Sometimes, darkness is used to represent the unknown because it is very difficult to find the mysteries hidden within it. Something could approach without you knowing, then suddenly open its jaws wide and tear you to pieces mercilessly.
However, the darkness had its romanticism too.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as all the Hattori fighters got into position to ambush the patrol team, there was a sudden loud explosion from the Peace Mansion. Consecutive fireworks flew up into the skies and bloomed, lighting the sky up so bright it was like day.
All the Hattori fighters frantically crouched down on the grass, not daring to take another step forward.
Hattori Hyakusai himself dropped flat onto the grass. Ninjas weren’t invisible, they specialised in camouflaging with darkness or their environment. If the sky wasn’t dark anymore and they were on a flat piece of grassland, even a master could not utilise his stealth skills.
However, the Hattori fighters did not give up. They believed that the fireworks show would not go on for too long. It would only last at most, ten minutes. That would be enough time for the patrol team to return to this spot. Then it would be the moment they struck.
Bang! Bang! Bang!…
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Fireworks were fired consecutively into the night sky. Their beauty could be seen even five kilometres away. There was a group of religious followers making wishes as they fired. There was a pile of fireworks on the ground worth five million dollars.
Xia Lei had bought all these fireworks to celebrate his marriage to Liang Siyao as well as the coming Lunar new year. Money was meaningless to him at this point. In just a month, he had more than doubled his money in the American stock market! The snowball he was rolling hadn’t landed but a portion of it had already been turned into fireworks in the sky.
[TL Note: The Chinese new year / Lunar new year is also known as the Spring Festival.]
One minute passed. The fireworks continued.
Two minutes passed. The fireworks continued.
Three minutes…
Four minutes…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Asshole! How much did he spend on fireworks?!” Hattori Hyakusai couldn’t help but curse. He was extremely frustrated.
At this moment, there was an old man crawling up the roof of Peace Mansion. He was clad in traditional Chinese clothing and holding a bottle of Baijiu alcohol. He wobbled as he walked on the roof tiles but did not seem to fall.
All the Hattori fighters stared at the old man on the roof intently, observing his every move while panicking. The old man wasn’t far from them. At such a high point, it wasn’t difficult to observe them.
The old man guzzled some wine and roared towards the skies, “San, our daughter is married now! You’ll have a grandchild soon! Hahaha!”
That old man was Liang Zhengchun, whose daughter just got married.
His daughter had married a national hero, and his son-in-law had agreed to change their first son’s surname to Liang so he could pass on the Liang name. It was a piece of immensely great news for him. For some reason, he decided to climb up the rooftop to talk to Liang Siyao’s mother, to tell her the good news.
After talking to Liang Siyao’s mother, he started throwing Wengchun punches. He might have drunk a little too much but every move was sharp and precise. He was agile, every kick and punch was one of a master’s!
Within the bedroom, Xia Lei heard Liang Zhengchun’s ‘howl’ so he used his special vision to look up. Very quickly, he noticed Liang Zhengchun throwing punches and shouting on the roof. At this moment, Liang Siyao was currently riding him. Xia Lei was speechless. “I think Dad’s on the roof.”
Liang Siyao was very gentle. “Ignore him. In the past, when we were in my hometown, he would also start training on the roof and talk to my mother. He’ll come down after a while. Don’t worry about him falling, he’s a sturdy man.”
“Alright, we’ll leave him be. Honey, are you tired? If you’re tired, why don’t you let me do my work?” Xia Lei was equally gentle.
“No way,” said Liang Siyao mischievously. “I like this, and I don’t trust you.”
“As long as you’re happy.”
“You’ve got to move too, are you really going to let a pregnant lady do all the work?”
The scene was as such. An old man training martial arts on the roof, glorious fireworks in the sky and bliss within the bedroom. There seemed to be two worlds divided by the walls surrounding the Peace Mansion. On one side, people were very nervous and panicking. The air was tense. On the other side, it was all festivities and joy.
They were getting closer to the timing they agreed with Sirita but the old man still wasn’t leaving. With furrowed brows, Hattori Hyakusai pointed at Liang Zhengchun on the root with his knife.
One of the Hattori fighters took out a crossbow and aimed at Liang Zhengchun.
“Uncle Zhengchun, what are you doing! Get down! You’re disturbing the bride and the groom in bed!” It was Qin Xiang.
When Liang Zhengchun heard Qin Xiang’s reminder, he did a flip and leapt off the roof. The arrow brushed past the sole of his shoe.
Liang Zhengchun fell unsteadily to the ground, yelling, “Who?! Who put nails on the ground?” He drunkenly hugged his right foot and looked at it. There was a deep scratch from something sharp on the sole.
“Uncle Zhengchun, you’d better go rest. The bride and groom can’t get in bed with all your shrieking. Also, how can you jump like that? What if you hurt yourself?” Qin Xiang was deeply afraid that Liang Zhengchun had hurt himself, moving over to help Liang Zhengchun up.
“I’m fine… fine… Nail… Someone’s…” Liang Zhengchun said.
“Is there someone?” Qin Xiang turned to look at the back door. He did see someone there but they were the knight twins, Giovanna and Stella Grey.
“No one? Come! Come, let’s drink!” Liang Zhengchun burped.
“Alright, alright, I know. I’ll bring you to the house.” Qin Xiang helped Liang Zhengchun into the house.
“I’m serious, I’m not drunk…” Liang Zhengchun had lost all sense.
In the bedroom, Xia Lei suddenly held Liang Siyao’s hips, his expression solemn.
“What’s the matter? Did I hurt you?” asked Liang Siyao, concerned.
Xia Lei said, “There’s a situation. Stay in the house and don’t come out. I’ll go outside to check.”
“What happened?” Liang Siyao immediately climbed off Xia Lei. She could guess what happened based on his expression and it was not a pleasant feeling.
“I’m not sure yet.” Xia Lei leapt off the bed and put on his boxers at lightning speed. He only put on his underwear before dashing out the door.
Just now, he had seen Liang Zhengchun leaping off the roof through his special vision but his left eye also caught a flash of light. It was a very quick flash, disappearing in the blink of an eye. A regular person would not have been able to see such a fast object.
He quickly replayed the scene in his brain. In his mind’s eye, he saw Liang Zhengchun leaping off, then the flash brushing beneath Liang Zhengchun’s shoe. His brain focused on this ‘scene’ and magnified it. In a moment, he found his answer. It was an arrow!
The metal tip of the flying crossbow arrow had reflected some of the fireworks’ light. That was why he saw the flash!
There were enemies nearby!
Xia Lei grew anxious the moment he thought of it. He swept his eyes across every corner of the mansion, looking for the intruders. At the same time, he waved his arms and made a few gestures to Giovanna and Stella at the back door.
Giovanna and Stella were initially surprised to see Xia Lei running out in his underwear but after reading his gesture, they entered battle mode.
Giovanna gripped her Gust assault rifle.
Stella put her fingers between her lips and blew a shrill whistle.
It was the cue to fight.
The armed religious followers opening new boxes of firecrackers stopped for a moment, then ran towards the back door. They all held guns in their hands, entering battle mode.
On the other side of the walls, Hattori Hyakusai also heard the shrill whistle. He looked up at the skies to see that it had returned to its original tranquillity.
One second later, he suddenly leapt from the ground and sprinted back. “Retreat!”
More than ten of the Hattori fighters disappeared into the night instantly. They were careful and slow when they approached but they retreated like a gust of wind.
On the edge of the forest, Sirita seemed to also realise something. She instinctively hid behind a tree. Xia Lei was the best sniper in the world! No one would dare expose their body on his turf, not even her!
In just three seconds, all the Hattori fighters had retreated into the forest.
“They noticed something, retreat!” Hattori Hyakusai’s voice was filled with frustration.
“How’s that possible?” said Sirita. “Those soldiers didn’t react at all.”
“Soldiers? Those soldiers are easy but there are many powerful figures in Xia Lei’s home. Even the guy on the roof was a master!” said Hattori Hyakusai.
Sirita looked at the back door of the Peace Mansion. It was still shut tightly, no one came out to check.
“Remember, if you go ahead with the mission today, the mission won’t just fail, you will all die here. We only have one chance left. That opportunity will come three days later at Xia Lei’s wedding,” said Hattori Hyakusai coldly. “Are you sure you want to trade your life for a failed mission?”
“Retreat!” Sirita also gave out her orders. She trusted his judgement.
At the same time, Xia Lei approached the back door. He used his left eye to look through the walls and door, scanning the field engulfed in darkness, as well as the forest far away. He saw grass and trees but did not see any people.
“Xia, your gun,” said Giovanna.
Xia Lei turned around. “I don’t have a gun.”
“Fine, you go out there alone then,” said Giovanna.
Xia Lei looked at himself and turned to leave. “Inform the special task force to conduct a search across the field and forest.”
Giovanna shrugged. “What happened?”
Stella shook her head. “Probably a battle simulation training?”
Giovanna grinned as she looked at Xia Lei’s plump ass.