Invincible Dad-Chapter 669 This Mahjong is not Authentic_1

Ruan Lan was speechless.

Xu Lai was speechless.

The two of them stared at the three South Wind tiles and one East Wind tile on the table, lost in thought.

It seemed as though Ruan Tang might possibly, perhaps, probably be playing a different kind of mahjong than they understood.

"Nobody wants them? Then I’ll keep going," Ruan Tang said, pushing out two more tiles. "A pair of sevens."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... eight!" Xu Yiyi, brimming with excitement, pushed out two eight-dot tiles. "I beat you!"

"You see? It’s simple," Ruan Tang said with a smile. "Even Yiyi has learned."

"????"

Xu Lai and Ruan Lan exchanged a look, their eyes filled with utter confusion.

There’s a way to play mahjong like this? We’ve never heard of it.

Ruan Lan cautiously asked, "Sis, is this really how you play? I feel like something isn’t quite right."

Ruan Tang was taken aback. She suddenly understood and said with a relieved smile, "It’s alright, Ruan Lan. Even if you don’t know how to play, we won’t laugh at you."

"Sis, that’s not it!" Ruan Lan clutched her head, grabbing handfuls of her long black hair in frustration. "There’s definitely something wrong with how you’re playing! I may be terrible at mahjong, but I at least know the basic rules!"

"Impossible," Ruan Tang said with a serious expression. "My colleague, Xiao Yao, is a Sichuan Girl, and mahjong from the Chuan Yu region is the most authentic. She taught me herself."

"Sis, did you ever consider that maybe she doesn’t know how to play either? It’s like how some people from Chuan Yu don’t eat spicy food."

"...They seemed to be having a great time when they played. It must be correct, right?" Ruan Tang’s confidence began to waver, as she had only played with her colleagues once or twice. She turned to Xu Lai and tentatively asked, "Xu Lai—"

"Mm," Xu Lai nodded. "This isn’t authentic mahjong."

"..."

Ruan Tang fell silent. Her skin, so delicate it looked like it could be broken with a single touch, turned redder by the moment. Her voice lost its confidence, turning into a faint, mosquito-like whisper. "This is so embarrassing."

"Mommy, it’s not embarrassing," Yiyi said warmly. "Mommy is the most amazing mahjong master, the best in the entire Universe!"

"Indeed," Ruan Lan sighed. "An ordinary person could never play a three-of-a-kind with a single."

"Stop talking," Ruan Tang mumbled, covering her face. She just wished she could find a hole to crawl into.

"But Sis, you scared me to death just now." Her heart still fluttering, Ruan Lan patted her chest. "I thought I had been transported to a parallel universe."

"It’s okay, Honey." Xu Lai rested a large hand on Ruan Tang’s leg, patting it gently. "Let’s just play like this. It’s actually pretty fun. Being happy is what’s most important."

"That’s right, being happy is what’s most important!" Ruan Lan stopped teasing her sister, whose face was now flushed as red as a tiny sun, her temperature skyrocketing.

"Mommy, come on!" Yiyi urged, full of enthusiasm.

Ruan Tang kept her face covered but had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue playing.

"Oh, by the way, Mommy and Daddy, my kindergarten is organizing an outing on Sunday, the day after tomorrow," Xu Yiyi said softly in the middle of the game.

"Mm-hmm," Ruan Tang replied. "Your dad and I will both be there."

"You can’t," Xu Yiyi said, shaking her head. "This time, it’s just for the kids."

"Alright, then you have to be safe," Ruan Tang said with a slight frown, but she didn’t press the issue.

At that moment, Xu Lai’s phone vibrated on the table. Just as he was about to answer, the phone shut down from a low battery. He didn’t have a charger, so he simply let the screen go black and continued playing mahjong. "Honey, you’re improving. A four-of-a-kind with a pair... Pass."

The Supreme Emperor had no idea that because his phone had shut down, Tan Chang, back in the abandoned factory, was left completely stunned.

"No one’s answering..." Tan Chang looked around, forcing a smile. "I’ll call again. Senior Xu Lai must be busy."

However, his second call was met with an automated message: "The number you have dialed has been switched off."

Tan Chang began to panic.

"Tan Chang, are you playing games with me?" Elder Mou Yuan, the only Elder left standing, had an ugly expression as a murderous aura radiated from his body.

"Calm down, I must stay calm..." Bracing himself, Tan Chang said, "I’ll just send him a text. He’ll definitely come to the factory when he sees it."

"Are you sure?" Mou Yuan asked, his expression skeptical.

"I’m positive! Absolutely certain!" Tan Chang declared with great confidence. He believed Senior Xu Lai would surely come to his rescue once he saw the text message.

***

Time is like flowing water. Sometimes it rushes by so fast it catches you off guard; other times it crawls so slowly that a day feels like a year.

Three days had passed since he sent the text. Not only had Xu Lai failed to appear, but he hadn’t returned the call or replied to the message either. Tan Chang’s face was a mask of despair. In that time, he had accumulated over a dozen new, fatal wounds. He had been tortured bit by bit by the Moon Clan Elders, as Mou Yuan and the others felt he had deceived them.

If Lin Xuzhi of the Yunxiao Sect hadn’t occasionally used a Jade Slip to check on the situation and persuade Mou Yuan to remain calm, Tan Chang would already be dead without a burial site. From this, Tan Chang learned something else—the Yunxiao Sect had completely sided with the Moon Clan. Or rather, the Moon Clan member who had infiltrated the sect and perfectly concealed their identity as its leader now had the Yunxiao Sect completely under their control. Otherwise, such a traitorous act of biting the hand that feeds them would have been impossible.

Of course, the most important thing was that they made no effort to hide their conversations from him, completely unafraid that he might leak the information one day. Tan Chang understood with perfect clarity. These Moon Clan members never intended to let him live. Only the dead can keep secrets.

Was that Elixir they forced into his mouth yesterday actually poison?

Tan Chang’s eyes were lifeless. He knew his severe injuries meant he didn’t have many days left. He no longer hoped for Senior Xu Lai to save him, but he couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of dissatisfaction. He had ambitions yet to be realized, promises yet to be fulfilled. It was hard to let go without regrets.

"Life is but a few short autumns, stay drunk and carry on... My beauty is to the east, the Yellow River flows out west..."

Suddenly, the sound of a childish song drifted in from outside the factory.

「In the abandoned factory.」

The sixteen Elders seated cross-legged all opened their eyes at once. Today was their sixth day on Earth. Wary of startling their prey by killing anyone, they were now famished, their stomachs growling. It wasn’t the hunger of a normal person who had missed a meal, but the thirst for fresh blood that came from practicing the Blood Moon Technique.

A Lower Crescent Elder released his Divine Sense, a smirk playing on his lips. "Thirty children in total, and ten adult women."

On a forest path a few hundred meters from the factory, a group of children in sun hats was climbing toward the mountaintop. They were split into two lines, boys and girls holding hands, singing as they walked.

"Let’s eat."

"This place is far from any bustling city. There’s no reason not to eat food that serves itself up on our doorstep."

The eyes of many Elders flickered with anticipation.

"Something is... not right about two of those children." Mou Yuan frowned deeply, his Divine Sense locked onto two small figures. One was a little girl, as exquisitely beautiful as a porcelain doll. Although she emitted no trace of Spiritual Energy, Mou Yuan found he couldn’t pull his Divine Sense away from her. A voice in his mind kept repeating, *’Eat her!’*

The other was a little boy at the very end of the line. With his hands behind his back, he looked left and right with a highly punchable swagger, as if he were there to conduct an inspection.