23: Chapter 23 A Dark and Windy Night

Xia Shaoxin left Zhang Yan's villa, bought some pig's head meat and wine in Li Family Hollow, and headed home in high spirits.

On the way, he met Brother Xiao Niu and treated him to a few slices of pig's head meat, which made Brother Xiao Niu dance with excitement.

Even though Brother Xiao Niu's father was also a Bug Catcher, Brother Xiao Niu didn't dare to go to Xia Shaoxin's house to play; being able to chat for a few extra moments when they met on the road was already rare.

Upon returning home, he treated himself to a solitary meal with the pig's head meat and wine.

The tension of the past few months finally melted away, and having drunk a bit too much, he lay on his bed and drifted into a sweet slumber.

Who would have thought that this was an expert who had earned three thousand taels of silver in just a few months?

He lived in a house where half the kitchen had collapsed, the courtyard hadn't been swept for months, and weeds had grown in from outside the gate.

...

Brother Xiao Niu had been eating chaff and vegetables all year round; the last time he ate meat was four months ago.

His stomach was too delicate to handle good food.

After eating a few slices of Xia Shaoxin's pig's head meat, his stomach felt unwell that night, and he had to get up in the middle of the night.

He lived in the most dilapidated room in the corner of the courtyard of his new home.

Outside the door was a field, and being bold, he went out to the wilderness to relieve himself.

Just after squatting down, he suddenly saw a few figures in the distance, skulking toward Xia Shaoxin's house.

The vigilance ingrained in a Bug Catcher, along with his natural fearlessness, made him hurriedly pull up his pants and follow closely.

He was just a child under ten, small and thin; how could he outrun those figures? They vanished in the blink of an eye.

Running to a high vantage point, he clearly saw three men in black crouching behind a tree outside Xia Shaoxin's house.

Brother Xiao Niu was terrified; these three men were clearly trained fighters.

In the dead of night, dressed in black, they certainly meant harm to Xia Shaoxin.

He turned his head to look at the path he had come from, but saw no one else.

He thought to himself, 'Brother Xia killed three of Li the Toad's family by himself; his skills are extraordinary, so there's no need to worry.'

However, even with great skills, one is vulnerable to sneak attacks in the dark.

He wanted to give a warning, but he felt timid.

If he shouted, he was most afraid that those three would kill him first.

Xia Shaoxin's house was at the very edge of the village; if he were attacked, no villager would be able to notice.

Just as he was hesitating, a flash of fire suddenly appeared in front; it turned out the three men had lit torches.

Brother Xiao Niu instantly understood what was happening. Just as he wanted to shout, it felt as if a hand had gripped his throat, and he couldn't let out a single word.

One torch became three, and they were thrown into Xia Shaoxin's house.

Soon, a large ball of fire erupted.

From far away, he could almost hear the crackling sound.

Brother Xiao Niu was so anxious that tears fell; he cried out in his heart: 'Brother Xia, Brother Xia, wake up.'

He dug his fingers into his palms, his mouth open, but the sound swirled in his throat, unable to come out.

The fire grew larger and larger, engulfing the bedroom.

Brother Xiao Niu turned around, lowered his head, and slapped himself hard.

"You are such a coward!"

But it was already too late to shout.

He remembered that Xia Shaoxin was still holding a large jar of wine; he might even be drunk.

In such a situation, it was hopeless.

Brother Xiao Niu's eyes were blurred with tears; his heart ached. The three men were fast and didn't give him time to think properly, yet he had followed his instincts and made a choice.

He was just a child.

The opponents were three experts.

Xia Shaoxin was drunk.

No matter how you looked at it, this was a death trap.

Brother Xiao Niu thought it was a killer hired by Li the Toad's eldest son to deal with Xia Shaoxin.

He was helpless, merely witnessing a tragedy.

He trembled all over and collapsed to the ground.

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound came from the distance—the sound of a wall collapsing and the house falling down.

It's over.

Although Brother Xia was a good person, he was just a lone individual, and in terms of age, he had just reached adulthood.

He was murdered by others and lost his life in a daze.

A Bug Catcher's life is short; no matter how it ends, it is short.

Suddenly, shouts and the sound of weapons clashing came from the distance.

Brother Xiao Niu was confused, peeked out from his hiding place, and was immediately shocked.

In the distance, amid the raging fire, a vigorous figure was fighting with the three men in black.

Wasn't that the familiar Brother Xia?

Brother Xiao Niu burst into tears; well done, Brother Xia couldn't possibly be harmed by a few petty thieves.

Xia Shaoxin was indeed drunk, but the innate sensitivity of a Bug Catcher allowed him to sense the heat around him.

His long sword and dagger were by his side, and the strength pill was in his Storage Pouch, which he kept on his person, so after rushing out of the house that was about to be engulfed by fire, he immediately possessed extraordinary combat power.

In the bright firelight, he recognized one of the men.

He couldn't not recognize that person.

Because it was the servant who had opened the door for him several times at Zhang Yan's villa.

He didn't expect this person to be an expert.

He didn't know the other two, but the swords in their hands were the regulation blades of the Gu Bureau.

"Did Zhang Yan send you to kill me?" Xia Shaoxin was furious.

The servant ignored him completely and said to the other two: "Everyone take a strength pill, let's finish this quickly. Don't worry about the cost; it was given by the Master, might as well use it."

The three of them stuffed a pill into their mouths.

Xia Shaoxin's anger reached its peak.

He had always thought Zhang Yan was a man of his word, and he had even sold him a good dagger; he was a decent person, and even if there was no friendship, there was at least an acquaintance, yet he had actually sent his own subordinates to ambush him.

"You two, if I'm not mistaken, must be from the Gu Bureau, right?"

The three men answered no questions.

They slashed over, one blade after another.

Xia Shaoxin had taken a strength pill and felt infinitely powerful, but since the three opponents had also taken one, he suddenly had no advantage at all.

He fought while retreating, scrambling through the nearby woods.

He hadn't learned martial arts, but having dealt with Poisonous Insects for years, his agility was extremely high; although the three men had cut him a few times, there were no fatal injuries.

"Why do you want to kill me?"

Xia Shaoxin's voice was like a wild beast.

"The Master won't explain anything to someone of slave status."

Under the dual illumination of moonlight and firelight, Xia Shaoxin struggled to maneuver against the three; his facial features were sharp like carved stone, filled with unusual fury.

After fighting for a while, the three discovered a problem.

Everyone had taken a strength pill; it was three against one, so why hadn't they finished him off yet?

Moreover, Xia Shaoxin's strength seemed to be greater than all three of them.

Innate Divine Power?

The three had started the fire, which would soon alert the villagers, so they certainly couldn't linger here; that was why they had taken the strength pills simultaneously, hoping for a quick victory.

However, after fighting for a long time, the villagers' cries could already be heard in the distance; how was this Xia family boy still alive and kicking?

Gradually, Zhang Yan's servant suddenly sensed something wrong and asked hurriedly: "Why do I suddenly feel like I have no strength?"

Xia Shaoxin knew that the effects of the strength pill were wearing off.

This servant was probably taking a strength pill for the first time and had no experience, actually exposing his weakness; Xia Shaoxin naturally wouldn't be polite and attacked fiercely with his sword.

When the strength pill's effects wear off, there is an uncomfortable reaction; it doesn't last long, but it is enough to kill a person.

The servant was cut down to the ground, dying without ever knowing what had happened.

"Not good, the strength pill's effect time is limited; I seem to be feeling off too."

Xia Shaoxin understood; pills also have different qualities.

The strength pills they took were probably made with inferior ingredients, and the alchemist's methods were relatively crude, so the strength pills produced were far inferior to his own.

The Poisonous Insects Xia Shaoxin sacrificed were the best, so naturally, the transformation was the best.

A golden opportunity!

He soon finished off another one.

Seeing that things were going south, the last one turned and ran.

Xia Shaoxin chased him fiercely.

The man hadn't run far when suddenly a person flew out from the bushes, crashing into the man's waist and knocking him straight to the ground.

"Well done, Brother Xiao Niu, thank you!"

Xia Shaoxin strode forward and stabbed his sword into the man's back.