Reunited at the Restaurant, Struck by Disaster

The Yang family walked for a while before reaching a solid, imposing four-story restaurant on the main street of East Third Street.

This was Chunyuan Restaurant, one of the finest establishments on East Third Street.

It couldn't compare to Jinghua Pavilion and Fuju Restaurant on East First and East Second Streets, where distinguished guests thronged, but it was still a grand place beyond the means of ordinary folk.

Sister-in-law Liu Ying looked at the elegantly dressed men and women entering and leaving the restaurant and spoke softly:

"Ah Ning, maybe we should forget it. The food at Chunhua Restaurant isn't cheap. One meal could easily cost one or two taels of silver.

"Last time, when I took you to meet Sister-in-law Qi's daughter, her Commoner Eatery was just by that alley to the west. Her place is affordable, and the portions are generous enough to fill you up."

Yang Ning shook his head.

"Don't worry, Sister-in-law. I got paid today, and I wanted to bring the whole family here to try the food. We won't spend extravagantly.

"Besides, haven't you and Brother forgotten? It's Xiao Hua's birthday today. As her uncle, I should do something for her, too."

Birthday celebrations—those words, so extravagantly out of reach for a poor family, had never appeared in the Yang family's vocabulary.

But Yang Ning had kept them close to his heart. He remembered not only his niece's birthday, but also his sister-in-law's and his elder brother's. He wanted to give them all a better life!

Yang An began to reassure his wife as well:

"Ah Ning's grown up. He knows what he's doing and how much he can afford. Let him have his way, Ying."

With that, he led his wife and daughter after Yang Ning into the restaurant.

Chunyuan Restaurant truly lived up to its reputation as a grand establishment. As soon as the Yang family stepped inside, a waiter hurried over to greet them:

"Welcome, sir. How many in your party?"

Though the Yangs were plainly dressed, the waiter had seen all kinds of people and didn't judge by appearances. Yang Ning, who led the group, had a commanding presence, and the waiter figured he was no ordinary man.

"Four. What do you have available today? Are there any private rooms?"

"To answer your question, sir, our first floor has thirty-two open tables, our second floor has twenty-four tables in the quieter dining area, and our third floor has sixteen private rooms.

"The top floor's banquet tables aren't open for now."

"Then we'll take a private room on the third floor."

"You're in luck. There's just one room left. I should let you know in advance that the minimum spend for a third-floor private room is three taels of silver."

"That's fine. We'll take it."

"Certainly." The waiter turned toward the counter to notify them, then prepared to lead the Yang family upstairs, when...

"Waiter, we need a private room on the third floor!"

A clear female voice made the Yangs turn around. To their surprise, it was He Xiang, Yang Ning's former prospective bride and a maidservant in a wealthy household!

She was dressed elegantly, with several young men brimming with vitality beside her.

He Xiang also stared at the Yang family in surprise, but soon the same businesslike smile she'd worn before returned to her face.

"Sister-in-law Liu! Brother Yang Ning! What a coincidence, you're here, too. This must be Brother Yang and Xiao Hua. It's been ages!"

Liu Ying stepped forward to greet her.

"What a coincidence indeed. It's Hua'er's birthday, so our family came to Chunhua Restaurant to celebrate. Xiang'er, what brings you here?"

He Xiang smiled faintly.

"My master ordered me to treat some promising newcomers to the household at the restaurant today." Then she turned to Yang Ning and smiled brightly. "If you're having trouble with your martial training, Brother Ning, you can come by the Qin residence sometime. I can introduce you to the right people and offer you some guidance."

Seeing He Xiang and the group of young men behind her, all at the Fifth Foundation Barrier, Yang Ning couldn't help finding the sight amusing.

He kept his amusement off his face and replied slowly:

"Thank you. I don't need that for now."

He Xiang smiled, assuming Yang Ning was just too proud to admit he was struggling.

The waiter had looked troubled, but after seeing the two groups knew each other, he waited until they'd finished talking before approaching them.

"Forgive me, members of the Qin household. The last private room at Chunhua Restaurant has already been reserved by Master Yang.

"I'm afraid..."

"Oh?"

He Xiang looked puzzled. She hadn't expected an ordinary family like the Yangs to dine in a private room at the restaurant.

But she turned to them with a smile.

"Sister-in-law Liu, Brother Yang Ning.

"How unfortunate. There's only one private room left.

"But my young mistress will be visiting Chunhua Restaurant today to meet these promising talents, and she truly needs a private room.

"I wonder if..."

Before she could finish, one of the vigorous young martial artists behind her cut in.

"What sort of people are they to be taking a private room?

"They can sit at an ordinary table. He Xiang, don't let them get in the way of Miss Qin meeting us!"

Yang Ning frowned and slowly looked up at the martial artist who'd spoken. His fists clenched, and he was just about to act.

Then he felt a tug at his clothes. His niece was clutching his hem tightly. He turned around and saw his sister-in-law and elder brother slowly shaking their heads as well.

Yang An stepped forward and said:

"Your mother, Sister-in-law Qi, has been taking care of my wife and daughter lately. You can have the private room today. Consider it a small favor.

"It's our way of repaying your family's kindness."

He Xiang had been thrown off by the people behind her, but when she saw that the Yang family had voluntarily yielded, she let out a quiet breath of relief.

"Thank you for your generosity, Sister-in-law Qi and the Yang family."

Yang Ning took his family to a quiet private room on the second floor and settled them in.

He called the waiter over to Xiao Hua and let her choose whatever she liked, then sat down to talk with his brother and sister-in-law.

"Ah Ning, did you think your brother was too weak for giving in just now?"

"Brother, I'm sure you had your reasons."

Seeing that his younger brother understood, Yang An nodded slowly, then explained:

"The Qin family behind He Xiang is powerful and influential. We shouldn't provoke them lightly. And then there's her mother, Sister-in-law Qi, who's been helping your sister-in-law lately.

"We can't forget that kindness.

"All things considered, letting her have the room this once is no big deal."

After hearing his brother out, Yang Ning said no more.

Before long, dish after dish was served. The Yang family soon forgot the little incident and began to enjoy their meal.

For some reason, the sounds from downstairs grew noisy as they ate, then settled down, only to grow noisy again.

Then Yang Ning heard a rapid flurry of footsteps clattering up the stairs, as if someone were rushing up in a fury.

The waiters nearby grew more and more tense, repeatedly glancing toward the third and first floors.

Yang Ning beckoned to a waiter nearby and asked:

"What's happening outside?

"Why all the commotion?"

"To answer your question, sir, Miss Qin just arrived at our restaurant. But now there's another unwelcome guest outside, trying to force his way into the private rooms on the third floor..."

"If he's a criminal, why haven't you thrown him out?"

"N-no, sir. It's Young Master Wang Teng of the Blood Ape Gang. He's here to see Miss Qin..."

"The Blood Ape Gang?"

Yang Ning's eyes darkened. The gang was notorious throughout the Outer City.

Fei Yan was closely tied to them, and had even sent two underlings to harm Yang Ning's family.

Seeing Yang Ning's grim expression, the waiter thought he'd disturbed their meal and hurriedly reassured him:

"Please don't worry, sir.

"Chunyuan Restaurant has been on this street for years. We've weathered every kind of storm, and nothing will spoil your evening.

"Our manager has already gone up to settle things himself."

Yang Ning nodded slightly, and the waiter withdrew.

"Crash! Clatter!"

To his surprise, the commotion on the third floor didn't die down. It grew even louder, accompanied by faint screams and cries of pain.

The third floor finally fell quiet for a while, but before long, another round of crashing and clattering erupted, spreading all the way down to the second floor.

"Ah Ning, what's going on? Are we in danger?" Liu Ying asked anxiously, pulling Xiao Hua into her arms, her face full of worry.

"It's all right. There are plenty of people with the Qin family on the third floor. I'm sure they'll get through this safely."

Yang Ning reassured her to keep his family calm.

"That's true. The young men with the Qin family all looked impressive. I'm sure they'll be fine."

Remembering the grand entourage He Xiang had arrived with, Yang An felt a little calmer, too.

Wang Teng of the Blood Ape Gang was only one man. He wouldn't be easy to deal with when up against the numerous Qin family members.

"I'll go take a look. Brother, Sister-in-law, don't worry."

As if to put his brother and sister-in-law at ease, Yang Ning stood and headed toward the stairs.

"Be careful, and don't get caught in the middle of it, Ah Ning," the Yang family urged anxiously.

"Don't worry, I won't—"

"Boom!"

Before Yang Ning could finish, a thunderous crash rang out.

A familiar figure tumbled down the stairs from the third floor and landed hard on the second-floor landing, covered in blood and unconscious.

It was the young martial artist who'd just insulted the Yang family in front of He Xiang!