A thin man, carrying a nearly empty bottle of beer, staggered to the side of the stream. Suddenly, a heavy hand landed on the girl's shoulder, while the other hand tightly gripped a half-burnt cigarette.

The smoke from the cigarette swirled around her, and the strong smell of smoke instantly invaded her nasal cavity, causing her to involuntarily furrow her brow.

She turned her head, trying to avoid the unpleasant smell, but the man's hand gripped her shoulder tightly like an iron clamp, rendering her unable to move for a moment.

Behind the man were three or four henchmen, all dressed in tattered jeans and tight T-shirts, with messy hair and a fierce and thuggish look on their faces.

They formed a circle, surrounding Chuanliu and the man in the middle, their eyes lingering on the girl without restraint, occasionally letting out a few frivolous whistles.

"Handsome young man, I've never seen you before!"

Fueled by alcohol, the man spoke in a flippant tone, a malicious smile playing on his lips.

This man must be another "Plum Blossom 2".

Chuanliu quickly surveyed the area and drew a conclusion.

Chuanliu, still dressed as a boy, smiled and answered softly in a humble manner:

"Hello, sir. I'm Xiao Ni, an underling of Boss Hou Yifan. I'm new here, so please take good care of me."

Every word was spoken clearly and forcefully, emphasizing his identity.

Upon hearing the name "Hou Yifan," the man was taken aback, as if the name had struck a nerve.

His brow furrowed slightly, as if he were trying to recall the boy. Then, a playful smile appeared on his face, as if he had heard a funny joke.

"How is that possible!"

He burst into laughter, the sound seemingly filling the entire space. "Isn't Hou Yifan's little lover called... Xiong... what's her name again? I've seen her many times."

"Xiong Ajiao".

The man's subordinate answered loudly.

"Yes! That's the name. I often see him being taken away by Hou Yifan's men. How could you be one of his men?"

The man questioned, then continued, "Brother, I have an even better job here. Would you consider taking it?"

Chuanliu smiled slightly, a fleeting hint of fear crossing his face, and explained softly:

"Brother Xiong has already left. I was brought here by Lord Jiulong a couple of days ago. I am grateful to Boss Hou for taking me in."

Although his voice was gentle, every word struck the man's heart like a heavy hammer.

The deal between Jiulong and Hou Yifan has indeed caused quite a stir these past two days; everyone in the main city and even Plum Blossom City knows about it. The man, of course, has also heard about it.

Carefully examining Chuanliu's rather believable face, the man's face showed a hint of embarrassment. His already slight drunkenness subsided considerably, and he slowly withdrew his hand.

The man took a deep drag on his cigarette, and the thick smoke instantly billowed out, landing directly on the boy's face.

He shook his head slightly, as if he felt sorry for Chuanliu, "What a pity, he actually followed Hou Yifan."

One "Plum Blossom 2" laments that another "Plum Blossom 2" has embarked on a path of no return.

However, the boy just smiled faintly, as if he didn't take those words to heart.

"I was thinking of giving this to Sister Qiao, because Chun Chun is exactly the type she would like..."

The man who had intended to use the young man to curry favor with Sister Qiao left with his men, swearing under his breath and looking regretful.

Chuanliu stood there, watching them leave. Her face still wore that sunny smile, as if nothing had happened.

Chuanliu walked around the second floor and had a basic understanding of the situation, so he prepared to find an opportunity to go up to a higher floor.

She quietly approached the elevator area, her eyes darting between the elevator indicator lights and the people coming and going, searching for the best opportunity.

The tricky thing is that the elevator doesn't run often, and only a few people go up and down each time, making it difficult to find an opportunity to blend in with the crowd and go upstairs.

Just as she was seemingly wandering around unintentionally, she noticed that several people were secretly watching her.

Chuanliu immediately pretended to be in a daze and looked out the window.

After a while, those people seemed to be unable to hold back any longer and took the initiative to come forward.

The leader was a woman with a concerned look on her face. She patted Chuanliu on the shoulder and asked, "You must be Xiaoni? We just heard about you."

Chuanliu turned around and said, "Sisters, is there anything I can help you with?"

Looking into the boy's clear eyes, a hint of pity flashed in the eyes of the group. "You've just arrived in Plum Blossom City, haven't you?"

Chuanliu nodded.

The woman pursed her lips and said to the person next to her, "I reckon Hou Yifan hasn't made a move against him yet, otherwise he definitely wouldn't be in his current state."

Then he turned to Chuanliu, "Do you know why the person before you ran away?"

Chuanliu: "Did Brother Xiong run away? I didn't know."

The woman and her companion exchanged a glance and nodded firmly. "Xiao Ni, listen to us, run away now! If you don't run now, once that pervert Kris Wu remembers you, you'll never be able to escape again!"

Chuanliu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Why do you sisters say that? Lord Hou doesn't seem like a bad person."

The woman said earnestly, "You're naive and inexperienced. You can't judge a book by its cover. Hou Yifan is a complete psychopath. Do you know how he treated his exes?"

Chuanliu shook his head.

The woman pulled one of her female companions over.

The woman was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and several scars were faintly visible on her arms. She looked around cautiously for a while before saying, "Little brother, I am one of the people who were with Hou Yifan before."

She pulled her short-sleeved shirt up to her shoulders, revealing several scars that stretched deep into her arms, some shallow and some deep, which were quite horrifying.

"He did all of this. He locked me in bed, and those disgusting, horrifying zombies were right next to my bed!"

The woman seemed to be recalling some terrible memory, and she couldn't help but tremble.

Her description is exactly the same as Xiong Ajiao's previous experience. Hou Yifan's hobby in this area is truly unique.

It's so unique it's almost abnormal.

Just as they were earnestly advising "Little Ni", the elevator arrived.

The elevator doors opened, and Brother Gun walked in with his men.

The group immediately fell silent, lowered their heads, and greeted each other, "Hello, Brother Gun'er."

On the second floor, "Plum Blossom 3" is the sky.

Gun'er ignored them and asked one of them, "What about the men Jiulong ran away with yesterday? Boss Hou wants them."

Someone quickly replied, "They're still being held where you put them yesterday."

Brother Gun nodded, and without turning his head, led his men through the hall and inside.

Seeing that Brother Gun had left, the woman remembered that "Little Ni" was also one of Jiu Long's men, and was about to ask the boy a question.

But when she turned around, the boy who had been standing next to her was nowhere to be seen.