Dong!
Almost simultaneously.
A speeding dump truck, as if unable to brake, suddenly swerved and violently struck the right rear of the Audi A8.
More than half of the trunk instantly vanished.
The glass on the right side of the rear seat all shattered.
Fortunately, Xu Lie reacted swiftly and decisively, pushing the car forward by more than a meter.
Otherwise, this impact might have crushed Li Chonglou and Lü Yunxu in the back seat, along with the car, into a pulp.
Even so, the car was spun around several times by the terrifying impact.
It broke through the roadside guardrail and crashed into a utility pole.
Bang!
The entire front of the car was deformed and dented.
Thick smoke billowed from the engine.
The front and side airbags, as well as the curtain airbags, all deployed. Lü Yunxu, clinging to Li Chonglou's leg, trembled uncontrollably.
Li Chonglou shielded her with his body. His back was bleeding profusely, cut by flying plastic debris so deep it exposed bone. A fragment had even pierced his flesh.
A searing pain spread through his brain.
He felt dizzy.
Fortunately, after cultivating the sheepskin scroll's heart method all night, his body was much more resilient than before.
He remained calm in the face of danger and blocked the shattered glass.
Otherwise, Lü Yunxu might have been disfigured on the spot.
"Chonglou, get out of the car quickly!"
Xu Lie's roar brought him back to his senses.
The scene of his past life's car accident flashed before his eyes, so similar to the present.
Back then, Xu Lie had forcibly dragged him out of the overturned car.
He had shielded Li Chonglou with his own body to escape the explosion's aftermath, sustaining severe injuries and falling unconscious.
This time, however, he was the one protecting Lü Yunxu.
His reaction in this situation was not a result of deliberate thought.
It was the instinct of a strong person protecting the weak.
Unthinking, arising from the heart.
"Drag Yunxu out. I'll be fine." Li Chonglou gritted his teeth against the pain and pushed Lü Yunxu out of the car door. Xu Lie caught her.
He then struggled to push open the side door, which had lost its glass, and stumbled out a few meters, collapsing against the wall.
His face was already pale, and the pain from the wound on his back made stars dance before his eyes.
Over there, Xu Lie was helping Lü Yunxu and walking towards him.
Many pedestrians had gathered around, some calling the police, others calling ambulances.
At this moment, the dump truck driver, a middle-aged man wearing a mask and camouflage clothing, pushed through the crowd and approached Li Chonglou.
He bent down and, with a trembling voice that hinted at tears, said, "I... I'm sorry, my brakes failed."
"Please don't blame me, I didn't do it on purpose."
"As long as everyone is okay, I don't need you to compensate me." Li Chonglou looked up at the man and tried to comfort him.
That dump truck had no license plate, and certainly no insurance.
If something happened, he would have to bear the responsibility himself.
This driver was probably afraid of being ruined by the compensation.
Life at the bottom was not easy. Who would risk detention just to drive such a vehicle?
Fortunately, neither Lü Yunxu nor Xu Lie were seriously injured, and the items they had procured were in Donglin. Otherwise, the loss would have been considerable.
All he could do was not demand compensation from the driver.
However, how Lü Yunxu would be handled was beyond his authority.
"You are truly a good person..." The man said gratefully, placing his left hand on Li Chonglou's right shoulder, as if to help him up.
But a glint of sharp intent flashed in his eyes.
Blocking the view of the onlookers, his right palm extended, and a cold gleam appeared in his palm.
It was a dagger.
Li Chonglou jolted, snapping back to reality.
This was not a car accident at all; someone wanted his life!
He had even thought about not making things difficult for the driver, only to realize it was a trap.
Who had set this trap?
Tang Xiuzhu?
Li Chonglou only had time to think of one name before the dagger was at his chest.
It was so close he could almost smell the stench of death.
An intense unwillingness exploded in Li Chonglou's heart.
I cannot die!
If he died here, his mother would surely not survive!
Jiang Yuxin would be forced to repeat the same tragic fate.
The fate of his master and senior sister would also be irreversible.
His existence was no longer just his own life.
He was the key to changing the destinies of a group of people!
No matter what, he could not die!
A powerful will to survive propelled Li Chonglou's consciousness out of its panic, and his arm moved under instinctual command.
His right palm extended, appearing in front of his chest in an instant and pushing against the tip of the dagger, arriving a moment sooner.
*Pfft!*
Almost simultaneously, the dagger pierced his right palm and exited his back.
Finally, it lodged itself in the hilt.
Blood splattered.
"How... how is this possible?" The driver's eyes widened, filled with shock.
He had no idea when Li Chonglou's right hand had moved.
The dagger seemed to have hit a wall, stopping dead, unable to advance another inch.
"I survived." Li Chonglou felt an immense sense of relief.
The surge of adrenaline made him barely feel the pain.
His palm felt numb.
"You're seeking death!" In an instant, Xu Lie's roar came from the right.
He had clearly seen Li Chonglou's situation.
His eyes blazed with fury.
Like a tiger pouncing, he lunged three to four meters, his projectile-like kick landing squarely on the driver's left waist.
The driver was sent flying three meters away, collapsing on the ground, spitting blood.
His face was ashen, and he struggled to get up.
Xu Lie's kick had shattered his spleen.
He wouldn't live long.
The next second, Xu Lie helped Li Chonglou up, guilt etched on his face: "It was my carelessness!"
He never imagined that this man was targeting Li Chonglou.
First, a car accident, then a surprise assassination.
Fortunately, Li Chonglou remained calm and blocked the dagger with his hand; otherwise, he would have been haunted by regret for the rest of his life.
"It's not your fault." Li Chonglou's teeth were clenched so tightly that blood seeped out.
Among the onlookers, those with weaker hearts screamed in terror at the scene, "He's killing someone!"
"Anyone who doesn't want to die, get lost!" Xu Lie, already enraged, glared at the surroundings and roared.
The crowd, intimidated by his gaze, scattered like birds.
At this moment, Lü Yunxu noticed the dagger in Li Chonglou's palm. Her face turned deathly pale, and she cried out, rushing towards him, "Brother Li..."
Li Chonglou's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze like a blade, filled with a chilling ferocity.
Someone wanted to kill him, even at the risk of harming innocent bystanders.
The car accident failed, and then a direct assassination attempt.
He was utterly ruthless!
He staggered to the driver's side.
He slowly pulled the dagger out of his right palm, blood gushing out.
*Slash!*
The next moment, the dagger was plunged into the driver's thigh.
"Who sent you?"
"If you don't say, you die here."
A chilling killing intent emanated from him, making one's blood run cold.
"Ah~~~!" The driver wailed, his eyes filled with despair.
He hadn't expected Li Chonglou to have a skilled bodyguard.
Even if he survived this, he would face death back home.
His spleen was already shattered.
Li Chonglou's threat meant nothing to him.
"A death warrior?" Li Chonglou's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
This driver didn't seem like a professional assassin, but his resilience was far beyond imagination.
Such a person must have someone in his heart that he valued more than his own life.
Family, lover, or friend!
"Do you know who the woman sitting with me is? Lü Yunxu, the daughter of the Lü Group."
Li Chonglou deliberately made his expression look sinister and brutal, threatening, "You can refuse to reveal the mastermind, but she will certainly find out about all your relatives and friends."
"Then she'll find the person you care about most and find any means necessary to make them experience the cruelty of this world."
"She is more than capable of doing so!"
Killing with words was Li Chonglou's specialty.
Indeed, as soon as he finished speaking, the driver's face contorted.
He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll tell you..."
He had never expected that his assassination attempt on Li Chonglou would involve the daughter of the richest man.
This matter was too significant. Angering such a powerful figure would surely stir up a massive storm in Qin Province.
His death was one thing, but his family would suffer a fate worse than death.
The Lü Group definitely had the capability to do so.