Kang Wei couldn’t take it anymore.

Pan San held him back with a raised hand. “Boss Ke, right? I’d like to have a word with you.”

Ke Yixiong cast a lazy glance at Pan San. “Friend, what gives you the right to talk to me?”

Without wasting words, Pan San suddenly grabbed one of Ke Yixiong’s men standing nearby, dragging him over and gripping his throat with one hand. His movement was incredibly fast, and his strength enormous. The man’s throat cartilage crackled under his grip.

One more squeeze and the man’s neck would snap!

Cao Liu and the others rushed to surround and protect Ke Yixiong. Ke felt as if that hand was squeezing his own throat. He was just half a step away from the man being strangled – Pan San could have grabbed him instead but chose not to.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

These days, while underhanded dealings might slide, public murder was beyond salvaging, no matter one’s connections.

The commotion had already scared away customers browsing the stalls. The small vendors didn’t know Ke Yixiong but recognized “Brother Cao” as the area’s overseer. They remained at their stalls, quiet as quails.

Pan San didn’t need to shout – silent dogs were the ones that truly bit. Without a single threat, he simply increased the pressure of his grip.

The man in his grasp was barely breathing, clearly about to pass out.

“Son of a bitch!”

As Cao Liu and his men moved to attack Pan San, and before Kang Wei could step forward, Bai Zhenzhu surprisingly shielded both him and Xia Xiaolan. What kind of move was this – a grown man being protected by a woman?

“Be good, don’t cause trouble!”

Bai Zhenzhu’s arm was like iron; Kang Wei couldn’t break free. Her tone was like soothing a disobedient child.

Despite the tense situation, Xia Xiaolan suddenly felt like laughing.

“Stop!”

Ke Yixiong called off his men. “Say what you have to say publicly. I’m standing right here listening.”

Pan San casually tossed aside the man he was holding. Cao Liu and others scrambled to drag him away. Cao Liu’s expression was horrified: “Boss, his throat’s crushed!”

Cao Liu’s eyes were full of hatred, while Ke Yixiong’s eyelids twitched. “Take him to the hospital first.”

“Boss Ke, you wondering if I dare or not?”

Pan San was responding to Ke Yixiong’s earlier assumption that he wouldn’t dare kill someone.

Without waiting for Ke Yixiong’s response, Pan San pointed at Xia Xiaolan:

“She’s pretty, isn’t she? So you, Boss Ke, took a fancy to her. As a man, I can understand that – I even admire your taste! But as a man, I also despise you. Look at your stupid act, Do you think it’s still the era of kidnapping women to be mountain brides? The lady doesn’t want to be friends with you, yet you’re shameless enough to pull all this crap. Who are you trying to impress? Her boyfriend? Well, guess what! Her boyfriend saw it all and doesn’t want to waste time with a small fry like you, so he sent me to deal with you! How much is a thug’s life worth? If no one dares kill you for ten thousand, would they do it for a hundred thousand?… Glaring at me won’t help. I come and go as I please, your men can’t trap me, and if you manage to kill me, others will take my place! Damn, you idiot, you made me come to Yangcheng. I gave you face and you didn’t take it – what a waste of time!”

The entire wholesale clothing market fell silent as a grave.

Pan San hadn’t pulled out a gun for a shooting spree, but his words were more venomous to Ke Yixiong than a king cobra’s poison.

Kang Wei wore an “I knew it would come to this” expression, while Xia Xiaolan was completely speechless.

Pan San was usually quiet because his way of speaking was truly offensive. He had wanted to talk to Ke Yixiong privately to save face.

Well, now that Ke Yixiong didn’t care about face, Pan San held nothing back in trampling him.

Cao Liu and his men were about to explode with anger, several of them charging with clubs raised. Pan San might be good at insults, but his fighting skills were equally formidable. Without any fancy moves, he took them down in several strikes. His words were poisonous, and his hands were brutal – leaving nothing but broken limbs in his wake.

Ke Yixiong’s face was ghastly. He maintained his position among thugs through his wits; in a physical fight with Pan San, one punch would probably leave him with internal bleeding.

So Ke Yixiong stood still, not moving an inch.

After taking down several men, Pan San spat viciously:

“Idiot!”

Pan San’s entire being radiated ferocity, stunning everyone into silence. He looked more like a gang boss than Ke Yixiong ever did.

Ke Yixiong had learned his posturing from Hong Kong movies, while Pan San didn’t bother with such pretense – he let his fists do the talking.

Taking advantage of Bai Zhenzhu’s momentary distraction, Kang Wei quickly pushed away her arm.

“Boss Ke, we don’t need to make things so tense. My brother values his woman, so don’t be angry. Brother Pan San is straightforward both in action and speech. If you’re uncomfortable with his style, next time we can send someone more diplomatic to reason with you.”

Ke Yixiong gritted his teeth, staring at the fresh-faced young man before him:

“Are you threatening me?”

Kang Wei nodded, “Yes, you caught that? I’m not joking. Times are good now, Yangcheng is paved with gold – only fools stay in the underworld. There’s no more Green Gang or Hong Men society. Individual businessmen do better than thugs, and the government encourages reform and opening up – would they encourage thugs to collect protection money?… Sorry, I got carried away. I’m just conveying my brother’s message to Boss Ke: if anything happens to my sister-in-law in Yangcheng, we’re coming straight to you. We’re old acquaintances after all.”

Chen Xiliang, crouching behind his stall, listened with his tongue hanging out.

Too fierce!

Ke Yixiong wanted to force someone to be his woman, but instead, they not only made him abandon his perverted thoughts but also demanded he be responsible for Xia Xiaolan’s future safety in Yangcheng, becoming her free bodyguard. Such a dramatic reversal was beyond Chen Xiliang’s imagination, let alone anything he’d seen before.

With such power, why were they running a small business?

Chen Xiliang thought about it and felt relieved that the clothes he sold to Xia Xiaolan weren’t particularly expensive.

Ke Yixiong looked at his men sprawled on the ground, then at Pan San and Kang Wei.

“Fine, I’ll remember today!”

He had truly overestimated himself today, thinking Xia Xiaolan only knew Bai Zhenzhu and maybe had some connection to Bai Zhiyong. He hadn’t taken the Bai family’s old foundations seriously, not expecting to encounter such a fierce dragon – Pan San had nearly killed someone without showing a hint of emotion, the mark of a truly dangerous person who had seen blood.

Ke Yixiong and his men retreated like the ebbing tide.

The stall owners now looked at Xia Xiaolan as if she were a dangerous beast.

Xia Xiaolan suddenly realized Pan San and Kang Wei’s purpose in being so high-profile. After today’s scene, stories about her would circulate through the wholesale market. If she could scare away Ke Yixiong, lesser thieves and troublemakers wouldn’t dare target her.

Her safety had greatly improved.

Zhou Cheng – how could this move be from a mere 20-year-old? Except when he was with her, acting like a young boy, Zhou Cheng seemed far more mature than Xia Xiaolan had imagined.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sure if the matter was truly resolved. Her approach to handling things was completely different from Zhou Cheng’s more iron-fisted style. Though she benefited from it, she wasn’t pretentious enough to criticize it to his face.

Zhou Cheng had lent her a tiger’s skin for protection, and she would make use of it.

Looking at the terrified stall owners around her, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t sure where she could still buy goods today.

Chen Xiliang poked his head out from behind his stall:

“Sister Xia, I didn’t betray you… How much stock do you want today?”

Chen Xiliang forced himself to call her “Sister Xia,” and Xia Xiaolan felt somewhat touched. For future delivery convenience, she had given Chen Xiliang Grandmother Yu’s address, and he had withstood pressure without telling Ke Yixiong – showing some integrity.

Xia Xiaolan looked at Chen Xiliang, and a vague memory stirred. She had always thought the name was familiar.

Chen Xiliang, made his fortune in the 80s, Yangcheng native, clothing industry tycoon… Could it be this man?

Xia Xiaolan looked at him sympathetically, making Chen Xiliang feel somewhat guilty.

– His wholesale prices were a bit high, but the quality was good! Maybe he should give Sister Xia a better discount?