"So you mean to shelter this lion?" Er Gou Dan frowned. This girl, he thought, was rather overbearing; it seemed words alone would not do — he would have to use force.

Gu Mengyao too frowned ever so slightly. In her view the matter was somewhat thorny: Xiao Shu was not wrong, but if this simple, earnest fellow at the gate insisted on making trouble for the lion, his grievance was not entirely without reason either.

"Sir, this lion is only a beast — how would it know whom to bite? Without its master's instigation and indulgence, it would never bite anyone!" Gu Mengyao explained. "Look at it now, in my house — it isn't biting anyone!"

"Well..." Er Gou Dan was, for the moment, struck dumb. He had never been much of a talker, and between Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu he found himself without a word to say. Still, simply turning on his heel and walking away would have left him sorely unwilling — even if everything they said was true, was he to let the lion off just like that? He pondered a moment and said, "How about this: the beast bit my friend's mother on the leg, so I'll break its leg in return!"

"No!" Shen Yushu was instantly thrown into a panic. The household had finally acquired a guard, and if his legs were broken, what would be the point of guarding anything? And seeing that she could not talk Er Gou Dan round, she grew a little angry. Was Shen Yushu a woman to be easily dealt with? Since reasoning with him was useless, she saw no further need to try: "If you won't leave, I'll have the lion's boss teach you a lesson!"

"The lion's boss?" Er Gou Dan started. "The lion has a boss? Very well — since he is the boss, and one of his underlings has done wrong, I'll go to him and demand an accounting!"

"This is the lion's boss — Weiwu Jiangjun! If you don't go right now, I'll open the gate and let the dog out! Why must you be so stubborn?" Shen Yushu pointed at Weiwu Jiangjun and tried to frighten Er Gou Dan with the threat.

"This dog?" Er Gou Dan cast a glance at Weiwu Jiangjun. It was not that he looked down on the animal; he had beaten countless beasts to death in his time — why would he fear one dog? So he said, "Open the gate, let it out, and I'll break its legs too — that will do just as well!"

Er Gou Dan was a very plain, honest man. He had not come this time for money either; he wanted nothing but an accounting. Like so many victims, he simply wanted those who had committed the wrong to pay a price — to be made to answer for it. As for money, that was secondary.

"If you have it in you, then come on in!" Shen Yushu was not about to open the gate for Er Gou Dan of her own accord.

Er Gou Dan had not wanted to resort to force, but since Shen Yushu refused to be reasonable, he could hardly be blamed for dropping his courtesy. He seized the iron railings of the gate in both hands and gave them a slight tug — and the railings tore apart just as those at the gate of the Xiao family villa had done, as if the steel were made of something soft.

"Holy crap!" Shen Yushu's eyes flew wide. "You're that strong?!"

Weiwu Jiangjun had been lounging lazily all along, but the sight of Er Gou Dan suddenly revealing such power startled the dog to its core. It sprang upright at once, eyes fixed warily on Er Gou Dan.

This man is dangerous. Staring at the torn iron grating, Weiwu Jiangjun sized him up and reckoned in his heart that he was probably no match for him. The dog did not dare attack first; instead he placed himself protectively before Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, for he had to keep the two of them safe — as for that lion, he was in no position to protect it.

Weiwu Jiangjun's bearing naturally did not escape Shen Yushu's eyes. Seeing the dog wear the look of a man facing a mortal enemy, she guessed at once that Weiwu Jiangjun was probably no match for Er Gou Dan either.

Seeing Er Gou Dan move to seize Weiwu Jiangjun, how could Shen Yushu let him succeed? She cried out at the top of her lungs, "Hold it right there!"

Er Gou Dan, in the very act of reaching for Weiwu Jiangjun, was startled by Shen Yushu's great shout. He stopped short out of instinct and looked up at her. "What are you after? Do you want me to beat the dog, or the lion?"

Er Gou Dan naturally assumed that Shen Yushu had caught sight of his strength and no longer dared let Weiwu Jiangjun step forward.

"Wait. If you want to lay a hand on this dog, you must first have the consent of the dog's boss." Shen Yushu felt that the only way to deal with the man before her was to summon Wei Zhao.

"The dog's boss? Isn't this dog yours?" Er Gou Dan blinked, more than a little confused. He had never dreamed a dog might have a boss of its own.

"The dog is of course mine, but it has a boss too!" Shen Yushu said. "The dog's boss is terribly powerful. Once he hears you've laid into the dog, he certainly won't let you off! Never mind that you can tear iron gratings to pieces — to Brother Jianpai that is but a petty trick! Last time the iron grating pinched my boobs, it was Brother Jianpai who pried it open for me!"

Shen Yushu was speaking in high spirits, and in her delight she let slip more than she meant to.

"Xiao Shu!" Gu Mengyao did not know whether to laugh or cry after hearing Shen Yushu's words. Why on earth had she brought that up of her own accord? Did she want people to laugh at her?

Sure enough, Er Gou Dan's face flushed scarlet at what Shen Yushu had said. Was this girl not far too brazen? She would dare to come out with things like that! He reddened to the ears and said with some helplessness, "Fine then — hurry and call this dog's boss here. I'll go to him and demand my accounting, and that will settle the matter, won't it?"

Shen Yushu had truly left Er Gou Dan with a head like a split melon. When he had gone to the Xiao villa before, the Xiao family had been arrogant and domineering — that had been easy; Er Gou Dan could simply have acted and settled the thing on the spot. But now these people used only their mouths, and he could not bring himself to strike two pretty girls, least of all when they had so little to do with the matter. He was a man who could tell right from wrong, and naturally would not go about hitting people at random.

The trouble was that reasoning would have been all very well — except that this little beauty before him would not reason! And Er Gou Dan was the clumsy sort; he could not out-talk her. So he let her lead him in circles until, before he knew it, he had stopped coming after the lion altogether and ended up going after this Brother Jianpai instead.

"When Brother Jianpai arrives, you'll have to submit. I advise you to go now, while you still can — otherwise when Brother Jianpai beats you, I won't intervene!" Shen Yushu tried to frighten him. "You've already wrecked our villa. Do you know what became of the person who damaged our villa's gate last time?"

"I don't..." Er Gou Dan shook his head.

"Brother Jianpai punched him to death with a single blow!" Shen Yushu said.

"Er..." Er Gou Dan thought to himself, how is that any different from my own style? Both of us like to finish people off with one punch. Still, he was not afraid, and said, "I only came for an accounting. Go and fetch this Brother Jianpai of yours — quickly!"

"Oh, very well then. Since you want a beating so badly, I'll oblige you." Shen Yushu finished speaking and turned to Weiwu Jiangjun. "Weiwu Jiangjun, run and tell Brother Jianpai at once that someone is looking for him and asking for a beating!"

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