C6 Engagement

"Chen, you sly old fox, you must be well aware of my feelings for Suer. Just to be upfront with you, I have a fiancée arranged by my family in the past. But I've taken care of that issue, and it'll be settled in a couple of days..."

"Scram! You're not too shabby, but you're dirt poor. As a kid, you were so hungry you roamed the streets, and now you're still in rags. Just don't let my Suer starve to death," Chen grumbled irritably.

Su Wen's encounter with this father and daughter was purely coincidental. That year, after his father died, he and his sister were ruthlessly kicked out by the Su family. Starving and homeless, Su Wen stumbled upon this noodle shop. Baldy Chen wasn't exactly charitable, but it was the blind girl who fed Su Wen until he was full.

"Chen, let me be honest with you, I'm actually quite well-off. See that red sports car over there? That's mine," Su Wen claimed.

Chen looked at him with scorn, "Give me a break! What, did you spend a decade in the mountains practicing some mystical arts just to come back and boast? We'll discuss your situation with Suer after you've treated her. For now, go eat your noodles. You look like you've been starving on your journey."

Chen clearly didn't buy it. He doubted both Su Wen's identity and his medical expertise. To him, it was a desperate shot in the dark.

"Where's Suer?" Su Wen glanced around.

A steaming bowl of noodles with five poached eggs stacked high awaited him, but the otherworldly girl who seemed to float above the fray was nowhere to be seen.

"She's hiding from you. Just eat your noodles already," Chen retorted with his usual sharp tongue.

...

"Which restaurant?"

"This one right here! That Baldy is a force to be reckoned with! He says if you dare to trash his place, he'll chase you down for five blocks!"

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the noodle shop, located in a poor neighborhood where thugs often extorted protection money. But Chen was not to be trifled with. With a cleaver in hand, he had fended off wave after wave of troublemakers, earning himself the moniker "Cleaver Chen" on the streets.

"Damn it, not these punks again. They come from out of town, thinking they can just cause a ruckus because they're in a group. Last time, they tried to trap me. Wen, you better hide in the back kitchen before they start smashing the place up."

Wen was Chen's special nickname for Su Wen, who stood up with a grin and tugged at Chen's arm. "Stop trying to act tough. You're hurt, and it's obvious."

Chen's expression turned grim.

"What else can we do? Let them wreck the shop? Suer was spotted by these jerks when she went out to buy groceries. They had the nerve to come to my door asking for her hand in marriage. I chased them off for half a kilometer. Since then, it's been one thing after another. We need to put them in their place once and for all, or we'll never have peace."

Su Wen still wore that mischievous smile. "First, take your medicine. I'll handle these jerks."

Chen gulped down the pill with resignation.

"I can tell you've changed, kid. But there's no way I'm hiding behind you. I'll back you up, that's more like it. Ugh! What is this stuff?"

No sooner had he swallowed the pill than a warm surge flowed through his chest, spiraling through his body. The wound on his back, afflicted by a sinister blade, began to itch as new flesh formed.

Su Wen's smile was devilish. "Heh, it's a Small Revitalizing Pellet, a powerful tonic. But be warned, you'll be consumed by desire for the next couple of days. You'll probably end up at Axiang's hair salon again..."

"You little scamp, they're coming in—let's take them down!"

Chen's view of Su Wen had vastly improved. Such a simple-looking pill held incredible power. What kind of secret arts had Su Wen mastered?

"Evil Tiger Gang business! Everyone else, out of the way!"

Five or six thugs burst through the entrance, led by a fat man whose body was like a mountain of flesh. With every word he spoke, his blubber rippled in waves.

"What are you up to?"

The fat man sneered at Su Wen's beaming face, but it was the stern-looking bald man behind Su Wen that gave him pause.

Greetings, gentlemen, I'm the new runner hired by this establishment. I've long admired your renowned group from afar.

The thugs weren't so petty as to trouble a new hire.

The hefty man gestured approvingly, "You've got a good eye, kid, but better stay put; your word doesn't count here!"

Su Wen remained unbothered.

"Of course, of course. But, our shop has a fresh batch of mung bean soup—sweet, delicious, perfect for cooling down and cutting through the humidity. You all look parched from your journey; care for a taste?"

The fat leader, already short of breath and prone to sweating, especially in this unbearable heat, eagerly nodded at the mention of the soup.

"Boss, watch out for tricks..."

A wiry thug behind the fat man seemed to be playing the role of the cautious advisor.

"Hehe, I wouldn't dare deceive you fine folks. I'll have a bowl first!"

Su Wen downed a bowl of the mung bean soup with gusto. The envious thugs followed the fat man's lead and emptied the entire bucket of soup provided by the noodle shop. The fat man felt refreshed, his menacing demeanor softened a touch.

"Now that we're refreshed, let's get down to business. Baldy Chen, let me be frank with you. We're not looking to cause trouble, but a certain gentleman has taken a liking to your daughter. He doesn't care that she's blind and wants her as his concubine. Forget about the protection money; the crumbs from his table could open ten more noodle shops for you."

Old Chen scoffed, having clearly observed Su Wen's earlier maneuvers.

"You really have a death wish, don't you? If you think you can lay a hand on Suer, you'd better wait for your next life!"

The fat man was on the brink of exploding in anger, but then he noticed Su Wen smirking and counting.

"One, two, three... not too shabby."

Thud, thud.

The thugs scattered around the room collapsed, one by one falling into a deep slumber. Su Wen walked among them, giving each a nudge with his foot and scoffed.

"Scum like you call yourselves heroes of the martial world? You don't even have the decency to refuse food and water. You're lucky I only used a sleeping potion. Had it been Heart Powder, you'd all be queuing up for the afterlife by now."

Baldy Chen watched as Su Wen took down the ruffians effortlessly, yet his face was etched with concern.

"Wen, I've been thinking it over, and maybe we should move. I'm not scared of thugs, but these guys are like hyenas, picking on the weak and cowering before the strong. If someone with real power comes along, we'll be in trouble. It doesn't bother me much, but Suer can't be expected to stay indoors forever. If something were to happen to her..."

Su Wen chuckled at the suggestion.

"Since when did you become such a worrier, Old Chen? So what if they have connections? I've got my own, and I still get an earful from you. Don't fret over this; I've got it covered. You just keep the doors open and let Suer live her life. Starting today, no one on this street will dare to mess with her!"

Su Wen's confidence was striking, and it somehow managed to instill a measure of faith in Old Chen.

"Stop!"

A young girl burst from the kitchen. Barely in her twenties, her complexion was fairer than fresh snow, her lips a delicate pink. Her figure might not turn heads, but she exuded an ethereal grace, as if untouched by the world. Her eyes were tightly shut, leaving onlookers to wonder at the beauty that would be revealed once they opened.