Двойная увертюра

Глава 74

The burly man plopped down on the ground, looking at Xue Beifan in surprise. It seemed like no one had tripped him.

Not far away, Xue Xing frowned slightly—Xue Beifan was still so mysterious and secretive, which was the most unsettling thing about him.

Xue Beifan, holding his wine glass, watched the burly man sitting on the ground in a daze and smiled faintly, "I told you, you have something wrong with your eyes. You can't see what you should see, but you see what you shouldn't see."

"Mmm!" Xiao Dao chimed in from the other side, poking the dazed man with a chopstick, "The one who tripped you just now wasn't him, it was a eunuch."

"Cough cough..."

Xue Xing choked on his drink and pounded his chest.

"E...eunuch?" The big man was puzzled, but he had been on the ground for a long time and had seen many powerful people. He knew that he had probably offended someone powerful, so he restrained his arrogance.

Xiao Dao chuckled and said, "My mother says that the most important thing for a man is magnanimity. A petty and narrow-minded man is usually repulsive." As he spoke, he reached out and said, "Come on, let me help you up."

The big man's eyes widened even more as he stared at Xiao Dao's smiling face and her delicate, fair hand. The others chuckled and nudged the big man with their knees, as if to remind him—he's having a lucky streak with women!

The burly man quickly reached out his hand, but Xue Beifan shook his head helplessly.

Before the big man could even grab Xiao Dao's small hand, he suddenly felt something fall on his hand, something that seemed to be moving... Looking down, he saw that Xiao Dao's hand had already been withdrawn, and on his hand was a furry, fist-sized black spider.

"Ah!" Anyone with eyes could see that this thing was poisonous. Who wouldn't be afraid of such a big spider? The big man shook his hand violently, dropping the spider and scrambling downstairs with the others.

The large black spider was flung far away and landed squarely on Qin Ke's shoe.

"Ouch!" Qin Ke exclaimed and quickly swung her foot.

The spider fell to the ground. Xue Xing raised his hand, drew his sword, and cleaved the spider in two with a single stroke. As the sword pierced the spider, he felt something was amiss; it was as if he had struck a water bag.

Just as they were wondering what was going on, the spider split open with a "poof," spurting out a stream of yellow liquid like an explosion. The entire restaurant instantly reeked. The yellow liquid splattered all over Xue Xing, and Fang Tongli next to him was also half-covered, looking utterly disheveled. Although they didn't know what the yellow liquid was, the unbearable stench and color made them look like they'd just been doused in excrement.

The two halves of the spider "rolled" to Qin Ke's feet.

Qin Ke took a look and realized it was two halves of a hard shell—it was a fake mechanism, the kind used to prank people, not a live spider at all… That girl was up to no good!

Xiao Dao pinched his nose and fanned himself, "Shopkeeper, are you even going to do business? How come you're letting just anyone in?"

The waiter and the shopkeeper grinned as they watched the other customers grumbling and running away. They then bowed to Xue Xing and Fang Tongli, saying, "Gentlemen, would you mind leaving for a moment?"

Xue Xing's face turned pale with anger. Fang Tongli slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, pointing at Xue Beifan, "What do you mean?"

Xue Beifan felt quite innocent, and shrugged, as if to say—is this my fault too?

Xiao Dao raised the corner of his mouth and said, "It means you shouldn't have the heart to harm others, because harming others will inevitably harm yourself."

"You brat." Qin Ke reached for the sword on the table, pretending to come over and teach Xiao Dao a lesson.

"Tsk tsk." Xiao Dao grabbed Xue Beifan's sleeves with both hands and shook them. "Xue Er, this woman is so fierce! Remember, it's not good to pick a wife like this."

Xue Beifan held his forehead with one hand, feeling admiration. He had seen people who weren't afraid of trouble, but he had never seen a troublemaker like Xiao Dao. While others would avoid certain places, she would go wherever trouble was brewing.

Qin Ke, who already had her eye on Xue Beifan, was enraged by Xiao Dao's words, especially seeing Xiao Dao clutching Xue Beifan's sleeves in a defiant manner. With a sharp cry, she drew her sword, pointing it at Xiao Dao, declaring, "Today I'll take your life, you wretched girl!"

Xiao Dao remained remarkably composed. "Everything has a cause and effect. Are you allowed to bully others but not allowed to fight back? Suffering a loss only shows your shallow skills. Getting angry and ashamed means admitting defeat... The Beihai Sect is nothing special." As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes and smiled. "That old fox Xue Beihai is far more cunning than even three or thirty of you combined. You still have the mind to scheme and fight over women. You'll never amount to anything."

The three of them were slightly taken aback.

Xue Beifan reached out and grabbed Xiao Dao's wrist, a hint of tension flashing in his eyes.

Xiao Dao raised an eyebrow decisively, looking quite fierce, but inwardly he was annoyed—Xue Beifan was still protecting his older brother.

Xue Beifan was also worried. Xiao Dao was the only person besides himself who knew for certain that Xue Beihai was still alive. With his elder brother's body not found, most people had their suspicions, and the Beihai faction was even more uneasy…

"Are you saying my older brother isn't dead yet?" Xue Xing had calmed down by now, pulled down his coat, and asked Xiao Dao with a cold face, but was looking at Xue Beifan.

Xue Beifan did not answer.

Xiao Dao shrugged slightly and asked Xue Beifan with a silly grin, "Is Xue Beihai dead?"

Xue Beifan looked at Xiaodao with a wry smile, as if asking, "What do you want?"

Xiao Dao looked up at the sky defiantly, "He didn't ask me to keep the secret that he's not dead."

Xue Beifan sighed – the girl had told him everything, she was really uncooperative, and her brother's plan had been ruined by her.

Xue Xing and Fang Tongli turned pale—Xue Beihai was still alive! And judging from Xiao Dao's words, everything was still under Xue Beihai's control. The three of them broke out in a cold sweat.

"What evidence do you have?!" Qin Ke didn't trust Xiao Dao. "Who knows if you're just making things up?"

"Then don't believe it!" Xiao Dao said slowly. "Anyway, whether Xue Beihai lives or dies doesn't matter to me, but it's a different story for you." After saying that, he stood up, turned around, and prepared to go downstairs.

"Don't go, explain yourself." Fang Tongli reached out to grab Xiao Dao's shoulder.

But before his hand could even touch it, he felt an internal force repel his hand.

Startled, he took a step back to regain his senses. Xue Beifan had already reached Xiaodao's side at some point, but he put his hand on her shoulder and protected her to the other side. He glanced back at the three people, then pulled Xiaodao downstairs.

The three were left looking at each other in bewilderment, Xue Xing's brows furrowed deeply—this was bad!

After going downstairs, Xiao Dao felt Xue Beifan relax his shoulders and walk forward with his head down and focused.

Xiao Dao followed for a few steps and then kicked him in the calf.

Xue Beifan turned around, rubbing his leg innocently, as if to ask—what's wrong with you now?

Seeing that he wasn't angry, Xiao Dao felt a little uneasy. "Are you angry?"

Xue Beifan chuckled, "Are you afraid I'll get angry, Miss?"