Chapter Fifty: A Foreboding Sense

Chapter Fifty: An Ominous Premonition

There was no need for Xu Yun to worry about the renovation of the medicinal cuisine restaurant; Lü Feng had brought over more than a dozen seasoned workers and handed the project off directly to Pang Gang.

Qiangzi, too, was up early, connecting with Infantry, whom he’d met through Lü Feng. The car’s price had been negotiated yesterday—one hundred and fifty thousand. After all, it was a stolen vehicle, without registration, and any higher price would make it impossible to sell, even out of province.

With Xu Yun’s approval, Qiangzi readily tossed the car keys to Infantry. After driving a BMW for over a hundred kilometers, switching back to his own Fukang felt like driving a tractor. On the road, Qiangzi’s mind was full of plans to earn enough money to upgrade his vehicle.

Dan Hongning was hardly idle either; Xu Yun summoned him to the medicinal cuisine workshop first thing in the morning.

“I want to set up a pilot project in your Hotpot City, selling Sister Shuang’s ancestral medicinal dishes. We provide the recipes, you find the chefs,” Xu Yun got straight to the point. “We’ll split the profits thirty-seventy. You do the work, you get seventy percent.”

At first, Dan Hongning looked uneasy, but the moment he heard about the seventy percent split, his worries vanished. “No, no, Yun, this recipe belongs to Sister Shuang. How could I take seventy percent? I… I… Thirty percent is enough for me.”

People always look out for themselves. Initially, Dan Hongning hadn’t expected Xu Yun to share profits; he thought they just wanted to use his venue to sell medicinal cuisine. That made him anxious, since he couldn’t refuse, but if he didn’t, he’d also have to pay for hiring chefs.

But Xu Yun offered him seventy percent right away—how could he not be overjoyed? In his delight, Dan Hongning hurriedly pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Xu Yun.

“Chefs aren’t free, so don’t be stubborn. Seventy percent isn’t too much for you. As long as you put your heart into it, I guarantee it’ll be as profitable as your hotpot business,” Xu Yun casually waved away the offered cigarette. “If you agree, I’ll go talk to Sister Shuang now.”

“Brother, let’s split it fifty-fifty. After all, the medicinal cuisine is Sister Shuang’s family recipe, and I’m only providing the venue and manpower. Seventy percent… is too much,” Dan Hongning wasn’t new to the game. He knew that in such matters, propriety was everything.

If Xu Yun and Ruan Qingshuang were ordinary folks begging to sell their medicinal cuisine in his Hotpot City, he would’ve asked for at least eighty percent. But Xu Yun was no ordinary person—he was a formidable figure, the kind that left Dan Hongning speechless.

Now, Dan Hongning was riding with Sister Shuang and Xu Yun, hoping to sail smoothly and sometimes even gain favor with Officer Qin. To do that, he had to make Sister Shuang and Xu Yun happy, and the best way was to let them make money. At least, that’s how Dan Hongning saw it.

“Fifty-fifty?” Xu Yun raised his eyebrow—this guy was smart, not bad.

“Yun, if you think that’s fair, let’s do it. If I end up with more than Sister Shuang, you’d be slapping my face!” Dan Hongning grinned obsequiously. “You needn’t worry about chefs or promotion; I’ll make sure to recommend Sister Shuang’s ancestral medicinal cuisine, even if it means fewer people eating hotpot!”

Xu Yun smiled and nodded. “It’s settled. I’ll have Xiao Fei work with you on this. Any objections?”

“Of course not, Yun. If you’re assigning me staff, I couldn’t be happier,” Dan Hongning felt the clouds parting in his heart. “Brother, I’ll pay Xiao Fei a salary of two… uh, three thousand. Is that alright?”

Damn! My own salary is only a thousand! Xu Yun was completely defeated. He’d boarded Guoguo’s pirate ship—the little miser. Damn!

...

“Achoo! Achoo!” Guoguo had just arrived at the school gate and sneezed twice in succession. She rubbed her little nose, annoyed, and looked up at the sky.

Qiu Yan asked with concern, “Guoguo, are you catching a cold? If you’re not feeling well, let’s ask the teacher for leave and I’ll take you home.”

Guoguo, gazing profoundly at the drifting clouds overhead, replied calmly, “One thought, two curses, three concerns. I sneezed twice, which means someone’s cursing me… Hmph, it must be that chubby kid. He won’t get away with it!”

Qiu Yan frowned, unable to make sense of Guoguo’s mutterings.

...

“Qiu Yan, you can head back,” Guoguo waved goodbye, then hopped her way toward the teaching building.

Qiu Yan watched until Guoguo disappeared from sight. Her gentle gaze gradually turned cold.

Red Scorpion… are you really in Hedong City? At this thought, Qiu Yan’s head throbbed violently. That elusive figure—if he truly was here, it would be a handful.

Known as the Violent Fox Queen in the underworld, Qiu Yan had faced many adversaries over the years. She’d never fought Red Scorpion, but she had clashed with Blue Ghost, who was even fiercer and more formidable.

Her defeat at Blue Ghost’s hands had doomed Feng Qiansui to be purged from Suhang’s underworld.

That man was terrifying. Qiu Yan didn’t know if Blue Ghost had broken through his limits to become a true super master, but with her own first-rate abilities, she couldn’t withstand even ten moves against him.

It was that encounter that left her with the lethal Seven Deaths Palm, which nearly cost her life. Thinking back, Qiu Yan still felt chills. If she hadn’t met Xu Yun, she might have died days ago—not at the hands of Lynx, or Gong You and Qin Hu, but from the internal injuries caused by the palm.

Blue Ghost was someone Qiu Yan could never defeat, and Red Scorpion was Blue Ghost’s premier war general. Many claimed his abilities matched Blue Ghost’s, but Qiu Yan knew that was nonsense—there was only one currency in the underworld: strength. If Red Scorpion truly surpassed Blue Ghost, he wouldn’t be following him.

Even so, Qiu Yan was certain Red Scorpion was a top-tier master, at least ten times stronger than Gong You!

After all, Gong You, a second-rate fighter, had only managed to strengthen his organs, boost his vitality, extend his lifespan by decades, and develop powerful muscle force.

But Qiu Yan herself, as a first-rate master, had already opened up most of her body’s tendons, converted hundreds of strands of force into a single thread of inner strength, and reached the peak of her skills.

Clearly, even among first-rate fighters, there were grades—perhaps Red Scorpion was above the sixth grade, while Qiu Yan knew that, even at her best, she’d only just scraped the fifth. Now, with the Seven Deaths Palm’s internal force removed by Xu Yun and the Nine Treasures Revival Pill guarding her, she was at most at the second or third grade.

Does she really have to rely on Xu Yun? Qiu Yan’s heart was knotted with uncertainty. She knew Xu Yun was a first-rate master, but could he reach the sixth grade or higher?

Even if Xu Yun had such skill, could he really match Red Scorpion? After all, Xu Yun’s name was unknown in the underworld, while Red Scorpion was infamous, even earning an S-level national warrant!

Qiu Yan was a force in the underworld, but had never done anything outrageous outside of it, so she carried no warrant herself.

A dark cloud drifted overhead, and Qiu Yan felt an oppressive sense of foreboding. It weighed heavily on her.

“Qiu Yan?” Suddenly, a voice as clear as a silver bell called out. “Did you bring Guoguo to school yourself today?”

Qiu Yan turned to see Su Xiaoran in her professional attire. “Ms. Su.”

“Where’s Guoguo?” Su Xiaoran smiled brightly.

Qiu Yan glanced toward the teaching building. “She’s already inside, Ms. Su. I’ll be going now.”

With those words, Qiu Yan turned and left. She couldn’t shake her unease. She wouldn’t relax until she had thoroughly inspected the entire perimeter of the school.

“Qiu…” Su Xiaoran wanted to say more, but finally held her tongue. Guoguo was lively, but her sister was cold and distant; Su Xiaoran sensed it clearly whenever she spoke to her.

Never mind. Su Xiaoran smiled faintly, shook her head, and strode toward the office building. A beautiful new day was beginning!

...

The classroom of Grade One, Class One was bustling. A crowd had gathered at the back, watching the commotion.

“Fatso, is it because you couldn’t catch me that you secretly cursed me this morning?” Guoguo looked annoyed, one hand on her hip, pointing at a chubby boy who weighed over a hundred pounds.

The chubby boy snorted, set down his hamburger, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Feng Guoguo, do you know who my dad is? If you don’t agree to be my girlfriend, I’ll tell my dad!”

Guoguo scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t care who your dad is. Do you know who my mom is?”

The chubby boy eyed Guoguo up and down. “Who’s your mom? Even if she’s tough, she’d be scared of my dad. Feng Guoguo, just be my girlfriend. I’ll let you have my hamburger every day.”

With that, he reluctantly picked up the remaining half of his hamburger from the desk and offered it to Guoguo.

Guoguo looked disgusted. “No way! Who wants to eat this junk food? I eat medicinal cuisine made by my dad every day—way better than your lousy hamburger!”

“So your dad’s just a cook? Ha ha ha, Guoguo, my dad’s a big boss!” the chubby boy boasted.

Guoguo refused to back down. Annoyed, she gave the chubby boy a shove. “Say one more bad thing about my dad and I’ll hit you!”

“Go ahead, if you hit me I’ll tell Ms. Su!” the chubby boy retorted, unafraid.

“Fine, I won’t hit you. I’ll have my mom feed you to the dogs. Hmph! Fatso, my mom’s the queen of the underworld. You’re doomed!” Guoguo glared fiercely at him.

The chubby boy shivered all over, his eyes reddened, and suddenly burst into tears, running out of the classroom in panic!

Just then, Su Xiaoran arrived. Before she could react, she saw only the boy’s back. “Sun Haoran! Where are you going? Class is about to start!”

Seeing Su Xiaoran arrive, Guoguo quickly stuck out her tongue and glanced back at her classmates, whispering a warning, “No tattling!”

The group was stunned—who dared? Guoguo claimed her mom was the queen of the underworld; everyone obediently returned to their seats.

“Guoguo, what happened to Sun Haoran?” Su Xiaoran asked, puzzled as she entered.

Guoguo shrugged and spread her hands. “Maybe he wet his pants. Girls wouldn’t know…”

Su Xiaoran could only sigh at her answer. Kids these days—so grown up and still wetting their pants. “Alright, everyone, take your seats. Let’s get ready for class.”