Chapter 189 - 188: Come Back

"You shouldn’t have come looking for me." Xuanwu’s voice was noticeably hoarser than before, and his shoulders trembled slightly. It was obvious that he was trying hard to suppress his emotions.

Ye Xuan wasn’t feeling great either. He never expected that the man who used to be as stubborn as a mule and had such a foul temper would be reduced to this state. Five years ago, Xuanwu could have taken care of street thugs like these with one hand tied behind his back. But now, he actually had to pay them protection money. How on earth did he endure such a drastic fall from grace?

"Xuanwu, come back with me. I’m back now. No one will dare question you again," Ye Xuan pleaded slightly, his grip on Xuanwu’s shoulder tightening.

Xuanwu remained silent for a long time before shaking his head. "I’m a cripple now. What could I possibly do if I went back? Besides, I’m doing quite well right now. Earning a living to support my family with my own two hands is far better than returning to the military base just to be pitied by others."

His words were laced with heavy self-deprecation. Hearing them made Ye Xuan feel awful and deeply guilty. If it weren’t for him, Xuanwu wouldn’t have fallen into such a miserable state.

"Xuanwu, are you blaming me? Blaming me for causing you to lose all your Martial Arts?" Ye Xuan slowly lowered his hand from Xuanwu’s shoulder, his tone tinged with dejection.

Seeing his self-reproach, Xuanwu’s heart trembled. His fists clenched involuntarily as a look of struggle flashed through his eyes. Truthfully, if Ye Xuan had died in the line of duty like White Tiger, Xuanwu wouldn’t have harbored a single complaint.

But he hadn’t. Not only was he alive, but he was doing perfectly well. All his limbs were intact, and his Martial Arts were even more formidable than before. Yet, despite being completely healthy, he had abandoned his brothers in the Four Palaces and vanished for five whole years. In those five years, they had suffered so much injustice and torment.

"Damn it, a piece of trash like you actually dares to use the name Xuanwu! If you’re Xuanwu, then I’m the Cyan Dragon Chief! Boy, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get on your knees and apologize to me right now! Otherwise, when my boss gets here, you’re dead meat!" Clutching his abdomen, which felt as if it had been ripped apart, Zhang San slowly got up from the ground. His attitude was even more arrogant than before.

Vermilion Bird had never seen someone so oblivious to the situation. Despite taking a beating, he didn’t run away and actually had a death wish to keep provoking them.

"Shut your mouth and get the hell out of here," Vermilion Bird warned, sweeping a cold glare over Zhang San.

"Tsk, there’s a beauty here too." Upon seeing Vermilion Bird, Zhang San’s eyes lit up. A highly vulgar smile crept onto his face as he leered at her.

Ye Xuan glanced at the thug and silently prayed for him. He hoped Zhang San wouldn’t suffer too gruesome a death. The grass on the grave of the last person who dared to sexually harass Vermilion Bird was already ten feet tall.

"You’re asking for death!" As Ye Xuan expected, Vermilion Bird instantly blew her top.

With a low roar, she dashed over to Zhang San in a flash. First, she snapped both of his arms. Then, with lightning speed, she grabbed him and performed a brutal shoulder throw, slamming him onto the ground. Following that, she delivered two vicious kicks for good measure.

The once-arrogant Zhang San was instantly beaten to a pulp. Xuanwu couldn’t help but twitch his lips. Vermilion Bird was just as fierce as she had always been.

COUGH! Zhang San hurled out a huge mouthful of blood. He lay on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, unable to say another word amidst his miserable shrieks.

Li Si cowered on the side, staring at Vermilion Bird in sheer terror. He wondered if this was even a woman. She was absolutely terrifying! He realized he had to run away immediately, or he would be next in line to suffer.

"Li Si, stop right there!" Vermilion Bird hadn’t forgotten about his existence. Seeing him try to escape, she immediately barked an order.

Li Si leaped three feet into the air like a startled cat. Then, his body stiffened as he slowly turned around, forcing a miserable smile at Vermilion Bird.

"B-Boss lady, d-did you need something from me?" Li Si’s legs trembled violently, and he could barely speak cohesively.

Vermilion Bird rolled her eyes at his cowardly display. "From now on, this area is under my protection. If you ever dare to collect protection money again, I’ll make you pay dearly!"

After giving Li Si a stern warning, Vermilion Bird finally waved her hand, signaling him to get lost.

"Yes, yes, yes, we wouldn’t dare do it again! If I, Li Si, ever collect protection money without permission again, may I die a horrible death!" Li Si agreed subserviently. After swearing a venomous oath, he scrambled away as fast as his legs could carry him.

The other vendors hadn’t expected the thugs who oppressed them daily to be handled so easily. They all stared at Vermilion Bird and Ye Xuan in shock, their mouths hanging wide open.

"Xuanwu, come back with us first. Whatever you have to say, we can sit down and talk about it slowly." Having cleared out the small fry, Vermilion Bird clapped her hands in satisfaction and turned to Xuanwu.

"Don’t call me by that name anymore. I haven’t been the Black Tortoise Chief for a long time. You’d better just call me Zhao Kuo." Xuanwu averted his gaze, not daring to look Vermilion Bird in the eye.

Although he didn’t explicitly reject her proposal, his words made his intentions crystal clear. He wouldn’t return to the military base with Ye Xuan, and he wouldn’t be the Black Tortoise Chief anymore.

Vermilion Bird’s brows instantly furrowed. She had thought that as long as Ye Xuan came back to persuade Xuanwu, he would definitely be able to sway him. Who knew this guy’s temper would still be so stubborn that he wouldn’t even listen to his own boss?

"I don’t care what you call yourself. In my heart, you’re Xuanwu. Stop your damn nonsense. If I tell you to come, you come. Stop dawdling." Vermilion Bird couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She marched straight up, grabbed his arm, and forcefully dragged him into the car.

Throughout the journey, both Ye Xuan and Xuanwu remained silent.

Caught in the middle, Vermilion Bird felt incredibly awkward. She wondered what was up with Ye Xuan. He was the one who insisted on finding Xuanwu, yet now that they had found him, he wasn’t saying a word. She stared at the two men in speechlessness, feeling for the first time that men were truly troublesome.

The closer they got to the military base, the more tense Xuanwu’s muscles became. He never expected to return to this place one day. It held far too many of his memories. He had spent nearly the entire first half of his life here. Over countless nights, this place and the people here had appeared in his dreams. Sadly, everything had changed now, and it was all too late.

"Xuanwu, go see the Old Commander in a bit. After you left, he talked about you every single day," Vermilion Bird said softly, observing his heavy expression.

At the mention of the Old Commander, Xuanwu’s eyes flickered, but he shook his head. "Forget it. The Old Commander is quite busy. I won’t go and disturb him."

Vermilion Bird knew it was bullshit that he was afraid to disturb the Old Commander—he just didn’t dare to face him! She thought Xuanwu was being a complete coward. Wasn’t he just afraid the Old Commander would reprimand him for leaving without saying goodbye? What was the big deal anyway?