As she held out her arms and went to hug Xiao Hua who just slapped her arms aside and walked inside the pub, ” yeah, yeah and just how many times have I asked you not to dream with your eye open guess you just don’t listen.” As he walked inside he realised that he wasn’t being followed and he turned his head and shouted over his shoulder, ” You guys, don’t you want to take revenge? Then what are you standing there for? Why not come inside?”

The four of them looked at each other, they didn’t want to enter the pub but at the same time they didn’t want to let the matter go and from the looks of it Xiao Hua seem to know this thug-like woman. In the end, even though they were a bit queasy they still went inside the dingy pub that was filled with all sorts of characters.

” Brother Xiao, why did you bring us here?” Though Shen Li was not afraid since Xiao Hua was the one who brought them here and given that they were more and less of his boss and acquaintances, he wouldn’t do anything to harm them and he also saved Fang Chi from getting molested, so yeah he really wasn’t that scared of walking inside but when these rough-looking women were staring at them with those gazes that were basically asking them to leave since they have no business here, he couldn’t help but tug on Xiao Hua’s sleeve.

Xiao Hua didn’t answer until they reached the table situated in the darkest corner of the pub and only then did he turn around and looked at the four of them with a smile as he pointed to the woman who was following them, “This is Xi Yanqing, the leader of the thugs in this town.”

Shen Li’s head snapped in Xi Yanqing’s direction and so did the others, they all turned to look at Xi Yanqing who smiled shyly, ” ah, he is always boasting about me. I am not that great,” then she walked around them to get to the back of Xiao Hua’s chair and tried to hug Xiao Hua from behind but the latter pushed her face away.

Xi Yanqing didn’t look offended at all instead she smiled by clasping her hands over her heart and sighed with a huge smile on her face like a love-struck fool. ” You are really the most gorgeous flower I have seen, Xiao Hua.”

Xiao Hua snorted while the others felt a bit awkward, was this okay? Wasn’t this some sort of molestation? The four of them were thoroughly confused and Fang Chi couldn’t help but whisper to Xiao Hua, ” there is no need for you to suffer like this-“

Xiao Hua looked at him with a bemused expression as if to say when did you see me suffer but then he looked at Xi Yanqing and her flirty winks that she was shooting over his direction and rolled his eyes, ” don’t take her seriously, she is like this with just anyone. If you become friendly with her, she will be like this with you too.”

Shen Li and the other two took a few steps back and hurriedly said, ” we are married but nice to meet you.”

Fang Chi too took a step away from Xiao Hua with a grimace. ” I am engaged but it’s nice seeing you.”

Xi Yanqing laughed and then raked her gaze over them with a smirk. Once she was done checking them out she winked, ” Well I always liked stealing treasures when there is a guard around.”

Neither of them responded to her extremely vulgar words but the horrified expressions on their faces were enough to let anyone know what they were feeling.

” Stop that” smacking Xi Yanqing with his fan, Xiao Hua flipped his hair back and casually leaned back, ” stop scaring them like this” then he turned to look at Shen Li and the others with a scrunched up expression and added, ” she is just joking with you all, her favourite past time is to tease mers, but she still has a few bottom lines that she won’t cross. Or else I wouldn’t have been friends with you.”

As if to confirm they all turned their heads towards Xi Yanqing who was still smiling and didn’t seem to have any thoughts of refuting Xiao Hua only then did they heave a sigh of relief.

Xi Yanqing stared at their naive antics and chuckled, ” why did you bring these four cuties to my humble abode? They don’t seem to fit in.”

Xiao Hua raised his brows and questioningly looked at Xi Yanqing, ” do you mean to say that I fit right in? Is that what you just said?”

” Of course not, I just don’t see why you would bring them here without any reason, so what is it?”

With a tilt of his head, Xiao Hua leaned back on his chair. ” Did one of your gang members return with scratches on her face all over?”

Sensing that something was off with Xiao Hua’s tone, Xi Yanqing’s smile vanished ever so slightly as she nodded. ” Yes, one of them indeed returned with bloody scratches all over her face but how do you know that?”

Xiao Hua gave her a bless your heart smile before speaking, ” Because I was the one who gave it to her,” then he pointed his fan to Fang Chi and added, ” that woman tried to get handsy with my bro here, so you better get her here and have her spit out who was the one ordered her to do so…and why, if not-” he shot Xi Yanqing a smug look, ” I can always make little Ji see someone else. Plenty of fish in the sea, you know?”

Xi Yanqing’s expression stiffened before she smiled and nodded, ” I will bring her to you, just wait. I will be right back in a few minutes.”

————

She indeed brought the woman who escaped scot-free in the Yamen to them in less than ten minutes. At first, the woman was surprised but when she saw the five mers who took her to yamen, she understood that she might have pissed someone off whom she shouldn’t. Xi Yanqing didn’t even have to say anything as she hurriedly spouted everything that she knew, ” It has nothing to do with me, a mer with a red mole on his right cheek was the one who asked me to do that…I…I have nothing to do with this. I don’t even know that mer”

” You might not know him but-” Xiao Hua turned to look at Fang Chi who was clenching his fists and arched a brow, ” But looks like brother Fang sure knows who it was. Don’t you?”

Fang Chi bit his bottom lip hard that it started to bleed, “It’s my cousin Fang Hao.”