novelhk Chapter 394 Directory
Chapter 394 Directory
"Hey, isn't this someone from the list? What, your boss hasn't given up on hunting down this old codger?"
"give up?"
The bald man sneered, a louder laugh than his previous one, tinged with disdain.
"You stole our most precious treasure, the 'Mystic Spirit Pearl,' and you expect us to give it up? Li Muxuan, today you either hand over the Mystic Spirit Pearl, or you leave your life here!"
"The Mystic Spirit Pearl?"
Li Muxuan scratched his head, ran his fingers through his gray hair, and pulled out a few broken strands.
"Oh, you mean that bead? I sold it a long time ago to buy wine. That thing wasn't worth much. Your boss treasured it, but I just..."
"You!" The bald man roared in anger, his face contorting with rage.
"court death!"
He waved his hand.
His men immediately scattered, their steps swift and orderly, like a well-trained tactical squad. Some went left, some right, and some circled around to the back, completely surrounding Li Muxuan and Zhang Chulan.
Zhang Chulan inwardly groaned.
He had intended to keep a low profile and quietly gather information, but instead, he ran into this mess first thing in the morning. His fingers tightened and loosened on the hilt of the knife, repeating this several times.
But he couldn't just abandon Li Muxuan—after all, he was the only person he had found who knew any clues about Wugensheng.
"Grandpa, who are these people?" Zhang Chulan asked in a low voice.
His voice was very low, so low that only Li Muxuan could hear it. He turned slightly towards the old man, but his eyes were fixed on the people who had surrounded him, his gaze quickly sweeping over the weapons in their hands.
"The Directory, a local organization on Nathan Island, specializes in petty theft."
Li Muxuan spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him. He even reached up to straighten his collar and buttoned up the button that had been askew.
"Their leader is a greedy guy. A few years ago, he got a treasure. I couldn't stand it, so I 'borrowed' it to play with. As a result, they've been chasing after me ever since."
"...You call this a 'borrowing'?" Zhang Chulan was speechless.
"Can something done by a scholar be called stealing?"
Li Muxuan spoke with righteous indignation, his chin slightly raised, as if he were stating something perfectly natural.
"You two, haven't you said enough?!"
The bald man roared impatiently, his voice echoing across the beach like thunder. The veins on his neck bulged, one after another, like earthworms crawling under his skin.
"Li Muxuan, I'm giving you one last chance—the Mystic Spirit Pearl, will you hand it over or not?"
Li Muxuan sighed.
The sigh was very soft, as if he felt it was a bit troublesome, but not really concerned.
He looked at Zhang Chulan: "Young man, I'm sorry to have troubled you. You should go first; I can handle things myself."
"You're going to take on seven or eight of them all by yourself?"
Zhang Chulan glanced at the menacing enemies—the bald man's fists were clenched so tightly they were cracking, the tall, thin man wielding twin swords was licking the blades with his tongue, and the man covered in festering sores was grinning at him.
Then she looked at Li Muxuan's thin frame—narrow shoulders, a slightly hunched back, and thin arms, looking like he would fall over if the wind blew him down.
Are you sure?
"Don't worry, although I'm old, I'm not so old that I can't even handle these small fry."
As Li Muxuan spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, revealing a pair of thin but steady arms. The skin on his arms was loose, revealing bluish veins underneath. But his fingers were long, with distinct knuckles, unlike the hands of an old man.
Just then, a voice came from afar—
"Chu Lan! Don't be impulsive!"
Zhang Chulan turned around.
Nie Lingfeng, along with Chen Duo, Feng Baobao, Zhang Lingyu, Wang Zhenqiu, Lu Linglong, and Lu Lin, were seen hurrying over.
They walked quickly, but not running. Nie Lingfeng walked in front, holding Xiaoyun in his arms. Xiaoyun was still wrapped in that dark blue blanket, with only a small section of her hair showing. His expression remained the same, calm and undisturbed, but the speed of his steps indicated that he was not there for a stroll.
Chen Duo followed slightly behind him, her hair blowing in the wind, revealing her smooth forehead. Her eyes quickly scanned the crowd, as if confirming the location of everyone.
Feng Baobao held the branch she had broken off from the roadside in her hand; a few leaves were still on the branch, swaying gently in the wind.
It turns out that while Chen Duo was tracking Zhang Chulan, she discovered the members of the list lying in ambush and immediately went back to report.
"Brother Nie? What brings you here?" Zhang Chulan was taken aback.
"Chen Duo discovered the ambush, so we rushed over." Nie Lingfeng walked to his side, his gaze sweeping over the members on the list.
His gaze moved slowly, neither fast nor slow, sweeping from one face to another, like a sheathed sword that gestured across each person's neck before withdrawing. It carried a sense of oppression—not deliberate, but natural, like a mountain standing there, its weight palpable.
The bald man's expression changed slightly when he saw Nie Lingfeng and his group.
He was a seasoned veteran; he could tell at a glance that these people weren't ordinary superhumans. Their posture, breathing, and eyes were all different from ordinary people. Especially the man in the lead holding the child—when he looked at you, you felt a chill run down your spine. He'd only ever felt that way when facing his boss, "Ghost Hand" Liu Laosan.
His aura was so profound that he couldn't quite fathom it.
"Who are you people? This is a personal matter between us and Li Muxuan. Outsiders are best advised not to interfere," the bald man said in a deep voice.
His voice was lower and softer than before, as if he were testing the waters or issuing a warning. But his confidence was clearly not as strong as it had been before.
Nie Lingfeng did not answer him, but looked at Li Muxuan instead.
"Sir, we cannot interfere in your feud with them. But if you are willing to come with us, we can guarantee your safety."
He spoke at a moderate pace and in a moderate voice, as if stating a fact rather than making a request or negotiating.
Li Muxuan glanced at Nie Lingfeng, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes. It was a faint, but undeniable, admiration.
"Young man, you speak with quite a bit of confidence. However, I don't want to implicate you. Although the List isn't a big organization, their leader, 'Ghost Hand' Liu Laosan, is not someone to be trifled with."
"Liu Laosan the Ghost Hand?"
Wang Zhenqiu raised an eyebrow, stepped out of the crowd, put his hands in his pockets, tilted his head, and looked nonchalant.
"I've heard of him. They say he's a master thief, incredibly skilled. But—"
He smiled, a smile that carried a mysterious quality, as if he knew something you didn't.
"They might not be enough to impress us."
"Arrogant!"
The bald man was furious; his face turned bright red, and the veins on his neck bulged even more.
"Brothers, get them! Let's take care of these meddlesome outsiders too!"
At his command, seven or eight members of the roster immediately rushed forward!
Just as Zhang Chulan was about to make a move, Nie Lingfeng grabbed his shoulder.
The hand wasn't heavy, but it was very steady. It was like an iron plate resting on his shoulder, completely unmoved.
"Brother Feng, let me handle this." Zhang Chulan was eager to try, his eyes shining, his body leaning slightly forward like a leashed hunting dog, ready to pounce at any moment. "You, Sister Bao'er, and Sister Chen Duo are our top-tier fighters. Leave this small matter to us to practice on!"
Nie Lingfeng glanced at him, then looked at the others.
Wang Zhenqiu had already rolled up his sleeves, revealing the dense scars on his forearms. Zhang Lingyu extended her hands from her sleeves, black and white energy flowing between her fingertips. Lu Linglong was flexing her wrists, her neck cracking twice. Lu Lin stood beside her, her body slightly lowered, her center of gravity reduced, her hands raised, palms facing outwards.
Nie Lingfeng nodded slightly.
"Alright. Be careful."
Don't worry!
Zhang Chulan grinned, and a flash of lightning appeared on his body. White arcs of electricity crackled on his skin as he faced an enemy wielding iron chains!
The man had thick iron chains wrapped around his arms, each link as thick as a thumb, gleaming a cold white in the sunlight. He wrapped the chains around his arms twice, holding the ends in his hand like a metal snake. Seeing Zhang Chulan rushing towards him, he swung the chains out with a thud, smashing them down on Zhang Chulan's head with a whoosh.
Zhang Chulan didn't take the hit head-on. A flash of lightning struck his feet, and he shifted half a meter to the left. The chain grazed his shoulder and struck the beach behind him, kicking up a cloud of sand. The sand blinded the man, and he blinked—in that instant, Zhang Chulan was already in front of him.
He brought his right index and middle fingers together, and a condensed white lightning bolt touched the man's wrist.
"Thunder Magic - Red Lips".
The man's wrist went numb, and the iron chain slipped from his hand with a "clatter" and fell to the ground. He looked down and saw that Zhang Chulan's knee was already pressing against his abdomen.
With a muffled thud, the man bent over like a shrimp, his eyes bulging, his mouth agape, saliva mixed with stomach acid dribbling from the corners of his mouth, his legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees on the sand.
At the same time, Wang Zhenqiu, Zhang Lingyu, Lu Linglong, and Lu Lin also joined forces to fight against the members of the roster!
In an instant, figures mingled on the beach, and the sounds of colliding energy and weapons clashing rose and fell.
Zhang Chulan's lightning magic was fierce and swift, combined with his lightning-fast movement technique, allowing him to move freely among his enemies. His opponent was a tall, thin man wielding two swords, one long like a sword and the other short like a dagger. His swordsmanship was ruthless, specializing in attacking the lower body and joints.
The long sword slashed towards Zhang Chulan's knee, while the short sword thrust towards his side; both strikes were simultaneous and perfectly coordinated. Zhang Chulan jumped back, narrowly avoiding the attack. But the tall, thin man's sword was swift; the first strike missed, but the second was already upon him. Zhang Chulan could only continue retreating, one step, two steps, three steps, his feet sinking into the sand, filling his shoes.
But thanks to his speed advantage, he always managed to dodge attacks first and then counterattack. No matter how fast the tall, thin man's blade was, it couldn't outrun his lightning. After several exchanges, Zhang Chulan discovered that his swordsmanship had a pattern—one slash to the left, then to the right, then back again, with a half-second pause between each hand switch.
He waited for that gap.
The tall, thin man swung his longsword, missing its mark, and was about to switch hands—
Zhang Chulan moved.
He lunged forward, so fast that he left a trail of afterimages behind him. His right hand, fingers spread, held a highly compressed ball of white lightning, which he pressed directly against the tall, thin man's chest.
"Palm Thunder!"
"Bang—!" The ball of lightning exploded, blasting a large hole in the tall, thin man's shirt, revealing charred skin underneath. He was blasted backward, somersaulting in the air before crashing onto the beach, kicking up a cloud of sand. His twin swords slipped from his hands, one stuck in the sand, the other flying far away.