Chapter 388

When we went out to the bar, from afar I saw two familiar figures across the street.

These two people were Yao Yirong and Silijing; after I pushed them out, they didn't leave but anxiously waited for us across the street.

Seeing me and Pangzi come out, Yao Yirong and Silijing anxiously broke into a quick run.

"Are you okay?" With a thump, a soft fragrance enveloped me, and the scent I inhaled left me dazed for a moment.

"I'm fine... I'm fine." Looking at Yao Yirong's red-rimmed eyes, a pang of pity welled up in my heart, accompanied by waves of warm feeling.

She didn't leave; even at this dangerous moment, she didn't go.

On the other side, Silijing nervously followed Pangzi, asking him this and that; her concern was met with Pangzi's helpless, foolish hehe laugh.

"It's time we left... before the Northeast Tiger changes his mind." Fan Wuchang held a cigarette, looking at us four with an involuntary smile, then shook his head in disbelief.

Yao Yirong's face flushed, and she quickly broke free from me.

Then, at that moment, a booming roar suddenly came from the sky.

Everyone looked up and saw several helicopters suddenly appear in the dark night sky, their rotors whirring; judging by the formation, their destination seemed to be us.

"Ah Hao, something's wrong—quickly go get people!" Fan Wuchang said solemnly to the lackey beside him.

Pangzi and I both felt our hearts tighten at the same time—could these helicopters be coming for us?

"Don't be afraid, everyone; this helicopter was probably called by my brother," Yao Yirong said, her face flushed, her voice as faint as a mosquito.

Pangzi and I exchanged glances, and Fan Wuchang's gaze sharpened, his look at Yao Yirong changing.

"Who is your brother?" Fan Wuchang asked Yao Yirong in a low voice.

Yao Yirong, no longer her usual feisty self, lowered her head and spoke softly and delicately: "Yao Wenju."

When Yao Yirong revealed the name "Brother Wenju," Fan Wuchang's solemn expression eased, and he exclaimed in sudden realization: "So you're from the Yao family."

"Go tell your people that I've handled things here; they don't need to interfere." After Fan Wuchang said this to Yao Yirong, the helicopter lowered a long ladder.

Through the night, I vaguely saw many people climbing down the helicopter's long ladder, and they all had weapons on their backs.

All along I only knew the Yao family was wealthy and were inheritors of the Plowshare Witch Sect, but seeing this scene made me realize I had continually underestimated their power.

A family capable of deploying helicopters is certainly not as simple as I imagined.

From the helicopter came a middle-aged man about forty or fifty, wearing a leather suit, his hair waxed and styled in a "god of gambling" cut.

Upon seeing Yao Yirong, he led a group of people running over anxiously.

Yao Yirong, standing beside me, also broke into a quick run to meet them; afterward I only saw them talking but couldn't hear what they said.

Not long after, Yao Yirong returned, running back with a dejected expression and told us: "Uncle Fang told me to go with him first. My brother will be here soon… I have to go back."

"Ah, are you going back to Guangdong?"

"Of course not," Yao Yirong interrupted me, pouting her lips resentfully: "You just want me to go back."

She then told me that her family also has a house in Aomen, and Uncle Fang is taking her back to her Aomen home.

It's foreseeable that when a child gets into trouble outside, any parent won't be at ease and will urgently want to see the child, checking if their clothes are torn or damaged.

Yao Wenju, as the older brother, was no exception; the first thing after his sister's incident was naturally to bring her home to protect her well.

Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly awkward, Silijing and Pangzi looked at us with strange expressions; I quickly waved my hand and gave a forced smile, saying: "All right, go ahead first; we'll meet again next time."

Having said that, I hurriedly trotted over in an embarrassed manner to stand behind Fan Wuchang and got into the car with him.

As for what happened afterward, I don't know what they talked about; I only saw through the rear window that Pangzi and Silijing were being lovey-dovey for a while, then Wei Xiong and Yao Yirong exchanged a few words. Afterwards each of the four waved and said goodbye, then parted.

"Well, you, when did you hook up with her?" After getting in the car, Wei Xiong gave me a weird grin and shoved me with his elbow.

"No... really no, I swear I'm completely innocent with her. Besides, I'm definitely not like some people who wrote a love letter full of misspellings." I shook my head like a rattle-denying, while also teasing Wei Xiong.

After all, Wei Xiong had pursued Yao Yirong before and even written her a love letter; that letter was torn up by Yao Yirong in public, read aloud loudly, then thrown into the trash, humiliating Wei Xiong badly.

That's why I formed a bad impression of Yao Yirong from then on; but the her of back then and the her now have truly changed a lot.

"Alright, that's just childhood horseplay. Does it still have any kick now?" Wei Xiong rolled his eyes at me, then pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

He lit one for himself, then promptly passed another to Fan Wuchang in the front seat.

"Hello, big brother, I'm Wei Xiong; if you're happy, you can call me Xiao Xiong." Wei Xiong lit a cigarette for Fan Wuchang with a very respectful attitude.

Few people can make Wei Xiong willingly call them "big brother"; those he does call out to are because he admires their sense of righteousness.

Obviously, Fan Wuchang possesses this quality, being able to stab himself in the heart for us, whom he's only just met; a person lacking righteousness could never do that.

"Fan... Fan Wuchang!" When Fan Wuchang introduced himself, his tone was hesitant and he paused.

"Um, Wuchang, Black and White Wuchang, Big Brother Chang, your name is really... unexpected." Wei Xiong originally wanted to say "quirky," but realizing it wasn't appropriate, he quickly changed it to "unexpected."

"Ah, Brother Wuchang, is Wuchang really your real name?" I asked him curiously, cigarette in hand. Normally I wouldn't dare ask such a question, but after going through this together, our relationship has grown much closer.

"No," Fan Wuchang's miserly-with-words nature remained unchanged; his tone stayed flat and cold.

"Um... then what's your real name?" Pangzi also couldn't help but be curious, interjecting with a question.

"My real name..." Fan Wuchang paused, seeming to hesitate, then continued: "Fan Taixian."

"What, Fan... Taixian? Why would your dad give you such a name!" Pangzi stared for a moment, then his face twisted slightly.

If the name Fan Wuchang already seems a bit odd, then the name Fan Taixian is downright bizarre.

"Because..." he trailed off, and Fan Wuchang became hesitant again.

"Because what? Come on, spit it out!" Pangzi urged him on, oblivious to the danger.

In my hometown there's a custom: when a child is born, the father prepares two names, one male and one female. If it's a boy, he readies the male name; if a girl, the female name. Upon first seeing the child, the father must incorporate the child's name into his spoken words...

"What's wrong with your dad—did he already have the name Fan Taixian prepared for you beforehand?!"

"No... When I was born, my dad was eating lap cheong fan; the moment the midwife held me up, he slapped his thigh and said, 'Fan (rice) is too salty, overly salty!'"

"So..." Pangzi's brain cramped, temporarily unable to figure out the connection.

"So the first thing my dad said became my name." Fan Wuchang's face turned somewhat bluish-black, hinting at an impending outburst.

"Hahaha..." Pangzi laughed hysterically, clutching his belly with no image: "Thank goodness your dad didn't see a hen jump onto a banana tree by the door when you were born... otherwise you'd have been called..."

Having said that, Pangzi still gazed innocently at Fan Wuchang, eagerly asking: "By the way, do you have a banana tree at your door? Did that hen manage to jump up it?"

Pfft—I could no longer tolerate Pangzi's naivety. I clutched my stomach, bowed my head, and desperately held back the laughter about to erupt. Wei Xiong held up better, forcing himself not to laugh out loud. But his twisted face and heaving shoulders made it clear he was suffering terribly, really suffering.

Even Ah Hao, who was driving, almost lost his grip on the steering wheel; if he hadn't braked in time, he would have hit the telephone pole beside the road.

Fan Wuchang gave Ah Hao a cold stare, frightening him into snapping his mouth shut and pretending nothing had happened, focusing intently on driving.

Then Fan Wuchang slowly took a puff of his cigarette and asked us calmly, 'You guys, do you like hearing scary stories?'

Of course, no matter how scary the tale, it can't scare me! Grandpa is a Daoist. Pangzi's talent for telling lies with his eyes wide open kept improving; when he bragged, his face didn't flush and his heart didn't race.

Then let me tell you one—this story is very short, but after you hear it you'll definitely find it chilling! Fan Wuchang took a puff of his cigarette and said calmly.

All right, go ahead—I'm listening, and I definitely won't be scared.

Under everyone's gaze, Fan Wuchang slowly moved his lips.

"Once upon a time, there was a person who mocked my name… and then… he died."

I: ……

Pangzi: ……

Wei Xiong: "……"

Although this story is short, it is indeed concise and chilling……