At the peak of Yaoshan Mountain, Qinglong and Xiao Yufan sat quietly atop a massive, hovering boulder, legs dangling in midair, as if a single gust of wind could send them tumbling down.
Quite a few people had climbed to the summit. Witnessing the two sitting so casually in such a dangerous place, many couldn’t help but feel astonished. In today’s world, few dared to tempt death so openly. If they fell, unless they were immortals, they would surely die.
Unfazed by the murmurs behind him, Xiao Yufan sat with his eyes closed, breathing in the fresh mountain air, a faint, devilish smile curling at the corners of his lips.
“How are you planning to deal with Chen Jiamin? You crippled his twin brother—he won’t let this go easily.”
After all, Qinglong owed Chen Jiamin a debt, and unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to face that man again. Xiao Yufan had killed Solitary Wolf, and that was a fact. Chen Jiamin would definitely hate him for it—Qinglong was certain of that.
“Do you really think I’m afraid of him?”
A confident smile spread further across Xiao Yufan’s face as he countered with a question. Without Qinglong, Chen Jiamin posed no threat to him whatsoever. With Solitary Wolf dead, that man didn’t even have the qualifications to be his opponent.
“That’s true enough. With your strength, even if Solitary Wolf were still alive, several of them together might still not be your match. Not to mention the Hidden Gate has someone like Xiao Dao from the Sha Po Lang division.”
A flicker of admiration gleamed in Qinglong’s eyes. Clearly, he had a good understanding of the Hidden Gate, at least enough to know of Xiao Dao. Naturally, he was eager to test his skills against such a master. Fighting Xiao Yufan was just getting beaten up, but against someone like Xiao Dao, he still had confidence.
“It seems Chen Jiamin knows quite a bit about me, but he’s too full of himself. If I wanted him gone, he wouldn’t even have made it to Linjiang…”
A cold gleam flashed in Xiao Yufan’s eyes, his gaze turning icy. He hoped that guy wouldn’t stir up trouble—if he did, he’d make sure they never left Linjiang alive. On the Hidden Gate’s territory, even a dragon had to stay coiled!
“If possible… could you spare his life? After all, I owe him a favor from long ago…”
Though Qinglong knew Xiao Yufan had no reason to agree, he still clung to a sliver of hope, wishing that this man might grant him this favor out of respect, especially since there had been no direct conflict between them yet.
“As long as he doesn’t go too far, I can let him live. But if he dares cross my line, I will make sure he regrets it deeply…”
To Qinglong’s surprise, Xiao Yufan actually agreed. Even though Xiao Yufan was cold, Qinglong understood that this was a concession made for his sake. After all, a true overlord would never allow his enemies to live.
“Thank you…”
“I’m only doing this so you won’t feel guilty. For the next three years, you’re part of the Hidden Gate. After that, if you still wish to leave, I’ll grant you your freedom.”
Xiao Yufan simply smiled and shook his head. In his eyes, Qinglong’s strength was worth this gesture. As for Chen Jiamin, he wasn’t even worth the consideration—he could be spared without consequence.
“I’m starting to wonder if I made the wrong choice. It feels like I’ve fallen into a trap…”
For once, Qinglong managed a faint smile, his rigid face twitching slightly, the scar running across it twisting into a slightly terrifying expression.
“If it is a trap, you’ve already jumped in. There’s no turning back now, is there?”
“Fine, you win!” Qinglong said, his face now showing a genuinely warm smile. Xiao Yufan’s strength had completely convinced him. He had no reason to resist staying in the Hidden Gate—after all, what he truly sought was passion and power!
“Damn, I’ve seen people showing off, but never this outrageously…”
Just then, an ill-timed voice rang out. Qinglong furrowed his brows slightly but made no move. It was clear the comment was aimed at them.
Behind the two, a group of street punks stood, loudly commenting and snickering. In their eyes, Xiao Yufan and Qinglong were putting on an absurdly arrogant display.
“You two are so cool, does your family even know?”
The leader of the punks, seeing that neither of the two even glanced at him, grew visibly annoyed. After all, he was a local “celebrity”—he couldn’t afford to lose face in front of his gang.
“Why do we have to deal with such clueless people so early in the morning? Annoying…”
Xiao Yufan had originally intended to ignore them, but their arrogance was simply too ridiculous. He decided to toy with them a little.
“Hey, what did you say just now?!”
The punk nearly jumped up, assuming Xiao Yufan was just showing off. Once he made that assumption, he exchanged glances with his gang, regaining his confidence. Whether they ganged up on the two or the two fought all of them, he felt they had the upper hand either way.
“So what do you think we should do about them?” Qinglong shrugged casually. In the past, he would have thrown the speaker off the cliff without hesitation, but today, he was in a good mood and didn’t feel like doing that.
“Throw them off, maybe,” Xiao Yufan replied indifferently.
“That’s actually a great idea!”
Qinglong chimed in enthusiastically, but the punk’s face turned green. This was clearly a blatant dismissal of his presence—when had he ever been treated this way? He was furious.
“You’re treating me like air, huh? Don’t act so high and mighty in front of me, or I’ll make sure you never leave Yaoshan Mountain!”
“I’d like to see how you plan to stop us from leaving!”
Hating nothing more than being pointed at, Qinglong finally moved. In a flash, he leapt from the boulder and landed right in front of the punk.
No one saw how Qinglong moved—it was as if they’d seen a ghost in broad daylight. But the punk felt the icy grip around his neck and slowly realized—he had messed with the wrong people.
“Brother, no, no, no! Grandpa, I was wrong…”
The punk was no fool. When Qinglong turned around, he finally caught sight of that terrifying scar, and instinctively shivered. This must be a real tough guy—how else could he have survived such a wound?
“You were so cocky just now, why so scared now?”
Qinglong wasn’t even interested in seriously hurting someone like this—he just wanted to play around a bit. But seeing how spineless the punk was, he quickly lost interest. If this guy had a little more guts, he wouldn’t mind having a little fun.
“Of course I’m scared—my life’s in your hands, you idiot! Who wouldn’t be scared?!”
The punk could only think this to himself, too afraid to speak it aloud. He could only act as humble as possible—otherwise, this ruthless guy might really throw him off the cliff. Watching silently from the side, Xiao Yufan said nothing at all…
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