Chapter 76: The First Direct Confrontation (Part One)

At the dining table, Mo Lan and An Feng both looked rather grim. Qianyin, overjoyed at her return, had almost forgotten the most pressing matter.

“We seem to have found the boss’s base. They’re building it right now, and there are a lot of people there—each one looks like a real expert. It’s in that forest along the western road. There’s a temple to the Bodhisattva Guanyin on the hill—I went there last time when I was working on a case. Yesterday, we ran into them while we were out for a walk,” Mo Lan managed to summarize everything she wanted to say in the simplest way possible.

At this, Qianyin suddenly remembered she had never contacted Han. Should she reach out to him? But if she did so now, would it risk exposing their objective in the future?

Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei all knew there were criminals in the area, but had never heard of anyone called “boss” and found the conversation confusing and muddled.

Wasn’t the western road where they had seen people cutting down trees the other day?

“Oh, we know a little about that, too. That day we were gathering herbs, we saw the forest shaking,” Dong said earnestly. None of them had thought much of it at the time.

Now they realized everything had been foreshadowed.

In an instant, the atmosphere plummeted. What had started as a pleasant meal ground to a halt in this tense moment.

Old Master Mo and Old Immortal Xian had little to say; they had long known someone would make a move against the Mo family. Who it was didn’t really matter.

“Do you two have any suggestions? This time, we don’t plan to join forces with the police. If the police suffer heavy casualties, it would be a real tragedy,” An Feng said, knowing full well what he meant. It was a hard thing to ask, but it was the last favor he could do for the police.

Mo Lan nodded in agreement. After all, the two of them had a responsibility to preserve the lives of those under their command. If they really went up against those people, their team probably wouldn’t stand a chance.

They would shoulder this dangerous task themselves; besides, there weren’t many elite officers left at the station anyway.

Qianyin didn’t care one way or another. Whether their people involved themselves or not made little difference to her. She was only concerned with protecting what was hers, safeguarding the Mo family, and looking out for Old Immortal Xian. As for the rest, she was indifferent.

Lengxue had no opinion either. The people in the assassin world were likely to be the boss’s accomplices, so whether the police got involved was entirely up to them—it had nothing to do with him as an outsider.

As long as Qianyin agreed, the four young ones had nothing to say.

“Let’s sneak over tonight and take a look. Just the four of us—An Feng, Mo Lan, Lengxue, and myself. The others will stay here and guard the Mo family,” Qianyin decided after a moment’s thought, issuing her command directly.

An Feng nodded. As long as the police weren’t involved, it didn’t matter who took charge. It was best if someone stepped up to handle things.

With the plan set, everyone spent the afternoon preparing, packing only the essentials. Qianyin brought her whip—she knew it would hurt if she used it on anyone, and as long as she moved quickly, she had little fear of being shot.

Mo Lan and An Feng informed the Chief that they’d be investigating a case and might be away from the station for a few days.

Though the Chief was puzzled, he agreed—there were still plenty of unsolved cases piling up. Liu Fei and Xiao Qi worked so well together now that he sent Xiao Qi to assist.

Lengxue cleaned and packed his daggers, not needing to prepare much else. His main concern was protecting Qianyin; whatever happened with the boss was of little consequence to him.

As night fell, the four of them set off by car toward the western road. They got out as soon as they reached the bridge, every one of them tense—after all, the boss was a formidable adversary.

Qianyin and Lengxue had never been to this place before, so An Feng and Mo Lan led the way. They moved with utmost caution, making no sound. Bathed in moonlight, the forest was especially tranquil, the silvery glow lighting their path.

As they drew closer to the stretch of barren land, they could see the temple in the distance. Its lights were bright, and there was a palpable sense of human presence—clearly, many people were inside.

Qianyin remained concealed among the trees, unwilling to get too close and risk being discovered. She was surprised; it hadn’t been many days, yet the place was already so thoroughly cleared.

An Feng, on his first visit, remembered only the forest’s wildlife; nothing else had stuck in his mind. What a pity about those lifelike animal carvings. That old woman had urged them to visit often—was there another meaning behind it? Only now did An Feng recall the old woman from Old Master’s case.

The four had barely approached, not even exchanging a word, when suddenly a scream rang out from ahead.

“Someone’s coming!”

Han frowned at the sound and looked over, immediately spotting Qianyin’s eyes.

“What is she doing here?”

The Flower Thief also noticed the commotion, looking very displeased. Why had they come so brazenly—were they looking for a fight?

“Capture them, now!” The boss’s face was dark. For the police to discover him so soon—he’d been careless, too busy here to keep an eye on their movements.

Now there were seventy or eighty people—an entire crowd encircling the four. The situation looked grim; a hard fight was inevitable.

In truth, Mo Lan, An Feng, and Lengxue were at a disadvantage. Lengxue’s daggers were limited, his bullets numbered.

“No shooting!” the boss bellowed. If shots were fired, the police would surely swarm in greater numbers. For now, it was just that kid and three companions.

Hearing this, Han joined the fray, though he simply flitted about, never intending to actually fight.

Those who had been ready to fire frowned one by one, retreated to their lines, and set their guns aside, preparing to fight hand-to-hand. Those with swords and knives were delighted, charging to the front.

Qianyin stood at the fore, whip in hand, fending off the attackers one after another. She wielded it with great force—though still not entirely practiced, each lash was deadly.

The assailants underestimated her, charging in recklessly. Yet Qianyin gave them no chance to close—every stroke left a bloody welt, some across faces, some on shoulders or backs.

The boss wondered where that kid had found such a formidable woman—her techniques were so deft, she didn’t seem like a police officer at all.

Mo Lan fought with her fists, deciding not to draw her gun; since the enemy wasn’t shooting, they would show them the same courtesy. It hurt, though—their bones were so hard that even hitting them hurt her own hands.

An Feng and Lengxue fought side by side, striking down their opponents, not giving them a chance to get back up.

Seeing the situation, Han knew it was time to act. If he didn’t, the boss might drive him away.