Chapter 197: Chapter 195: Fetching from the Void?

To his surprise, the Great Immortal only pondered for a few seconds before slapping him again.

Hou Yaojun was furious. ’This Great Immortal is getting way ahead of itself.’

’If he didn’t need its help, he would’ve stopped putting up with this long ago!’

’It’s just a talking animal, yet it dares to strike me repeatedly and even looks down on the Hou family!’

’What kind of future can it have following a woman with no connections?’

But furious as he was, being a mere mortal, he didn’t dare voice these thoughts. Until he found a way to deal with them, he had to respectfully escort the women and this fox to their destination.

Seeing Hou Yaojun clutching his face, Xu Jiali seemed to guess what had happened.

She was delighted, but she didn’t let a hint of it show on her face.

She just kept her head down without a word, doing an excellent job of fading into the background.

After dinner, Wen Ying checked the time. They rested in the hotel for another hour before she had Hou Yaojun arrange for a car to take them to Xuanyang Town.

This time there were only two cars. Wen Ying, Xu Jiali, and Hou Yaojun got into one.

Just as Hou Yaojun was about to get into the car, Hou Yaowen’s voice suddenly rang out. "Brother, I found out that Doctor Wen’s background!"

Hou Yaowen ran over to Hou Yaojun, making no effort to be discreet.

His eyes shone with excitement, as if he had accomplished something extraordinary.

But the words had barely left his mouth when Hou Yaojun slapped him hard across the face. "Who told you to investigate Doctor Wen? Can’t you just give it a rest for once?"

Hou Yaowen stared at his younger brother, his face a mask of shock.

’Hou Yaojun actually hit me?’

’In all these years, Hou Yaojun has never laid a hand on me, but today he actually hit me?’

’And in front of two lowly women, no less?’

"Brother, you hit me?" Hou Yaowen stared at Hou Yaojun in disbelief. Years of being spoiled had made him lose all sense of proportion.

"What gives you the right to hit me? We’re both young masters of the Hou family! I’m your older brother! You hit me for some influencer!"

Hou Yaowen was overcome with a mixture of anger and indignation.

He completely missed the warning look Hou Yaojun was shooting him.

Looking at his brother’s behavior, Hou Yaojun felt helpless. ’This good-for-nothing is more trouble than he’s worth.’

"Brother, I’m sorry. We can talk about this later. I need to take Doctor Wen to Xuanyang Town first. You wait here for me."

"Why should I!" After being hit, Hou Yaowen’s rebellious streak flared up.

"Mr. Hou, why don’t you both get in the car."

"Doctor Wen, why?" Xu Jiali looked at Wen Ying in confusion.

’They had finally gotten a chance to escape these two scoundrels, so why was Doctor Wen letting him in the car? Was she leading them right back into the lion’s den?’

’Compared to Hou Yaojun, Xu Jiali felt that this Hou Yaowen was even more unhinged, completely oblivious to the circumstances.’

As if in a fit of pique, Hou Yaowen yanked open the car door and slid inside.

"I’m surprised you’ve recovered so quickly, Hou Yaowen. And you even had time to investigate me?"

Hou Yaowen let out a cold snort. Wen Ying’s words reminded him of his earlier humiliation.

’He, Hou Yaowen, had actually wet his pants in public!’

’If word of this got out, everyone would laugh at him.’

Hou Yaowen glared sinisterly at Wen Ying. "If you dare say a word about what happened, I’ll make you pay! I don’t know how you got involved with Hou Yaojun, but as long as I have a say, things will not end well for you!"

As he spoke, Hou Yaowen’s gaze shifted to Little White in Wen Ying’s arms. Little White was currently in its plushie form.

"Get rid of that filthy thing right now!"

The sight of it made Hou Yaowen fly into a rage.

’Before, his eyes must have been playing tricks on him, that’s why he’d made such a fool of himself. But he wouldn’t tolerate them any longer!’

"Hou Yaowen, shut up!" Hou Yaojun’s eyelid began to twitch uncontrollably.

He hadn’t yet told Hou Yaowen that Little White was the Great Immortal. ’I can’t believe this bastard is so good at stirring up trouble!’

"Is the Great Immortal someone you can disrespect?!"

Fearing Hou Yaowen would ruin everything, Hou Yaojun blurted it out.

But clearly, he had overestimated Hou Yaowen’s intelligence.

"Great Immortal? What Great Immortal? Brother, don’t tell me you’ve been fooled by this woman. I’ve already looked into her. She’s just an influencer! An influencer who got famous from live streaming!"

Hou Yaowen spat the words out, gritting his teeth.

Hou Yaojun froze when he heard this.

’An influencer?’

’How could she possibly be an influencer?’

’With a member of an Immortal Family like the Fox Immortal by her side, she chose to become an influencer?’

’What a disgrace to the Fox Immortal!’

’Why would the Fox Immortal choose someone like her?’

Xu Jiali was also a little surprised to hear that Wen Ying was an influencer.

’So Doctor Wen is a streamer?’

’Is her main profession being a doctor, with streaming as a side job?’

’Or is streaming her main job, and being a doctor the side hustle?’

Suddenly, Xu Jiali found Doctor Wen quite mysterious. ’Would someone so mysterious really participate in a variety show for new directors?’

Clearly, Xu Jiali’s thoughts were completely different from those of the two Hou brothers.

"I don’t care what Doctor Wen’s profession is, you shut your mouth. Otherwise, I’ll tell Mom and Dad."

Seeing Hou Yaojun’s grim expression as he said this, Hou Yaowen, however dissatisfied, shut his mouth.

But the anger in his eyes remained.

"Get out of the car right now and wait for me here."

"That won’t be necessary, Mr. Hou. It saves trouble to have you both together."

Wen Ying’s calm voice made everyone in the car turn to look at her in confusion.

"What do you mean, ’saves trouble’?"

The words had barely been spoken when the car was surrounded.

*

Xu Jiali squeezed her eyes shut with all her might. ’Don’t look, don’t look, I won’t look.’

Her ostrich-like behavior seemed to be her way of convincing herself that if she didn’t look, nothing would be happening.

Wen Ying looked at the people who had arrived. One was Old Ye, whom she’d met before. The other was a stranger, not Old Jiang.

But Old Ye seemed to be quite deferential toward this man.

After Wen Ying explained the situation, their expressions grew cautious. "Don’t worry, Doctor Wen. If this is true, the Hou family won’t be acting so brazenly anymore."

As if sensing her concern, the other man continued to explain, "We naturally trust your judgment, Doctor Wen. The Hou family is indeed a prominent clan, but compared to the nation and the safety of its people, they are nothing. This case might seem tricky, but it will just take a bit of time. The main question is, what other tricks does the Hou family have up their sleeve?"

Wen Ying knew what he was asking. Her expression grew serious.

"Right now, all I can see on them are signs of disaster aversion, chaotic lifelines, and entanglement with vengeful spirits. You’ll have to investigate the rest. I have other business to attend to, so this is all I can provide."

As she spoke, Wen Ying pulled something from her pocket. It was a fist-sized—no, even larger than her pocket—crimson, flame-shaped wooden carving.

The two men standing beside her were dumbfounded, their faces frozen in stunned silence. They were clearly in shock.

’That thing is bigger than Doctor Wen’s pocket. How did she fit it in there?’

’A moment ago, her pocket looked flat, like there was nothing in it at all, right?’

’How could she just... in the blink of an eye...’

’Could it be that legendary move... pulling something out of thin air?’

’Is the pocket just a diversion?’