American Comics: Tales of Cultivator

Chapter 197: Encounter

Tang Song sat inside the car, playing with a jade pendant in his hand. It was a round jade pendant the size of a coin, with distinct black and white sections that resembled two Yin-Yang Fish swirling and coexisting.

Qi was originally one, and the interaction of Yin Yang Qi gives birth to all things.

The "Suwen: Great Treatise on the Manifestation of Yin and Yang" states: "Clear Yang is Heaven, turbid Yin is Earth. Earth Qi rises to become clouds, Heaven Qi descends to become rain. Rain comes from Earth Qi, clouds comes from Heaven Qi."

"Heaven Qi" is the clear Yang Qi of the natural world, and "Earth Qi" is the turbid Yin Qi of the natural world.

Yin Qi is turbid and heavy, descending and condensing into tangible objects, forming the colorful Earth; Yang Qi is clear and light, ascending and dispersing into the formless Great Void, forming the vast sky.

Different from the Yin Yang Qi of Heaven and Earth, the Killing Intent that Tang Song condensed was Life and Death Qi. The living are Yang, and the dead are Yin.

The Yin Baleful Qi nurtured by a Corpse at the Pure Yang True Immortal level, even in the Jambudvīpa World, was completely comparable in quality to high-grade Earth Vein Sha Qi.

But the ultimate reason Tang Song chose to condense this Yin Yang Qi into Killing Intent was because this Celestial's Corpse gave birth within its abdomen. From the extreme Yin, the purest trace of Life Qi was born, and the two merged.

Through the mechanism of Life and Death, Yin Yang Life and Death Qi was nurtured.

A female Corpse giving birth was already one in ten thousand, requiring the right Time, Place, and People, let alone a True Immortal at the Pure Yang Level.

Which of these female Immortals who had already Achieved Immortality wasn't free and unfettered? Even those with Dao Companions wouldn't suddenly have the whimsical idea of giving birth at such an "advanced age."

The chance of this kind of Yin Yang Life and Death Killing Intent being born in the Jambudvīpa World was only one in a trillion.

For Tang Song, it was a great Opportunity.

Tang Song's fingers flicked lightly, and the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant rotated at his fingertip. The black and white Qi flowed from his fingertip into his body.

The weight of the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant was also decreasing little by little. This Yin-Yang Fish was not a real jade pendant, but concentrated Yin Yang Life and Death Killing Intent.

When he first got this jade pendant, it was as big as the mouth of a tea cup. After two months, it was only the size of a coin.

Once this coin was completely consumed, Tang Song's Sha Condensation would truly reach Great Completion! Boom! As the motorcade was driving down the center of Fifth Avenue, boom, accompanied by a series of violent explosion sounds.

Several cars were frantically driving against traffic. It should be said that one blue car was frantically escaping, while the other cars were frantically chasing it from behind.

From the several pursuing cars, people occasionally poked their heads out and unleashed a frantic spray of bullets at the blue car in front.

Looking at the assault rifles held by these unidentified individuals, Tang Song merely tilted his head slightly. This is free America; gun battles happen every day. Gun battles are a very normal thing.

Perhaps the guns in the hands of these Bandit were even bought from him. After all, his Subordinate monopolized more than half of the arms business in the entire New York Underworld.

Seeing Gunman appear, the motorcade, which was originally in a single file, began to change formation. Several bulletproof Mercedes-Benz cars sandwiched Tang Song's Rolls-Royce vehicle in the middle.

The Bodyguard in the car also skillfully took out their firearms from under the seats, ready to protect their Boss at any time.

The Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant rotated at Tang Song's fingertip. He watched the scene of pursuit and battle outside the car window with interest. The person driving the blue car was a beauty Tang Song found quite familiar.

Black hair and blue eyes, a cold and stunning face, deep contours, and a heroic and spirited demeanor. Her curves were outlined by a blue-gray uniform.

Agent Hill!

Tang Song watched the woman drive while shooting backward. Her skilled marksmanship and calm demeanor.

It was none other than Maria Hill, a Senior Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., whom he had met once on the super cruise ship.

Without Nick Fury, he didn't expect a Senior Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be reduced to being chased.

Tang Song had no intention of intervening. He wasn't a saint, nor was he a lovesick fool who couldn't walk when he saw a woman.

The people chasing Hill were, needless to say, from Hydra. He had no direct conflict with Hydra.

Baron Strucker could testify to this.

Not long ago, Baron Strucker visited Boss Tang in New York, and the two had a cordial Meeting.

Accompanied by Kane, this former German nobleman specifically visited Tang Security Company's Training Camp in Siberia, Russia,

and affirmed the strong quality of the Mercenary and Hitman trained by Tang Security Company.

The two sides finally signed a Cooperation agreement, including personnel training and employment, with the involved business funds reaching eight figures.

Boss Tang could now confidently say, with his hands on his hips, that he was barely an outer Organization of Hydra.

Therefore, Tang Song, who was juggling multiple affiliations, didn't want to get involved in the conflict between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, both sides were important to him.

And no one was paying extra, so why bother! As for someone saying Boss Tang had framed Hydra before, who saw it?! (Threatening face)

Tang Song waved his hand to signal the Driver, and the Mercedes-Benz motorcade continued to move.

Unfortunately, New York was already a traffic-congested City, and the motorcade driving against traffic caused multiple car accidents.

For a time, the entire Fifth Avenue was severely congested.

It was clear that when faced with a traffic jam, even Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce were just as stuck.

Tang Song waved his hand, refusing the Driver's idea of calling a helicopter, and sat quietly in the car, playing with the Yin-Yang Fish.

He wasn't in a hurry, so he would let that Daredevil wait a little longer.

On the other side, Agent Hill, who was stuck in traffic, was using her car as cover and engaging in a fierce gun battle with the Men in Black chasing her.

Bullets flew everywhere. The thin metal of the cars couldn't block handgun bullets, let alone assault rifles. Many unlucky people were directly injured or killed by stray bullets.

Agent Hill, relying only on a handgun, quickly fell into a disadvantage and could only fight and retreat.

Whether it was bad luck or good luck, she was getting closer and closer to Boss Tang's motorcade.

"Huff... huff...!"

Agent Hill leaned against the wheel hub of a bulletproof Mercedes-Benz car, closed her eyes, and regulated her breathing, trying her best to recover her physical strength.

She didn't expect to be so unlucky. Following the Director's instructions, after leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., she had gone into infiltration in New York.

Moving from the open to the shadows, she waited for an Opportunity to steal Intelligence from Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D.

Based on her understanding of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operating model over the years, plus having several of Nick Fury's Safe House she could use alternately, her infiltration in New York went smoothly. She even destroyed several of Hydra's Secret Stronghold.

However, she never would have thought that someone she hadn't paid attention to before would track her down.

Ray Breslin! The Security Expert she had used and imprisoned in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Prison. He had somehow escaped from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Aircraft Carrier Prison.

And he had brought out a Mutant skilled in tracking, who then followed the clues to find her.

Although Hill dealt with the two using force, it alerted Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent.

Thinking of this, Agent Hill gripped the gun in her hands. Just as she was about to turn to check the location of the Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, click-clack, a series of crisp, familiar sounds suddenly rang out in her ears.

Agent Hill gripped her gun alertly and turned sharply. Several dark muzzles extended from the lowered car window of the Mercedes-Benz, pointing directly at her forehead.

"Agent, put down your gun and come with me. Our Boss wants to see you!"

The front passenger seat car door of the Mercedes-Benz opened, and a Bodyguard with a gun got out. He pointed his handgun at Hill and waved her over.

Seeing the guns pointed at her, Hill could only Obediently put her gun on the ground and walked towards the Rolls-Royce the Bodyguard indicated.

"Long Time no see, Agent Hill!"

The Rolls-Royce's car door was wide open. An Asian youth was leisurely eating potato chips, staring at her with a gaze like he was watching a play.

"Mr. Tang?" Hill's face showed a surprised expression, but Tang Song could see a hint of unnaturalness in her expression.

"Hmm, what a coincidence. Agent Hill, are you being chased for debt?" Tang Song crunched on his potato chips, raising an eyebrow as he sized up Hill.

Agent Hill gave a wry smile and looked back at the Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent who were closing in on the motorcade: "Mr. Tang, I'm being chased right now—"

"Being chased!?" Tang Song put down the potato chips, carefully wiped the grease from his fingers with a paper towel, and casually picked up a limited edition old-fashioned gold-plated Winchester shotgun from the front passenger seat.

Under Hill's surprised gaze, Tang Song skillfully loaded 12-gauge red hunting shells into the chamber.

Click-clack, Tang Song finished chambering a round in the shotgun, then swung the muzzles to point at Agent Hill standing in front of him.

"Suggestion: Could you move away from my car?"

Maria Hill looked at the muzzles in front of her, feeling somewhat at a loss. This was completely different from what she had imagined.

...............

"Tony, is this what you call help?!"

In a Secret Base located in a cave in New Mexico, Nick Fury looked at the flashing muzzles on the screen, then turned his gaze to the virtual projection beside him.

Beside Nick Fury, the projected image of Tony Stark shrugged his shoulder:

"Things seem to have gone beyond my expectations. From what I understand, Tang has always been a gentleman who cherishes beauty!

He has a lot of beauties around him. Maybe Agent Hill isn't his type, who knows!"

"What do we do now? Hydra is chasing her closely, and we don't have any extra manpower in New York right now!"

Nick Fury frowned. Hill's encounter with Hydra wasn't something they had planned; it was an accident.

It was just that they truly didn't have the manpower to reinforce Hill right now. Tony Stark was being secretly monitored by Hydra, and Nick Fury suspected that Hydra was using Hill as bait.

So even if he had a few bases he could use, Nick Fury wouldn't easily deploy them.

Especially at this critical moment when he had faked his death and moved from the open to the shadows.

He wouldn't let Alexander Pierce, his old superior, catch his tail because of Hill. Tony Stark could only use J.A.R.V.I.S.'s technology to hack into the highway command system and provide technical support to Hill.

While checking the surveillance on Fifth Avenue, Tony Stark happened to see Tang Song's motorcade. He wanted Tang Song to help Hill escape.

That's why Hill "coincidentally" ended up in front of Tang Song's car.

He just didn't expect Tang Song to completely disregard the opportunity for a hero-saves-the-beauty moment that Tony Stark had specially created for him by paralyzing the green lights at several intersections.

Hero saves the beauty? Tang Song wasn't a hero, nor did he want to be one.

As a poor passerby, he didn't want to get involved in a gun battle.

Tang Song clearly saw the Black and White Eagle Logo of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the group of Men in Black through the rearview mirror.

The Agent Hill in front of him was a great beauty, a suitable "cannon stand," but she was also Trouble. Boss Tang was a clean and legal businessman and didn't want to get involved with spies and Agent.

Facing Tang Song's cold muzzles and calm, deep gaze, if she hadn't thrown away her gun, she would have been so angry she'd want to raise her hand and shoot this Man. However, facing the approaching pursuers,

she could only roll on the ground and hide under another car.

"Hey, Tang, that's not what a gentleman should do!"

Tang Song put the shotgun back in the front passenger seat. A voice like an electronic broadcast suddenly sounded from the car's audio system.

"Tony, then what do you think I should do? Hero saves the beauty?"

Tang Song heard Tony Stark's voice coming from the car's audio system and wasn't surprised.

With Red Queen present, even J.A.R.V.I.S. couldn't silently hack into his network. Just now, Red Queen had detected the signal fluctuation from the micro camera on Maria Hill's chest.

Tracking it led to Tony Stark.

Tang Song watched Agent Hill maneuver among the cars and engage with the group of Men in Black through the rearview mirror.

Using the overpass, she decisively jumped into a moving truck on the lane below.

Watching Agent Hill's agile skill, "Well-trained," Tang Song silently evaluated.

"According to Hollywood movie plots, shouldn't you step forward at this time, save the beauty, and finally win her over?"

"That's just movies, Tony! How many beautiful actresses in Hollywood haven't climbed into your bed? You should feel the difference between movies and reality in bed. I don't want to cause trouble for myself!"

"Tang, I need your help!" After joking with Tang Song for a couple of sentences, Tony Stark's voice became serious.

Tang Song played with the Yin-Yang Fish, watching the rapidly rotating Yin-Yang Fish spin faster and faster at his fingertip, like the afterimages of two real black and white Fish swimming—

"Help? Borrowing money? I see Stark Industries' stock has dropped quite a bit because you were invited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for coffee. How much do you want to borrow!?" Tang Song said with a smile, "Just name a number. Given our friendship, anything into the billions, feel free to ask!"

Hearing Tang Song's "sincere" words, Tony Stark hesitated. He wondered if involving Tang Song was a good thing.

However, thinking of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s connection to the Stark Family, and Hydra's various atrocities during the WWII period, Tony Stark finally spoke:

"Tang, Agent Hill and I are friends. I'm tied up right now and want to ask you to help Agent Hill. This is New York, your Turf. I know this is Trouble for you."

Tony Stark heard no sound on the phone call: "If it's inconvenient, forget it. I'll find someone else—"

"Okay, I'll help you!" Tang Song's cheerful voice suddenly came from the silent phone call: "It's really annoying dealing with these Agent, but, Tony, remember, I'm doing this purely for the sake of our friendship—"

"Tang, I owe you a personal favor!"

Ending the call with Tony Stark,

Tang Song watched the group of Men in Black wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. badges knocking on car windows with their identification, one car at a time. They soon reached the front of the motorcade.

"Hello, sir! We are Intelligence Personnel belonging to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). We need you to provide your identity information!"

Tang looked at the middle-aged Agent in front of him.

"Provide identity information? Is this for signing a Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA), or something else? Was that woman just now a foreign spy?"

The middle-aged Agent had a poker face, strictly business, but seeing the group of armed Bodyguard beside Tang Song's car, his tone softened considerably.

"This involves national security. No comment, sir!"

......

New York, Tang Manor. This Manor possessed an Eastern ancient charm.

Small bridges and flowing water, scattered rockeries, subtly making one feel as if they were in a Suzhou garden.

Key points throughout the Manor were filled with Big man in Suits with bulging waistlines.

In the Reception Hall, there was top-quality Bi Luo Chun tea. The tea infusion was fragrant, and several plates of dried fruits and pastries were placed on the Low Table.

Matt Murdock rubbed his slightly bulging stomach from drinking tea. His face under his sunglasses looked at Frank, who was seated beside him, with suspicion.

"Matt, it's almost noon. If Mr. Tang is really busy, we can visit again tomorrow!"

"Matt, Boss just sent word that there was a violent attack on Fifth Avenue, and Boss's motorcade is stuck in traffic. Boss called and asked the kitchen to prepare a feast!"

Frank, who had just gone out, raised his tea cup, using tea instead of wine to express his apologies to Matt Murdock.

Matt Murdock was about to say something.

Deadpool, who was gulping down cola beside him, his eyes lit up, "Feast? Great, what are we eating for lunch?"

Matt Murdock "looked" at Deadpool helplessly and said nothing more.

Having been active on the streets of New York for the past few years, no one understood the strength of Tang Song, this New York Underground Emperor, better than Matt Murdock.

Compared to Kingpin, who used to bare his fangs and flaunt his muscle, this new Emperor of the Underworld was more like a Dragon lurking in the water.

He had witnessed the strength of Tang Song's Cleaner. They were no less capable than ordinary Special Forces, plus Tactical Expert like Frank.

If they could truly Persuade Tang Song to help them deal with Hydra, it would undoubtedly be a great assistance to Natasha Romanoff and the others.

At noon, the chef at the Manor served Chinese dishes like Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions and Eight Treasure Duck.

Frank even specially took out a jar of yellow wine from Tang Song's Wine Cellar to entertain Matt, his "comrade-in-arms" with whom he had fought side by side before. "This wine is called Daughter Red Wine, a kind of Rice Wine brewed by common folk in the East. This wine originates from a custom in a region of the East.

Families with daughters would brew a jar of wine when their daughter was one year old and bury it in the courtyard. When the daughter gets married, they would dig up this jar of wine to entertain friends, so it's called Daughter Red Wine!"

Frank showed off the knowledge he had just learned from his Chinese Master two days ago. For this, he even specifically said this passage in Chinese.

Matt Murdock felt the mellow aroma of the yellow wine in his cup, while Deadpool beside him had already started tearing off a duck leg from the Eight Treasure Duck and devouring it.

On the rooftop of an ordinary apartment building, Agent Hill was bare-chested, opening a medical kit, enduring the pain to treat the wounds on her body. The alcohol stung the wounds, making Agent Hill clench her silver teeth.

This was a Safe House she managed, known only to herself.

Intelligence Department, it seemed every elite Agent would have such a Secret Stronghold known only to themselves.

But Hill didn't expect that one day, she would use this Safe House to hide from her colleagues who were chasing her.

After treating and bandaging her wounds, she made herself a cup of coffee, then opened the Armory under the sofa to replenish her ammunition.

She had exposed her whereabouts, so she couldn't stay in New York and needed to leave quickly. As she filled the magazine with bullets, she thought about how to leave, completely unaware that someone was sitting in her Living Room, drinking tea and admiring her heroic posture of loading bullets.

"Director, I've escaped their tracking, but this Safe House shouldn't be safe for long!"

After filling her firearms magazines, Agent Hill activated her secret communication device to contact Nick Fury.

"Go find Tang Song. Tony has already talked to him. He will provide you with Sanctuary. After the commotion passes, don't stay in New York. Return to Base!"

In the Secret Base in New Mexico, the supposedly dead Nick Fury held the phone, looking at the blue-glowing cube inside the protective shield.

This Base was one of his Safe House. Although using a Base as a Safe House sounded a bit extravagant.

But Nick Fury hadn't been S.H.I.E.L.D. Director for so many years for nothing. After realizing there was a problem within S.H.I.E.L.D., he secretly transferred a portion of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s important supplies to his private Safe House, like this Cosmic Cube.

This was also the reason Director Alexander Pierce was relentlessly pursuing his former subordinates.

The naive Director Pierce thought that Hill and Black Widow's group had stolen the Cosmic Cube and a pile of containment objects after Nick Fury's death.

"Tang, find him!" Hill frowned. Boss Tang's performance on Fifth Avenue had left her with a very bad impression.

Especially when Tang Song pointed the shotgun at her, Hill, who had studied micro-expressions, was certain that the guy would actually shoot.

"Tang Song is the biggest Leader in the Underworld in New York, even the entire Federation. His Intelligence Network and the resources he can mobilize are what we need most right now.

Get close to him, Hill. Hydra's strength is too great. We need to win over every possible strength we can use now. Natasha Romanoff has already sent Matt to contact him. I need you to cooperate with him to win Tang over!"

"Yes, Officer!" Although Agent Hill was somewhat reluctant, she still accepted the order.

"Natasha Romanoff and Storm have gone to Wakanda with T'Challa. I don't have enough manpower on hand right now. When Agent Barton recovers, I'll send him to reinforce you!"

"I can handle it myself, Officer!"

......…

Sofa, Low Table, with a few potted pine and cypress trees nearby.

Tang Song sat on the sofa, holding a cup of green tea, watching from the moment Hill treated her wounds until she prepared her bullets and contacted Nick Fury.

Hearing Nick Fury tell Hill to win him over, Tang Song swirled the tea in his cup, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

(End of chapter)