustling city center was a place everyone yearned for.

But in reality, very few people could afford to live there.

His neighborhood was the domain of the common folk, a place devoid of refined activities, where the only thought upon waking was how to fill one's stomach.

As he neared his home, he encountered two familiar figures.

"Captain Song," Lin Fan called out.

The two, their sabers suggesting they were on official business, stopped. They turned back in confusion, and in the moonlight, they recognized Lin Fan's face. Captain Song Qing, his expression stern, showed surprise before breaking into a smile.

"Brother Lin, what are you doing here?"

Lin Fan walked up to them and pointed to the house next door. "My home is right here. Where are you two headed?"

Song Qing replied, "We received a tip that the suspect involved in a series of recent thefts is in this area. We're preparing to apprehend him."

Upon hearing this.

Lin Fan glanced at the sky, then at Captain Song, who was still accompanied only by Yang Ming.

Seriously?

Is the Security Bureau really that short-handed?

Why are it always these two on duty?

"Captain Song, I'm quite familiar with this area. How about I accompany you? You know my skills. If anything goes wrong, I can lend a hand," Lin Fan offered, eager to join.

He recalled what his sister had told him: Captain Song was being ostracized within the Security Bureau.

"Alright, we'll be in your debt," Captain Song said, cupping his fist.

"You're too kind, Captain Song."

Lin Fan believed joining the Security Bureau and interacting with its members would bring more benefits than drawbacks.

Captain Song and Yang Ming knew about the incident at Cui Jing Tower. They had initially thought they had overestimated Lin Fan, but who would have guessed they had underestimated him? Even without witnessing it firsthand, they could imagine how perilous the situation had been.

One person beating up eighteen Gold Medal Fighters from the Fierce Tiger Gang?

That's absolutely insane.

They knew how formidable Gold Medal Fighters were; they were the best of the best. An ordinary Gold Medal Fighter could handle three or four opponents without breaking a sweat.

Soon, Lin Fan accompanied them to the suspect's location.

Yang Ming seemed much more relaxed, possibly due to Lin Fan's presence.

Captain Song noticed this change. While his disciple had seemed normal upon their arrival, he knew Yang Ming had been very nervous, constantly asking him, "Master, should we call for more men?"

Clearly, the recent murderer had left him with some psychological scars.

He sighed softly.

He still needs more training.

At that moment, their location was quite remote. The suspect was holed up in a dilapidated temple. A fire burned inside, illuminating the structure brightly, indicating someone was within.

"Brother Lin, please wait for us outside. I'll go in with him. If the suspect tries to escape, I hope you can intercept," Song Qing was confident about this mission.

He felt there wouldn't be much trouble.

They weren't apprehending a heinous criminal, just a thief.

"Okay."

Lin Fan nodded.

Song Qing nodded to his disciple and then walked towards the dilapidated temple.

Lin Fan, waiting outside, looked around. Yong'an City's security wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst either. For the common people, this environment was livable, but only just barely.

On the ground lay a discarded dog-beating stick, typically used by beggars.

He picked it up and swung it around aimlessly. When people are idle, they tend to do things like this, either picking at walls or idly playing with whatever they find.

Of course, many would also be picking their noses.

Suddenly.

BANG!

The door to the dilapidated temple was flung open.

Two disheveled figures scrambled out, tumbling and rolling.

"Brother Lin, run! Quick, run!" Song Qing shouted loudly.

Lin Fan looked up and saw Song Qing and Yang Ming with looks of terror on their faces. Immediately after, several figures wielding knives chased them out. They were ferocious, their killing intent palpable, clearly intending to leave Song Qing and Yang Ming there.

Are thieves really this ferocious?

And at that moment, footsteps echoed from the surrounding darkness.

They weren't going to be able to run.

Several more villains armed with knives emerged from the darkness, blocking their retreat.

Song Qing held his knife across his chest and retreated to Lin Fan's side, warning, "We're from the Security Bureau. How dare you obstruct us, even daring to kill officers of the Security Bureau?"

Yang Ming swallowed, his hand trembling as he held the knife. He had never experienced such a situation before. In the past, when he followed his master on cases, they had never encountered anything like this.

"Hahaha, the Security Bureau? We kill whoever we want." The leader of the villains looked greedily at Song Qing, his eyes not seeing a person, but walking money.

"Captain Song, these people were prepared. They've been waiting for you," Lin Fan said.

Thieves?

What kind of thieves are this ferocious?

This was a trap to lower Captain Song's guard by pretending to apprehend thieves, then lure him into it.

Song Qing knew at this moment that they had deliberately lured him into a trap. He said softly, "Brother Lin, take my apprentice and go. I'll hold them off for you."

Lin Fan lightly patted Song Qing's shoulder, "Captain Song, I'm very good at fighting."

"I know you're good at fighting, but they have knives."

"Me being good at fighting and them having knives are two different things."

Fighting barehanded or fighting against villains with knives, it was all the same to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan looked at the group of villains. Counting them, there were eight in total, all radiating hostility. They were clearly not ordinary thugs; they were likely veterans who had committed murder.

He stepped forward and said, "You know we're from the Security Bureau, yet you dare to wield knives. Tell me, who sent you?"

"We take money to solve problems. You can ask them yourself when you get to the underworld."

"Brothers, cut them down."

The night was dim, the ruined temple cold. The eight men charged forward fiercely, their sabers reflecting the crescent moon, their cold light fragmented. Their steps were chaotic as they wildly swung their blades, cursing loudly to boost their morale.

None of them thought it would be difficult to kill the three people before them.

There were eight of them, after all.

They could hack them into meat paste just by swinging wildly.

The first villain to reach them raised his saber with a ferocious expression and chopped down.

"Die for me."

Crack!

Before the saber could fall, a blur of a staff flashed like lightning. Lin Fan struck the villain's wrist bone, shattering it instantly. The saber flew out of his hand and plunged into the nearby dirt.

Before the villain could even scream.

Lin Fan's eyes sharpened. He twisted his wrist and pointed the tip of his staff at the villain's throat. With a crisp crack, his Adam's apple caved in and shattered. After a few muffled groans, he collapsed to the ground.

Two villains attacked from both sides simultaneously, swinging their sabers.

Lin Fan ducked and swept his staff horizontally. The powerful force of the staff struck their ankles with a crack and snap. They flipped in mid-air and fell to the ground.

A saber wind approached from behind. Lin Fan didn't even look. He swung his staff backward, thrusting it into the villain's abdomen. As the villain bent over to vomit, Lin Fan grabbed his collar and used him as a shield, blocking the incoming saber strike.

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!

"Ah, it's me, it's me! Who are you cutting?"

Lin Fan kicked the villain he was using as a shield towards the others, startling them and making them scramble. Just as the villains steadied themselves, the whistling sound of a staff wind reached their ears.

They looked up, their pupils contracting and their mouths falling open.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four heads, one strike each. Every blow landed.

Crack!

It wasn't their heads that shattered, but his staff, which finally couldn't withstand the high-intensity burst and broke in response.

One man left.

Lin Fan turned and looked at the only villain still standing there, frozen in shock.

Clang!

The villain's mouth hung open, his saber falling to the ground. He was stunned.

"Ah... Help!"

The recovered villain turned and ran.

Monster, monster.

Lin Fan smiled and put force into his arm, throwing the broken staff. It tore through the air and, with a bang, struck the back of the villain's head, felling him instantly.

Twelve breaths. Eight men down.

Their lives were uncertain.

Lin Fan clapped his hands, as if he had just done something ordinary.

"Don't worry, it's over now."

Song Qing: ...

Yang Ming: ...

They stared in shock at the scene before them, their minds reeling. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they never would have imagined someone could be so powerful.

Eight men.

And they were all thugs with knives.

Just, just like that, they were gone?

Godfathers, give me some votes.