Chapter 28: Kure Raian Gets Beaten Up
After hearing Ren agree to a celebratory drink, Karura and the others' eyes lit up. They rarely saw Ren drink alcohol, especially in such "bad company" as Kure Raian and Kaolan.
Ren walked back into the kitchen. When he emerged again, he was pushing a small wooden cart with three ceramic bottles on it. He stood by Kaolan's chair and handed each of the men a bottle.
Kaolan, ever the professional athlete, looked at the unlabelled bottle. His stoic face twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth.
"Is this your Baijiu (Chinese White Liquor)?" he asked warily. "Will I wake up in another country?"
"Don't worry. I brewed it myself. The alcohol content is not low—about 60%—but the kick should only hit when you get back home. And there are quite a few medicinal herbs in it that strengthen the body and aid recovery~"
Hearing this, both Kure Raian and Kaolan's eyes lit up. Ren brewed many kinds of wine, and among them were a few legendary blends that were particularly nourishing for martial artists, impossible to buy anywhere else even with millions of yen.
Kure Raian grinned and directly pulled out the cork with his teeth.
Pop.
The aroma of the wine, along with a special fresh scent of ginseng and goji berries, instantly enveloped the entire Restaurant. It wasn't at all unpleasant or harsh like cheap spirits; it only made one feel completely relaxed and peaceful, like walking through a forest.
The saying "good wine needs no bush" is not said for nothing. Excellent wine, no matter how far the distance or how noisy the surroundings, cannot hide its inherent mellow fragrance.
The three men said nothing. They only clinked their bottles together in a silent toast.
Clink.
Then, they drank directly from the bottle mouths like Vikings.
Kaolan raised an eyebrow as the liquid fire went down his throat. He let out a long sigh of satisfaction.
Kure Raian's neck instantly bulged with veins as the potent energy hit his system. He smiled maniacally, tapping the bottle in his hand.
"Hoo! What is this stuff! It feels like liquid mana!"
Ren's expression was neutral, with a faint smile. He softly said, "This, I suppose, is to cheer you two on for the upcoming match. Has it ignited your fighting spirit?"
Kaolan twisted his neck, unbuttoning two of his shirt buttons to let off heat. He lazily said, "Is it really okay to drink too much of this? I have a weight cut."
Ren took his own bottle and clinked it against their bottles on the table again. Then he raised his bottle and leaned back in his chair. He poured the wine into his mouth from a height, the stream like a silver thread falling into a deep pool. It contained an ineffable, ethereal quality that made drinking look like an art form.
"I'll drink to that. You two can do as you please."
"Monster!" Raian and Kaolan said in unison.
Ren smiled. He stood up and began unbuttoning his chef's uniform. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing forearms corded with lean muscle.
Kobayashi Rindou, Karura, and Kure Fusui tacitly took out their phones. They opened their camera apps, a sly smile playing on their lips.
Click. Click.
Erina felt a little dizzy. Ren looked thin in his uniform, but she hadn't expected him to be so... defined. His physique was simply a sculpted masterpiece, every muscle purposeful.
Akanegakubo Momo looked at Kaolan's autograph in her hand and suddenly felt it wasn't as appealing as the live show in front of her.
...
The three big men drank for over an hour without realizing it. Everyone else ate dessert while watching these three explosively masculine men drink, finding the scene strangely appetizing.
Kure Raian was getting a bit tipsy—or perhaps just restless from the energy boost. He directly propped himself on the table, shouting, startling everyone.
"Let's find a place to fight later! I need to burn this off!"
Kaolan said nothing, but his eyes were sharp.
Ren leaned back in his chair, his long silver hair falling over his shoulders. He calmly said, "Forget finding a place. If you want a beating, right outside the door is fine; no one's coming down this alley anyway~"
Kure Raian's eyes flashed. He immediately shouted, "Let's go! I'm definitely going to beat you down today! No holding back!"
With that, Kure Raian directly took off his expensive suit jacket and threw it on the floor.
Kobayashi Rindou immediately shouted, pumping her fist. "Ren! Beat him up! There's a reward if you win!"
"Ren! Go for it! Break his leg!" Karura cheered for her crush against her own kin.
Kure Raian stood up. Kaolan and Ren also straightened their bodies. Looking at the three men standing together, one truly realized how tall and imposing they were. The air in the room grew heavy.
"Oh! How exciting!"
Akanegakubo Momo suddenly became excited, clutching Bucchi. Tickets for Kaolan's matches were impossible to buy, and now seeing a street fight between him, the Kure Devil, and the Mysterious Chef? These tickets would be priceless.
Outside the Restaurant, in the narrow, dimly lit alley.
Kure Raian was hunched over, a deranged smile on his face. He looked at Ren as if he were a piece of prime meat, his fighting spirit ignited to a fever pitch.
Ren merely twisted his neck.
Crack.
He slowly unbuttoned his chef's uniform completely.
Kobayashi Rindou and the two Kure girls were all excitedly preparing their phones to record video.
Erina, however, blushed deeply and whispered to Hisako, "Isn't this a bit… improper? Brawling in the street?"
Hisako, usually the voice of reason, said with great interest, adjusting her glasses, "Young Mistress Erina, fighting matches are all like this… It is raw masculinity."
As they chatted, they saw Ren take off his chef's uniform top, revealing a white tank top underneath that clung to his frame. He casually tossed the uniform to Kobayashi Rindou, who caught it and buried her face in it for a second.
At this moment, even Lucifer and Cerberus were a little stunned.
Four words to describe Ren's body: Divinely Crafted.
It wasn't the bulky mass of a bodybuilder, but the dense, wire-steel muscle of a martial artist who had pushed the human limit. Scars mapped a history of violence on his arms.
Ren stood there, relaxed. He nodded at Kaolan.
Kaolan raised his hand like a referee. He said very casually, his voice cutting through the night air.
"Begin!"
After speaking, he took a step back to avoid the splash zone.
BOOM.
The ground cracked under Raian's feet.
Everyone saw Kure Raian charge at Ren like a rabid beast, throwing a fierce right hook aimed at Ren's temple.
Ren didn't block. He merely shifted his body weight.
He grabbed Kure Raian's wrist with one hand, using Raian's own momentum to pull him forward off-balance. Then, he raised one leg and fiercely chopped down with his heel across Kure Raian's exposed lower back.
CRACK.
Erina and the others had never seen such a scene. They only heard a crisp sound of bone impacting muscle.
Then they saw Kure Raian spit out a mouthful of saliva (and maybe blood) and retreat to the side, crashing heavily against the brick wall. The wall developed a spiderweb of cracks.
Ren said with a slight smile, lowering his leg. "Raian. Your endurance has improved. You didn't fold."
Kure Raian grinned, wiping his mouth. "Heh."
Akanegakubo Momo was about to say something when she suddenly widened her eyes.
"Look!"
They all saw Kure Raian's skin slowly turn a deep, bruised purple. The veins all over his body bulged like snakes underneath his skin.
Removal (Guihun).
Erina immediately widened her eyes and shouted, "What's going on?! Is that even human?! He turned purple!"
At this moment, let alone her, even Lucifer and Cerberus were a little stunned. This was a demonic transformation technique used by a human.
Kure Raian roared and charged over directly. He was twice as fast as before.
Almost the instant Kure Raian appeared in front of him, Ren raised his arms in a cross block.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Then everyone saw Kure Raian's fists rain down on Ren's arms like a machine gun. Each impact sounded like a sledgehammer hitting a tire—heavy, dull thuds that shook the air.
Ren stood his ground, absorbing the blows.
The moment Kure Raian paused to take a breath, Ren moved.
He grabbed Kure Raian's shoulder with an iron grip and pressed him down. Then he raised his knee and delivered a fierce strike to Raian's solar plexus.
OOF.
A large mouthful of fresh blood immediately gushed out of Raian's mouth. Erina and the others instantly covered their mouths in horror.
Ren didn't stop. Taking advantage of Kure Raian's moment of distraction, he swept Kure Raian's legs out from under him with a whip kick.
As Raian fell, Ren grabbed his head and slammed it fiercely into the asphalt.
SMASH.
Everyone only saw Ren, with a complete poker face, using Kure Raian's head to smash cracks into the hard ground.
"Quick… quick, stop! Something will go wrong! He's going to die!" Akanegakubo Momo screamed.
She had barely spoken when Kaolan waved his hand, cutting her off. He said with a stoic face, "It's fine. They're just playing a game at most. Not really fighting~ If Ren was serious, Raian's head would be a watermelon."
"What?!" Erina gasped. "This is playing?!"
Kobayashi Rindou, holding Ren's chef's uniform and recording on her phone, laughed nervously. "Exactly~ They're not even using lethal techniques. Right now it's just roughhousing at most… Kure genetics are tough."
Everyone swallowed hard. Kure Raian was covered in blood at this point.
Just as Ren was pressing him down, Kure Raian laughed. He used a very strange, flexible posture to push Ren away with his legs, then kip-up to his feet.
He attacked Ren again, relentless.
A flicker of imperceptible surprise flashed in Ren's eyes. He's persistent tonight.
Ren sidestepped a punch. He kicked out.
The moment Kure Raian flew backward from the kick, Ren grabbed Kure Raian's arm mid-air. He used the leverage to slam him into the ground again, this time on his back.
WHAM.
A sound that made one wince in pain rang out. The ground shook.
Kure Raian lay prone on the ground, staring up at the night sky. He didn't get up again.
Kaolan checked his watch. He waved his hand and said, "Ren wins. Ten second count waived. Speaking of which, Raian looks like he'll be hungry again when he gets up in a bit~"
"He can still get up after that?!" The girls shouted in unison.
Karura walked over and poked Raian's body with her foot. She said with a smile, "Just playing around~ Raian is just resting. Hey! Raian! So lame! You lost in under three minutes!"
The purple receded from Kure Raian's body, returning to his normal skin tone.
He sat up, covered in blood and injuries, his suit pants torn. Yet he was smiling as if nothing had happened. He cracked his neck again.
"Much better~ That cleared the sinuses. Let's have a proper fight to the death sometime, Ren!"
Kure Fusui sighed, shaking her head. "Raian... if you can withstand Ren's full-power attacks, then you're truly amazing. But you just got ragdolled. You could win this match just by standing there and taking hits as a sandbag."
"Hahahahaha!" Rindou, Karura, and Fusui laughed.
"Damn it! I'm the one who brought you here!" Raian yelled, wiping blood from his nose.
"But you're still lame~" Fusui teased.
She turned to Ren, who was putting his uniform back on. "Ren, aren't you hot? You're sweating. Do you want to take a shower here? Do you want me to scrub your back?"
"Fusui! No sneaking off!" Karura hissed.
"I was just offering a service! Rindou, send the video to the group chat later. Grandpa needs to see this."
"OK~ uploading now!"
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