PCJ – Chapter 405 Rabies

“Did you really hit the hotel security guard?” Tang Yan asked anxiously.

“So what if I did? I don’t believe they’d dare do anything to me!” Xiong Xuan replied arrogantly.

Li You quickly chimed in, “I didn’t hit anyone, I didn’t! Besides, I don’t even get along with this guy.”

Though Tang Yan’s group knew that Li You and Xiong Xuan weren’t on good terms, hearing Li You disown him like this made them look at him with disdain. Regardless of their relationship, abandoning someone in trouble seemed low.

“Why did you attack our security guard?” Zhang Jiaohua demanded.

“I didn’t like his attitude. So what if I hit him? I’ll tell you what, you’d better let me go, or you’ll regret it! Just because your Biyu Xianyin Corporation sells tea overseas doesn’t make you special. At the end of the day, you’re just tea merchants!” Xiong Xuan sneered at Zhang Jiaohua and then at Liu Qiaoye.

That remark made Zhang Jiaohua furious. “What did you say?”

For a brief moment, Xiong Xuan found himself intimidated by the young boy’s fierce gaze, though he quickly felt embarrassed and scolded himself for being unnerved by a kid. Emboldened, he added with contempt, “I said you’re just tea sellers. A bunch of country bumpkins making a little money and thinking you’re all that.”

“Fine, you asked for this! Since you like barking like a dog so much, how about living the rest of your life as one? Be warned, a rabid dog bites, so you’d best keep your distance,” Zhang Jiaohua gestured, signaling the villagers to release Xiong Xuan and his friend. Then he walked away, pulling Liu Qiaoye with him.

The locals of Meizi’ao, seeing Zhang Jiaohua’s reaction, knew Xiong Xuan was in for some trouble. They casually dispersed, staying within view to see what misfortune might befall him.

Tang Yan’s group found this all quite bizarre. First, they were puzzled as to why Meizi’ao’s hotel had sent a young kid to deal with them—he must be the owner’s child, they thought. And then, they were shocked that the hotel’s people, though they’d come with such intensity, retreated after just one strange comment from the child. They had been worried about the hotel’s reaction to Xiong Xuan’s actions, but since it seemed resolved, they all breathed a sigh of relief. They certainly couldn’t afford to offend the powers backing Xiong Xuan and Li You.

Xiong Xuan, feeling triumphant, thought these country bumpkins had been frightened off by a few of his words. But then something felt wrong—he found himself having the strange urge to bite Tang Yan’s delicate arm beside him. He wanted to bite someone!

“Are you okay, Xiong Xuan?” Tang Yan noticed his odd expression.

Xiong Xuan looked up at Tang Yan, his gaze wild and beastly, and then, to everyone’s shock, he barked, “Woof! Woof!”

Tang Yan jumped back in fright, hiding behind Chen Haibo and the others.

Amused, Li You taunted, “Xiong Xuan, what’s up with you? Why are you acting like a dog?”

Xiong Xuan didn’t want to act this way, but he somehow felt like a dog, his actions driven by instinct rather than conscious thought. He wanted to bite!

“You know, being a dog could work out for you. I could use a human-like dog by my side. Don’t worry; with me, your future is bright!” Li You boasted.

Noticing the oddity, Chen Haibo suggested, “Something’s off here. Let’s go inside. Let the film crew handle this.”

Agreeing, Chen Cheng and Tang Yan hurried towards the hotel.

As Tang Yan was leaving, Li You called after her, “Tang Yan, wait!”

When facing an aggressive dog, running is the last thing you should do. Standing your ground may prevent it from attacking, but running shows fear, encouraging it to pounce.

Seeing Li You start to leave, Xiong Xuan lost all control, barked loudly, and lunged at Li You, grabbing his leg and sinking his teeth in.

“Xiong Xuan, you’ve lost it!” Li You screamed in pain.

From a distance, the villagers of Meizi’ao observed the scene, unsurprised by the outcome.

“I knew he was in for it after provoking Jiaohua,” Zhang Qi said, “Is everyone okay?”

“Just a scratch. Jiaohua fixed it right up; it doesn’t even hurt now,” Zhang Jingbing replied.

“So, what should we do about this?” Zhang Qi asked.

“We stay out of it. As long as no one mentions Jiaohua, it’s not our problem. Maybe he just suddenly went rabid. But we should bind him to prevent any harm. Go grab a rope,” Zhang Jingbing said.

“Right. Let’s keep this quiet and not trouble Jiaohua,” Zhang Qi nodded.

Liu Qiaoye looked worriedly at Xiong Xuan, who was attacking Li You outside. “Is he going to be okay?”

“He’s not really a mad dog. He’s just taking this opportunity to get a few bites in,” Zhang Jiaohua said confidently.

“Let’s hope nothing bad happens. The Meizi’ao hotel just opened, and everyone’s counting on the tea business. The entire village has converted rice fields to tea farms. We can’t let everyone down,” Liu Qiaoye replied.

“Don’t worry,” Zhang Jiaohua assured her.

Tang Yan’s group finally made it inside the hotel.

“What took you so long? The big boss is waiting in the conference room. Be respectful; he’s one of the main investors in this film and a prominent figure in Beijing,” Wang Yiwei, the production assistant, said with relief as they arrived.

“We had an incident at the entrance. Li You and Xiong Xuan came over and caused trouble with the hotel security,” Chen Haibo explained.

“What happened?” Director Lin Jianming asked.

“We’re not sure exactly, but it seems Xiong Xuan attacked a guard when they were denied entry. Then he started acting rabid and bit Li You,” Chen Haibo said.

“Acted rabid? Was there anything odd beforehand?” the old Daoist, Xie Yunliu, asked.

“Not really. But a kid from the hotel said something before it happened,” Tang Yan replied.

“What did he say?” Xie Yunliu asked quickly.

“He said that since Xiong Xuan liked barking so much, he might as well be a dog for life,” Tang Yan recalled.

“What did this kid look like?” Xie Yunliu’s expression grew serious.

Tang Yan described Zhang Jiaohua.

“It’s him!” Xie Yunliu thought of the child he’d glimpsed in the car earlier. The impression was vivid.

“Who?” Long Wuyi asked.

He Shouye and the others were curious.

“The kid we saw earlier. He has considerable skill—far beyond my own. To cast such a spell, even for me, would be no easy feat. And he’s only about thirteen or fourteen!” Xie Yunliu replied, concerned.

“Xiong Xuan’s father and I are close. Daoist Xie, if there’s anything you can do, please help him,” He Shouye urged.

Daoist Xie hesitated but finally nodded, “Very well, I’ll try.”

“We’ll go see,” He Shouye rose to follow Daoist Xie out.

Outside, the villagers had tied up Xiong Xuan with a thick rope. Furious, Li You slapped him.

“Xiong Xuan! Now you’ve learned your lesson! How dare you bite me!” Li You kicked him several times in frustration.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” Xiong Xuan barked in anger, bound and helpless.

“Let’s not escalate things. We’re all acquaintances here,” Wang Yiwei tried to calm Li You, though he felt completely out of his depth.

Just then, He Shouye and Daoist Xie arrived.

“What’s going on?” He Shouye asked.

“Xiong Xuan has gone rabid. What should we do if the Xiong family holds us accountable?” Wang Yiwei worried. Though the incident wasn’t directly related to the film crew, he knew they couldn’t dodge all responsibility.