Rebirth: Splendid Marriage in the 80s Chapter 2440 - 2376: No Kicking Allowed

Without any hesitation, he immediately acted as if he belonged with them right away.

This fellow looked to be in his thirties now. As he grinned, a pair of subtle creases formed near his eye corners, yet those marks somehow lent an extra dash of allure to his overall presence.

There was no doubt he possessed a magnetic quality.

Still, his outfit resembled that of an ordinary rural laborer in his forties or fifties—a coarse fabric top, baggy trousers, draped sloppily and fully hiding the robust build underneath.

Chiang Xiao was on the verge of addressing him when Meng Xinian abruptly flung a scoop of sand his way, chuckling while swearing, "You bastard, so it’s you! How did you end up here?"

Huh?

Chiang Xiao, Wang Yi, and Chen Yin all froze in surprise. Could this really be an acquaintance of Meng Xinian's?

The fellow evaded the sand tossed by Meng Xinian, leaped from the vessel, and splashed through the shallows toward their group.

"Meng Xinian, you rascal! I'm your senior brother! After all these years apart, this is your welcome?"

"Senior brother my ass!"

Meng Xinian set aside his belongings and strode toward him. It seemed like a joyful reunion hug was imminent, but the moment they closed in, the scene flipped dramatically.

The pair of guys launched into a brutal brawl without warning.

Chiang Xiao watched in stunned silence as Meng Xinian clashed with the stranger, marveling at the guy's swift and spry maneuvers in utter confusion.

She turned to Chen Yin with wide-eyed wonder and asked, "Who is this guy? How come Brother Xinian knows him?"

"Him? No idea on my end," Chen Yin paused briefly before adding, "But I do recall a fellow Meng Xinian would handle just like this. Back in the day, he shone as a top operative in a elite task force, racking up major feats by eighteen or nineteen, and word was he excelled wildly at hand-to-hand combat. Yet at some point, whispers spread that he acted strangely. Eventually, for reasons unclear, he got booted from the squad."

"So what's the connection with Brother Xinian?"

"Xinian once told me about a teammate from that unit who shared tons of techniques to amp up his workouts—it was this same individual."

That might explain why he called himself Meng Xinian's senior brother.

The rigorous drills Meng Xinian applied to Zhao Xin and his crew, which frequently had them in tears, stemmed in part from this man's teachings and were later polished by Xinian.

Chiang Xiao had never once heard Meng Xinian bring up anyone like him.

Plus, what business did he have showing up here?

And what were the odds of him bumping into them by chance?

A boat sat nearby, and their choice to head here today was spur-of-the-moment, so it didn't seem like he'd planned to intercept them.

As their conversation unfolded, Meng Xinian and the man traded blows beyond count.

Each strike landed with raw power and ferocity, holding nothing back, producing a solid thump whenever knuckles smacked into skin.

Each impact had Wang Yi shrinking back behind Chen Yin.

"Doesn't that sting fighting so hard?" she murmured softly.

Chiang Xiao abruptly recalled Meng Xinian's lingering wound on his torso, and right then, she spotted the man swinging a kick straight toward it.

Whether Meng Xinian could evade it or not didn't matter; in her panic, she snatched up a chicken drumstick and chucked it squarely at the man's head.

"Don’t kick!"

She shouted in a rage.