Chapter 73: A Calamity of Mortal Peril

Liu Hao staggered, his body sent flying. He crashed to the ground, his hands scraped and bleeding.
"I'll kill you!"
Liu Hao's face twisted in rage as he roared and charged forward.
Xiao Ye remained unmoved. As the man rushed at him, Xiao Ye suddenly swung his fist.
With overwhelming force, his punch landed squarely on Liu Hao's jaw.
Liu Hao's two-hundred-pound frame was hurled away by a single blow!
When he hit the ground, the earth itself trembled.
Liu Hao lay sprawled, already unconscious.
Overestimating himself!
Xiao Ye snorted, not even sparing Liu Hao a glance, and left directly.
Exiting the nightclub, Xiao Ye returned to the villa. Red Dragon had already handled the previous matter.
Just as Xiao Ye prepared for sleep, he received a text from Rat.
"Young Master Xiao, I've taken care of the details. Come over tomorrow morning, and we'll finish up the rest."
Reading Rat's message, Xiao Ye nodded. The boy was as efficient as ever.
The next morning, Xiao Ye planned to brief Rat on the follow-up, so he hailed a cab to Rat's place.
Just as he stepped out, his phone rang—Rat was calling.
"Rat, so early—have you found some new leads?"
Xiao Ye was in good spirits, his tone relaxed.
"Something's wrong, Young Master Xiao! It's a disaster!"
Rat's voice was frantic and trembling, as if something was chasing him.
"Don't panic. Take your time." Xiao Ye caught the strangeness, his expression turning serious.
"Those guys from before, I don't know what's gotten into them, but now they're hunting me! Damn it!"
Someone must have revealed his connection to Xiao Ye, and now they wanted to strangle his budding power in the cradle.
Hearing this, Xiao Ye instantly understood.
"Rat, find a safe place to hide. I'll be there right away!"

Driving for barely ten minutes, Xiao Ye arrived at the location.
"Rat! Rat?"
Xiao Ye called out for Rat in the alleyways. Just as he feared Rat might have been abducted—he pulled out his phone to call him—a voice sounded from behind a heavy pile of garbage.
"Young Master Xiao, I'm here!"
Rat waved, his hand emerging from the heap, signaling his presence. The trash mound shifted—he'd hidden himself so deeply he couldn't get out alone.
Xiao Ye hauled Rat out of the garbage. Rat dusted himself off and looked around.
Once sure no one was nearby, he breathed a long sigh of relief and said to Xiao Ye,
"You arrived just in time, Young Master Xiao. If you'd been a minute late, they'd have caught me."
"Never mind that. What happened?"
"Yesterday, those guys saw me talking to you. They're afraid of your power, so they decided to target me!"
Rat finished, his face drawn, squatting beside the trash.
Xiao Ye nodded. He'd considered such possibilities.
But he wouldn't let himself be bullied. He needed to send a warning.
He quickly came up with a plan, leaning in to speak quietly to Rat.
"Do you want to take down the ones hunting you?"
"Of course I do, but how can the two of us escape their pursuit?"
Rat squatted, frowning, looking at Xiao Ye.
He had no idea of Xiao Ye's capabilities and clearly held no hope for such matters.
No worries, we'll kill them.
"Wait... Young Master Xiao, are you serious? You're not joking, are you?"
Rat's expression was troubled, clearly skeptical of Xiao Ye's plan.
"If you want to die, that's fine by me."
Xiao Ye shrugged, preparing to leave, but Rat hurriedly grabbed his arm.
"Young Master Xiao, I didn't mean anything by it. If you need me as bait, that's fine—when do we start?"
"Right now," Xiao Ye said with a smile, shoving Rat backward.
Just then, a group of thugs in street gear approached. Reaching the corner, they spotted Rat and rushed toward him.

"Young Master Xiao, you can't just throw me under the bus like this! Help!" Rat cried in terror, scrambling up and fleeing toward the other end of the alley.
While the two were plotting, Xiao Ye had already heard footsteps from the neighboring alley.
"That kid runs fast—don’t let him get away!" The burliest thug gave orders, but before they'd taken a few steps, another figure emerged from the alley.
The leader laughed, as if he'd already pocketed the reward.
"Kid, you’re unlucky to run into me today!"
Tiger Chai's demeanor was cocky; he clearly didn't see Xiao Ye as a threat.
He charged at Xiao Ye, who simply smiled.
Tiger Chai's henchmen watched their boss move, but in the blink of an eye, Tiger Chai was tossed like a rag doll—a casual kick from Xiao Ye sent him flying to the far side of the alley, blood spraying from his mouth as he fell unconscious.
The henchmen froze, exchanging bewildered glances, unsure what to do.
"I’ll give you one chance. If you don’t want to fight me, drop your weapons and leave now." Xiao Ye held up five fingers. "I’ll count to five."
Before he could lower his first finger, the henchmen threw down their sticks, turned tail, and fled, leaving their leader behind.
Xiao Ye shook his head, laughing, and called out,
"Rat, get back here. It’s settled."
Rat, still trembling, slowly approached.
"Young Master Xiao, I remember you couldn’t fight like this before—how did you suddenly..."
In Rat’s mind, Xiao Ye had always been the sort of spoiled scoundrel who indulged in vice. But in just a few months, Xiao Ye had become formidable.
This display shattered Rat’s old impression completely.
"If you want to idolize me, do it later. Hurting this guy is a warning—no one in the black market will bother you anymore. Since I saved you, there’s one more thing I need you to help me with."
"Just say the word, Young Master Xiao. If I can do it, I will!" Rat’s resolve was much firmer now. Seeing Xiao Ye’s strength, his fear had vanished.
Damn, with such a powerful boss on my side, let’s see those punks dare mess with me!
Xiao Ye waved his hand. "No rush, come with me somewhere first."
He took Rat straight to the warehouse at the port.