Chapter 2

Hedong City is an ancient town with a thousand-year history. Over the years, the protection of material cultural heritage by the state has made Hedong City a beautiful and quiet place, very suitable for rest and recuperation.

In the evening, Xu Yun, as usual, came out for a stroll. He wore a tank top with a picture of a beautiful woman, a brightly colored beach shorts, and flip-flops, all of which were bought from street vendors for no more than thirty yuan. As he walked, he hummed a song with lyrics he had plagiarized from somewhere.

"First admire the graceful lady, then seduce the fiery beauty. Study hard for three years like Emperor Yang of Sui, and all that's left is to share a big bed..."

"Wow, what a slim waist, damn..." As Xu Yun hummed a tune, a woman with a slender waist and a very alluring sway in her hips suddenly caught his eye.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, after wandering around this shabby place for over ten days, I finally found a girl who's somewhat worth looking at..." Xu Yun muttered to himself, following the woman and commenting on her as he walked.

After following her for a few dozen meters, Xu Yun gradually lost interest because he noticed the woman stopped in front of a bar and lit a cigarette.

Xu Yun could guess what profession the woman was in without asking. Damn, what a waste of time!

Just as Xu Yun was about to look for the next target, a soft voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"What are you doing here again?"

The woman's voice was as clear and melodious as pearls falling on a jade plate, filled with a unique charm.

Xu Yun turned his head to look in the direction of the voice. He almost froze when he saw her.

She had a willowy waist, a small, pert bottom, and a high ponytail that made her look especially pure.

Her skin was fair, her features delicate, her eyes filled with a melancholic and lazy charm, and her lips were invitingly red. No matter from which angle you looked, the woman was undoubtedly a top-notch beauty.

However, the top-notch beauty seemed to be in some trouble. To her right stood a man in his mid-twenties with a sly and shifty look, and a few burly, tattooed men were surrounding her.

Xu Yun didn't like to meddle in other people's affairs, but he made an exception for top-notch beauties. He stepped forward toward the beauty.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, please save me! Only you can save me now..." The sly and shifty man looked miserable, begging desperately, almost kneeling before the beauty.

"I am not your sister-in-law, and I don't have any more money to help you gamble. Leave now, or I'll call the police!" The beauty's face turned pale with anger.

As soon as these words were spoken, a murmur of sympathy arose from the crowd watching the scene.

The young man seemed to have known the beauty would call the police. He showed no panic and continued to beg, "No, sister-in-law, you can't just let me die! Just this once, the last time, please help me..."

The beauty was unmoved, shaking off the young man's hand and shouting, "Please don't bother me anymore. After I helped you pay off your gambling debts last time, we were even! You said it yourself!"

"Last time, sister-in-law, just one more time!" The young man's face turned red, and seeing that the woman still refused, his expression suddenly turned dark. He threatened, "Fine, you won't help me, right? Then I'll tell my brother about what you're doing in Hedong City!!"

"You, you're despicable!" The beauty was so angry she almost fainted. The young man had threatened her with the same thing the last two times he came to demand gambling money.

"Ah... What a poor girl," an old man in the crowd sighed.

"Who isn't saying that? This is the third time, and that guy is no good, spit! If this happened to me, I'd kill him!" a middle-aged woman said indignantly.

"Auntie, you're here, why don't you go and beat that guy up?" a balding man teased.

The woman rolled her eyes and whispered, "Do you think I'm stupid? That guy is easy to beat, but the guys behind him look like they're in the mafia. Do you dare to provoke them?"

...

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, and Xu Yun gradually learned the whole story from their conversations.

The top-notch beauty was named Ruan Qing霜, and she ran a medicinal cuisine restaurant. She had a younger brother-in-law named Lü Bao, who was a gambling addict. He often lost all his money and came to Ruan Qing霜 to demand money. When she refused, he would threaten to tell her brother in the countryside about her whereabouts, and he had succeeded several times.

"Sister-in-law, what do you think? Should I call my brother now? I'm sure he'll be very happy to find you..." Lü Bao said with a smug look.

Ruan Qing霜 bit her lips tightly, her face pale, and her eyes filled with tears...

At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd, "How much do you want? I'll pay for her!"

As the voice sounded, the crowd around Xu Yun made way, afraid of being mistaken for the one who spoke.

Xu Yun didn't care, smiling as he walked toward Lü Bao. As he walked, the surprised crowd looked at him as if he were a fool.

Ruan Qing霜 was both surprised and puzzled, even a bit moved, not because the money could silence Lü Bao, but because no one had ever stood up for her in the crowd when she was threatened by Lü Bao three times.

Lü Bao, driven mad by his gambling debts, immediately turned to look, "You, you want to pay for my sister-in-law?"

Xu Yun snapped his fingers, "You heard right. How much do you want?"

"Not much, not much, twenty thousand is enough, twenty thousand!" Lü Bao didn't think about how much money Xu Yun might have, his mind was only on the money.

"Only twenty thousand?" Xu Yun looked disappointed.

Lü Bao's eyes lit up, and he quickly added, "Uh, I made a mistake, I made a mistake, fifty thousand, fifty thousand is enough!"

"Fifty thousand? That's a bit less, I think you might not have enough. How about I give you one hundred thousand?" Xu Yun smiled.

"Really?" Lü Bao was surprised, his face full of flattery as he ran to Xu Yun, saying, "My sister-in-law will pay you back later..."

"You... " Ruan Qing霜 was so angry she trembled, unable to speak.

"Why pay back? No need to pay back." Xu Yun smiled.

Lü Bao, hearing he didn't need to pay back, suddenly felt he had asked for too little. He ran to Xu Yun with a flattery smile and said, "Brother, you're really generous, hehe, you're my real brother from now on..."

"Don't try to be my relative. Do you still want the money?"

"Yes, yes..."

"Don't lend him the money!" Ruan Qing霜 shouted at Xu Yun with all her strength.

Xu Yun smiled, giving Ruan Qing霜 a reassuring look, and then rubbed his hands together, "Catch it!"

"Huh?" Lü Bao was confused. He didn't see Xu Yun take out any money. Where was the money?

Taking advantage of Lü Bao's confusion, Xu Yun swung his hand and slapped Lü Bao's face hard.

Slap—!!!

A sharp sound echoed.

Lü Bao didn't even have time to react. He felt a huge force hit his face, and his body spun and flew out of control.

Seeing this, the crowd all touched their own cheeks, feeling the pain for him.

Cruel! Really cruel! Damn cruel!

Everyone was stunned by Xu Yun's earth-shattering slap, even the burly, tattooed men were dumbfounded. How much force did it take to slap a man over a hundred pounds into the air?

Ruan Qing霜 was the only one still conscious at the scene, not because she was calm, but because she had just recovered from her anger at Lü Bao. Seeing Lü Bao fly through the air, she thought she was dreaming and didn't believe it was real...

"You have a really thick face, it made my hand numb," Xu Yun said, his figure flashing as he pounced on Lü Bao like a tiger. He grabbed Lü Bao's arm and pulled him down hard.

With a thud, Lü Bao fell to the ground, dazed and nauseous.

"One slap for fifty thousand, one more to clear the debt?"

"No, no, I don't want it..." Lü Bao, woken up by the slap, waved his hands frantically.

"That's not good, I always keep my word. If I said I'd give it to you, and you don't want it, that's not giving me face!" Xu Yun said.

"Ah? No, no, no..." Lü Bao was almost scared to death, struggling desperately.

Xu Yun didn't bother to say more, grabbing Lü Bao's collar and lifting him up like a chick. Then he kicked him.

With a thud, Lü Bao screamed as his body flew over the heads of the crowd.

Thud... A heavy landing sound echoed, and Lü Bao landed face-first, his body lying motionless on the roadside.

"So weak, no fun!" Xu Yun shook his head, sounding disappointed.

The crowd shuddered at his words.

Seeing Lü Bao kicked away by the man, Ruan Qing霜 was both shocked and relieved, even a bit hopeful...

Thinking about the absurd arranged marriage her father had set up for her, and how her family not only didn't oppose it but also monitored her to prevent her from running away, thinking about the years of hard work and escape, the harsh words her family said on the phone, and the recent threats from Lü Bao, and the indifference of the crowd, Ruan Qing霜 couldn't control her emotions. Tears quietly slid down her cheeks.