Chapter 195: The Sickly Persona

Just before heading out, Yi Beimeng dabbed on some powder, touching up his makeup to make his face look even paler. Only then, looking thoroughly weak, did he allow himself to be supported out the door by Shi Yong.

Shentu stared blankly at his actions, his honest face twisted into a complicated expression. He stammered, “Ch-Chief, what are you…?”

Yi Beimeng paused, turned his head, and winked at him, his phoenix eyes curving with a smile. “To fool a few people, I have to keep up the act of being a terminally ill weakling. You get it, right? Remember, keep it a secret.”

Shentu’s jaw dropped in shock. “Then, then before—”

“Yes, just as you’re thinking. Even if you hadn’t brought back that bottle of medicine, my body would’ve been fine. I’m not that easy to kill.”

As Yi Beimeng spoke, a subtle, shadowy glint flashed through his beautiful eyes. Then the corners of his lips curled up in a playful, mischievous smile.

Shentu immediately perked up. “That’s great, that’s great!”

Afraid he’d shouted too loudly in his excitement, he quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes shining as he nodded at Yi Beimeng, promising with his gaze that his lips were sealed and he’d never breathe a word.

Yi Beimeng chuckled softly and strode out. “Let’s go, time to find Miss Yun.”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Shentu hurried to catch up, jogging ahead to lead the way with enthusiasm.

The Longteng base was even livelier than before. The other small and mid-sized factions, who’d been watching from the sidelines, could no longer hold back. They all sent people to check things out, and some even swaggered in with their underlings, making a big show of it, as if afraid no one would notice they were the fat sheep here.

Xun Min, surrounded front and back by his followers, looked every bit the perfect target.

Granny Cuihua, who was manning her stall nearby, spotted an opportunity and was just about to lure this young man over for a little scam when one of the short, skinny guys beside him suddenly shouted, grabbing the arms of two pretty girls passing by.

“Young Master Xun, found them! It’s these two!”

Weiwei, whose arm had been grabbed, shrieked in terror, her lovely face drained of color. “Who are you? What do you want?”

Amei, beside her, also turned pale. She immediately tried to slap away the hand of the short, skinny guy.

But before she could, a tall, burly man next to the skinny one grabbed her wrist. His peach-blossom eyes half-squinted, he leaned in with a teasing grin. “No need to be so feisty, miss. Hitting people isn’t nice. Besides, this little guy here is short, skinny, and tough as nails. You wouldn’t want to hurt your delicate hands, would you?”

As he spoke, he squeezed her wrist with a roguish touch.

“You—!” Amei’s pretty face flushed red with anger as she glared at him, struggling to break free.

But the man’s grip was firm, completely unfazed by her kitten-like resistance. In fact, his flirtatious smile only grew wider.

Granny Cuihua, who’d been planning to fleece a fat sheep, witnessed the whole scene. Her wrinkled face twisted in fury—these punks dared to harass girls on Longteng’s turf? They must be tired of living!

She snatched up a big, dirty broom and charged over, swinging it at the troublemakers. “How dare you harass young ladies in broad daylight! Stirring up trouble on Longteng’s turf, are you? I’ll beat you to death—!”

She cursed as she attacked.

The short, skinny guy, Gong Wei, and the tall man, Wen Lang, were caught off guard and took several hits, their faces smeared with filth from the broom.

“Hey, hey, you crazy old hag, what are you doing? Don’t think I won’t hit back!” Wen Lang’s face darkened. He instinctively let go, raising his arm to block Granny Cuihua’s broom, stumbling backward in panic and shouting angrily.

“Hmph.” Granny Cuihua didn’t chase them too far. Once she saw the two girls were free, she stopped, quickly shielding them behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

Though she’d stopped swinging, she still gripped the broom tightly, glaring at Wen Lang and his crew with fierce eyes, as if branding them as thugs right to their faces.

Wen Lang’s expression soured, his face turning sinister as he glared at Granny Cuihua, grinding his teeth in hatred. This damned old woman.

“What’s going on here? Who’s causing trouble on Longteng’s turf?” Zhong Teng arrived in a hurry with his patrol squad, face dark and eyes sharp as he fixed his gaze on Wen Lang’s group.

Yun Qimu, who’d been checking out the venue with Wu Xingyu and Uncle Mo, heard the commotion and came over as well.

At a glance, she saw the two girls being shielded by Granny Cuihua. Both were pale and shaken, clearly terrified.

Yun Qimu’s elegant brows furrowed slightly as she walked over to them. After all, they’d helped out before—she owed it to them as their boss to show some concern.

But Da Liu and Haozi, the girls’ boyfriends, were even quicker.

“What happened? Are you alright?”

“Did they bully you?”

The two men rushed over, hugging their girlfriends and comforting them anxiously, while shooting Wen Lang’s group hostile looks.

Wen Lang clicked his tongue, sounding a bit regretful as he muttered, “Didn’t expect the two pretty flowers to already be taken. Tsk, they’re good-looking, but their taste is terrible—picked a couple of losers.”

Seeing the crowd gathering, Wen Lang didn’t seem nervous at all. He even called out loudly to Weiwei and Amei, “Ladies, are you sure you don’t want to ditch those losers and come with me?”

“What the hell did you just say?”

“Trying to steal our girls right in front of us?” Da Liu and Haozi exploded with anger, rolling up their sleeves, ready to go three hundred rounds with this peach-eyed punk.

Wen Lang snorted, his handsome, rakish face breaking into a grin as he taunted, “Sure, let’s spar a bit—let the ladies see for themselves who’s really worth following.”

He leisurely pulled up his sleeves, spreading his long fingers as a dense layer of quicksand appeared beneath his hand.

A few people stood between them, but suddenly, a thick layer of quicksand formed beneath Da Liu and Haozi’s feet as well. Just as they were about to charge forward, they felt their ankles tighten—they couldn’t move at all.

Their faces turned an ugly shade of purple as they prepared to use their abilities, but Zhong Teng beat them to it.

“Boom—!” A bolt of lightning struck the quicksand whirlpools at their feet.

The sand instantly vanished. Wen Lang’s palm burned, and he quickly pulled his hand back, hissing in pain.

Before he could recover, a second bolt of lightning shot down, aiming straight for Wen Lang’s head. At that critical moment, a burly man who’d been silent until now raised an iron shield, blocking it just in time."