172: Chapter 171 Unexpected Events

Cao Xiao immediately regretted it when he heard Liu Chang's words. He had only placed these firearms here to let the girls vent their anger later and to give them a means of self-defense, allowing them to protect themselves and his family when he wasn't home or when the bodyguards couldn't reach them. Although Li Long was despicable, his crimes didn't warrant death; after all, he was still a cousin related by blood. Even if he were truly heinous, dying anywhere else would be fine, but he couldn't die in Cao Xiao's home. Seeing Liu Chang so aggrieved and pitiful had made him forget her boisterous personality; giving her a gun really wasn't a good idea. He hadn't even given it to her yet, and she already wanted to aim for someone's head. If he really gave it to her, with her irritable temper, she would likely pull the trigger without a second thought the next time someone provoked her.

"Xiao Chang, I'm giving you this gun for protection, not to hurt people. Li Long is detestable, but his crimes aren't capital offenses. Shooting someone is illegal. If you dare to fire recklessly, you can go spend the rest of your life in prison! I won't help you. Furthermore, you're not to take this gun outside, nor can you take it out to play with at home. If you dare to bring it out when it's not an emergency, see if I don't give you a beating! Don't think I'm joking; I really will do it. I'd rather beat you to death myself than let you go to prison!"

If he didn't emphasize the gravity of the situation to Liu Chang and make her fear the serious consequences, this girl would never take it to heart.

"Oh! I get it. I won't fire easily," Liu Chang said, nodding reluctantly, though her eyes never left the gun in the box.

"An Ni, be brave! Look, your sisters aren't afraid." Cao Xiao looked at Liu Chang's behavior and still felt a bit uncertain. He rolled his eyes helplessly, encouraged An Ni, and then said to the girls, "Tell me your favorite colors. I'll fit the silencers for you and then teach you how to use them. In a bit, when we go out, just aim for those bastards' legs. As long as you don't kill anyone, it's fine! When you have time, go to Tianxing Garden and have Brother Duan and the others teach you marksmanship. In a couple of days, I'll apply for gun permits for you. Except for Xiao Chang, everyone else should carry a gun when going out. Keep it hidden, and don't hesitate when you encounter danger. As long as there's a valid reason, I'll take responsibility for whatever happens!"

"Brother, you're playing favorites! Why can they take theirs out but I can't? What if I run into danger?" Liu Chang pouted, clearly displeased.

Cao Xiao spoke bluntly, "I don't trust you! With that explosive temper of yours, no one dares to provoke you normally. If I let you take it out, who knows what kind of mess you'd cause! Besides, these guns are only for self-defense just in case, not for you to show off. As long as you stay well-behaved and don't go looking for trouble, the public security is so good these days—where would danger come from? Alright, stop shaking me. I'll let you vent your anger in a bit. Break both of Li Long's legs for me! Then give him a good thrashing! Here, one for each of you. They're fully loaded, with three magazines each. Check the bullet count regularly. If I find anyone is missing a bullet for no reason, I'll take the gun back immediately. You'll all monitor each other from now on."

Cao Xiao didn't let them pick colors anymore. The people Li Long called had already entered the courtyard. After briefly teaching the girls how to fire and some basic safety common sense, he led them outside.

...

Over thirty burly, fierce-looking thugs holding gleaming blades swarmed in through the courtyard gate. Seeing this, Li Long was overjoyed. He jogged over to a handsome young man of about thirty wearing a casual suit, carrying a chair, and said flatteringly, "Brother Hao, please, have a seat! This family doesn't know what's good for them. I'll have to ask you to take action."

The handsome young man looked at Li Long with some disgust. "Useless. Didn't you beat your chest and say you could handle it? After wasting so much time, I still have to step in! Where are they?"

Li Long's face turned red as he was rebuffed. He strained his voice and shouted toward the house, "Cao Xiao, get your ass out here!"

Seeing that things had reached this point and likely wouldn't end peacefully today, Cao Jingde said to Li Long with a mix of anxiety and anger, "Xiao Long, he's your cousin! If you want money, we'll give you some. Why must you be so heartless!"

Liu Zhigao stood up abruptly, pointing at Li Long and cursing angrily, "You bastard! You think you're above the law just because you know some street thugs? I've already called the police! I dare you to try and touch me!"

"Call the police! Hahaha! You probably don't know who our Brother Hao is! With Brother Hao here, which cop would dare to blindly butt in?" Li Long said, looking at Liu Zhigao with a mocking expression as if he'd heard a joke, pointing proudly at Brother Hao behind him.

At some point, Li Fengqing had grabbed a kitchen knife from the kitchen. Brandishing the knife, he rushed toward Li Long while shouting in grief and indignation, "You animal! How did I raise such an animal! I'll hack you to death!"

"Stop! Old man, if you come any closer, I won't be polite! You're not my father! I don't have such a useless father!" Seeing his father's crazed state, Li Long was startled and backed up several steps.

Hearing this, Li Fengqing couldn't help but stop in his tracks. He looked at Li Long in disbelief, put down the kitchen knife, and laughed out of sheer anger. "Fine! Hahaha! At this point, I'm not afraid of losing face anymore! Listen carefully: you are indeed not my biological son! I suffered an injury to my lower body when I was young and couldn't have children. When I met your mother, she was already pregnant with you. I didn't have a son, so I treated you as my own. I worked hard to raise you for over twenty years. It's fine that you're a failure, but now you actually disown me and call me useless? If it weren't for you, would our family be in this state? Ha! You're just an ungrateful white-eyed wolf, a bastard!"

Li Long was also stunned upon hearing Li Fengqing's words.

"Old man! Get lost!" Brother Hao barked impatiently at Li Fengqing. Then he gave Li Long a kick and said with disgust, "And you, stay away from me, you disgusting piece of work who's more trouble than you're worth!"

...

On the other side, Cao Xiao led the girls quietly to the corner of the living room stairs, hiding there to observe the situation. Hearing his uncle's words, the last bit of hesitation and pity in Cao Xiao's heart vanished. Since there wasn't even a drop of blood relation and his uncle no longer recognized him, Li Long wasn't worth a damn as a relative. He had endured Li Long for all those years in vain. If he had known from the start, he wouldn't have put up with even a bit of Li Long's nonsense. Even if he hadn't dealt with him for his uncle's sake, he certainly wouldn't have humored him so many times. That animal's words were never kind, especially after his father fell ill; he had subjected him to verbal abuse several times. Now that the truth was out, he would naturally settle all accounts, old and new, and give him a severe lesson!

Seeing Brother Hao about to walk toward the unmoving Li Fengqing, Cao Xiao immediately pulled out his golden Tianxing 1 from behind. He attached a silencer to the muzzle, chambered a round, and aimed at Brother Hao's thigh. He whispered to the girls behind him, "Girls, watch how I fire first."

"Puff"

A faint gunshot rang out.

"Argh~!"

"Ah!"

Brother Hao let out a scream like a slaughtered pig. A small hole appeared in the thigh of his right trouser leg. His center of gravity became unstable as he walked, and combined with the bullet's impact, he fell to the side. The desert eagle had strong penetrating power, and the optimized version, the Tianxing 1, fired even more powerful bullets. After piercing through Brother Hao's thigh, the bullet still had enough momentum to hit the leg of a thug behind him.

"Ah!"

"Someone's shooting!"

"Protect Brother Hao!"

"Brothers, use the scatterguns!"

"Over there!"

Brother Hao and a thug were suddenly injured. The other thugs were surprised for a moment but quickly reacted. Not only did they locate Cao Xiao, but several of them also dropped their knives and pulled out firearms hidden in their clothes: three pistols and five sawed-off homemade hunting rifles, commonly known as scatterguns. These weapons, which fired buckshot, were invincible in close combat. Because the barrels were too short to constrain the iron pellets, a single shot could fire hundreds of pellets, covering a large area in front of the shooter.

Cao Xiao was already well aware of the weapons these people were carrying. When he heard Li Long mention them, he had immediately detected their tracks. To be safe, he had sabotaged their firearms the moment he discovered them. Although these guns were disabled, Cao Xiao was afraid of scaring his parents and the others, so he prepared to take down the gunmen himself.

Bang... Crack...!

Before Cao Xiao could fire, gunshots rang out from outside the living room. It was obvious the bodyguards had taken action. Judging by the sound, they weren't just using assault rifles; that lunatic Li Quanshuo had even used a large-caliber sniper rifle. A 12.7mm bullet could blow a massive hole in someone's thigh with a single shot.

"Argh~!"

Heart-wrenching screams suddenly filled the living room. In less than ten seconds, all the thugs except for Li Long were on the ground, clutching their legs and howling in pain. Those hit by the sniper rifle simply fainted.

The bodyguards' sudden intervention had resolved everyone in a short time, completely disrupting his plan. Cao Xiao didn't even have time to stop them. However, he knew the bodyguards hadn't done anything wrong, so he couldn't criticize them. On the other hand, that fellow Li Quanshuo wasn't even outside the villa; he was in his own home in one of the residential buildings in the complex. Relying on his excellent marksmanship, he sat in a chair by the window, holding his young daughter with one hand and firing with the other. Seeing this, Cao Xiao was fuming. He took out his walkie-talkie and cursed, "Li Quanshuo! I'm docking your pay! My floor tiles! Aren't you afraid of hitting someone else, you bastard!"