Hedonist Prodigy

Chapter 99: Protection Fee

Majestic mountains, covered in snow.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but endless snow and ice; the snowfield was a vast expanse of white, nothing else could be seen.

This monotonous color was so glaring that Ye Qingxuan had to stop every short distance to wipe her dry eyes, lest tears flow and damage her vision. But each time, she only paused briefly before continuing her journey deeper into the snow-covered mountains.

After leaving Yanjing, Ye Qingxuan changed her SIM card, cutting off contact with her family. She knew that if they knew where she was, they would do everything in their power to bring her back.

The SIM card she was currently using only contained two numbers: Jiang Feng’s and Xu Minmin’s. Jiang Feng’s number was always unreachable, but Ye Qingxuan never gave up. She always held onto a sliver of hope that one day Jiang Feng’s phone would be switched on, and perhaps she could contact him.

Ye Qingxuan had maintained contact with Xu Minmin, and it was through this connection that Ye Qingxuan, though living elsewhere, learned much about what was happening in Yanjing.

The Qin and Li families were frantically searching for Jiang Feng. Just two days ago, she received a call from Xu Minmin saying that the Qin family had found Jiang Feng in Baishan City, and later added that he had entered Changbai Mountain.

So, Ye Qingxuan rushed over immediately. Upon arriving in Baishan City, she received shocking news: tourists had discovered five unidentified skeletons in the Changbai Mountain Grand Canyon. Fortunately, after arriving at the funeral home, Ye Qingxuan saw that the remains were not Jiang Feng’s, which brought her some relief.

But as long as she couldn’t find Jiang Feng, Ye Qingxuan didn’t intend to give up. She didn’t know if what she was doing was meaningful, or even if it was, it would be pathetic.

But for her now, she didn’t care about anything else; as long as she knew Jiang Feng was still alive, that was enough.

And all she could do now was find Jiang Feng.

*****

It took Jiang Feng nearly five or six hours to finally shake off the chill. He didn’t linger at the Changbai Mountain scenic area but returned to Baishan City, settling down at a random place on its outskirts.

It was a remote place. Although Jiang Feng knew the Qin and Li families had likely already found their way to Baishan City, he wasn’t worried about being found in the short term.

After settling in, Jiang Feng went out to find somewhere to eat. Because of the heavy snow blocking the mountains, there were few signs of activity from the locals. After searching for a while, he finally found a small restaurant that was open.

There were only a few customers in the restaurant, who seemed to be tourists from out of town. The owner, who also acted as a waiter, cooked the dishes and brought them out one by one while they were still hot.

The customers sat around the stove, eating hot food and drinking warm wine, occasionally complaining about the damn weather. Jiang Feng ordered some food and a bottle of wine.

Soon, his food arrived, and the owner poured him a glass of wine, smiling, “Young man, judging from your appearance, it’s rare to see someone traveling alone.”

Jiang Feng smiled and said, “Traveling alone has its own charm.”

The owner agreed, “That’s true, but the weather here is terrible. It’s always best to be careful. Having someone with you is always good help.”

The owner was very friendly and spoke politely, so Jiang Feng had a good impression of him and invited him to drink with him. The owner glanced outside, saw no customers, rubbed his hands together, and sat down at Jiang Feng’s table.

After drinking two glasses of warm wine, the owner, seeing that Jiang Feng hadn’t said much, tactfully got up to leave. 

Just as he stood up, the thick curtain at the door was pulled open from the outside, and several young men, cursing and swearing, burst in, bringing with them a chill.

The boss’s expression immediately changed upon seeing the group. He hurriedly went to greet them, saying, “Brother Gou, it’s rare to see you these days. What’s got you up to? What would you like to eat? I’ll get it right away, I promise you’ll have a good meal.”

The young man walking in front, whom the boss called Brother Gou, looked no more than twenty years old. He had a round, buzz-cut haircut, a flat nose, and a large, round face, making him look somewhat comical. His face was flushed red from the cold, and he kept stamping his feet.

Hearing the boss speak, Gou sniffed, gave him an arrogant look, and said leisurely, “You’re inviting me to dinner? What edible stuff do you have in this dump? I’d like to eat, but it’d have to be palatable. Stop talking nonsense, you know why we’re here.”

The boss’s face darkened further. “Brother Gou,” he said, “I did some calculations yesterday, it’s not time yet, there’s still almost half a month left.”

“Oh, you dare to talk back? You think you’re so good at math? Are you trying to bully me because I never went to school?” Brother Gou raised his hand and slapped the boss on the head, knocking his hat off. 

The shop owner, slapped but not daring to retaliate, stammered, “Brother Gou, I wouldn’t dare mean that. It’s just that the time hasn’t come yet, and I can’t break the rules, can I?”

“Hey, rules, f*cking interesting. But if you want to talk about rules, I’ll talk to you. Brother Xiong has already said that starting this month, you’ll pay protection money twice a month, understand? Twice, otherwise do you think I’d come to this lousy place for no reason?” Brother Gou said slowly.

The shop owner was almost in tears. He said, “Brother Gou, you know the situation here. Normally, there are hardly any customers. The shop has been losing money for months and is about to go under. Brother Gou, could you talk to Brother Xiong and ask him to be lenient?”

“Damn it, I’ve said so much to you and you’re still babbling? Are you itching for a beating? Hurry up and hand over the money, or I’ll get rough with you,” Brother Gou said impatiently, swearing. As soon as these words were spoken, the young men who had entered with Brother Gou all revealed malicious smiles, their shifty eyes darting around the shop.

The other customers in the shop quickly lowered their heads, afraid to look too closely, lest they get into trouble.

Jiang Feng, of course, understood that he had encountered so-called gangsters, and he frowned.

Seeing Jiang Feng’s frown, one of them immediately pointed a finger at him and shouted, “Buddy, looks like you don’t like us. Believe me, if you look at me again, I’ll chop you down.”

Jiang Feng smiled calmly and said, “Then come and try.”

“Heh, you’ve got some nerve. You want to die? Do you think I’ll stop you?” The man reached into his pocket, pulled out a machete, and strode towards Jiang Feng.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper nearly knelt down in fright, hurriedly saying, “Brother, brother, it’s a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding. Please wait a moment, I’ll go get the money right now.”

“Damn it, if you have money, just say so already, don’t waste my time.” Brother Gou kicked the shopkeeper, making him stumble, and then glared at Jiang Feng with a dark expression.

“Brother Gou, shall we chop?” the young man with the machete asked.

“Isn’t that obvious? Do you think you’re cutting a watermelon with a knife? Chop away!” Brother Gou spat.

Upon hearing this, the young man raised his hand, and the machete slashed down towards Jiang Feng’s head. 

Although Jiang Feng understood the principle that different places nurture different people, he was still somewhat surprised by the ruthlessness of these people.

Jiang Feng’s brows furrowed even more deeply. He grabbed a chopstick and lunged forward. The young man, seeing Jiang Feng with chopsticks, grinned, a sinister glint in his eyes. He brought his knife down straight for Jiang Feng’s head.

But the knife only went halfway down before it stalled. 

The young man looked at the chopsticks in Jiang Feng’s hand, then at his own knife, and hesitated for a moment. 

Jiang Feng’s hand moved, and the chopstick plunged directly into the young man’s abdomen.

The young man hadn’t even seen how Jiang Feng did it. Feeling the sharp pain in his abdomen, he looked down in disbelief and collapsed to the ground.

Brother Gou Brother and the other young men’s faces changed drastically. They took a step back in panic. None of them had expected Jiang Feng’s chopsticks to be so powerful. The young man was wearing thick cotton clothes; normally, even a knife wouldn’t draw blood.

But Jiang Feng had drawn blood with a single chopstick. How could they not know they had messed with someone powerful?

“Kid, who are you? Let me give you a piece of advice: this is Brother Xiong’s territory. You’d better not meddle, or you’ll die without even knowing how you died,” Brother Gou Brother said, glaring at Jiang Feng with a menacing tone.

Jiang Feng, too lazy to waste words, simply said, “Get lost, or I’ll kill you!”

“You…” Brother Gou Brother wanted to utter a few more threats, but the words caught in his throat. His eyes flickered, and he gestured to the others, who quickly carried the young man lying on the ground away from the restaurant.

The restaurant owner, who had just come out with some money, was stunned for a moment when Brother Gou Brother was gone, not understanding what had happened. Jiang Feng, not in the mood to explain, casually tossed down a banknote and left.

Once Jiang Feng was gone, the other customers in the restaurant began to whisper about what had just happened, their expressions a mix of emotions. 

The owner overheard everything, feeling both happy and shocked. He was happy because he’d saved on protection money, but shocked that Jiang Feng, an outsider, had gotten into a fight with Brother Xiong’s men and even injured one of them. Brother Xiong would never let Jiang Feng off the hook.

Thinking this, the boss quickly ran outside, intending to give the saved protection money to Jiang Feng so he could leave Baishan City immediately. But when he got outside, Jiang Feng was nowhere to be seen…