Chapter – 07
Airport, the Man in Gray
“Yan Bing, I advise you to back off. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude.”
The crew-cut man stepped forward, pointing at the flat-chested woman, and issued a stern warning.
“Cai Ji, did I not teach you enough last time?”
Yan Bing’s gaze was icy cold. Under her intimidating stare, the group of thugs actually retreated several steps.
“We’ve got Big Brother backing us up. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Cai Ji slapped the back of one of his retreating underlings’ heads and gave the order: “Smash the place!”
A gang of thugs brandished iron bars and began recklessly smashing everything in the shop.
Yan Bing moved.
Though she was but a woman, her movements were clean, swift, and exceptionally graceful.
In just a moment, several of the thugs who were smashing the shop lay sprawled on the ground, howling in agony.
“Master Lan, please, step in.”
Cai Ji quickly shouted toward the door.
A man dressed in gray entered with steady, measured steps, a small black hat perched on his head.
“Impressive skills. Unfortunately, you’re merely a practitioner of external martial artsânothing more than fancy kicks and flimsy punches.”
The gray-clad man removed his hat, handed it to Cai Ji beside him, and advanced toward Yan Bing.
Yan Bing pushed off her right leg, launching her entire body into the air, and swept her left leg across in a graceful, fierce arc.
The gray-clad man reached out with his right hand, precisely grabbing Yan Bing’s left leg.
Yan Bing spun her body 360 degrees, her right leg sweeping viciously toward the gray-clad man.
The gray-clad man blocked with his left arm. Yan Bing’s kick felt as if it had struck an iron plate.
“What’s a woman doing learning martial arts? Go home and have babies!”
The gray-clad man sneered, then yanked hard, prying Yan Bing’s legs apart, her crotch stretched wide open.
Though Yan Bing was flexible enough, her pants couldn’t withstand the strain and split right at the crotch.
“Red, huh. Turns out she’s a secret flirt.”
Cai Ji burst out laughing, and his gang of underlings joined in, the air filling with lewd, obscene laughter.
Yan Bing was absolutely livid, but with her legs trapped, she was powerless to resist.
Just as she was about to be utterly humiliated, a shoe came flying over.
The gray-clad man paid it no mind, casually flicking it away.
*Bang!*
An utterly unremarkable shoeâyet it contained tremendous force, knocking the gray-clad man back several steps.
“Who?!”
The gray-clad man roared in fury.
A man and a woman walked down from upstairs. The woman was He Shiyun, the owner of Yongchun Hall. The man was a young, unfamiliar face, missing one shoeâidentical to the one on the ground. Clearly, he was the one who had acted.
“Who are you, and why are you interfering in my affairs?”
The gray-clad man stared intently at Zhang Yang, a hint of wariness in his gaze.
“Be a sport and pick up my shoe for me, would you?”
Zhang Yang pointed at the shoe on the ground in front of the man, issuing the command in a tone bordering on humiliation.
The gray-clad man kicked the shoe, sending it hurtling toward Zhang Yang wrapped in a sharp gust of energy.
Zhang Yang casually caught the shoe, slipped it on, and smiled. “More obedient than a dog.”
Several employees couldn’t help but laugh, and even He Shiyun was amused.
“Looking for death!”
The gray-clad man leaped into the air, his fist wrapped in energy as it came crashing down.
Zhang Yang channeled all his primal energy into his hand and met the punch head-on.
*Bang!*
Zhang Yang staggered back two steps.
The gray-clad man was hurled backward through the air five or six meters before landing and retreating another four or five steps, finally stopping.
The gray-clad man pulled a dagger from his robe and prepared to advance again, but Zhang Yang barked sharply: “If you dare pull a blade, I’ll take your arm.”
In terms of primal energy, Zhang Yang had the overwhelming advantage. But when it came to actual combat, he had no experience at all, and his heart was pounding with panic.
He was panickedâbut his opponent was even more rattled.
The gray-clad man hesitated for a moment, then sheathed the dagger and turned to leave.
Seeing that the situation had turned sour, Cai Ji tried to slip away. Yan Bing quickly stepped forward and kicked him to the ground.
“Boss He, I’m just trying to make a living. Please let me off this once. I promise I won’t bother you again.” Cai Ji grinned ingratiatingly.
“You come and go as you please? Do you think my Yongchun Hall is a restaurant?”
He Shiyun shot a meaningful glance, and Yan Bing drew her dagger and pressed it against Cai Ji’s throat.
“Boss He, I’m with Brother Long. If you don’t show me respect, you’re showing him none.”
Cai Ji quickly invoked his backer.
“Chen Tianlong?”
“That’s right. Boss Long, the undisputed king of Jiangnan’s underworld. Even when you beat a dog, you have to look at its master. If you touch me, Brother Long won’t let you off.”
He Shiyun was still hesitating when Zhang Yang stepped forward and slapped Cai Ji across the face, swelling half his head.
“I haven’t come to settle accounts with you yet, but you delivered yourself right to my door.” Zhang Yang hoisted him up with one hand and glared at him fiercely. “Four people came to the Third People’s Hospital at noon today to cause trouble for me. Did you send them?”
“Youâyou’re that doctor, Zhang Yang?” Cai Ji’s face turned pale.
“That’s right.”
Recalling the sorry state of his underlings, Cai Ji quickly put on a conciliatory smile: “Brother, you didn’t actually get hurt. How about we let bygones be bygones? What do you say?”
“What do *you* think?”
Zhang Yang beckoned to Yan Bing, who wisely handed him the dagger.
“Brother, I’ll pay compensation. Name your price.”
Cai Ji was panicking. This guy was a true hard caseânot someone who made empty threats.
*Swish!*
A flash of white light.
Cai Ji screamed, “You motherfuâ”
Before he could finish, a heavy punch landed square on his mouth, shattering his front teeth. He couldn’t utter another word.
“Go back and tell that so-called Brother Long of yours, and that guy in gray from earlier: Yongchun Hall is under my protection. If anyone dares cause trouble here again, I’ll make them pay tenfold.”
Cai Ji couldn’t speak, so he just nodded frantically and slunk away.
“Stop right there. Pay for the damage to the shop. One hundred thousand. Not a cent less.”
The stuff smashed in the shop was worth at most two or three thousandâdemanding one hundred thousand was viciously steep.
Cai Ji didn’t dare haggle. He pulled out his phone, scanned the code, transferred the money, and scrambled away.
All the shop employees stared at Zhang Yang as if they were looking at a demon.
“Clean this up and keep the business open.”
He Shiyun dispersed the onlookers and led Zhang Yang back to the tea room.
“How do you want to collaborate?” He Shiyun got straight to the point.
Whether in medicine or martial prowess, Zhang Yang was top-notch. Yongchun Hall desperately needed talent like him.
“First: I don’t want a salaryâonly commission. I take seventy percent, the shop takes thirty.”
“Second: I only serve womenâand attractive ones at that.”
“Third: The starting price is ten thousand. I won’t take any case below that.”
“Those are my conditions for now. I’ll add more if I think of them later.”
Hearing Zhang Yang’s demands, He Shiyun smiled faintly: “I get the feeling you’re not here to workâyou’re here to scout for quality prospects.”
“You can think of it that way.” Zhang Yang didn’t deny it.
“Fine. It’s a deal.”
He Shiyun agreed decisively. “But I have one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You have to live in the shop.”
He Shiyun was afraid that Chen Tianlong and that Lan Zhijie might come seeking revenge. Without Zhang Yang on the premises, she wouldn’t feel safe.
“Deal.”
Zhang Yang was a bachelor anywayâhe didn’t mind where he stayed.
He Shiyun arranged a place for Zhang Yang on the fifth floor of the Yongchun building. The accommodations were decent enough.
At midnight, Zhang Yang was chatting with Liu Piaoxu when a knock came at the door.
“There’s a late-night snack in the shop. Want to join?”
At the door stood He Shiyun’s personal bodyguardâthe flat-chested woman, Yan Bing.
A late-night snack at this hour?
What kind of “snack”?
