Chapter 16: Close the Door!

Fourth Sister, Li Youran, was just like her name—serene and at ease. There was a calm, effortless grace to every movement she made, a tranquility that drew the eye and held it. If Chen Fan were to give his opinion, Li Youran ought to be called Second Sister, and the mischievous Shao Zining should be the youngest.

“Fourth Sister is coming back?”
“Is she coming straight to the villa?”
Chen Fan couldn’t help but ask, already wondering how he might surprise her.

“Probably not,” came the reply. “There’s an auction at the Treasure Pavilion tomorrow. I have a feeling your Fourth Sister will go there first.”

Treasure Pavilion?
Chen Fan paused, recalling that it was said to be a paradise for antique collectors. He’d heard some rumors about it.

“Alright, I’ll see about going straight to the Treasure Pavilion tomorrow to find Fourth Sister,” he said. “I’ll give her a huge surprise!”

Shao Zining drooped at once.
“What a shame. I have to shoot a commercial tomorrow,” she sighed. “Otherwise, I’d go with you and see her reaction for myself.”

Meng Rongrong couldn’t help but laugh at Shao Zining’s words.
“Oh, don’t worry,” she said, “I have a meeting at the company as well. Here’s the plan—Xiaofan, when you see your Fourth Sister, memorize her expression the moment she recognizes you. When you get home, you must tell your Second Sister and me about it in detail. How’s that?”

Chen Fan grinned broadly—no problem at all!

The next morning, Meng Rongrong and Shao Zining each went off to work while Chen Fan indulged in a rare lazy morning. When he got up and went downstairs, he found bread and milk waiting on the dining table. The bread had been made by Meng Rongrong earlier that morning.

“Xiaofan, have something to eat. There’s also some noodles in the thermal lunchbox. Help yourself,” read the note left for him.

Seeing the sticky note left for him, Chen Fan felt a warmth bloom in his heart. He found the thermal lunchbox, only to discover another note attached:

“Xiaofan, listen to your Second Sister and drink the milk. Heat it up in the microwave. Noodles and bread don’t go together—milk is the way to go.”

Chen Fan couldn’t help but laugh.
Noodles? Or milk?
Come on—only kids make choices.

As an adult, Chen Fan decided to have both.

In the end, he finished the bread, milk, and noodles.
“Burp!”
He let out a long, satisfied belch. The food here was so much better than what he’d eaten with the old man up in the mountains.

“Ye Xiu is running a bit late,” he muttered. “He said he’d come by at eight-thirty, and now it’s already nine.” The night before, he’d arranged with Ye Xiu to meet in person.

After all, Ares might not act exactly as Johnson had predicted.
He wasn’t a fool. What if he tried to avoid risk? For example, he could have his men show up at Huajiang International Airport, then use other means to enter Longguo. It wasn’t impossible.

“Should I call the old man first?” Chen Fan pondered, arching his brow with a smile. Then he dialed the old man’s number.

“Hello? Old man, are you still up in the mountains?” Chen Fan asked as soon as the call connected.

“Are you stupid? If I’m not up the mountain, where would I be? So, tell me, how’s it feel to be back in the city? Plenty of beautiful women around, huh?”

Chen Fan rolled his eyes. As expected, it was impossible to have a serious conversation with the old man.

“Come on, is all you care about pretty women? Aren’t you worried your disciple might be in trouble? My sisters are all in a bit of a bind lately.”

On the other end, the old man sighed dramatically.
“Trouble? What trouble could you possibly run into? Think back—when I sent you to the City of Darkness to kill someone. That man was a villain of the highest order, right? But you wiped out his entire family. And every one of them was a killer, with blood on their hands. You just went ahead and did it. I was worried you’d get yourself killed in the City of Darkness!”

Chen Fan frowned; the conversation was veering off course. He quickly interrupted.

“Hey, hey, not that. But it does have something to do with the City of Darkness. You know Ares, right? The so-called God of War among the Twelve Main Gods.”

The old man paused.
Someone actually called themselves the God of War? Shouldn’t they check with me first? After a moment’s thought, a figure came to mind.

“You mean the one who’s always itching for a fight? The one with the nunchaku?”

Chen Fan nearly laughed aloud.
Always itching for a fight! Ares just wanted to improve his combat ability through real battles.

“That’s right,” Chen Fan said.

The old man snorted, “He never had the guts to challenge me one-on-one, but I’ll bet anything he’s no match for you. Don’t worry.”

Chen Fan sighed.
“It’s not about beating him. He’s just a pain! He has a gang, and I’m all alone.”

Now that he thought about it…

True enough.

The old man considered this, then burst out,
“You idiot, I’m not coming down from the mountain. Asking me does you no good. If he’s got people, then so should you! Aren’t all your senior brothers just ghosts?”

Chen Fan drew a long breath.
Senior brothers?
What senior brothers?

“Hey, old man, don’t mess with me. I’m your only disciple. What senior brothers?”

The old man on the other end was nearly beside himself with anger.
“Idiot! Your martial uncle has plenty of disciples, and they’ve all left the mountain already. Just pick a couple, and you’ll be kicking Ares around like a soccer ball!”

Chen Fan was stunned, his face lit with amazement.
“Damn, old man, you’re the best! You’re absolutely right!”

Hearing this, the old man was finally pleased.
Go on, give your master a little praise.

But the next moment, Chen Fan hung up on him.

As Chen Fan would say—
If it weren’t for venting his troubles, he’d never call the old man for nothing.

There was another important reason as well: Ye Xiu had just arrived at the villa.

With Ye Xiu was a sturdy, honest-looking man.

“Mad Dragon, let me introduce you—this is Da Zhuang, formerly of the Heavenly Division, Dragon Group.”

Chen Fan was taken aback.
The Heavenly Division? That was impressive. Retired, though—now that was intriguing. Didn’t that mean he was no longer under the Dragon Group’s command?

“Come in, Brother Da Zhuang! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

With that, Chen Fan warmly invited Li Da Zhuang inside and closed the door heavily behind them.

He had to win this man over.

For now, he could protect his sisters himself. But with seven sisters, they couldn’t all stay in Huajiang forever. When Chen Fan had to leave for business, Da Zhuang—the former member of the Heavenly Division—would be his strongest right hand. He had to recruit him.

“Da Zhuang, have you seen Ye Xiu?”
Chen Fan turned around and realized only Li Da Zhuang was standing there.

Ye Xiu… was missing?

Li Da Zhuang’s face flushed as he struggled not to laugh, a trace of embarrassment flashing across his features.

“Brother Mad Dragon,” he said, “You locked Ye Xiu outside.”