You're Strong But Now You're Mine-Chapter 44: The Most Miserable Encounter

"As I tear open the dawn and dusk of this world for half a mile, my three-foot blade of blue light spins and washes away the dust~"

Outside the Starlight Song and Dance Hall, the speakers at the door—looking just like two black coffins—blared out a raspy male voice, the distant song echoing into every corner of Mirror Lake Road. Peddlers and porters would sometimes stop to listen, but soon they would have to dive back into their hectic work.

Le Yu watched as rickshaws zipped back and forth across the street and felt as though he had arrived in a completely new city. Even though the rich district was just across Mirror Lake from downtown, it felt like two separate cities. For instance, you’d never see any rickshaws downtown, but here in the wealthy district, they were a common sight.

The reason behind this wasn’t hard to figure out, "Riding a slow vehicle" was basically a fake need for a Huiyao resident. During the day, with sunlight strengthening them, Huiyao people could walk around all day without feeling tired—crossing the entire city wouldn’t even give them backaches or sore legs. And at night, everyone just went home to rest; who the hell would go out? Plus, if you were an average person walking, you’d definitely be faster than a rickshaw. If you really wanted to get somewhere quickly, riding a rickshaw was actually slower.

So rickshaws would never show up downtown. Only after nightfall would some ordinary folks, working part-time for the rickshaw company, pull their cabs to Mirror Lake Road to wait for business. Their clientele: those rich kids who hate walking, or fat-cat businessmen tossing money like confetti.

Le Yu sighed, "It’s actually this lively... I thought the city would turn dead after the lockdown."

’The ones who lose the most are them, and the ones least affected are also them.’

A gentle voice came from behind Le Yu, "The more things tighten up, the more you should indulge in pleasure. It’s not like staying home can actually reduce your losses, right? You might as well come out and have some fun."

"Makes sense. Sometimes when I’m messing around on my phone, I suddenly remember I haven’t done my homework—so I just keep nervously playing on my phone..." Le Yu turned and looked at the beauty behind him, but still couldn’t help letting out a surprised ’Ew.’

White off-shoulder shirt, pale pink pleated skirt, camel knee-high boots, long black hair draped over her shoulders, cheeks practically glowing, curved brows and smiling eyes—anyone would have to praise, "What a pure and charming girl."

If only her bulge wasn’t even bigger than Le Yu’s.

The long-haired straight-haired "girl" behind him was naturally Yin Yinyin.

Le Yu had thought Yin Yinyin’s frame was pretty slim when they first met, but he never imagined the guy could actually pull off a full-on crossdress.

Later, Yin Yinyin busted out a whole makeup kit, hairnet, wig, fake lashes—Le Yu almost wanted to yell, "How the hell are you so good at this?" But Yin Yinyin shut down all his questions with one line:

"You think I dare show my real face outside?"

That’s when Le Yu remembered, Yin Yinyin practiced the Forbidden Technique—Hidden Sword Technique; his hair, beard, and lashes were all bone-white. If he wanted to show his real face in public, he’d have to either shave his entire head and brows, or get damn good at disguises—otherwise, anyone seeing his white hair would be legally justified in hacking him to pieces, and the government would probably give them a little medal for it.

Once Yin Yinyin popped on the wig to cover his white hair, turning instantly into a fresh-faced, flat-chested black-haired "girl," Le Yu had to ask why not just go bald—wouldn’t that save him the trouble of crossdressing?

"Two men, and one of them’s bald. Are you hoping everyone stares at us? Not standing out is spycraft 101."

Le Yu figured Yin Yinyin was just full of crap; he just didn’t want to go bald and admit it.

Not to mention, the dresses he picked out were all this year’s hottest styles, and he was a master at the Mixed Voice Technique—his female voice was flawless. Le Yu was getting pretty sure the guy had some, uh, unusual kinks he was hiding.

Wait a minute.

The Hidden Sword Technique needed darkness.

Approach the target as a woman, ask to "turn off the lights" in a flirty way—what man would say no to that?

And then...

Le Yu didn’t even dare imagine any further. He suddenly shivered and turned his head to see Yin Yinyin grabbing his wrist.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?"

"Going in." Yin Yinyin sounded baffled, "Come on, let’s get this done quick so we can go home and sleep."

He made it sound like they were off to butcher a pig or something.

Le Yu could only brace himself and follow Yin Yinyin toward the Starlight Song and Dance Hall. The two big beefy bouncers gave them each a glance; Le Yu peeked back at them and felt a subtle heat prickle up his neck, instantly killing off his earlier cockiness.

Over the past few days, Le Yu had figured out a little trick for sizing people up. If someone was letting their aura all hang out and Le Yu felt a warmth at the back of his neck, it meant their Spiritual Power was weaker than his, so odds were he could take them. If it stung, their power was about equal—a tough fight either way. If he felt nothing, they were either total weaklings, or—more likely—he was the weakling in their eyes.

The back of the neck was the implant point for the Luminous Stone chip; all Spiritual Power feedback showed up there first. It took Le Yu ages to get the hang of reading his own neck’s signals; sometimes he swore it was like there was someone else driving his body from the back of his head.

Those two bouncers probably had fighting skills about on par with Gao Jin. And considering Gao Jin was a top student at Star Engraving Military Academy, if these two bouncers could match him, they might well be retired Linhai Army troops.

That’s the difference between Mirror Lake Road and Eighteenth Street. On Eighteenth Street, the gangs wouldn’t dare mess with a Statistical Department agent, but on Mirror Lake Road, even your average doorman was operating at Statistical Department level... Le Yu handed over a Starlight Card. One of the bouncers took a look at it, pulled out a hole-puncher, popped two holes in it, then handed it back with a respectful bow, "Mr. You, I hope you have a wonderful evening."

The Starlight Song and Dance Hall was all members-only, no outsiders, one person, one card, no duplicates. The card Le Yu was holding was worth at least ten gold coins—enough to cover a whole year’s expenses for his family and still have extra left.

Who knew how Yin Yinyin got his hands on a card like that. Maybe he’d picked the pocket of some poor sap who’d seen him crossdressing.

Le Yu now sported a fake moustache, a dusting of powder on his face; his makeup was so thick Qian Yuya wouldn’t recognize him, and he wore a luxurious silk tuxedo. In the bouncers’ eyes, he was just another middle-aged tycoon bringing some clueless young girl out to dance.

Once inside, the dazzling lights and massive floor hit him all at once; peacock-dressed male singers were belting out tunes on stage, men and women mingled together on the dance floor, and colored lights—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple—spun and flashed, leaving Le Yu with some real KTV déjà vu.

There were tables and chairs all around the dance floor, bars on each side serving drinks, and private rooms up on the second floor. Le Yu shot a look at the dimly-lit crowd of dozens in the dance area, then exchanged glances with Yin Yinyin.

"How are we supposed to find him?" he asked, "I’ve never seen Dong Heng—what are we looking for?"

From Yin Yinyin’s intel, Dong Heng was a dance fanatic, hitting the club every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. And tonight was Friday—prime hunting day.

"His left eye is blind, he wears an eyepatch," Yin Yinyin said, "I’ll take the left side, you take the right, meet back here if you spot him."

So, a blind dancer—hell of a role model for overcoming life’s BS... Le Yu had nothing more to ask, and they immediately split up.

Le Yu wandered a bit and noticed there were a bunch of security guys milling around the floor. He didn’t dare stand still or stare too openly, so he shuffled along, swaying like he was grooving to the music, eventually making his way to the bar—still no sign of the target.

Le Yu slid into a seat at the bar and was instantly approached by a server, "Can I get you a drink, sir?"

"You got any honey Five-Flower Tea?"

"You got any honey Five-Flower Tea?"

The two voices chimed in together. Le Yu turned his head and locked eyes with a girl in pigtail braids. They stared at each other for a few seconds before she grinned, "Old man, how old are you, still drinking honey Five-Flower Tea?"

"Not only am I going to drink it, but I want it with ice," Le Yu told the server, "Give me a honey Five-Flower Tea on the rocks, and some peanuts."

"Me too!" The girl in pigtails piped up.

Le Yu took his tea, sipped, then spun his seat toward the dance floor, his eyes scanning constantly, still hunting for Dong Heng in the crowd.

"You come here, don’t drink, don’t dance—what are you doing, old man?"

The pigtail girl started yelling again.

"Good question. But you’re not drinking or dancing either—what are you doing here?"

"I so do dance! I’m just about to go out there, and once I do, I’ll rule the dance floor—every guy here will be fighting to be my servant."

Le Yu slid the platter of peanuts to her, "Don’t just drink—have a few peanuts."

"Oh... uh, thanks." The pigtail girl munched away contentedly.

The singer on stage was replaced by a woman singing a slow ballad, which made it easier for Le Yu to scope out the situation. The pigtail girl started wailing again, "I bet you’re an awful dancer, old man, that’s why you’re not dancing."

"By the same logic, maybe you’re not dancing because you suck at it, too?"

"I... I..." The pigtail girl’s voice went tiny, "I’ve never tried, so I dunno if I’m any good..."

"Definitely awful. Don’t bother."

The pigtail girl paused in annoyance; wasn’t he supposed to offer some consolation or something? She huffed, "Hmph! Just let me hang around a day or two—I’ll be tearing it up on the dance floor in no time."

"Yeah, I think so too," Le Yu replied airily, "No point in comparing fun—anyone can dance. If you want a real competition, let’s talk about grades. I bet you’re in middle school—how’s your Combat Technique course?"

The pigtail girl shot back, "What about you, old man?"

"When I was your age, I was top of my class."

"Liar!"

"If I’m lying, I’ll let you call me dad."

The pigtail girl snickered, "Sure, just say it first and I’ll believe you."

"Say what?"

"Dad!"

"Hey, good girl."

The pigtail girl blinked a few times, finally catching on, but she didn’t get mad—just huffed, "My dad’s really good at fighting, you know. If you try to play dad, he’ll beat you to death!"

"So, are you scared of your dad?"

"...Yeah."

"Why scared? Does he spank your butt?"

"My grades suck." The pigtail girl knocked back the last of her tea, gloomily adding, "My dad doesn’t beat me, but he... he gets real disappointed. He’s found tons of teachers for me, even teaches me Combat Technique himself, but it just never sticks."

"That’s normal; geniuses like me are rare—most people have brains just as slow as yours." Le Yu spouted nonsense, then suddenly shifted, "If you can’t get the hang of your family’s Combat Technique, why not try learning a different style?"

"No way... My family’s technique’s been passed down for generations."

"So what? Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s the best. What, does your family still keep a chamber pot as an heirloom, too?" Le Yu snorted, "Is there a technique you’d actually want to learn?"

"...Lingxu Battle Technique." The girl’s voice went soft, "I like the feeling of flying around."

"Then go train in it."

"My dad won’t let me."

"Then train in secret. Practice before bed, at school—you students have more spare time than you know what to do with. Get a little bit good first, then show your dad—maybe he’ll be convinced?"

"And what if he’s still not convinced?"

"Then he’s not convinced. But you’ll have already learned the basics—what’s he going to do, break your legs?" Le Yu said, "Sounds better than wasting your time hanging around in a club."

The pigtail girl blinked, sat silent for a while, and finally asked, "Old man, is all that just your way of telling me not to hang around in clubs?"

(⊙o⊙)...

"Middle schoolers in Huiyao are this sharp these days...?"

Originally, Le Yu saw a sheltered young girl dazzled by the city lights, so out of sheer conscience he’d tried to beat around the bush and talk her out of lurking in places like this. He really didn’t expect her to call him out immediately.

"It felt exactly like showing off a card trick, only to have the other guy instantly expose how it was done."

’Kind of annoying.’

"Hehe, actually, tonight is the first time I’ve ever come here. My dad brought me to meet some uncle, otherwise I’d never hang around a club." The pigtail girl giggled.

What more could Le Yu say? He stood up, downed his Five-Flower Tea, and got ready to dip out.

He’d been searching for minutes without finding Dong Heng. Le Yu figured maybe Dong Heng was working late because of the lockdown—time to find Yin Yinyin for a pow-wow.

"Hey, old man! What’s your name?" The pigtail girl grabbed his hand and asked.

Le Yu didn’t want to shake her off too hard, so he replied, "I’m You... Niruo. Nothing much to do at this club anyway, I’m outta here—see you never."

The pigtail girl’s eyes suddenly lit up, "Hey! Your name’s so similar to mine!"

Huh?

Le Yu was floored—was he getting hit on by a middle schooler? No way were their dumb names actually alike!

"Seriously, what the hell. Qian Yuliu scares demons away when he’s himself, but put on a fake ’uncle’ costume and he gets hit on by young girls? Do Huiyao girls have such weird taste?"

The pigtail girl was about to keep chatting, but then a stern voice called out from the hallway:

"Nian Ruo!"

Le Yu froze. That voice sounded... kind of familiar.

The pigtail girl instantly stiffened, put her hands at her sides, and turned around, "Dad!"

Down the corridor, two figures appeared at the top of the stairs. The first had a hawk nose and wolfish eyes, a long braid hanging down to his waist, bobbing with every step—hard to miss.

The other was burly as a tiger, face crisscrossed with scars, and an eyepatch over the left eye—looked like a real beast.

"Nian Ruo, we’re going home."

The pigtail girl shot a worried glance at Le Yu, then followed obediently after the two men.

As the braided man passed Le Yu, he turned his head, eyes fixing on him. Le Yu suddenly felt as if a needle as thick as a finger had stabbed straight into the back of his neck; that invisible pain ripped through his nerves, forcing a grunt out of him!

"Dad!" The pigtail girl couldn’t help but shout.

The braided man only snorted, striding off toward the club entrance.

Le Yu slumped over the bar, arms shaking, drenched in cold sweat—but his eyes stayed glued to the three figures disappearing into the distance!

He’d found Dong Heng!

Only—now there was an ultra-tough enemy right beside the target—

Statistical Department Deputy Director—Kui Zhao!