Chapter 29: The Rabble

Tan Weibo followed closely behind Nie Yunyang as they left. In his eyes, Nie Yunyang was the epitome of someone who could pull off a cool power move and walk away without looking back—it was damn impressive. If he had that kind of singing talent, he would be drowning in female attention.

The two left one after the other, but the woman in the corner remained in tears. She had been shocked when Nie Yunyang first appeared, let alone after hearing him sing "Blue and White Porcelain."

The woman was the new owner of the tavern. She would come by to drink every so often; some regulars knew that she used to be the resident singer there. After the previous owner moved abroad, she had taken over the business, though it had remained modest and unremarkable.

"Xiao Qian, what's wrong?" a handsome man asked tentatively. He had not expected the goddess before him to have such a sudden emotional breakdown, and he guessed it might be related to the man who had just finished singing.

Xiao Qian was a woman who had given Nie Yunyang countless beautiful memories during his youth. She was wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt and black jeans. Her long, jet-black hair fell loosely over her shoulders. With her picturesque features, fair skin, and swan-like neck adorned with a diamond pendant, she was a vision.

That diamond pendant had been a birthday gift from Nie Yunyang. On a rainy night when she turned eighteen, the two had held each other tightly, as if they were the only two people left in the world. Xiao Qian’s eyes were large and dark, like black jewels—deep, captivating, and impossible for any man who had seen them to forget.

Hearing the handsome man, Xiao Qian wiped away her tears and said, "It's nothing. I just remembered something from the past and felt a bit sentimental."

"You've been under too much pressure lately. Would you like to go out and clear your head? I heard the sea views in Sanya are nice, or perhaps we could go to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors?" the man suggested proactively. As a well-known financial upstart in Chongqing, he had long coveted the woman, and travel was an excellent way to turn up the heat in a relationship.

Xiao Qian shook her head. "No need. I'm a bit tired lately and want to rest."

"I'll ask you again when you're free." The man knew his limits and did not press the issue further.

Xiao Qian touched the diamond pendant on her chest and smiled. "It's getting late; I should head home."

"I'll have my driver take you," the man said.

Outside the Chongqing Story Tavern, just as Nie Yunyang and Tan Weibo stepped out, an informant inside the tavern made a phone call. "Third Brother, those two bastards have left. I'll keep a close eye on them. Get ready to move."

The men tailing Nie Yunyang and Tan Weibo parked their Lexus RZ near the Audi A6. It was a secluded alleyway; Nie Yunyang had intentionally parked there to lure the fish into the net.

As Nie Yunyang and Tan Weibo headed toward the alley where their car was parked, several men began tailing them. Tan Weibo glanced at Nie Yunyang and noticed a wicked, alluring curve at the corner of his mouth.

Once they entered the alley, four burly men emerged from the depths, while six others blocked the entrance. They were all brandishing machetes or daggers.

"Gentlemen, we’re just passing through. Are you sure you haven't mistaken us for someone else?" Tan Weibo asked with a grin.

The man in the lead, Pan Wei, was Han Fucheng’s top enforcer—agile and exceptionally cruel. He gripped his dagger and said, "No mistake. You’re exactly who we’re looking for!"

"We’ve never met. Where would this grudge come from?" Nie Yunyang asked deliberately.

In the dead of night, the alley was pitch black, and the streetlights outside flickered ominously. The atmosphere grew heavy; an ordinary person would have been frightened into running away long ago.

Pan Wei, with his short brown hair and stern face, wore a white shirt that revealed his muscular frame. A wolf-head tattoo on his arm sent a chill down one's spine. He sneered, "Kid, weren't you acting pretty tough at the board meeting today? You dared to threaten Brother Han. I guess you don't know how to spell the word 'death'!"

"Oh, I see. So you’re all Han Fucheng’s lackeys. That explains it. You see, my greatest hobby in life is fighting, especially when it comes to disciplining other people's lapdogs," Tan Weibo said.

Pan Wei’s face darkened. "You bastard! Let’s see if you can keep talking tough after I break all your limbs."

The group brandished their sharp blades and closed in. Seeing this, Nie Yunyang shouted, "A bunch of idiots! Why waste so much breath? Come at us and let's see whose bones are harder."

As the words left his lips, Nie Yunyang lunged straight at Pan Wei. Capturing the leader first was an age-old strategy. Tan Weibo followed right behind, his task being to tie up the other thugs so Nie Yunyang could focus entirely on Pan Wei.

Pan Wei hadn't expected them to strike first. He panicked and swung his blade, but Nie Yunyang dodged the strike, the edge slicing through his shirt. Nie Yunyang followed up with a heavy punch, slamming it into Pan Wei's abdomen.

Pan Wei groaned, gritting his teeth against the pain. He raised his machete to slash at Nie Yunyang’s head, but his right arm was caught mid-swing. Nie Yunyang slammed him hard against the wall. The pain made him wince, his wrist went limp, and the machete clattered to the ground with a crisp sound.

Seeing their boss suffering, two large men rushed forward with daggers. Nie Yunyang was forced to abandon Pan Wei to deal with the riffraff first.

Compared to Nie Yunyang, Tan Weibo appeared relaxed. The men only knew how to hack and slash blindly, which he dodged with ease. With a whip-kick, he sent one man flying three meters away. Tan Weibo then snatched a dagger from another man's hand and stabbed it into his left and right legs. The man collapsed to the ground, screaming like a slaughtered pig.

Seeing this, the others were terrified. Tan Weibo seized the opportunity to knock them all to the ground with a few well-placed punches. On the other side, Nie Yunyang also finished off two thugs. While not as clean and efficient as Tan Weibo, he didn't exert much effort either.

Pan Wei, who had been punched in the jaw by Nie Yunyang, lay on his back, seeing stars. It took him seven or eight minutes to recover. He picked up a machete from the ground and tried to ambush Nie Yunyang from behind, only to be kicked away by a rushing Tan Weibo, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Damn it, I hate bottom-feeders the most. If this were in Nanchang, I would have twisted your heads off already!" Tan Weibo stepped on Pan Wei’s face and spat on the ground.

By now, all the lackeys were lying on the ground, wailing incessantly. Although Nie Yunyang and Tan Weibo hadn't delivered fatal blows, broken bones were inevitable, and some had even been knocked unconscious by Tan Weibo’s elbows.

Nie Yunyang looked at the battered and bruised Pan Wei and smiled. "Since you like being a tail so much, I’ll play along with you."

Tan Weibo understood perfectly. He hoisted Pan Wei up and stuffed him into the trunk of the Audi A6. Nie Yunyang took the wheel and headed straight for the outskirts; some things could only be done in the wild.

As they drove past the Chongqing Story Tavern, Nie Yunyang caught a glimpse of a woman who looked like Xiao Qian. He shook his head and subconsciously muttered, "Impossible. I must have seen wrong." Perhaps it was the nostalgia of revisiting an old place that conjured up his memories, making the woman look like her, but it definitely wasn't Xiao Qian.

Late at night, Nie Yunyang and Tan Weibo took Pan Wei to a desolate wilderness. After severely torturing him, they extracted a wealth of information regarding Han Fucheng. Now, he could finally confirm that the assassination attempt during his trip to Zhen'an had been orchestrated by Han Fucheng and Sun Yufan.

In the end, Nie Yunyang tied Pan Wei up with hemp rope and tossed him into a foul-smelling ditch. Whether he survived or not was up to his own fate.

When they returned to Longhu Huamanting, it was already three in the morning. Mu Qingyao was resting in the master bedroom, and Chen Jiong was lying on the sofa. Nie Yunyang and Tan Weibo simply slept on the floor.

In the days that followed, they crafted a meticulous plan. Beyond protecting Mu Qingyao, they spent most of their time investigating Han Fucheng and Sun Yufan.