"I've got something to take care of. I'll step out for a bit... You guys chat."
But when Yang Hua saw Chen Xia come over in a captain's uniform and invite everyone out for drinks, his gaze darted away and his face flushed red. He immediately turned and left.
Yang Hua was naturally reluctant. It wasn't that he was afraid of Chen Xia; he just felt humiliated. Before, he'd been full of confidence, thinking the captain's position was as good as his. But in the end, it hadn't gone to him. Naturally, he wasn't happy about it.
Still, Chen Xia had earned the promotion through his own strength. There was no arguing with that.
That day at the Shopping Mall, he'd seen Jiang Bing pinned beneath Hu Biao as Hu Biao stabbed him over and over with a dagger. Yang Hua had been genuinely afraid. He was a rich second-generation kid and had never been through anything like that before. He'd been on edge.
But Chen Xia had actually dared to charge in—and had even shown the strength of a martial artist.
Afterward, Yang Hua hadn't slept all night. Thinking about how he'd acted in front of Chen Xia, and how the other man had performed that day while he himself had been a coward, filled him with such shame that he'd wanted the ground to swallow him.
Things between him and Chen Xia were awkward, after all. Naturally, he wasn't going to go eat with him.
But he quickly adjusted his mindset. He'd graduated at the Eighth Stage of Ningyuan and was about to break through to the Ninth Stage and become a martial artist.
As for Chen Xia, from what Yang Hua knew, he wasn't very talented. Yang Hua guessed that his sudden leap forward in such a short time might have come from some special method. Usually, methods like that came with side effects and limited one's future growth.
Thinking of this, Yang Hua thought to himself, You have to look at the long game. I'll become a martial artist too, and I won't lose to him. Chen Xia gave up his future for a temporary advantage. Maybe the side effects of whatever he took will soon bring his progress to a halt, while I'll keep rising. So why should I be unhappy?
Yang Hua was proud to the bone, so he didn't want to eat with Chen Xia. The other man's promotion had made him feel small, even if only indirectly. But after thinking it through, he actually felt sorry for Chen Xia. He could only take shortcuts and risk everything, while Yang Hua could get by with normal cultivation.
"Brother Zhang, let's go!"
Chen Xia didn't mind Yang Hua's attitude.
He took the people from the Eighth Team to a nearby restaurant, where they ordered more than a dozen dishes and several crates of beer.
They ate and drank together, grilled skewers, and laughed and chatted.
During the meal, the restaurant owner even brought them a fine bottle of liquor worth over two hundred yuan. He toasted Chen Xia and said the meal was on him.
The restaurant owner knew the people from the Eighth Team; they ate here often. And since he'd heard Chen Xia had been promoted to captain, it was only natural for him to come over and make the acquaintance.
But Chen Xia didn't take advantage of the restaurant's generosity. He'd already paid the bill himself. The owner tried repeatedly to refuse, but Chen Xia was firm.
"See you tomorrow, Captain Chen!"
"Bye-bye..."
Once they'd eaten their fill, everyone went their separate ways.
Chen Xia rode his bicycle home.
His coworkers teased him for riding a bicycle every day even though he was a captain, saying it didn't suit him.
It wasn't that Chen Xia liked it. His predecessor had ridden every day to train himself, and Chen Xia had gotten used to it. Besides, Xingou Street was only two kilometers from his home, so it didn't matter.
As usual, Chen Xia sped along, pedaling so fast the wheels seemed to fly.
Before long, he rode past an alley in the Old Town.
But this time, as he passed through, his eyebrow twitched, putting him on alert.
After cultivating the Seven Injuries Fist, Chen Xia's mind was clear, and he had a strong intuition about many things.
It was nine at night. The sky was dark and the wind was high. Only the old streetlights shone along the road, and they didn't give off much light. He rode quickly past the inner alley where Yu Banshou had died.
He'd traveled this road many times and wasn't afraid of it. But Chen Xia still felt that something wasn't right.
As Chen Xia rode toward the alley, more than a dozen people huddled in a dark corner, lying in wait.
At their head was Zhao Banshou of the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group. Tall and lean, he held a broadsword and stared coldly at Chen Xia riding through the darkness.
The men around him were all burly, carrying daggers, knives, and clubs. Every one of them had a mask over his face.
Zhao Banshou turned to a man beside him and asked, "Lao Wu, tell me. Is he the person you found on the surveillance footage?"
"Yeah... That bicycle's pretty old-fashioned. It shows up in the footage every day. It's him," the man replied gravely.
"Good! We can't let this kid walk off with a pill worth over six hundred thousand. Block him and ask him about it." A cold glint flashed in Zhao Banshou's eyes. At last, they'd found him.
They'd spent the past several days searching for whoever had taken the Yuangu Pill, but they hadn't had a clue.
Fortunately, they'd gotten lucky. During the investigation, one of his men had spotted a hidden camera on a residential building across the street from the alley.
They found the family living there and got all the surveillance footage. In it, they saw that on the night of the incident, right around the time it happened, someone on a bicycle had passed by. He seemed to be a young man.
Most people in the area traveled by electric scooter or car, and young people rarely rode bicycles, so they'd narrowed it down to Chen Xia.
Whether or not it was him, they had to catch him and question him. All they knew was that the young cyclist was the most likely suspect and had some strength. As for what he did, the people in the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group had no idea.
But whoever he was, there was no way they'd let him keep their Yuangu Pill, worth six hundred and ten thousand.
Zhao Banshou figured that someone who rode a bicycle couldn't be any big shot. It'd be easy enough to handle some ordinary citizen. A beating would be all it took to make him talk.
"Zhao Banshou, he's here!" Everyone held their breath as they waited for Chen Xia to approach.
The moment Chen Xia rode into the Dark Alley, the silhouettes of several people appeared ahead. He stopped at once, only for several masked men to appear behind him as well.
"Stop!" Zhao Banshou barked coldly.
Seeing this, Chen Xia didn't panic. He looked at them calmly and asked, "Who are you? Robbers?"
He'd sensed something was wrong before he got here. He hadn't expected so many people to be hiding in the alley. And seeing their faces covered, he knew they meant trouble, which reminded him of the time he'd taken the Yuangu Pill.
They were probably here for that very thing. Also, the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group had disbanded, so judging by the situation, these people were most likely from Gathering Justice.
He just didn't know how they'd figured out he was the one who'd taken it—or why they'd specifically waited here to intercept him.
"Cut the crap! Tell me, there was a Grade 4 Yuan Bone Pill on Yu Banshou's body after he died. Did you take it?"
Zhao Banshou said coldly, "We only want the pill. If you know what's good for you, hand it over and we won't give you any trouble! Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Chen Xia replied.
"Heh. Then you'll have to come with us today!"
Zhao Banshou's voice was icy. As he spoke, the burly men around him moved closer to Chen Xia, closing in with menacing looks.
But Chen Xia's eyes were sharp, and he wasn't the least bit afraid to face them. Zhao Banshou and the others were a little surprised.
They'd thought that when Chen Xia saw how many of them there were, he'd cooperate obediently and hand over the Yuangu Pill. But that wasn't what happened. Instead, Chen Xia drew the Hanging Knife from his waist and stood his ground, radiating an imposing presence.
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