Sixteen years passed in the blink of an eye. Chen Xuan'an had just graduated from college and was enjoying his summer break.
Stepping onto the long-distance bus home, Chen Xuan'an watched the scenery flash past the window, a whirlwind of emotions stirring in his chest. The thought of finally reuniting with his family after all these years filled him with boundless excitement. Having been away for two years, he missed them dearly. Realizing the journey home was still long, he simply closed his eyes to rest.
Just as he was drifting off to sleep, Chen Xuan'an was jolted awake by a commotion. The moment he opened his eyes, the scene before him sent a genuine chill down his spine.
A man dressed in black was holding a knife and bellowing, "Listen up, everyone! Hand over all your valuables right now, or you'll regret crossing me!"
With that, the man in black snatched a handbag from a young woman nearby. The girl gripped the straps with both hands, refusing to let go. Enraged, the man in black slapped her across the face and roared, "Damn it, are you tired of living?"
Terrified by the ferocious robber, the girl instinctively loosened her grip.
The man in black gave a wicked smile. "Smart choice."
He then turned to look at a few other girls sitting nearby. They were already trembling with fear. One of them handed over her handbag while pleading, "Mister, this is all I have. I'm giving it all to you, just please spare me!"
The man in black glanced at her, thrust his hand into the bag, scooped out everything of value, and stuffed it into his own pocket. "You know how to play ball," he sneered. "Now get lost! Don't even think about calling the police—I still have your ID, and if you try anything, I'll wipe out your family. Scram!"
Hearing this, the girl acted as if she had just been granted a reprieve. Nodding frantically, she stammered, "Yes, yes! Don't worry, mister, I won't call the police." With that, she bolted off the bus and sprinted into the distance like a streak of lightning.
Watching her retreating figure, the corner of the robber's mouth curved upward. He turned back to the remaining passengers and issued another threat: "I'll say this one more time: hand over everything valuable you've got, or this will be your fate!" He pointed his right hand at the girl he had just struck.
By this point, Chen Xuan'an could no longer stand by and watch. He exchanged a glance and a knowing smile with a strange man sitting nearby. Almost simultaneously, the two of them stood up and walked straight toward the man in black.
Because the aisle was narrow, the two men could only advance one after the other. Seeing them approach, the man in black brandished his knife and roared, "I'm warning you two, don't stick your noses where they don't belong! Back off, or I'll make you pay dearly!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the stranger hurled a piece of luggage straight at the man in black. Not daring to take the hit head-on, the robber dodged aside. Seizing that split second, the stranger lunged forward for close-quarters combat, and Chen Xuan'an followed closely behind.
The stranger landed a punch on the robber's face, but the criminal was no pushover and lunged forward with his knife. The stranger leaped back a few steps just in time to avoid the blade.
Realizing the situation was turning against him, the man in black spat out a harsh warning: "You two bastards better watch your backs!"
With that, the robber turned to flee, but Chen Xuan'an intercepted him, blocking his escape route. Cornered and panicked, the man in black saw Chen Xuan'an blocking the door, glanced back at the stranger approaching from behind, dropped the handbag, let out a furious roar, and lunged knife-first straight at Chen Xuan'an.
Chen Xuan'an stepped swiftly to the side, his left hand clamping down hard on the robber's right arm while his right fist struck squarely against the bridge of the man's nose. By then, the stranger had closed in from behind.
Taking advantage of the pain, Chen Xuan'an spun behind the robber with lightning speed and executed a textbook sweep kick. The man in black grunted in agony, and before he could react, his feet left the ground and he crashed heavily onto the floor.
Dazed and seeing stars, he barely had time to move before Chen Xuan'an drove a knee into his back and pinned his arms down, neutralizing every desperate attempt to break free.
Just as Chen Xuan'an had the robber subdued, he remained completely unaware of a woman approaching him from behind, holding a brick.
"Watch out!" the stranger shouted at the top of his lungs.
But it was already too late. A middle-aged woman brought the brick down hard against the back of Chen Xuan'an's head. In an instant, the world spun wildly around him; all his strength drained away, and he collapsed to the floor.
Seeing Chen Xuan'an go down, the man in black clutched his bleeding nose, picked up his dropped knife with one hand, and said through clenched teeth, "Not so tough now, are you, you little bastard? Let's see how I finish you off!"
Watching the blade draw closer and closer, Chen Xuan'an closed his eyes in despair. Yet after a long moment, the expected pain never came. Curious, he opened his eyes.
A young woman in a white dress was holding the man in black suspended by the throat with a single hand, lifting him effortlessly into the air despite his frantic struggles. His legs flailed wildly in emptiness. As the seconds ticked by, his face flushed deep red and he began to gasp for air. Only then did the girl release him.
She tossed him aside casually. The robber slumped onto the floor, gulping greedily for air as he stared in sheer terror at the slight young woman.
After a long time to recover, the man in black stammered, "You... you're a Martial Artist too!"
The girl in the white dress replied indifferently, "Just a low-level dabbler. Hmph, running into me—you must have used up eight lifetimes of bad luck."
Upon seeing the menacing robber reduced to utter helplessness by this sudden arrival, the middle-aged woman trembled uncontrollably. Yet she refused to abandon him. Hesitating for a few seconds, she picked up the dropped brick and hurled it straight at the girl.
Watching this, Chen Xuan'an was frantic with worry and wanted to warn her, but his lips merely twitched without producing a sound.
The brick hurtled toward the crown of the girl's head, but she paid it no mind. With a casual swipe of her hand, the projectile was cleaved cleanly into several pieces. Seeing that she was completely unharmed, Chen Xuan'an felt the heavy stone in his chest finally lift—just before his vision went entirely black and he lost consciousness.
Seeing that Chen Xuan'an had passed out, the girl delivered a single slap that knocked the man in black cold, tossing him aside like refuse. As for the middle-aged woman, she was already pinned helplessly to the ground by the surrounding crowd.
The girl hurried over to Chen Xuan'an, pressed her fingers to his pulse, and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She pulled out her phone and dialed the emergency services. Initially, she had no intention of waiting for the ambulance to arrive, but upon noticing a scar on Chen Xuan'an's left hand, she frowned instinctively and murmured, "How can this be? Could it be...? Never mind, forget it for now—I'm taking him with me."
Ignoring the stares of onlookers, she scooped Chen Xuan'an up bridal-style. Just as she turned to leave, the stranger stepped forward to block her path.
"Wait! Leave him here and let the doctors handle it," the stranger said. "We've already called an ambulance; they'll be here soon."
The girl replied coldly, "This young lady has her own reasons for what she does. Step aside, or you'll suffer the same fate as him." She glanced down at the unconscious robber on the floor, causing the stranger to instinctively retreat a few steps.
With a cold sneer, the girl said, "Coward." Then she turned and slowly vanished from the crowd's sight.
Powerless to stop her, the stranger watched her retreating figure and sighed to himself, "Ah, brother, it's not that I didn't want to help you—I honestly had no way. I just hope you won't blame me."
A short while later, the wail of approaching police sirens and ambulances echoed from down the road. Glancing around, the stranger melted into the crowd and disappeared.