Chapter 23: Are You the Devil?

The archer leaned out of the car window, drawing his bow fully, intent on using this opportunity to harm Gu Xiangnan. Yet, with a single motion, Gu Xiangnan effortlessly lifted the front end of the Humvee. Inside the vehicle, the archer panicked, clutching the interior handle as if his life depended on it, terrified of being flung out with one wrong move. His bow and arrow slipped from his hands to the floor, but he had no time to retrieve them.

Gu Xiangnan's eyes were sharp as flames. He glanced inside the car and confirmed there were only the archer and the driver. Just then, the man who had been lying on the ground moments ago suddenly appeared. A gun was now in his hand as he quietly crept up behind Gu Xiangnan, who was too focused on the Humvee to sense the impending danger.

Inside her car, Su Hanyan's heart pounded wildly at the sight. If she got out now, she wouldn’t be able to save her junior brother and might even end up a hostage herself, making things worse. The man raised his weapon, aiming at the back of Gu Xiangnan’s head. Su Hanyan’s pulse raced—she had to act instantly, or it would be too late.

The man flicked off the safety, held his breath, and tightened his finger on the trigger.

A sharp screech broke through the tension—a car braked hard behind the Humvee. Two men leapt out of the newly arrived vehicle. It was A-Zhen and A-Qiang.

“Brother Nan!” A-Zhen shouted.

They had just started to rush over but stopped in their tracks, utterly stunned to see Gu Xiangnan lifting the Humvee as if it weighed nothing. Gu Xiangnan waved to them with an easy flourish.

The gunman, momentarily distracted, looked up at A-Zhen, his finger loosening from the trigger.

This was the moment.

All or nothing.

Su Hanyan gripped the steering wheel tightly and slammed her foot down on the accelerator. Her car shot forward like an arrow, barreling straight toward the would-be assassin. The man hadn’t anticipated such decisiveness from the woman in the car and froze, fear flickering in his eyes.

But it was too late.

With a deafening thud, he was struck and sent flying, landing hard on the roadside slope, blood spurting from his lips.

Hearing the commotion, Gu Xiangnan turned and instantly understood what had happened. With a light exertion of force, he lifted the Humvee’s front even higher.

The driver, terrified, screamed, “You devil! Are you even human?”

They could only watch helplessly as he hoisted the several-ton Humvee with ease. Gu Xiangnan raised the vehicle as high as he wished, then suddenly let go. The Humvee crashed to the ground with a thunderous bang, shaking the world.

Inside, the archer and the driver were rattled senseless by the immense impact, their heads spinning, barely clinging to consciousness.

Finally regaining their wits, the two junior men rushed over and dragged the archer and driver out of the car. Well-trained, they quickly tied the two up, then did the same to the gunman, hauling him over as well.

Gu Xiangnan darted to the car, relieved to see Su Hanyan unharmed.

“Xiao Nan, could you help me out?” After the collision, Su Hanyan was so shaken her legs had gone weak.

Gu Xiangnan simply scooped her up in his arms and carried her out, walking over to the three assassins, who now lay sprawled on the ground like dead dogs, completely out cold.

He turned to his two men and asked, “Either of you have diabetes?”

They didn’t understand, but answered honestly, “No.”

“That’s good. One of you, if your urine’s yellow, go wake these three up. If you had diabetes, I’d worry they’d get a taste for sweetness.”

Hearing this, the three men struggled to stay awake, not daring to faint again.

One of the juniors drew his pistol and pressed it to the three men’s foreheads, interrogating them. “Who are you? Who sent you?”

“Go on then, shoot me in the head! Your country has the death penalty—you kill me, you won’t get away with it,” the archer taunted arrogantly.

His accent was unmistakable.

They were from Goryeo.

Gu Xiangnan had just come down from the mountain. The only Goryeo man he knew in his life was that insufferable Park. Who else could it be?

Gu Xiangnan stomped his face into the dirt. “I might not kill you, but I have plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead.”

The two juniors pressed their guns to the three captives’ heads, questioning again, “Tell us—who sent you after Brother Nan?”

No one answered.

“Looks like you won’t cry till you see your own coffin.”

Men trained by Master Feng were not to be trifled with.

A-Zhen fired a shot straight into the archer’s arm. The man howled and writhed on the ground; that arm would never draw a bow again.

The other two turned pale with terror.

“I’ll talk! It was Park who sent us!” the driver blurted.

As expected.

“How dare you, on our soil, target our people? You’re truly audacious!”

“We’ll make sure you learn your lesson today, and you’ll remember it for the rest of your lives.”

The three were beaten within an inch of death, losing consciousness again and again before the juniors finally relented.

At that moment, several black vans sped toward them, screeching to a halt nearby. Dozens of men poured out. The two juniors, upon recognizing the burly man leading them, hurried over. “Chief Yang, we’re with Master Feng.”

Chief Yang, cousin of Yang Dianfeng, oversaw the local underworld. The juniors introduced Gu Xiangnan to him and reported what had just happened.

Chief Yang gripped Gu Xiangnan’s hand tightly. “Brother Gu, are you alright? Injured? You’re a benefactor to my brother, which makes you my friend too. Your concerns are mine.”

Gu Xiangnan glanced down at his clothes, now a mess, and said ruefully, “Thank you, Brother Yang. We’re all fine. The only loss is my clothes—they’re filthy now.”

He brushed the dust off and asked, “Brother Yang, how did you know something happened to us here?”

Yang patted the juniors on the shoulder. “These two called my cousin, said someone was after your life. He couldn’t get here in time, so he sent me to help instead.”

Gu Xiangnan turned to his men. “And what brought you two here?”

“Master Feng was worried about retaliation and told us to secretly keep watch. We’ve been following you the whole way,” A-Zhen replied. As soon as he finished, A-Qiang grumbled, “It’s your fault! If you hadn’t stopped to pee, we would’ve made it in time.”

Gu Xiangnan and Su Hanyan exchanged a glance. Was there no hope for a little privacy on their romantic evening?

Chief Yang strode over to the three assassins, using his gun to turn their swollen faces toward him. They’d been beaten so badly by the juniors that their features were almost unrecognizable.

Gu Xiangnan said, “They’re from Goryeo. They’ve already confessed that Dr. Park from Goryeo sent them to kill me.”

“Let us go! We’re foreign guests!” the archer protested, his face bloated and soft, but his mouth still defiant.

Yang spat in his face. “No one gets to run wild on our turf. You’ll be dealt with according to our laws.”

The archer was surprised; he hadn’t expected Yang to be unfazed.

“Take them away—give them a proper ‘welcome,’ then hand them over to the police,” Yang ordered.