Chapter 447 - 447 The Strange Man in the Tea House
White Impermanence and the young girl exchanged glances, both sensing something off about the man, especially his cold gaze that sent shivers down their spines.
White Impermanence had been slightly injured, but after a day of adjustment, he was now mostly recovered. He made a subtle signal to the young girl and quietly made his way out of the room to the one behind the man's.
The teahouse had many rooms, and hidden mechanisms were secretly installed within, each room connected by secret doors. The insiders were aware of these, allowing them to move around inside, but those from outside were oblivious, making them easy targets for surprise attacks.
Besides the Lady Boss, almost everyone in the teahouse was an assassin. Being adept at stealth attacks was the assassin's specialty, and White Impermanence was particularly skilled. He quietly crept into the room behind the man, holding his breath and concentrating, peering through the crack in the door at the man outside, his right hand already on the hilt of his knife, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
The young girl also hid behind a door nearby, staring intently at the man, holding a silver thread in her hand. Her Golden Silkworm Silk had been stolen by Ye Qing, and she had replaced it with a silver thread as a weapon, though of course, it was far inferior to the Golden Silkworm Silk.
Once they were both in position, the Lady Boss took another cautious step back.
The Lady Boss had worked here for a long time and had seen all kinds of people, possessing quite the experience. But looking at this man, she felt an indescribable sense of terror. It was as if a demon lurked within the man's eyes, ready to devour someone at any moment.
"Sir, how may I address you?" the Lady Boss asked, struggling to suppress the panic in her heart.
The man didn't speak and casually glanced towards the door beside him. The girl hiding behind the door trembled with shock, because she clearly felt the man's gaze on her.
How could the man possibly see the girl behind the door through such a tiny gap, especially from that distance?
The girl shuddered, aware that this man would not be easy to deal with. Without hesitation, she let out a slight whistle and suddenly charged out from behind the door, her silver thread drawing a circle towards the man's neck.
At the same moment, White Impermanence, hiding behind the man, quietly pushed open the door and silently thrust a long spike towards the man's back.
Their teamwork was impeccable, with the girl creating a distraction upfront to draw the man's attention while he attacked stealthily from behind. His strength was much greater than the girl's, and if he struck from an ambush, his chances of success were far higher. They had cooperated like this many times before and had killed numerous experts this way. And this time, in their own teahouse, familiar with every hidden mechanism, their chances of striking successfully were even higher.
However, as the girl and White Impermanence made their move, the man seemed unaffected, just quietly watching the young girl. Just as her silver thread was about to coil around him, the man suddenly slapped the table, and a box resting on it sprang upwards. One end of the young girl's silver thread was tied to an Iron Awl, her lethal weapon, which also allowed the thread to move with the weight of the awl. But, by a strange twist of fate, the box bounced up and collided with the Iron Awl.
No one knew what the box was made of; it looked like wood, but when the Iron Awl struck the box, it was repelled. The box, having absorbed the impact, opened slightly and landed right in the man's hand. With a slap to the bottom of the box from his right hand, it shot off like an arrow from a bow, striking White Impermanence right in the gut from behind.
White Impermanence had been about to land his spike on the man, but at this critical moment, the box struck him in the gut. He felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, bent over clutching it, and dropped the long spike on the floor.
The young girl, shocked by the turn of events, quickly positioned the Lady Boss behind her for protection. Flicking her silver thread, the Iron Awl thrust forward again toward the man's chest as she yelled, "Aunt Mo, run! I'll hold him off!"
Before the young girl's words had settled, the Iron Awl flew right in front of the man. He flicked his thumb against his middle finger and lightly snapped it on the awl. The Iron Awl was propelled backwards and didn't hurt the man in the slightest.
White Impermanence, still clutching his abdomen, roared loudly, picked up his long spike, and lunged forward again. But before he could take more than a couple of steps, the man grabbed one end of the box and effortlessly pressed it down on White Impermanence's shoulder. Crushed by an immense force, White Impermanence couldn't resist and was pinned to the floor by the box.
"Big Senior Brother!" the young girl cried out, her hands moving in unison to throw several daggers and swirl the Iron Awl in a circle, sending it whirling towards the man from afar.
The man still didn't flinch and casually grabbed a chair to block all the thrown daggers. By now, the Iron Awl had drawn its circle and descended, but with a flick of the chair against the thread, the loop wound up tight, wrapping around the chair instead of ensnaring the man.
Seeing this, both White Impermanence and the young girl were dumbfounded, realizing they were no match for this man.
"Let them go!" Instead of fleeing, the Lady Boss stepped forward and said with a deep voice, "Who are you exactly? Do you realize that this teahouse is owned by the Ghost-faced Judge, and these two are his Direct Disciples?"
The man remained expressionless and said, "I know!"
Lady Boss said in a stern voice, "Knowing who they are, you still dared to harm them? If the Ghost-faced Judge finds out about this, he will pursue you to the ends of the earth to kill you!"
"Hmph!" The man sneered, glancing at White Impermanence and the little girl, he said, "Everyone says Miss Mo Mo has a clear sense of gratitude and grudges, but I see she is nothing special after all, just using the Judge's name to scare people!"
"You... You know my name?" Lady Boss couldn't help but be greatly surprised. Everyone in Shenchuan City knew her by the title Lady Boss, but very few knew her real name. Could this man know her? Does he recognize her?
The man said, "In this industry, only the incompetent assassins do not know the three words Hu Momo."
Lady Boss was even more astonished. With what the man said, he must be an assassin. Moreover, he spoke so arrogantly that he didn't seem to regard others at all. Who on earth was this man, and how did he possess such strength?
"So, your excellency is also in the trade; that's good," Lady Boss nodded and said, "Since you're one of us, why come to cause trouble? My teahouse hasn't had any grievances with you, has it?"
The man replied, "When did I come to cause trouble?"
Lady Boss said, "If you're not here to make trouble, why hurt my two juniors?"
"Miss Mo Mo, don't forget. From the moment I entered the room until they came out, I didn't say a word, didn't do a thing; they were the ones to attack me first. I injured them in self-defense," the man paused for a moment, gave a cold glance at the two, and sneered, "If I had wanted to hurt them, they wouldn't have enough lives to die, and do you think they'd be standing here unharmed?"
"What did you say!" White Impermanence was furious. He had already suffered a lot at Ye Qing's hands and was fuming inside. Now being insulted by this man, one could only imagine how much resentment he felt.
The man simply ignored him and pressed down hard on the box. White Impermanence was barely managing to resist, but with that press, he was promptly forced to kneel down by the weight of the box, struggling in vain as he couldn't move at all. The box weighed down like a mountain, leaving him utterly unable to fight back.
Lady Boss's expression changed several times as she took a slow step forward, bowed, and said, "My friend, for what happened before, we were in the wrong. This little woman apologizes to you here. But after all, they are juniors. Why must you trouble them like this?"
"That sounds more reasonable!" the man scoffed, suddenly lifting the box.
White Impermanence had been exerting all his strength to push up against the box, but when the man suddenly lifted it, his upward force had nowhere to go, causing him to stand involuntarily, stagger, and take a step back. Using too much strength made his head congested, his vision blurring, and he ended up sitting on the ground with a thump, looking extremely disheveled.
"Big Senior Brother!" The little girl hurried over to help White Impermanence up.
White Impermanence shook his head vigorously, clearing the haze from his head, only then glaring at the man, he said, "Who exactly are you? Why do you come to my teahouse to run wild? Do you know who my Master is..."
"Xiao Bai!" Lady Boss suddenly interrupted him, her voice stern, "Go downstairs!"
"Aunt Mo..." White Impermanence still wanted to speak. Lady Boss's expression turned icy, and White Impermanence immediately shut up, lowered his head and turned to leave.
"Wait a moment!" The man nonchalantly picked up the box, blocking White Impermanence's path.
"What else do you want?" White Impermanence said angrily, "It was Aunt Mo who told me to go inside; don't think I'm afraid of you!"
"Whether you are afraid or not, that's your concern. However, you cannot go inside!" The man said calmly, "I have a few questions to ask you."
Lady Boss and White Impermanence exchanged a look of surprise.
"What questions?" Lady Boss asked, "It seems that our friend here has some old acquaintance with the Judge. If there are questions, why not wait for the Judge to come back and ask clearly?"
"Hmph, the Judge?" The man laughed coldly, "Having holed up in Shenchuan City for ten years, he no longer has the ambition he once did. What difference does it make to see him or not? I came here today to ask a few questions. Once I get the answers, I will leave immediately. Ten years ago, I had some relationship with the Judge too. I won't trouble you!"