Chapter 36: Come at Me All Together

At a loss for words, the man could only stand there and rub his hands together.

"Heh, fine, I understand," Nangong Zhiwen sneered. "I mention this, and all you women come out to stall. I don't need to guess; it's definitely the flesh trade, and you're the pimp, right?"

"Brother, please, don't put it so harshly. This, this is all..." The underling tried to explain, but just then, Bao Long came running out, drenched in sweat.

"Brother Wen! Brother Wen!" Bao Long wiped the sweat from his face and hurried over. "The kids don't know any better, please don't take it to heart. Come, let's, let's go inside and talk..."

"Aren't you here for the medicine? It's all prepared for you..."

"Wait, wait," Nangong Zhiwen said, waving a hand to stop him. "We'll talk about the medicine later. I'm not Er Yuehong waiting for a life-saving cure; there's no rush."

"First, explain what’s going on right in front of me."

"In front of..." Bao Long looked at Nangong Zhiwen, clearly bewildered.

Nangong Zhiwen immediately pointed toward the nearby bunny girl and said coldly, "Brother Bao, your business is booming, isn't it? A pool hall outside, an underground gambling den inside, and now you've expanded into this line of work?"

"Why don't you introduce me? How much does it cost? What kind of services do you offer?"

Bao Long broke out in a cold sweat, swallowing hard as he stammered, "Th-this, this..."

Nangong Zhiwen frowned slightly.

He had not expected such a reaction from Bao Long. To be blunt, men like him running a flesh trade didn't surprise Nangong Zhiwen at all. It wasn't his jurisdiction, and he couldn't be bothered to care. He only thought Bao Long had gone a bit too far—flaunting girls in scraps of cloth in the middle of the day to solicit business in a pool hall was simply unacceptable, which is why he intended to give him a warning. Furthermore, since he had stumbled upon it, he couldn't just pretend he hadn't seen anything.

Yet, ultimately, for a local thug like Bao Long, this sort of thing would usually just result in a fine or, at most, a few years in jail. It shouldn't be enough to turn a local kingpin pale with terror. As an undercover agent, Nangong Zhiwen’s keen instincts immediately sensed that there was more to this than met the eye.

It was likely far more complex than just a simple flesh trade.

Thinking this, Nangong Zhiwen stopped wasting time. "I won't say it a third time. Get every girl you have here out now and have them stand in line!"

Bao Long looked troubled, his fear painfully obvious. This only confirmed Nangong Zhiwen’s suspicions. If it were just a standard flesh trade, Bao Long would never be this terrified. There was likely something much bigger going on.

"Don't tell me there's something else going on here, Bao Long?" Nangong Zhiwen squinted, staring fixedly at him.

Bao Long’s eyes darted away, unable to meet Nangong Zhiwen’s gaze. He hurriedly said, "Brother Wen, the medicine today... I, I won't keep a single pill, it's all yours! Please, please, stop pressing this matter, will you? I beg of you. In all these years, I've never asked you for anything, I, I..."

Watching Bao Long’s anxious state, Nangong Zhiwen’s expression grew even darker.

"Bao Long, since I’ve bumped into this today, there’s no reason for me to ignore it," Nangong Zhiwen said coldly. "I’ll take the medicine, but I’m also dealing with this. You can't escape it."

"You're a local big shot, at least try to keep some face in front of your own men."

Nangong Zhiwen’s words were quite courteous; he was giving him a chance to come clean, purely out of respect for their years of history. Whether Bao Long took that chance was up to him.

"Brother Wen, I really can't talk about this. I, I really can't afford to provoke them..."

"Heh... fine, I get it," Nangong Zhiwen sneered, looking at Bao Long. "So, you mean you can't afford to provoke them, but you think you can handle me, right?"

With that, Nangong Zhiwen stood up and started to take off his coat.

Seeing him prepare for a fight, Bao Long was terrified out of his wits and rushed forward to hold him back. "Brother, brother, please calm down! Brother, listen to me!"

Bao Long gripped Nangong Zhiwen tightly, sweat beads rolling down his forehead. His whole body trembled as he gritted his teeth and whispered, "Brother, don't force my hand. I, I really don't want to fight you..."

"Oh? You want to fight me?" Nangong Zhiwen was amused, never expecting to hear such words from Bao Long. He shoved Bao Long's arms away, stripped off his coat, tossed it aside, and assumed a fighting stance, beckoning him over. "Come on then. I want to see what kind of martial arts you've learned to give you the nerve to say that to me!"

Bao Long stood still, shutting his eyes tight as if resigning himself to his fate, and then gave a wave of his hand.

A trace of disdain curled on Nangong Zhiwen’s lips.

The underling looked at Bao Long and asked cautiously, "Boss, who... who should go up?"

Bao Long took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. A glint of malice flashed in his gaze as he stared at Nangong Zhiwen. "Brother Wen is a multi-time champion of the military district competitions. Show some respect."

"All of you, go together."

Nangong Zhiwen let out a cold snort. "Bao Long, with a bunch of losers like you, it makes no difference if you all come at once."

"Times have changed, Brother Wen..." Bao Long gritted his teeth, staring hard at Nangong Zhiwen. "Today, I won't be showing you any respect. I’ll give you one last chance: if you take the medicine and leave now, I can pretend nothing happened. In the future, I’ll continue to be your man."

"But if you insist on burning bridges, I'm afraid you might really end up falling here today."

"Hah! Your tone is quite bold!" Nangong Zhiwen sneered. "Giving me a chance? Saying I'll fall here? Who gave you the courage?"

"I don't need this chance. Come on, let's see how you plan to make me fall here."

Bao Long took another deep breath and waved his hand again.

The underling immediately glanced at the bunny girl.

The bunny girl nodded slightly, her eyes filled with trepidation, yet she began to walk toward Nangong Zhiwen. Following her, more than a dozen girls in similarly revealing attire emerged and slowly walked toward Nangong Zhiwen.

Nangong Zhiwen knit his brows and looked at Bao Long. "Bao Long, what is the meaning of this? Do you really think I won't hit women? You're planning to have a bunch of young girls stop me?"