Chapter 9: He Dies, You Live!

Qin Song was the eldest son of the Qin family’s second branch and Qin Yuankun’s third grandson. He used to trail after Qin Tian, calling him Brother Tian at every turn. Now, plainly, he hadn’t come in friendship.

“Well, isn’t this lively?” he drawled, wearing an insufferable grin. Then he saw Qin Tian. His voice stopped short. He rubbed his eyes and cried, “Holy shit! Back from the dead? Qin Tian, is that you?”

He instinctively stepped back, then stopped, putting on a look of excitement. “Brother Tian, you’re alive? You’re actually alive? Heaven must be blind! Why didn’t you die?”

Xie Tianlang gave a muffled snort, his expression a picture. Qin Song turned to him ingratiatingly. “Brother Wolf, how was my acting?”

Xie gave him a thumbs-up. “Amazing. Even I wanted to kick you. You really are a piece of shit!”

“Thanks for the compliment.” Qin Song smirked. “You haven’t taken this graveyard yet…”

“Bastard!” Qin Yuanming shouted, his face red with rage. “How dare you call this a graveyard? I’ll beat you to death!”

Qin Song laughed. “Am I wrong, Second Grandpa? If it isn’t a graveyard, what is it?”

“You…” Qin Yuanming clutched his chest, breathing hard.

Murderous intent rose in Qin Tian’s eyes. He sent a strand of qi to protect his grandfather’s heart. “Don’t get angry over trash like him, Grandpa. Leave him to me.”

The old man nodded, too furious to speak.

Qin Song sneered. “Listen up, Qin Tian, Qin Yuanming. My grandfather says the ancestral home is Brother Wolf’s, free of charge!” He announced it as if delivering an imperial decree.

Qin Tian narrowed his eyes. “What gives Qin Yuankun the right to decide what happens to this house?”

“What right?” Qin Song lifted his chin. “My grandfather is the head of the Qin family now. Is that enough? Wake up, Qin Tian. You’re a homeless dog. Do you still think you’re the second young master? Take a piss and look at your reflection in it!”

Silence fell over the courtyard. Xie Tianlang folded his arms, smiling as he waited for the show. The dozen or so burly men in black behind him watched hungrily for an order. Qin Yuanming trembled, his bony hands gripping the arms of his chair until his knuckles whitened.

“Kneel,” Qin Tian said.

Qin Song laughed in outrage. “You want me to kneel to you? Qin Tian, you—”

Before he could finish, an invisible pressure descended like a mountain. His knees slammed into the ground. Bone cracked, and blood poured from the wounds. His smile vanished, replaced by a twisted expression and a scream that rang through the residence.

“My… my legs!” He struggled desperately, but his legs stayed pinned in place.

Xie Tianlang’s pupils contracted. For an instant, he too had felt the touch of death. Qin Tian’s steady footsteps approached, each one oppressive. Qin Song forgot even his pain, his face pale with terror.

Xie quietly circulated his qi, muscles taut and ready to unleash his strongest attack. The gangsters behind him discreetly reached for weapons at their waists.

Those dozen or so meters seemed to take an eternity to cross. Qin Song stared up at Qin Tian and screamed, “What are you going to do? If you dare kill me, my grandfather won’t let you off!”

“Oh?” Qin Tian bent over him. “Killing you would dirty my hands.”

Relief washed over Qin Song. He grinned viciously. “Smart choice. Let me go, and I’ll put in a good word for you with my grandfather.”

Qin Tian scoffed, straightened, and beckoned to Xie Tianlang. “Come here. Kill him, and I’ll spare your worthless life.”

Xie stared, then threw back his head and laughed. “Are you joking, Second Young Master Qin?”

“Kill him, and I’ll let you live,” Qin Tian repeated patiently.

“You really think you’re somebody?” Xie’s smile vanished. Vast qi burst from him, a Grandmaster’s pressure spreading through the courtyard like a tide. Dust rose, and his men staggered back.

“I’ve run wild in Jiangcheng for over twenty years. What haven’t I seen? A brat like you thinks he can give me orders?” He swept out a hand. “Get him! Chop him to pieces!”

“Yes, Brother Wolf!” The men drew the machetes at their backs. Xie smiled viciously. He never fought unprepared; every man he had brought was an elite with blood on his hands.

“You think a few years of training let you do as you please in Jiangcheng? Today I’ll show you there’s always someone stronger!”

“Shut up.” Qin Tian stepped forward.

A dragon’s roar rang out. Visible qi spread outward from him, and the charging gangsters fell as one, blood spraying as they hit the ground. Time seemed to stop.

Skinny Ghost swallowed with difficulty. “Brother Wolf… is he even human?”

Xie shook himself out of his shock. “I don’t know, but he sure as hell isn’t a Grandmaster.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a Grandmaster, and I can’t do anything that monstrous!”

“A Great Grandmaster?” Skinny Ghost cried.

Xie took a breath and tried to steady himself. “Second Young Master Qin… are you a Great Grandmaster?”

Qin Tian didn’t answer. He beckoned again, smiling faintly. “Last chance. He dies, you live.”

Xie shuddered and looked from the trembling Qin Song to Qin Tian. His expression shifted. Qin Song panicked.

“Xie Tianlang, you’d better think about the consequences! I’m Qin Song, Qin Yuankun’s grandson! If you kill me, you’re making an enemy of the Qin family!”

“Shut up!” Xie growled.

The struggle in his eyes intensified. On one side was the Qin family’s wrath; on the other, an unfathomable killer. Xie had survived in Jiangcheng through ruthlessness and a keen sense of danger, and every hair on his body told him that the young man before him was someone he couldn’t afford to provoke.

“Fine. I’ll kill him.”

Xie gritted his teeth and approached. Qin Song screamed, “You dare? Brother Wolf… please, don’t kill me! I’ll give you money!”

Xie ignored him and kept coming.

“Wait,” a calm voice said suddenly.