The kitchen was really clean, and the refrigerator contained all kinds of fresh groceries. Xu Yun thought for a bit, then took out a yellow eel, a stalk of celery, and two peppers. Ginger and garlic were even more important to have in abundance.

Ruan QingShuang had already curiously followed Xu Yun into the kitchen. She saw Xu Yun skillfully wash the eel thoroughly, de-bone and slice it, and then cut the peppers, dice the ginger, and julienne the garlic. When the wok was hot, he added oil and roasted the ginger and garlic, and stir-fried the eel. After waiting for the eel to change color, he immediately added the peppers and celery, frying the dish for 1 minute. He added soy sauce and fermented beans and mixed.

Just as the dish was coming out, Xu Yun swiftly grabbed a chicken egg and broke it into a bowl. Using boiling broth he made an egg flower, and added a spoonful of honey. He then completed a simple but very low temperature honey and chicken egg flower tea.

“Come, GuoGuo, Shuang-jie*, try out my skills.” Xu Yun very quickly placed the dish and the soup in front of GuoGuo: “Eat it while it’s hot. It isn’t good when it cools down.”

TN: Jie 姐 means older sister. Very common to call older unrelated women sister if you aren’t being super polite. Shows closeness like nee-san, nuna etc.

It was the first time Ruan QingShuang heard the stranger address her, but her pretty face blushed for just a second without any feeling of unwillingness. It seemed that Xu Yun could address her like that.

GuoGuo grabbed a piece of the eel, and savoringly ate it as she nodded her head, “Hey, not bad. Keep up the good work, stay consistent.”

Ruan QingShuang also put her chopsticks in her mouth with a piece, drinking a spoonful afterwards of the simple honey and egg tea. She could only lament that Xu Yun’s amazing skills were far beyond hers. The fragrant celery, beans, and peppers flowed with the eel, creating a fresh and delicate but not greasy flavor. The honey egg tea didn’t have a hint of fis.h.i.+ness! It was simply at the level of a chef!

“How is it? Worth 1000 bucks a month?” Xu Yun smiled with complete confidence. Not even bragging, with only the level of this panacea dish, even 8-star hotels in Dubai would be willing to pay a 10,000,000 salary for him to be a chef there!

TN: 10m RMB is about $1.6m.

GuoGuo shook her head, finally blurting out, “If it’s about 800, that’s about right.”

I…*grind*…this girl is really finicky.

It was clear Xu Yun got along really well with Ruan QingShuang and GuoGuo, all 3 of them chatting while eating dinner, they were like three precious treasures of harmony. GuoGuo still bugged Xu Yun to teach her some moves against bad guys, and so Xu Yun taught her a few military techniques. GuoGuo learned and followed his stances, looking very cute..

Ruan QingShuang and Xu Yun both discussed strategies for publicity. Unfortunately her a.s.sets were too low, and honestly she didn’t have enough funds for advertising. However Xu Yun was very clear, this year without funds, advertising would be impossible.

Upon hearing this GuoGuo became sleepy and complained that she wanted to go upstairs to sleep. Seeing this, Xu Yun stood up to say his farewells, “It’s a bit late, you two rest early, I’ll head home.”

“Daddy, how about staying and sleeping with GuoGuo?” GuoGuo said in a sleepy haze.

“GuoGuo, is mommy accompanying you to sleep not enough?” Ruan QingShuang said, playfully glaring at GuoGuo.

“The bed is so big, with one more person it’s safer. Are you worried I might fall off and get bruised?”

“…” Ruan QingShuang and Xu Yun nearly became petrified.

Fortunately GuoGuo didn’t press the subject, she turned around and went up the stairs.

Ruan QingShuang looked embarra.s.sed, she only said, “You….that….”

“Ah, I understand GuoGuo’s good sentiments, I’ll still go home to sleep…” Xu Yun could only laugh. Ruan QingShuang blushed as she walked Xu Yun out, and then closed the door and closed up for the night.

Xu Yun left the panacea restaurant and didn’t return directly home. Instead he rounded the corner and went to the most famous barbecue street in HeDong City’s WenHui district. This place was WenHui district’s most popular nightlife section, with action like a raging fire. People came to drink beers and eat barbecue kebabs, and it was full of unsavory types.

8 or 9 ruffians full of food and booze were singing drunkenly. Swaying leisurely they got up to go across the street and take a leak on some trees.

“QiangZi*.” Xu Yun called out.

TN: QiangZi means strong one, or mighty one.

“Oh f’ck…” A hoodlum was scared s.h.i.+tless. He almost wet himself, and suddenly he got angry. He turned his head to look behind him.

When he saw Xu Yun laughing till his eyes were small not too far away, that hoodlum at once s.h.i.+vered. “Ah, it’s Yun-ge* huh, I’m surprised.”

TN: Ge 哥 is brother, specifically older brother. The one addressed as “ge” is usually recognized as senior even if he isn’t truly older.

The pack of hoodlums QiangZi was leading had started trouble with Xu Yun when he had just returned to HeDong City, but were easily “pacified”. Now seeing Xu Yun again was like a mouse seeing a cat.

“I came because I need a favor.” Xu Yun didn’t bother with courtesies, in his eyes QiangZi and his followers were at their core not bad people.

QiangZi paused for a second. He swiftly calculated Xu Yun’s outfit, then his expression had a bit of awkwardness and he said, “Yun-ge, were you the one who beat down those Four Wolves Gang guys at Yi River Square?”

WenHui District didn’t have too many people that dared to touch members of the Four Wolves Gang, so word of today’s incident spread rapidly. Flip flops, tank-top, flowery shorts – a famous t.i.tan that made thugs everywhere shake in fear. The instant QiangZi saw Xu Yun’s outfit, he instantly knew why he came!

“Yo, news sure travels pretty fast eh.” Xu Yun acknowledged it calmly, but for this little servant QiangZi, his facial expression became very ugly.

QiangZi tried to force a laugh but it didn’t come out. Xu Yun asking him for help just now meant getting involved with the Four Wolves Gang. It messed with his mind endlessly. Although QiangZi started mixing with gangsters since middle school and was now a veteran of the streets, he had never dared to mess with the Four Wolves Gang. “Yun-ge, people from the Four Wolves Gang are especially ruthless. I advise you to not mess with them… There’s the saying two fists will have a hard time against 4 hands. After all, the Four Wolves Gang has more than a thousand members!”

“I didn’t come to ask you to fight alongside me, I only need a little something.” Xu Yun understood QiangZi’s worries.

“Yun-ge, as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with the Four Wolves Gang, if I have to climb a mountain of blades or cross a sea of fire and I will still help you!” QiangZi acted like it was a military order.

Xu Yun nodded his head, “Come. Come with me to a place.”

The group of people came to Yi River Square. Xu Yun pointed at the panacea restaurant across the street. “Help me find someone to print 10,000 colored copies of flyers advertising for this restaurant, then place them nearby all residential areas, offices, and schools.”

“Done!” QiangZi nodded, and promised. But inside he was a bit sad over the cost of these 10,000 flyers.

Xu Yun took out all the money he was carrying, and gave it all to QiangZi, “If there’s any extra, just consider it payment for running errands. You could use it to get some food and drinks for your brothers. No need to lose money for this favor.”

QiangZi didn’t dare to covet Xu Yun’s money – quickly and politely he pushed it away, “Nonononono, Yun-ge, if we talk about money it will hurt our brotherhood!”

“That’s different and shouldn’t be related.” Xu Yun still tried to force the money on QiangZi.

Seeing it was this way, QiangZi relented and took the rolled up money. Patting his chest, he guaranteed, “Big brother Yun, since you are relying on me with this matter, don’t worry, in WenHui district, these offices and residential areas, I’ll cover them all! I’ll definitely accomplish this!”

“Once it’s done, I’ll treat you to dinner!” Xu Yun put his hand on QiangZi’s shoulder and smiled.

After QiangZi’s gang left, Xu Yun also intended to go, but as he was turning, suddenly he sensed a shadow flash in the alley across the street. Closely following the shadow for a bit, in the ghostly light, a slim and graceful figure jumped up to the second floor of the panacea restaurant’s windowsill.  Without a sound, the window on the second floor was pushed open and the shadow slid sideways inside.

“Huh?” Xu Yun wrinkled his eyebrows. That shadow just now moved at apex speed. In fact, that leaping flip to the roof was peerless in technique, not something that ordinary people can do.

“An elite!” Xu Yun mentally began a.s.sessing that shadow’s display of skill just now. But why would this type of person come out of Ruan QingShuang’s panacea restaurant? Could it be someone from the Four Wolves Gang?

Thinking of this, Xu Yun dashed to the front of the restaurant in a few steps. Tip-toeing lightly, his body like a majestic eagle soaring through the sky, quickly and easily reached the second floor balcony. There wasn’t a single sound as he lept from the ground.

Through the window, Xu Yun clearly saw the shadowy elite that entered the panacea restaurant was a woman!

Borrowing the light from the street, Xu Yun could see the the face of that woman. His eyes suddenly lit up.

On the woman’s tall figure, hot enchantingly smooth hair flowed down her back, with a cla.s.sical beauty’s flavor.

If comparing the body and face, that woman was definitely not less than Ruan QingShuang, but that woman exuded a light aura of divinity. Her brow exuded a sense of slaughter, with swift and fierce phoenix eyes like a blade – a stunning face as cold as ice. No matter from which angle, it was all as though no person could desecrate her, that no one could even get close to.

With some cat-like movements, they seemed as though they were warm and gentle, but it could never be known when fierce sharp claws could erupt out.

“d.a.m.n, such a dangerous person came over here for some fresh air? Xu Yun was puzzled, but stayed hidden behind the balcony without a sound, silently watching the woman’s every move.

That ice queen, like a ghost, took steps with dextrous precision. In the corridor she walked as though flying. As she pa.s.sed each room, she used her slender, dexterous fingers to open the doors and glimpse inside, then she would continue onto the next room as though looking for something.

“Is she looking for someone?”  Xu Yun squinted – his eyebrows tightened, his eyes became fearlessly cold, the type that gives people fearful pause.

If Xu Yun had his brothers beside him, they would definitely know this was the preparation to attack at any time.

That cold beauty very quickly found Ruan QingShuang’s and GuoGuo’s room. Opening the door and glancing inside, her face showed a “letting out a breath” kind of relieved expression.

“Phew~” Xu Yun didn’t quite understand what this cold beauty came to do.

The beauty stayed at the door watching for a while, then slowly and relaxedly closed the room door. She turned and headed straight for the balcony.

Seeing this, with a flash Xu Yun exploded towards the ground – immediately stealthily arriving to the edge of the balcony. Within 1 note of the musical cla.s.sic “Ping Sha Luo Yan”*, he flipped his body and jumped off the 2nd floor, landing behind a wall in a concealed shadow.

Very quickly, that cold beauty also descended the 2nd floor.

However, at the instant she landed, she unexpectedly turned and stared towards Xu Yun’s hiding spot. Swiftly and fiercely, her phoenix eyes repeatedly flashed sternly.

“Come out!” The cold beauty said, as she furiously drew a supple blade in her hands, the edge was like autumn frost, and it glittered like snow. The body of the blade shone jade-like, like autumn waters – it was both divine and devilis.h.!.+

“Cr’p, daddy’s concealment techniques are considered good. How did this woman discover me?” Xu Yun internally gloomily complained. But he came out calmly. “Hehe, you came to look for GuoGuo right?”

“Who are you?” The cold alluring beauty stayed alert and watching Xu Yun. The flexible blade flashed with a shockingly cold light, as though if Xu Yun’s answer didn’t satisfy her, the next second that supple blade would pierce through him.