"Boss, looks like someone with a bit of a background has shown up." Bei Bei said with a grin at Lin Lei.
Lin Lei nodded slightly. "A perfectly ordinary young man, yet he has two ninth-level powerhouses as bodyguards. That's not something an average family could manage."
"Belita!" An irritated voice rang out from the tavern entrance. A golden-curled young man strode into the establishment, two cold-faced middle-aged men trailing behind him. The golden-curled youth fixed his gaze on the violet-haired beauty. "Belita, you're just going to pretend nothing happened?"
"Oh, Young Master Hubbard." The big-nosed middle-aged man rose to his feet and immediately greeted him warmly. "Please, sit down. Talk things over with Belita."
"Hmph." The golden-curled youth cast a cold glance at the big-nosed man. "Get out of my way."
The big-nosed man managed an awkward laugh and didn't dare say another word.
Belita's brows drew together. She turned to face the golden-curled youth and spoke earnestly. "Hubbard, I admit that what I did this morning was a bit discourteous to you. But the fact is, I don't like you, and that won't change. I'd hope that Young Master Hubbard would spend his energy on other women instead."
Hubbard fell silent for a moment, hatred flickering in his eyes. "Fine, fine, Belita…"
"I, Hubbard, have never been this courteous to anyone. For you, I've sent gift after gift, I've racked my brain trying to make you like me. But it seems none of it was any use." His expression turned frigid. "Hmph, well then, Belita, you can't blame me."
Belita had shouldered the weight of this entire establishment at a young age, and she could guess exactly what Hubbard intended to do.
"Hubbard, with your standing, what woman could you not have? Why waste your time on a girl from a declining noble house?" Belita's words were diplomatic.
"I always get what I want!"
Hubbard raised his chin, his eyes utterly cold. "Uncles, take her back." The moment these words left his mouth, Belita's face drained of all color. She knew full well the immense power Hubbard's family wielded.
That was precisely why she had never dared to offend him too badly — though on certain matters, she still held firm to her principles.
"Yes, Young Master." The two cold-faced men behind Hubbard bowed and obeyed.
"Wait, wait!" The big-nosed man rushed forward and planted himself in front of Belita, pleading desperately. "Young Master Hubbard, please, just let my daughter go. I'll do anything you ask. Even this ancestral estate of ours — I'll hand it over to you, no questions asked. I'm begging you, please spare my daughter."
Belita stared at her father, stunned.
Was this the same man who was too proud to save face, who did nothing but drink and carouse? Belita had always looked down on her father to some degree. But in this moment… she realized he was far from the man she had believed him to be.
"Hmph, who wants your crumbling wreck of a house?" Hubbard sneered. "Take Belita away. That old fool is in the way — kill him!"
"Yes." The two cold-faced men walked forward with cruel smiles.
The big-nosed man threw himself in front of his daughter, as if he could shield her with his own body.
"Father, move aside!" Belita tried to push him away, but her perpetually drunken father suddenly seemed to possess tremendous strength, standing firm as a wall before her.
"Out of the way." One of the cold-faced men delivered a merciless kick toward the big-nosed man.
No one in the entire tavern dared make a sound. Every patron drinking there knew of the Hubbard family's power in Hess City. No one dared interfere!
A crowd of eyes turned toward Belita and her father, sympathy flickering in each gaze.
In their eyes, the fates of Belita and her father had already been sealed.
And yet, in a bizarre turn, the cold-faced man's kick stopped midway and went limp. His entire body crumpled to the ground like a sack of wet sand. Blood was streaming from his nose, eyes, mouth, and ears.
He was dead!
Everyone froze in shock. Even the imperious Hubbard was struck dumb. The other ninth-level bodyguard immediately dropped to one knee and shook his companion. "Brother! Brother, what happened to you?" The ninth-level fighter simply could not believe what he was seeing.
His brother — who had already reached the ninth level — dead in an instant.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" The ninth-level man swept his gaze around the tavern and barked coldly, fury blazing in his eyes.
But no one answered. The ninth-level man let out a cold laugh. "Whoever killed my brother, you'd better show yourself. Otherwise… every other person in this tavern dies. And that'll be on your conscience." He surveyed the room.
The other patrons sat in terrified silence, not daring to breathe.
"Just take your young master and get lost." A voice spoke up.
The ninth-level man's gaze snapped toward the source. Even Belita and her father looked over. It was a long-haired man who appeared young, seated across from a handsome youth wearing a straw hat.
Hubbard stepped forward two paces and shouted coldly, "Who are you? How dare you interfere with my business?"
From the day Hubbard was born until now, no one had ever dared defy him. There was nothing he wanted that he couldn't have — especially here in Hess City. Even the kingdom's king didn't carry as much weight as Hubbard. Having grown up this way, his domineering nature had made him fearless of everyone.
"How annoying!" Bei Bei irritably flung the wine from his cup straight at Hubbard, the liquid splashing across the youth's face. "Now get lost."
Hubbard froze. He touched the wine dripping down his face, and in an instant his expression turned crimson with rage.
Humiliation!
Hubbard had never endured the slightest slight growing up. Belita's rejection of him had at least been tactful. But even that, he had considered a loss of face — and it had enraged him. What Bei Bei had just done, though, was the single greatest insult he had ever suffered in his life!
"Kill him! Kill him for me!!! Hubbard's voice turned shrill as he screamed and pointed at Bei Bei.
Bei Bei looked up and flashed him a wide grin.
Whoosh! Bei Bei vanished from his seat in a blur. A crisp slap rang through the air, and Hubbard was sent flying backward, crashing into a nearby chair. His head twisted at a grotesque angle as he hit the ground, blood pooling around him.