Chapter 140: Meeting an Acquaintance in a Foreign Land

After lunch, everyone was arranged to wait in the side hall.

Li Zhou slumped in his chair, lacking even the strength to walk.

Yet even so, every few minutes he was forced to rush out, stimulated by the turbulent air swirling in his stomach.

"What's wrong with Li Zhou? He was perfectly fine before eating, so why did his stomach suddenly act up, and why is it so severe?"

There was a flurry of discussion all around, but even so, no one dared to question whether there was something wrong with the food they had eaten.

By the time Li Zhou returned from the latrine for the tenth time, he was being physically supported by the Yuan family members.

The sheepskin vest he wore had long been soaked through with sweat, and his previous aura had vanished without a trace.

Almost everyone subconsciously moved a little further away from him, feeling as though the stench of the latrine was wafting off his body.

Sun Mang felt a sense of schadenfreude; after all, this man had been the one leading the charge against Su Yan and him previously.

To see him in such a state now—it was simply retribution!

And so, they waited for another hour. Although there were plenty of refreshments, as time dragged on, some people began to lose their patience.

"Could we ask Mr. Yuan exactly how much longer we need to wait?"

They did not understand why, as invited guests, they were being treated with such neglect.

"Mr. Yuan said we can proceed once everyone has arrived."

"Then how many people are left? If it's going to take too long, we'll head back and come again tomorrow." They were all prominent figures in their own respective living areas.

"Mr. Yuan instructed that if anyone wishes to leave, he will not force them to stay."

The other party's completely indifferent response actually caused the speaker to shut their mouth.

If they left just like this, they would truly be unwilling. As long as Yuan Jing's matter was resolved, they would not only receive a generous reward but also gain several times their current prestige and the connection that was Yuan Jing. Such an opportunity was something one could rarely encounter; therefore, they could only wait, and wait.

Just as the hall fell silent once more, Su Yan, who had remained emotionless throughout, instead stood up and walked toward the door.

Sun Mang immediately followed.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Su Yan said calmly to the people at the door, "We won't be waiting any longer."

Sun Mang's eyes widened; he hadn't expected her to make such a decision.

Sure enough, as soon as Su Yan's voice fell, a wave of ridicule erupted behind them.

These nobodies would only be making fools of themselves by staying.

"Very well, I shall see you both out."

The other party made no attempt to persuade them to stay.

Sun Mang pouted as he walked out with Su Yan.

As they passed through the center of the courtyard, Su Yan stopped her footsteps and looked up.

Sun Mang and the person leading the way did not understand what she was doing.

Or rather, what she was "looking" at?

After only a brief moment, Su Yan resumed her stride.

"Su Yan, are we really just leaving like this?"

Seeing that they were almost at the main gate, he spoke up out of sheer unwillingness.

Wasn't this exactly what the people inside wanted?!

Su Yan replaced her answer with action.

At that moment, a black sedan pulled up to the entrance.

Sun Mang immediately recognized it as the same car that had picked them up from the bus station earlier.

The car door opened, and a man and a woman stepped out.

"Brother Ma!"

Upon seeing the newcomers, Sun Mang shouted excitedly.

Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan, the siblings, also hadn't expected to run into them here; they were startled, yet also pleasantly surprised.

"Miss Su, Young Master Sun, you've come as well!"

Although Ma Chulong was greeting the two, his eyes were fixed solely on Su Yan.

"Yeah, why are you two here too?" Sun Mang felt the wonder of fate; meeting acquaintances in a place like this was truly a joy.

"We received an invitation from Mr. Yuan. You did too, right?"

Although Ma Chulong was asking, his tone was certain.

Sun Mang nodded repeatedly. "Su Yan, since we've run into Brother Ma, why don't we..."

"We are heading back first." Su Yan interrupted his following words, clearly having made up her mind to leave.

The two siblings were both stunned.

"Brother Ma, then we'll be going. See you if we have the chance!" Sun Mang bid them an awkward farewell and then hurried to catch up with Su Yan.

"Brother, why did Miss Su and the others leave so quickly? Is the situation at Mr. Yuan's house that difficult to resolve?" Ma Chulan asked with concern.

Although she did not know the full extent of Su Yan's strength, if even Su Yan couldn't solve it, they would likely find it very difficult as well.

Ma Chulong frowned. "Let's meet Mr. Yuan first before deciding."

Since they knew Su Yan was here, finding them wouldn't be difficult.

With the arrival of the siblings, Yuan Jing finally met with everyone once more.

He noticed at a glance that Su Yan and Sun Mang were missing.

"Where is Miss Su?"

"Miss Su has already left." The servant's answer was within Yuan Jing's expectations.

However, he did not take Su Yan to heart. If there were anyone here who could solve his troubles, it could only be two people.

His dark gaze fell upon Cao Meng and the Ma siblings.

"So, the people Mr. Yuan has been waiting for all this time are this young man and his sister?"

Even though Li Zhou was physically exhausted, he had not lost his habit of looking down on others.

However, when he heard Yuan Jing introduce Ma Chulong, everyone's expression changed.

The Ma family?!!

One gaze after another turned into shock and wariness.

The previous displeasure from waiting vanished without a trace.

For generations, the Ma family had taken exorcism as their duty. Even though the great figures of the Ma family had now withdrawn from the world, their illustrious reputation still commanded respect.

The fact that Yuan Jing had even invited members of the Ma family meant that the trouble he encountered must be no small matter.

But since he had even invited the Ma family, why bother calling them here?

"Alright, let us begin." With a single sentence, Yuan Jing pulled everyone's attention away from the Ma siblings.

"Is there no need to invite Miss Su back?" Ma Chulong actually brought up Su Yan at this moment.

The crowd looked at one another in confusion.

"Young Master Ma knows Miss Su?" Yuan Jing immediately drew this conclusion.

Ma Chulong nodded.

Yuan Jing was not surprised; after all, they were all in the same circle, so it was normal to know each other.

"Miss Su left of her own accord. It wouldn't be right to make everyone wait for her alone. Let us begin first."

Yuan Jing's approach left the Ma siblings somewhat disappointed; they had thought there might be a chance to fight alongside Su Yan again this time.

"I have invited you all here today because some strange occurrences have happened in my home recently that cannot be resolved by human effort alone."

As Yuan Jing's voice fell, the surroundings instantly became deathly silent.

On the bustling street, Sun Mang was still obsessing over their sudden withdrawal.

"Su Yan, are we really not doing business with Mr. Yuan anymore?"

"Remember one thing," Su Yan said nonchalantly.

Sun Mang immediately straightened his expression, terrified of missing a single word she said.

Su Yan's voice rang out again, "What is snatched is not a business deal."

*Uh.*

Three black lines appeared on Sun Mang's forehead.

"Haha, Su Yan, you really have a great mindset. So open-minded."

"It's not about being open-minded; it's that the Yuan family's matter is not simple." Su Yan suddenly lowered her voice.

(End of Chapter)