Daniel Nagumo felt utterly uncomfortable. That chubby middle-aged man was eyeing him up in the creepiest way possible. What made it even worse was the guy muttering under his breath, "Tsk tsk—this tender little Japanese piglet looks delicious! I’d love to fuck him!"
The skinny middle-aged guy beside him snickered just as sleazily. "Heh heh, Old Zhu, this Japanese piglet says he’s got nine chrysanthemums—plenty for you to fuck for a while! Wahaha—"
Daniel Nagumo had no clue about these Chinese street slang terms. He certainly didn’t understand the deep, "profound cultural traditions" behind words like "fuck" and "chrysanthemum." Frowning, he tried to explain, "Uh—gentlemen, you do realize that beautiful flowers like chrysanthemums need sunlight to bloom, right?"
The two sleazy middle-aged men—one fat, one skinny—were stunned for a moment, then exchanged a glance and burst out laughing. The skinny guy laughed so hard he stomped his feet and clutched his belly, shouting, "Hahaha—oh man, Old Zhu, this Japanese chrysanthemum needs you to fuck him a lot! That’s how he’ll bloom beautifully—don’t let him down—haha—"
Shawn Young couldn’t help but chuckle, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter. Warren Cloud, the tiger-faced guy next to him, also cracked a weird smile, his shoulders shaking as he tried not to burst out. Even Andrew Qi’s usually poker-faced, icy expression twisted into a strange smirk, and across the way, May Gu was biting her lip, laughing quietly. Luna Xiao’s cheeks turned bright red. The tense, sword-drawn atmosphere in the room was suddenly defused by these two sleazy newcomers.
Daniel Nagumo hadn’t expected such a big reaction from everyone. He was baffled, but he wasn’t stupid—he realized they were laughing at him, even if he didn’t know why. His handsome face turned cold, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he gripped his shamisen tight. A swirl of black energy rose up, wrapping around his hands as he prepared to strike.
"Whoa—Young Master Danwa, hold on—let me ask them something first," Andrew Qi quickly stopped Daniel Nagumo, then turned to the fat and skinny duo, frowning and asking coldly, "If I’m not mistaken, you two must be the infamous ‘Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon’—Gavin Strong and Leo Bright, right?"
Tiger Cloud Warren Cloud was stunned by the question and blurted out in surprise, "Ah! So those two are the brothers ranked 30th and 31st on the China Dragon-Tiger Leaderboard—Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon!?"
The two sleazy middle-aged men nodded in unison, but just smiled without saying a word. Andrew Qi’s face turned stern and he asked coldly, "You two—Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon—are pretty famous in the martial world. Why are you getting mixed up in this mess? Did the Thirteen Enforcers offend you somehow?"
"Nope!" Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon answered in perfect sync.
"So, you two barged in here today just to watch the show? I didn’t invite you, so what’s your deal?" Andrew Qi asked coldly.
"Heh heh—we weren’t planning to show ourselves just yet, but this little Japanese daisy spotted us, so we had no choice but to come out!" Fat Dragon Leo Bright said, shrugging helplessly.
"Oh! So you two aren’t going to say what you’re really here for?" Andrew Qi’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. He had no interest in arguing with Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon; to keep control, he’d already decided they had to die. Andrew Qi’s shoulders twitched, qi surged through his body, and his bony hands formed eagle claws at his chest, radiating a deadly aura—like a hunting raptor.
Lean Tiger Gavin Strong saw it clearly and cried out, "Oh—that’s the Primordial Eagle Claw Technique!"
With a cold snort, Andrew Qi’s figure flickered—moving as fast as a ghost. In a flash, he was between Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon. His right claw shot for Leo Bright’s throat, while his left swept out, eagle-like, aiming for Gavin Strong’s forehead. Deadly moves, straight for the kill!
Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon tensed up and quickly retreated. Despite his size, Leo Bright moved with surprising agility, bracing himself and striking forward with a Phoenix Nod Fist. Gavin Strong leaned back and kicked out with a lightning-fast Kui Star Kick. All three were masters—their moves were blindingly fast!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!—In an instant, the three clashed and split apart. Lean Tiger & Fat Dragon looked pale, their chests heaving. Leo Bright had a bloody hole in his right arm, and Gavin Strong’s pants were torn at the right leg, revealing a deep, bleeding claw mark! Andrew Qi staggered back several steps, his chest surging with energy. He shook off the blood from his hands, sneered, and stepped forward. "Hmph! Not bad! The Dragon-Tiger Double Style’s got some bite! But you two aren’t going anywhere—"
Then Andrew Qi turned and quickly said to Daniel Nagumo, "Young Master Danwa, you take care of Luna Xiao. Leave these two to my men!"
Daniel Nagumo nodded, his voice cold: "Alright, Boss Qi. Kill those two! I’ll use their corpses to craft a Soul Husk Pouch. I’ll handle Luna Xiao."
With that, Daniel Nagumo tossed his shamisen into the air. Suddenly, it transformed into eight segments of dark green bamboo, spinning once overhead before landing around Luna Xiao and May Gu in eight directions. The bamboo stuck into the floor, and in an instant, a gray-black barrier enveloped them, trapping the two inside. Daniel Nagumo raised his right hand to his chest, thumb pinching his middle finger, the other three fingers curled. He began chanting a spell—his voice eerie and fluctuating, like a song from the depths of hell.
Suddenly, a chilling wind swept through. From beneath the floor, a mass of sinister black mist surged up, instantly shrouding Luna Xiao and May Gu inside the barrier. Piercing, ghostly shrieks echoed all around—the scene was downright terrifying.
"Boss Xiao, what kind of spell is this?" May Gu felt her scalp tingle as the chilling wind swirled, like a legion of vengeful spirits escaping hell.
Luna Xiao frowned and said, "Hmm—this is the Nine-Chrysanthemum Soul Snare! It’s designed to capture souls. May Gu, focus your energy on your dantian and ignore the illusions—I’ll find a way to break the formation."