Chapter 33: The simple and crude Nan Feng

He Lanjin walked slowly, her senses heightening with every step. She suddenly crouched down, narrowly missing the sharp dagger that was thrown at her. He Lanjin turned around and saw her attacker wearing a black hoodie, their face obscured by a hat.

"Hey, are you new here? Why are you fighting so late in the night?" A man shouted, addressing He Lanjin and the attacker. "It's going to rain soon, so we won't be rehearsing tonight. Hurry up and go home, you two!" He then left the back hall and headed out.

He Lanjin was sure that the man worked for the theater, based on what he was wearing. This meant that the person who wanted to kill her was not from here. But who could have predicted that she would come here? She looked at the attacker running toward her.

"You're courting death," He Lanjin said coldly. She bent sideways to avoid the dagger aimed at her neck, did a little pivot, and then raised her long leg to kick the assailant.

The attacker sidestepped He Lanjin's kick but was not so lucky in dodging He Lanjin's knifehand strike to the neck. Groaning in pain, the assaulter climbed over a wall to escape.

He Lanjin wanted to know who her attacker was, but she knew better not to chase after the enemy. Instead, she took out her phone and made a call. "I need a favor..."

After the call, He Lanjin smoothed out her clothes and returned to the theater. Qiao Hanye sitting by the window, waiting for her.

He Lanjin walked toward Qiao Hanye and grabbed his arm. "Let's not watch anymore. Let's go home," she said without waiting for his reaction.

Qiao Hanye looked at He Lanjin with a serious expression. Warily surveying the theater, he sensed something unusual. He quickly got up and followed He Lanjin without a word. Without warning, a group of people rushed out from the shadows.

"Be careful," He Lanjin said as the swarm of people separated her from Qiao Hanye.

Having graduated from a military academy, He Lanjin was quite skilled. Three people rushed to attack her, forcing her to take a few steps back. But when she saw that most of the throng were heading towards Qiao Hanye, she overcame her hesitation. She faced her attackers and started fighting back.

"Qiao Hanye," He Lanjin called out, scared for his safety. These people were quite skilled. Even if he did survive this ambush, he would most likely be crippled.

Stepping forward to help Qiao Hanye, He Lanjin was surprised to see how he sent his attackers flying. They were all bloodied, but Qiao Hanye stood there unscathed. His windbreaker flapped against the wind, making him look like a fairy untainted by the mortal world.

"Let's go." Qiao Hanye stepped forward, took He Lanjin by the hand, and quickly walked out of the house.

Holding on to Qiao Hanye's hand, He Lanjin studied his profile as they walked out of the theater.

"These people have come for you," He Lanjin said softly. How could a person who had never before existed in Jiang City be ambushed and hunted the moment he showed his face in public? Who exactly was this man?

He had a pair of hands that could make exquisite food and kill without mercy. He Lanjin could not help but be impressed.

"Yes," Qiao Hanye answered. He suddenly stopped walking and tightened his grasp on He Lanjin's hand.

He Lanjin heard a faint hiss. Without warning, snakes appear on the ground as if by magic. The small golden snakes started slithering toward them, but Qiao Hanye drew a circle around him and He Lanjin with his foot and sent the snakes flying. He threw the car keys at her and said, "Run to the car. Go."

"If you want to go, we will go together," He Lanjin said. She was the one who brought him here; how could she abandon him?

"Snakes are poisonous," Qiao Hanye said, as if imparting a great nugget of wisdom. He Lanjin laughed and said, "I know."

Qiao Hanye did not seem to be surprised by the assassination at all. He seemed to have been expecting it. At the same time, he seemed used to warding off ambushes like this. He Lanjin looked at him closely. He was even more mysterious now.

Qiao Hanye lit up his coat with a lighter that he took out from his pants pocket. He threw the jacket on the ground, picked up He Lanjin by the waist and carried her on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before moving away as quickly as he could from the snakes. The cold wind bit at He Lanjin's bones; there was a ringing in her ears. But an approaching snake momentarily made her alert.

Without thinking, He Lanjin raised her hand to keep the snake from biting Qiao Hanye.

But Qiao Hanye was faster. He struck the snake with one arm, splitting the reptile into two and splattering its blood on his arm.

Out of nowhere, a man in a black ensemble appeared. "Master, these snakes are controlled by someone in the darkness," the man reported. "Please leave now. I will handle this."

"Be careful," Qiao Hanye said.

He brought He Lanjin back to the car. She looked back to see Qiao Hanye's man dragging a person out from the dark. He twisted the neck of the person, who then fell to the ground with a soft thud.