Fubo's eyes turned bloodshot.
"Lu Chengwen, if you insist on doing this, you're pushing us to the brink. Today, we really have no choice but to go all out!"
Ayin stepped forward. "As long as three of us hold Hua Xue'ning down, the other two will have no trouble dealing with you!"
Ah Hu said, "Then am I still supposed to play the good cop here?"
"Good cop, my ass!" Fubo roared. "I've had enough of this nonsense. Today, unless we fight it out with Lu Chengwen, he won't hand over the money willingly!"
At that moment, someone walked in through the front door. Upon seeing so many people, they immediately turned to leave.
Lu Chengwen shouted, "Shi Yin!"
The five people froze in shock.
Lu Chengwen confidently weaved through them and walked over.
Luo Shiyin blushed. "You... there are too many people here. I'm leaving."
Lu Chengwen grabbed her hand. "Silly girl, where do you think you're going?"
Luo Shiyin said, "You made plans with me, so why did you invite them too?"
"I didn't invite them. They came on their own."
Lu Chengwen pulled Luo Shiyin further inside. He turned to the five men. "Bros, make yourselves comfortable! Xue'ning, could you get everyone something to drink?"
Lu Chengwen and Luo Shiyin disappeared deeper into the house to chat.
Outside, Hua Xue'ning sheathed her sword and glared at them coldly. "Drink what?"
The five men didn't dare accept anything from Lu Chengwen. They waved her off, saying there was no need, and just sat there waiting.
They looked at each other, exchanging glances.
Only Ayin sat there, glaring furiously at Hua Xue'ning.
Hua Xue'ning, just as defiant, ignored her completely.
Ah Hu said, "Big brother, I'm getting confused."
Ah Long added, "Me too! Wasn't that Luo Shiyin just now? The Sapphire-Eyed Enchantress Luo Shiyin? How... how is she with Lu Chengwen too?"
Fubo shook his head. "Something isn't right. Something's seriously wrong here!"
"Could that Luo Shiyin be an imposter?"
Fubo felt utterly stifled. "We've crossed paths with her so many times—seen her with Long Aotian, Zhuge Xiaohua, and Qi Meishao. How could we be mistaken? Besides, look at her seductive aura. Is there any other woman in this world who can make a man's heart race just with one glance?"
Fubo suddenly noticed something. "Axiao! Axiao?"
"Huh?" Axiao had been craning his neck, trying to peer inside. Even though he couldn't see anything, he kept straining to look, as if enchanted.
"What are you doing?"
Axiao stammered nervously, "I wasn't doing anything! I'm not interested in women like that… I was just looking... No, I wasn't looking! I didn't see anything! My heart is as still as water. Really... What were you all talking about just now?"
Fubo was furious. "Why is everything such a goddamn mess!"
Ayin snapped, "What's there to mess about? Just grab Lu Chengwen and beat him until he coughs up the money!"
"Wait, Big Brother!" Ah Hu interjected. "The more I think about it, the more it feels like the strategist made a mistake!"
Ayin closed her eyes. "Fine, fine, we're all wrong, and only you're right."
"Shut up!" Ah Hu snapped back. "I'm trying to sort out the logic!"
Ah Hu continued, "Let's start from the beginning. Why did the leader send the five of us to assist the young master?"
Fubo smirked slightly. "Because we once helped the young master with something in the Southern Kingdom. Even though we've never met him in person, we know more about his affairs than anyone else."
"Exactly!" Ah Hu exclaimed. "Big Brother, think about it. We helped him out in the Southern Kingdom, but we've never even seen what he looks like! Swift Lightning, Sapphire-Eyed Enchantress, Descendant of Nuwa, and the Divine Archer—these titles are familiar to us, right?"
Fubo impatiently asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Ah Hu pointed to Hua Xue'ning, who was standing by the window, lost in thought. "The young master's personal guards, those beauties, are always by his side. Isn't that right? So why are Hua Xue'ning and Luo Shiyin with Lu Chengwen?"
"How the hell would I know!?"Fubo was about to lose it. "Stop overthinking it! The strategist already made it clear—Lu Chengwen is an impostor!"
Ah Hu started tapping the tea table with one finger, looking increasingly anxious. "Does the strategist even know what's happening here? Does he understand the complexity of the situation? That phone call—was it really Long Aotian who made it? Or..."
Ah Long hesitated. "Could it be... that the young master called himself, reported that he was an impostor, and sent us here to collect debts?"
Ah Hu exclaimed, "That's exactly what I'm thinking! Ah Long, you've got potential—we're on the same page!"
"Wait a minute—calm down!"
Fubo said, "Lu Chengwen is the young master?"
"Exactly."
"And he called the strategist, claiming we'd mistaken him for someone else?"
"Precisely."
"And then sent us to collect debts from himself?"
"That's the gist of it."
Fubo stared at Ah Hu. "Is he out of his damn mind? What's the point of all this?"
Ah Hu chuckled. "It's actually quite simple!"
Fubo shook his head. "Not simple at all. You'd better explain it clearly."
Ah Hu said, "I might be wrong, but here's my guess..."
"Stop guessing and get to the point!"
Ah Hu took a deep breath. "The young master wants to send us to Long Aotian, so we can exchange Zhuge Xiaohua and Qi Meishao for his personal guards. He prefers women, not men."
"Then why didn't he just say so?"
"If he said it outright, would we be happy about it? Following the young master comes with benefits, but going to Long Aotian? That's a nightmare. From the moment we meet him, would his rear end ever stop bleeding? The young master wants us to believe this is all real—that it's legitimate—so we'll follow Long Aotian without question."
"Ah—!" Fubo scratched his head. "How did such a small matter get so complicated!? Wouldn't it have been better for him to just say it directly?"
Ah Hu said, "Think about it, everyone. The Young Master's reputation precedes him. What kind of person is he?"
Ah Long: "Decisive and ruthless!"
Ah Yin: "One who always repays kindness and vengeance alike!"
Fubo: "Dashing, suave, and a master of charming women."
Ah Hu looked over at Ah Xiao: "Ah Xiao!"
Ah Xiao snapped back to attention abruptly. "Huh?"
Then he panicked: "I've already told you, I don't have a thing for Luo Shiyin! Isn't this a meeting? Why do you keep bringing me up? Sure, Luo Shiyin is very pretty, she's got a great figure, she's got that flirtatious vibe, and the way she walks... does make me... But I swear! My heart is calm like still water! I swear on the lamp!"
Fubo thought to himself, You're all driving me nuts... every last one of you...
Fubo said, "Even if what you're saying is true, what do we do? What... do we do now?"
Ah Hu said, "First, we need to confirm if this Luo Shiyin really has the Five-Colored Enchanting Eyes that can mesmerize men. If she does, then we can almost be 100% sure that the guy in there, Lu Chengwen, is the Young Master!"
This time, Ah Xiao didn't space out. He immediately raised his hand: "I'll go test if she has the Five-Colored Enchanting Eyes!"
Everyone else gave Ah Xiao a look of utter disdain.
Ah Xiao blushed. "I'm doing this purely... for the sake of the team."
Ah Hu said, "If that person really is Luo Shiyin... Big Brother, think about it. Hua Xue'ning is protecting her closely, not even caring about her own life! Luo Shiyin openly flirts with him and acts all lovey-dovey... On top of that, we saw with our own eyes her walking with Zhuge Xiaohua, talking about things related to the Young Master... Doesn't all this, all these logical threads, connect perfectly?"
Ah Hu felt like giving himself a round of applause!
At this moment, Ah Hu truly felt proud and accomplished.
What would this team do without me, Ah Hu?
Rely on you blockheads? You'd let Long Aotian trick you all to death, and no one would even collect your bodies!
Ah Hu thought he had saved the day, carrying the team single-handedly, proving himself as the real MVP.
The other four teammates were figuratively "dead," while he alone, through flashy positioning, skilled maneuvers, excellent execution, and a grand strategic vision, had won the decisive team battle that determined their fate!
Ah Yin, at this moment, really wanted to slap Ah Hu across the face.
Still babbling! Still babbling! And you're making things worse!
The team had just barely gotten on the right track, and now he was stirring things up again!
Big Brother had freaked out in the face of a crisis, made a mess, and completely lost the ability to make decisions or think clearly.
So what now?
Five people: one idiot, two who were clueless, and one leader who had completely lost his composure and was at a loss.
Ah Yin bit his lip. "So, are we all convinced that Lu Chengwen is the Young Master? Then I'll challenge him to a duel, how about that? The real Young Master should be stronger than me, right?"
Fubo roared in anger: "A duel, my foot! How many times have I told you—when something happens, use your brain first, then your hands!"
Ah Yin said bitterly, "Big Brother! Using our brains isn't exactly our strong suit! What is our strong suit?"
He raised his sword. "It's this! Our strong suit is action!"
Ah Xiao chimed in, "Hey, hey, hey, at least let me test if Luo Shiyin really has the Five-Colored Enchanting Eyes first, okay?"
Ah Yin raged, "You shut up! I've had enough of you, I'm telling you!"
Ah Xiao was utterly shocked. "Ah Yin! In our team, I'm the one with the best interpersonal relationships. When have I ever argued with you guys? Whenever you say something, don't I always go along with it? What's with your attitude towards me today?"
Ah Xiao was both angry and aggrieved. "Where's your courtesy? Where's your decency? Where's your respect for your elders?"
Ah Yin said, "Your mind is clouded; you've already been mesmerized by that flirt!"
"I'm warning you!" Ah Xiao pointed at Ah Yin. "Her name is Luo Shiyin, not 'flirt'! Can you show some respect and manners towards women? If we end up together in the future, how am I supposed to introduce you all to her?"
Ah Yin turned to Fubo. "Big Brother, did you hear what he just said? Does that sound like something a person would say?"
Fubo felt like his head was going to explode.
"Alright, alright, everyone, pipe down!" Fubo said, "Ah Yin, you're the younger brother, don't talk to your third brother like that!"
Then, turning to Ah Xiao, he said, "And what about you? From the beginning, you've been spacing out. Have you really fallen for Luo Shiyin? She's the Young Master's woman!"
Ah Hu said, "Look at this! You're all laying out the logic yourselves! Luo Shiyin is the Young Master's woman. What's the Young Master doing? Flirting with Luo Shiyin. What's Luo Shiyin doing? Enjoying the Young Master's flirting. So, who's the Young Master? Isn't it obvious?"
"Ah—!" Ah Long suddenly had a revelation. "I finally figured it out!"
Fubo looked at Ah Long.
Ah Long said, "That money—it wasn't from the organization. It was from the Young Master!"
Fubo gritted his teeth. "You son of a..."
Ah Hu said, "Big Brother, hold on, hold on, don't... I mean, don't curse just yet! Ah Long actually pieced it together!"
"What!? What!?"
"He explained it clearly! It was the 'Young Master' who gave each of us a billion! Who gave it to us? Do you all remember? Do you remember?"
Ah Hu wagged his finger at them one by one. "Who! Flirted with Luo Shiyin? Who! Gave us a billion each as hush money? Who! Took over Lu Chengwen's status and is about to unify the entire Xuecheng business world? Who! Called the strategist, creating a misconception that led us to misjudge everything?"
Everyone turned to look at Ah Hu: "It was... the Young Master? Lu Chengwen?"
Ah Yin closed his eyes. This team is doomed.