Chapter 21
Within the room were three men and four women. With one glance, you could tell the men were from the underworld, while the women with them were bargirls who drank and sang with them, it was happy hour. A teenage boy was sat huddled up int he corner with both his hands tied to the back. His nose was bruised and swollen, he had clearly been badly beaten, still whimpering softly there.
Seeing the teen, Xu Ming felt anxious as he quickly rushed over, his face filled with pain and pity,”Xiao Fei, what’s wrong, Xiao Fei?”
The man sitting on the sofa had a crew cut and his face was very fierce, dressed in a black T-shirt with a thick gold chain around his neck. Seeing their arrival, he waved his hand and the ladies went out like a school of fish.
His eyes passed over Xu Ming and finally landed on Gu Yan. He asked,”Who’s he?”
“Brother Qing, that’s Xu Fei’s brother’s friend. He came with him to settle the debt.”Said the man at the door. There was still a trace of lingering fear in his eyes when he looked towards Gu Yan.
Brother Qing narrowed his eyes and observed him for a short moment before suddenly turning his head over to ask Xu Ming,”Did you bring the money?”
Xu Ming had ascertained that Xu Fei was fine with only a few minor injuries, and he was finally relieved. He quickly took the black backpack from his back,”Here’s five hundred thousand, it’s yours.”
The man at the side took over the bag, and after confirming it, nodded to Brother Qing.
A look of satisfaction appeared in Brother Qing’s face as he looked at Xu Ming thoughtfully:”This Xu Fei brat seems to be in quite the tough situation at home, but he’s out here for some fun even without money, that’s why he got himself under debt to us loan sharks. I had wanted to clean that boy up well today......But I didn’t think that he’d have such a capable big brother, you got us that five hundred thousand quick.”
Xu Ming’s eyes revealed a look of embarrassment, and he couldn’t help looking towards Gu Yan. If not for him, how could he have gotten five hundred thousand?
Brother Qing watched this scene quietly, and smiled:”Well, now that you’ve paid his debt, we’re reasonable people too. You can take Xu Fei away.”
Hearing this, Xu Ming could finally give a heavy sigh of relief. He was still worried at the very start that these people may turn back on their word and make things hard for them, but he ever expected to free Xu Fei so easily!
He didn’t want to be here for even a second longer, so he began to leave as soon as he helped Xu Fei up.
Gu Yan took a look at Brother Qing, and turned to leave with Xu Ming.
Brother Qing narrowed his eyes as he watched them go down the stairs, and left the bar. Only then did he turn to the man by his side,”Bring the boys, we’re going out tonight.”
The man asked,”Didn’t we already get the money? That kid only borrowed fifty thousand but still ended up paying us five hundred thousand, heh.”
“Five hundred thousand is nothing. If we get that fat little lamb settled, then we might even get five million no problem.”The faint glow of greed roused in Brother Qing’s eyes, and the wicked expression on his face was slightly distorted,”Do you know who that other guy is? If not for him, then I’ll bet we won’t even be able to get five hundred thousand even if we turn that brat into a cripple.”
“That person? Isn’t he Xu Fei’s brother’s friend?”
“That’s no normal friend he has! Don’t you know that new TV series 《Waiting Upon a Sunny Day》 that’s been on the ads recently? One of my girls loves one of the characters in that series to bits, and that guy is one of the supporting characters in that series I was talking about.”
“Really? He’s a star? No wonder he didn’t look like an ordinary guy!”
“Guys like him are on a whole different world compared to us, how would we get to get in contact with him normally? Since he sent himself to our door today, then wouldn’t we have to be sorry for ourselves if we don’t take this opportunity to milk him?”Said Brother Qing.
“But......He doesn’t owe us any money, and he’s a public figure. What if they call the cops......”
“Even if you call the cops, you’re gonna have to bring out some evidence, right? As long as we cover our tracks, who’s gonna find out?”Brother Qing revealed a cunning look. He felt very disdainful towards how timid his men were. He was someone with blood in his hands, and he had done the whole corpse chopping and disposal thing too, isn’t he still fine right now?
What’s more, wealth always comes with risk. It wasn’t like what they were currently doing now was legal, right?
His brethren were still hesitating, and that big guy at the side who had faced Gu Yan came over to say a few words:”Brother Qing, that guy isn’t as easy to mess with as you think, he’s a tough one.”
“He’s just a little man whore, how tough could he be? Don’t be a pussy.”Brother Qing did not agree with him.
Till now, the man could still feel the burning pain in his wrist, and he couldn’t care about how bad he was presenting himself to the other man right now.”I’m serious, even I wasn’t fit to be his opponent.”
Only then did Brother Qing hesitate for a moment. But thinking back to how good of an opportunity this was, as long as he succeeded, he would be able to get enough to trump many days worth of protection money and loan shark earnings. He had been looking down on those petty jobs since a long time ago, if this opportunity passes him by now, then he may not get another chance! Immediately, he shouted:”No matter how amazing he is, isn’t he just a person? Do you really think I can’t deal with an unarmed man?!”
Thinking about it, everyone thought so as well.
..............................
In the quiet streets of the night, Gu Yan sent Xu Ming and Xu Fei to an intersection, but suddenly stopped.
“Why did you stop?”Xu Ming asked while supporting Xu Fei. Xu Fei looked curiously at his brother and this unfamiliar man. He was very handsome and his aura was amazing, when did his big brother find a friend like this?
He was clear about the situation of his family, how could he possibly pull out five hundred thousand from nowhere......Could this be the person who lent his brother the money?
“I have some matters left to do, you should go back first.”Gu Yan smiled faintly. Under the dim darkness, his expression could not be seen clearly.
“Let’s go together, it’s getting really late......It won’t be safe to walk around alone at this hour.”Xu Ming was confused about Gu Yan’s decision, so he tried to advise him otherwise.
“Don’t worry, what can happen? I’m just going to buy something. You should send Xiao Fei to the hospital first, don’t delay things or something might happen.”Said Gu Yan.
Xu Ming hesitated for a moment. He figured that since they’ve already paid back the debt, and even brought his brother out, then they should be out of danger. And Xiao Fei’s injury really did make him troubled. His nose was all bruised and swollen, and there were even traces of blood on his body, he couldn’t even be sure that he didn’t have any internal injuries. How could he be at ease if he didn’t hurry him over to a hospital at once?
Thinking to this point, he had also stopped feeling conflicted. He said sincerely to Gu Yan:”Thank you, I’ll bring Xiao Fei to the hospital then, you should get home soon.”
“Mm.”Gu Yan smiled.
Gu Yan saw Xu Ming and Xu Fei off into a taxi before he turned, and walked back.
Without even having to take a few steps, Brother Qing had already appeared with three other guys, all brandishing machetes, a sneer playing by their faces as they surrounded him, cutting off any path of his escape.
Gu Yan sighed softly, but his eyes showed an immense coldness. Compared to revealing himself, he was more fond of just settling the issue with five hundred thousand, but these people just wouldn’t allow it. They already took the money, but they were still so greedy......
“Well well, what’s our star doing out here alone? Where’s Xu Fei and his brother?”Brother Qing laughed mockingly as he looked at Gu Yan with ill intentions.
“They went to the hospital.”Replied Gu Yan.
“Ha ha ha.”Brother Qing and the other started to break out in laughter,”He really did need a trip there.”
“We brought the money on time but you still hit him, don’t you think you need to recheck your work ethics?”Said Gu Yan indifferently.
“Work ethics? Hey now, isn’t that kid still alive?”Both Brother Qing and his men couldn’t resist laughing anymore, and they looked at Gu Yan as if they were looking at a fool,”If you have the time to worry about work ethics, then why don’t you focus on yourself first!”
Gu Yan shook his head lightly, and a smile was revealed from his lips,”That’s true, there’s no reason for me to have to deal with people like you.”
For them to still make a move on him despite taking the money, these were clearly a bunch of lawless bandits so it was not hard to guess that they were probably here for his money. And since that was the case, then things won’t be very pretty.
“Do you really think you’re the shit, you punk?!”Seeing Gu Yan’s arrogance, Brother Qing’s voice was colder now.
“I have to say you’re quite lucky today. I’ve been working to make myself a better man lately and I don’t really feel like lifting my fist.”Gu Yan chuckled softly, but there was no humour in his eyes,”But perhaps I should say you were unlucky, because you should not have come to provoke me.”
As soon as he spoke, his figure suddenly moved!
The only thing they all saw was a flash of afterimages! The machete in the hands of the two men at the very front were now already in Gu Yan’s hands! While at the same time, they both stumbled onto the ground, their faces twisting with pain! They had clearly opened their mouths, but for some strange reason, they couldn’t make a single sound!
“You——”Everything happened in just a moment, and Brother Qing stepped back involuntarily. Sweat was starting to pour from his forehead. Could he be one of those martial arts masters from the legends?!
At this moment, he really regretted not listening to the advice given by his lackey, this Gu Yan really was a tough one!
The situation had taken a sharp turn! Seeing Gu Yan walking over step by step, Brother Qing suddenly took out the gun from his waist and aimed it at Gu Yan, shouting to him:”Stay away!”Damn it, no matter how amazing he is, he won’t be a match for a gun!
Gu Yan looked into the dark muzzle of the gun, and his interest was perked. Is this that human weapon——the gun?
“Get on your knees! And don’t move!”With the gun now in hand, Brother Qing had more courage now. He had always been one who cared little about his life. Now that he had his gun out, he made a decision to use it! And a fierce light was shining in his eyes!
Gu Yan’s countenance turned cold, and he wasn’t sure what to do now. And so, he continued to walk towards him.
“Don’t move! Didn’t you hear what I said?!”Yelled Brother Qing.
But Gu Yan still walked over, unfazed......He looked into Gu Yan’s cold and emotionless eyes, and could feel the fear rise in his heart. And then, he couldn’t help himself from pulling the trigger!
‘Bang!’ it sounded out. And what followed was silence.
Gu Yan’s right hand had turned into a fist, clenched right in front of his chest. After a short moment, he released his hand, and a deformed bullet dropped to the ground, rolling over to Brother Qing’s feet......
Seeing the bullet by his legs......Brother Qing’s hands started to shake, and his mind was starting to fall into ruins......
This......What kind of monster is he?
He raised his head to look at Gu Yan, and that cold, aloof man just stood there, like a noble prince in the dark night. Warm, and without harm. But in Brother Qing’s eyes, he was scarier than a demon! His hands trembled, and with despair overtaking him, he started to shoot randomly at Gu Yan!
Until finally, he ran out of bullets!
Only to find after, that Gu Yan was still standing there, unharmed.
A flash of light emerged in Gu Yan’s dark eyes, and he laughed,”Now why did you have to go and use your gun? Now I can’t let you go.”