Part 1
Before they officially left the city, Han Yue raised one hand and calmly used her spiritual power.
A moment later—
The entire war fortress vanished.
Gone.
The guardposts? Gone.
The mountain behind it? Also gone.
The flatlands under the fort? Lifted right off the earth and into her space.
All that remained… was a massive sinkhole where the base once stood.
Secretary Wen coughed violently as dust billowed around them.
"Shadow 2! Hurry and drive!"
He smacked Shadow 2's shoulder like a panicked uncle on caffeine.
Shadow 2 stepped on the gas without a word.
Meanwhile, Long Yi, sitting in the back, rubbed his temples and sighed silently.
"Well… I did say she could take everything. But this is… a bit too obvious, isn't it?"
Oh well.
They arrived at City H by mid-morning.
Their first stop: the famous Flower Garden Park, known for its gorgeous landscape, romantic trails, and frequent appearances in TV dramas, web series, and movies. It was crowded with tourists, families, and couples walking hand-in-hand, enjoying the sun and blooms.
Han Yue, dressed in casual comfort, was carrying her little baby Snowball, who looked like a walking stuffed toy. She walked alongside Long Yi, humming to herself while admiring the flowers.
"La la la, it's so pretty here~"
She took out her phone and snapped a photo of Long Yi standing among the red roses.
"Wow! Handsome!" she giggled.
Then she pointed to a cherry blossom tree and said,
"Take my photo now!"
She ran ahead, standing under the fluttering pink petals, one hand waving at Long Yi, the other holding Snowball, who looked equally photogenic. Long Yi smiled and lifted the phone to take her picture.
But before he could approach her—
A man in designer clothes walked up and flashed a charming smile at Han Yue.
"Hello, little girl," he said in a sickly sweet tone.
"Are you alone? Want to come with me to the VIP lounge? There's a lot of fun things there~"
His hand reached toward her shoulder—
But before he could make contact—
CRACK!
A strong arm grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back like a police arrest.
"AAAGHHHH IT HURTS! LET GO!! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"
He screamed, drawing the attention of nearby tourists.
"HELP! THERE'S A MOLESTER HERE!!"
Han Yue suddenly yelled, pointing at the man with a trembling expression.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
"Did he just try to touch her!?"
"In broad daylight!? In front of kids!?"
"Disgusting! This park is full of teenage girls too!"
"Someone already called the police!"
The man being subdued was none other than Long Zichen, Long Yi's annoying second cousin.
Yes, that bastard.
He didn't recognize who had grabbed him due to the glare of the sun, and his guards just stood still—heads bowed, bodies trembling.
"Useless bastards!" Long Zichen yelled, trying to save face.
That was the final straw.
BAM!
He was kicked to the ground.
When he looked up—
He froze.
The one standing above him was Long Yi—his cousin, and the heir of the Long family.
Zichen's cocky attitude cracked immediately.
What the hell is he doing here!?
Before he could ask anything, Long Yi knelt beside Han Yue with concern.
"Are you alright?"
Han Yue nodded, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Thank you for stopping that molester in time!"
She said it loudly—just enough for the crowd to hear.
Zichen was losing his mind.
"I'M NOT A MOLESTER!!"
But it was too late.
The police arrived.
A stern-looking female officer began taking statements from the crowd.
"I saw it! She was just standing there under the cherry blossom. He went up and tried to touch her shoulder!"
"He was trying to invite her to a secluded lounge!"
"She looked so scared!"
Han Yue gave her testimony as well, saying the exact same thing. She even sniffled pitifully, patting her scared-looking baby Snowball in her arms.
Zichen was arrested and dragged off by officers.
The families nearby—especially those with daughters—thanked Long Yi and Han Yue for speaking up. Some even gave them free flowers and discount coupons.
As for Han Yue?
She happily returned to her garden tour.
La la la~ The bad guy got arrested. Hehe.
Part 2 – The Buffet, the Blockade, and the Bruised Ego
After their lovely stroll through the flower garden, the group drove to a famous buffet-style restaurant that was always packed with locals and tourists. It was said to have over 200 dishes—an endless sea of deliciousness.
Inside, Han Yue's eyes sparkled. She filled two plates with a colorful mountain of food: fried rice, chow mein, garlic shrimp, sweet and sour pork, ribs, BBQ wings, steak, crispy pizza slices, spaghetti, fried chicken, braised fish, and golden fishballs. Just looking at it made her heart go "la~".
Meanwhile, Shadow 2 had entered what he called a "pickled paradise." He loaded his tray with pickled braised fish, pickled shrimp cocktail, pickled hamburgers (?!), fried pickles, and other mysterious pickled side dishes. He also took a few thick steak cuts and grilled chicken wings.
Secretary Wen, watching the two eat like it was their last day on Earth, sighed helplessly but couldn't hide his smile. He calmly gathered BBQ ribs, braised pork belly, rice udon, and a slice of Hawaiian pizza.
As for Long Yi? Two plates, stacked with luxurious items: buttered lobster, medium-rare steak, creamy seafood pasta, garlic prawns, buttered crab legs, and rich, chewy udon noodles. He ate gracefully, like a predator conserving energy.
After the main feast, Han Yue made her way to the dessert section. But she didn't get a regular ice cream cup—no, no—she went to the soup station and grabbed a giant bowl, filled it to the brim with soft-serve ice cream, dumped every topping she could find—sprinkles, chocolate chips, mochi, fruit jelly, caramel drizzle, Oreos, you name it—and took a commemorative photo. "I'm posting this later! Wahahaha!" she grinned before happily digging in.
At this point, Secretary Wen and Long Yi were already sipping tea and coffee while Shadow 2 went back for a "second" (actually fourth) round.
Just as they exited the restaurant, enjoying the sunny afternoon breeze, four black luxury cars pulled up in the parking lot, blocking their path.
Han Yue raised a brow. Shadow 2 instinctively stepped in front of her.
From one of the vehicles stepped out Second Uncle—Long Yi's uncle—and beside him stood the already disgraced Long Zichen, looking much less arrogant than earlier but just as smug.
Second Uncle frowned and walked over. "Long Yi, what are you doing here? And why did you get your own cousin arrested?"
Zichen sneered beside him. "Hmph. You'd rather protect that girl than your own bloodline?"
Long Yi's face was blank. Cold. "Do I need to report to you where I go?"
The air chilled. Even the guards behind Second Uncle looked hesitant to breathe too loudly.
Second Uncle tried to ease the tension with a stiff smile. "Of course not. I was just surprised. You're not one to frequent H City, so I got curious. By the way... have you seen Father? I've searched the shrines he visits but couldn't find him. I'm worried."
Long Yi shrugged, hands in his coat pockets. "Dunno."
Second Uncle's eye twitched. He was getting nothing from this stone wall. Then his gaze shifted—to the girl standing beside Long Yi.
Han Yue, with her innocent face, had a napkin tucked in her collar and still had a smudge of chocolate on her cheek.
Second Uncle's eyes narrowed. "Is that the girl who got you into trouble, Zichen?"
Zichen gritted his teeth. "Yes. That's her! She accused me of molestation! It's all fake! You've ruined my name!"
Han Yue blinked, stepped forward, and with an almost puzzled expression, said softly, "But... you did try to invite me to a secluded VIP lounge alone. And you almost touched my shoulder without permission… That's molesting, right? :x"
Her voice was calm. Her tone? Deadly polite.
Zichen's face turned red with rage. "You little—!"
"Watch your mouth," Long Yi said coldly.
Second Uncle gave a nervous chuckle. "This seems like a misunderstanding—"
But his words were cut off by the low rumble of Shadow 2 cracking his knuckles.
"Misunderstanding?" Secretary Wen chuckled lightly. "Sure. The kind that ends in handcuffs."
Part 3
Without waiting for any response, Shadow 2 suddenly sprang into action, swiftly knocking down the opposing bodyguards one by one within a single minute.
Han Yue, wide-eyed from the sidelines, jumped up like a cheerleader and clapped. "Omg! I'll give you a whole pickle jar later! Wow! Give him a black eye too!" she cheered excitedly.
Secretary Wen, watching this unfold, could only twitch the corner of his mouth.
Second Uncle Long and Zichen stood frozen, completely speechless. Why were they even beaten up?!
But after being thoroughly put in their place, neither dared to make another sound.
Long Yi looked at them coldly and warned, "Better behave yourselves from today onward."
Then he and his group turned back to their car and calmly drove away—leaving the mess for Second Uncle to deal with.
Zichen, now red with anger as Long Yi disappeared from view, spat, "Hmph! That orphan bastard has no respect for you, Dad!"
Second Uncle, face gloomy, muttered, "Yeah, what do you expect from a fatherless bastard? Hmph. Let's see how long he can stay arrogant. Sooner or later, I'll take everything from him."
The father and son stormed off angrily.
—
Back in the car, Han Yue had already pulled out her phone and was uploading a series of photos. One showed the cherry blossom tree with her little snowball pup. Another was a large bowl of "ice cream soup."
She captioned the first:
"A few seconds before a molester tried to trick me into a private lounge T_T Woohoo, thankfully a handsome man saved me >u
The second:
"Bankrupt but at least I can eat ice cream soup 🍨🫠"
She giggled to herself after posting.
When she looked up, she saw Long Yi had also glanced at her phone. He leaned in closer, whispering beside her ear, "So... you think I'm handsome?"
Han Yue froze, blushing, before huffily covering her ear. "Hmph! Stop teasing me!" she pouted—but her smile peeked through.
The two continued flirting in the back seat.
Up front, Secretary Wen looked through the rearview mirror and sighed to himself. "Sigh… I'm being fed dog food. I'm already full from the buffet..."
Meanwhile, Shadow 2, who was driving, had a rare, faint smile on his face. He was simply thinking about the promised pickle jar reward.
—
They soon arrived at a nearby hotel to rest and begin planning.
Their next move?
Visit Second Uncle's house…
And take the jade—and the emperor's throne!
Long Yi had a few ideas of his own too. He planned to "liberate" some of their cars and supplies while he was at it.
So the group settled in for the night, ready to make preparations.