The Banquet Turmoil (Part Two)

Zhang Hupan could calmly face such mockery, but Zhao Liya, a proud daughter of heaven, could not stand it at all. When she saw everyone laughing at the man beside her whom she called a blockhead, she felt an inexplicable ache in her heart. Her porcelain-white, pretty face flushed bright red, and she glared fiercely at Lin Weifeng before angrily scolding him in her sweet voice, "What's so funny about that? His master is an old Daoist priest from the Wudang Sect! So what?"

"Hahaha!" Everyone burst into another round of laughter.

"Miss Zhao, don't let this pretty boy fool you! He might not even have been to Wudang Mountain!" The fellow Lin Weifeng had called Brother Wang earlier said mockingly, his eyes full of contempt as he looked at Zhang Hupan. He seemed to have already decided that Zhang Hupan was pretending to be a disciple of the Wudang Sect. If Zhang Hupan really were a disciple of the Wudang Sect, would he rather endure everyone's ridicule than reveal his master's name?

Wang Hong was the young master of the Wang family in Jiangsu. As the daughter of the Zhao family, Zhao Liya naturally knew the people of the Wang family. Looking at Wang Hong's shiny, slicked-back hair, handsome yet frivolous face, designer suit, and glittering gold watch, she felt irritated just by seeing his typical rich-young-master appearance.

"Master Wang, you're not allowed to insult my friend!" Zhao Liya's eyes seemed ready to spew fire, making Wang Hong feel a trace of fear. Still, he put on a brave front and stammered sarcastically, "I think he's just a fake!"

Seeing Wang Hong disparage his romantic rival, Lin Weifeng was naturally delighted. He seemed to think that as long as he trampled Zhang Hupan into the dirt, Zhao Liya would obediently return to his side. He did not even consider that Zhao Liya had never spared him a proper glance from beginning to end!

With an insidious look on his face, Lin Weifeng naturally had to kick Zhang Hupan while he was down. He sneered, "I think Brother Wang makes a lot of sense! Director Li, aren't you very familiar with Deputy Director Chen Jiaying? I heard that Deputy Director Chen is Hero Wang's favorite disciple!"

This Director Li from the Security Department did not seem like a good person either. He was probably an incompetent disciple from some sect or Martial Arts Families who had been stuffed into the Security Department. Lin Weifeng was a scion of one of the four great families of Jiangnan. Although his own family could not compare with the major families, Director Li was more than willing to build a connection with Lin Weifeng whenever he had the chance. What was more, seeing the beautiful princess he admired snuggled up against this ordinary-looking young man—who was supposedly an ordinary disciple of the Wudang Sect, or perhaps not even a disciple of the Wudang Sect at all—filled him with jealousy. He wished he could make Zhang Hupan humiliate himself completely. Now that there was a perfect opportunity to curry favor with the Lin family's young master while embarrassing Zhang Hupan, he was naturally happy to contribute a little effort.

Director Li immediately gave several cold snorts as well. "Brother Zhang, pretending to be a disciple of the Wudang Sect is no small matter! I think you should leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, once our Director Chen arrives, you won't be able to hide anymore!" His tone abruptly changed, and he turned to Zhao Liya with a fawning smile. "Miss Zhao, you're a noble young lady. Don't let a villain deceive you!"

Zhao Liya was, after all, still a student. At home, she had been pampered by everyone. When had she ever suffered such humiliation? Her pretty face flushed red, and tears rolled in her eyes, barely stopping themselves from falling.

Zhang Hupan might not have bothered arguing with such trash if he were the one being humiliated. But seeing Zhao Liya suffer made him genuinely angry. Cultivators had their own principles of conduct. If he could not even protect his own girlfriend—even if she was only his girlfriend in name—he might as well find a piece of tofu and bash his head against it.

A group of young people had gathered together, and their deliberate, uproarious laughter naturally drew everyone's attention. People began turning to look, and Zhao Liya could no longer bear the ridicule and contempt in their gazes. She took Zhang Hupan's hand and was about to leave, only to find him standing motionless with a cold expression. He swept his icy gaze over everyone and said coldly, "You may be forgiven for laughing at me, but your disrespect toward the beautiful Miss Zhao Liya is unforgivable." For some reason, when everyone met Zhang Hupan's frigid gaze, a chill rose from the depths of their hearts, and some even began to regret their earlier words and actions. Zhao Liya did not know why, but after hearing Zhang Hupan's words, she felt a strange trace of happiness. Being laughed at by everyone no longer seemed so humiliating, because the man beside her had said, "You may be forgiven for laughing at me, but your disrespect toward the beautiful Miss Zhao Liya is unforgivable."

Lin Weifeng and the others had all been born into prominent families. Although they were somewhat womanizers in their daily lives, they were by no means cowards. When had they ever been threatened by an obscure nobody who was almost certainly pretending to be a disciple of the Wudang Sect? And he had even let a trace of coldness show just now. How embarrassing! Everyone began laughing angrily. Some of the onlookers also found Zhang Hupan's ridiculous overconfidence amusing.

Just as the atmosphere around Zhang Hupan grew tense and hostile, a broad-faced, imposing man strode boldly into the hall accompanied by the Lin family head, Lin Qiming.

This man was Chen Jiaying, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Security Bureau and head of the Zhejiang branch of the Special Department. This time, he had come on behalf of the Wudang Sect to congratulate Old Master Lin. Chen Jiaying had been riding high lately. Ever since meeting his grandmaster, not only had his injuries completely healed, but his cultivation had also risen to the Four-star level. Later, after his grandmaster bestowed an immortal pill upon him, he consumed one, and in a short time he had opened the Ren and Du meridians that every martial artist dreamed of opening. He had already reached the stage where his Primordial Spirit was withdrawn inward and divine radiance was contained within. His protruding temples had long since returned to normal, making him look like an ordinary person again. His cultivation had now surpassed that of his own master by a small margin and reached the Five-star level. He had divided the other pill into four portions and given them to his four disciples, whose cultivation had immediately risen from the One-star and Two-star levels to the Three-star level. Naturally, after that incident, he no longer dared disturb his grandmaster. In fact, Chen Jiaying had only learned Zhang Hupan's identity because Song Feng had inadvertently let it slip. The matter had begun when Chen Jiaying accidentally discovered traces of a senior member of his sect and reported it to Song Feng. Song Feng had nearly wished for death upon hearing it, though before dying he would certainly have strangled Chen Jiaying first! When he had given Zhang Hupan that Guest Elder certificate, it had not been to make him serve the government; it had merely been a convenience. But now Chen Jiaying had actually alarmed the grandmaster by assigning him a mission. In the old way of putting it, that meant he had become a claw of the imperial court. How lofty was Zhang Hupan's identity? If he became associated with the imperial court's claws, would Song Feng not become a sinner for all eternity? It was easy to imagine how furious Song Feng had been then; Chen Jiaying's ear on the other end of the phone had nearly been blasted deaf. Having never seen his martial uncle become so enraged, Chen Jiaying realized how reckless he had been. Naturally, he curiously asked about the senior's identity. Song Feng had still been in the middle of his fury and accidentally let the secret slip. Upon learning that Zhang Hupan was actually the disciple of the grandmaster, Zhang Sanfeng, the supreme leader of the Wudang Sect, Chen Jiaying himself wanted to die even without Song Feng's scolding. It would have been bad enough to serve as an imperial claw, but he had even dragged his own grandmaster into it! He was worse than an animal! When Song Feng heard that the grandmaster had bestowed two immortal pills upon Chen Jiaying, his anger finally eased somewhat, knowing that Zhang Hupan had not blamed his disciple for his unintentional insolence. Of course, Chen Jiaying did not mention Wang Ming's disrespectful words. Otherwise, Wang Ming would probably have been expelled from the sect immediately. Still, Chen Jiaying did not let Wang Ming off after learning the truth. Wang Ming was still inexplicably confined under disciplinary detention.

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(To be continued)