Chapter Forty-Five: Cruel Captivity

  About crossing the road, I remember that our kindergarten teacher taught us a mnemonic: look twice and cross slowly - I think this is also one of the most useful things I've learned from my teachers since childhood.

  Doing something as reckless as Killer Brother, jumping into the middle of the road to frolic and play fight, would have been severely criticized and resulted in the removal of a small red flower back in our day.

  On one side, Killer Brother was knocked to the ground, while on the other, Old Man Xiao had lost all will to fight and fled in a flurry of knife strikes. Su Jing feared he might have fallen into a trap and didn't give chase, instead hastening to my side and vigilantly scanning our surroundings.

  At this time, the old man who bumped into him grasped the brake tightly and looked forward anxiously. Almost all passersby stopped to watch - don't forget that all of this happened in a bustling downtown area. Some people started whispering to each other from a distance: "What just happened?" "I don't know, someone came out of nowhere and started hacking and killing." "Did you see that? The old man can even fly!"

  I stood there for a moment, waving my hand and shouting loudly: "Alright, camera crew, that's a wrap! Everyone did a great job."

  It wasn't until then that people suddenly realized: "So they were actually filming a movie!"

  What can I do? In broad daylight, with knives and swords, if I don't say so, the police will come and I'll be able to explain clearly?

  At this time, the old man riding a tricycle got off the vehicle and walked in front of Killer Brother, asking somewhat absent-mindedly: "Are you okay?"

  The killer brother struggled to sit up, covering his waist with his hand, ignoring everyone else, and staring at me viciously. I quickly walked over and said to the old man, "It's okay, it's okay, just an accident, we're filming a movie here."

  The old man was relieved at once and turned to say: "You're all right, aren't you? - I'm in trouble!"

  "What's wrong with you?"

  The old man pointed at the three-wheeled cart: "I was delivering a piece of glass to someone, and now it's all shattered." I took a look, and indeed there was a large piece of glass in the cart, which had miraculously survived the crash but had developed a crack right down the middle. The old man darted over to Killer Brother and grabbed his sleeve: "You have to compensate me for the glass!" Killer Brother was shaken, still staring at me silently with his teeth clenched, while the old man's voice took on a tearful tone: "Young man, you can't bully an old fellow like me. If you don't compensate me for the glass, I'll be out of pocket for several days..."

  I couldn't bear it anymore, these two people are actually quite pitiful. I took out 200 yuan and stuffed it into the old man's hand: "Is this enough?"

  "Too many..."

  "Take it and put it away, reward for you - next time I see you crossing the road like this, you'll be hit by a damn dog!" Speaking of which, the old man is still half a lifesaver to me.

  "Or you can take away that piece of glass and make a fish tank out of it?"

  "Uh, never mind, you take it to cover the chessboard."

  The old man was so moved that he burst into tears: "Today I met good people, what's the name of your TV series? In the future, I'll increase your ratings."

  "Assassin 2."

  "Oh, it's a sequel? How come I've never heard of it?"

  "We directly shoot 2."

  The old man wiped away his tears and walked away on his three-wheeled cart...

  I took a look at the killer brother on the ground, this brother was probably around thirty years old, with a very standard killer hairstyle: a strand of hair covering his eyes, and the rest tied behind him. When he saw me approaching, he suddenly picked up the long sword on the ground and slashed it towards my lower body, shouting: "I'll kill you!"

  Su Jing's hand moved, and the long sword was already in her hand.

  The people around started discussing again: "Why are you still killing?" Some who understood said: "You're too into the play, good actor!"

  I hid behind Su Jing and said: "What exactly do you want?"

  The killer brother sighed sorrowfully: "Since I've fallen into your hands, whether you want to kill me or slice me up is up to you!"

  Su Jingdao said: "You have backbone, then I'll let you die with a bit more dignity."

  Killer Brother heard that his eyes closed, stretched his neck, Su Jing raised a palm to pat him on the head, I pulled her back and exclaimed: "What are you doing?"

  "Kill him."

  I burst out: "Are you kidding me?"

  Su Jingyu said with a heavy heart: "Although he wanted to kill you, since he failed, we will give him a quick death. I don't advocate using cruel torture on people."

  "Auntie, with so many people watching, if you kill him, how can we survive in the future?"

  "Give me the sword and I'll kill myself!" Killer Brother said coldly.

  "Alright..." Su Jing thought for a moment and handed over the long sword. I snatched it away, jumping up and down, "No way!"

  The killer glared at me and said, "A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated. Don't take things too far!" He then bowed to Su Jing, "Although you and I are sworn enemies, I am deeply grateful for the great kindness of Mr. Duan!"

  Su Jing nodded slightly: "Alright."

  I'm speechless, what kind of world is this? Those who want to kill him are eternally grateful, while those who want to save him hate him to the bone...

  Su Jing asked me in a low voice: "What do you want to do with him?"

  I said to Killer Brother: "Alright, I won't kill you, just go back wherever you came from."

  "Really?" said Killer Brother.

  "Really, really, hurry up and leave, I can't stand seeing you for another moment!"

  The killer brother thought for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "You want to follow me and find our base to wipe us out in one go?"

  Su Jing sneered: "What kind of people do you think the two great sword gods are? Moreover, I'm afraid you don't have a fixed base either. After this battle, will Lu Renjia still go back?"

  The killer brother probably also felt reasonable, hummed and started using force, but after sweating profusely, he still couldn't get up. Finally, he lay on the ground and said: "I'm already a useless person, just give me the sword and let me end it cleanly."

  I'm going crazy again, letting him die is not an option, but leaving him here isn't a good idea either - with so many people watching, they all think he's with me, if I abandon him and something happens to him, I'll definitely be labeled as a ruthless director who mistreats actors, and once the news gets out on Youku, I'll be hated even more than the cat abuse girl! Most importantly, if I don't take care of him and he dies here, I'll still be held responsible in the end. Weighing the pros and cons, I decide to bring him along instead.

  I kicked his scabbard in front of him and said irritably, "Pick it up and follow me!"

  "Where are you taking me?" Killer Brother asked, looking up.

  I said: "Don't you have a backbone? If you do, then don't ask."

  The killer brother's eyes flashed with a hint of sadness: "I, Duanmou, have nothing to fear!" He picked up the scabbard and stood up slowly, then followed me like a blind man, poking and prodding his way behind me.

  "Wait for me here!" I settled the blind man in an empty space, drove the car over, and Su Jing opened the door for him and sat down beside him. Just as I was about to leave, a waiter from the teahouse suddenly ran out and leaned against my car window with a smile: "Director, slow down."

  "What's up?"

  The fellow pointed to a large pit in front of the tea house and said, "Are you going to fill that hole before you leave? I know you're busy filming, but with such a big hole we really can't do business."

  "What's wrong?"

  The fellow said with gestures: "Just now that little old man, swoosh, came out from there..."

  "Oh." I finally realized, and immediately looked at the rearview mirror and said angrily: "Dig a hole without filling it, really no public conscience!" I took out my wallet and handed over several hundred yuan to the fellow, "Buy a bag of cement and fill it yourself, sorry for the trouble."

  The fellow took the money with a smile and said, "No trouble, everyone has a responsibility to contribute to domestic film and television - by the way, I didn't see Wuyi flying around just now?"

  "New technology, new technology..."

  Leaving this place that makes me sad, I was speechless for a moment. In just half a day's time, I encountered situations that others might not encounter in their lifetime. The most absurd thing is: there was actually someone sitting in my car who wanted to kill me.

  Su Jing was very calm, as if this small scene was not on her mind at all. Naturally, she wouldn't help me think about what to do with this assassin next. She leaned back in her seat, looking thoughtful, and finally said in a puzzled tone: "I didn't expect the great Sword Saint to also be involved in assassination."

  "Who did you say?"

  Su Jingdao said, "Lu Renjia is that old man who emerged from the ground. As far as I know, he is one of the few masters on the Hei Jie Continent who has not yet reached 60 years old and has already advanced to Sword Sage. He is the most talented and gifted master of the Dun Di Sect so far. I didn't expect him to be willing to pretend to be an assassin and appear in person."

  "How did they come here?"

  Su Jing glanced at Killer Brother, seeing that he didn't intend to speak up, and didn't force the issue. He said: "This isn't strange, since I can come here, they can too - now the worst thing is that they probably already know about your situation, so they're in a hurry to strangle you before you recover your strength."

  I lit a cigarette with one hand, trembling as I took a drag and said: "I don't know what sin I committed in my past life to provoke you all!" Only then did I remember - I didn't commit any sin in my past life, it's just that I shouldn't have been the Sword God.

  Su Jing looked at Killer again and said, "Don't you plan on telling me anything?"

  The killer brother hummed and turned his head away.

  "What level is this stuff?"

  Su Jingdao said: "If I'm not mistaken, it's a mid-term swordsman." She turned her head to Killer Brother and said, "At your age, reaching this level is also quite difficult, right?"

  The killer brother was silent all the time, but after getting Su Jing's affirmative sentence, he seemed to be quite pleased. It seems that although Su Jing is his enemy, as a sword god, saying such a sentence made him very comfortable.

  Su Jingdao said: "To reach the level of a sword master before the age of 40, on both continents, is as rare as a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn. If not for being a top-notch expert, he wouldn't have been sent to assassinate you."

  I blew a puff of smoke out the window: "Is this guy also considered a master?" What a top-notch master, as soon as he appeared, he was crippled by three thugs, and even the tea house waiter had more lines than him...

  The killer brother finally couldn't help but angrily say: "I can kill you as easily as turning over my palm!"

  "He thought he was dealing with a Sword God, and put all his energy into you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such an easy mistake."

  I exclaimed in surprise: "Where did you come from?"

  Su Jingdao said: "I just speak a fair word."

  I grasped the steering wheel and suddenly said: "No!"

  "What's wrong?"

  "I scratched my head and said, 'Isn't it forbidden for three-wheeled vehicles to run within the Third Ring Road?'"

  "What does it mean?"

  I tossed the cigarette butt out of the window, gritting my teeth and saying: "What I mean is that this master should be hit by a BMW at 70 kilometers per hour, then dragged for 200 meters, and finally crushed to death. This was originally a complete set, but it was messed up by those three bastards!"

  The killer brother didn't quite understand, but still subconsciously shrunk his neck and muttered: "It's really a cruel world..."

  "Shut up! If you keep babbling, I'll send you to the detention center. First, let you drink water, then hide and seek, finally, you can use shoelaces to open handcuffs and hang yourself with banknotes!"

  Division line

  A reader helped me summarize that Xiaohua's book can't have assassins: In "Chaos", Qin Wuyang was killed by a shoe, in "Monster" Lin Ziwu couldn't complete his mission for life, and in "Mix-and-Match", Assassin Brother appeared and made three kids crash their bicycles...