Chapter 166: Ambush by the Lake
All of a sudden, Ling Yun seemed to have sensed something as he abruptly got up to his feet and squawked, “Oh, no! Third brother is in danger!”
The twin brothers had this unexplainable link, the most-amazing feeling that neither could explain clearly. As soon as Ling Feng, who was patrolling the periphery of the villa, met with danger, the core commander Ling Yun could immediately feel his heart shuddering.
Without any time to think, Ling Yun and Xia Fei dashed out of the hovervan and went straight for the southern sh.o.r.e of Blackwater Lake.
“Where’s third brother Ling?” Xia Fei anxiously asked? He was a speed ability user, running together with Ling Yun would no doubt waste more time, so he figured that it was better if he just went ahead first.
“There!” Ling Yun pointed to a copse of trees dozens of kilometers away. “There are three of them there, currently locked-up in combat.”
Ling Yun was already speaking louder than necessary at this time of the night. A tinge of uneasiness could be sensed in his voice; his brother had run into trouble, so it was only natural that he would be very anxious, being the big brother and all.
Exerting strength on both his legs, Xia Fei dashed into the dark forest at his top speed, carefully listening for sounds in that direction.
It was a good thing that Xia Fei was wearing a decent Star River-grade night combat suit—something he borrowed at the last minute from Pang Xing. Though it was nowhere near Windshade Mark IV in terms of grade, nor was it a combat suit specifically made for speed ability users, it could at least ensure that Xia Fei would not feel any physical pain when it came to wind resistance.
The dozen kilometers distance was traversed in a matter of seconds.
Under the moonlight, Xia Fei went das.h.i.+ng through the forest like a flash of lightning, searching for any trace of Ling Feng.
“Over here!”
All of a sudden, Xia Fei heard a voice somewhere near him and he did an abrupt about-turn. He beelined for the voice’s origin.
After advancing about two hundred meters ahead, Xia Fei spotted Ling Feng leaning against a crooked tree, one and holding his shoulder, looking all pale.
“You okay?”
“I can manage, and though my arm suffered a bit, don’t worry because it’s just a scratch.”
Xia Fei moved away Ling Feng’s arm and used the moonlight to examine the wound. A deep and curved cut was on his left shoulder. Another half an inch and it would have dug into his bone.
The wound looked very strange, shaped like a crescent moon. Xia Fei suddenly had this sense of familiarity overcome him, though he could not quite place it.
“That’s the Plumagers.” It was unknown when Phantom had popped out, but he was now standing beside Xia Fei.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. That is a wound from a Silver Feather Scimitar. There’s no other weapon out there that can create such a strange wound aside from it.” Phantom earnestly confirmed this after he inspected the wound.
“Silver Feather Scimitar?”
“You’ve seen it before. It’s the same weapon that those men who tried to abduct Avril 2ere carrying. The weapon’s called Silver Feather Scimitar, forged under a very special heat metal that only Plumagers can use.
“Such a weapon is toxic; open his mouth and see if red spots are growing in his tongue.” Phantom urged him.
Xia Fei got Ling Feng to open his mouth and examined the tongue under that clear moonlight. Sure enough, fiery red spots had grown on his tongue, and it appeared as if these spots were still spreading.
“Yup, that’s definitely the Silver Feather Scimitar. He’s already poisoned, but the situation isn’t too dire yet. Chew up a Snake Eye Berry and apply it on the wound, and get him to eat another three.”
Xia Fei immediately took out the Snake Eye Berries and did as was instructed, handing three to Ling Feng at the same time. “Eat these first; the weapon was poisoned.”
Snake Eye Berries were anti-toxicants. Though it could not completely remove every trace of the poison, it would at least delay its spread. Ling Feng was a martial arts pract.i.tioner, so his knowledge of toxins was far stronger than the average human. Presently, he could already sense his body’s abnormality, so he swallowed the berries without a second word.
“What next?” Xia Fei asked.
Phantom gave it some thought before answering, “First, cut off the outer layer of skin of the wound. Immediately send him to a hospital and he must avoid any strenuous activity as best as he can. The speed of the toxin spread will become faster with increased blood flow.”
Xia Fei nodded. He pulled out a fine knife from his spatial ring—the knife that he usually used to pare apples and slice meat with. Though it was not exactly of high quality, it was sharp.
Xia Fei broke a tree branch and got Ling Feng to chomp down on it. “This is gonna hurt a bit.”
Ling Feng nodded, no longer saying a word. He could sense the danger he was in when he saw that anxious expression on Xia Fei’s face, which was why he did not oppose what Xia Fei had instructed him to do.
The sharp knife cut the skin around the wound, and the entire process was only 0.01 second. With a stable and precise cut, he shaved off a thin layer of skin, barely even touching the flesh beneath.
Xia Fei had extraordinary nerve acuity, and adding the fact that he was a speed ability user, the treatment of the wound was like a professional surgeon, and he was much faster by comparison.
“Come, I’ll carry you.”
“There’s no need; I’m a speed ability user too, so I can walk on my own. Besides, it’s not as if the wound is on my leg,” Ying Feng protested. It was quite embarra.s.sing for a speed ability user like himself to need another speed ability user’s aid.
“Don’t give me that nonsense; you’re poisoned!” Xia Fei shouted with gravitas.
Without waiting for a response, Xia Fei carried Ling Feng and sped off. He had yet to fully recover, so carrying a 160-kilogram man on his back left his muscles feeling quite strained, but Xia Fei ignored it all. Saving someone’s life took precedence over momentary discomfort.
…
Hospital, outside the operating room.
In order to keep things under wraps, Xia Fei did not send Ling Feng to a hospital the Jian family owned but just a normal public hospital, instead.
The fact that Plumagers had actually appeared by the villa of Blackwater Lake only solidified his suspicions about Barty; there would be trouble if they sent Ling Feng to a Jian family hospital for treatment.
Barty had a mentally handicapped son, as well as a woman who really wanted to be accepted into Jian family. He might very well have the ambition to s.n.a.t.c.h family a.s.sets. Even if Zhou Yuqing did not instigate him, Bary might very well have considered doing something like that.
Ling Yun’s blood needed to be detoxified immediately due to the poison, and he was presently undergoing a blood purification process in the operating room. Xia Fei and Ling Yun stood guard outside the door, with the latter pacing back and forth incessantly, a clear indication of his restlessness.
“How is he?” The eldest Ling Xiao anxiously came striding over in a hurry.
“He’s currently undergoing blood purification. It’s all thanks to Brother Xia Fei for his emergency triage of our third bro and for sending him straight to the hospital himself. Otherwise…” Ling Yun sighed.
…
Ling Xiao was stunned, then he performed a deep bow toward Xia Fei. The latter very quickly stopped him and helped him up, “Big Brother Ling, what are you doing? I’m the one who caused this to start with, and it’s me who should be thanking you three for lending me a hand; how could you be the first to show courtesy?”
“No, you can’t say that.” Ling Xiao became serious. “These are two completely different matters altogether; it is our duty to do what Master Thuram instructed us to do, but your timely rescue of our brother is a sincere display of amity. In any case, we, brothers, owe you a huge favor now. From today onward, no matter what you’re up to, as long as you call, the three of us won’t leave you hanging.”
That was when the doors to the operating room opened, and Ling Feng came walking out with a bandaged arm.
“Brother, are you okay?” Ling Xiao and Ling Yun anxiously came to support him.
“I’m okay, merely some st.i.tches on my wound. I’ll be back to normal after a night’s rest.” Ling Feng extended his limbs as proof of this.
The poison from Silver Feather Scimitar was powerful, but it was but a single wave. As long as they were able to prevent the initial a.s.sault of the poison, healing could swiftly begin and it would be much easier to deal with than other chronic toxins that were slow and penetrative.
The four of them found a secluded corner as Ling Xiao knitted his brows and asked, “Third bro, just what exactly happened back there? Just who were those men?”
“I was patrolling the outskirts of the Blackwater Lake villa then to get a comprehensive understanding of the terrain, paving way for our future monitoring activities, but when I was doing reconnaissance in that forest, I suddenly sensed something strange occurring among the trees, so I got curious and went over to take a closer look. From afar, I spotted three figures hiding as if they were discussing something. It was deep into the night then, so there’s no doubt they’re up to no good gathering together so sneakily like that.
“Thus, I hid myself in the darkness and tried to get closer, hoping to eavesdrop on what they’re discussing, but before I even got anywhere near them, I was spotted by the three, and one of them cried the name ‘Natasha’. The trio came pouncing toward me the moment this word was uttered; each was a speed ability user much faster than me. In the process of our fighting, one of them managed to land a blow on me, and not long after, Xia Fei rushed over to where I was with our second bro.
“Once they realized that they couldn’t kill me, and that reinforcements were near, those three fled. I originally wanted to give chase, but that was when I felt my mind going blank, with not a bit of strength left as I felt my body burning up. All I could do after was lean against a tree and rest, which was when brother Xia Fei came to help me deal with my wound and send me to the hospital. I’ve completely got no clue just who those people were, though.” Ling Feng slowly narrated to the others.
Ling Xiao and Ling Yun both heaved a long sigh after they finished hearing his account. The situation had been very dire back then. No one could have possibly done anything to help Ling Feng if they were even later by a moment and the poison in his body were to finish acting its course.
It was all thanks to Xia Fei’s speed ability that those enemies retreated in time, or else the consequences would have been catastrophic.
After realizing this, the Ling brothers were of course even more grateful toward Xia Fei’s timely intervention.
Xia Fei spoke after having talked to Phantom via his consciousness. “Those people are Plumagers—the very same people who tried to kidnap Avril that day.”
“Plumagers?” The three brothers were astonished.
“Just who are the Plumagers? Where did they come from?” Ling Xiao gruffly asked.
“Plumagers are members of a professional organization of hitmen in the underworld, a sort of secret existence within the Alliance. They can also be considered as warriors, though their style and actions taken are overly vicious. As long as someone is willing to pay the price, they even dare to target the present president of the Adjudicator Union. You can say that they are machines that exist to kill, lacking in any emotions whatsoever.
“The rumor goes that the founder of the Plumager Organization came from the Red Rock Empire. The empire itself is very strange, with every single one of its sovereigns being female, and the next in line must also be a woman. As such, the Plumagers will use the names of their past empresses as codes. The word that third brother Ling heard, ‘Natasha’, that’s the code for ‘eliminate the enemy’ of the Plumager Organization.
“Additionally, given how third bro received injury from the Silver Feather Scimitar—a weapon uniquely theirs, the appearance of the wound, and the symptoms of being poisoned, we can easily determine that they’re the ones behind this attack.”
Ling Xiao contemplated for quite some time before he could no longer hold back himself from asking, “Brother Xia Fei, how do you know all this, considering your age?”