As the words left his mouth, Li Chonglou leaped towards Tian Shan, his fist aimed at his face.
A sinister glint flashed in Tian Shan’s eyes. He grabbed Li Chonglou’s hand, his expression of shock vanishing, replaced by triumphant glee.
“You’re still too green, send me out!”
He was positioned against the load-bearing wall, between two windows.
Without Li Chonglou, he wouldn’t have been confident in a clean escape.
But with Li Chonglou offering himself up, he wouldn't hesitate.
His grip on Li Chonglou’s hand coiled like a serpent, a sinuous entanglement that directly controlled his joints and acupoints.
Li Chonglou’s true energy, like water from a faucet, was abruptly shut off.
Instantaneously subdued, he was forced to bend at the waist, his face contorted in pain.
“Let him go, or don’t blame me for being impolite.” Wu Zhengjiang’s face also turned grim.
Li Chonglou was too arrogant, ignoring advice, and now he was captured. Even Wu Zhengjiang could do nothing, only resort to verbal threats.
But how could an old fox like Tian Shan give up a chance to escape because of his threat?
He sneered mockingly, “You’ll have to find me first…”
With that, he let out a cackling laugh and, holding Li Chonglou captive, dashed towards the glass.
Guan Jian and Xiao Da tensely pointed their guns at Tian Shan, but dared not fire, merely making a show of it.
Only Li Chonglou’s face, despite the pain, showed no hint of panic.
*CRASH!*
The moment Tian Shan smashed through the glass with him, a look of resolute determination flashed in Li Chonglou’s eyes.
*Crack…*
A faint sound of bone cracking was almost imperceptible beneath the shattering glass.
Tian Shan, focused solely on escaping, paid no mind to what Li Chonglou was doing.
However, Wu Zhengjiang’s stern gaze showed a flicker of surprise.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the office building opposite Han Palace, Zhou Jiao and another soldier, each holding a sniper rifle, veins bulging on their foreheads, watched helplessly as Tian Shan gripped Li Chonglou’s arm and smashed through the window.
“Should we fire, Captain Zhou?” the soldier asked, fine beads of sweat dotting his forehead.
“Observe the situation, we can’t harm our own!” Zhou Jiao gritted his teeth.
Tian Shan was too cunning. With Li Chonglou as a hostage, even his marksmanship couldn't guarantee he wouldn't miss.
He could only watch through the high-powered optics as the two descended amidst flying glass.
“You little brat, I thought you were so clever. Now not even a god can save you…” Before even landing, Tian Shan taunted triumphantly.
Unfortunately, before he could finish, he felt a sharp sting at his waist.
Then his head swam, stars exploded in his vision, and his entire body, like a kite with a snapped string, instantly lost balance.
With a thud, he fell to the ground.
However, the height of just two stories was enough to prevent him from getting up again.
He struggled on the ground, one eye bulging, staring at Li Chonglou in disbelief: “What… what did you do?”
Li Chonglou’s arm hung limply, clearly broken.
In his other hand, he held a hollow needle, its tip tinged with a dark green hue.
His face showed no pain, only a smile.
“If I can’t beat you, I didn’t say I wouldn’t use poison!” Li Chonglou tossed the needle away, looking at Tian Shan, who struggled to rise only to fall repeatedly, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
He had done it. He could finally personally avenge Xu Lie.
This needle was something he had specially asked Xiao Yun to obtain from the hospital before the auction – curare.
Just 340 micrograms were enough to paralyze the muscles of an elephant and temporarily halt its cardiopulmonary function.
Even for a master like Tian Shan, his true energy was useless against it.
This was his last resort.
He was no chivalrous knight, nor a gentleman. He had never intended to fight someone like Tian Shan head-on in a fair duel.
Unless his head was cracked.
Clearly, Tian Shan believed it, as did Wu Zhengjiang and Guan Jian.
They all thought he had been blinded by hatred and was bent on a suicidal confrontation.
But no one noticed that his goal was to avenge Xu Lie, to kill Tian Shan.
Not to commit suicide.
“The moment you grabbed me and smashed through the glass, I resolutely twisted my captured arm to break it.”
“Then I crushed the capsule hidden in my sleeve, and with the needle soaked in curare, I plunged it, carrying nearly 600 micrograms of poison, into your waist.”
“At that time, you were completely in control of the situation and had let your guard down.”
“Mentally complacent, you didn’t even notice my struggle.”
“It was carelessness that rang your death knell.”
“To kill someone like you, even illicit means are acting on behalf of heaven!”
Li Chonglou spoke, supporting his broken arm as he walked towards Tian Shan, his back to Zhou Jiao and the other two.
He stepped on Tian Shan’s face.
Tian Shan’s face contorted, his eyes wide with terror.
His soul scattered: “Impossible… How could I fall into your trap…”
“This is impossible!”
The three upstairs rushed to the window simultaneously, craning their necks to look outside.
Seeing the scene, they were all stunned.
They had witnessed Tian Shan capture Li Chonglou and break through the window, only to see Li Chonglou standing over Tian Shan after landing.
What…
What had happened in those brief two seconds?
All three wore expressions of astonishment.
Wu Zhengjiang leaped down from the second floor, landing beside Li Chonglou.
“Hah… Hah… Even if I lose, do you dare kill me?” Tian Shan gasped for breath. By now, he knew he was completely finished. The panic in his single eye quickly vanished, replaced by the ruthlessness of a cornered beast.
He blustered, “You’re a police officer. I’m incapacitated, killing me would be breaking the law.”
“Kill me, and you’ll pay with your life!”
Li Chonglou’s eyes, a mix of coldness and hatred, tightly clenched his jaw without a word.
“Chonglou, he’s right. You can’t kill him. Leave him to us,” Guan Jian called from upstairs.
Xiao Da remained silent, his brow furrowed, unable to voice his plea.
Li Chonglou looked up at Guan Jian, his hatred burning: “Hand him over to the police, give him life imprisonment? Or the death penalty.”
“With his skill and disguise ability, he’ll disappear without a trace long before reaching the execution ground.”
“Then, it will be impossible to find a needle in a haystack again!”
Xu Lie watched him from the heavens, waiting for Tian Shan’s head to bring him peace.
He had no choice. If Tian Shan lived, he would never find peace.
He would do anything, even break the law.
Li Chonglou lowered his head to look at Tian Shan, his eyes filled with killing intent, his voice grinding through his teeth: “Brother Xu, I’ve avenged you!”
“Hehehe…” Tian Shan’s face twisted into a perverse smile, mocking him without restraint.
“Kid, be careful!” Just then, Wu Zhengjiang swiftly shoved a dagger into Tian Shan’s hand, then kicked off the ground, sending Tian Shan’s limp arm and the dagger towards Li Chonglou.
It looked as though Tian Shan had suddenly attacked, attempting to stab Li Chonglou.
Tian Shan’s perverse smile froze, his face filled with horrified shock.
Hearing Wu Zhengjiang’s warning, Li Chonglou had already sensed what was happening. His heart stirred.
Without a word, he gripped Xu Lie’s knuckle-duster and, with all his might, threw a heavy punch to Tian Shan’s face.
*CRACK!*
Like smashing a watermelon, blood splattered everywhere.
An international artifact smuggling bandit finally met his end beneath Xu Lie’s knuckle-duster.
Until his death, disbelief still clouded his single remaining eye.