Chen Jing's Scheme, Demonic Oddities, Pengze Lake Flood Dragon

The scene was chaotic and noisy. Several scantily clad women, upon seeing Luo Bin following behind Chen Jing, immediately lunged at him, grabbing his pant legs and wailing:

"Sir, please beg the Second Young Master to spare us, don't kill us. We sisters never planned to defect to the Sun Family Club, we beg you..."

Luo Bin's face twitched slightly as he unhurriedly pulled his expensive suit pants free from the women's grasp.

This suit had been tailor-made for him on the spot that afternoon at a tailor's shop while shopping with Chen Jing. It fit crisply and exuded an air of nobility, making him look every bit a young gentleman of the Republic era...

The Chen family truly treated people well.

"Apologies, miss. I came with the Second Young Master to handle other matters. We'll discuss this another time." Luo Bin politely extricated himself.

Following behind Chen Jing, whose expression was growing increasingly grim, the entire first-floor lobby of the Moon Veil Nightclub descended into turmoil.

Fear was etched on everyone's faces. Who in Ping City didn't know that the Chen family's business empire was vast and their influence wide? In terms of family scale, only the Jiang and Sun families could contend with them to some degree.

What did it mean to lock them, the pleasure-seeking patrons, inside here?

"Look, another group of people just arrived on the street outside the main door. By their attire, they should be from the White Moon Hall of the Green Bamboo Gang... and they're in lockstep with the Chen family!"

"A few days ago, the Pei family was caught feeding live humans to monsters in their own Photo Studio. Could the Chen family be planning to follow suit?"

Such horrifying remarks immediately sparked protests. Chen Jing, who was heading upstairs, heard the commotion downstairs and stopped holding back.

He drew the silver revolver from the holster at his waist and fired several shots at the first-floor liquor cabinet.

Bang bang bang—

The scene quieted down considerably, but rumors couldn't be stopped. Soon, people began whispering again.

"Old Master Chen Shuo, the Chen family's pillar, is dead. This little whelp of the Chen family isn't even bothering to keep up appearances anymore?

Colluding with the Green Bamboo Gang, calling it 'handling special affairs,' and even fooling those officials at the city government.

I think...

The Chen family has allied with demonic creatures. We need to find a way to escape, not sit here waiting to die..."

A heavily made-up, seductive woman analyzed the situation for the crowd based on her recent observations.

Luo Bin naturally caught every bit of this fragmented but dense information.

Why was Chen Jing making such a big show of things?

If there really were demonic creatures, why not handle them discreetly? Why create such a spectacle that everyone knew about it?

And stirring up public resentment, drawing criticism toward the Chen family...

Could Chen Jing have some other motive?

At this moment, Luo Bin thought back to the comparison between his own strength and Jiang Ling's. The latter, as a former General Flag of the Jingan Bureau from the previous dynasty, Even if he usually kept a low profile, should still be far stronger than Luo Bin, a Martial Master who had just entered the Golden Skin realm. So why had Chen Jing turned around and brought him along instead?

Luo Bin vaguely recalled Jiang Ling's words: "Get him blooded." Did driving away demonic creatures count as getting blooded?

He wasn't sure...

But he couldn't dwell on it. He followed up to the second floor and began to focus on observing his surroundings.

After ascending the central staircase, a space about half the size of a sports field opened up, surrounded by many elegantly decorated Western-style private rooms.

From the cracks in many doors came lewd moans and cries.

Luo Bin tuned them out and continued following Chen Jing's group toward the next stairwell. Just then, Hu Junzhi, who had been keeping watch on the first floor, jogged up and said:

"Second Young Master, after I called the White Moon Hall people, I had them wait at the entrance. But the Sun family's men arrived quickly—about seventy or eighty of them, and they're now facing off with the White Moon Hall people downstairs..."

"It's fine. Keep things steady and avoid conflict. Let's see what the Sun family does." Chen Jing waved his hand.

Hu Junzhi quickly ran back down. Zhang Huai stuck close to Chen Jing, while Luo Bin lagged two steps behind. The group went straight to the fifth floor, where the noise from the first-floor lobby had completely faded.

What greeted them was a decayed, dim silence.

Covering his mouth and nose, Luo Bin looked around and couldn't help asking, "Second Young Master, is that thing... here?"

A bead of sweat trickled from Chen Jing's temple. He pulled out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, stepped behind Zhang Huai, and said:

"Normally, that disgusting thing doesn't come out. Whenever girls come to play at the nightclub—especially those who haven't lost their virginity...

If they bleed here, the thing smells the blood and appears. So far, three girls have fallen victim...

Zhang Huai has fought it. It's not strong, but it's fast and good at hiding. Ordinary Martial Masters' blood energy doesn't have the property to burn it."

Zhang Huai, honest by nature but not rigid, usually had a sharp wit. Seeing the Second Young Master explaining things to Luo Bin, he chimed in:

"Brother Luo, no need to worry. I brought bait..."

From a side pocket, Zhang Huai pulled out an oil-paper packet containing a small amount of foul-smelling blood, already somewhat blackened...

He splashed it on the ground and said sheepishly, "This is blood I specially prepared. It smells similar to virgin blood and can lure that demon out..."

After doing this, Chen Jing took the long-barreled foreign rifle slung across Zhang Huai's back, raised it, and swept his gaze warily across the surroundings.

"Luo Bin, I heard about these things from Uncle Luo and my grandfather when I was very young, but I never had the chance to see them for myself.

Today, I'm counting on you. Don't worry about me in a fight. If things really go south, I'll run.

Just go all out and fight."

Hearing this, Luo Bin couldn't help but grow curious—what kind of person was this favored second young master of the Chen Family, really...

The scene at that moment was eerily strange: three people back-to-back, two thugs and one young master... If Chen Jing's father, Chen Tianren, ever found out they'd let Chen Jing come to such a dangerous place...

That wouldn't end well.

Luo Bin silently activated the Primordial Stance, circulating his blood and qi throughout his body. His suit gradually grew hot under the surging heat.

Chen Jing could feel it from behind and said abruptly, "Brother, you're really hot."

The tense, frozen atmosphere eased slightly.

Zhang Huai, carefree as ever, started chatting with Luo Bin about examples of such bizarre incidents:

"The world's getting more chaotic by the day. Earlier, I heard some brothers from Black Sheath Hall say that refugees from the south have come north to Ping City.

They said on the southern official road, White Rock Mountain has a Ghost Mountain Demon that eats human brains...

And that massive lake, Pengze Lake—apparently there's a flood dragon in it. Several of the southern warlord factions are at their wits' end. They sent a few fighter planes imported from the Westerners and dropped huge amounts of explosives..."

Luo Bin was hearing such strange tales for the first time, and for a moment, he even forgot they were here to "slay demons and vanquish evil."

"So what happened to the flood dragon?"

Zhang Huai's brows tightened slightly. "What else? In the end, the nearby fishermen got lucky. The water's surface was covered in fish and shrimp, but not even a single scale of the flood dragon was blasted off..."

Luo Bin sucked in a sharp breath. He was about to ask more when a foul, stinking, bone-chilling wind swept in.

Zhang Huai instantly tensed and shouted, "It's here! Second Young Master, stay behind!"