Chapter 20: Night Market Ambush
That was their job, so Mu Lantu didn’t insist.
Xu Huazhang also said, “Don’t worry about it. They’ll find time to eat.”
Mu Lantu nodded. “You hold the table; I’ll go order?”
Xu Huazhang agreed, watching him walk away with a light, easy gait. Once again, he heard him humming. Under the warm glow of the yellow lights, Mu Lantu’s handsome face took on an even softer hue, and Xu Huazhang’s gaze grew gentle.
The girl from the young couple nearby had been eyeing Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang for a while. She quietly asked the boy, “Should we ask to share their table? Otherwise, we might be waiting a long time.”
The boy hesitated. “They seem like a couple. Wouldn’t we be bothering them?”
“No, it’s fine,” the girl coaxed. “It’s totally normal to share tables at street stalls!”
The boy eyed her suspiciously. “You’re not just trying to get close and ship them as a CP, are you?”
The girl firmly denied it. “I’m not! I didn’t! Don’t accuse me!”
“Well, if you’re not, then let’s just wait.” The boy decided.
The girl: “…” Is it too late to say “yes”?
Not long after Mu Lantu returned, a giant bowl of mala hot pot was served to the table. Brimming with ingredients—spicy beef, tripe slices, gluten, lotus root, quail eggs, seaweed, fish tofu, bamboo shoots, luncheon meat, beef balls, seasonal vegetables, and instant noodles—all soaked in rich, red chili oil. Fresh scallions and cilantro sprinkled on top completed the mouth-watering presentation.
Mu Lantu stirred the contents with his chopsticks, releasing even more intense fragrance.
“Huazhang, pop quiz: do you know what the soul of mala hot pot is?”
Xu Huazhang felt a strange, tingling warmth in his chest—this was the first time Mu Lantu had called his name.
“Instant noodles?” he guessed.
Mu Lantu gave him a look of approval. “And rice! You must have rice with it!”
Right on cue, the server brought over two steaming bowls of rice, smiling approvingly at Mu Lantu.
“Enjoy your meal!”
Mu Lantu picked up his chopsticks, ready to dig in.
“No photo?” Xu Huazhang reminded him.
Mu Lantu pulled out his phone. “Almost forgot.”
Xu Huazhang subtly placed his hand next to the bowl. “One wide shot, one close-up.”
“Good idea.” Click. Click. Two photos taken. “I’ll post them on Moments after we eat.”
Xu Huazhang also took a few pictures, and Mu Lantu guessed—based on his usual feed of scenery shots—that he might be sending them to family or friends.
Barely two minutes into their meal, a commotion suddenly erupted nearby.
Two groups had gotten into a fight, and it was quickly drawing closer to them. A third group suddenly joined the fray, escalating it into an all-out brawl.
The two bodyguards dropped their takeout containers and charged forward. One rushed to Xu Huazhang’s side, eyes sharply scanning the chaos.
At that moment, a child was suddenly thrown into the air and landed in a bodyguard’s arms—he had no choice but to catch him.
Suddenly, four burly men appeared, charging straight at Xu Huazhang.
Mu Lantu’s eyes turned icy. He leapt up, kicked one assailant flying, landed two punches to knock out two others, while the last one was intercepted by the other bodyguard and quickly engaged in a scuffle.
The second bodyguard handed the sobbing child off to someone nearby and urgently said to Xu Huazhang, “Boss, it’s too dangerous here. We need to go!”
Xu Huazhang glanced at him and remained still. “Lantu, come back!”
“Wait a sec! Anyone who interrupts my meal deserves to die!”
That third group who had joined the brawl was clearly on Xu Huazhang’s side, working to prevent the other attackers from breaking through the defense.
Mu Lantu charged in, fists flying chaotically—but every single blow landed cleanly. Anyone who got hit ended up with a bruised face.
Fearing injury or burns, the restaurant patrons had started to panic, but when they saw the furious, beautiful young man holding the entire front line solo—knocking every attacker back with his fists—they froze in awe.
The closest diner, a burly man, sat steadily with the calm of Mount Tai, still munching on his hot pot while filming the scene with his phone.
A thug ran in. Mu Lantu punched him out.
The burly man was reminded of the time he accompanied his daughter to tennis practice—the automatic ball machine would shoot out tennis balls, and she’d smack them right back.
He muttered to himself, “Damn… good stuff…”
After a prolonged fight, the attackers realized things were going badly. In unspoken coordination, they retreated all at once. Dressed and looking just like ordinary citizens, they disappeared into the crowd within moments.
Those secretly protecting Xu Huazhang also melted back into the crowd, maybe pursuing the attackers—maybe not. As if they’d never been there.
Xu Huazhang strode quickly to Mu Lantu, eyes full of concern, scanning him up and down.
“Are you hurt?”
“Nope,” Mu Lantu said, straightening his ruffled clothes.
Xu Huazhang still wasn’t reassured. “Really?”
“Really,” Mu Lantu grinned. “I’ve got natural brute strength and know some martial arts. Not that easy to injure me.”
Xu Huazhang raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Ever tested it?”
“Not officially, but I once pushed a semi-truck by myself—true story.” Mu Lantu frowned—mala hot pot should be eaten hot; it wouldn’t taste the same if it cooled.
Zhou Ye and Ge Tao didn’t dare go far this time. Standing behind Xu Huazhang, they stared at Mu Lantu in shock, disbelief written all over their faces.
Mu Lantu waved them off, “Let’s eat, let’s eat. It won’t be good if it gets cold!”
