Chapter 491 - Feng Ling (1/2)

Tang Wulin was known for having a bottomless pit of a stomach. He had already conned Yuanen Yehui once into treating him to a meal in exchange for smithing a metal for her. But now before their very eyes was Na'er, shoving bite after bite of meat skewers into her little mouth, tossing each used stick into a pile at a rate that was almost on par with Tang Wulin's.

Xie Xie and Yuanen Yehui both thought they were dreaming. Although she wasn't as active as her brother, Na'er still managed to strike fear into the hearts of onlookers at how quick she made the food disappear. A third of the dishes ended up in her stomach.

Xie Xie gulped, his eyes wide as they drifted to Tang Wulin. “Boss, is everyone in your family a glutton? Na'er, you shouldn't learn from your brother. He's a bad example to follow.”

Na'er giggled and reached for another meat skewer.

Rolling his eyes at Xie Xie, Tang Wulin said, “Please. Don't you understand how wonderful eating is? Na'er, you want some more?”

She shook her head. “I'm good, Big Brother. I'm full. That was good food! It's been a long time since I had something like this.”

Tang Wulin smiled, warmth in his gaze. They weren't the same young children from six years ago, wide-eyed and innocent. From when Na'er had been taken out of his life. They both grew since then. But if Tang Wulin had to be honest, she had changed more than he had.

He could tell that she was deliberately avoiding certain topics, such as those regarding her family. She always directed the conversation in another direction whenever he even slightly tested the waters. After the second time, he took the hint and stopped prodding. He didn't want to make things difficult for her. As long as she was his little sister, it was enough.

The grill shop was getting busier and busier, a long line already twisting down the street. Guests had cycled to and from the tables, and only Tang Wulin's party had remained throughout.

Through the clamoring of the guests, Tang Wulin heard someone say in a hushed voice,“Wow! That little missy really knows how to eat!” Having detected ill intent in their voice, he looked up from his food to identify the speaker, his sense of hearing heightened from breaking his fourth seal.

Since Yuanen Yehui was currently in her male disguise, Na'er was the only person in their group that looked like a girl.

Tang Wulin soon pinpointed where the voice had come from. A group of three young men in their twenties, chests exposed and arms covered in unseemly tattoos. A single look was enough for him to tell they were thugs. The crowd parted to let these men through. Not even the shop owner dared to say anything. He just lowered his head, focusing on the grill as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. As if his customers weren't about to get harra.s.sed.

The one who had spoken stood at the front left of their group. He looked like a monkey, exposing his chest despite being all skin and bones.

“Little Lei, you talking about that silver-haired girl?” asked the man in the center. He wore his hair in a fauxhawk and had bulging muscles. A real bull of a man. The tattoos running along his arms gave him a violent and fierce edge.

“Yeah! Big Bro Feng, it's that girl! She's quite the looker already. I bet she'll be smoking hot in a few years.”

“Isn't she kinda young?” asked Feng.

Lei exposed a smile that was more teeth and gums than anything. “Young is good! Haven't you heard? You gotta groom pretty girls from childhood! That's how you get close to them.”

The other thugs hooted with laughter and grunted in agreement. Their filthy gazesl converged on Na'er. Not bothering to keep the voices down since the beginning, the thugs basically broadcasted their dirty thoughts to everyone in the shop. Many of the other patrons sent sympathetic looks to Tang Wulin's party.

Tang Wulin and Na'er just continued eating as if nothing happened.

The shop owner pushed through the door and walked into the fenced eating area, bringing over five freshly grilled skewers of squid to Tang Wulin's table.

Astonished, Tang Wulin looked up at the owner. “Boss, we already got all we ordered!”

The owner placed himself between Tang Wulin's group and the thugs, using his body as a makes.h.i.+ft wall. “These are my treat. But you kids should leave immediately. Those guys who just walked in are good-for-nothings looking for trouble. You shouldn't get involved with them.”

“But we're right by Shrek Academy. They actually dare misbehave with the academy next door?”

The owner smiled bitterly. “Even if they're right outside, they don't police everything. Shrek City's public order is pretty good to begin with, but you can't be rid of all the criminals. Those guys had probably gotten expelled from Shrek Academy at one point. Or maybe they're one of the hopefuls who failed to get in. Either way, they harbor a lot of resentment and refuse to leave the city, straying further and further from the right path.”

Tang Wulin's eyes went wide. “Then they're also soul masters?”