The Banquet Uproar (Part One)

When Zhang Hupan's masculine hand slipped around her slender waist, Zhao Liya felt her heart suddenly race. Yet she felt no resistance or disgust—instead, she was delighted that Zhang Hupan had arrived at just the right moment!

Of course, Zhao Liya would not leave Zhang Hupan to perform a solo act. She promptly looped her jade-like arm around his with intimate affection, gazed at him tenderly, and said softly, "This is Lin Weifeng of the Longteng Group, Lin Ling's cousin!"

Zhao Liya's tenderness toward Zhang Hupan made Lin Weifeng extremely displeased. Although he was merely an incompetent playboy, he nevertheless came from high society and had some self-control. Naturally, he did not show his unhappiness. Instead, he extended his hand with a fake smile. "Pleased to meet you. It's just that you look rather unfamiliar, brother. I wonder..."

Although he disliked the playboy before him as much as Zhao Liya did, Zhang Hupan still courteously reached out and shook Lin Weifeng's hand. Just as he was about to introduce himself, Zhao Liya's coquettish voice rang beside his ear. "This is my boyfriend, Zhang Hupan, of the Wudang Sect!" Afraid that Zhang Hupan might give the game away, Zhao Liya hastily cut in. She placed particular emphasis on "Wudang," and a hint of pride appeared on her face.

"Oh, so you're a disciple of the Wudang Sect. What an honor!" Upon hearing that Zhang Hupan was a Wudang disciple, Lin Weifeng no longer dared to look down on him. After all, Wudang's influence in the martial world was beyond what a single aristocratic family like his could compare with.

"I wonder which grandmaster you studied under, Brother Zhang? Hero Song, Hero Qi, or Hero Wang? I happen to have some ties with all three of them!" Lin Weifeng declared shamelessly.

Hero Song was, of course, Song Feng. The other two were also Wudang disciples of the Ming generation and Song Feng's junior brothers. Hero Qi, Qi Jihui, was in charge of Wudang's worldly enterprises, while Hero Wang, Wang Wenwu, was one of the leaders of the Special Department. The three of them enjoyed immense prestige in the secular world and were known among martial artists as the "Wudang Three Heroes."

Although Lin Weifeng was an aristocratic heir, claiming that a playboy like him had ties with Song Feng and the others was clearly an outrageous boast. If Lin Qiming, the head of the Lin family, had said it, it might have been believable.

A trace of contempt flashed through Zhao Liya's eyes. She hated these young masters who made things up and bragged without restraint!

"None of them. I've only learned a little Wudang martial arts." Zhang Hupan's modest and reserved reply immediately made Lin Weifeng straighten his back. Since Zhang Hupan was not a disciple of any of those three heroes, and from the sound of it was merely an ordinary Wudang disciple, he was, after all, the direct heir of the Lin family. The two of them were naturally worlds apart!

At that thought, Lin Weifeng's gaze filled with disdain and contempt. When he saw Zhao Liya holding Zhang Hupan's arm so intimately, the jealousy burning inside him grew even hotter. An idea came to him, and he turned to call out to several young people not far away. "Brother Wang, Director Li, come over here for a chat. I'll introduce a promising young Wudang disciple to you!"

Although the group appeared to be chatting happily over there, their eyes had long been stealing glances at Zhao Liya from time to time. They had also wanted to find out who the man beside her was—what kind of extraordinary person had managed to win over the famous icy beauty? However, with Lin Weifeng present, they had been too embarrassed to steal his spotlight. After all, he was at least half a host of today's banquet. Now that Lin Weifeng had taken the initiative to call them over, they were more than happy to oblige. Several young people beside them swarmed over as well. Naturally, their eyes secretly leered fiercely at Zhao Liya's alluring figure, filling her with indescribable disgust.

Having spent some time in social circles, Zhao Liya naturally knew what these young masters were like. When Lin Weifeng asked about Zhang Hupan's lineage, she had already groaned inwardly, This is bad! In gatherings like this, everyone cared especially about face, so they all desperately gilded their own reputations, just like Lin Weifeng had done by shamelessly claiming ties with the Wudang Three Heroes. Although Zhao Liya knew that Zhang Hupan's martial skills were extremely impressive, this was a place that valued status, face, and family wealth. It was not as though she could ask him to demonstrate his martial arts! Yet if Zhang Hupan were pressed into revealing that his master was some unknown old Taoist, he would certainly become the banquet's laughingstock. For some reason, Zhao Liya had already accepted the idea that Zhang Hupan's master was an unknown Taoist. Perhaps in her heart, someone as wooden as Zhang Hupan was like the honest Xuzhu in Mr. Jin Yong's novels—absolutely incapable of lying.

To avoid an awkward situation, Zhao Liya tugged at Zhang Hupan's clothes and smiled at Lin Weifeng. "Zhang Hupan and I still have something to attend to. We'll take our leave first!"

Seeing how eager Zhao Liya was to leave, a trace of panic flashed through Lin Weifeng's eyes, further confirming his suspicions. This refined-looking Zhang Hupan was definitely just the most ordinary kind of Wudang disciple. Otherwise, he would have already announced his lineage. Why would he be in such a hurry to leave? These rich young masters were all like this: they loved showing off and boasting, and assumed that everyone else cared about face and vanity just as much as they did!

Burning with jealousy, Lin Weifeng naturally would not let Zhang Hupan leave so easily. He hurriedly grabbed Zhang Hupan, who was about to depart, looked at him with disdain, and said with a gloomy smile, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Brother Zhang? These young men are all outstanding members of the younger generation of our martial world. We should exchange pointers more often!"

Seeing this, Zhao Liya naturally could not force her way out. She could only grow secretly anxious. You useless blockhead! Why didn't you just casually name a master earlier? They aren't here anyway! Please, don't say that you learned martial arts from some unknown old Taoist. What era is this? Saying that would be horribly embarrassing! Zhao Liya, of course, did not know that even if Zhang Hupan had just claimed Song Feng and the others as his masters, they could never have borne the honor!

Seeing everyone listening attentively, Lin Weifeng wore a smug expression and pretended to ask curiously, "By the way, Brother Zhang, you still haven't told us which Wudang master you studied under, have you?"

"Uh, an old Wudang Taoist." Zhang Hupan answered with an unchanged expression. He naturally knew that these men meant no good, but he had no experience in high society and therefore did not know that these wastrel heirs enjoyed flirting with women, boasting, and watching others make fools of themselves. Much less would he realize that there was anything inappropriate about his answer. He could hardly say that he was Zhang Sanfeng's disciple, could he?

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" The group burst into laughter, their voices filled with disdain and mockery.

Although Zhang Hupan saw all the disdain and mockery in their eyes, his expression remained unchanged, without the slightest sign of anger. He was indeed somewhat displeased by the undisguised laughter of these rich young heirs, but as the lofty cultivator and supreme leader of the Wudang Sect, he was not so bored as to quarrel with a group of lowly, ant-like weaklings. Sometimes, a person had to maintain his dignity. If a dog bit you, could you really bite it back? What was more, in Zhang Hupan's eyes, these people were not even as good as dogs. If he had not been concerned about Zhao Liya's feelings, then even if the Lin family had possessed mountains of gold and silver, they still could not have invited Zhang Hupan, the incomparably exalted and noble supreme leader of Wudang! (To be continued)