Hedonist Prodigy

Chapter 91: The Mysterious Token

“Do you really think you can kill me? You must be looking for death!” Xu Zhikuan, true to his name, was always prideful and arrogant. Having never heard such words before, he was instantly enraged. He turned and engaged in battle with Jiang Feng.

In an instant, two figures were seen rapidly entangled in the dark little room, exchanging punches and kicks. Occasionally, Xu Zhikuan’s angry gasps could be heard, but soon enough, after three minutes, one figure shot backward like a bullet accompanied by a punch’s wind and landed near the window. That person could only be Xu Zhikuan.

“A yellow-level expert; indeed impressive! However, even though I can’t do anything to you for now, it won’t be easy for you to kill me,” Xu Zhikuan sneered coldly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Shui Qingshan and said icily: “Shui Qingshan, I hope you don’t fall into my hands next time; otherwise, I won’t show you any mercy like this time.”

Shui Qingshan rolled her eyes and said leisurely: “Xu Zhikuan, stop bragging in front of me as if you’re really that powerful. If you’re capable, then don’t run away! What kind of man runs when he’s losing?”

“Whether I’m powerful or not will soon become clear to you,” Xu Zhikuan retorted viciously. Without lingering any longer, he turned around and climbed out of the window before quickly disappearing from the room.

Jiang Feng silently watched as Xu Zhikuan left without pursuing him because it was indeed as Xu Zhikuan had said—killing him wasn’t going to be a simple matter.

Perhaps if Xu Zhikuan hadn’t fled, with some effort he could have kept him here forever; however, after their encounter Jiang Feng was quite surprised by Xu Zhikuan’s strength.

Predictably enough, Xu Zhikuan was at least mid-yellow level; yet being so young—definitely not over twenty-five—having such power already surpassed many experts from the Qihuang Sect that Jiang Feng had encountered.

Could it be that Earth also has martial families just like Tianyuan Continent? Was that Xu Zhikuan someone nurtured by a certain martial family?

Thinking along these lines, Jiang Feng cast a glance at Shui Qingshan.

Shui Qingshan held her chest with one hand while shrinking her neck back slightly. She forced a dry smile but felt immense dread inside. 

You see, due to family rules she had always been extremely disdainful toward men; she believed that no matter what type of man approached her it was with ulterior motives. 

Thus she had once harbored deep-seated hatred towards Jiang Feng; if his actions hadn’t been somewhat reasonable she might have sought an opportunity to kill him herself just to avoid endless entanglement.

But now Shui Qingshan found herself speechless; she truly didn’t know whether to say she was lucky or unfortunate—what kind of freak is this man who’s so powerful that even Xu Zhikuan is no match for him?

She knew all too well about Xu Zhikuan—he was notoriously proud and arrogant with extraordinary strength far surpassing his peers which made him look down on everyone else without exception.

Even though she wasn’t willing to admit it openly she knew very well that she wasn’t even close to being his opponent. Yet here was Xu Zhikuan being forced back by Jiang Feng in such a disheveled manner—it gave her plenty of reason for concern.

At this point how could she not realize that she’d misinterpreted Jiang Feng’s intentions? He clearly had no interest in her at all; everything had merely been her own delusion which made her cheeks burn hotly—but asking her to apologize to Jiang Feng would certainly be impossible.

Seeing Jiang Feng look at her now made Shui Qingshan unsure of what he wanted to do next; after turning her eyes around awkwardly she forced out a smile: “Uh… thanks for earlier! I should take my leave now.”

“You can go but leave your things behind,” Jiang Feng replied indifferently.

He had no interest in Shui Qingshan or Xu Zhikuan’s identity, but since Xu Zhikuan came for something, it piqued his curiosity. Moreover, he wasn’t interested in being a pushover; if he was going to be used by Shui Qingshan for nothing, he naturally wanted to take back some interest. Shui Qingshan’s expression turned strange as she warily asked, “Do you know what I have on me?” 

“I don’t know,” Jiang Feng replied. 

“You don’t know and you still want it?” Shui Qingshan’s expression became even stranger. 

“Stop wasting time; hand over the item, or you won’t be leaving,” Jiang Feng said impatiently. He had no desire to waste words with her—this woman was driving him crazy. 

Shui Qingshan twitched her mouth and took something out of her pocket, handing it over while saying, “If you want my stuff just say so; why put on such a long face? It’s really not interesting at all.” 

When Jiang Feng saw what she was holding, he paused slightly—it was just a token. From the dim black light reflecting off the token, it appeared to be made of iron and looked ordinary without any special features.

“What is this?” he asked in confusion.

Shui Qingshan giggled and quickly put the token away, saying, “I knew you wouldn’t be interested. However, since you don’t even know this thing exists, I can’t tell you much more about it. Otherwise, knowing too much might actually harm you.” 

Jiang Feng wasn’t fooled by her supposed good intentions and coldly said: “If you want to leave this room safely, you’d better honestly tell me.” 

“Hey! Why are you being so unreasonable? You only asked for the item without mentioning anything else! Now that I’ve given it to you—something you’ve never wanted—you’re blaming me instead? I even got rid of that annoying guy because of you and felt a bit grateful!” Shui Qingshan said angrily.

“Less nonsense; just tell me!” Jiang Feng was starting to lose patience.

Shui Qingshan stuck out her tongue and said: “I really can’t say anymore; please stop trying to harm others.” 

Harm others? Jiang Feng sneered: “Do you think I don’t know why you’re here in my room? You probably wanted to use Xu Zhikuan’s hands to kill me! Now that you’re unable to do so and yet say such things—it’s quite laughable.” 

Shui Qingshan froze slightly; she hadn’t expected Jiang Feng would see through her thoughts completely. Quickly forcing a smile onto her face while adamantly denying it she said: “I didn’t mean that at all! You’re just imagining things! If Xu Zhikuan wants to kill you that’s your own problem—it has nothing to do with me!” As she spoke, she turned around and dashed toward the door. 

Jiang Feng moved swiftly after her as she flung something back at him with her right hand. He reached out and caught whatever it was—it was indeed the token—and he couldn’t help but be taken aback as Shui Qingshan quickly exited the door and vanished from sight.

*****

Ye Qingxuan stepped off a bus that sounded everywhere except for its horn feeling dizzy and nauseous. She stood under the sun for a little while before feeling somewhat better before setting off toward Xiaohhe Village.

She didn’t know if she had arrived late or not but upon receiving news that Jiang Feng had been seen in Xiaohhe Village she rushed over immediately.

Ye Qingxuan had snuck out for this trip; she didn’t have any money on her—the five hundred thousand in her card were borrowed from Chen Siran.

But Ye Qingxuan didn’t care about this small amount; she wasn’t a materialistic woman who often had opportunities to spend money anyway. She calculated carefully that if spent frugally enough, these five hundred thousand should last quite some time.

After walking a long way, Ye Qingxuan stopped in front of a place called “New World Inn.” She stood at the entrance and looked inside. The owner was dozing off at the cash register, and the shabby sign, yellowed walls, and overall messiness represented everything wrong with this place. If she hadn’t heard that Jiang Feng had been to Xiahe Village and stayed at this inn, Ye Qingxuan would never have believed that someone like him, a young master from a wealthy family, would lower himself to such a place. This thought made her feel a bit heartbroken; if it weren’t for the fact that Jiang Feng had no other choice, how could he possibly hide away here? And all of this was because of her—if it weren’t for her, how could Jiang Feng have ended up in such dire straits?

Suppressing her tears, Ye Qingxuan walked into the small inn. The owner was awakened by the sound of footsteps; when he opened his eyes and saw Ye Qingxuan, he momentarily froze before muttering stupidly, “Miss beautiful, are you looking for a room?” 

“No,” Ye Qingxuan replied softly. “I’m here to inquire about someone.” 

She noticed the owner’s gaze filled with awe but felt nothing from it. 

“You’re looking for someone? Who?” the owner asked in confusion. He could swear that in his lifetime he had never seen such a beautiful woman; her beauty was not just due to her looks but also because of an extraordinary aura surrounding her. Compared to those so-called beauties from the entertainment industry, they were simply nothing next to Ye Qingxuan.

Ye Qingxuan described Jiang Feng’s characteristics briefly; halfway through speaking, the owner exclaimed in surprise: “You’re also looking for Jiang Feng?” 

Ye Qingxuan’s heart leaped with joy as she said excitedly: “You know Jiang Feng? Do you know where he is now?” 

The owner smiled wryly and replied: “How would I know him? It’s just that today you make three people who’ve come looking for someone named Jiang Feng—I can’t be unaware of that.” 

“What?” Ye Qingxuan’s heart trembled as she quickly realized that the previous two groups must be from the Qin family and Li family. Jiang Feng had killed Qin Shiming; hence the Qin family was searching for him while news broke within the Li family that it was Jiang Feng who had severed Li Yuanjue’s limbs at Regal Hotel. Initially unsure about this news herself, hearing it from the owner confirmed its truthfulness.

The owner continued: “There’s no mistake; about twenty minutes ago before you arrived, he just came by.” Saying this, he reached out and pulled out a photo saying: “Is this him?” 

As Ye Qingxuan looked at Jiang Feng’s photo, tears finally streamed down her face uncontrollably. The owner was startled by her reaction; wanting to comfort her felt like an act of desecration towards what she was experiencing—words failed him completely.

He couldn’t help but reflect on how tragic it must be for a man to live under such circumstances—it seemed even if he died right then there would be no regrets left behind. Of course, given what happened during Jiang Feng’s stay at this inn previously indicated clearly enough that he wasn’t an ordinary person.

With tear-filled eyes gazing at the photo for some time longer before pleading: “Owner, can I keep this photo? I can pay you for it.” 

“Keep your money; consider it a gift,” said the owner.

Ye Qingxuan took over the photo with gratitude feeling as though Jiang Feng captured in it suddenly came alive again—the tears flowed like pearls rolling down from her lips without restraint.

Her purpose in coming here today was to warn Jiang Feng about being hunted by members of Qin family—to urge him to leave China quickly and never return again. But now she realized she had come too late—the people from both Qin family and Li family had already been here—and once again Jiang Feng had vanished without any trace leaving Ye Qingxuan utterly lost on what to do next.