Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 360 Meeting
"Since there is no one else here, why don't we just be frank with each other?"

The speaker appeared relaxed, yet his posture was ramrod straight.

This statement is quite clear; it undoubtedly means to make the other person remove their disguise and reveal their true colors.

"Please speak plainly if you have something to say; there's no need to beat around the bush."

Seeing that the man didn't respond to his question, which instead allowed him to be at ease, a surge of anger rose in his heart. However, he was used to this kind of thing and had seen many people like this, so he didn't show his anger on his face and remained calm.

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to reveal their true appearance easily, he was not in a hurry: "Alright, then I'll just say it directly."

He walked over to the man who had coughed up blood earlier, looked at him in silence for a moment, and then his expression became serious: "Leave the things behind, and leave the person who just touched my brother behind."

That's quite clear. Between the two sides who just fought, who can say they didn't exchange a few blows? The implication is clear: apart from the two people standing in front of the carriage who didn't make a move, everyone and everything else is being taken away.

For a robbery, this request wasn't unreasonable, so the person standing in front of the carriage wasn't angry.

“No.” The taller man in front of the carriage spoke decisively, “You can take the things, but I’m taking all the people I brought with me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of sparse and mournful bird calls rang out.

"Hahaha……"

Suddenly, bursts of laughter and mockery rang out.

They seemed to have never heard such a joke in a long time, or seen such an ungrateful person in a long time.

After bursts of ear-piercing laughter, the person who had remained silent also raised the corners of his lips, seemingly infected by the laughter, yet still maintaining a leisurely and upright posture.

"You saw it yourself. I can't explain this to you."

"You may take whatever you want from me; but I cannot give up my person."

"It seems that we cannot reason with you."

……

Seeing that the other side still didn't compromise, he said, "How about this, I'll back down," pointing two fingers to another hooded person, "She stays."

He realized that the two people wearing hoods were a man and a woman. If he directly revealed the woman's identity, it would probably offend the person he was talking to. So, to bring the woman over first, he didn't reveal it beforehand.

“I think this young man has a good figure and is calm. He is a good prospect. I also want to find another brother for myself.”

Having said that, he took two steps closer and added, "You need to give me an explanation!"

"Although I do not know your identity, if it is to give instructions, whether it is to your brothers or someone else, the person beside me is not suitable. When recruiting 'brothers,' one should be tall and strong. If you do not mind, please let them go, and I will leave with my things."

"Ah--"

Upon hearing this, the man who had been standing leisurely let out a long breath and dropped his smiling expression: "You know what I mean. If you don't do as I say, no one is leaving today."

The pupils beneath the hood contracted slightly, and he strode to the person beside him, firmly shielding the person who had been standing shoulder to shoulder with him behind him, assuming a fighting stance.

"Alright! I understand what you mean. Please don't regret it later." He slightly curled the corners of his lips again, while resuming his previous calm and composed demeanor.

After saying that, he raised his hand to his "brothers" and then sat back down in the distance.

Another fierce battle ensued.

……

However, the fight did not last long, largely because those who had just entered the fray were exhausted.

Before long, neither side had any decent moves left; it seemed they were out of options.

However, although the masked martial artists showed obvious signs of fatigue, none of them collapsed, while their opponents fell one after another, completely exhausted.

Seeing this, the person sitting leisurely did not show much change in expression. He did not appear nervous at all, and it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.

He simply raised his hand and beckoned a few more people to join the battle.

The reason he doesn't feel nervous at all is probably because he knows that the people standing opposite him are also almost at their limit and won't be able to hold on for much longer.

Not only did he notice this situation, but the two people standing in front of the carriage and even those hiding in the shadows also saw it clearly.

"I'll go!" Guard Li realized that the situation between the two sides had completely reversed. Now, the ones being suppressed and unable to resist were the masked people, those familiar pairs of eyes.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Beneath the hood, Jiang Xian's expression seemed to reveal a hint of worry.

She was aware of Li Huwei's physical condition, and she also knew that even if he joined, the situation probably wouldn't change much.

She remained hidden in the shadows, having already assessed the situation of everyone present. She knew that the best course of action now was to distract the others, leaving either the hooded man or herself to face the situation alone.

"Don't worry! Even if it costs me my life, I will never let the patriarch be in danger!" Guard Li lowered his voice, but his aura was full of determination, clearly showing that he had made up his mind.

After saying that, he paused and looked at Jiang Xian: "Once I go out, it will be hard for Miss not to be discovered. How about this, since my aim isn't good enough, Miss, you can prick a few needles first, and then I'll jump out to attract attention." He handed over the poisoned needles that Jiang Xian had given him earlier.

"Miss, feel free to do whatever you want, as long as you have enough presence!" Guard Li added, clearly not wanting to put any pressure on Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian understood his meaning. While Li Huwei's aim was poor, Jiang Xian's own accuracy wasn't particularly refined either; it was merely an excuse for Li Huwei to draw fire himself.

“Alright! I’ll go out and lure them away, then you can sneak over. That should get most of them away, and you can take care of the rest. The one sitting there hasn’t shown anything yet, so we don’t know what’s going on. He shouldn’t be able to be lured away by me either. Hold onto your things, and if he makes a move, don’t let him get close.” Jiang Xian looked at the poisoned needles.

"No!"

"Don't worry! I can do it, I won't get hurt."

Even so, Guard Li would not believe it, or rather, he dared not let Jiang Xian take the risk, and he himself would not dare to watch the thing he was worried about happen.

To him, Jiang Xian was no longer just the eldest daughter of the Jiang family who needed his protection, nor was he protecting her solely out of a sense of duty. Now, he would protect Jiang Xian with his life, no matter the circumstances, even at the cost of his own life.

Seeing Li Huwei's expression, she knew that her words had not persuaded him. She became more serious and said, "Listen! Hesitation will only lead to trouble."

Upon hearing this, Guard Li frowned, as if he had made up his mind.

The next instant, he picked up a handful of clods of dirt and threw them towards the fighting people ahead, instantly filling the air with dust. This time, Guard Li disobeyed Jiang Xian's orders and acted on his own.

From the moment the two couldn't reach an agreement to the moment Guard Li jumped out with a cloud of dirt, it was all in the blink of an eye. His quick reaction and actions were simply because he wanted to get ahead of Jiang Xian, fearing that Jiang Xian would get there first as she had said before.

He wouldn't let Jiang Xian risk his life alone, nor would he allow himself to have any regrets.

The face beneath the hood appeared even more aloof, and he closed his eyes.

Soon, she heard sounds other than fighting, and those sounds gradually became clearer as the fighting subsided.

"who?"

"Look, someone's coming over there!"

……

Wiping away the dust in front of them, the group of people stopped what they were doing and turned to look.

As Li Huwei approached, he slightly adjusted his direction to allow Jiang Xian to better conceal his body.

However, even so, it is still the worst possible outcome. Going out directly like this is far less sophisticated than either Jiang Xian's or Li Huwei's previous proposals.

Actually, the best approach would be for Guard Li to precisely lure away all of the Jiang family's guards. If that were the case, Jiang Xian and his father, Jiang Yuan, could easily take action and eliminate those people.

However, this plan would be difficult to implement, as it would greatly arouse the suspicion of the Jiang family's guards. Even if the excuse was to precisely separate them and then poison those people, Guard Li would never leave the Jiang family's masters behind while he took his men away.

Furthermore, even if the Jiang family's guards go with Guard Li, there's no guarantee that the other group won't follow them, which would likely make the situation even more chaotic.

Jiang Xian's original intention was to let the Jiang family guards leave first, while he and his father dealt with those people. This way, the Jiang family guards would at least be safe without discovering the Jiang family's secrets.

If the Jiang family guards were to fight the enemy head-on, not only would there be more casualties, but the enemy would also outnumber them and make it difficult to deal with them.

But Li Huwei's jump left Jiang Xian seemingly with no other choice.

Those who turned their attention weren't just the people fighting; the person sitting leisurely, and the two people standing in front of the carriage, also noticed Guard Li.

Upon recognizing Li's familiar face, both the Jiang family guards and the two men standing in front of the carriage brightened up, as if they had seen some incredible hope.

They came out to find Jiang Xian and his party. They were naturally excited to see Li, the bodyguard who had traveled with Jiang Xian. However, after the excitement, they felt increasingly uneasy.

Where was Jiang Xian? They didn't see her. They dared not think about it any further, nor did they want to think about it any more deeply.

"What a lively day! Looks like it's going to be an unusual one." The man, sitting with an unusually relaxed posture, tapped his chin with two fingers and spoke softly, but his tone was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Who goes there?" one of the men who had stopped shouted again, his eyes full of vigilance.

Guard Li snorted lightly, his tone disdainful: "I saw injustice on the road."

Upon hearing this, the wariness in everyone's eyes vanished instantly, followed by bursts of mocking laughter.

The mockery was written on his face, as if he were saying to Guard Li, "You think you can take me on?"

Seeing that Li Huwei's expression hadn't changed much, and that he even smiled more gently when he looked at them, the person who had spoken earlier said again, "Alright, then we should at least have a title!"

“Name…” Guard Li repeated, then immediately became serious: “Your grandfather!”

While Li was pondering, those people were originally waiting earnestly to hear Li announce his name, but they did not expect to be tricked. How could they tolerate this!

"Brothers! Come on!"

Someone said this, and then they all rushed towards Guard Li.

Still standing motionless were the masked guards of the Jiang family, while the two hooded figures standing in front of the carriage were none other than the head of the Jiang family, Jiang Yuan, and his wife, Lou Xingman.

Seeing the crowd swarming towards him, Guard Li gestured to the masked Jiang family guards, signaling them to attack the people from behind.

They immediately understood, and seeing the thugs heading towards Li, they gave them an opening and followed without giving the thugs any time to react.

Clearly, the person sitting leisurely, though quick to react, was too late. He hadn't expected that they would be provoked into losing their temper by just a few words.

Fortunately, he still has other people available, so there's no need to panic.

Noticing his brothers falling to the ground one by one, even though he didn't notice the movement behind him, he realized that they had been attacked from behind.

Someone reacted and turned around, only to be caught red-handed by Jiang family guards and attacked head-on, their throat slit with a single sword strike.

Faced with attacks from multiple directions, Li Huwei managed to hold off the attackers, but as the number of attackers decreased, he became much more agile.

However, it wasn't just the criminals who forgot about what was behind them; they forgot about it themselves.

"not good!"

Slightly relieved, Guard Li suddenly thought of the head of the family and his wife. He was about to call for someone to come over when he glanced in the direction of the carriage and saw figures rapidly approaching. It was too late.

"Faster! The masters are in danger!" Guard Li kicked the man away with a swift movement of his knife, shouting to the Jiang family guards behind him, his voice filled with barely concealed anxiety.

Upon hearing Li Huwei's words, they instinctively wanted to turn around.

Guard Li quickly stopped him: "Don't turn around!"

Li, the guard, held considerable weight among the Jiang family's guards, and they rarely doubted his words. The Jiang family guards, their veins bulging, were much stronger than before. They couldn't afford to waste any more time with these people; the slower they moved, the more dangerous it would be for the family head and his wife.

The thugs who had been holding torches have now surrounded Jiang Yuan and Lou Xingman.

Li, the bodyguard, picked up the short knives scattered on the ground and swiftly and accurately swung them at the thugs, one in each hand.

He knew that only by eliminating all these people could he focus all his energy on the head of the family and his wife, and only then would he have a chance to attack the rear of those thugs carrying torches again.

These are all he can think of right now. He has no time to spare for other solutions. All he can do now is play it by ear.

(End of this chapter)