Page 98

Chu Yuening could sense Huashesen's hostility, but compared to more menacing gangsters, he was hardly a small fry.

Just as she was lost in thought, the sound of motorcycles echoed through the street. The engines roared, creating a cacophony that made her press her earlobe in disapproval.

Feiyu, the leader, hopped off his bike, hanging his helmet on the handlebar. He strolled over with two underlings, nonchalantly.

"Hey, Sweet Soup Girl. I've been looking for you everywhere, and here you are."

"Qiu Ge is waiting for you at Temple Street for a fortune-telling session," Feiyu approached the dessert stall, lifted the ice cream box, grabbed a takeout bowl, and dug out a bowl of sweet soup directly from the ice. He downed it in one go.

Slamming the bowl on the table, he said, "Better be quick."

"Quick?" Chu Yuening raised her hand to push the ice cream box back down, preventing the two minions from reaching in. She was surprised, not expecting Feiyu to have convinced the second-in-command so swiftly.

"Sorry, I'm occupied with other matters today. Tell him to wait for a while."

As the words faded, the atmosphere on the scene cooled by several degrees.

Not far away, Huashesen also caught sight of the commotion at the dessert stall. Upon hearing Brother Qiu's name, he couldn't help but regard it as a joke.

Brother Qiu was the second-in-command of the Fourteenth Gang. He once single-handedly charged into Mong Kok to confront a notorious triad, slaying dozens of their members and barely surviving with his last breath. Who in Hong Kong's criminal underworld hadn't heard of Brother Qiu?

Yet, this humble dessert girl dared to make Brother Qiu wait for her?

Would Flying Fish dare to cut her into eight pieces?

Huashesen sneered and, sitting on a stone bench, crossed his legs. "She's incredibly daring. I'll be watching how you meet your end."

"Hold on," Flying Fish said with displeasure. "Are you kidding me? Brother Qiu has never kept anyone waiting."

"Something came up suddenly," Chu Yuening said helplessly, spreading her hands. "Anyway, we can't go anywhere today at the Nine Dragons Market."

Seeing that Chu Yuening was genuinely busy, Flying Fish had no choice but to accept it. "Do you have a specific time? I mentioned your destiny prediction to Brother Qiu, and he's a bit curious to see how you do it."

In truth, Brother Qiu didn't initially believe in it. However, he couldn't resist Sister Ling's persistent praise of Chu Yuening and her remarkable accuracy in fortune-telling. Thus, he decided to visit Temple Street. But when he arrived at the dessert stall, he found no sign of her.

Brother Qiu asked Feiyu to locate her, and before leaving, he instructed Feiyu to be polite, considering Sister Ling's favor.

Chu Yuening pondered for a moment. "I should have time tomorrow. How about then?"

"Alright, tomorrow it is." Brother Feiyu turned around and rode his motorbike away.

Seeing him leave so abruptly, Huashesen hastily stood up to stop him. "Brother Feiyu, are we just going to let the dessert girl get away with disrespecting Brother Qiu?"

"What dessert girl?" Upon seeing someone rush out, Brother Feiyu scolded. "She's a master who's going to help our Brother Qiu with fortune-telling. Be careful with your words, or we won't let you off."

No one had an easy time once they caught the attention of the Fourteen Gang.

Huashesen was startled and quickly retreated. "I dare not, I dare not."

The motorbike sped away, leaving Huashesen filled with fear. He no longer dared to even look in the direction of the dessert stall, regretting his previous thoughts of causing trouble.

He couldn't help but feel the urge to slap himself.

How could he have provoked someone that Brother Qiu would wait for?

The sun climbed higher into the sky, nearing noon.

Indeed, there was a steady flow of customers at the grocery store. Chu Yuening removed the contaminated syrup box from the ice cream cart and discarded it. With the remaining items sold out thanks to the crowd, she had an empty cart to carry.

The pretty vegetable seller had also finished her sales. Upon exiting, she immediately spotted Chu Yuening approaching with an empty basket on her shoulder.

"Still not leaving?"

"I'll be a bit late," Chu Yuening replied with a smile, not elaborating further.

The pretty lady put down her own bamboo pole and stood beside Chu Yuening. "You're quite the celebrity now. Even when I'm selling vegetables inside the market, I hear your name being mentioned."

"Why's that?" Chu Yuening asked, puzzled.

"It was all because you predicted what happened with Boss Yuan. Back then, the crowd was too large, and we couldn't get out. Someone was listening at the entrance of the corridor and shouting your predictions into the market," Sister Glamour reminisced, unable to suppress her laughter at the memory of the lively scene.

"Every word was spot on, especially when you predicted that Boss Yuan would have a granddaughter. It was sheer genius. The stall owners in the market were all in disbelief."

Sister Glamour's enthusiasm grew as she spoke, her expression brimming with pride. "I told them I knew you, but they didn't believe me."

"Right." After finishing her thought, Sister Glamour asked, "Will you still set up your stall there in the future?"

"At Temple Street. You can drop by for some dessert whenever you're free."

The two continued their conversation for a while longer.

Suddenly, a few children ran over, catching Chu Yuening's curiosity. She looked in their direction and soon spotted a man in long-sleeved clothing pulling a handcart down the street, grunting with effort as he headed for the corridor.

The man wasn't tall, but his hands gripping the cart were peculiar—his skin was mottled with white patches and twisted, with scars snaking up his wrist bones.

The children tugged at each other, singing a taunting song:

"Silly piglet, silly piglet, all your life you only know how to butcher pigs. Pouring water left and right, covering the pigskin with steam."

The man paid no heed to the children's taunting song, persistently pulling the cart with the weight of the pork requiring a great deal of effort. His clenched back teeth were visible through the strain on his cheeks as muscles bulged.

In unison, the children tried to tug at the pig's tail, attempting to pull the meat off the cart.

"Silly pig, silly pig, all your life you only knew how to be slaughtered. Pouring water left and right, a layer of skin covers you tight."

The man finally lost his temper, casting the cart handle aside and turning to face them with a roar, "Scram, you pesky brats!"

At that moment, passersby were deeply startled.

One even let out a shriek, stumbling backward and falling to the ground.

For when the man turned, the entire right side of his face was scarred. The skin around the eye socket beneath what should have been eyebrows had shriveled, revealing an eyeball protruding eerily, its whites clearly visible in abundance.