CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 39: HEART DEMON

Although Lin Bingxuan and Xiao Tian haven’t known each other for long.

Xiao Tian’s bravery and decisiveness, paired with his exceptional strength, have consistently given Lin Bingxuan a feeling.

Xiao Tian is invincible!

So, under the gun of the Sunglasses Boss, Lin Bingxuan remained calm and composed.

She believed Xiao Tian would save her.

However, under Lin Bingxuan’s trusting gaze, she didn’t notice Xiao Tian’s hand holding the gun tremble slightly.

But, unlike Lin Bingxuan, the Sunglasses Boss, under Xiao Tian’s formidable presence.

He was fully focused on guarding against Xiao Tian, noticing at once when Xiao Tian’s hand suddenly shook.

Especially when he found himself pressing a gun against Lin Bingxuan’s head.

Xiao Tian’s demeanor—always looking down upon the world, handling numerous skilled foes with ease—suddenly changed.

He abruptly raised the gun, pointed directly at the Sunglasses Boss, and shouted urgently:

"Take your gun away!"

Though it startled the Sunglasses Boss, he quickly noticed that compared with the ease of taking down his henchman earlier.

Now, Xiao Tian appeared somewhat nervous.

Lin Bingxuan also began to notice something seemed off with Xiao Tian.

He seemed to be afraid of something!

What could make the formidable Xiao Tian feel fear?

No one knew, but it was a scene deeply buried in Xiao Tian’s heart for many years.

An image almost identical to the current situation.

When the Sunglasses Boss pressed the gun against Lin Bingxuan’s head, Xiao Tian suddenly felt dizzy, and that scene surged forth.

In the vision, he was confronting a criminal, the gun aimed at his girlfriend—Han Yan!

Back then, he was even more spirited and extremely confident in his shooting skills, with everyone around trusting him, including Han Yan.

When the criminal used Han Yan to threaten him, he fired without hesitation!

Bang—

The bullet shot out and successfully pierced a body.

However, when he turned to see who he shot, his whole world shattered!

It was Han Yan!

Xiao Tian mistakenly judged the criminal’s strength, and in the second the bullet flew, the criminal swiftly used Han Yan as a shield!

He had personally killed his beloved girlfriend!

Killed Han Yan!

The scene before him was so reminiscent of that year!

He looked at Lin Bingxuan and then at the gun pressed against her.

Xiao Tian began to tremble all over, cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and the gun in his hand was unstable.

He couldn’t fire, he didn’t want to kill another woman who loved him!

Inside, Xiao Tian repeated this sentence to himself over and over.

"Xiao Tian, what’s wrong with you?"

Xiao Tian’s drastic change of emotion was fully seen by Lin Bingxuan and the Sunglasses Boss, with Lin Bingxuan obviously worried.

Meanwhile, the Sunglasses Boss was overjoyed, as Xiao Tian, with destabilized resolve, posed much less of a threat.

He thought that the current Xiao Tian was no longer his match, but he dared not relax his vigilance.

It could be seen that Xiao Tian was changing because he saw the gun against Lin Bingxuan’s head.

With this thought, the Sunglasses Boss felt smug, thinking he had grasped the reason for Xiao Tian’s emotional shift.

"Little cop, put the gun down, or you know what will happen." The Sunglasses Boss pointed the gun at Lin Bingxuan.

As expected, Xiao Tian appeared more nervous, with a hint of struggle in his eyes.

"Fucking put it down now!"

Under the shout of the Sunglasses Boss, Xiao Tian’s hand began to slide down slowly.

"Xiao Tian, don’t listen to him, putting the gun down will get you killed!" Lin Bingxuan shouted anxiously.

"Shut your mouth, bitch!"

Ignoring the Sunglasses Boss’s curses, Lin Bingxuan looked intently at Xiao Tian, "Xiao Tian, believe in yourself, I believe there’s nothing you can’t overcome, you must believe in yourself!"

"Damn it, if you don’t shut up, I’ll kill you immediately!" The Sunglasses Boss angrily waved the gun in his hand.

He was afraid Xiao Tian would snap back, constantly checking Xiao Tian’s reaction, and fortunately, Xiao Tian seemed not to have recovered, his gun slowly lowering to the ground.

The Sunglasses Boss sneered, especially when he saw Xiao Tian’s gun about to touch the ground, his grin turned ferocious.

The gun in his hand swiftly moved, aiming directly at Xiao Tian, and he shouted loudly: "Damn it, die!"

Bam—

A gunshot rang out, the acrid smell of gunpowder filling the air.

"No!" Lin Bingxuan’s heart clenched painfully, unable to breathe.

She thought Xiao Tian was dead!

Thud—

But when the body of the Sunglasses Boss collapsed at her feet, her tear-filled eyes cleared up, and she saw ahead, Xiao Tian was still standing there.

Xiao Tian was still alive! He had fired the shot.

If Lin Bingxuan weren’t tied up, she would have leapt into Xiao Tian’s arms.

Xiao Tian gave Lin Bingxuan a faint smile.

Because of Han Yan’s death, Xiao Tian was in agony for a long time, even attempted suicide, but was stopped by his family.

He was desolate for many years, even fled to another country, severing contacts with anyone familiar, avoiding reality.

In fact, until now, Xiao Tian often found himself escaping reality.

But now, having experienced the same scenario again, he once more confronted a battle filled with immense pain.

He gradually understood that escaping was only a temporary refuge from pain.

If he didn’t face it, this pain would shadow him for a lifetime, impossible to shake off.

This deep regret entangling him was useless, whether for himself or for Han Yan.

It would only hinder his progress and cause harm to those who trust him.

No matter what Xiao Tian did with the past, it was irreparable.

What he should do is to face the past events frankly and face himself honestly.

To become stronger and more mature through this experience, so that he can protect the people around him and not betray the trust others have in him.

Realizing this, Xiao Tian finally broke through the Heart Demon that had haunted him for years.

However, he continued to pretend to put down the gun, luring the boss with sunglasses into relaxing his vigilance. At the last moment, when he lifted the gun aimed at Lin Bingxuan, he suddenly raised it and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

This time, he succeeded! He did not let his woman sustain any injury.

Xiao Tian walked towards Lin Bingxuan, his mind drifting far away.

Han Yan, I’m sorry, if I had this mindset back then, maybe everything would be different...

I don’t know if you feel comforted by the me who has grown now, but I promised you, I will always get stronger for you!

...

Xiao Tian began untying Lin Bingxuan’s ropes.

"Xiao Tian, you really scared me just now, I thought you were... um..." Although Xiao Tian was perfectly fine, remembering the scene just now, Lin Bingxuan couldn’t stop her tears from flowing.

"Bingxuan, you’re worrying for nothing, how could anything happen to me?" Xiao Tian blinked, "Besides, didn’t you just say you believed I was invincible?"

"I... when did I say that?"

"How could you not have said it? You just said there was nothing I couldn’t overcome, isn’t that the same as invincible?"

"No... you heard wrong."

In a moment of urgency, Lin Bingxuan had expressed her true feelings. Now that the crisis was over, thinking carefully, Lin Bingxuan found those words embarrassingly cheesy. How could she admit to that?

"My hearing is just fine, admit it, have you been admiring me all along?" Xiao Tian chuckled.

"I have not!" Lin Bingxuan’s face turned red.

Finally easing slightly from the state of anxiety and fright, Xiao Tian breathed a sigh of relief and chatted briefly with Lin Bingxuan.

In the dark, a Black Shadow laughed silently and coldly. It seemed the little cop was completely off guard now.

However, as the Black Shadow quietly raised the gun in hand, Xiao Tian’s conversational tone suddenly changed, coldly saying:

"Baldy, if you want to live, come out yourself."

The Black Shadow was indeed Baldy!

Hearing Xiao Tian’s words, Baldy shuddered all over and actually walked out from the shadows, out of uncontrollable fear of the strong.

But, Baldy was in hiding to shoot Xiao Tian when the opportunity arose, how could he possibly obey obediently?

Xiao Tian immediately caught Baldy’s reaction and the vicious grin and raised-arm action.

However, how could he give Baldy a chance to shoot?

Bang—

With just a casual shot, it hit Baldy’s wrist.

Baldy howled in pain, falling to his knees.

Xiao Tian walked over in a few steps, grabbed Baldy, and demanded, "Talk! Which faction in Shanghai are you cooperating with?"

Based on previous deductions, Xiao Tian had always suspected that a Shanghai faction was cooperating with this organization, and he already had a suspect in mind.

Now he just needed confirmation from Baldy to root out this local disgrace.

"Damn... why should I tell you?"

Baldy clutched his wrist, glaring at Xiao Tian, then suddenly rolled his eyes, saying, "Unless you let me go, then I’ll tell you."

"If you don’t speak, I’ll send you off to meet your maker right now, better hurry up!" Xiao Tian squinted, tightening his grip on Baldy’s collar.

"Okay... okay... I’ll talk!" Under the immense pressure, Baldy flinched, plus Xiao Tian hadn’t denied his condition. Maybe this little cop would let him go in the end.

Thinking of this, Baldy hurriedly spoke, "It’s Ce Shi, the one providing us intelligence from the Shi Family is Ce Shi!"

As expected, it was Ce Shi, the scoundrel!

Although he’d suspected it for a while, Xiao Tian’s anger didn’t decrease after the confirmation, it only grew.

With an icy expression, Xiao Tian clenched his fist.

"Bingxuan, let’s go."

Xiao Tian said, pulling Lin Bingxuan’s hand, intending to leave.

Not killed? Baldy’s eyes lit up with joy; after all, Xiao Tian was a cop, and in the end, he’d softened into mercy.

But then his eyes darkened. Taking advantage of Xiao Tian’s moment of turning away, Baldy quickly picked up the gun with his left hand, a sinister grin spreading, ready to shoot Xiao Tian.

Bang—

The gunshot sounded.

But it was fired from Xiao Tian’s gun; Xiao Tian was the first to pull the trigger.

With a casual shot, the bullet hit Baldy squarely in the forehead.

Thud—

Baldy fell to the ground, dead.

Of course, Xiao Tian wouldn’t become merciful at the critical moment.

He deeply understood the brutal nature of such villains.

Even if others were willing to spare them, they wouldn’t spare others.

Therefore, Ce Shi the scoundrel, Xiao Tian must eliminate!

And if the Shi Family is aiding and abetting behind the scenes, Xiao Tian won’t let them off easily either.

Thus, the next destination is the Shanghai Shi Family!