In truth, Situ Ren wanted to get back at Shi Aotian.
His breakup with his girlfriend Bai Xue had all been caused by Shi Aotian. In his heart, he was convinced that Shi Aotian and Bai Xue, a man and a woman alone under one roof for several days, would inevitably have done something. So, upon learning that Dongfang Qing was Shi Aotian's girlfriend, he felt an intense jealousy and wanted to give Shi Aotian a good blow. Besides, Dongfang Qing, with her beauty as fresh as a lotus rising from the water, was even more alluring than Bai Xue. A possessive desire boiled in his blood.
The moment he stepped into the private room, Situ Ren swaggered over and sat himself right beside Dongfang Qing.
Dongfang Qing instinctively felt disgusted and inched away, moving closer to Shi Aotian instead.
"Come on, everyone, don't just sit there. Pick some songs and sing. I'll drop by the other rooms—let Fang Ya stay here and keep you company," Yun Hai said politely, greeting the guests.
Prompted by Yun Hai, everyone began fumbling to choose songs, excited as though they hadn't enjoyed such a lively gathering in ages.
Taking advantage of his drunkenness, Situ Ren smiled at Dongfang Qing and said,
"Miss Dongfang, would you do me the honor of singing a song together? Preferably a love duet, haha."
He completely disregarded Shi Aotian and provoked him again and again.
Out of consideration for Yun Hai's hospitality, Dongfang Qing didn't lash out, but she was starting to find Situ Ren utterly obnoxious. She simply turned her head away and ignored him.
Having his invitation rejected only made Situ Ren's possessiveness burn stronger. Not only did he refuse to give up, but after downing a few bottles of beer, he began making physical advances toward her—completely ignoring Shi Aotian's presence.
Utterly exasperated, Dongfang Qing glared at him, then stood up and pulled Shi Aotian's hand, saying,
"Let's go sing a song together."
"I don't know how," Shi Aotian replied innocently.
These words pierced Dongfang Qing's heart. He had clearly seen Situ Ren's inappropriate behavior, yet he remained unmoved. She couldn't help but feel hurt inside.
Shi Aotian, of course, noticed everything and saw it all clearly. Truth be told, he wanted nothing more than to chop Situ Ren into pieces on the spot. But first, it was Yun Hai's wedding celebration, and second, because of Bai Xue, he decided against it. Otherwise, even a hundred heads wouldn't be enough to save Situ Ren from him. Keeping his emotions hidden, Shi Aotian remained especially calm tonight—likely because he had a mission later and didn't want unnecessary trouble.
Seeing Shi Aotian's seemingly weak demeanor, Situ Ren felt a surge of satisfaction. He stood up as well and deliberately asked Dongfang Qing,
"Miss Dongfang, is he your boyfriend? If he won't sing with you, I'll be happy to do it."
Sensing the tension rising, Fang Ya grew nervous and quickly stepped in to persuade him.
"A'Ren, you're drunk—why don't you take a break?"
"Sister-in-law, I'm not drunk. I'm just really excited tonight, haha. Don't worry, I just want to sing a song with Miss Dongfang."
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Situ Ren was targeting Shi Aotian; otherwise, he wouldn't be pressing so hard.
Xu Feng, watching from the side, felt secretly delighted. He wished for nothing more than chaos—for Shi Aotian and Situ Ren to destroy each other so he could reap the benefits. Deep down, he even hoped this "A'Ren" could give Shi Aotian a proper beating, to vent the humiliation Xu Feng had suffered that day.
No one else felt it was their place to intervene, so they simply chose to watch and see how things played out.
"Miss Dongfang, your boyfriend is really cool. I hardly heard him say a word—such refined manners. May I ask where he works?" Situ Ren pressed on relentlessly.
"Environmental worker," Shi Aotian suddenly spat out three words.
The group gasped in surprise, and Dongfang Qing couldn't help but burst out laughing.
In truth, when Shi Aotian said "environmental worker," he didn't mean someone who worked in environmental protection, but rather someone who "cleaned up" dangerous elements in society. The others simply didn't know that.
"Good job," Situ Ren sneered. "I suppose Mr. Shi must have majored in something extraordinary at university?"
Dongfang Qing found him more and more obnoxious and was dying to slap him across the face.
"I never went to school," Shi Aotian replied calmly, rising to his feet.
The room erupted into a quiet stir, with people whispering among themselves.
"Haha, what did you say? I didn't catch that," Situ Ren said with feigned laughter, pretending not to have heard. He simply couldn't believe that an outstanding man like himself could have lost his girlfriend to someone like this—it was intolerable.
"That's enough, Mr. Situ. You've gone too far."
Dongfang Qing's brows knitted in anger as she snapped, "I don't want to sing with you. If you have a problem, take it up with me directly."
Seeing her anger flare, Shi Aotian pulled Dongfang Qing behind him and locked eyes with Situ Ren, his cold gaze sending a wordless warning: Are you looking to die? If so, I can oblige you right now.
Sensing the tension, Fang Ya hurried out to fetch Yun Hai to smooth things over.
Pinned by Shi Aotian's piercing stare, a chill ran down Situ Ren's spine. He instinctively took a swig of alcohol to bolster his courage, then muttered, "Why are you staring at me? I'm not a woman."
Shi Aotian's hand was already resting on his concealed blade—one more word from Situ Ren, and he'd send him straight to the afterlife. Just then, Yun Hai rushed in. Seeing the situation, he quickly stepped between them and said,
"Calm down, both of you. I think everyone's had a bit too much to drink. Let's not ruin the mood over something small. Today is my wedding day—please, let's turn hostility into friendship and give me some face."
Shi Aotian drew in a breath, and the killing intent vanished without a trace. Situ Ren, seeing Yun Hai present, no longer dared to push his luck. He merely chuckled and said,
"Hai Zi, I was just joking with Mr. Shi. It's nothing serious, don't worry—we're fine."
With that, he sat down again and went on drinking.
Thanks to the scene they had caused, no one was in much of a mood to sing anymore. Everyone drank in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
If Yun Hai hadn't arrived at just the right moment, his wedding anniversary next year might well have become Situ Ren's death anniversary.
Before long, the atmosphere shifted again. It was as if everyone had forgotten what had just happened, and with the help of the alcohol, they started belting out songs at the top of their lungs. The revelry went on for hours, and many were already knocked out—including Dongfang Qing. Li Jingjing, who had a low tolerance, had long since drunk herself into a limp heap and was now fast asleep on the sofa. Empty bottles and cans lay scattered across the floor. Xu Feng and the others had already stumbled off to the bathroom to throw up several times.
Shi Aotian, mindful of the mission he had later, drank only a little. Situ Ren, on the other hand, seemed to have gone completely mad, downing drink after drink with Yun Hai. By now, he was swaying in a drunken haze, arms slung around Xu Feng and Zhou Jun's shoulders, microphone in hand, howling out the song Legend of the Hungry Wolf. The others, eyes glazed, joined in with him in a drunken chorus.
Dongfang Qing was soon singing herself into a fit of nausea—it was clear she had drunk far, far too much that night.
"I can't… I can't take it anymore. I want to rest," she said weakly to Fang Ya, wiping the mess from the corner of her mouth. "Tonight… tonight I'm really happy. I wish you two eternal happiness. I'm going back to rest… my head hurts… and I still want to drink—"
The crowd looked at her and chuckled; in truth, they were even more intoxicated than she was.
Seeing Dongfang Qing so drunk, Shi Aotian strode forward and helped her stand, saying apologetically to Fang Ya,
"Sorry, she's had too much. I'll take her back to the hotel."
"No way!" Fang Ya, who usually held her liquor well, laughed and insisted,
"We have to party till dawn!"
"No. If this keeps up, I'm afraid she'll have serious trouble. I have to get her back to the hotel," Shi Aotian said firmly.
Fang Ya sobered slightly and replied,
"You don't seem drunk at all… No, you can take her back only if you're drunk yourself."
"I don't know why I can't get drunk," Shi Aotian said candidly. "And I have no idea when I'd finally get drunk if I tried."
"Is that so?" Fang Ya, eyes half-closed in tipsy mischief, said,
"Alright, then… drink two dozen bottles of beer in a row, and I'll let you go. How about that?"
"Deal," Shi Aotian replied without hesitation.
Fang Ya hadn't expected him to agree so readily.
"What? Alright—show me then."
The already heavily drunk crowd egged him on without thinking of the consequences:
"Drink! Drink! Drink!"
Two dozen bottles—twenty-four in total—was a formidable challenge, even for someone sober. And Shi Aotian had already downed nearly twenty bottles earlier in the evening. But for him, this might be the only chance to leave.
Everyone rushed to set out the 24 bottles of beer, caps popped, lined neatly on the table.
"Drink! Drink!"
Under the heavy pressure of their drunken shouts, Shi Aotian stepped up without a change of expression, grabbed a bottle, and started chugging. One bottle, two bottles… soon his stomach began to swell uncomfortably. Continuing felt less like drinking beer and more like swallowing poison—his whole body burned with heat, yet his belly was icy cold. His mind began to grow hazy.
By the twentieth bottle, he was at his limit. His stomach cramped violently, bile rising in his throat, his body weak and unsteady, his gut feeling as if it would burst open. When he finally forced down the last bottle, his face turned a purplish shade. Unable to endure any longer, he shoved past the others and bolted for the restroom, where he bent over and vomited furiously. Every part of his body felt out of place, refusing to obey him; even standing upright became a struggle.
At that moment, Shi Aotian felt the Scorpion King at his neck begin to stir. He quickly loosened his shirt collar and yanked at his tie. The pendant around his neck turned bright red, glowing like a ball of fire. Slowly, it transformed from a necklace into a small crimson scorpion, which crawled up to his neck and drove its stinger deep into his jugular vein.
Shi Aotian's entire body convulsed, the veins in his neck bulging, pain wringing sweat from his face. The Scorpion King stung him for a full ten minutes before his mind began to clear and his strength returned. The discomfort in his stomach faded away completely. He then realized—the Scorpion King was using its venom to neutralize the alcohol in his body. With a wry smile, he murmured,
"You really are the best to me."
Ten minutes later, the Scorpion King finished its work and shifted back into a necklace around his neck. Shi Aotian now looked like a completely different man—alert, composed, and brimming with energy once more.
When he returned to the private room, everyone was stunned. Then, without exception, they clapped and cheered for him before going right back to their wild revelry.
Fang Ya didn't make things difficult for him any further; she simply gave Shi Aotian a thumbs-up and smiled.
Shi Aotian didn't dwell on it—he just helped Dongfang Qing to her feet and started toward the door.
"Wait—Jingjing's completely out cold. Could you take her back too?" Fang Ya called after him.
"Alright," Shi Aotian agreed without hesitation. He turned back, helped Li Jingjing up, and asked Fang Ya, "They'll be fine, right?"
"They'll be fine," Fang Ya said breezily. "Tonight, not one of them is leaving until they've been drunk enough to need an IV drip at the hospital, haha."
Shi Aotian shook his head and left with the two women in tow.
By the time they walked out of the Emperor Entertainment Club, it was already past 1 a.m.
Shi Aotian, holding the drunken Dongfang Qing with one hand and the completely unconscious Li Jingjing with the other, scanned the roadside. Just then, a taxi approached, and he flagged it down. He gently helped the two women into the back seat before getting in himself, sitting between them and carefully resting their heads on his shoulders.
"Hotel," Shi Aotian said calmly to the driver.
The car started moving, gliding smoothly down the road.
At that moment, the drunken Dongfang Qing began mumbling in her sleep:
"Aotian… I really love you, really, really… what happened back at Fengjing Pass… I'll remember it for the rest of my life… and… and you, in Shen—"
Shi Aotian quickly covered her mouth.
"You're drunk. Just rest your head on my shoulder and don't talk too much," he said.
He was afraid that in her drunken state she might reveal his origins. Even though the only other people present were the driver and Li Jingjing, until his great revenge was complete, such things were best left unsaid.
"Didn't think you could be so gentle, huh," the driver suddenly remarked.
"Stop the car," Shi Aotian ordered sharply, sensing something was wrong. At the same time, he pinched a nerve at the base of both women's necks, rendering them unconscious.
The driver felt suspicious to him, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, knocking the women out was the safest choice.
The driver ignored him and kept driving.
"Quit your yapping. We're on a schedule here—every minute we waste is a minute less for us," a familiar voice came from the driver's seat.
The "driver" then removed his cap, peeled off a pair of fake mustaches, and looked at Shi Aotian through the rearview mirror.
"You really are an idiot. Did you forget we still have a mission tonight?"
It was none other than Mo Junyan.
"It's you… I thought—" Shi Aotian gave a wry smile.
"Thought what? Who else would dare rob you? They'd have to be tired of living. We're going to the hotel now. Get the two women into their room first. After that, change clothes in your room. And remember—when you come out, don't use the main entrance; there are surveillance cameras."
"Got it. But you know my principles about killing. You'd better not be lying to me."
"I know. I'm your partner, your handler—why would I sell you out? Here."
Mo Junyan steered with one hand and passed a folder back to Shi Aotian with the other.
"This is your target's file. Look it over and decide for yourself whether he deserves to die. When you kill him, you can confirm with your own eyes the bad things he's done."
Shi Aotian gave the file a quick glance, then set it aside.
"When do we move?" he asked.
"Two-oh-five. By two-ten, you need to be done and out," Mo Junyan replied, stepping harder on the gas. The car sped up.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the grand hotel. Shi Aotian got out, pulling Dongfang Qing and Li Jingjing with him—one in each hand, held firmly.
"I'll wait in the car. Meet me at the post office up ahead in ten minutes. Everything you need is already in your room—use whatever you want. Be careful," Mo Junyan instructed.
Shi Aotian nodded and headed straight for the hotel lobby with the two women in tow.
"Sir, do you need help?" a male hotel staff member asked with concern when he saw Shi Aotian.
"No need."
Just as Shi Aotian reached the front desk, the female receptionist called out to him:
"Hello, sir, are you Mr. Shi, guest of room 2303?"
"That's right," Shi Aotian replied, producing his ID. "I'm Shi Aotian. What is it? Please be quick."
The receptionist froze for a moment, her cheeks reddening.
"Sorry to disturb you, sir. A friend of yours asked me to give you this case." She bent down and took out a large black leather suitcase from beneath the counter.
"What is it?"
"I don't know," the receptionist said with a polite smile. "It's yours; we're just holding it for you."
Glancing at the two women hanging on each of his arms, she looked a little embarrassed. "Sir, it seems you might be… inconveniently occupied. Need some help?"
"No, thank you," Shi Aotian replied courteously. Then, with just one hooked finger, he lifted the suitcase and strode toward the elevator.
Its weight might have been burdensome for an ordinary person, but Shi Aotian was no ordinary man—two women and a suitcase together were nothing to him.
The elevator shot upward. Shi Aotian first took Dongfang Qing and Li Jingjing back to their room and settled them in. Then, suitcase in hand, he slipped into his own room.
He switched on the light, drew the curtains tight, and quickly opened the suitcase.
Inside was exactly the gear he needed. His eyes lit up, and he began changing clothes immediately.
Just then, his phone buzzed again.
"Well? Do you like it?"
"Very much."
"The clothes are made from snakeskin—tough yet flexible, and very light. I figured you'd like them. Get changed and come down; there's not much time."
"On my way."
Shi Aotian hung up and continued dressing. The last piece was a long leather trench coat; once it was on, he looked like a completely different man. From the suitcase, he took out a black hat, then a silver mask that covered everything from the mouth upward. He placed the mask against his face—instantly, it clung tight, as if alive.
This was perfect for him. Fortunately, Mo Junyan had good taste—she knew how to pick the finest materials for his gear.