The situation had escalated to a point of no return. Even if Lu Ming were to kneel and beg, it wouldn't change Xie Zhong's mind.
He rebuked, "Although I have some connection with the elder Mr. Su, that doesn't mean I will indulge you indefinitely! I already showed utmost leniency by letting the three women from the Su family go. How dare you, Lu Ming, shout at me and act shamelessly? If you push it, don't blame me for being ruthless! Moreover, you're not exactly considered part of the Su family, so I don't need to show you any courtesy."
Lu Ming chuckled, "A lot of rambling, and I never said I wanted you to be courteous."
"Good, very good. I, Xie Zhong, have traveled far and wide for many years, and this is the first time I've encountered someone as unafraid of death as you. Since you're not afraid of death, I won't bother keeping you alive. Come here, shoot him dead! I'll explain to Elder Fan later."
Upon receiving the order, more than ten gunmen drew their pistols and aimed at Lu Ming.
But they overlooked one crucial detail.
Didn't Yu Tao also bring many gunmen earlier, only to be dealt with by Lu Ming?
If Yu Tao's gunmen were ineffective, what made Xie Zhong's gunmen think they would succeed?
Xie Zhong, accustomed to his high-and-mighty position, had forgotten how to think from the perspective of a commoner. Most of the time, he did as he pleased without considering the feasibility of his actions.
At this moment, his old habit had resurfaced.
As expected.
Lu Ming showed no hesitation. He pulled out another handful of silver needles and shot them out with a flick of his wrist.
*Puchi, puchi, puchi...*
The silver needles flew with incredible speed and power, embedding themselves into the wrists of the gunmen. In an instant, all ten-plus gunmen were incapacitated.
They clutched their hands, trembling uncontrollably.
"How is this possible?"
Xie Zhong stared at his trembling subordinates, utterly bewildered. Now he understood why Yu Tao's men had trembled; this was how Lu Ming had dealt with them.
This silver needle throwing technique was indeed extraordinary.
Most importantly, Lu Ming's flying needles hadn't harmed any innocent bystanders, indicating his mastery and precise control over them!
While others practiced throwing knives, he practiced throwing needles.
Xie Zhong stated, "Hidden weapons? Not bad. Lu Ming, you're far more capable than I imagined. But do you think I'll be as helpless against you as Yu Tao was? The biggest difference between me and Yu Tao is that he brought a dozen gunmen because that was the extent of his subordinates. I brought a dozen gunmen, but that's merely the minimum! I am the Southern Emperor, and I command over ten thousand troops. With a single order, I can storm Fog City and take your life!"
His words were not empty.
As the Southern Emperor, Xie Zhong had long been rooted in the southern territories of Fog City and commanded a force of over ten thousand.
To arrive at Fog City as quickly as possible this time, he had only brought a small contingent, with the main force following behind. Once they arrived, Lu Ming wouldn't be able to escape.
The problem, however, was that the main force hadn't arrived yet.
Jiang Mengxin was very sharp. If she couldn't deal with the main force, couldn't she deal with Xie Zhong? With Lu Ming's skills, she was confident he could capture Xie Zhong easily!
She quickly urged, "Lu Ming, hurry and capture Xie Zhong! With him, we won't fear even when the main force arrives."
That made sense.
For a moment, even Xie Zhong began to panic.
In terms of martial arts, Xie Zhong was inferior to his subordinate Yu Tao. How could he fight Lu Ming head-on? He would undoubtedly lose!
He glanced at his watch. It would take at least another half an hour for his main force to arrive.
And Lu Ming would probably take less than three seconds to deal with him.
He had to find a way to stall for time!
Just as Xie Zhong was sweating profusely, racking his brain for ways to delay, something unexpected happened.
Lu Ming didn't seize the opportunity!
Although Jiang Mengxin had offered a perfectly sound course of action, Lu Ming completely ignored her.
He fetched a stool, sat down, and calmly looked at Xie Zhong, asking, "You have a large force, right? How long until they arrive?"
"Cough, cough," Xie Zhong coughed twice. "Very soon! Within ten minutes at most!"
He bluffed, attempting to intimidate Lu Ming.
However, Lu Ming saw through his trick at a glance and sneered, "Alright, I'll wait for you for ten minutes. After ten minutes, I'll make my move."
Huh?
Xie Zhong was instantly dumbfounded.
Ten minutes was a bluff; they wouldn't arrive that soon!
Cough, cough.
Xie Zhong, putting on a brave face, added, "With such a large army, there might be some delays. It might take about 30 minutes to arrive."
My goodness, what kind of delay would cause a difference of 20 minutes?
Everyone around found it amusing.
Even a fool could tell that it would actually take 30 minutes, and the initial ten minutes was just Xie Zhong's bluff!
Lu Ming didn't mock him.
He nodded, "Okay, 30 minutes it is. I'll trust you and wait for 30 minutes. Once your main force arrives, I'll deal with you. Let's be fair and just."
Xie Zhong secretly chuckled, "Really?"
"Really." As Lu Ming spoke, he took out his phone, seemingly texting someone.
Seeing this, everyone was stunned, looking at Lu Ming as if he were an idiot.
"No, what's going on? This is the best time to act, why isn't he moving? He's waiting for the enemy's main force to arrive before acting? Is he looking for death?"
"Heh, I think he's just gotten carried away after taking down over twenty gunmen."
"No matter how strong his needle-throwing skill is, it can't compare to an army of over ten thousand! Besides, flying needles are hidden weapons, relying on surprise. He's used this move twice in a row, and the opponents are now on guard. His flying needles might not even work anymore."
"He's gotten too arrogant, that's what it is."
Jiang Mengxin, on the side, paced back and forth like an ant on a hot pan, wishing she could slap Lu Ming twice.
Why?
Why did Lu Ming not listen to anything Jiang Mengxin said?
He always did the opposite!
She was infuriated, absolutely furious!
Jiang Mengxin paced frantically in front of Lu Ming, scolding, "You imbecile, you're a hopelessly stupid imbecile! Why aren't you acting now? You're talking about gentleman's agreements? Are you sick? When their main force arrives, they can drown you with a single spit!"
Lu Ming pretended not to hear, continuing to fiddle with his phone.
Jiang Mengxin thought Lu Ming was waiting for something. She leaned over to look and was shocked. Lu Ming had opened a mobile game and was engrossed in playing it.
"Just keep going!" Jiang Mengxin scolded him irritably.
Lu Ming, while playing the game, replied, "Don't worry, I have my own plan. Nothing will go wrong."
Plan?
What plan?
Jiang Mengxin questioned, "Besides your brute strength, you don't even have a single helper. How are you going to fight their main force? 'My own plan,' you're going to make me die laughing!"