Chapter 14: Ninth-Tier Beastman, Terrifyingly Powerful

This is a terrifying number, one that Qi Han has never even heard of before.

His lips moved, but after a long pause, he finally managed to utter, "Who exactly are you...?"

"You don't care who I am. Just remember one thing: stay away from her. A widower like you isn't even worthy of coveting her."

Qi Han stared at Lu Xiao for a few seconds, unable to swallow the resentment in his heart.

No matter how good-tempered a male is, he cannot accept such provocation.

"No wonder she doesn't like you..." Qi Han suddenly laughed.

Lu Xiao frowned, his killing intent intensifying. His hand gripped Qi Han's neck as firmly as if it were welded to iron: "Are you courting death?"

Kang Kang was startled and stood there, somewhat at a loss.

Qi Han's cheeks flushed, but he still managed a forced smile: "A ninth-tier beastman like you is very strong and would win the hearts of many females, but she is an exception."

"Because she prefers gentle and cultured orcs, not a barbaric guy like you who's always ready to fight. No matter how hard you try, you can't get into her heart, because you're simply from different worlds..."

“You…” Lu Xiao’s forehead veins throbbed, and he tightened his grip, clearly enraged.

Seeing Lu Xiao's reaction, Qi Han knew he was right. At the same time, he felt a little more comforted. No matter what level of beastman he was, he might not win Nan Jiao's heart before him.

Kang Kang was startled by Qi Han's expression and ran over crying, pounding on Lu Xiao's legs: "Let go of my dad!"

Lu Xiao impatiently shoved him away: "Get out of my way, I don't hit cubs."

"Someone as arrogant as you will never win her heart!" Qi Han forced a smile. "You can kill me now, but she'll hate you even more then. Go ahead, aren't you so powerful? Once I'm dead, she'll kick you out too! Nobody'll get away with this!"

It's unclear what words provoked Lu Xiao, but he suddenly trembled, loosened his grip, and even took two steps back. The surging killing intent in his eyes seemed to be instantly extinguished by cold water, leaving only panic and fear. In just a few seconds, he seemed to have transformed from a ferocious beast into a human.

Qi Han collapsed to the ground, coughing incessantly while clutching his throat. Kang Kang ran to his side, sobbing uncontrollably, "Daddy, are you alright?"

Qi Han shook his head and looked at Lu Xiao standing in front of him.

He made the right bet, and Lu Xiao's reaction was even stronger than he had imagined.

As expected, Lu Xiao was terrified of being disliked and abandoned by Nan Jiao.

After straightening his clothes, Qi Han propped himself up from the ground. He coughed, grasped Kang Kang's hand, and a victorious smile appeared on his lips.

"Kang Kang, the flowers we bought on the way have spoiled. It seems like today isn't a good day to visit Aunt Nan. Let's go home first. After all... there will be plenty of opportunities to visit her in the future."

Qi Han had only taken a few steps with Kang Kang by the hand when he was suddenly thrown over by a tremendous force, and a fist landed on his face, causing him to cough up a tooth.

Lu Xiao looked down at him condescendingly: "I only said I couldn't kill you, but I didn't say I couldn't hit you, right? You'd better watch your mouth. If you say anything you shouldn't to her, next time it won't be as simple as just a punch."

After Lu Xiao left, Qi Han angrily pounded the ground.

*

When Lu Xiao returned to the restaurant, he ran into Nan Jiao, who was going upstairs.

Nan Jiao looked at him for a few seconds: "Where did you go?"

Lu Xiao paused for a moment: "I went out to get some sun."

Nan Jiao nodded and continued walking upstairs; she was going to take inventory of the goods.

Just as Lu Xiao was about to say something, his communicator suddenly rang.

When he saw the name displayed above, he subconsciously glanced at the stairs, but Nan Jiao was nowhere to be seen.

Once he was outside the restaurant, he finally answered the call.

A lazy, pleasant male voice rang out: "Where have you been? The Queen Mother has ordered that you must return to First Star tomorrow, or you'll face punishment."

Lu Xiao hummed in response, and just as he was about to hang up, he heard Nan Jiao calling out to the employees. It was a very short voice, lasting only two seconds.

The male voice opposite him, which had been tinged with laughter, suddenly turned cold: "Lu Xiao, who's by your side?!"

Lu Xiao paused for a second, his voice completely flat: "I'm watching old recordings."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, and just as Lu Xiao was about to hang up impatiently, he suddenly heard him speak:

"This is really...unbelievable."

The call was cut off the next second.

Lu Xiao turned off the communicator, a shadow crossing his eyes. He sent a message to his confidants, instructing them not to leak any information about Nan Jiao, especially not to his old rivals.

From the very beginning, he never intended to share information with his rivals.

Those people are all dealing with their own difficult situations right now, so they probably don't have the time or inclination to pay attention to what's going on here.

*

The following day, Nan Jiao instructed the restaurant's chef in cooking as usual.

"Yes, that's it. Add less salt, even less."

While stir-frying the vegetables, the chef asked Nan Jiao curiously, "Hey, where's that handsome guy from our restaurant?"

"Handsome guy?"

"It's that guy who always wears a mask. Even though you can't see his face, his build and presence tell you he's no ordinary person."

"You mean Lu Xiao? He went back to First Star last night, he'll probably be busy for a few days."

"First Star?" The chef wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel. "Isn't that the Capital Star? Wow, I could tell he was unusual at first glance. Does he work on the Capital Star? Or is he a local?"

Nan Jiao paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."

The chef's eyes lit up: "That's great! Locals on the capital planet get a lot of preferential policies and government subsidies. When you have kids, you can send them to the capital planet. The educational resources there are much better. Our Lant City is too backward."

Thinking of her children still on the First Star, a hint of sadness involuntarily appeared in Nan Jiao's eyes, and she lowered her head:

"We will not have any more children."

The chef thought Nan Jiao was shy and said cheerfully, "I understand, he's pursuing you, but you haven't agreed yet. You two are really a perfect match. You're all alone here, it's good to have someone with you. In the future, you can recruit a few more beast husbands, and life will be lively and prosperous."

Nan Jiao smiled but didn't respond.

Suddenly, an employee in work clothes rushed into the kitchen with a communicator: "Boss, something bad has happened! It seems that the goods delivered by Mr. Liu have been found to have some problems and have been detained by the Chamber of Commerce."

Nan Jiao turned around, picked up her bag, and walked towards the door.

Goods being seized by the Chamber of Commerce happens frequently, and Lu Xiao usually goes to pick them up, but now that he's not around, I have to go there myself.