Chapter 31: The Gloom Has Lifted, Retribution Is on Its Way

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Chapter 31: The Gloom Has Lifted, Retribution Is on Its Way

Chen Yuan had always been straightforward and decisive. Since he had agreed to have a meal with the young man, the four of them set off once the time was about right.

The Wangjiang Tower the young man had mentioned wasn’t very far from here, so the four of them walked there together.

As he walked, Chen Yuan couldn’t help thinking about how different this world was from his own. Compared with the world he had once known, this Huaxia had an air of prosperity about it. Strictly speaking, the young man hadn’t even exchanged names with them, yet no one present thought twice about casually suggesting that they have a meal together. Everyone was so open and straightforward.

Their manner had something of the flourishing Tang dynasty about it. Perhaps this kind of thing could only happen when a country was immensely powerful and everyone was filled with confidence and pride.

Thinking of this, Chen Yuan couldn’t help smiling.

Although Wangjiang Tower wasn’t far away, it still took some time to walk there, as they had to cross several streets. Chen Yuan was in a good mood now, so he asked the young man, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Sheng Kong!” the young man replied readily, then asked in return, “What about you, Master?”

The name Sheng Kong sounded somewhat Buddhist. Chen Yuan thought about it for a moment before giving his own name.

“Master Chen!” As soon as he learned Chen Yuan’s name, Sheng Kong immediately addressed him that way, beaming as though they had suddenly become much closer.

Meanwhile, Yu Shenliu felt a little put out. He suddenly realized something. Although many people addressed Chen Yuan as “Master,” there were also people who simply called him Chen Yuan by name, just like he did. That made it impossible to tell how close or distant they were, and completely failed to highlight how special he was.

Then he thought about it again. Over the past ten-odd years, fewer and fewer people had used courtesy names because they were too cumbersome. Otherwise, if he addressed Chen Yuan by his courtesy name, wouldn’t that make them seem even closer? He was busy making little calculations to himself, without considering that even then, he probably wouldn’t be the only one who could call Chen Yuan by his courtesy name.

At certain special moments, a person’s IQ really does drop. We should be understanding.

After all, they were a niece and uncle who had spent many years together. Huo Shu quietly listened and watched from the side, guessing Yu Shenliu’s thoughts almost exactly and finding it rather amusing.

In the past, although Yu Shenliu wasn’t much older than her, he had always seemed overly composed, as though he had everything under control. But ever since meeting Chen Yuan, he had revealed a more youthful side of himself. Huo Shu considered whether she should give him a hand or stir things up, and after thinking it over for a long while, decided that although she hadn’t managed to find herself an ideal husband this time, it was rare for her uncle to finally have some romantic prospects, so she should help him out.

Thinking about the mess she was dealing with herself, Huo Shu helplessly wanted to sigh, when suddenly a voice came from beside her.

“Sis Huo!” A thin, gaunt young man approached, looking anxious. He had been looking around, but when he saw Huo Shu, a hint of delight appeared on his face, only for him to look troubled again in the next instant. The rapid change in his expression was rather amusing to the people on this side.

Huo Shu looked at him with a puzzled expression, which gradually turned into recognition. “You… you’re Skinny, Skinny, Skinny…” But for the moment, she couldn’t remember his name.

“Skinny Monkey!” Skinny Monkey immediately picked up where she left off, then took two steps forward and stood in front of Huo Shu, ingratiatingly saying, “Sis Huo, what are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you for ages but couldn’t find you.”

Since Huo Shu had run into someone she knew, the other three stopped and waited off to the side. Yu Shenliu looked over Skinny Monkey’s clothes and mannerisms. No matter how he looked at him, this didn’t seem like someone Huo Shu would normally meet in her social circle. The way he unconsciously hunched over and the fawning expression on his face made it difficult to feel much goodwill toward him. And although Skinny Monkey had immediately started talking to Huo Shu as though he were anxious to see her, how could Yu Shenliu not notice that he was completely ignoring the three of them?

Chen Yuan stroked his chin, amusement in his eyes. He wasn’t particularly interested in who Skinny Monkey was, but he could clearly tell that Skinny Monkey was interested in Huo Shu. It was obvious, however, that Skinny Monkey was insecure, so all he could do was flatter and curry favor with Huo Shu, while not daring to actually do anything.

“What did you want to see me about?” Huo Shu asked, somewhat displeased.

Skinny Monkey was obviously not part of her social circle. She only knew him because of Rong Yan. He was a minor figure among Rong Yan’s drinking buddies and hangers-on. Even Rong Yan himself had never seemed to think much of him, so Huo Shu had paid even less attention to him. Now that she had cut ties with Rong Yan, she naturally had no reason to have anything to do with Skinny Monkey, nor did she want to.

So what did he mean by saying he had been looking for her for a long time? Was he here to plead with her on Rong Yan’s behalf?

Thinking of Rong Yan made Huo Shu furious. She really must have been blind back then to think there was anything good about him. Just look at what he had done afterward. He didn’t have an ounce of decency, and he had even gone so far as to threaten her with photos of himself killing chickens. Birds of a feather flock together. Skinny Monkey had never made a good impression on her to begin with, and now she was even more annoyed with him.

“Brother Rong, he—” Skinny Monkey was just about to begin, but when he saw the dark look that came over Huo Shu’s face at the way he addressed Rong Yan, he immediately changed his words. “No, that Rong Yan kid has been looking for you lately.”

“You’re here to plead with me on his behalf?” Huo Shu’s tone was cold.

“Of course not!” Skinny Monkey immediately denied it. “Sis Huo, you know what kind of person I am, don’t you?” He was certainly giving himself too much credit. “I’ve been looking for you because I was worried about you. That Rong Yan kid said that if he caught you, he’d, uh… what he said really isn’t fit to repeat. Anyway, he wasn’t saying anything nice.”

Huo Shu snorted. Now that she knew what kind of person Rong Yan was, she could naturally guess the disgusting things he would say.

“Sis Huo definitely isn’t afraid of that kid, but the problem is, Rong Yan got several thugs and has them wandering around everywhere every day. He said that if they saw you, they wouldn’t let you off.” Only then did Skinny Monkey get to the point.

Chen Yuan and Yu Shenliu were both perceptive enough to understand from those words that whatever Rong Yan had said probably involved things like rape, murder, kidnapping, and the like. In short, it was filthy.

Yu Shenliu was unhappy. Of course he was angry that his niece had been threatened like this. But if it was a group of thugs, dealing with them would be troublesome even for someone like him, a deputy mayor. It wasn’t as though this were ancient times, when an official could simply use his authority against ordinary people. More importantly, he was somewhat removed from the police system and had little real authority at his disposal right now, so dealing with something like this would be difficult.

Chen Yuan, however, wasn’t worried at all. He had confidence in his technique. What was a bond? What did it mean to sever a bond? If Rong Yan could still affect Huo Shu through these methods, then women’s arts would truly be worthless. He estimated that, at most, Rong Yan’s name would completely disappear from Huo Shu’s life within another two or three days. In the past, people who had used this kind of women’s arts had usually seen results within a week as well.

So Chen Yuan gave the somewhat worried Yu Shenliu a reassuring smile, leaving him momentarily stunned.

Over there, although Huo Shu was angry about what Rong Yan had done, she wasn’t particularly worried. She usually drove to and from work, and the place where she lived was well-secured. Even if some local punks wanted to cause her trouble, it wouldn’t be that easy for them to get to her. After hearing this, she really didn’t want to have anything more to do with the Skinny Monkey, whom she regarded as being in cahoots with Rong Yan. So she said, “Thank you for telling me all this, but you’d better not contact me anymore. If Rong Yan finds out, he’ll cause trouble for you too.”

Her words were polite, but her meaning was unmistakably distant.

“I’m going to have lunch with my family, so I’ll be going.” Huo Shu pointed toward Yu Shenliu and the others, then nodded at Skinny Monkey before continuing on her way.

“Sis Huo, Rong Yan is right around here!” Skinny Monkey couldn’t help calling after her.

“It’s fine. I don’t believe he’d dare do anything in broad daylight.” Huo Shu didn’t seem bothered at all. After walking a couple more steps, she noticed that Chen Yuan and the others hadn’t followed. She turned around and said with feigned reproach, “It’s almost noon. Come on!”

Yu Shenliu smiled and followed, while Chen Yuan immediately noticed the expression that had crossed Huo Shu’s face just moments ago, and something stirred in his mind.

The gloom between Huo Shu’s brows had lifted, and the peachy flush in her complexion had also faded. Could it be that Huo Shu’s bad romantic luck was about to pass? If so, Rong Yan’s problem should be resolved soon, too?

He wasn’t sure how it worked, but if he could witness the effects of women’s arts firsthand and commit them to memory, it would benefit him as well.

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