Li Tao quietly slipped into the room and closed the door.
He took a black mask from his coat and tied it around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.
This was something he was very professional at.
The mask was also to prevent accidental exposure of his identity.
The room was pitch black, with no lighting, and visibility was very low.
Li Tao's gaze swept across, only roughly seeing some tables and chairs and the layout of the room.
He didn't see Chen Tang.
Li Tao tiptoed towards the bedroom; the homeowner's valuables were mostly kept there.
Chen Tang, without a doubt, should be there.
Li Tao took out his dagger, cautiously lifted the curtain, seeing no movement inside, he slipped in.
Two people lay on the heated brick bed, apparently still asleep.
Li Tao looked around, frowning slightly.
There was no sign of Chen Tang in this bedroom either!
He clearly saw Chen Tang enter the house.
At that moment, a chair not far away suddenly moved, making a piercing noise in the quiet room!
Li Tao could guarantee he hadn't touched that chair.
...
Old Xu had still been in a deep sleep, but the door opened twice, letting in a lot of cold wind, which woke him up a bit.
The sudden noise just now startled him awake!
"Who's there?"
Old Xu was shocked, rolling off the heated brick bed, feeling for the dagger under his pillow, and looked towards the door.
There he saw a tall, slim figure standing at the doorway!
"Where did this thief come from, daring to steal into my house, get out now!"
Old Xu gripped his dagger, feeling more composed, jumped off the bed and shouted.
Although older, he was also strong and knew some martial arts.
Moreover, intruding thieves usually had guilty consciences.
Once discovered by the homeowner, they were often scared off, fleeing in panic.
The woman on the other side woke up at his shout as well.
A common thief would indeed be scared senseless by Old Xu's yell.
With both homeowners awake, one wielding a dagger, any rational thief would run.
But Li Tao was no common thief.
He entered this house to kill!
If he allowed Old Xu to shout and alert the neighbors, this trip would be for nothing.
In any case, Chen Tang wasn't far away, just in this house.
Deal with these two first!
At this thought, Li Tao's eyes gleamed with ferocity, and he charged at Old Xu with murderous intent!
"Oh no!"
Old Xu saw the tall figure not only didn't flee but charged at him, a cold glint in his hand, seemingly wielding a blade as well, causing him to pale in fright.
The room was small, with almost nowhere to hide. Old Xu steeled his nerves, clutching the dagger, and charged at Li Tao.
"Wife, call for help!"
At the same time, Old Xu shouted.
Before his voice even faded, the two clashed!
Old Xu gritted his teeth, eyes wide, stabbing at Li Tao's chest!
There was a flash of mockery in Li Tao's eyes.
Old Xu's skills were ridiculously weak in his view, akin to a child's play.
Li Tao was unhurried, slightly sidestepping to avoid Old Xu's dagger, and with a swift motion, stabbed into Old Xu's heart!
Slash!
The dagger went in and out swiftly, blood splattering!
The whole process was seamless.
Li Tao's steps didn't even pause.
He bypassed Old Xu, heading straight for the woman just getting up from the bed.
At this point, the woman finally came to her senses, but was too frightened by the horrific scene to speak.
Seeing Li Tao approach, just as she was about to scream for help, Li Tao reversed his grip on the knife and struck forward!
Slash!
The dagger slid across her throat.
A streak of blood appeared, followed by a gush of blood!
The woman's eyes widened like a dead fish, full of terror and unwillingness, finally collapsing on the bed, lifeless.
Meanwhile, Old Xu clutched his chest, energy rapidly draining, taking a few more steps before collapsing powerlessly.
Just as he fell, a tall figure stepped silently out from the dark corner ahead!
Old Xu had no idea who this person was.
This person walked straight past him, snatching the dagger from his hand just as he was about to fall...
Li Tao killed two people effortlessly.
But this wasn't his main target today!
Suddenly!
He was startled, his hair standing on end!
Behind him seemed to come a slight movement!
Without thinking, without looking back, Li Tao blindly thrust his dagger behind him!
Smack!
Just as he turned halfway, his wrist was gripped tightly!
An intense pain shot through him.
His wrist was nearly crushed!
Before he could recover, he felt a chill in his chest.
Then came a piercing pain!
Li Tao lowered his head slightly, seeing a dagger lodged into his chest, piercing his heart.
"It's you?"
The two were very close; only now did Li Tao clearly see his attacker's face, eyes filled with disbelief!
Chen Tang, the teenager with severed tendons, a total invalid!
How could it be?
This boy's face was cruel, his eyes blazing like a tiger stalking its prey in the darkness!
Only now did Li Tao realize.
He had been set up.
He was the borrowed blade.
And also the one to be killed!
To think as a Protector of the Evil Wolf Gang, I would unceremoniously fall to a teenager.
Wait! Old Chai, could Old Chai be....
With a thud, Li Tao collapsed to the ground, eyes wide open, dying with regrets.
Chen Tang approached Old Xu.
He propped up Old Xu's body, laying it down in front of Li Tao.
He placed Old Xu's hand around the dagger in Li Tao's chest.
After finishing all this, Chen Tang exhaled gently.
That afternoon at the alleyway, he had pondered how to save the little girl with minimal trouble.
Returning home, he still hadn't thought of a good idea.
Reflecting on the day's events at Plum Blossom Martial Arts Hall, he suspected Gou Dai from the Evil Wolf Gang wouldn't let things go.
He went out to test the waters.
After wandering around, he confirmed that someone was following him!
So, he devised this plan of using a borrowed blade to kill.
Chen Tang had long discovered changes to his body from drinking Mountain Lord Tiger Milk on Snow Mountain.
One such change was that his eyesight wasn't significantly affected at night!
Earlier in the room, he hid in a dark corner, clearly watching Li Tao's every move.
Li Tao couldn't see him at all.
The sudden noise from the chair was caused by him tying a cloth strip to the chair leg, pulling it gently.
One side was in the light, the other in the dark.
Moreover, Li Tao's skills were far inferior to his.
With a plan meeting an unprepared opponent, as soon as they met, Li Tao lost his life!
Chen Tang checked the room for any traces, then took off Li Tao's mask, tied it around his head, covering his face, and quietly stepped out of the room.
The little girl was not in the room.
Chen Tang glanced at the woodshed next door and headed in that direction.