Fame Fears the Man, Fat Fears the Pig (Today's PK success hinges on you gentlemen!orz)

Chen Tianren was displeased at the words, and simply threw down his chopsticks and bowl, heading straight upstairs.

This scene, falling upon the eyes of the family who had just been enjoying a harmonious meal, was tantamount to a declaration: Chen Manqing had to agree to this marriage, whether she liked it or not.

Chen Mansheng continued eating in silence, her heart unsettled. Her elder sister was being too extreme. Though their father hadn't discussed it beforehand, a matter this important concerned the Chen family's future.

In this Demon Martial Chaos Era, with warlords locked in conflict and Western warships anchored offshore carving up territories, having a family's shelter and patronage to live a peaceful life was already no small fortune...

Chen Mansheng's mind conjured Luo Bin's heroic, handsome face. She recalled her father mentioning his extraordinary talent, his compassionate gaze during the River God Festival, and how he had stood up for her, killing Duan Gong in fury.

Then she compared it to Chen Manqing's terrible assessment... For a moment, she felt her elder sister's overseas studies had addled her brains.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Chen Jing, who rarely did housework, helped the servants clear the dishes and fled to the kitchen, leaving only the close Chen Mansheng and Ji Xuan staring awkwardly at each other...

Luo Bin instructed the rickshaw puller to turn a corner and arrived at a teahouse under the banner of Black Sheath Hall. Upstairs, he saw Hu Junzhi and Zhang Huai already seated, drinking tea. When they saw Luo Bin ascend, smiles spread across their faces:

"Brother Luo, you're finally here."

Zhang Huai poured Luo Bin a cup of tea and signaled Hu Junzhi with his eyes to report. The latter understood and said:

"Brother Luo, we've already handed the Water Mountain Ghoul's remains to a specialist for processing. Just tell us when you need it, and we'll deliver it."

Luo Bin took a sip of tea and patted Hu Junzhi's shoulder. "Hard work, you two. The family head didn't find out, did he? If this leaks, it'll be hard for the Second Miss and Second Young Master to go out anymore..."

Zhang Huai thumped his chest in assurance. "Don't worry, Brother Luo. We brothers handle things steadily. No problem."

Only then did Luo Bin feel somewhat at ease. According to what they said, though the Water Mountain Ghoul's flesh was cold in nature, it was extremely nourishing and tonic. Its scales were as hard as metal and stone, and even its claws and internal organs could be ground into powder for medicinal use.

In short, its entire body was a treasure.

This was the greatest difference between demons and Strange Specters. Demons had physical bodies, possessing tough, valuable flesh, while Strange Specters existed in a spiritual form... almost useless, their only value to Luo Bin being an increase in modification points.

Thinking of this, Luo Bin's mind stirred.

[Modification Points: 12]

The level of [White Ape Through-Arm Fist] was already sufficient; no need to stack more. [Primordial Stance] also needed to lie low for a while. After all, the Chen family had Jiang Ling, a great expert. If his progress was too fast, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.

It was time to start working on a new martial art or cultivation method...

Though his current two skills were of high quality, they were somewhat monotonous in combat, lacking versatility. As the saying went, more skills didn't weigh one down. With "Crimson" in hand, there was no fear of biting off more than one could chew.

Luo Bin collected his thoughts and looked at Hu Junzhi. "Keep the scales for me. I'll find someone to make two sets of soft armor for the Second Miss and Second Young Master. As for the claws and internal organs, dry them and grind them into medicinal powder for me. I have big plans for them...

The meat, we three split equally."

"This... how can we, Brother Luo? We can't accept that. After skinning, removing the claws, and gutting the Water Mountain Ghoul, it's still at least two hundred jin. If we three split it equally... that's seventy or eighty jin each..." Hu Junzhi was flattered and overwhelmed.

Zhang Huai did a quick mental calculation and also felt it was too much. "That's too much. I didn't help much at Moon Veil the day before yesterday, and I didn't contribute much at the River God Festival last night..."

Luo Bin gave a faint smile. "Everyone present gets a share... Those of us who are close and familiar naturally get a share. As for others, I can't be bothered."

Zhang Huai's breath caught, a faint bitterness rising in his heart. In all his years fighting for the Chen family and participating in hunting many demons, the times he had gained such easy and generous rewards could be counted on one hand.

The two bowed deeply to Luo Bin. Though Hu Junzhi wasn't good with words, he still tried to organize his thoughts. "Thank you, Brother Luo. This Water Mountain Ghoul meat is very nourishing, especially for the lungs. Taking it back for my mother to eat will cure her chronic winter cough.

They say it's also good for the brain. My younger sister is still in school; eating this should make her mind sharper..."

Luo Bin smiled slightly and said nothing more. The few of them bid each other farewell.

Zhang Huai and the other were usually the most troublesome, but they had restrained themselves considerably while serving the Chen family. Though they had experienced many ups and downs, they still had no resistance to Luo Bin's method of winning people over.

There was no helping it. Great Xin had always been a society of personal connections.

Return a favor with a favor, a drop of kindness repaid with a gushing spring... They understood.

Luo Bin hailed another rickshaw on the roadside. The puller, seeing Luo Bin's thin white silk shirt, thick black hair, and handsome, ruddy complexion, judged him to be a young master from a wealthy family.

"Young master, where to?"

"The Pei Family Manor by Stone Slab Alley."

The puller wiped his sweat with a yellowed sweatband and asked, "What business does the young master have at Pei Family Manor? Wasn't the Pei family driven out of Ping City by a few big families? Only the old, weak, women, and children are left."

Luo Bin smiled faintly. "Going to see some relatives and friends."

The puller started pulling the rickshaw, but frowned on the way. Recalling Luo Bin's impressive attire, he suddenly exclaimed, "You, you, you—are you that Young Master Luo from the Ping City Evening News?"

Luo Bin was puzzled. How did a rickshaw puller recognize him? He then asked, "Uncle, you know me? What is the Ping City Evening News?"

The old puller pulled a sweat-dampened newspaper from his trouser pocket and handed it to Luo Bin. The latter took it calmly, unfolded it, and read:

<Young Man Shatters Strange Specter Barehanded, Chen Family Treats Him as a Son-in-Law>

<Breaks Through Golden Skin in One Night, Fist Shakes Moon Veil Pavilion, Ping City Martial Arts New Star Luo Bin Bursts onto the Scene>!

Whoa!

This caught Luo Bin completely off guard. The newspaper's content wasn't baseless; it even included a black-and-white photo.

It was a candid shot of Luo Bin slowly descending the stairs after killing the cheongsam-clad female ghost at the Moon Veil Nightclub, his upper body bare, silently displaying an ultimate aesthetic of raw power.

At first glance, it looked like a shot from a villain's perspective...

Luo Bin could even sense a hint of the AFP's photography style from his past life in this picture.

He savored the smugness for a moment, then Luo Bin politely returned the newspaper to the old rickshaw driver.

"Lad, you're quite the talk of the town now. Every teahouse and tavern says you started as a guard servant, got cast out by the Pei family, but relied on sheer guts to first reach the Green Bamboo Gang, then the Chen Family."

"Even if the Chen Family's prestige has fallen a bit from before, it's still a level we mud-grubbers wouldn't dare dream of."

Luo Bin fell silent for a moment, unsure what to say. Without the martial experience and physical enhancement that Crimson's revision of [White Ape Through-Arm Fist] had brought him, he'd probably just be a slightly fiercer gang thug by now...

Soon, the old man pulled Luo Bin to the outside of the Pei Family Manor. The latter paid a single silver coin and walked through the gate under the old man's admiring gaze.

After reading the newspaper, Luo Bin had been mulling over one problem—a fat pig fears the butcher, and a famous man fears the crowd.

In the eyes of Ping City's noble families, he was now tied to the declining Chen Family. Trouble was likely on its way...

Tomorrow, he'd head back to the Chen Family for bitter training, then pester Elder Jiang some more to see what other benefits he could squeeze out... what martial arts he could learn.

He wouldn't step out until he reached at least mid-stage Golden Skin!