Chapter Thirty-Five: Afraid of Xue Lang

  An Weihong's heart was surging, the thrill of suddenly turning the tables was more exhilarating than his first time at sixteen. His right hand holding the gun couldn't help but tremble, and due to the intense shaking, the white napkin covering the gun body almost fell off. An Weihong laughed with a twisted face: "Heh heh, kid, didn't expect it, did you? You are naive." He excitedly blurted out a sentence in English.

  Xue Xiang naturally understood that he was being ridiculed for his naivety, but his smile didn't falter. He feigned puzzlement and asked, "An Da Shao, you can't do this, it's against the rules of the rogue circle. If word gets out, it'll affect your reputation."

  An Weihong spat out a mouthful of saliva and said, "What a bunch of riffraff, you're just a group of little hoodlums. You think you have some kind of influence? Come over here and kowtow to me three times, and I'll let you off today. Otherwise, don't blame me if I leave a mark on you. Believe me, no one will dare do anything to me even if I do this. At most, the guards might accidentally discharge their guns. Don't move around, my marksmanship is terrible, and if I'm aiming for your leg but you move, it'll be bad if I hit your head instead."

  Xue Xiang picked up the wine bottle on the table, poured a full cup into his high-footed glass, and the wine line was slightly higher than the rim of the cup but did not overflow. This move was very beautiful, unfortunately, no one appreciated it. Xue Xiang didn't pick up the wine glass, took a light puff of smoke, and smiled: "An Da Shao, I'm born with hard knees, can't bend down, otherwise you shoot to help me treat them, aim at my knees and hit, break them, when I take them back, my knees won't be so hard."

  Hu Hong Zhuang is really depressed to death today, making such a big deal out of eating a meal. The "third brother" in front of me is also something else. You said you took the gun and negotiated terms with An Wei Hong, couldn't it have just ended there? But no, now that you've returned the gun to him, it's like a snake bite, the venom has penetrated three inches into the bone.

  An Weihong was stunned, he just didn't understand, the guy in front of him was either fearless or a complete idiot, still smiling and talking with a gun pointed at him. At this point, he really didn't know what to do, if he told him to fire, he really didn't have the guts, but if he didn't fire, the other party had already cornered him with words, what could he do? An Weihong's hands stopped shaking and he was no longer excited, instead, he started to feel troubled.

  Xue Xiang was well aware of the nature of these top-ranking officials. They had seen killings and arson, and they could also do it themselves, but that was all about watching others do it or ordering their subordinates to do it. At most, they would wear a kerchief on their heads and hold a paper fan behind them. If someone were to put a knife, gun, or fire starter in their hands and ask them to take action, they would likely be trembling with fear, not daring to break a sweat. Xue Xiang laughed and said, "An Da Shao, you'd better hurry up and take action, my knees are getting stiff from kneeling for so long."

  An Weihong wiped the sweat from his forehead and hummed, "You little brat, don't be so shameless. If I really shoot you, you'll regret it too late. You'd better do what I said earlier, or else I'll let you off this time."

  "An Da Shao, you're also too annoying, I'm lazy to talk nonsense with you. If you don't shoot, I will." Xue said, then inserted the muzzle of the 54 pistol that had been unloaded into a high-footed cup filled with wine and pulled the trigger. A loud "bang" echoed through the hall, and the bustling atmosphere suddenly became silent. The wine splashed out, crimson like blood. The glass cup did not shatter into pieces but was pierced by the bullet at the bottom of the cup, causing it to crack. The bullet passed through the bottom of the cup and made a small hole in the tablecloth-covered table.

  As soon as the gunshot rang out, An Weihong was like a lost soul, standing still on the spot with a bewildered expression. Hu Hongzhu stared blankly at the muzzle of Xue Xiang's gun, seemingly trying to confirm whether the bullet had indeed been fired from that very gun. The faint smoke at the muzzle and the smell of gunpowder in the air made Hu Hongzhu have no choice but to believe that a shot had indeed been fired earlier. Hu Hongzhu really couldn't understand how Xue Xiang's courage was so great, knowing An Weihong's identity yet still daring to fire a shot - what a fugitive!

  The gunshot sounded, and the hall was suddenly in chaos. Some looked around to find the source of the loud noise, some were alert and prepared to leave after hearing the possible gunshot, while others scolded the restaurant manager... However, Kang Tong and Lei Xiao Tian remained seated and unmoved, although they were also frightened: "Third brother has gone too far this time!" But the two of them had seen Xue Xiang fire a gun before.

  Xue Xiang stood up and said loudly, "Comrades who are dining, the sound just now came from our table. My younger brother's guard had his gun holster loose, it knocked against the table and misfired, fortunately no one was hurt. We disturbed your meal, I'm very sorry, my brother said to send a bottle of red wine to each table, first to calm down and second to apologize, okay, everyone please continue with their meal." Xue Xiang was very cautious, if this matter wasn't handled properly, it would be troublesome to invite the public security.

  Everyone thought that the young man with a bodyguard was not a simple person, and his bodyguard had fired a shot but still sat there calmly, so he must have a very deep background. It's better not to get involved, lest you bring trouble upon yourself. Besides, isn't there wine to calm your nerves? With the idea that one less problem is better than one more, they all sat back down. Only a few young people took advantage of the chaos and slipped away without paying, enjoying a free meal. The restaurant manager could only resign himself to bad luck, as the armed gentleman was willing to help the restaurant explain things and keep the customers calm. They were already grateful for that, so how could they dare ask them to pay for the meals of those who had slipped away?

  "An Da Shao, you won't be unhappy about this, will you?" Xue Xiang patted An Wei Hong's stiff shoulder and took the gun from his hand. An Wei Hong stood there stupidly, holding the gun loosely in his hand, and didn't react at all when Xue Xiang took it away. Xue Xiang removed the magazine, which was empty. It turned out that Xue Xiang had already swapped the magazine before handing the gun to An Wei Hong, using a white napkin to block the view of several people. How could Xue Xiang have put his life in An's hands? He just wanted to see what kind of person An Wei Hong was.

  An Weihong didn't come back to his senses until half a day later, hearing Xue Xiangfa's question, he hurriedly said: "No need to spend money, no need to spend money, this matter was completely caused by me, I should be the one inviting you, waiter, come over and order three more servings of secret recipe foie gras and butter roasted fish, make it quick."

  Xue Xiang knew that the fire was almost ready, and it was time to talk about serious matters. He turned his head to Hu Hong Zhuang and said: "Hong Zhuang sister, are you full? If you're full, please go back first. I still have things to discuss with An Da Shao. You can leave that calligraphy for my future brother-in-law. I'll help An Da Shao resolve the matter of the painting."

  Hu Hongzhuo got this promise, as if she had heard a gentle voice, smiled and said: "I'm full, I'm full, then I'll go back first, another day I'll invite you two." She was already anxious like an ant on a hot pot, what kind of place is this to eat? Knives, guns, arrows, it's simply a battlefield! Most importantly, her treasure had been left behind, she didn't care how Xue helped her solve the problem, grabbed her small bag and rushed out.

  An Weihong saw Hu Hongchou about to leave, and was in a great hurry. He just wanted to get up and stop her, but Xue Xiang pressed down on his shoulder. He couldn't get up, nor did he dare speak out to stop her. It wasn't that he was afraid of losing the painting if Hu Hongchou left; it's just that he really didn't want to be alone with this fugitive, and was too scared. His little heart was still racing wildly.

  An Weihong was really scared this time, previously being knocked unconscious by Xue Xiang's two guards, with a gun pointed at him he only felt terror and thought about how to escape and take revenge. But when Xue Xiang fired the shot, he felt his soul escaping in that moment, the shattered glass cup seemed like his own head being hit, and the splashing red wine was like his own brain matter and blood. He was truly frightened out of his wits, unable to muster up the courage to resist again, his body which had just regained consciousness felt like it had died once, making him cherish his life even more, he made up his mind to stay far away from this fugitive in the future, seeing Xue Xiang's faintly evil smile would make him shudder to his bones.

  The waiter soon brought up three servings of honey-glazed foie gras and three servings of butter-roasted fish. The three customers in front had one less, the waiter was momentarily unsure where to put the extra serving, his hand hesitating for a moment. Xue Xiang said: "Put all six plates in front of me, I'm really starving after that workout earlier." Xue Xiang was indeed hungry, having not eaten much while waiting anxiously for people earlier. Now seeing the delicious food in front of him steaming hot, his stomach growled with hunger, and he didn't care about An Weihong's astonished expression, knife and fork in hand, devouring all six servings in no time.

  "Is that enough? Haven't you eaten your fill? Otherwise, I can order a few more dishes for you?" An Weihong was somewhat surprised by his appetite and eating speed.

  "No need, I'm about 30% full. Alright, let's get down to business. By the way, stop with the polite language, just call me Xue Xiang." Xue Xiang saw that An Weihong was using honorifics and quickly helped him correct it, still hoping to rely on him to meet General An. Otherwise, later when facing General An, An would take offense at his excessive politeness and things wouldn't go smoothly.

  "Ah, you're Xue Xiang, Xue San Ge! I've long admired your great name!" An Wei Hong exclaimed, slapping the table and feigning extreme excitement. An Wei Hong had indeed heard of Xue Xiang's reputation, although he was arrogant and looked down on those from less prestigious families. He had heard of Xue Xiang's name and nickname, but to him, he was just a slightly famous little rascal, not worth laughing at. It wasn't until today, when Xue Xiang shot in front of him, that he felt a mix of fear and admiration, which could be summed up as "long admired".

  Xue Xiangxiao said, "An Da Shao, I came to you today with a serious matter, specifically to help you resolve your troubles. Who would have thought that you, young master, had such a quick temper and caused this misunderstanding?"

  An Weihong said: "You also don't need to be so polite, just call me Weihong. Now is a new society, we should address each other as comrades, let alone brothers like us. Today's matter was my fault, I'll make it up with wine tomorrow. Brother Xue said he came to help, I'm very curious, tell me about it."

  Xue Xiangdao said, "I heard that General An is about to celebrate his 70th birthday and you, Wei Hong, are searching for a gift for him. It's well-known that General An loves calligraphy and painting, so I had prepared a famous calligrapher's work and wanted to present it to him on this occasion. That's why I came here today, but unexpectedly, a misunderstanding occurred."

  An Weihong smiled with a smile at the corner of his mouth: "Blame me, blame me, I'll drink three cups as punishment. What treasure will you take out to let your brother see?" After that, he really poured himself and drank three full cups of wine. Suddenly, the wine rose, and his face flushed red.

  Xue Xiangdao: "The items have arrived. Su Shi's handwritten 'Shui Diao Ge Tou * Ming Yue Ji Shi You' has been appraised, and it is undoubtedly a genuine work."

  "Really?! That's a treasure among treasures! Su Ziyan's calligraphy is a hundred times better than Zhao Ji's paintings, little brother, hurry up and take it out to let me have a look!" An Weihong was so excited that his cheeks turned even redder, rubbing his hands together in an impatient manner.