Chapter 168: So Damn Annoyed — Bullying Him Just Because He’s Not a Woman
The shackles were too short, which kept Nan Xun from fully using his footwork, but they also had one advantage: they were light enough.
Seizing an opening, Nan Xun suddenly leapt onto his opponent’s back, clamping an arm tightly around the man’s neck. A stone he’d been secretly hiding in his hand was raised high, then brought crashing down onto the back of the man’s head.
The man collapsed to the ground unconscious, blood pouring from the back of his head.
Nan Xun panted heavily, his legs a little weak.
Several mangled corpses lay strewn across the ground, and the pungent stench of blood made everyone present tremble.
Someone suddenly retched, and the acrid smell of vomit mixed with the reek of blood.
In the distance, prison guards noticed the commotion and blew their whistles as they rushed over.
The shrill whistle cut through the air, drawing closer and closer.
Yan Luo, who had just finished his slaughter, wiped the blood splatter from his face with the sleeve of his prison uniform, then stuffed his bloodstained hands into his pockets. His sharp eyes swept coldly over the crowd as he spoke in a voice as icy as the lord of hell himself: “You all know what to say—and what not to say—later on, right?”
The dazed crowd nodded frantically, terrified that even a moment’s delay would get them dragged out and have their skulls cracked open by Yan Luo.
When the guards arrived and saw the ground drenched in blood, the fresh corpses lying in it with heads smashed like watermelons, they roared angrily and demanded to know who did it. No one answered.
Fights broke out in prison from time to time, but rarely anything this severe—so many people beaten to death in one go.
The guards cursed a few times, then could only order the prisoners to load the bodies onto the prison truck to be taken back for treatment, while the remaining inmates continued working.
Everything resumed, but the atmosphere in the mine was deathly quiet. The prisoners kept sneaking glances toward Yan Luo, not daring to let out so much as a fart.
They’d been courting death. Yan Luo hadn’t made a move in a long time, and they’d almost forgotten how terrifying this living Buddha was when he did. What they’d just witnessed brutally revived those deliberately ignored memories.
Too terrifying.
While the others grunted and hauled ore, Yan Luo pulled Nan Xun aside, his eyes dark as he stared at his face.
Nan Xun grew flustered under his gaze and quickly said, “Bro, I’m fine. Just got a few scrapes on my face and waist. That big guy had it way worse—I smashed his head open with a rock.”
Yan Luo gave a cold hmph. “Next time I make a move, you just stand to the side and watch. I don’t need you. You just get in the way.”
By the end, his voice had gradually lowered, the anger ebbing away, turning into a light scolding tinged with worry.
Seeing that his face remained gloomy, Nan Xun could only play the obedient little brother, nodding at whatever he said.
When Yan Luo noticed the bruise stretching from Nan Xun’s chin to the side of his face, he wanted to reach out and lift his chin to look more closely. But when he realized his hands were covered in blood, he forcibly pulled his hand back halfway, his expression growing even darker.
“Xiao Bai, don’t be afraid of me,” Yan Luo said flatly, then went back to work.
Nan Xun watched his tall, straight back and couldn’t help sighing softly. He admitted he’d been frightened at first—but he truly wasn’t afraid of him.
At five o’clock, the guards blew a long whistle and called it a day. All twelve teams met the basic quota. Yan Luo’s team had transported three extra carts, so the guards added nine points to each member’s tally.
By the time the prison trucks returned to Meihuan Prison, it was just in time for dinner. The prisoners who had worked all day devoured their food ravenously, clearly starving, though some who couldn’t shake the bloody scenes from the afternoon had little appetite.
Yan Luo gave Nan Xun one of the extra steamed buns from his tray.
Nan Xun didn’t stand on ceremony. He thanked him and started wolfing it down.
As usual, Nan Xun, as the little brother, escorted his big brother to Cell 419 before leaving. But just as he turned around, Yan Luo suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him inside.
In a full two months, this was Nan Xun’s first time entering the cell of the A-Block kingpin, Yan Luo.
The room was spacious. In the center stood a single bed big enough for two people. The bedsheets weren’t the standard-issue prison ones—clearly brought in from outside. On either side of the bed were two small two-drawer cabinets. On the left sat a thermos and a cup; on the right, a toothbrush and mug. Beside the cabinet was a standard-issue washbasin with a bar of soap inside.
By the window, a wire had been strung up and tied to thick nails in the wall. Two items hung from it: a towel and… a pair of black underwear.
Simple. Neat.
The bedding on the bed was folded into a perfect tofu block, square and tidy. Nan Xun didn’t even dare sit on it.
Yan Luo walked straight to the bedside cabinet, took out a tube of ointment from the first drawer, then grabbed Nan Xun and flipped him onto the bed. One large hand caught the hem of Nan Xun’s prison uniform and lifted it up.
Nan Xun was startled and cried out, “Bro, what are you doing?” as he tried to roll over and get up.
Yan Luo pressed him back down with one hand and said calmly, “Applying medicine.”
Nan Xun let out an “oh,” relAxing slightly, then found it a little funny.
When Yan Luo saw the large, red-purple bruise across Nan Xun’s waist, his face turned dark and foul.
His newly claimed little brother—he wouldn’t even bring himself to hit him no matter how mischievous he was. Who did those people think they were, daring to bully Yan Luo’s brother like this?
“Hiss—bro, go a little lighter when you rub it on. It hurts,” Nan Xun said.
Yan Luo slowed and gentled his movements. “And you still won’t admit you’re all delicate, like a porcelain doll. That little bit of force and you’re already crying pain?”
Nan Xun immediately bit his lip and said nothing.
Yan Luo grew angrier the more he applied it. “Getting stubborn with me? Do you even know what kind of people are locked up in this prison? With your kind of build, you still dare to jump into the fray?”
“I’m the man who beat the A-Block second-in-command, Scarface!” Nan Xun couldn’t help retorting.
“That was because he underestimated you. If you faced him again, do you really think you could take him down that easily?”
Nan Xun fell silent for a moment, then said softly, “Today I was just afraid you couldn’t handle it alone, bro. It won’t happen again.”
The man behind him paused in his movements. Only after a long while did he start applying the medicine again.
“Bro, we did so much work today, we’re both covered in dust. We should really wash up properly tonight,” Nan Xun said, smoothly changing the subject.
The man behind him gave a quiet hm.
Nan Xun continued, “You forgot to bring a change of clothes last time, remember? Don’t forget this time. The one I’m wearing is too dirty—I can’t lend it to you.”
Once, during a shower, Yan Luo had forgotten to bring his prison uniform and ended up wearing Nan Xun’s dirty clothes. They were stretched tight, and anyone could tell they didn’t belong to him. Nan Xun had felt inexplicably embarrassed.
The man behind him paused before speaking again, his tone much calmer now. “When we go to the bathhouse later, you carry mine too.” As he spoke, he took out his clean prison uniform and set it aside.
After finishing with the bruise on Nan Xun’s waist, Yan Luo lifted Nan Xun’s chin directly, dipped his index finger into the ointment, and gently applied it to his chin and the side of his face.
Nan Xun looked up at him at first, then suddenly lowered his eyes.
Damn it—when his bro got serious about applying medicine, he was really damn handsome!
So he can just bully him because he’s not a woman, huh? So damn annoying!
