"Yeah, I don't know why, but I could feel that 'Flying Dagger' Lone Wolf carried absolutely no malice," Qin Hong mused, a hint of confusion in his voice. "Actually, I always get a sense of familiarity from this 'Flying Dagger' Lone Wolf, as if I’ve seen him somewhere before. But no matter how hard I try, I just can't place him."

"If you can't remember, then stop overthinking it," Li Ran said dismissively.

Only a moment passed before a knock sounded at the door.

"Brother Yang must be here. I'll get it," Qin Hong immediately moved to the living room, glanced through the peephole, and then opened the door. Outside stood a gentle-looking man in glasses, no more than about 1.75 meters tall. After the man stepped inside, Qin Hong quickly shut the door.

Just then, Li Ran emerged from the bedroom.

"Brother Yang," Li Ran greeted him with a smile.

"Xiao Ran, you’re pregnant, don't run around. Rest well," the man referred to as 'Brother Yang' said with a smile. This 'Brother Yang,' whose real name was 'Yang Yun,' was the overall head of all Special Operations Group members within the entire Jiangsu province. His own capability was extremely high. This time, because the situation involved 'Flying Dagger' Lone Wolf and the two behemoths of the Divine Kingdom, almost every Special Operations Group member in Jiangsu had been gathered in Yangzhou.

Yang Yun turned to Qin Hong: "Qin Hong, you said you saw 'Flying Dagger' Lone Wolf. Go take another look, see if he’s still there?"

Qin Hong nodded, walked to the living room window, and peered out slightly through the slatted blinds.

"Brother Yang, he’s still there." No sooner had Qin Hong finished speaking than Yang Yun moved to stand beside him.

"Brother Yang, look, it’s the second floor of that teahouse across the street—the largest window. That man is Flying Dagger Lone Wolf, and there is a woman sitting opposite him." Qin Hong frowned slightly. "Wait, it's her?"

"Her?" Yang Yun sounded slightly surprised.

"Yes, I didn’t observe the woman carefully before. I didn't expect it to be her. This woman is named Lin Qing, quite a famous figure in our Yangzhou City." Yangzhou City wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either; a famous figure like her was certainly well-known to Qin Hong.

Yang Yun nodded subtly, then pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Chen San, bring your entire team over immediately. Rendezvous point... right, concentrate at the Baiyun Café across from Qin Hong's place. I have an urgent mission for you!" With that, Yang Yun hung up the phone.

"Qin Hong, you stay right here. Don't go anywhere," Yang Yun instructed before immediately leaving Qin Hong's residence.

...

Inside a private room at the Baiyun Café, only Yang Yun and a seemingly honest-looking middle-aged man remained.

Listening to the report coming through his earpiece, the seemingly honest middle-aged man nodded: "Head Yang, Flying Dagger Lone Wolf and that Lin Qing have already left the Yangliu Teahouse. One person from my squad is tracking Lin Qing, and the other four will shadow Flying Dagger Lone Wolf using staggered routes."

Yang Yun remained silent, simply waiting.

A moment later, the middle-aged man gave a wry, helpless smile: "Head Yang, Flying Dagger Lone Wolf has vanished."

"Just as I suspected," Yang Yun smiled, shaking his head. "This 'Flying Dagger' Lone Wolf is arguably one of the peak experts in the mortal world, and he used to be an assassin. He must be extremely adept at concealment, tracking, and counter-tracking. Tracking him is exceedingly difficult. Never mind, Chen San, your team, focus on that Lin Qing. Perhaps we can find a breakthrough through her."

"Yes," Chen San immediately responded to the order.

In an ancient alleyway, Teng Qingshan walked as if taking a casual stroll.

"The people who were tracking me just now are likely from the same organization as my younger brother," Teng Qingshan surmised. "Given my brother's status, they should have managed to uncover my identity as 'Flying Dagger' Lone Wolf." Teng Qingshan didn't spare it a second thought; those ordinary special agents were no different from common people in his eyes.

Teng Qingshan's ears twitched slightly, and his pace immediately quickened.

Reaching a corner, he saw a lean man in a cap in the alley ahead.

The reason Teng Qingshan hadn't lingered at the Yangliu Teahouse was precisely to track this lean man. However, with Teng Qingshan's skill, he didn't need his eyes; he could track someone using only his ears and never risk losing them.

"This kid passed by my younger brother's residence three times this morning, changing his attire with every pass. Furthermore, each time he meticulously observed my brother's home. He must have ill intentions." Teng Qingshan's entire focus had been on his younger brother's dwelling, and he had observed everyone who passed by.

With his specially trained memory, anything he saw once was absolutely unforgettable.

Especially this man in front of him, whose disguise skills were so poor.

"Moreover, the man's gaze is off; he seems to view everything around him with suspicion." As one of the ultimate assassins, Teng Qingshan could easily spot weaknesses in others. Clearly, the opponent's ability to disguise himself was too lacking.

Having judged that the man harbored malicious intent toward his brother, how could Teng Qingshan possibly let him go? His brother, Qinghe, was his only remaining kin.

He followed the man all the way, yet the lean man had no inkling of the presence of Teng Qingshan behind him.

Not long after, the lean man arrived at a six-story residential building in a complex and ascended the stairs. Teng Qingshan waited at the foot of the staircase, listening.

"Third floor, the unit on the left," Teng Qingshan determined the man's location easily just by his voice.

He immediately went up the stairs and stood outside the door on the third floor, pressing his ear against the solid wood.

The faint sounds inside the room reached Teng Qingshan with perfect clarity.

"Hey, Boss Li, I've cased the joint. You didn't tell me that Qin Hong has a pregnant wife. If I kill Qin Hong, I’ll definitely have to take care of his wife too, or she’ll scream and attract attention from the neighbors. I’ll be in trouble then. You should raise the price—boost it by another hundred thousand. For you, Boss Li, that’s nothing."

Outside the door, a murderous intent instantly flared within Teng Qingshan.

To kill his younger brother, and his brother’s wife too?

In this world, his brother was his only family; he absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen.

"Haha, Boss Li is indeed straightforward. No problem! Once the job is done, I'll leave immediately. Don't worry, Qin Hong is tough, but I already have a plan; he is certainly doomed. Very well, just wait for my good news." The man inside hung up the phone.

Teng Qingshan gripped the doorknob, sent a surge of internal energy through it, and then pushed the door open with effortless ease. It yielded as if it hadn't been locked at all.

In the living room inside, the lean man was lounging comfortably on the sofa, humming an out-of-tune song while operating the remote control to turn on the television. Then, the lean man’s gaze swept toward the doorway and unexpectedly landed on a young man wearing glasses pushing the door open. The newcomer then proceeded to close the door behind him with unnerving composure.

"You—who are you?" The lean man jumped in fright, his mind racing with confusion. Had he forgotten to lock the door? Impossible; he couldn't have been that careless.

"Who I am?" Teng Qingshan walked toward him with a faint smile.

A vicious glint flashed in the lean man's eyes, and he drew a pistol from behind his waist with lightning speed.

But the young man, who had just been at the doorway, had moved with bizarre speed and was suddenly right in front of him, seizing the pistol.

"Krrrk~~" The barrel of the gun was bent and snapped off.

The lean man's face contorted in shock.

There was no doubting the hardness of a gun barrel. A person who could bend metal like that with mere grip strength—was this someone he could resist?

"Big Brother, who... who are you affiliated with?" The lean man trembled with fear, even saying, "Brother here is Chu Tian, I have some reputation in the underground circles... I committed a crime back home a while ago and am currently wanted, so I came to this place of yours. If I’ve offended Big Brother in any way..."

"Shut up," Teng Qingshan stated flatly.

This 'Chu Tian' immediately clamped his mouth shut in fright.

"I will ask you one question, and you will answer it," Teng Qingshan's voice held no inflection, but the icy gaze in his eyes made Chu Tian's heart pound.

"Ask away, Big Brother," Chu Tian quickly complied.

"Are you planning to kill the Qin Hong family?" Teng Qingshan asked apathetically.

Chu Tian froze, hesitating involuntarily.

"Crack!" Chu Tian barely registered the movement before a searing pain shot through his right arm. His entire arm bone had been forcibly crushed. Pain threatened to make him scream, but seeing the look in Teng Qingshan's eyes, Chu Tian gritted his teeth and managed to suppress the outcry. He understood...

In a situation like this, the more he yelled, the faster he would die.

Sweat beaded on his forehead from the agony, but Chu Tian still stammered: "Yes, I committed a crime. Since I'm already wanted, I have nothing left to lose. So, passing through Yangzhou, I decided to pull a job and leave immediately. Is Qin Hong Big Brother's friend? If so, then this brother was wrong; I'll leave right away without another word. If Big Brother has any dissatisfaction, feel free to command me."

"Who ordered you?" Teng Qingshan's tone remained utterly steady.

"That... I can't say," Chu Tian forced a thin smile. "It’s against the rules..."

"Crack." In an instant, the bone in his left arm was also snapped.

Whether it was this sheer strength or the cold ruthlessness, it was enough to push Chu Tian to the brink of collapse.

"I said, I ask, you answer. I don't want to ask a second time, or you know the consequences," Teng Qingshan said coldly. "Who is Boss Li!"

"You know?" Hearing Teng Qingshan utter the words 'Boss Li,' this fugitive 'Chu Tian' felt a surge of anger—if you know, why are you asking me? But with both arm bones crushed, Chu Tian dared not utter a word of protest.

"Answer me," Teng Qingshan commanded.

Chu Tian took a deep breath, enduring the agonizing pain shooting from his shattered arms: "Big Brother, if I answer you, you... you can't kill me. If you don't agree, you can torture me to death today, but I still won't speak." Chu Tian gritted his teeth, staring fixedly at Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan merely watched him with cold indifference: "Fine!"

Chu Tian inwardly relaxed slightly.

In his estimation, a figure of this caliber would highly value a promise.

"The one who hired me is 'Li Mingshan,' the chairman of Mingshan Group. That Li Mingshan is a respected figure in the underworld; he's quite formidable," Chu Tian stated.

"Li Mingshan, Mingshan Group." Teng Qingshan committed the names to memory.

Teng Qingshan then waved his hand, forming a sword finger with his index and middle fingers, and stabbed directly into the fugitive’s brow. Chu Tian felt a sharp pain inside his skull, his consciousness immediately blurring. Simultaneously, he looked at Teng Qingshan with horror and resentment before his gaze dimmed and lost all light.

He hated Teng Qingshan for breaking his word!

Teng Qingshan glanced coldly at the corpse.

Having struggled in a sea of the dead since the age of seven, as arguably the world’s most terrifying assassin, he had been indoctrinated from childhood to kill by any means necessary. How could he possibly spare an enemy based on a ridiculous promise? Furthermore, this man intended to kill his brother's entire family. Teng Qingshan would never allow any threat to his kin to survive.

Leaving behind a corpse and a twisted pistol, Teng Qingshan departed the room.

"Li Mingshan!"

Teng Qingshan murmured the name deep within his heart.