Chapter 41: Famous Far and Wide 2

Wanqing City, in a narrow and deep alley, the sunlight was completely blocked by the towering walls, with only a few faint rays struggling to seep through the cracks.

The damp and gloomy environment carried a musty, decaying scent.

Four thugs lay sprawled on the ground in disarray, dust swirling around them, their faces etched with terror and pain.

“Big bro! I was wrong!”

“Ouch ouch ouch! Bro! Bro! I’m gonna die, I’m really gonna die!!”

“Won’t dare anymore, I swear I won’t do it again!!”

“I surrender! I surrender!”

“Who’s the leader?” 

Ji Yuenian stood at the forefront, gripping a steel pipe, his gaze as sharp as a blade.

Before him, the four thugs huddled together, their eyes filled with fear.

Behind him, Ji Yuenian’s other subordinate and Su Tian stood shoulder to shoulder, whispering to each other.

“Bro Su, what’s up with Bro Ji? The atmosphere’s so heavy.”

“No idea. Ever since he came back that afternoon, Bro Ji hasn’t given anyone a decent look.”

“Uh, Bro Su, I heard Bro Ji skipped school last time to meet his girlfriend.”

“You mean Bro Ji got dumped by his—”

Before he could finish, a chilling glare swept over them like a blade. 

The two immediately fell silent, trembling like frightened ostriches with their heads bowed.

Ji Yuenian withdrew his gaze and turned to the thug leader who had been pointed out by the others. 

He planted a foot on the leader’s chest, crouching slightly to loom over him, tapping the steel pipe “lightly” against the thug’s head.

“Name?”

“My brother is Long-“

Ji Yuenian pressed down harder with his foot, eliciting a pig-like screech from the thug leader.

“I don’t care about your brother. I just want to know your name.” 

Ji Yuenian grinned, his white teeth gleaming unnervingly.

“Don’t make me ask twice.”

“My name is Long Qiang,” the thug leader answered through gritted teeth.

“New face? Where from?”

“Next door, Third High. Dropped out now. Bro, I was wrong. Could you… lift your foot a bit?”

Ji Yuenian nodded approvingly. 

“Good, you’re polite. Let me introduce myself too.”

“First, I’m Ji Yuenian, head of the Sports Department, and I also patrol this alley from time to time.”

“Second, I don’t care if you mess with other schools, but the Wanqing Yongxing area is under my protection. Got it?”

“Third.”

He pulled out a small golden bell from his pocket and shook it in front of Long Qiang. 

The crisp, melodious chime echoed through the entire alley.

“From now on, when you hear this bell, it means I’m here.”

Ji Yuenian hoisted Long Qiang up effortlessly, holding him mid-air like an unshakable mountain overlooking everything below.

“When. That. Happens. Remember. To. Run.”

His gaze was icy and sharp, laced with a hint of amusement, like two daggers aimed straight at Long Qiang’s heart, making him tremble uncontrollably.

Long Qiang’s face turned ashen as he collapsed to the ground, lips quivering, unable to utter a word.

Ji Yuenian set him down and dusted off his hands.

“Su Tian, the usual.”

Hearing this, Su Tian quickly rummaged through his backpack and handed Ji Yuenian a bottle of medical disinfectant alcohol.

Ji Yuenian pulled out the cork and poured the pungent liquid over Long Qiang’s wounds. 

The thug leader let out another pig-like scream, clutching his injuries in agony, his face twisted in pain.

Alcohol, of course, is for disinfection.

As a truly good person, Ji Yuenian didn’t just beat them up―he also disinfected their wounds afterward. 

After all, it wouldn’t do if they got infected.

After pouring half the bottle onto Long Qiang, he splashed the remaining half onto the other three thugs. 

They immediately writhed in pain, their faces contorted, letting out pig-like squeals as they curled up on the ground.

“Su-Su-Su-ge, th-this…” 

The newly recruited underling was clearly terrified, his legs trembling uncontrollably. 

Beating people up was one thing, but pouring alcohol on them? 

That was just cruel.

“It’s normal. They won’t die. It’s just alcohol for disinfection-though it does hurt a tiny bit.” 

Su Tian reassured him, already desensitized to such scenes.

“Relax, Brother Ji knows what he’s doing. Besides, these thugs rob, extort, and commit all kinds of evil. And just like us, they’re minors-no one’s keeping them in check. If we don’t use some thunderous methods, they’ll never learn why flowers are red.”

“Now that they know pain, they’ll think twice next time. Think about the students from other schools-how many girls and boys get harassed or ‘borrowed’ money from by these thugs every month? Countless. And those victims don’t get the luxury of this treatment.”

Meanwhile, Ji Yuenian looked down at the thugs curled up like shrimp on the ground, their faces twisted in agony. 

The corners of his lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint, exhilarated smile.

Satisfying!

Damn satisfying!

As everyone knows, according to the Law of Conservation of Smiles, smiles don’t disappear—they just transfer from one person’s face to another’s. 

The same goes for the Law of Conservation of Frustration.

Frustration doesn’t disappear—it just transfers from one person to another.

He had thought the second step of dealing with Jiang Chi was complete, but not only did that brat vomit―he also ran away!

This left Ji Yuenian utterly exasperated.

Was his cross-dressed “Ji Qingchan” not fragrant enough? 

Not soft enough? Not an adorable, sweet girl? 

She even threw herself at him! 

Took the initiative to hold hands!

But that pretty-faced Jiang Chi not only didn’t reciprocate-he vomited! 

And after vomiting, he ran away!!

This dealt a heavy blow to Ji Yuenian’s male pride and that damn competitive spirit of his. 

He gritted his teeth in frustration, itching to just charge over, pin the guy down-pfft!—no, pin him to the ground and teach him a brutal lesson!!

And so, these four newbie thugs, who had been planning to “borrow” money from students, became his punching bags.

“Su Tian, clean this up. We’re heading back to school.” 

Ji Yuenian tossed the steel pipe casually to Su Tian. 

“Cover for me in afternoon classes. I’m taking a nap.”

Su Tian nodded.

Back in the school dorm, Ji Yuenian first boiled some water, then poured brown sugar into a teacup, added goji berries and red dates, and finally dropped in a few thin slices of ginger.

After about twenty minutes, his specially brewed stomach-nourishing brown sugar tea was ready.

He took a few sips. 

The warm, sweet liquid slid down his throat, bringing a soothing heat to his stomach, as if a gentle current was flowing inside. 

His whole body felt comfortably warm.

Lately, for some reason, Ji Yuenian had been craving hot, sweet things that could nourish his stomach. 

That sensation of warmth enveloping his gut felt indescribably pleasant.

If it were just that, it wouldn’t be a big deal. 

But his once firm and toned abs had inexplicably gone soft, losing all their previous tightness. 

It had even started affecting his performance when dealing with thugs-lately, he’d been feeling somewhat… lacking in strength.

After taking a few sips of stomach-nourishing brown sugar tea, Ji Yuenian set down the cup and gently massaged his throbbing temples, murmuring to himself, 

“Perhaps I really am exhausted.”

“Playing the role of Ji Qingchan all this time, yet that brat Jiang Chi still hasn’t taken the bait. There’s no sense of accomplishment at all, and it’s eating into my gym time. I’m almost tempted to have ‘Ji Qingchan’ log off.”

“If only I could use shadow clones.”

Ji Yuenian muttered.

Yet he failed to notice the mysterious double-sided silver coin in his pocket, engraved with arcane patterns, emitted a fleeting, eerie emerald glow. 

The masculine profile on one side subtly faded, its edges softening.