This was both reasonable and unexpected.
"Well done, Fatty!"
Zhao Xuan patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder with some satisfaction, feeling rather emotional.
Ma Hongjun looked much thinner than before. His formerly slightly plump figure had become lean and muscular, and his face was no longer as round as it used to be. He now carried a trace of masculine vigor, brimming with vitality like the rising sun, without any of his former sleaziness.
"I have to thank you, Brother Xuan. If you hadn't given me this chance, I could never have come this far."
Ma Hongjun touched the vermilion-like flame emblem between his brows, then scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. His gaze toward Zhao Xuan was clear and sincere.
"Haha, listen to you getting all sentimental with me."
Zhao Xuan laughed helplessly, while Tang San beside him could not help but smile as well.
"Hehe."
Ma Hongjun also laughed. Only then could Zhao Xuan and Tang San vaguely see the shadow of that old sleazy fatty in him.
Inside the City Lord's Manor.
Zhao Xuan, Tang San, and Ma Hongjun sat in Zhao Xuan's room, chatting around the round wooden table in the middle.
"Fatty, you suffered quite a bit this time, didn't you?"
After not seeing him for some time, Ma Hongjun seemed like a completely different person. He looked far more mature and steady than before.
Ma Hongjun did not deny it. He sighed somewhat emotionally. "That's right. Especially when refining the evil fire—I nearly died beneath the Sun God Bird's golden flames."
The room suddenly fell silent. Ma Hongjun had made it sound light, but Zhao Xuan and Tang San, who had experienced those golden flames themselves, knew how dangerous it had been.
"Fatty, do you hate me?"
Suddenly, Zhao Xuan sighed softly.
**"Hate you?