Just a Little Faster Than You

Lan Mu recognized the man behind him at a glance. It was Director of Public Security Ye Jinghong.

He had been at the scene when the body was discovered last time. It had not been long ago, so there was no way Lan Mu could have forgotten.

The man walked with the bearing of a dragon and tiger, his every step revealing a military air.

Yet he was following behind Fang Moqi. When Fang Moqi stopped, he stopped too!

"What's going on?" Lan Mu looked more closely. Ye Jinghong's face was dark as he coldly stared at Fang Moqi's back without saying a word, as though he were openly tailing him.

Seeing Lan Mu staring intently behind him, Fang Moqi immediately smiled. "Beautiful lady, don't mind that cop. He's been following me for no reason. Once I caught him, he actually started doing it openly. Tsk, tsk. Let him follow if he wants."

Lan Mu gritted his teeth. Before he could speak, Fang Moqi suddenly realized something.

"Ah!" Fang Moqi pointed at Lan Mu and cried out, then froze for a moment before letting out another "Ah!"

"You're a man?" Fang Moqi had clearly noticed Lan Mu's Adam's apple.

"Heh..." All the words in Lan Mu's stomach ultimately turned into that one sound.

With Ye Jinghong watching from behind, Lan Mu could not lash out. He even felt somewhat guilty.

At that moment, Du Yu came over and said, "Brother Fang, you're finally here! The whole club has been waiting for you! Oh, right, you promised to teach me archery last time. You'll keep your word this time, right?"

Fang Moqi immediately put on a dead-fish expression, gave an "aha," pretended not to hear him, and turned to speak to Lan Mu.

"This little brother... It's so hot out. Do you really need to cover yourself up so tightly?"

"I like it this way." Lan Mu curled his lip.

Fang Moqi was speechless. Seeing the two talking, Du Yu seized the chance to say, "Brother Fang! Let me introduce you!"

"This is Lan Mu, the man with the strongest archery skills I've ever seen!"

"Oh..."

"Hm?" Fang Moqi suddenly paused and looked at Du Yu with dead-fish eyes. "Is he a swordsman?"

"No! He's an archer! He's already surpassed you!" Du Yu declared resolutely.

Fang Moqi did not laugh at that. Instead, he seriously sized up Lan Mu. Though Lan Mu had concealed his face and head, Fang Moqi could still observe his palms and the stance of his legs.

After a few glances, Fang Moqi smiled. "Is that so... Little Yu..."

Fang Moqi could not help shaking his head. He patted Little Yu's hair and joked, "Then you can learn from him from now on! Wonderful. I won't have to put up with you pestering me anymore."

Du Yu could tell that Fang Moqi did not believe him and suddenly revealed a sly grin. "Brother Fang!"

"Do you dare compete with Brother Mu in archery?"

"If you lose, you have to grant me three requests!"

Fang Moqi looked at Du Yu with dead-fish eyes. "I never gamble."

Du Yu said in surprise, "That can't be right! My sister said you're a huge gambler!"

The corner of Fang Moqi's mouth twitched. After thinking for a moment, he said helplessly, "What your sister means is... I like gambling with my life."

Confident in Lan Mu's abilities, Du Yu was unwilling to let Fang Moqi avoid the bait. He hurriedly shouted, "Brother Fang, don't you want to know what the stakes are if I lose?"

Fang Moqi showed no interest and was about to enter the club's recreation hall.

"That short sword!" Du Yu suddenly shouted loudly.

"If Brother Mu loses, I'll steal it if I have to! I'll steal my family's heirloom short sword and give it to you!"

Fang Moqi's steps abruptly halted. His dead-fish eyes suddenly became alert, and his gaze turned deep.

"Brother Fang, haven't you always wanted that short sword? I'm betting it against you!" Du Yu looked as though he were throwing caution to the wind.

Fang Moqi looked at Du Yu in surprise. He truly did want the Du family's inherited ancient sword. However, he remained calm and did not hastily agree.

"Little Yu, are you really that confident?"

"You should know that if you dare steal that sword, your grandfather will definitely kill you!"

When Fang Moqi said the word "kill," his aura changed. Du Yu felt as though he truly faced death, like prey being watched by a predator. Frightened, he shrank back and could not help taking a step backward.

Lan Mu suddenly looked at Fang Moqi. He was familiar with that feeling. It could be called killing intent, or the murderous instinct of a predator.

He could easily release that aura when transformed into the White-haired Lion. However, once he became an elf or a human, he lost that ability.

He had not expected to sense the power of a formidable predator from a human.

He actually has killing intent. This feeling... it's as though he's hunted countless living creatures. He may even have killed people. Lan Mu had killed people too—quite a few of them—and immediately understood that killing intent.

Thinking of that, Lan Mu suddenly understood why Ye Jinghong was following Fang Moqi. Recalling how the club members had described Fang Moqi, his archery was surely exceptional. Lan Mu had used a bow when he killed Yu Hetu, so with no leads, Ye Jinghong had naturally begun by investigating archery experts in Shanghai—and Fang Moqi had naturally become a suspect.

When this guy got serious, he radiated murderous ferocity. His abilities must be extraordinary as well. It would not be unreasonable to suspect him in any major murder case...

Has this guy taken the police's attention away from me? This is... great!

Having figured it out, Lan Mu could not help laughing.

Du Yu, who had just been terrified, saw Lan Mu smile and suddenly stiffened with confidence. He stepped forward and pointed at Fang Moqi.

"Brother Fang! I'll make the bet with you! If I lose, I'll honor it even if my grandfather beats me to death!"

Fang Moqi stared at Du Yu, unable to understand where his confidence came from.

Could Lan Mu, whom he relied on, really be that strong? Impossible. His hands were smooth and tender, and his skin was exceptionally well cared for. There were no signs whatsoever of long-term bow practice.

Even Fang Moqi himself had spent more than a decade training day after day to reach his current top-tier archery skills, honed through hundreds of real battles against wild beasts!

"Forget it. I do want your family's Yuchang Sword, but it is ultimately just a worldly possession. If you lose, even if your grandfather doesn't beat you to death, he'll cripple you. Wouldn't your sister then fight me to the death? So even if I win, I won't take it. This bet still means nothing to me."

Fang Moqi had indeed wanted the Du family's inherited Yuchang Sword back then, but only because he liked it. In recent years, he no longer pursued such antiques.

Du Yu was unwilling to give up. Fang Moqi's three favors! He wanted them so badly. As for losing? Fang Moqi was strong, but his archery definitely could not compare with Lan Mu's.

Fang Moqi smiled at Du Yu's unwilling expression and said, "Sigh, fine. I accept. But if you lose, all you have to do is stop pestering me from now on. If you want to learn archery, practice on your own... How about it?"

"Deal!"

Du Yu agreed in delight, then looked expectantly at Lan Mu.

Lan Mu was still watching Fang Moqi with a secret smile when he suddenly noticed that both of them were staring at him.

Recalling what they had said, he was instantly speechless. "Little Yu, shouldn't you get my permission before making a bet?"

"I can't shoot a bow. You compete yourself!"

What a joke. Ye Jinghong was staring straight at him from nearby. How could he display his archery skills?

"Don't do this, Brother Mu! How about I give you two of those favors?"

Seeing Lan Mu remain unmoved, Du Yu knew he needed money and directly shouted, "One million! Please! With your skills, you'll definitely settle it in minutes."

"Hahaha, I can't shoot a bow! All right, all right. Fang Moqi just got back and hasn't greeted everyone yet, has he? Let's go! Let's go!"

Seeing Ye Jinghong watching him already, Lan Mu wanted nothing more than to smack Du Yu away. Du Yu's antics had made Ye Jinghong notice him.

Seeing Lan Mu signaling him with his eyes, Du Yu assumed the price was not high enough and actually shouted again, "Two million—no, four million! I'll sell my car, okay? Fang Moqi's favor is very important to me. Please! You're so amazing..."

Seeing that Du Yu was about to continue, Lan Mu grabbed him and dragged him inside, saying as they walked, "Didn't you ask me to go to Malaysia with you? I'll film the event for you, all right? We can talk about the competition later!"

Du Yu was indeed distracted. He froze, then said, "Brother Mu, you agreed to join the event? Great! With Brother Fang's connections, we might even leave earlier. I'll get my older brother to sort out the visas and everything."

Lan Mu dragged Du Yu into the small building. Fang Moqi returned to his dead-fish expression. Since Lan Mu was being so sensible, Fang Moqi was happy not to have to compete.

The three of them walked into the lounge from before and immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Fang Moqi! Oh my God!"

"Is he really leading us this time? Forget Malaysia—shouldn't we go to Argentina instead?"

The moment Fang Moqi entered, he was surrounded by a large group of people. Zheng Hui watched from outside the crowd and curled his lip. He knew that wherever Fang Moqi was, he himself was no different from an ordinary person.

"Oh, right, please escort this police officer out. Our club is holding an internal meeting."

When Fang Moqi saw Ye Jinghong follow them in, he smiled faintly. Using his tremendous popularity, the crowd protested together. Even as Director of Public Security, Ye Jinghong was useless and was awkwardly stopped outside the doors.

With the outsider gone, everyone present was a combat-oriented archer from the club, about eight people in total.

Adding Manager Wang, Du Yu, and Lan Mu, there were eleven people.

Fang Moqi clapped his hands and said, "Same rules as always. See Wang Ling for visas and overseas matters, and come to me for technical matters."

Everyone immediately began asking questions at once. Zheng Hui felt miserable watching this. Before Fang Moqi arrived, he had proudly driven away an outside helper. He had not expected an even stronger figure to show up.

He had originally been discussing technical matters with everyone here. Now, watching Fang Moqi take charge, he wanted to trip him up, but then remembered the terror of being utterly crushed by Fang Moqi in the past and immediately lost his courage.

Thinking of that outside helper, Zheng Hui noticed Lan Mu was there too, and his brow furrowed.

Lan Mu was currently listening intently as Fang Moqi explained wilderness survival techniques. He had never learned such things before. Since he planned to go with the team this time, he could not rely solely on his elf body. After all, transformation only gave him instincts. It would be better to learn some common knowledge.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Hui suddenly said, "Brother Fang, isn't it inappropriate to hold an internal meeting with an outsider here?"

At those words, everyone stopped and the room abruptly fell silent.

Fang Moqi smiled. "Who's the outsider?"

Zheng Hui pointed at Lan Mu. "Isn't he an outside helper? Now that Brother Fang is here, we naturally don't need any outside help."

Du Yu chuckled. "Brother Mu has already joined the club. He's one of us. What, do you own the club?"

Zheng Hui froze. Of course he knew the club belonged to Du Yu's cousin, but seeing everyone looking at him, he could only force himself to say, "Little Yu, this is a major overseas event. Everyone attending is an elite of the club. Isn't it inappropriate to bring an amateur? Someone who knows nothing should join smaller events first. That's the proper rule, isn't it?"

After he said that, several members remembered Lan Mu.

One of them even imitated a machine gun firing, then laughed. "Isn't this Mr. Rat-a-tat-tat?"

"You!" Du Yu exploded with anger and shouted, "Brother Mu is no amateur. His archery has reached transcendent heights!"

"Even Brother Fang agreed to compete with him in archery. Yu Xiao, do you dare compete with Brother Fang?"

Yu Xiao, who had imitated the machine gun fire, froze and hurriedly said, "How would I dare compete with Brother Fang?"

The others were shocked by what Du Yu said and all looked toward Fang Moqi.

"Really? Brother Fang is going to compete in archery with this reporter?"

"That can't be true, right?"

Everyone looked at Fang Moqi, who did not know whether to laugh or cry. He knew Du Yu was twisting the facts, but did not expose him. Why would he let Little Yu use him so easily? After thinking for a moment, he instead looked at Lan Mu and said, "Little Yu wants me to lose so badly. Won't you help him?"

Fang Moqi was doing it deliberately. He wanted to defeat Lan Mu and make Du Yu completely lose his support. Then, bound by the wager, Du Yu would stop pestering him in the future.

It was not Fang Moqi's fault. Du Yu had truly annoyed him for years.

Fang Moqi's words instantly set everyone off. Even Wang Ling stared at Lan Mu in disbelief. He had not expected Fang Moqi to challenge an amateur.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Lan Mu was instantly speechless.

He looked toward the entrance. Ye Jinghong had been shut outside, but there were so many people present that if Lan Mu revealed superb archery skills, Ye Jinghong would surely find out.

Yet he had already been pushed into the spotlight and had no choice but to fight.

He shot Du Yu a fierce glare, but his sunglasses blocked it, and Du Yu merely answered with a smile.

"Fine! How do you want to compete?"

Fang Moqi smiled. "What are you good at?"

"Fast shooting!"

"Oh? How fast?" Fang Moqi asked curiously.

Lan Mu sighed. Seeing Du Yu look at him with admiration, a surge of pride suddenly rose within him.

He said bluntly, "Just a little faster than you."