The oppressive atmosphere that had lingered between them had dissipated quite a bit.
This trip to Xingang Brigade was actually quite tense, facing death at any moment.
Luo Yang wanted to relax a bit first. Once he entered the village and met the villagers, he would face them with the friendliest expression.
To come out alive was already very fortunate.
This was a matter concerning Hongyun Brigade, and it was closely related to Luo Yang.
Hong Jiaxin had also intervened, and Luo Yang actually worried about her getting hurt; that would be terribly unfair to her.
Her father had entrusted his precious daughter to Luo Yang for care. If anything happened to her, good gracious, he wouldn't have the face to meet her parents.
Not having Hong Jiaxin by his side, he worried that those mysterious enemies would kidnap her, which would be a very bad outcome as well.
In such a difficult position, he could only go with the flow.
It was only when the two of them played that Hong Jiaxin could momentarily forget her sorrows.
With Luo Yang, she truly felt relaxed and natural.
Luo Yang was a very honest person; at least he had no schemes against her, and she felt very safe.
The only thing that dissatisfied her was that Luo Yang always wanted to take advantage of her. She was always on guard, but occasionally, he succeeded.
Actually, being taken advantage of by him a little, Hong Jiaxin wasn't annoyed.
If this had happened at the beginning of school, she would have fought with Luo Yang with all her might if he dared to take such liberties.
Now, however, it seemed she could forgive him for taking those liberties. She didn't know if she had fallen for him, but every time she saw the rascally smile that often hung at the corner of his mouth, she wanted to hit him.
Just a light hit.
While the two were chasing and playing, the sound of motorcycles approached from afar.
From the direction the motorcycles were travelling, it was clear they were heading toward Xingang Brigade.
"Squad leader, someone's coming." Luo Yang walked back.
"What trick are you trying to play now?" Hong Jiaxin said with a cold laugh.
Actually, Luo Yang wanted to walk quietly with Hong Jiaxin, not to attract anyone's attention and avoid unnecessary complications.
"Squad leader, may I put my arm around your shoulder?" Luo Yang asked.
"No way." Hong Jiaxin flatly refused.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman walking under this gentle moonlight, yet not arm in arm, was a bit unusual.
Suddenly, Luo Yang reached out and put his arm around Hong Jiaxin's fragrant shoulders, whispering, "This way we look like a couple, let's just walk like this."
Hong Jiaxin elbowed him over, and Luo Yang quickly gathered his True Qi to resist, barely in time to avoid the pain.
With a thud, Hong Jiaxin thought Luo Yang was in pain, having only struck once, she refrained from hitting him again, letting him keep his arm around her shoulder.
A faint body fragrance wafted over, refreshing and pleasant.
"If you dare take advantage of me, I'll kill you," she said softly.
"Squad leader, I'm very pure," Luo Yang grinned.
Hong Jiaxin snorted through her nose with a disdainful laugh.
Soon, three motorcycles caught up from behind.
Luo Yang and Hong Jiaxin walked on without speaking.
Unexpectedly, the motorcycles slowed down as they came alongside, and a gust of night air brought with it a strong smell of alcohol.
There were three motorcycles, with a total of four young men, all male.
The young man riding the women's motorcycle whistled and called out, "Are you going to Xingang Brigade? Beauty, get on, I'll take you."
Immediately, the women's motorcycle drove ahead and stopped, blocking Luo Yang and Hong Jiaxin's path.
"Beauty, don't ride his bike, he's so bad. Come, ride with me, come over to my place and hang out." Another young man laughed.
"Beauty, my bike is newer than theirs, ride with me instead."
The third motorcycle's young man patted the rear seat.
If it weren't for coming here to show goodwill to Xingang Brigade, Luo Yang would have beaten them on the spot until they were searching for teeth on the ground.
Faced with the provocation and with Hong Jiaxin's fiery temper, she would certainly not show weakness.
Luo Yang was still waiting for Ching Xin's call. After thinking it over, he put his arm around Hong Jiaxin's shoulder and they walked back together.
This was quite a concession.
Little did he know that those ruffians didn't know what was good for them. Plus, it was nighttime, they had been drinking, and they hadn't clearly seen Luo Yang's face.
The young man driving the women's motorcycle chased after them again, reaching out to pull Hong Jiaxin's arm.
"Beauty, get in the car."
Thump!
Hong Jiaxin threw a punch and knocked the young man to the ground.
Wow, the squad leader is showing her power, Luo Yang bitterly smiled.
The remaining three young men yelped and immediately revved their motorcycles to charge at him.
Luo Yang turned and kicked, bringing one of the motorcycles to a screeching halt just like an emergency brake.
The two young men on the bike were flung off and landed on the ground, groaning nonstop.
The last motorcycle tried to turn around and flee.
Luo Yang thought 'In for a penny, in for a pound,' and leapt forward, knee-striking the young man on the bike off it.
In just the blink of an eye, all four young men were sprawled on the ground.
"Squad leader, are you hurt?"
Luo Yang came over and asked, concerned.
At the same time, he reached out his hand to touch Hong Jiaxin, who knocked his hand away.
"You dare to touch me, I'll beat you to death!" she said coquettishly.
"Squad leader, you've misunderstood, I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt," Luo Yang said earnestly.
They hadn't even entered the village yet and this sort of thing had already happened.
"Are we still going in?" Hong Jiaxin asked.
Just then, Cheng Xin called.
After picking up the call, Luo Yang said, "I've fought with people from your village at the entrance."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xin gasped in surprise, "They saw you?"
She had thought that the villagers had deliberately gone to the entrance to find Luo Yang and that a conflict had ensued.
"No."
Luo Yang then explained what had happened.
After listening, Cheng Xin was silent for a moment before saying, "Then you better go back. Don't come in."
Luo Yang had that thought too, but on second thought, if he returned to his village, the days of firefight between the two villages would soon arrive.
"No, I'm entering the village now. Where shall we meet?" Luo Yang made up his mind.
"In the village public office courtyard," Cheng Xin answered.
After hanging up, Luo Yang and Hong Jiaxin walked on foot into Xingang Brigade.
The village public office courtyard was brightly lit, and the place was bustling with people.
When Luo Yang and Hong Jiaxin entered the courtyard, dozens of people looked over with cold, unfriendly eyes.
The village chief Cheng Nan was present, but it wasn't clear which one was Yu Baiqiang.
Yu Xianghai, who Luo Yang had knocked unconscious with the flat of his blade, was at the front of the crowd, glaring at Luo Yang.
Most of those present were young men, and although they had no weapons in hand, their fierce eyes indicated they were ready to pounce on Luo Yang at any moment.
Although Cheng Nan recognized Luo Yang, it was inconvenient to show it.
"Let's do him in first!" Yu Xianghai pointed at Luo Yang, agitatedly said.
At dusk, he was knocked unconscious by Luo Yang, which, in his eyes, was a disgrace that had been broadcast to everyone's grandmother's house.
As the gang leader, being beaten like that, he had no face to show.
If Luo Yang hadn't knocked down Yu Xianghai at that time, he wouldn't have been able to control the situation; there were no other options.
"Fight!"
"Everybody, rush him!"
"Beat him to death!"
...
...
The young men echoed loudly, fists clenched, eager to move.
Dozens of adults surrounding a youth and a girl, shouting for a fight, created a stunning scene.
Cheng Xin stepped out and said loudly, "Don't get excited. He isn't here to fight! He's here to resolve a dispute. If he were here to fight, would he come alone?"
Yu Xianghai exclaimed angrily, "He has the nerve to come because he thinks he's so great! We don't need to show respect to those people from Hongyun Brigade, just beat them to death!"
At that moment, an elder with small eyes and a square face said, "Everybody, quiet down, let's hear what he has to say."
Luo Yang guessed this old man must be the Yu clan head, Yu Baiqiang.