Lie Quan, the iron-masked man, slipped on black leather gloves, took a coil of hemp rope from his briefcase, and bound Luo Chenxuan’s hands, preparing to carry him away.
“Who’s there?” A clear female voice rang out. Lie Quan reacted instantly. He knew he couldn’t fail. He spun and slashed with a hand strike at the voice before even seeing who it was. Just as he was about to land the blow, the speaker blocked with her knee, hitting him hard in the abdomen and forcing him several steps back.
Under the dim light, Lie Quan finally saw her face—it was Yue Xi.
Yue Xi’s eyes swept over and spotted Luo Chenxuan tied up beside them.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Her gaze turned sharp.
Lie Quan didn’t answer. He adjusted his posture and charged again. Yue Xi dodged his elbow strike and countered with a blow to his back. Lie Quan grimaced in pain, twisted, and punched at her. She managed to block, but due to their physical difference, she was still knocked down.
Lie Quan pulled out a folding knife from his inner coat and opened the blade, pressing forward step by step. Yue Xi rolled up, flipped forward, and kicked at him, but he grabbed her lower leg. Just as he raised the knife, Yue Xi twisted midair and delivered a solid side kick to his head, knocking him out cold.
Seeing that he no longer moved, Yue Xi picked up the folding knife and cut through the rope binding Luo Chenxuan.
“Hey.” She patted his face, but he didn’t respond.
After thinking for a moment, she dragged him to the nearest faucet, turned on the cold water, and splashed it over him.
Luo Chenxuan slowly regained consciousness as the cold water drenched him, eventually waking up, coughing violently.
“Cough cough… What are you doing?!”
“Getting you up,” Yue Xi said coldly.
“Your way of waking someone up is waterboarding them?”
“It’s efficient.”
“I was already seeing my grandma singing lullabies.”
Yue Xi let out a light chuckle. Just that simple smile made Luo Chenxuan pause in thought. Why was that? Was he really afraid of girls? But deep down, he knew he could have feelings for ordinary girls… it was just that he had never actually met one.
“Do you know that guy?” Yue Xi glanced toward the door, pointing to where Lie Quan had collapsed, but when she looked, he was gone.
“I remember now! I think I was attacked by some kind of dog-headed man!”
Yue Xi was speechless. “That wasn’t a dog-headed man… just someone wearing a mask.”
“I see. So where did he go?”
“I don’t know. He was lying there just a second ago.”
“Lying there?”
“Yeah, I knocked him out.” Yue Xi spoke as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
“You’re that strong??!”
“I’ve had some training.”
“But why would he try to kidnap me?”
“How would I know?”
“Also, what are you doing at my place?”
“I brought you the Student Council uniform. The Vice President gave me your address. I was out for a night run anyway, so I thought I’d drop it off.” Yue Xi slowly walked out, picked up the bag she’d left outside the door, and handed it to him.
“Oh… uh, thanks. For bringing the uniform and for saving me.”
“You’re welcome.”
The air went quiet again.
“Are you especially skilled at creating awkward silences?”
Yue Xi paused awkwardly, her cheeks slightly flushed. She cleared her throat lightly. “Anyway, you should be more careful. You might have been targeted by Iron Mask.”
“Face sticker? Is that something edible?”
“Iron Mask! Iron, like in iron and steel!”
“Ohhh, what is that?”
Yue Xi looked shocked, as if wondering how someone this clueless had made it this far in life. “Iron Mask is an organization that controls Xiayu City. That place used to be lawless until the Iron Mask Organization moved in a few years ago and took over. As the name suggests, every member wears an animal-themed iron mask.”
“But why are they after me? I’ve never even been there.”
“Who knows.” Yue Xi waved it off, reminding him to be cautious as she left.
Luo Chenxuan lay on the bed. “Feels like I’ve been dragged into something terrifying…”
He didn’t sleep a wink, afraid that if he closed his eyes, that dog-headed man would be standing at his bedside.
“Sorry, I messed up…” Somewhere in an inconspicuous alley, Lie Quan was on the phone.
“Why did you mess up? According to our intel, that boy is just an ordinary person. You should’ve taken him easily.” The voice on the other end was Shimian Xiong, cold as ever.
“Something unexpected happened… I ran into a really skilled young girl.”
“A skilled young girl? Never heard of someone like that in Long City.”
“She’s very sharp…”
“Young and strong… could she have come out of the ‘Maternity Ward’?”
Silence followed on the other end.
“Forget that for now. That girl has nothing to do with us. Your mission is to bring back the person the Master wants. This can’t be delayed!”
“I understand.”
“I’ll send Lie Gou to assist you.”
The call ended.
“Lie Gou…”
Both Lie Quan and Lie Gou served under Shimian Xiong. The two of them were among the strongest under his command. The Master, known as Gui Hu (Phantom Fox), had four subordinates known as the Four Masked Kings: Shimian Xiong, Shimian Ying, Shimian Tu, and Shimian Xiang.
Each one of the Four Masked Kings held extraordinary power and responsibilities. They functioned like an ecosystem, maintaining peace in Xiayu City.
By early morning, Luo Chenxuan had dark circles under his eyes. He had spent the whole night thinking. Did he commit some kind of unforgivable crime? Was it because he hadn’t helped an old lady cross the street? Or because he didn’t donate to charity?
Why did every horrible thing seem to happen to him? First, Leng Yueli found out his identity, and before he could even think of a solution, some dog-headed freak attacked him.
His life really seemed doomed.
In a place where he knew no one, his parents were always too busy to take his calls after every move.
Luo Chenxuan sluggishly opened the door, planning to report everything that happened to the police.
Just as he opened it, he saw Jiang Ru standing there, hesitating whether or not to knock.
They made eye contact. Jiang Ru lowered her head awkwardly and whispered, “Um… are you free today?”
Luo Chenxuan stared blankly at her. “Was my home address posted on GPS or something?”
“What do you mean?”
“How come everyone can find me so easily?”
Jiang Ru looked confused. “Who else found you besides me?”
Luo Chenxuan sighed. “Forget it. What do you want?”
“Are you free today… The campus event is the day after tomorrow, and I wanted to go buy a few things for it.”
“What is this, an elementary school spring outing?”
Jiang Ru pinched him hard. “Cut the nonsense! You’re coming with me!”
Luo Chenxuan looked at her and thought about how he ignored her after the Student Council meeting. Since he planned to get some air anyway, he decided to accompany her.
Before he could speak, Jiang Ru had already dragged him off to the city center mall.
At the same time, Lie Quan put down his disguise—a newspaper—and narrowed his eyes in their direction. Pulling his cap lower, he followed them.