Chapter 139: Being Despised

Su Yan’s gaze swept across the room from beneath her black cloth.

Yuan Jing’s previous remark, "Everyone is here," likely meant that the people present, including herself, still did not constitute the full group.

Therefore, these people were all here to compete with her for business.

This Mr. Yuan was indeed quite calculating.

"Hey, kid, I'm talking to you! Scared stupid?"

The one shouting incessantly was a burly man in his thirties sitting near the entrance.

Despite the sweltering weather, he was wearing a sheepskin vest, seemingly radiating an aura of "I am the most unique person here."

Seeing that Su Yan did not respond, Sun Mang hurriedly stepped forward.

"Hello, big brother. We just arrived as well."

This scene had completely exceeded his expectations.

As his voice fell, a brief silence actually descended upon the room.

*Slap!*

Someone suddenly slammed the table.

Sun Mang jumped in fright.

Immediately, someone stood up in displeasure. "Isn't Mr. Yuan going too far? Inviting just any random cats and dogs?!"

Sun Mang’s expression turned awkward.

*Cats and dogs*—they were referring to him and Su Yan, weren't they?

Before he could react, someone immediately began to jeer.

"What? If you're dissatisfied with Mr. Yuan's methods, you can just leave! Mr. Yuan only needs me here anyway!"

"Are you trying to take this chance to drive me away? I was personally invited by Mr. Yuan. When you were still playing in the mud, I was out slaying demons and exorcising spirits."

The restaurant fell into chaos.

"Miss Su, your seats are over here. Please follow me."

The member of the Yuan family responsible for leading the way remained expressionless throughout, completely ignoring the arguing.

Sun Mang suddenly found he wasn't so hungry anymore.

Following the guide's signal, Su Yan sat at the table, and someone immediately brought out fresh dishes.

Four dishes and one soup.

Clearly, everyone here received the same treatment.

Even though it was only four dishes and a soup, the dishes were so complete in color, aroma, and taste that Sun Mang had never seen or eaten anything like them before.

He couldn't wait to take a bite; the deliciousness of the flavor left him intoxicated.

"Su Yan, hurry and try this, it's really good!"

In the face of delicious food, nothing else mattered.

"Hey, blind kid, if you can't even see, you should stay home obediently. Aren't you afraid of making your family worry by running out like this?"

"Exactly. This isn't a place for playing house. Don't wait until you see something 'dirty' and piss yourself in terror."

Su Yan had only taken a few bites when she was teased by those people again, and her movements paused slightly.

Sun Mang’s reaction was even more intense than hers; he bolted upright from his seat.

"We aren't here to play house!"

These people were truly looking down on them, judging them by a narrow slit.

"Kid, the things this uncle has seen are more numerous than the living people you've encountered. Take my advice and take your little girlfriend home immediately."

Sun Mang’s face instantly turned bright red as he clarified agitatedly, "We aren't in that kind of relationship!"

To him, Su Yan was an existence that absolutely must not be profaned.

Seeing him lose his composure so easily, the people around them burst into laughter.

"Enough. Is it really that much fun for so many adults to tease a child?"

A vigorous male voice interrupted the laughter.

The man was in his forties with a goatee. His thin cheeks framed eyes that gleamed with sharp intelligence, possessing a natural, commanding authority.

As soon as he spoke, the entire hall fell silent.

Su Yan’s gaze followed and landed on him.

"Master Cao, everyone was just joking."

The more contemptuous they had been toward Su Yan and Sun Mang before, the more wary they were of this man now.

"This is the Yuan Estate. Everyone present is here by Mr. Yuan's invitation. Do you intend to disregard Mr. Yuan's reputation?" Cao Meng's powerful voice caused everyone to shut their mouths simultaneously.

However, this did not mean these people now held Su Yan and Sun Mang in high regard.

In their eyes, Su Yan's appearance was an insult to them.

"Su Yan, who is that uncle? It seems they are all quite afraid of him."

Sun Mang sat back down inconspicuously, leaning close to Su Yan to ask in a low voice.

"I don't know." Su Yan continued to lower her head and eat, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with her.

Sun Mang stopped talking as well, trying his best to minimize his presence, not wanting to cause trouble for Su Yan.

The topics discussed at the dining table were things that could never be heard outside, so there was naturally no need to hide anything here.

As Sun Mang ate, he pricked up his ears, listening to these people recount their own spectacular experiences.

He had originally thought that in modern society, people like him and Su Yan would be rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns, but he hadn't expected Mr. Yuan to easily find so many.

However, as he listened, he found he couldn't listen anymore.

Because a few people here were speaking more and more eerily, even claiming they could determine a person's life and death.

"Su Yan, is what they're saying true? Can a person's life be extended even after they've died?"

"What do you think?" Su Yan did not answer directly, but instead asked a rhetorical question.

After thinking seriously, Sun Mang shook his head.

"Grandmother said that a person's lifespan cannot be changed, and if one insists on defying heaven, they will surely pay a massive price. But seeing how they are all doing fine, they don't seem to have paid any price."

"Just hopelessly stupid."

"Hehe, thanks for the compliment." Sun Mang replied with a grin, before realizing something seemed slightly off.

Was Su Yan complimenting him?

At that moment, beneath the table, a streak of light suddenly moved toward Sun Mang. Just as it was about to touch his body, Su Yan lightly tapped her foot.

The light instantly vanished without a trace, as if nothing had ever happened.

Su Yan's eyes darkened slightly, her cold gaze landing directly on the man wearing the sheepskin vest.

At this moment, the man was chatting enthusiastically with those around him, showing no sign of abnormality.

"Su Yan, I feel like Mr. Yuan's business will be hard to handle this time. It looks like these people are all determined to win." Sun Mang had no idea he had just narrowly escaped a disaster and was still analyzing the situation for her.

"If we can't do it, we won't." Su Yan said magnanimously, while simultaneously setting down her utensils. An invisible current of air spread around the man following her movement.

The man's peripheral vision had been constantly monitoring Sun Mang's situation. Just as he was wondering why his talisman hadn't taken effect yet, he suddenly bolted upright from his chair, his features contorted into a grimace.

"Excuse me, where is the restroom?"

"Turn left out the door, go through the moon gate, and it's right there."

Before the other person's voice had even finished falling, the man had already darted out at high speed.

He moved so fast it seemed that if he were even a second late, he would lose control of himself entirely.

Everyone present stared blankly for a moment, Sun Mang included.

However, his focus was on how incredibly fast that man's movements were—it was almost dizzying.

If he ever encountered danger and needed to flee, that man would definitely be number one.

Looking down at his own legs, although he was wearing long pants so others couldn't tell, he still had those two sandbags tied around them.

He had almost forgotten what it felt like not to be constrained by the sandbags.

(End of Chapter)