Chapter 35: To Me, Six Leaves Seem a Bit Fragile

The right hand holding the teapot finally began to tremble uncontrollably, and a cold sweat broke out again in dense beads on Hirofumi Watanabe’s forehead.

In his heart, he screamed, “Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Yet what greeted him was the very reality he least wished to accept. The sound of footsteps—“tap, tap, tap”—grew louder and clearer, until at last, as the footsteps faded, a young man in a suit appeared at the doorway of the office.

At first glance, he looked no different from any other salaryman commuting in the island nation. But upon closer inspection, one could distinguish the difference—his suit was impeccably tailored, elegant in its simplicity, clearly a bespoke piece of high quality.

His hands were tucked leisurely into his trouser pockets. He regarded Watanabe with calm composure, a faint, almost imperceptible smile hovering at the corner of his mouth. “You’re the president of Rokuyo.”

“I am Xiao Kaitian.” With a simple introduction, he drew out a red pack of Marlboros and lit one for himself.

He exhaled slowly—a swirl of smoke drifted out, the pungent scent of tobacco and nicotine swiftly overpowering the delicate aroma of ume tea that had filled the room. Watanabe’s face turned ashen. Gripping the armrest tightly, he forced himself to stand.

“The Crow and the Hummingbird…” he mumbled, his voice trembling.

Xiao Kaitian flicked the ash from his cigarette nonchalantly, answering, “I didn’t kill them, but they’re more or less finished.”

“I’m sorry, but to me, Rokuyo is just a little too weak.”

Terror flashed in Watanabe’s eyes, but then anger followed—after all, he was a member of the nation’s Bounty Hunters’ Guild. How could he allow a man from Hantang to act so brazenly? He turned his gaze to the Coyote.

The Coyote, since the moment Xiao Kaitian had appeared, had straightened his back, hands resting on his knees, sitting motionless. When Watanabe’s gaze swept over him, he slowly rose, sighed, and turned to fix his eyes on Xiao Kaitian.

Through a haze of smoke, Xiao Kaitian met the Coyote’s gaze with a smile.

“Young man, smoking isn’t a good habit,” the Coyote remarked blandly. “Why not calm yourself and enjoy a cup of tea?”

Xiao Kaitian shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I’ve never grown used to the tea here.”

“That’s truly a shame.” The Coyote shook his head. “Perhaps you simply haven’t broadened your horizons enough. I have the pride of my establishment here—why not give it a try?”

Xiao Kaitian withdrew his hands from his pockets and grinned. “Since it’s your pride, I suppose I should see for myself.”

“Such a pity,” the Coyote repeated, shaking his head. Under the light, his bald scalp gleamed, almost dazzling. “Judging by your skills, to have defeated both the Crow and the Hummingbird together, you must be at the peak of the Yellow Rank.”

Xiao Kaitian regarded him in silence, neither agreeing nor denying.

“For someone from a reputable family to reach this level is no small feat,” the Coyote sighed. “But youth is always brash and fails to know its limits. Since you have your sights set on the pride of our establishment, then please—taste it for yourself.”

As he spoke, his entire aura changed in an instant; a sharp gleam seemed to flash in his eyes, his muscles tensed, and a surge of power radiated from him. “It’s unfortunate—though Rokuyo is a D-rank organization, that doesn’t mean we lack C-rank bounty hunters.”

“By your ranking, I would be considered a mid-stage Mystic Rank martial artist!”

His confidence was absolute—once he unleashed his aura, Xiao Kaitian should be struck dumb with fear.

Sure enough, Xiao Kaitian stared in astonishment. The cigarette butt fell from his hand, and he stepped on it to extinguish it.

“I am the Coyote, Rokuyo’s pride. Welcome to the tasting.” As he finished, the Coyote’s muscles tensed and hardened once more.

“That’s it?” Xiao Kaitian sounded almost disappointed. A combat power of 227, honestly speaking, outmatched his own current power of 143 in terms of sheer strength.

But Xiao Kaitian wouldn’t have come knocking if he weren’t confident.

“Arrogant!” The Coyote had barely finished speaking before he moved.

Almost simultaneously—or, in truth, just a hair ahead—Xiao Kaitian also sprang into action.

“Combat Mode: Prediction!”

The moment he activated it, one of the four radiant Hearts of Divine Source spinning around him went dark, and in its place, Xiao Kaitian’s eyes gleamed with an eerie blue light.

This was his battle-specific special skill: Insight. By forcibly enhancing his consciousness with the Divine Source, he could instantly grasp and anticipate his opponent’s tactics and movements. The price: the consumption of one Heart of Divine Source.

Against opponents whose combat power vastly outstripped his own, it was ineffective. But the Coyote was well within his reach.

Once Insight was activated, in Xiao Kaitian’s eyes, every move the Coyote made became a set of data—predictable, calculable.

Conversely, in the Coyote’s eyes, Xiao Kaitian appeared frozen in shock, stupefied, paralyzed.

In a duel between masters, the outcome is determined in a flash. Xiao Kaitian’s momentary daze was the signal for death.

But the Coyote did not hold back—like a wolf, he valued speed and ferocity. His right hand, curled into a claw, shot toward Xiao Kaitian’s throat.

This strike would expose a vulnerability at his right chest—a deliberate bait meant to lure Xiao Kaitian into a fatal mistake.

He was the Coyote—not just a wolf, but with the earth in his name for a reason.

Every opponent the first time they faced him focused on his speed and the ferocity of his attacks. Those who died by his hand, however, realized too late that his greatest strength lay in his defenses, solid as the earth itself.

But dead men tell no tales; no one knew his secret.

As he saw Xiao Kaitian’s fist fly, just as he expected, toward his right chest, a cold smile crept across his lips.

He’s taken the bait! This punch would do him no harm—on the contrary, as the attack landed, it would be the perfect moment to kill Xiao Kaitian.

A worthy opponent, likely at the pinnacle of the Yellow Rank, with excellent instincts.

Yet… compared to himself, still a grade below.

His eyes blazed with fervor, and his claw struck out with all his might.

But—in the instant their figures crossed, Xiao Kaitian vanished. His attack had been a feint; he slipped away like a phantom.

With a crash, the Coyote’s claw shredded the sofa in the office hall into several pieces. But his expression changed—Xiao Kaitian had darted to his side, level with his waist.

The waist, especially the right side, was the weakness in his technique. How had Xiao Kaitian discovered this? Was it just from that one brief exchange? If so, what kind of being had Rokuyo provoked?

“Wait—” the Coyote cried out in alarm, struggling to adjust his stance, trying to shift into a defensive posture.

But Xiao Kaitian would not let such a chance slip by. The moment the Coyote moved, he had already deduced that the right chest was a decoy, and he saw through his opponent’s real weakness. Against one whose combat power exceeded his own, Xiao Kaitian showed no mercy.

He struck—his fist thudding into the Coyote’s waist.

In that instant, both men froze.

The entire exchange, start to finish, lasted less than twenty seconds. Hirofumi Watanabe swallowed a mouthful of bitter saliva.