Chapter 13 Seizing the Initiative

Lao Yang grew anxious. "You shouldn't doubt me. I... everything I'm saying is true, really true, I'm not lying to you. I've always considered you my... best brother..."

Zhang Huxun chimed in lazily, "Yeah, absolutely—the easiest brother to trick."

Lao Yang glared at him, his face flushed with anger. "Stop sitting there making sarcastic remarks!"

"Isn't what I'm saying the truth?" Zhang Huxun countered. "Out of everyone you could have picked, you specifically targeted little naive here, precisely because he's inexperienced, a poor judge of character, and weighed down by your ancient history of friendship. You sweet-talked and conned him into dragging you into these deep mountains just to achieve some ulterior motive of yours."

Seeing Lao Yang flush a dark red, ready to retort, Zhang Huxun let out a cold snort. "Don't rush to deny it; you know best what you're really thinking. And earlier, back in that stagnant water of the mine, you were honestly hoping that the taimen and I would drag each other down to our graves, weren't you? What a pity things didn't go your way. Must be quite disappointed."

Zhang Huxun's appearance was undoubtedly an enormous variable in Lao Yang's plan. When things are uncertain, silencing potential threats is the most obvious and effective measure.

Naturally, the fewer people who knew Lao Yang's secrets, the better. As for Wu Xiexie, the two of them shared twenty years of history, which barely qualified him as an insider who could be trusted.

Zhang Huxun, however, was a different story. This guy had dropped out of nowhere like a bolt from the blue, yet Wu Xiexie trusted him implicitly, leaving Lao Yang with no suitable opening to make a move.

He had to act behind Wu Xiexie's back while keeping both himself and Wu Xiexie out of harm's way. When an opportunity finally arose, Zhang Huxun's combat prowess was so overwhelmingly high that he resolved the trouble in mere minutes.

Lao Yang felt as though he had swallowed something foul. Looking at Zhang Huxun's smug face, he genuinely wanted to pummel him with a flurry of turtle-style punches and empty a magazine into his chest.

Zhang Huxun and Wu Xiexie simply watched as the expression on this shady bastard's face flickered and morphed, wondering what kind of wild mental fanfiction he was cooking up in his head.

Wu Xiexie frowned and said, "If you're going to keep playing games and withholding information, Wood and I are turning around right now."

"Don't!" Lao Yang quickly shouted to stop them, gritting his teeth. "I still can't tell you yet. Only once we've truly entered the ancient tomb—whatever you want to know then, I swear I'll tell you every single word."

Yeah, like I'd ever believe that.

Zhang Huxun rolled his eyes. "Who knows what kind of danger is waiting for us beneath this hidden door? Only a shameless bastard could treat his good brother like a human guinea pig."

Lao Yang wanted to strangle Zhang Huxun for that sharp tongue of his, constantly yapping away just to show off how eloquent he was.

The worst part was that he, damn it, couldn't even win an argument against him.

Frustrated beyond belief, Lao Yang decided to target the softer persimmon. "Anyway, we definitely have to go down this secret door. There are massive, massive, massive opportunities down there. You definitely won't regret it."

Hearing him repeat the word "massive" three times, regardless of how much water those claims held, Wu Xiexie concluded that there had to be something genuinely good down there.

As for whether he'd regret it later, Wu Xiexie remained noncommittal.

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Lao Yang dug out a small oilcloth packet from his inner jacket pocket, which contained three crumpled cigarettes and a small box of matches.

He stuck a cigarette between his lips, took out a match, and struck it hard against the side of the box. With a soft *hiss*, a brilliant flame flared to life.

Lao Yang took a blissful drag, exhaled a thick plume of smoke from his nostrils, and sighed. "Give me a straight answer: are we going down or not?"

A hoarse voice suddenly spoke up from behind him. "No need to think about it. I've already made the decision for you."

The moment the words fell, something cold pressed against the back of Lao Yang's head.

Several figures emerged from the shadows beyond the reach of the lamp light, looking fierce and menacing. Wu Xiexie squinted and recognized them instantly as Uncle Tai's crew, who had set off before them.

Before he could react, a gust of wind swept past him.

The next second, the two thugs holding guns on Wu Xiexie were sent flying three meters through the air, crashing heavily onto the ground and instantly knocking themselves out cold.

Zhang Huxun's actions were crisp and decisive. A bunch of old scumbags weren't worth wasting much effort on.

Ten seconds later, Uncle Tai's entire crew was either sprawled out or kneeling, entirely stripped of their ability to move.

Only the older, boss-like man surnamed Wang struggled and attempted a counterattack twice, but that didn't stop Zhang Huxun from flattening him within two moves.

From being hijacked to turning the tables, the whole process took less than a minute.

Zhang Huxun regretfully brushed off some non-existent dust from his hands. These guys couldn't take a beating at all.

"Go tie them up."

Zhang Huxun issued the command as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Lao Yang was the executor.

Zhang Huxun's outrageous display of martial prowess had blinded his shifty eyes once again; disobedience simply wasn't an option.

Lao Yang pulled off the belts of those men and bound their hands behind their backs, making full use of every resource.

Uncle Tai hadn't passed out, but he wished he had.

Uncle Tai stared at Zhang Huxun in sheer horror, his inner self screaming frantically, *This is impossible, absolutely impossible!*

Yet reality dealt him a ferocious slap across the face, generously accompanied by a complimentary whirlwind three-hit combo.

Uncle Tai swallowed hard, watching as Zhang Huxun squatted down in front of him with a smile as genial as a smiling tiger, his heart hammering wildly. "This... esteemed master, we were blind and failed to recognize a true expert. We hope you can show mercy and spare our lives."

Seeing the smile vanish from Zhang Huxun's face, Uncle Tai hastily added, "I'll compensate you! I have plenty of money, and I won't take a single share of the good things we find down in this tomb—I'll offer them all to you as tribute..."

How imposing and arrogant Uncle Tai had been back at the food stall! As a prominent figure back in Hong Kong, he was now reduced to kneeling and begging for mercy in a pitiful state, snot and tears streaming down his weathered face, looking utterly wretched.

Zhang Huxun genuinely found it a bit hard to harden his heart—as if!

This bunch were desperate criminals with at least two or three human lives under their belts. They were masters of preying on the weak, pulling the ladder away after crossing the bridge, and discarding the donkey the moment the mill-grinding was done.

Would Zhang Huxun let them go just because of some poorly acted, eye-straining melodrama? Absolutely not.

If he hadn't been here, these desperadoes would have undoubtedly forced Wu Xiexie to scout the path ahead or serve as bait the moment they caught him.

"Tsk..." Zhang Huxun narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself whether he should just slaughter them right here and now to rid the world of a pest.

Noticing the murderous intent in Zhang Huxun's eyes intensifying, Uncle Tai was on the verge of tears. What kind of nightmare was this?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him in his panic. "I know some details about the ancient tomb! As long as this young master spares our lives, I can go ahead and scout the path for you."

Staying alive was paramount. As for the guys currently sprawled out on the floor, since he couldn't even guarantee his own skin, they'd just have to pray for themselves.

It wasn't worth angering the fierce god before him over a few temporary teammates.