Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Clown Man

“Damn! Xiao Zhang, you didn’t do anything to Miss Mo, did you?” Zhao Bai rushed over to help Xiao Zhang up.

Meanwhile, Li Shiwan hurried into the house to check on Mo Xiaoxiao’s condition.

Xiao Zhang’s expression was a bit awkward—he’d just been kicked out of the house in front of his own buddies. Zhao Bai couldn’t help but say, “Seriously, man, did you actually do something to Miss Mo?”

“How could I?” Xiao Zhang retorted, but suddenly, a chill ran down his spine as he stared at a dwarf in a tuxedo and a clown mask who had suddenly appeared at the doorway.

Zhao Bai noticed Xiao Zhang’s gaze and turned to look, only to be startled by the strange figure. “Where did this clown come from?”

The masked clown babbled a string of gibberish, then said in Japanese, “Hello, is Miss Mo here?”

To Xiao Zhang’s surprise, he could actually understand what the man was asking—he was looking for Miss Mo. “What the hell are you saying?” Xiao Zhang tried to play dumb, sensing this man was trouble, and mumbled a few nonsense words to stall for time.

At the same time, Zhao Bai nudged Xiao Zhang with his elbow and whispered, “Is this guy some sort of little spy?”

The clown seemed to realize they didn’t understand Japanese. He stretched lazily, then took a black spider out of his pocket. “How sad, I have to come out again for such a boring task,” he muttered in Japanese.

Xiao Zhang quickly stepped in front of Zhao Bai to shield him. “Datang, get inside the house and don’t come out unless it’s safe!”

“What’s going on?” Zhao Bai was a little panicked, especially since the dwarf looked downright terrifying.

“Get inside!” Xiao Zhang gave Zhao Bai a gentle push. “Don’t come out unless I say so!”

The clown merely watched all this silently, then spoke in heavily accented Chinese, “Don’t move! And is your Miss Mo here?”

Xiao Zhang was caught off guard by the question. It seemed this man was indeed after Mo Xiaoxiao, but apparently didn’t know her real identity. Staying calm, he asked, “Who exactly are you?”

“Idiot, you talk too much!” the dwarf clown sneered, squeezing the spider in his hand. “I’m giving you one last chance. Where is Mo Kuang?”

“Wait, wait!” Xiao Zhang waved his hands, recalling from TV dramas that this meant “hold on” in Japanese.

“Hm? Boy, my patience is limited.”

“All right, all right, officer! I’ll let my friend here go get that Miss Mo for you!” Xiao Zhang lowered his voice and whispered, “No matter what, don’t come out! And warn Mo Mo to escape!”

“Huh?” Zhao Bai was stunned.

“Don’t ask, just go!” Xiao Zhang shot him a look, then lunged at the clown.

Zhao Bai got the message and spun around, dashing into the house.

Though the clown looked awkward, he was surprisingly agile. The moment Xiao Zhang lunged, he reacted instantly. The billiard ball in his hand transformed into a long blade, which he swung down at Xiao Zhang.

Xiao Zhang tried his best to dodge, but he was moving too fast to avoid it completely. The blade slashed open his chest, blood gushing out and soaking his clothes in an instant.

The clown grinned cruelly at the sight. “Because of you, brat, I’ll be stuck away from home for years again! Damn you!”

Xiao Zhang looked battered, but after spurting a lot of blood, his wound began to heal—a painful moment, but he was recovering. “Hey, little punk, call me Grandpa and I’ll show you what flying really means!” he jeered, then dashed away, determined to lure the man outside. If the clown realized Mo Xiaoxiao was inside, who knew what he might do?

“Bastard!” The clown leapt after him, simultaneously calling his allies through a walkie-talkie-like device. “Viper, Viper, there’s another Awakened from China here! I’m going after him!”

“What? Is he from Dragon Soul?” A man sitting in a nearby café shot to his feet and hurried out. Not far away, a pair of lovers followed at a distance.

This middle-aged man was more cautious than the clown. He hesitated, “Could he be from the Great Wall? I thought none of the Chinese organizations knew that woman’s real identity.”

“No, he’s a newly Awakened!” the clown replied, spitting on the ground. “I slashed him with my spider blade and he still escaped. But my baby will track him down!”

“A rookie who survived your blade?” The middle-aged man gritted his teeth. “Be careful. I’ll send two Vipers to find him. You come to me, and we’ll catch that woman together! Move fast—I think we’ve already been exposed.”

“Fine. Tell the Vipers the target is a man covered in blood—he’s easy to spot!”

“Understood.” The middle-aged man waved his hand, and the pair of lovers approached.

“Orders, sir?” they asked.

“Kill the man covered in blood, and you can return home!”

“Yes, sir!” The two seemed instantly energized. To think that killing someone would earn them passage home—what a deal! At last, no more hiding in constant fear.

“Go find him yourselves.” The man pointed them toward the residential complex, then took out his phone, opened a tracking app, and after checking the moving dot on the screen, dashed in that direction.

He’d promised the two that killing the target would let them return home, but he didn’t believe a pair of small-time underlings who’d been in hiding for years could really kill an Awakened. Besides, their identities were already blown. They’d make perfect cannon fodder to stall the man who’d survived the clown’s blade.

...

What the hell is that guy? My body’s maxed out on enhancements, Xiao Zhang thought, but he didn’t know how many A-rank powerhouses had died under that blade.

While Xiao Zhang was in a daze hiding on the lawn in the garden, an old man with a cane walked past. Their eyes met, both feeling a little awkward.

But the old gentleman, unfazed, pretended not to notice, walked straight past Xiao Zhang, and continued on his way.

Something was off. Normally, even a burly young man would have called the police after seeing someone in Xiao Zhang’s condition, but this old man pretended not to see. What was going on?

The clown was searching for the middle-aged man, the middle-aged man was searching for Mo Xiaoxiao, Mo Xiaoxiao was searching for Xiao Zhang after seeing the blood in the house, and Xiao Zhang was hiding on the lawn, wondering how to get the blood off himself.