Could this really be kept under wraps?
Of course not.
Sun Xiao had told them not to spread the word, and they'd agreed to his face. But the moment they turned around, they'd forgotten all about it.
Something so earth-shattering, so heaven-shaking—how could anyone stand to keep it bottled up?
They'd barely left when the story spread like wildfire.
Everyone who heard what had happened was stunned that Wang Changhai had suffered such a humiliating disgrace and taken it like a grandson. Even more shocking was that Wang Changhai had such a loyal subordinate—one man had taken on the entire crowd, thrashed eighteen skilled fighters, and forced Sun Yaowei to kneel on the spot and kowtow to Wang Changhai in apology.
It was explosive. Absolutely explosive.
Had that man taken some kind of drug? How else could he have been so ferocious?
The next day, at the docks.
"Good morning, Master Lin."
"Ah, Master Lin! May good fortune be upon you!"
The heck?
Where had that one come from?
But it made sense. The docks connected north and south, east and west; people came from everywhere.
Lin Fan hadn't expected the story to spread so quickly. As he walked along, everyone who recognized him respectfully called him Master Lin. He hadn't realized he'd risen so fast.
He'd gone from being a low-ranking gang member to "Master Lin" in the blink of an eye.
He thought back to the look the teacher at Qingfang Private School had given him. Astonishment had given way to shock, and shock to utter bewilderment. The teacher clearly hadn't expected one of his students studying the law to be so outstanding.
The others studying the law alongside him had all lowered their heads when they saw him, not daring to meet his eyes. They hadn't even dared to let out a peep.
He knew he'd shone too brightly to be ignored.
But he didn't regret it. He'd had to step in. If he'd let their hall leader be humiliated, they'd have been the ones everyone looked down on.
Besides, if you were going to make your way in this world, you needed a little prestige.
Otherwise, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would dare to step on him.
He'd just arrived at the warehouse
when he heard a piercing scream.
"What's going on?"
Lin Fan's heart jumped. He hurried inside, thinking the retaliation had come awfully fast. But when he saw what was happening, he froze.
The underlings had taken off their shirts and were whacking one another with staffs.
"It hurts like hell! Did you dip that staff in poison?"
The underling who'd been hit grimaced, reaching back to rub his back as he hopped around like a monkey.
Lin Fan was at a loss. He knew his underlings had been fired up by what they'd seen and wanted to be as strong as him. But would this do them any good? Their leader could take a beating because he had the proficiency for it.
What did they have?
Still, their determination deserved praise and encouragement.
He couldn't crush their enthusiasm.
Take Chen Niu. Hadn't he earned the title Iron Fist King by taking hit after hit?
He cleared his throat a few times.
"Brother Lin."
The underlings heard him cough and saw it was Lin Fan. They all became extremely respectful, admiration shining in their eyes.
The strong were respected wherever they went, especially by the underlings who followed them. Their admiration knew no bounds.
Lin Fan took a staff and looked at Wu Yong. "Practicing isn't a bad idea, but you need to pay attention to the details. Did you inspect these staffs? You haven't even scraped off the splinters. Who could stand having those jab into their skin?"
Wu Yong leaned in for a closer look. Sure enough, there were several sharp splinters on the staff. One swing would drive them right into someone's flesh.
At that moment, Wu Yong remembered: no wonder Brother Lin always scraped down the staff first when he trained. So that was why.
The underling who'd been screaming in pain suddenly understood. "So that's why it hurt so much! I was in agony!"
"All right, get back to work," Lin Fan said, waving them away.
He left two men behind to help with his training.
They attacked him from front and back.
Before long, muffled thuds and men's breathless grunts echoed through the warehouse.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought some earth-shattering battle of the flesh was taking place inside.
Since he hadn't learned any martial arts yet, he'd work on what his cheat displayed. He could clearly feel the benefits his staff technique brought him. With a staff in hand, he didn't know how many people he could take on, but it would definitely be a lot.
And each time his staff technique proficiency improved, the benefits weren't limited to his technique. The crucial thing was that his strength grew, too.
That power flowed back into his body. That was the truly terrifying part.
After who knew how long,
Lin Fan was drenched in sweat, and his back was red all over. But it was nothing like before, when it had been covered in bloody welts from the beating.
Training finished,
Lin Fan panted heavily as he took the towel an underling handed him and wiped his face.
Was this sweat?
No. He was wiping away the fruits of his hard work.
He checked his progress.
[Basic Staff Technique (Great Mastery 508/1000)] [Beginner Body Refinement (Entry 42/300)]
He was quite satisfied.
At that moment, outside the docks,
a figure was pretending to be a passerby, looking this way and that, but his gaze always returned to the warehouse.
"Damn it, why won't this guy come out?" Steward Li muttered. After the gang leader had entrusted him with this matter, he hadn't dared waste a moment. He'd worked out a plan overnight and put it into action the very next day.
That was why, despite being a steward, no one could replace him.
Efficiency. That was right—efficiency.
He knew that if he wanted to avoid being discarded, he had to prove his worth. Just as he was about to keep waiting, his eyes suddenly lit up.
There he was. The target had appeared.
Lin Fan and Wu Yong were walking along, chatting, when a figure suddenly blocked their path.
"Hello, Master Lin," Steward Li greeted him warmly.
"And you are?"
Lin Fan looked the man over. Judging by his features and bearing, he came to one conclusion: the fellow looked rather treacherous—not like a good person.
And he seemed a little familiar, too.
Then it hit him. Wasn't this the guy who'd been following Sun Xiao around last night?
What was he here for?
Was retaliation always so brazen and direct nowadays?
"Master Lin, might I speak with you in private?" Steward Li asked.
"Just say what you have to say. There's no one else here," Lin Fan replied.
Wu Yong was moved to tears. I'm not "no one else"!
Seeing that Lin Fan made no effort to keep Wu Yong away, Steward Li started piecing things together. He'd watched Lin Fan's expression shift from confusion to recognition.
Clearly, Lin Fan knew who he was.
And since Lin Fan knew who he was but still didn't mind Wu Yong listening, there could be only one explanation: Wu Yong was one of Lin Fan's trusted men.
With that thought,
Steward Li plastered on a smile. "I'm Li San, steward to Sun, the leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang. I'm not here on my master's behalf. I simply wanted to get to know you, Master Lin. Your heroic bearing last night is still fresh in my mind; I can't forget it. Would you do me the honor of joining me at Xianwei Tower? It would be my treat."
Hearing that he was from the Fierce Tiger Gang, Wu Yong
immediately tensed up.
Lin Fan, by contrast, remained calm.
What did the man mean by this?
An invitation to dinner?
Was he trying to recruit him?
Lin Fan knew of Xianwei Tower. It was a famous local restaurant, though its selling point wasn't good food at low prices. It was outrageously expensive.
"Oh, so you're Steward Li. I've heard of you. But I told my brothers we'd eat together, and it wouldn't be right to break my word all of a sudden," Lin Fan said, pretending to be reluctant.
Steward Li's heart leaped with joy.
He'd expected to be turned down, but now it seemed there was a real chance.
He laughed heartily. "What's the problem? Master Lin's brothers are my brothers, too. Bring them along. Let's all go together."
As far as Steward Li was concerned, he just needed to make this happen. He wasn't paying the bill himself, so the more people who came, the better.
"Well, if that's the case, I'd be rude to refuse," Lin Fan said, looking at Wu Yong. "Go get all the brothers. We're taking them to Xianwei Tower for a proper feast today."
Wu Yong wanted to warn Brother Lin that the man's identity was too sensitive and that they shouldn't get involved with him.
But when he saw Brother Lin's resolute expression,
he knew there was no point arguing. He nodded at once and hurried off to notify the others.
If there was something to gain, Lin Fan wouldn't keep it all to himself.
To Lin Fan, the important thing wasn't who this Steward Li was. What mattered was that he'd figured out exactly what kind of person the steward was.
A sucker.
That was right. A certified, big-time sucker.
You didn't meet suckers every day, so you had to milk them for all they were worth.
At the restaurant,
Steward Li was stunned. He hadn't expected Lin Fan to actually bring so many brothers. They'd taken up three whole tables. Lin Fan really wasn't holding back at all.
He'd originally wanted to meet Lin Fan alone in a private room.
But who could have guessed Lin Fan would say that the more people, the livelier it would be, and that they should sit in the main hall? Maybe next time, they could get a private room and have a proper chat.
What could Steward Li say?
Getting his first invitation accepted was already a good start. He couldn't rush things; he had to take it slowly.
The restaurant owner sent the waiter away, then stood by with a fawning smile, asking Steward Li what dishes he'd like. Steward Li handed the menu to Lin Fan instead, out of politeness.
He figured Lin Fan would certainly push it back and tell him to order whatever he liked. So he'd already decided which dishes he wanted in his head.
But to his surprise, the guy didn't show the slightest bit of politeness. He took the menu straight away.
Lin Fan had no special talent for ordering food. He just liked picking the expensive dishes.
Golden Abundance, Leaping Carp Through the Dragon Gate, and the like—he had no idea what those fancy names meant, but the prices were printed beside them, so he just went for the most expensive.
After ordering seventeen or eighteen dishes, he handed the menu to Steward Li.
"Oh, Steward Li, did I order too much? Take a look and see if there's anything we should cross off," Lin Fan said, pretending to be a little embarrassed.
Steward Li was still smiling from ear to ear.
Good grief. The man hadn't ordered a single cheap dish.
But Steward Li soon caught on. This was a test—definitely a test. Lin Fan wanted to see how sincere he was.
Steward Li understood how to handle these things. He smiled and said, "A meal's no good without wine. Boss, bring every table a few jugs of your most expensive wine."
"Coming right up!"
The restaurant owner was overjoyed. What a big spender! One table's bill was worth four or five other customers' tables.
The underlings at the other tables pricked up their ears and studied the menu, matching each dish to its price. They couldn't help swallowing one after another.
So expensive! They'd never eaten food this costly in their lives.
One dish cost as much as half a month's wages.
Was this the world of the rich?
They looked at Brother Lin with eyes burning like the midday sun. Brother Lin had brought a bunch of country bumpkins like them to feast on delicacies!
Loyalty!
Nothing but loyalty.
As for the sleazy Steward Li, they didn't even look at him.
Lin Fan smiled and took the initiative to make conversation with Steward Li, acting a little warmer, as if to say he might soon let himself be won over.
This sucker really was loaded.
He hadn't even batted an eyelid at those prices.
There was only one possibility: the money wasn't coming out of his pocket. Most likely, it was Sun Xiao paying for it from behind the scenes.
Take him for everything he had.
Pick up the butcher's cleaver and hack away!
Hacking as many times as he could.
There was nothing like getting something for free.
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