Chapter 67: Little Sister’s Face Became Beautiful

Xie Haitao led his ragtag group of underlings away from Mi Ting’s courtyard with their tails between their legs.

The men supported each other as they hobbled around two corners, finally stopping in a dark, damp alley.

"Pah!"

Xie Haitao spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground, his fleshy face clouded with a sinister expression.

"Boss! Are we just going to let this go?"

A bruised and swollen underling clutched his stomach and grumbled, "That guy Yang beat up so many of us, and he strong-armed the fifty thousand down to ten. Are we supposed to just swallow that?"

"Yeah, Boss!"

Another thug, who’d had half a front tooth knocked out, mumbled in agreement, "If word of this gets out, how are we supposed to keep our rep in Xiaoxie Village?!"

"Shut up!"

Xie Haitao’s eyes shot wide. His small, beady eyes glinted with venom as he sneered, "Let it go? Do you think I’m the type to take a loss lying down?"

"Then we should..."

"But that guy is a monster in a fight!" Xie Haitao gritted his teeth. The memory of Yang Xun’s ghost-like movements filled him with lingering fear. He continued, "We’re no match for him, even all together. If we had stayed to fight him head-on, we’d only have gotten beaten worse. We need a long-term plan!"

At this, his greasy eyes narrowed. He scanned the underlings beside him and pointed to the two who looked the craftiest.

"Starting tomorrow, you two are going to tail Yang Xun. I want to know where he goes, who he sees, and what he does. Find out every single detail, no matter how small, and report back to me!"

"Yes, Boss!"

"Once we’ve figured out his whole story..."

Xie Haitao’s lips slowly stretched into a sinister grin. "Then I’ll have plenty of ways to deal with him. You just wait, Yang!"

...

「Meanwhile.」

Back in Mi Ting’s courtyard, the thugs were gone, but the tense atmosphere they left behind still lingered in the air.

Yang Cai was squatting in a corner, hugging her knees tightly. Her small face was deathly pale and her lips were trembling, clearly still terrified by what had just happened.

Mi Ting wasn’t faring much better. She leaned against the wall, her legs still feeling weak. The memory of the thugs’ leering faces as they grabbed her collar sent waves of fear washing over her.

’If Yang Xun hadn’t come back in time today, the consequences would have been unthinkable!’

’That bastard Xie Haitao would have almost certainly dragged me to that shady massage parlor!’

’The very thought of what would have been waiting for me then was horrifying.’

"Alright, alright, don’t be scared anymore."

After tearing the IOU to shreds and tossing it in the trash, Yang Xun walked over to the two of them. He reached out and patted Yang Cai’s head, saying gently, "Those guys are gone. I’m here now. I won’t let anyone bully you."

"Brother..."

Yang Cai threw herself forward and hugged Yang Xun’s waist, burying her face in his chest. "That was so scary..." she mumbled. "Those men were so vicious..."

"It’s okay now. Your brother’s here."

Yang Xun gently patted his sister’s back, his voice as soft as a spring breeze.

Mi Ting took several deep breaths, finally managing to compose herself.

She stood up straight and looked Yang Xun up and down, her brow furrowed in disbelief. "Xiaoxun... when did you get so good at fighting?"

"Yeah, Brother!"

Yang Cai lifted her head, her big eyes blinking as she stared at Yang Xun curiously. "You were amazing! You handled those guys like it was child’s play. You were never good at fighting before. When we were kids, you even needed Sister Ting to fight your battles for you."

"Hahaha, that’s right!" Mi Ting couldn’t help but laugh. She poked Yang Xun’s chest, teasing, "The little brat who used to fall over if someone so much as pushed him can now take on seven or eight guys at once? What have you been up to behind our backs?"

Yang Xun felt a little guilty under their stares.

’I can never tell them about the inheritance!’

He cleared his throat twice and spouted some nonsense with a calm expression. "Eh, it’s no big deal. When I was doing food delivery, I met an old martial arts master. He said I had potential and taught me a few moves for self-defense. Turns out they work pretty well."

"Martial arts?"

Mi Ting’s brow furrowed, looking skeptical.

"Yep! The traditional kind!" Yang Xun said, making it up as he went along and sounding more natural with every word. He smiled. "But the old master said his kung fu is only for self-defense, not for starting fights, so I don’t usually use it."

Although Mi Ting found the explanation a bit far-fetched, she couldn’t think of a more reasonable one, so she didn’t press the issue.

However, her expression soon turned serious. She grabbed Yang Xun’s arm and said earnestly, "Xiaoxun, no matter how you learned martial arts, there’s one thing you absolutely must remember."

"What is it?" Yang Xun’s expression also grew serious as he asked.

"Xie Haitao is a petty and vindictive man who holds a grudge over every little thing!" Mi Ting’s brow was tightly knit, her voice full of worry. "You beat up his men in front of so many people today and forced that fifty thousand debt down to ten. There’s no way he’ll let that go! You have to be careful when you go out from now on. He’ll definitely look for a chance to get revenge!"

"Don’t worry, Sister Ting." Yang Xun waved a dismissive hand, a confident smirk playing on his lips. "Him and that ragtag crew? If ten of them come, I’ll take down ten. If twenty come, I’ll take them all down. If Xie Haitao dares to come for revenge, I guarantee he’ll be sorry."

Seeing his carefree attitude, Mi Ting rolled her eyes in exasperation, but the heavy weight on her heart finally lightened considerably.

With Yang Xun around, she really did feel much more at ease.

"Alright, alright, let’s not just stand in the yard. Let’s go inside."

Mi Ting patted Yang Cai’s shoulder, about to usher everyone back into the house.

Huh??

Just then, Yang Xun’s gaze happened to sweep across Yang Cai’s face, and his expression changed slightly.

He paused for a second, then leaned in a little closer, carefully studying her face.

His brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

’My sister’s skin... how did it get so much better?’

Because of her long-term chemotherapy, Yang Cai’s skin had always been dull, rough, dry, and sallow. It was painful to look at.

But right now, her innocent, youthful face was much fairer and more radiant. Her cheeks and forehead, in particular, could only be described as dewy and smooth. She looked like a completely different person from the sallow, dry girl she was before!

"Little sis, your face... how did it get so much fairer?"

Yang Xun asked, his face full of confusion.

"Hehe! You’ll see in a second!"

At the mention of this, Yang Cai was absolutely thrilled. A brilliant smile bloomed on her face, and her eyes curved into little crescents.

She skipped into the house, pulled open the refrigerator door, and took out a small bottle.

Then she ran back excitedly to Yang Xun, held the bottle up in front of his eyes, and said proudly, "Brother, this beauty milk works wonders! Look at my face, isn’t it so much fairer than before? Do you want to try some? It’s really easy to use, you just rub it on your face!"