Banquet Turmoil (Part 1)

When Zhang Hupan's masculine hand wrapped around her slender waist, Zhao Liya felt a sudden flutter in her heart. However, she didn't feel resistant or disgusted at all. Instead, she was very happy that Zhang Hupan had appeared at the right time!

Of course, Zhao Liya wouldn't let Zhang Hupan hog the spotlight. She intimately linked her arm with Zhang Hupan's at a very opportune moment, then gazed at him tenderly and said softly, "This is Lin Weifeng from Longteng Group, Lin Ling's cousin!"

Zhao Liya's tenderness towards Zhang Hupan made Lin Weifeng extremely uncomfortable. Although Lin Weifeng was just an unaccomplished playboy, he came from high society and had some composure. Naturally, he didn't show his displeasure. He just stretched out his hand with a forced smile and said, "It's nice to meet you, but brother, you look unfamiliar. May I ask..."

Although he disliked the playboy in front of him as much as Zhao Liya did, Zhang Hupan still courteously extended his hand to shake Lin Weifeng's. Just as he was about to introduce himself, Zhao Liya's sweet voice sounded in his ear, "This is my boyfriend, Zhang Hupan, from the Wudang Sect!" Fearing that Zhang Hupan might reveal something, Zhao Liya quickly interjected, emphasizing her words when she mentioned Wudang, a hint of pride appearing on her face.

"Oh, so you're from Wudang. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Hearing that he was a disciple of Wudang, Lin Weifeng didn't dare to look down on him. After all, Wudang's influence in the martial arts world was not something his family could compare to.

"May I ask which master you are a disciple of, Brother Zhang? Is it Great Hero Song, Great Hero Qi, or Great Hero Wang? I have some acquaintance with both of them!" Lin Weifeng said boastfully.

Great Hero Song was naturally Song Feng, and the other two were also Wudang disciples of the Ming generation, Song Feng's junior brothers. Great Hero Qi, Qi Jihui, was the person in charge of Wudang's secular businesses, and Great Hero Wang, Wang Wenwu, was one of the heads of the Special Department. The three of them enjoyed extremely high reputations in the secular world and were known by martial artists as the "Wudang Three Heroes."

Although Lin Weifeng was a scion of a prominent family, claiming acquaintance with Song Feng and the others in his capacity as a playboy was a bit of an exaggeration. This statement would have been more fitting coming from Lin Qiming, the head of the Lin family.

A flicker of disdain flashed in Zhao Liya's eyes. She hated these young masters who fabricated stories and boasted the most.

"None of them! I've only learned a little Wudang martial arts!" Zhang Hupan's humble and reserved answer made Lin Weifeng instantly straighten up. Since he wasn't a disciple of these three great heroes, and judging by his tone, he was just a very ordinary disciple of Wudang, while he himself was a direct descendant of the Lin family, they couldn't be compared!

With this thought, his gaze towards Zhang Hupan was filled with disdain and contempt. Seeing Zhao Liya holding Zhang Hupan's arm so intimately further fueled his jealousy. An idea suddenly struck him, and he turned to call out to a few young people not far away, "Brother Wang, Director Li, please come over here for a moment. I'd like to introduce you to a rising star from Wudang!"

Although these people seemed to be chatting happily over there, their eyes had long been glancing at Zhao Liya from time to time. They had also been curious about who this Zhang Hupan by her side was, to have managed to win over the famously cold and beautiful woman. However, since Lin Weifeng was there earlier, they didn't want to steal his thunder, as he was, in a way, a co-host of the banquet today. Now that Lin Weifeng was actively inviting them over, they were naturally eager to do so. Along with several other young people beside them, they swarmed over. Of course, their eyes were secretly fixated on Zhao Liya's proud figure, which made Zhao Liya feel unspeakably disgusted.

Having been in social circles for a while, Zhao Liya knew the behavior of these young masters. When Lin Weifeng asked about Zhang Hupan's lineage, Zhao Liya secretly thought, "This is bad!" In such social settings, people often paid special attention to face, so everyone tried their best to inflate their own importance, just like Lin Weifeng had done earlier, saying he was acquainted with the Wudang Three Heroes. Although Zhao Liya knew Zhang Hupan's martial arts skills were extremely high, in a place that valued status, face, and wealth so much, she couldn't possibly ask him to demonstrate his martial arts! However, if Zhang Hupan were to be pressured by everyone and reveal that his master was an unknown old Taoist from Wudang, he would surely become the laughingstock of the banquet. For some reason, Zhao Liya had already accepted the notion that Zhang Hupan's master was an unknown Taoist, or perhaps in Zhao Liya's heart, someone like the wooden Zhang Hupan was like the honest Xu Zhu from Jin Yong's novels, who would never lie.

To avoid embarrassment, Zhao Liya tugged at Zhang Hupan's collar and said to Lin Weifeng with a smile, "Zhang Hupan and I have something to attend to, so we'll take our leave!"

Seeing Zhao Liya's eagerness to leave, a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, and Lin Weifeng became more certain of his thoughts. This seemingly refined Zhang Hupan must be just a very ordinary disciple of Wudang, otherwise, he would have already announced his master. Why would he be in such a hurry to leave! These rich young masters were all like this; they liked to show off and boast, and they imagined others to be just as concerned with face and vanity as they were!

Lin Weifeng, burning with jealousy, naturally wouldn't let Zhang Hupan leave so easily. He quickly grabbed Zhang Hupan, who was about to leave, and with a contemptuous look and a sinister smile, said, "Brother Zhang, why are you in such a hurry to leave! These young people are all outstanding figures among the younger generation of our martial arts world. We should communicate more!"

Seeing Lin Weifeng like this, Zhao Liya naturally couldn't force her way out, but she was anxiously thinking, "This blockhead, couldn't he have just casually acknowledged a master earlier? They weren't even here anyway! Please, don't say you learned martial arts from an unknown old Taoist. What era is this? Saying that would be a huge embarrassment!" Zhao Liya didn't know that even if Zhang Hupan had acknowledged Song Feng and the others as his masters earlier, they wouldn't have been able to bear it!

Seeing everyone listening attentively, Lin Weifeng looked smug and asked with feigned curiosity, "By the way, Brother Zhang, you haven't told us yet who your master at Wudang is?"

"Uh, an old Taoist from Wudang!" Zhang Hupan replied with a calm expression. He naturally knew that these people had ill intentions, but he lacked experience in high society and didn't know that these prodigal sons enjoyed chasing girls, bragging, and laughing at others' misfortunes. Not to mention that he wouldn't think there was anything wrong with such a statement. He couldn't possibly say he was Zhang Sanfeng's disciple!

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, their tone filled with disdain and sarcasm.

Although Zhang Hupan saw the disdain and sarcasm in everyone's eyes, his expression remained calm, showing no signs of anger. While Zhang Hupan felt a trace of dissatisfaction with the undisguised laughter of these rich young masters, as a supreme cultivator, the highest authority of the Wudang Sect, he wouldn't be so bored as to bicker with these low-class, ant-like weaklings. One had to maintain their dignity sometimes. If a dog bites you, you can't bite it back, can you? Moreover, in Zhang Hupan's eyes, these people were worse than dogs. If it weren't for Zhao Liya's sake, even if the Lin family offered mountains of gold, they wouldn't be able to invite Zhang Hupan, this transcendentally noble and supreme figure of Wudang! (To be continued)