Chapter 207: Shufen, Call Me Uncle
Soon, the first rays of morning sunlight spilled down, feeling wonderfully warm.
Chen Yao cried out in excitement. This was her first time climbing a mountain to see the sunrise!
"Zhou Fan, let's take a picture together!" Chen Yao pulled out her phone and held it high. With her back to the sunrise, she snapped a photo that captured both of them.
In the photo, Zhou Fan and Chen Yao's faces were beaming with joy. Chen Yao's cheek was pressed against Zhou Fan's chin as they embraced intimately, looking just like a young couple freshly in love.
Gazing at the photo on her phone, Chen Yao's heart skipped a beat. She slowly lifted her head to look at the man holding her, only to see him gazing at the sun as it slowly ascended in the distance.
"What's wrong? Is there gold on my face? Why do you keep staring!"
Suddenly, Zhou Fan lowered his head and asked her curiously.
As if a secret deep in her heart had just been exposed, Chen Yao frantically lowered her head. Feigning indifference, she said, "I was just looking at your face. How is it so big? You're always taking advantage of me!"
Seeing her flustered look, her bewildered expression, and her muddled ramblings, a playful smirk tugged at the corner of Zhou Fan's lips. "I wasn't taking advantage of you just now. Are you trying to frame me? In that case, I guess I'll have to do something to actually earn that accusation!"
The moment he finished speaking, Chen Yao looked at him in confusion. In the next second, something seemed to happen, and her face flushed bright red. If Zhou Fan hadn't been holding her steady, she might have fallen right over. Her hand pinched his waist forcefully. "You jerk, let go!"
After the sunrise, people began to head down the mountain, as many had a day of work ahead of them. The group of four, however, had other plans. They first found a spot on the summit to eat some breakfast before starting their leisurely descent.
"Wait... back on the summit, I sensed quite a few dangerous auras. Why haven't they made a move yet?" Seeing that they were already halfway down the mountain, Fan glanced around, deliberately fell back a few steps, and whispered to Zhou Fan.
"Don't worry. They'll definitely make their move before we're off this path. You take Miss Zheng and deliberately veer off course a little. I'll follow with Little Yaoyao, and we'll pretend we took a wrong turn."
Zhou Fan also kept his voice low as he gave Fan his instructions.
"What do you think you're doing? I say a couple of things to you and you get mad? That's not the path down the mountain, where are you going?" Suddenly, Fan, who was walking ahead, yelled in exasperation at Zheng Sisi as she turned onto a narrow trail.
"A couple of things? What right do you have to lecture me? You're not my boyfriend!" Zheng Sisi shot back without turning her head, her pace quickening.
"It's not that I don't want to be your boyfriend! I was just too scared to confess! You're always so hot and cold, how is anyone supposed to know what you're thinking? Besides, weren't we getting along great just last night?" Fan yelled back in frustration, hurrying to catch up.
Hearing this, Zhou Fan and Chen Yao exchanged a look and shook their heads in resignation. Then, they said in unison, "They're just using a fight to confess their feelings to each other!"
Regardless, Zhou Fan took Chen Yao's hand and hurried after them.
The four of them, two in front and two in the back, moved with a surprisingly synchronized pace. Before long, a smile touched Zhou Fan's lips. 'They're here!'
"Thirteen of them. Judging by how lightly they land and the control of their breathing, they're all masters. Those three men who were with Li Mei are here, but Li Mei herself is not."
Zhou Fan spoke softly, intending it as a warning for Fan up ahead.
"Since they're masters, you take ten, I'll take three. That's fair, right?" Fan didn't even turn his head, making the decision without a hint of hesitation or doubt.
"Fair enough. A little pathetic, but fair." Zhou Fan calmly turned around, took out a cigarette, and lit it, coolly gazing back down the path they had just come from.
"The more capable you are, the more work you do. You're a better fighter than me; I'm doing well to take on three!" Fan paid Zhou Fan's snide remark no mind. He drew a dagger with his right hand, pushed Zheng Sisi behind him with his left, and scanned their surroundings with a wary expression.
SWISH SWISH SWISH!
Before long, the sound of running feet filled the air. Moments later, more than a dozen figures appeared and surrounded Zhou Fan's group. Their leader was a young woman. Her eyebrows were strikingly high on her forehead, like two mountain peaks about to pierce the clouds, giving her a rather valiant air.
"Nether King? You ignored the main road and dared to lead your people down this narrow trail. Remember the name: I'm Li Shufen, and Li Mei is my aunt!" The young woman stared at Zhou Fan, who was calmly smoking in front of her, and felt a surge of annoyance. She preferred to see people groveling in fear, begging for mercy.
"Ah, Shufen. Your aunt and I are old acquaintances. Why don't you try calling me 'Uncle' and see how it feels?" A mocking smile played on Zhou Fan's lips. With a mere thought, the Li Hen Sword appeared in his hand as he taunted her with great amusement.