"Brother, where on earth have you been for the ten years you were gone? And how did you become so powerful?"
Along the way, Qin Fei asked while sucking on a lollipop. Although she was only eighteen, she was no fool; she could sense that Qin Yan was different from ordinary people, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what that difference was.
"Little sister, the truth is that during those ten years I was gone, I was learning magic from an old immortal. In the future, your brother will be able to ride the clouds and mount the mist, just like Sun Wukong!" Qin Yan said, half-joking and half-serious.
He wasn't entirely wrong; if he reached the Golden Core Stage of Immortal Cultivation, he would indeed be able to fly through the high skies on his sword.
"Really? Then you must take me with you when the time comes! I want to see if the Heavenly Palace exists in the clouds and if the stories in *Journey to the West* are actually true. I want to see if Sister Chang'e is as beautiful as they say!"
Hearing this, Qin Fei’s eyes widened with longing. Ever since she was a little girl, she had loved watching *Journey to the West* and had always yearned for the Heavenly Palace.
"Haha!"
Qin Yan laughed, finding his sister incredibly innocent. As he looked at her delicate face, he suddenly remembered something. He flicked his wrist, and a vial appeared in his hand, which he had retrieved from his spatial ring. He unscrewed the cap and took out a blue pill.
"Little sister, eat this."
He held the pill out to her, his expression serious.
"Brother, what is this?" Qin Fei asked curiously as she took the blue pill from him.
"This is a Beauty-Preserving Pill. Once you take it, your appearance will remain exactly as it is now. You will never develop wrinkles, and you will never grow old!" Qin Yan said.
He was telling the truth. This vial of blue pills was indeed a Beauty-Preserving Pill, one of the many elixirs his master, Cang Qing, had left him before departing Earth. Cang Qing had originally found it in the storage pouch of a temptress he had slain in the world of Immortal Cultivation—after all, even a temptress was still a woman who cared about her looks.
The greatest effect of the Beauty-Preserving Pill was to keep one’s youth forever, ensuring they would never age.
Although Qin Fei didn't entirely believe him, she knew her brother would never harm her, so she opened her mouth and swallowed the pill.
"My stomach feels so warm... and so full!"
After swallowing the Beauty-Preserving Pill, Qin Fei let out a small burp, her face flushing a deep red. Qin Yan knew this was simply the effect of the medicinal power taking hold.Given Qin Fei's current physical condition, it would take twelve hours for her to fully break down and absorb the medicinal properties of the Beauty-Preserving Pill. Once absorption was complete, she would retain her youth forever, becoming a true "Tianshan Tonglao."
"Let's go!"
In a flash, the two of them arrived at the school gate. However, just as Qin Yanyan was about to part ways with his sister, he suddenly heard a voice.
"What are you doing? Get away!"
He turned his head to look and discovered that under a small tree by the school gate, a girl dressed in a JK uniform with a curvaceous figure was being surrounded by several hoodlums with dyed yellow hair. It appeared the hoodlums were harassing her.
Because these hoodlums looked like trouble, no one, despite the large crowd at the school gate, dared to meddle in the affair.
"Ah, is that Xu Xiuxiu? She’s my classmate."
At this moment, Qin Fei also spotted the girl in the JK uniform. Clearly recognizing her, she rushed over, and Qin Yanyan naturally followed behind.
"Why are you bullying her?"
Qin Fei stood directly in front of Xu Xiuxiu and pointed her finger at the hoodlums.
"Fei, they said some guy named Brother Kun wants to take me out to dinner and told me to go with them, but I don't know any Brother Kun at all!"
Xu Xiuxiu, clearly a timid girl, explained to Qin Fei.
"Oh, I see. You’re planning to take Xu Xiuxiu away, get her drunk, and bully her, right?"Upon hearing this, Qin Fei immediately understood. After all, such things had happened at school before; naive girls would go out to eat with people from the streets, only to be drugged and taken advantage of. Qin Fei suspected that these thugs were harboring the exact same malicious intentions.
"Little girl, where do you think you’re from, daring to meddle in our business? Though, you aren't half bad—especially these twin tails. They look cute. I wonder what they feel like?"
One of the men with dyed yellow hair grinned. He reached out, aiming to touch Qin Fei’s ponytail, but at that very moment, he suddenly felt a rush of wind. A sharp pain struck his face, and his entire body went flying.
He slammed heavily into the ground eight meters away. A deep palm print was bruised onto the right side of his face, and several of his teeth had been knocked out.
Standing beside Qin Fei was now a handsome young man.
"You dare touch my sister? Are you looking to die?"
Qin Yan said coldly. It was naturally he who had slapped the yellow-haired man away. If it weren't for the fact that it was broad daylight and he wanted to avoid the unnecessary trouble of killing someone, he would have slapped the thug into a mist of blood.
"Qin Fei, is this your brother? He's so strong!"At that moment, Xu Xiuxiu’s eyes widened. To her, Qin Yan looked incredibly handsome. The sheer strength required to send a man flying with a single slap was staggering. More importantly, Qin Yan was not only a capable fighter but also strikingly handsome and possessed a strong sense of justice. An unfamiliar, overwhelming sensation surged through Xu Xiuxiu’s heart; she felt as if she were on the verge of a climax.
"That's right, he's my brother. Isn't my brother amazing?" Qin Fei said proudly. Though she, too, had been caught off guard when her brother sent the yellow-haired man flying with a slap, the surprise was quickly replaced by joy. It proved that she held a place of great importance in her brother’s heart.
"This young man may be handsome, but he’s a fool. How could he dare to provoke the Heikou Sect? He’s finished!"
"Exactly. Everyone knows the Heikou Sect is the biggest gang in our city. Poor guy!"
People in the surrounding crowd whispered among themselves, but their words still reached Qin Yan’s ears.
Qin Yan had heard of the Heikou Sect before. It was an underground organization in Chuzhou, much like the 17K or Hong Xing of Hong Kong. It was rumored to have over a thousand members and essentially monopolized the entertainment industry in Chuzhou, including bars, KTVs, and nightclubs.
"You actually dared to provoke our Heikou Sect and interfere with Brother Kun’s business? You’re done for!"
Just then, the yellow-haired man scrambled to his feet. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and pulled out his phone to make a call.
"Brother Kun, I’ve run into a bit of trouble. Some punk hit me... Yes, yes, thank you, Brother Kun."
After hanging up, the yellow-haired man glared at Qin Yan viciously. "Just wait. Brother Kun will be here in a moment."
As time passed, about half an hour later, several black Mercedes-Benz cars pulled up to the school gate. The doors opened, and a group of men in black stepped out. The young man leading them stood out in particular.
He was about six feet tall, with long legs and a short torso. His features were plain, dominated by a face riddled with pockmarks. Under the sunlight, the pockmarks on his face glistened, making him look particularly repulsive.
Zhou Kun was the nephew of Zhou Zilong, the leader of the Heikou Sect. He had a penchant for "hunting" beauties, especially schoolgirls. When he spotted the high-schooler Xu Xiuxiu one day, he had ordered his subordinates to take care of it. Having just received a call from his underling—the yellow-haired man—claiming that someone dared to interfere with the Heikou Sect’s business, he had rushed over to assess the situation.
"Brother Kun, you came just in time! It’s that guy! He slapped me so hard he knocked my teeth out! He even said you were a toad lusting after a swan, and that you weren't good enough for that student!" The yellow-haired man ran directly to Zhou Kun to lodge his complaint. Fearing that Brother Kun might not stand up for him, he spouted nonsense, claiming that Qin Yan had insulted him.
"What? He said I’m a toad?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Kun flew into a rage. Because of his ugly, pockmarked face, he was extremely sensitive about his appearance. Years ago, he had raped and murdered a girl just because she called him ugly, dumping her body in the Yangtze River.
He marched straight up to Qin Yan, followed by his group of thugs.
"So you’re the one who insulted me, saying I look like a toad?" Zhou Kun lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and stared coldly at Qin Yan. Although Qin Yan appeared extraordinary, it didn't matter. In Zhou Kun’s eyes, there was no one in Chuzhou he couldn’t handle.
"He’s lying! My brother never insulted you! He only hit that yellow-haired man! Brother, hurry up and explain!" Qin Fei, standing to the side, was frantic. She was terrified by the sheer number of men Zhou Kun had brought, especially since she knew for a fact that Qin Yan hadn't cursed him.
However, Qin Yan’s next words made Qin Fei’s heart sink to the bottom of a well.
"That’s right. In my opinion, you do look quite a bit like a toad. Those pockmarks on your face are exactly like the bumps on a toad’s skin," Qin Yan said, looking at Zhou Kun with a smile.
"Brother Kun, you heard him! I wasn't lying to you! He really said you look like a toad!" Seeing Qin Yan admit it, the yellow-haired man was ecstatic. He ran back toward Zhou Kun, surprised that Qin Yan—who clearly had a screw loose—would actually double down like that.
"Fuck you!"
Zhou Kun, already furious, lashed out and kicked the yellow-haired man in the chest, sending him flying. He then shot a look at a burly, broad-shouldered man beside him. "Stone, beat this ignorant fool to death. Let him know who he’s dealing with!"
The man called Stone nodded. He flexed his fists, which were the size of sandbags, and walked toward Qin Yan.
Stone was one of the four kings of the Heikou Sect and had reigned as the underground boxing champion of Chuzhou for three years, having been recruited by the sect leader, Zhou Zilong, at a great price. He could punch with a force of 300 pounds; on the underground circuit, no one could withstand his blow.
"Brother, run!" Seeing Stone, who was as massive as a grizzly bear, Qin Fei and Xu Xiuxiu were terrified and prayed for Qin Yan to flee. But Qin Yan didn't budge.