Chapter 80: Lu Bu in the Flesh
Jiang Ruoxue's words left both Old Lyu and Zhang Chenze somewhat bewildered.
But the situation was urgent now, leaving no time for excessive thought.
Zhang Chenze took three deep breaths, then rushed out with the glass shard in hand.
Qi Xia was currently taking off his coat and tying it around his arm, trying to fend off the two men.
"Qi Xia! I'm here to help you!" Zhang Chenze raised the broken glass and stood beside Qi Xia.
"Help me?! Are you crazy?" Qi Xia gritted his teeth and said, "Get out of here!"
"It's okay..." Zhang Chenze seemed to be reassuring herself, "We'll be fine..."
The golden-haired thug, seeing Qi Xia distracted, immediately charged forward. If he could just drive the knife into the other's chest at this critical moment, it would all be over.
"Qi Xia, watch out!" Zhang Chenze also stepped forward, tightly closed her eyes, and randomly thrust the glass shard forward.
Seeing this, the golden-haired thug found it laughable. Did the woman really think she could kill someone with a piece of glass?
He sidestepped to dodge the woman in front of him, but unexpectedly stepped on the metal box on the ground.
"Huh?!"
His body tilted, completely losing balance, and he lunged forward, his throat colliding with the glass shard.
"Cough... cough..." A large amount of blood immediately poured from the golden-haired thug's mouth, "You..."
Qi Xia was stunned and quickly shoved the golden-haired thug away.
Separated from the glass shard, his throat gushed blood like an open faucet.
"A Li!!" The bald man roared, rushing forward to support his companion.
The bald man desperately tried to plug the wound on the golden-haired thug's throat with his hand, looking very panicked.
Qi Xia, still shaken, watched the scene unfold.
That metal box had fallen to the ground when he attacked the green-haired thug earlier; he never expected it would come in handy now...
What a fortunate coincidence?
It was only then that Zhang Chenze finally opened her eyes and suddenly found her hands covered in blood.
"Ah!!" She screamed in fright and immediately dropped the glass shard.
Having just verbally insisted she would kill someone, now that she had actually done so, Zhang Chenze, originally a lawyer, lost all color in her face.
Qi Xia didn't hesitate. The moment Zhang Chenze dropped the glass shard, he immediately picked up the dagger the golden-haired thug had dropped on the ground.
The battle wasn't over; they absolutely couldn't let their guard down.
"You're fucking asking for it!!" The bald man roared like a madman, then raised his dagger and swung it wildly.
Qi Xia quickly pushed Zhang Chenze into the room and retreated several big steps.
Attacks without any pattern were the hardest to dodge, because you never knew where the opponent would strike. Qi Xia could only try to put as much distance as possible between himself and the bald man.
But Qi Xia was at the end of the corridor; in just a few steps, he was backed into a dead end.
Although both held daggers, Qi Xia's only thought was to stay alive, while the other was like a mad dog that had lost its mind.
"I'll fight you to the death!!" The bald man swung his dagger viciously downward, and Qi Xia quickly sidestepped to avoid it.
Taking advantage of the swing missing, Qi Xia decisively slashed the man's arm. Qi Xia knew the wound was very deep—it seemed to have cut to the bone.
"If you want to die, come on!" Qi Xia threatened.
The bald man was completely oblivious to the pain of his wound. He raised his knife and turned to stab Qi Xia's heart.
Qi Xia knew he couldn't dodge in time, so he quickly lowered his stance. The knife, meant for his heart, instead pierced his shoulder.
He let out a pained grunt and immediately thrust his own dagger toward the man's abdomen.
But the next second, the bald man extended his left hand, firmly blocking Qi Xia's blade, and the dagger mercilessly pierced through his palm.
"You think you can kill me...?" The bald man glared fiercely and said, "Have you ever killed anyone?!"
Before Qi Xia could answer, the bald man viciously twisted the dagger in Qi Xia's shoulder, gouging out a large chunk of flesh.
"Ahhh!!!"
Qi Xia screamed in agony, the pain nearly causing him to faint.
Just then, a fat figure suddenly charged over and hugged the bald man tightly from behind.
The bald man was startled, and the dagger in his right hand slipped from his grip.
"Damn it..." The bald man realized the person hugging him was the "traitor" Old Lyu, and became even more furious, "You're the one who ruined our key, right?"
Although Old Lyu was terrified, he held on tightly, knowing that if he let go, Qi Xia would surely die.
The bald man twisted his left hand, pulled the dagger out of his own flesh, and stabbed it backward into Old Lyu's ribs.
"Huh?" Old Lyu was stunned, feeling something cold enter his flesh—a sensation he had never experienced before.
The bald man gritted his teeth, pulled the dagger out, and stabbed several more times.
Only then did Old Lyu feel the searing pain.
Old Lyu's body trembled violently, but he still didn't let go. He opened his mouth and bit down on the bald man's shoulder, twisting his head hard, tearing off a chunk of skin and flesh.
The bald man howled in pain and raised his dagger to finish Old Lyu off when Lin Qin appeared out of nowhere and stabbed him in the arm with a piece of glass.
"Qi Xia!! If you don't move, Old Lyu is going to die!!" She shouted in panic.
The shout jolted Qi Xia, who was on the verge of fainting, awake. Although his entire left side had gone numb, now was definitely not the time to collapse.
Once he saw the situation clearly, his expression changed in shock. Without hesitation, he pulled the dagger from his own shoulder, roared, and plunged it into the bald man's neck.
The bald man's strength instantly drained away, and several of them collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
"Old Lyu..." Qi Xia shoved the bald man aside and hurriedly checked on Old Lyu. But just one look, and Qi Xia's voice began to tremble, "Old Lyu... how are you?"
Old Lyu lay on the ground, convulsing constantly. His left ribcage was a bloody mess.
"Qi boy... you're not too smart in critical moments..." Old Lyu gave a bitter smile, his face already deathly pale.
"Yeah... I'm not as smart as you..." Qi Xia reached out with trembling hands and pressed firmly on Old Lyu's wound, but blood still seeped through his fingers. "Old Lyu, don't die... I still owe you the ticket for this trip..."
"How the hell could I die..." Old Lyu sighed and said, "Qi boy, if you knew my real name, you wouldn't be worried about me..."
"What is it...?"
"Don't laugh when I tell you..." Old Lyu smiled wryly, "In the past, whenever I told people my real name, they'd laugh..."
"I won't laugh. I promise I won't." Qi Xia was trying to stop the bleeding, but the bald man had struck too savagely; the blood wouldn't stop.
"My name is Lyu Fengxian..." Old Lyu let out a dry chuckle, "The name my parents gave me... doesn't it sound like I can't die?"
"You're a goddamn Lu Bu in the flesh, of course you won't die..."
Qi Xia knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Until his head throbbed with pain, until Old Lyu went still.
...
Qi Xia pulled Old Lyu over to him and said in a low voice, "There are a few things I need to tell you."
"Tell me?" Old Lyu was confused, "Qi boy, do you have some strategy? The game is about to start, hurry up and tell me."
Qi Xia pondered for a moment, then spoke up, "It's not really a 'strategy,' Old Lyu. If the other side invites you to join, you can agree."
"Huh?" Old Lyu was taken aback, then quickly understood, "A 'double bluff,' right? I agree first, then from the inside I'll..."
"No." Qi Xia shook his head, "Old Lyu, let's part ways here."
"What?"
"I've thought it over carefully. We've only known each other for a very short time. If I bet my life for your sake, the whole team won't be at ease." Qi Xia explained seriously, "So the best way is for you to leave the team early. Once it comes to confrontation, none of us will have any pressure."
"You..." Old Lyu's expression turned disappointed. Despite being a middle-aged fat uncle, he looked as aggrieved as a child.
"I'm sorry, Old Lyu. I'm just making the most correct choice."
"Qi boy." Old Lyu suddenly interrupted, "You say you can't bet your lives for me, but I can bet mine for you."
"What?"
"No matter what plan you have, don't act yet. I'll show you my 'sincerity' first. You can make your decision after seeing it." Old Lyu said.
"But if we don't accept you at the last moment, you'll die." Qi Xia said.
"You're not that kind of person." Old Lyu said with a simple laugh, "Old Lyu here may have sold socks his whole life, but I'm a good judge of character at critical moments. Just wait and see!"
"Sigh..." Qi Xia shook his head helplessly, "That may be so, but I still won't fully trust you. I'll only decide after seeing your performance."