With the gang leader issuing orders, these trusted followers stifled their grief, with a fire burning in their hearts, responding loudly while already dispersing and starting their actions.

At this moment, Qiu Xiaoping glanced sideways at Qin Er, who was trembling with her head down.

A reminder awakened her... Could this person not be so useless after all?

At least when encountering issues, she remained quite calm and quick-thinking, able to instantly find the critical point.

Not bothering with Qin Er who was still in tension and worry, Qiu Xiaoping asked Fa Hongbao: "Fa Gang Leader, Young Master Diao, why are they not here?"

Fa Hongbao was slightly stunned, then shook his head, pretending not to know.

But actually, in the whole Forest Snake Gang, besides that place, Mr. Diao likely shouldn’t have a second destination.

Not being at this scene of the crime, it means he has returned home to ensure his wife’s safety.

As long as Mrs. Diao is fine, Mr. Diao should soon come here to meet up.

...

It was much like what Fa Hongbao thought.

Right now, Fang Yu was indeed with Ding Hui.

Suddenly breaking in, Fang Yu surprised Ding Hui, who was performing the final handling of Golden Feather.

"What happened?"

Even though Ding Hui’s power wasn’t strong, she noticed Fang Yu’s chest heaving from the tension before rushing in.

Stopping her work, she smiled widely and blinked her big eyes, looking at Fang Yu.

The penetrating gaze made Fang Yu, gradually regaining his composure, instinctively evade it and turn his eyes away.

"...Tai Xuelin is dead."

Ding Hui tilted her head slightly.

"Who?"

"Tai Xuelin, Forest Snake Gang’s hall master, appointed by Fa Hongbao, the hall master responsible for guarding your safety today."

Ding Hui seemed to remember.

Then, with quick thinking, she immediately understood and her smile grew wider.

Tiptoeing, with her hands behind her back, like a nimble elf, she approached Fang Yu step by step.

When she was almost next to Fang Yu’s chest, she looked up at him.

"So... you were worried I might also be in trouble just now?"

The orchid-like breath made Fang Yu instinctively step back, provoking Ding Hui into a fit of laughter, a sound like a silver bell, almost bending over in laughter.

Then she heard Fang Yu, who stood still, clearly utter two words.

"...Worried."

Silence.

A brief silence.

The straightforward gaze and direct words, even someone as seasoned as Ding Hui found herself suddenly a bit overwhelmed.

She turned away, to avoid letting Fang Yu see her slightly flustered expression, coughed lightly and said: "Rest assured, I am prepared here as well, if someone wants to kill, they’ll have to overcome several obstacles."

If Fang Yu were to observe carefully, he could actually notice that even though Ding Hui had turned her back, her tone and state were somewhat different from usual.

But at this moment, Fang Yu only had one thing on his mind.

"Ding Hui, I am truly worried that you might be in danger. The forces in Thunder City are deeply intertwined; though we’ve been here for a short time, we’ve already offended many. I often need to go out on business, so I want... to hire someone to guard around you, ensuring your safety."

Ding Hui had already composed herself, silently returning to normal, turning to face Fang Yu, smiling.

"You want to hire someone to protect me? Who is it? Are they reliable?"

Fang Yu laughed.

"Reliable, trustworthy, and definitely someone you’ll find interesting."

Ding Hui furrowed her brows; there aren’t many people she finds interesting.

Seeing Fang Yu’s confident demeanor, she inexplicably felt somewhat defiant.

"You speak as if you understand me!"

Ding Hui’s sudden temper caught Fang Yu off guard.

"I, I didn’t mean it like that..."

"Hehe! I didn’t mean it like that either, look how nervous you are! So who do you want to hire to protect me? For experts, the price isn’t low; though we have a bit of foundation now, we can’t necessarily afford to squander it." Her mood swung quickly, and Ding Hui was already giggling.

"No need for money... maybe?" Fang Yu was also a bit unsure, but he didn’t hide anymore, saying directly: "It’s Monk Quan Heng, he has come to Thunder City as well; I’ve invited him to stay temporarily at Forest Snake Gang, then he’ll guard you and ensure your safety."

Oh, a monk!

Ding Hui’s mood inexplicably improved.

Once she realized which Master Quan Heng it was, she promptly grew excited.

"The Believer Monk from Tianyuan Town!"

"Precisely!"

"That’s great! I was just worried about finding a suitable target; I’ll practice on him first, smoothly, then help you..."

Ding Hui started muttering, making Fang Yu somewhat embarrassed.

"Stop stop stop! I’m having him protect you, don’t pull any tricks and scare him away... Also, our experiments are quite risky, best not involve Master Quan Heng."

Fang Yu’s constitution was robust, unafraid of strain, but Monk Quan Heng was just an ordinary Believer, might not withstand Ding Hui’s methods... If any situation arises, unable to fully protect Ding Hui, that would be troubling.

"That’s right..."

Ding Hui murmured, glancing at Fang Yu from the corner of her eye.

She was curious to see how a typical Believer would react to various drugs.

However... those very intimate experiments, she really wanted to do them with him.

Thinking of this, Ding Hui felt a bit happier, almost humming a little tune.

"By the way, Tai Xuelin isn’t with you, so where did he die?" Fang Yu suddenly remembered something and asked.

Ding Hui shrugged: "How would I know? The Hall Masters take turns guarding outside, I don’t even know whose turn it is now."

Fang Yu, anxious, rushed directly into the house without checking if anyone was guarding outside.

Now stepping outside, he saw a certain simple-minded fellow on the roof, who cupped his hands towards Fang Yu as he glanced over.

"Greetings, Diao Keqing."

[Xiong Rudong: 4111/4111.]

"Why is it still your turn?" Fang Yu asked, puzzled.

Last night it was Xiong Rudong guarding this place, and he’s still here today. Didn’t Fa Hongwen organize the schedule? He even let me review it for confirmation, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been so worried and rushed back here.

Xiong Rudong scratched his head, a bit embarrassed as he explained.

"It wasn’t supposed to be my turn, but when Master Tai came to switch shifts with me, he looked very upset, asking me to cover for him for a day as he had other matters to attend to. I noticed he was clutching a note tightly, as if something serious had happened, so I agreed."

"But when I asked further, he just shook his head and walked off."

"Anyway, it’s just an extra day of guarding, I didn’t think much of it and stayed till now... but Diao, you suddenly barging into the house, if I hadn’t had good eyesight to see who it was, I might have stopped you."

Xiong Rudong chuckled with a kind of inexplicable convincing charm.

Indeed... it was just a false alarm.

Thinking about it, Fang Yu still felt a bit uneasy.

"Ding Hui." Fang Yu called towards the inside of the house.

"What?" The person inside responded.

"Get ready to go see the Gang Leader with me, and don’t wander around until Master Quan Heng arrives."

"Alright!"

Ding Hui flashed a bright smile, showing her white teeth.

"Wait for me a bit, I’ll just finish up here."

Golden Feather was in the final processing stage, and it wouldn’t take long for Ding Hui to finish up, so she didn’t want to stop.

"Okay, I’ll wait for you."

Fang Yu waited outside with the simple-minded Xiong Rudong.

He had a good impression of this guy, though they didn’t have much to talk about.

But staring at each other awkwardly was uncomfortable, so he asked.

"You said Master Tai was holding a note when he handed over the shift?"

"Yes."

"Did you see what was on it?"

"No."

"... didn’t glance at it at all?"

"No."

Really honest...

"I’m ready!" Ding Hui’s voice came from inside, followed by a graceful silhouette emerging.

"What?" Ding Hui spun around in place under Fang Yu’s gaze, her skirt twirling as she blinked.

"Do I look good?"

Fang Yu: ...

"Did you change your clothes?"

"Of course!"

The emerald green dress had a spring vibe that was refreshing and pleasing to the eye.

However, the awkward Fang Yu forced himself to look away.

"Let’s go."

As he took a step forward, a cold little hand suddenly touched his, gripping his big hand.

Fang Yu froze.

Ding Hui, however, cheerfully said.

"Let’s go."

With that, Ding Hui led the way, holding his hand as they moved forward.

Xiong Rudong watched the two leaving, scratching his head.

Should he follow them or stay here to guard the place?

...