Hades Crown Prince

7.Place of stay

Chen Buqi and Yu Xuan arrived at Bi Jia’s five-story self-built villa. The large living room was brightly lit, and by 1 AM, the younger generation from Bi Jia’s family had gathered, all full of energy, waiting for Chen Buqi’s arrival.

The sight startled Chen Buqi and Yu Xuan, who thought they had entered a gang headquarters. The group of middle-aged and young family representatives stared in confusion at the two young men with injuries on their faces. They started to suspect whether Bi Jia had hidden an expert or simply brought two outsiders to trick them, their brows furrowing in suspicion.

“What’s going on? What’s all the noise?” Bi Jia, clearly frustrated, pointed at them and started yelling.

“I didn’t go to school much, don’t try to deceive me,” Bi Jia’s cousin said sarcastically.

“D*mn you! What the hell is this?” Bi Jia was furious, his face red, awkwardly glancing at the confused Chen Buqi and Yu Xuan.

As Bi Jia’s elder brother-in-law, younger brother, and younger brother-in-law entered and overheard the argument, they quickly sided with Bi Jia, explaining that the two young men were brought by him.

The relatives quickly replaced their frowns with forced smiles, much to Bi Jia’s annoyance. He almost decided to send Chen Buqi and Yu Xuan to a hotel. But Chen Buqi, exhausted from the day’s events, was just eager to sleep. His eyelids were heavy, and he just wanted to rest.

Bi Jia quickly led the two upstairs, not giving the group of relatives any chance to speak. If his relatives ruined everything, Bi Jia was ready to give up on the whole thing.

The next morning, after a simple lunch at Bi Jia’s house, he drove his Toyota Camry to take the two men out to look for a place to live.

“Bi Jia, no need to go through so much trouble. I’ve already paid you back for helping with your son,” Chen Buqi said, feeling a bit embarrassed as he looked out the window.

“It’s no trouble at all. Since you call me ‘bro,’ I’ll treat you both as brothers. Yangcheng is a bit chaotic, and I can help you avoid unnecessary trouble,” Bi Jia replied. He had learned of their struggles the previous night from his police friends.

Chen Buqi nodded, reflecting on the strange events of the previous day. He doubted he would ever forget them.

“Bi Jia, I really appreciate it,” Chen Buqi said, not refusing. If he had to, he would return the favor and help Bi Jia again.

Soon, the car arrived at a six-story self-built house in Tianhe District. Bi Jia took them inside and showed them a spacious two-bedroom apartment.

“Feel free to stay here. This is my property. If you’re not happy with anything, just let me know,” Bi Jia said with a smile, putting his arm around Yu Xuan.

“This is great, thank you, Bi Jia!” Yu Xuan quickly pulled out a cigarette and offered one to Bi Jia.

At last, Chen Buqi and Yu Xuan had a place to stay and no longer had to worry about their safety. When Bi Jia returned home, he was immediately confronted by his relatives, who were eager to know where he had taken the two men.

This time, even the older generation had come to inquire, but Bi Jia, annoyed, didn’t want to deal with them. His thoughts were still on the previous night’s argument, and he was getting frustrated just thinking about it.

“Bi Jia, where are the masters?” Bi Jia’s second uncle grabbed him and asked.

“They left!” Bi Jia rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“D*mn it, where did they go?!” Bi Jia’s second uncle shouted, his beard bristling in anger.

“You all were calling them frauds yesterday, and now you’re all so concerned?” Bi Jia angrily pointed at his younger cousins.

“Alright, alright, stop making a scene. We’re all family. Let’s talk calmly,” Bi Jia’s father intervened to smooth things over.

Helpless, Bi Jia led his relatives into the house. As they saw Bi Jia’s son, full of energy, they all regretted their poor behavior the night before, their faces filled with shame as they gave him sidelong glances.

The younger generation stood in silence with their heads lowered, especially the cousin who had argued with Bi Jia the previous night—he had been kicked several times during the walk over.

“Bi Jia, we know we acted out last night. We apologize,” Bi Jia’s second uncle said, stepping forward to express his regret.

The older relatives, including the uncles, all nodded in agreement, while the younger ones remained silent. Seeing the family’s remorse, Bi Jia couldn’t maintain his grudge and softened his expression.

“Alright, I’ve already settled them in. They’re at my rental house. Don’t worry,” Bi Jia said, feeling helpless.

“It’s good that they’re safe. You know about your cousin, right? Can you ask him to come take a look?” Bi Jia’s uncle asked urgently.

“I know. But asking Brother Chen to help right away might be a bit much, don’t you think? These people are hard to deal with. If we push them too hard, they might just give up. What can we do then?” Bi Jia replied bluntly.

The room fell silent for a moment, with the older generation furrowing their brows. Bi Jia’s cousin, a prominent family figure, had been set to be promoted to the district chief last year. But for some reason, he suddenly went mad, afraid of light, and would sit motionless in a dark room during the day. At night, he would go into fits of madness.

They had taken him to hospitals across the country, but none could find the cause. They had also consulted monks and Daoists to no avail. When the family was about to give up, they saw Bi Jia’s son recover after a few days of being affected by something supernatural. This gave the family hope again.

Especially Bi Jia’s uncle’s family, who were extremely eager. They quickly sent their youngest son to check on the situation. That’s why so many young relatives had rushed over the previous night.

“Bi Jia, what do you think? Why not invite them to a family dinner tomorrow night?” Bi Jia’s uncle asked slowly after a while.

Bi Jia furrowed his brows, looking at his uncle. After a long pause, he reluctantly nodded. The rest of the family breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Chen Buqi and Yu Xuan were wandering outside their rental house. Everything seemed fresh and new, especially the sight of the long legs of women walking by. They couldn’t help but stare.

“Buqi, big cities are great, aren’t they? Look at these women. If I could marry one of them, I’d be happy,” Yu Xuan said, his eyes gleaming.

“Yeah, it’s not bad,” Chen Buqi replied, nodding.

To be honest, the way these women dressed would be criticized back home, but young people in the city seemed to love it.

“Buqi, what should we do next?” Yu Xuan suddenly changed the subject.

“I don’t know. One step at a time. What are you thinking?” Chen Buqi asked as he draped his arm over Yu Xuan’s shoulder, walking toward the street corner.

“I heard from some people who came back from the factory that there are a lot of pretty women in Yangcheng. I want to check it out,” Yu Xuan replied determinedly.

“Alright, we’ll go together sometime,” Chen Buqi agreed.

So, these two young men, for their first adventure, decided to try working in a factory.

As night fell, Bi Jia’s uncle’s house echoed with disturbing roars. A middle-aged man, his eyes bloodshot, kept banging his head against the wall. If the lights were on, you would see bloodstains and scratch marks on all four walls of the room.

“Son, hang in there. Tomorrow, a master will come to help you,” Bi Jia’s uncle and aunt, tears streaming down their faces, held the man tightly in the dark room.

“Roar…” the middle-aged man screamed angrily, looking toward the sky.