SL Chapter 8

The moment Tang Zhe’s head hit the ground, he squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

The village had long been abandoned, and the simple dirt-and-stone ground was overgrown with weeds. When the black-clad thugs threw Tang Zhe down, his knees struck a rock, sending a wave of pain so intense that his vision nearly went black.

His waist throbbed with sharp pain as the leader of the black-clad group grabbed Tang Zhe by the collar, his expression menacing. “Where is he?”

Tang Zhe shrank back, trembling, and waved his index finger side to side, indicating confusion.

The leader hesitated, then frowned and said to the person next to him, “Is he mute?”

They hadn’t heard anything about Min Yang being accompanied by a mute, and during their “operation” today, they were certain Min Yang didn’t have an Omega with him.

The leader narrowed his eyes suspiciously before asking, “Are you someone who used to live here?”

Tang Zhe didn’t know why the leader was asking this but nodded cautiously, supplementing with sign language: “I live here.”

Tang Zhe had never been well-regarded by the Tang family and didn’t have any fancy clothes to wear. After spending two or three hours searching through the bushes, he was covered in mud. Claiming to have once lived in the village didn’t seem out of place.

The leader noticed this too, his tone suddenly becoming more amiable. “Well then, little brother, you must know the best hiding spots in the village, right?”

“Why don’t you take us to have a good look? There’s a reward if we find him, but if we don’t—” The leader lifted Tang Zhe, his fingers pressing cruelly into the wound on Tang Zhe’s waist.

Tang Zhe’s forehead instantly broke out in a cold sweat, his lips trembling as he nodded.

The leader finally released Tang Zhe, his demeanor turning harsh again. “Lead the way!”

Tang Zhe, being an Omega, was completely outmatched by the professionally trained Alphas. Despite this, the black-clad thugs remained vigilant.

Tang Zhe walked ahead, appearing to lead the way fearfully, but he was actually observing his surroundings carefully.

He didn’t know if the Alpha had managed to escape, but this was all he could do. Based on the time, if the Alpha had continued in the direction he was headed, he should have left the village by now.

The rain seemed to be falling harder, pattering against Tang Zhe’s raincoat. However, his raincoat had been torn in several places by the thugs, allowing the cold rain to seep into his clothes, making him shiver.

“Where exactly is he?” Adding insult to injury, after circling the village a few times, the leader of the thugs grew impatient. “Are you just taking us on a walk?”

Tang Zhe was about to shake his head, but this time the leader didn’t wait for his response and kicked him squarely in the chest.

The little stammerer was knocked to the ground by the thug’s kick. “Don’t try any tricks with me!”

The cold blade reflected the Omega’s pale, almost delicate face. The fear in the Omega’s eyes seemed to amuse the thug, who clicked his tongue in satisfaction and lifted the Omega’s chin with his finger, suggestively rubbing it.

The sky was gradually darkening, and the rain was growing heavier. This area was remote, and aside from the thugs, there was no one else around. Tang Zhe glanced around discreetly before speaking for the first time, his voice trembling, “P-please… r-remove your hand…”

The thug was momentarily stunned, realizing this person wasn’t mute after all. But before he could react, a pair of slender, pale hands landed on his shoulders. In the next moment, the thug was sent flying eight meters away, crashing through a nearby fence like a puppet with its strings cut.

Tang Zhe took a deep breath, stood up, and rubbed his wrist. He politely nodded at the thug who had flown away. “S-sorry.”

Tang Zhe continued, “I… I didn’t… didn’t w-want to… to hurt you…”

Tang Zhe added earnestly, “I w-wish… for w-world… p-peace.”

Then he tilted his head, looking at the other black-clad thugs, as if seeking their opinion, “C-can we… c-continue… our walk now?”

The other thugs: ???

Their hesitation lasted only a second before the well-trained thugs rushed at him. Tang Zhe’s punches were swift, employing basic combat techniques to devastating effect—punches, kicks, chokeholds, and locks, each move more ferocious and precise than the last, targeting their most vulnerable points.

Soon, the thugs were sprawled on the ground, defeated.

Tang Zhe’s forehead was damp with sweat—not from fear, but from heat.

He picked up the leader of the thugs, retrieved the cold blade, and lightly slapped the thug’s face with it, his expression stern as he commanded, “D-don’t… d-don’t t-tell anyone… about t-this.”

The thug trembled and nodded, “O-okay.”

The thug added respectfully, “B-big brother.”

Tang Zhe frowned, not liking the title, “I-I’m… n-not… your b-big brother.”

The thug gave him a knowing look, “I know, big brothers like you prefer to stay low-key, heh heh.”

Tang Zhe pursed his lips.

The thug introduced himself, “Big brother, we’re from the Black Mercenary Group. If you don’t mind, we’re looking for a leader!”

The thug’s eyes sparkled as he looked around at his comrades, “Isn’t that right?”

The other thugs chimed in, “Yes!”

Tang Zhe: …

It wasn’t until later that Tang Zhe learned that when he encountered the thugs, they had just split off from the largest mercenary group in Country A. They had taken on their first mission independently, only to run into someone as tough as him.

In short, he had beaten them into submission.

But that’s a story for another time. Of course, Tang Zhe didn’t tell Min Yang all these details.

Tang Zhe only picked out the parts where he had tried to lead the thugs in circles, to prove that he could indeed protect others, and then he took Min Yang’s hand.

Tang Zhe said, “So… I-I c-can… p-protect… you…”

Even though he really didn’t know much, and what he did know was quite different from what other Omegas might be good at. Comparing himself to them, he felt quite inadequate.

---

Be my Patron ~ Buy me Ko-Fi
✨Be a part of the story – support my translations✨
✨Buy me some Ko-FI | Paypal to support my effort✨
✨✨Advance chapter at Patreon✨✨