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Both Qin Fang and Cai Qing fully understood the implication behind Luo Xi's words; both managed to restrain their laughter, but Ding Song was clueless and even straightened his posture when Luo Xi mentioned the title 'One of the Four Tiansouthern Showmen,' as if he was expecting admiration and worship to be cast his way by Qin Fang.

Alas, he was bound to be disappointed.

Qin Fang's expression remained quite natural, as if he had no knowledge whatsoever concerning the prestige associated with the name 'One of the Four Tiansouthern Showmen,' and he simply continued to focus on his meal.

At most, he casually dropped a statement, "Miss Luo, as you know, I'm not a member of the Martial World, so my knowledge is quite limited! That person... Mr. Ding, hello!"

Ding Song's face couldn't help but heat up, and a quick flash of red could be seen across it, signaling that he had lost some face.

However, if it was as Qin Fang said, that he wasn't a person from the Martial World, then it would be completely normal for him not to have heard of such a prestigious title, so even if he felt dissatisfied with Qin Fang, he couldn't show it, lest he really lose too much face.

"Hello, hello..."

Apart from mechanically responding to Qin Fang, he really had nothing else to say.

"Senior Brother Ding, as you see, we're eating, so if there's nothing pressing, we won't keep you from your time!"

Luo Xi also knew when to advance and retreat; seeing that Qin Fang had no interest in entertaining Ding Song, she wasn't going to actively cause trouble for Qin Fang. Having successfully completed her role as a human shield, she promptly showed Ding Song out.

"Heh! I actually have some friends over there, so I'll head over now. You guys continue..."

Ding Song, having lost some face, and in front of two beautiful women at that, didn't have the nerve to stay any longer. He immediately went to the table he had reserved, where indeed a few friends were waiting for him.

"Say, beautiful, can you not cause trouble for me when it's not necessary? I'm just here to watch the excitement; I don't want to invite trouble!"

Only after Ding Song had left did Qin Fang speak with a hint of displeasure.

Although he was with these two beauties and needed to look after them to an extent, he was not keen on being used as a shield against pursuers, because doing so would definitely bring him a considerable amount of trouble.

The Martial World these days wasn't very large, and there were significantly few women who practiced martial arts, with even fewer beauties among them.

There were only a few beauties of note in the Southern Martial Arts World, and the two sitting beside Qin Fang were both among them.

"Hmph, having you as a shield is giving you face..."

Unfortunately, the two beauties glanced at each other, with Cai Qing still cold as ice, and Luo Xi refuted firmly, not taking Qin Fang's words to heart.

This response was something Qin Fang anticipated, so he didn't bother to entangle with them further and decided to continue with his meal.

...

"Fourth Senior Brother, why did it take you so long to come? We've been waiting for quite a while... come on, come on, forget the chit-chat, down three cups as a penalty!"

Ding Song walked away from Qin Fang's table with a rather embarrassed, losing face manner and made his way to a deeper part of the restaurant. As soon as he reached his table, someone immediately started shouting.

"Ah, don't mention it! Let's just drink, drink..."

His companions, either senior brothers from his sect or close friends, couldn't help but ask when they saw Ding Song's demeanor. Prompted by their questioning, Ding Song downed three cups of wine in quick succession and couldn't help but grunt in resignation.

"What happened?"

His brothers usually just joked around, but seeing Ding Song's unhappy face, they couldn't help but ask.

"Look over there..."

Ding Song sat near the edge, where he could clearly see Qin Fang's table, and with a gesture of his mouth, he subtly signaled toward it.

The others craned their necks for a look, some not sure what they were looking for, while others lit up in recognition of either Cai Qing or Luo Xi.

"Isn't that Luo Xi and Cai Qing? I didn't expect to see them staying here too; what a coincidence..."

Someone recognized the two beauties and immediately perked up, since beauties in the Martial World were so scarce, each one highly valued, and they were eager like hungry wolves, wishing they could pounce for a bite.

"Hey, who's that guy? Eating with the two beauties..."

However, they soon noticed the young man Qin Fang as well, but it was clear they didn't recognize him, which they found rather odd.

There were so few noteworthy young heroes in the Martial World that it would be rare for them not to recognize at least one, but none of them recognizing him was quite strange.

Naturally, all eyes focused on Ding Song, the only one who had had any contact.

"Just an ordinary person, probably a relative of the two beauties!"

Ding Song said nonchalantly, but recalling the humiliation he had suffered, there was still a fire burning in his heart.

"Damn, an ordinary guy dares to hit on Brother Ding's girls? That's suicidal!"

As one of the Tian Nan Four Showmen, Ding Song enjoyed a high prestige among the younger generation in the Southern Martial Arts World. Those who could hang out with him naturally looked up to him. Among them were some who were adept at flattering, and one of the more astute ones immediately slapped the table in annoyance and blurted out.

"That's right, this kid is asking for it..."

Once one person spoke up, naturally others joined in. However, as the voices grew, Ding Song felt that he was losing face. He was already dissatisfied with Qin Fang and now, no matter how he looked at him, Qin Fang displeased him even more.

"Brother Ding, I think that kid is just a pushover. How about a few of us find some time to scare him off, so he disappears on his own? Then you could..."

Butt-kissing was a skill too, and quickly, someone noticed the shift in Ding Song's mood and could not help but give him advice.

Those present were all martial practitioners, and none were weak. Even the least among them possessed Level 3 strength, the kind nobody could get close to. Dealing with just an ordinary man was indeed too easy.

However, it was generally against the rules of any sect to allow its disciples to arbitrarily bully ordinary folk—it really wasn't okay, akin to an adult picking on a child, and would be embarrassing to mention.

Because of this, although Ding Song was irritated, he couldn't vent his anger on Qin Fang and could only watch resentfully. But with his sect brothers helping to scare the man away, that would make things much easier for him.

"This... he's just an ordinary person, what if he gets hurt..."

Ding Song really wasn't that compassionate; while he mouthed words of concern, he hinted at intimidation, and mentioning the word "hit" changed the implication entirely.

"Don't worry, Brother Ding, leave this to us. There will be absolutely no problems!"

Though inside, some were cursing Ding Song for being unscrupulous, they couldn't focus on that now. During the Martial World meet, there were at least thousands of experts from the Northern and Southern Martial Arts Worlds present.

If someone was beaten up, there would be nowhere to appeal, and at most, one would need to put on stockings over their head to cover their face. Finding the assailant would be hopeless.

Thus, while Qin Fang was unaware, some were already setting their sights on him.

Qin Fang and his two companions had come to the restaurant simply to eat and fill their stomachs, not to chat and drink like the others, so they ate quickly. Soon, their meal was almost finished, and Qin Fang called the waiter over to pay the bill.

But when Qin Fang looked up, he saw a figure surrounded by several people leaving the restaurant, and that silhouette seemed all too familiar, causing Qin Fang's gaze to linger.

"What's wrong?"

Luo Xi noticed the strange expression on Qin Fang's face and couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing, I just thought I saw someone I know..."

Qin Fang shook his head. The silhouette did look quite familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but thinking of who that person might be, it seemed unlikely, as that person's status would not have him appearing in a small place like Jian Ge at such a time.

"Oh!"

Luo Xi simply hummed in response; she had just asked casually and wasn't overly concerned with the issue.

Actually, Qin Fang wasn't too concerned either. There were many people with similar silhouettes; it wasn't necessarily the same person. Distracted by paying the bill, he didn't think much about it.

But soon after, Qin Fang and his companions also got up to leave. Just as they stepped out of the restaurant, Qin Fang saw two people talking not far away, with several others lingered around, though none approached them.

"Brother Fei, is it really you?"

Upon recognizing the newcomer, Qin Fang exclaimed in surprise, "I thought I was mistaken..."

It was only then that Qin Fang realized he hadn't been mistaken; the person had actually come to a small place like Jian Ge, which was quite unexpected.

Who was this person?

It was none other than Qiao Zhenfei, one of the top young masters of Capital City and someone Qin Fang had a good relationship with.

"Qin Fang!"

Qiao Zhenfei was also surprised, then overjoyed. He stopped talking and immediately ran over to share a very warm and proactive embrace with Qin Fang. "I really didn't expect to find you here in Jian Ge, what a surprise..."

In such a vast country, without any prior notice, in a small county like Jian Ge, it was indeed a curious twist of fate for two friends to encounter each other by sheer coincidence. This was the second time such an unexpected meeting had occurred.

As for the first time, of course, it was that encounter in Shenzhou, although it hadn't been too harmonious, it had brought Qin Fang and Qiao Zhenfei much closer. They would occasionally catch up with a simple phone call, but meetings were rare.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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