A gentle drizzle fell over Dingzhou City, carried by a light spring breeze.
Under the pale curtain of rain, the ancient city took on a rare softness. Streets blurred, colors muted, and even the noise of the world seemed to hush itself in reverence.
Li Xiaoye held an umbrella, shielding the Third Young Master from the rain. Yet the wind had a mind of its own, sending rivulets slanting sideways. Her thin summer dress clung wetly to her form, tracing every curve of her delicate frame.
Sometimes, true allure lies not in bare skin, but in what is half-hidden. The rain didn't strip her, but instead draped her in suggestion.
And yet… the notorious skirt-chaser that was Third Young Master didn't spare her a glance.
His eyes were fixed elsewhere — at the doors of the Four Seas Inn.
His expression had grown grave, breathing shallow and uneven. Beads of cold sweat gathered on his brow.
Some men are born lucky. Others… are born with a cursed tongue.
Third Young Master had just muttered something ominous about bad premonitions. The moment he did, two figures emerged from the inn. That's when the color drained from his face.
Li Xiaoye noticed his sudden rigidity. Curious, she followed his gaze to the pair stepping out. They didn't look especially fierce or threatening at first glance. Just two people clad in bright crimson martial suits, same cut, same hairstyle, same swagger. Each chewed on a toothpick, walking with an unmistakable street-thug rhythm.
The only difference? One was male. One was female.
The man on the left had a shaggy beard and a dopey grin. But his eyes glittered with dangerous clarity. His massive, muscular frame threatened to split the seams of his outfit.
The woman beside him was tall — freakishly tall for a girl — nearly eye level with Third Young Master himself. With her cropped hair, casual posture, and unladylike swagger, she looked every inch the gangster. Her brows were thick and slanted, nose proud, jawline sharp. Masculine to the bone... except for her eyes.
Her eyes were trouble.
If Li Xiaoye had to describe them, only one word came to mind: feminine. Deeply, disarmingly feminine.
That contrast — rough edges paired with smoldering eyes — transformed her. What first appeared to be a tomboy thug now took on the striking allure of a rogue beauty.
This rogue beauty now looked at Qin Ren with a smirk, toothpick still dancing in her lips. Alongside the brawny man, she strutted toward him, the way local gangsters approach their next extortion victim.
Qin Ren's cold sweat had now begun to sting his eyes, but he didn't blink. Didn't move.
Behind him, Qiao Wei and Uncle Li sensed something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
"Did he just fall for her looks?" Qiao Wei wondered. But he quickly dismissed the idea. Third Young Master had weathered the charms of enchantresses and seductresses of every caliber — including the fabled "Dream Seductress" of the Nine Yin Sect. No mere beauty could faze him like this.
"Could they be old enemies?" Uncle Li guessed. But he too abandoned the thought. Qin Ren had plenty of enemies, but none who made him sweat like a cornered mouse. With himself and Qiao Wei by his side, only the Devil Sect's leader Ximen Invincible or that mystery expert from ten years ago could inspire such dread.
Besides, in their eyes, these two crimson-dressed visitors, while clearly masters of martial arts, were still no match for Qin Ren — let alone the two of them.
They were baffled.
The pair reached Qin Ren and stopped. Both stared at him, smiling like they were about to sell him a secondhand coffin.
The woman tilted her chin and snorted through her nose. "Hmph."
Immediately, Qin Ren's demeanor shifted. Gone was the fearless brat. In his place stood a picture of humility and servility.
He coughed awkwardly, then grinned the most radiant, honest smile he could summon. Bowing deeply, fists cupped in formal greeting, he chirped:
"Your humble younger cousin pays respects to dear Cousin Tie Jian and Cousin Tie Xuanxuan. It's been years, but you both look more dazzling than ever! Cousin Jian, you're still tall, handsome, suave, and dashing as always! Cousin Xuanxuan, you're more radiant than blooming jade flowers! Truly, time has only enhanced your beauty and charm. I swear, if you two hadn't walked right up to me, I wouldn't have recognized this legendary pair of celestial siblings. I'm so honored, so privileged, to have you as kin. Words can't describe my joy—"
Before he could flatter further, Qiao Wei and Uncle Li exchanged knowing glances.
So this was the Iron Siblings — children of Qin Ren's maternal uncle, Tie Kongshan. Iron Jian and Iron Xuanxuan.
No wonder he looked like a man facing execution.
Iron Jian laughed heartily and slapped Qin Ren on the shoulder — with the force of a falling mountain.
"Still a sweet-talker, eh, Ah-Ren? Same old you!" he bellowed. "Of course your cousin here is even better looking than before! If I call myself the second most handsome in the world, no one else dares claim first!"
More slaps followed, each one echoing like thunder. And each time, Qin Ren sank a little deeper into the pavement.
By the fifth slap, his shoulder slumped. By the tenth, one of his feet was buried ankle-deep in the shattered stone tiles beneath him.
Li Xiaoye, Qiao Wei, and Uncle Li were horrified. So much for a "friendly reunion."
This Iron Jian was no fool. That naive smile was a lie — a mask hiding a dangerous, scheming brute.
Just when Qin Ren thought it was over, Tie Xuanxuan sashayed up, flashing a sly grin.
"Xiao Ren! Seven years and you still look like a plump, oily dumpling — just taller and meatier now," she cooed. "Oooh, nice chest. Much firmer than before."
As she spoke, her hands roamed across his body with scandalous ease.
Qin Ren didn't even flinch when Iron Jian was pummeling him.
Now? He looked like he'd seen the devil.
Li Xiaoye, Qiao Wei, and Uncle Li all turned away in embarrassment.
Cousins flirting in public was one thing. Cousin molesting cousin on a rainy street? That was too much.
Thank heaven the streets were mostly empty thanks to the rain. Otherwise, this scene would've drawn a crowd big enough to sell snacks to — like a free street play where the thug beauty bullies the helpless schoolboy.
To outsiders, it looked like Xuanxuan was simply teasing her baby cousin.
Only Qin Ren knew the truth.
She wasn't teasing him — she was avenging every childhood grudge in her heart.
Her lips pressed to his ear. In the guise of whispers, she listed her crimes and punishments.
"That poke — for stealing my candied hawthorn nine years ago. This one — for stuffing a scorpion in my shoe. This — for peeking when I was bathing. That — for ripping my favorite skirt. This — for cutting off my hair while I slept. And this one… for pinching my chest when I was twelve!"
Qin Ren trembled. Not from cold. From the long, vengeful memory of a woman wronged.
Qiao Wei and Uncle Li pretended not to know him. They squatted beside the road, drawing circles in the rain-drenched stone with their fingers and humming tunes like truant schoolboys.
Li Xiaoye stared hard at her toes, trying not to laugh, though her face twitched with all kinds of expression.
Eventually, Xuanxuan seemed satisfied. She patted Qin Ren's chest twice, now soft as a kitten.
Then, with a sweet smile, she turned to Li Xiaoye.
"Why the long face, little sister? You got something to say?"
Li Xiaoye looked up, eyes wide with faux innocence. "Sister Xuanxuan, can I give you a suggestion?"
"Of course you can, sweetheart! You're too cute to deny."
Li Xiaoye pointed at Qin Ren. "Then… why not just kill him? Honestly, he's been a disaster since birth. He was evil as a child, and now he's at least a hundred times worse. Keeping him alive just brings chaos to the world."
Qin Ren's already pale face turned a sickly shade of moss green. With a groan, he wobbled twice—then collapsed to the ground like a felled tree.