# 408
**Chapter 408 – Brother Fatty**
A short while later, Baili Pangpang strolled out of the temple, beaming, two sandalwood safety talismans swinging from his hand.
Cao Yuan, leaning idly against the wall, raised a brow when he saw him. “That was fast. Where are the talismans? Let me see.”
“Here.” Baili Pangpang handed them over with a grin, hands on hips. “With these, my dad’s golden years are guaranteed—smooth sailing, no evil spirits dare come near!”
Cao Yuan flipped the little wooden plaque over. On the back, carved in perfect characters: “Baili Xin.” The front was crammed with blessings: “Rise step by step,” “Live a hundred years,” “May all go smoothly,” “May gold and jade fill your halls,” “Evil begone,” “A pure heart and calm qi”…
His mouth twitched wildly at the dazzling list.
“What’s wrong? Are the charms no good?” Baili Pangpang asked, worried. “You’re the expert on monk stuff. If they’re duds, say so—I’ll go back and swap them.”
“They’re… great,” Cao Yuan managed after a long pause.
“Perfect!” Baili Pangpang tucked both charms into his pocket. “One for Molly, one for Dad—mission accomplished!”
He glanced around; only Cao Yuan and An Qingyu were there. “Where’s Qiye and Sister Lan?”
“Jialan dragged Qiye off with a few incense sticks that way,” An Qingyu said, pointing.
“That way?” Baili Pangpang scratched his head at the distant hall. “They went to pray?”
“Looks like it,” Cao Yuan nodded.
“Knowing Qiye, he wouldn’t bother, so it must’ve been Sister Lan…”
The two exchanged a look, expressions turning odd.
A few minutes later Lin Qiye returned, trailed by a dejected Jialan.
“Qiye, where’d you go?” Baili Pangpang asked.
“Jialan wanted to burn incense, so I went along,” Lin Qiye said evenly.
“Oh… you lit some too?”
“Nope. I just watched.”
“What’d she wish for?” Baili Pangpang probed.
Lin Qiye thought a moment. “No idea. Every time she tried to bow, the incense went out by itself—three times.”
Baili Pangpang: …
He glanced at the gloomy Jialan and sighed silently.
“Where to now?” Cao Yuan asked.
Baili Pangpang’s eyes lit. “To the hospital to see Molly! I’ll give her the talisman.”
An Qingyu shrugged. “Count me out. I’ve got experiments waiting.”
“I’ll pass,” Lin Qiye said. “Someone in Team 017 has seen my face. I’d be recognized. Give Molly my regards.”
“Deal.” Baili Pangpang turned to Cao Yuan and Jialan. “Then it’s the three of us!”
…
Hospital. Outside Molly’s ward.
A gaunt man, Sun Luan, and Qian Haoran sat on the bench, chatting idly.
“You think those guys in Journey-to-the-West masks are really a special squad?” Sun Luan asked. “Groping people, snapping arms—more like bandits.”
“Bandits or not, there’s definitely a pervert,” the gaunt man declared.
“I figure our realms are about the same, yet they’re way stronger,” Qian Haoran sighed. “Must be those legendary geniuses.”
“Genius male pervert.”
“Genius arm-snapper.”
The gaunt man and Sun Luan high-fived in mid-air, reaching consensus.
Footsteps echoed. Three figures approached.
Baili Pangpang checked the doorplates, stopped at Molly’s, and raised his hand to knock.
“Hold it!” Sun Luan stood, sizing them up. “Who are you guys?”
“Friends of Molly,” Baili Pangpang answered, smile blooming when he recognized a familiar face. “Heard she’s hurt, came to visit.”
The three exchanged puzzled glances. Since when did Molly have friends in Gusu?
“Wait outside. She’s having her dressings changed,” Sun Luan said.
“Sure, sure.”
Baili Pangpang nodded politely and sat opposite them with Jialan and Cao Yuan.
Six pairs of eyes met; the air froze.
Sensing the awkwardness, the gaunt man smiled politely. Cao Yuan’s trio beamed back even brighter.
“Hey, don’t they look kind of familiar?” Sun Luan whispered to Qian Haoran.
“Nope,” Qian Haoran replied blankly. “Never seen them. You imagining things?”
Sun Luan squinted. “Maybe…”
“Now that you mention it, that fatty does ring a bell,” the gaunt man murmured.
“The fatty’s okay, but the girl looks familiar.”
“Forget it, every girl looks familiar to you.”
“True…”
“Man, that pervert arm-snapper’s strong—one twist and my arm broke. Wonder what she looks like under the mask.”
“With that strength? Probably a burly bearded she-hulk.”
“Or a guy with over-developed pecs.”
“Makes sense!”
Their whispers carried perfectly. Baili Pangpang swallowed as he watched Jialan’s smile widen, her fingers denting the stainless-steel armrest.
He sprang up hastily.
“Hey, brothers! Locals, right? Small gifts, just a token!” He pulled three Rolexes from his pocket and stepped over.
…
Three minutes later.
“Molly, rest well, I’m off!” Zheng Zheng waved and stepped into the corridor—then froze.
Sun Luan and the others were clapping the familiar fatty on the shoulder, laughing loudly.
“Brother Fatty! I used to have bad stereotypes about fat guys, but you’ve opened my eyes! Good people come in all sizes!” The gaunt man flashed his new Rolex, radiant with brotherly affection.