Chapter 52: Celestial Maiden Descending from the Heavens

“So it was you, you pretty boy! Ha!”
Leijin de grinned, revealing two rows of golden teeth, the very picture of a vulgar parvenu.
At the entrance of the villa, forty or fifty thugs with gangster airs quickly surrounded Qin Xuan. In their eyes, ganging up on one man was a breeze, and their swagger showed just how little they cared.
“I wondered who it was, turns out it’s you, fatso.”
Qin Xuan let out a cold laugh and strode directly toward Leijin de.
“Fatso!”
The moment Leijin de heard that word, his face contorted with fury, and he roared, “Kill him!”
Someone beside him hesitated, “Boss, kill him?”
Leijin de slapped him across the face. “Damn it, you’re right—it’s not so easy to kill him. Break his legs, then! I want him to watch as I take his woman, just to see his face!”
The gangsters sprang into action. The two at the front threw punches at Qin Xuan.
“Get lost!”
Qin Xuan snorted, sending them sprawling with two slaps. Yet more men blocked his way, preventing him from getting any closer to Leijin de.
“Qin Xuan!”
Suddenly, Su Muqing’s panicked voice sounded from behind.
Qin Xuan turned and saw two burly men dragging her down from a van, her eyes filled with fear and guilt as she looked at him. Qin Xuan’s heart clenched, and he turned, intent on rescuing her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
A crowd blocked his way.
“Out of my way!”
Qin Xuan snorted again, finally drawing the sandalwood sword case into his hand. Infusing it with true energy, he swept it in a wide arc!
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
Three figures were flung aside, knocked to the ground by the sword case.
Just as Qin Xuan was about to break through and reach Su Muqing, a yellow taxi came careening onto the scene, its headlights blazing.
“Miss Su, we’re here!”
A familiar voice rang out. The taxi didn’t stop but barreled straight toward Su Muqing.
“Crazy bastard!”
“They’re trying to kill us!”
The two thugs holding Su Muqing cursed and, without hesitation, let her go and bolted to the side.
Screech!
At the last second, the taxi spun in a perfect drift, coming to a stop right next to Su Muqing.
“Miss Su, get in!”
The driver’s seat was occupied by Gao Tie.
He came from a well-off family—his father was a high-ranking official in the transportation bureau—though he always kept a low profile. In this emergency, he’d used his father’s connections to track the white van’s route.
Impatient with the slow driver, he’d thrown a wad of bills at him and commandeered the car himself, bringing Xiao Gang along to the rescue.

“Man, I didn’t know you could drive like that!”
Xiao Gang grinned in admiration.
“Of course. I’ve been racing cars since I was a kid,” Gao Tie replied with a laugh.
Even though the car was right next to her, Su Muqing didn’t get in. Instead, she looked anxiously toward Qin Xuan. “We can’t just leave. Qin Xuan is still over there!”
“What? Brother Qin?”
Gao Tie was startled, glancing ahead. Sure enough—
A familiar figure in long robes moved with ethereal grace amid the crowd, his silhouette elegant beneath the moonlight. One after another, the gangsters were sent flying, none able to hinder Qin Xuan’s advance.
Leijin de stood at the villa entrance, stupefied. He could hardly believe this pretty boy from his memories was so fierce! These men were his old comrades from the days of carving out his empire—none of them were pushovers.
It was only recently, after he’d gone legit in Jinling and switched to real estate, that he’d had little use for them.
“Die!”
Now that Su Muqing was safe, Qin Xuan’s gaze locked on Leijin de.
“Stop him! Stop him now!”
Panic overtook Leijin de as he watched Qin Xuan close in, step by unyielding step. He couldn’t help but retreat.
Clang!
He backed into the villa’s iron gate.
“Get him! Kill him!”
Terror finally broke him, and he screamed hysterically.
But as soon as he spoke, the henchmen who had surrounded Qin Xuan scattered away instead!
“Hm?”
Qin Xuan frowned, sensing something was off.
Bang!
A heavy gunshot rang out from the villa’s upper floor.
Qin Xuan’s instincts had already been on high alert. At the sound, he twisted his body to the side. But this time, the attacker wasn’t using a shoddy weapon like Zhou Daqiang’s; it was a professional sniper rifle, the bullet blindingly fast!
Qin Xuan had only half-dodged when the whistling bullet buried itself in his left shoulder.
Thunk!
The distinct sound of a bullet striking flesh echoed.
Qin Xuan’s brows knitted in pain as he dropped to one knee.
“Hahaha! I was running wild in Yunnan before you were even born! Think you can take me on? You’re dead!” Leijin de laughed maniacally.
“Qin Xuan!”
Su Muqing couldn’t hold back any longer; she rushed toward him.
“Brother Qin!”
Gao Tie called out in shock.
“Damn it, drive over there and get Brother Qin!” Xiao Gang bellowed.
Just then, the two thugs who had fled earlier tried to sneak up on Su Muqing from behind. Gao Tie stepped on the gas, and though the car had just started, the force was enough to send one of the men flying.

“Take this, bastard!”
Xiao Gang grabbed a wrench from the car’s toolbox, leaned out the window, and cracked the other thug on the back of the head.
Thud!
The man collapsed instantly.
Xiao Gang glanced at the wrench—it was bent. The man’s head was tough, but there was no time to care about that now: Qin Xuan had been shot!
“Qin Xuan, are you alright?”
Su Muqing rushed to his side, her face etched with deep worry, on the verge of tears.
“I’m fine…”
Qin Xuan pressed his hand to his wounded shoulder and rose coldly to his feet.
“Hurry, get in the car with me!”
Su Muqing urged, supporting him.
“No need—step aside. If I let that damned fat man go today, who knows how many more people will suffer?”
With a flash, Qin Xuan drew the Taiqing Sword.
“Qin Xuan, don’t! I was wrong, I shouldn’t have doubted you, okay? Get in the car, go to the hospital—if you don’t, you’ll die!”
At last, Su Muqing’s tears began to fall.
How many times had she cried since she was a child? She could count them on one hand. But today, for Qin Xuan, she finally shed tears of gratitude.
After how she had misunderstood him, he was still willing to risk his life for her!
“This has nothing to do with you. I’m just doing what’s right.”
Suddenly, Qin Xuan pushed Su Muqing away.
She stared in shock, but before she could react—bang!
A second gunshot. The sniper bullet whistled toward Qin Xuan.
Clang!
The Taiqing Sword flashed up, deflecting the bullet in a shower of sparks.
Radiating a chilling aura, Qin Xuan glared coldly up at the third-floor window of the villa, where a hidden sniper was preparing to fire again.
With a flick, Qin Xuan pointed his sword skyward beneath the moon.
The sniper was about to shoot, but when he saw Qin Xuan’s sword aimed directly at him, a chill seized his heart.
“Celestial Strike!”
Qin Xuan whispered, channeling all his energy into the Taiqing Sword. Instantly, the sword blazed with dazzling white light, illuminating the earth beneath the moon.