Luo Bin strode into the courtyard with steady, confident steps. Many women and children were hanging bedding out to dry, and smoke curled from the kitchen.
Although Black Sheath Hall had broken away from the Green Bamboo Gang, Xu Ping, Zhang Xin, and the others still worked under Luo Wendi.
Luo Bin's standing in the Chen Family had risen rapidly. Hall Master Luo—no, Gang Leader Luo—was also a trusted man of Chen Tianren's, and naturally looked after the old associate of his colleague.
Under Luo Wendi's management, Black Sheath Hall had become the Black Sheath Gang.
Zhang Xin's wife, Li Wan, saw a man in a white shirt standing at the gate. His face had sharply defined features, as if carved by a knife, and he was sturdily built. She didn't recognize him at first and asked:
"Young man, who are you looking for?"
Luo Bin turned around and saw Li Wan. A smile spread across his face. "Aunt Li, it's me, Luo Bin. It's only been a few days, and you don't recognize me already?"
Li Wan's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked him over again and again. "Is that really you, young Luo? Good heavens! It's only been a few days, and you've changed so much!
You're built like a bull now. You look so strong!"
Li Wan's exclamation drew a crowd.
Wen Li came running out in a plain white robe. She looked especially understated and graceful. The fabric was coarse, but it couldn't hide her faintly alluring figure.
Her curves swelled beneath the robe, outlined around her hips and chest. At first glance, she looked downright fiery. Luo Bin's heart gave a jolt as he looked at her... and he almost let his heroic nature get the better of him.
But it didn't matter.
Luo Bin wasn't as stiff as his predecessor. He and Wen Li weren't related by blood, and calling her "aunt" was only his predecessor's one-sided insistence. If he wanted, he could start calling her "older sister" at any time.
Luo Bin had been wondering about one thing for a long while: was Wen Xue really Wen Li's biological daughter? That was still up for debate.
But there was a saying from his previous life:
A widow in her prime, yearning for love, held back by seniority and left untouched;
An aunt and nephew in the throes of passion—if seniority stood in the way, so what?
Luo Bin wasn't the sort of man who repressed his desires. If it was possible, he'd take the opportunity when it came...
At the thought, Luo Bin smiled faintly and looked at Wen Li. "Aunt Wen, has anyone given you trouble these past few days?"
Wen Li's heart gave a slight tremor when she saw his direct gaze. "No. But you've accomplished a great deal lately. You even made the papers..."
"Not really..."
Luo Bin gave an awkward smile. The group chatted as they walked, and after sharing a meal at the Pei Family Manor, he didn't stay any longer. He quickly returned to the Chen Family Mansion and began his seclusion.
Time raced by like a galloping horse, and days flowed away like falling petals.
Before long, the entire month of May had quietly passed.
The first day of June.
Luo Bin sat cross-legged on the bed. He pushed aside the scattered, elegant boxes before him and picked up an unopened wooden case. Inside lay part of a mysterious ginseng root, its tassels shimmering with a faint blue glow.
The boxes contained precious herbs Chen Tianren had recently spent a fortune searching for on Luo Bin's behalf. A few especially rare specimens had even been bought from elsewhere through foreign merchants.
The most valuable was undoubtedly the Blue Tear Mysterious Ginseng before him.
Luo Bin didn't boil or steam it. He simply popped it into his mouth, activated Crimson, and refined it in an instant.
As time passed, Luo Bin's eyes lowered halfway. Like an old monk in meditation, he radiated a sense of serenity. As the saying went, stillness bred wisdom...
Images of sweating profusely in training surged through his mind: the discipline of rising with the rooster and the diligence of studying beneath a hanging beam.
For a time, in Luo Bin's consciousness, a palm-sized little figure trained tirelessly without the slightest slack. As the years went by, it passed on every insight into the various realms and every technique for using the martial arts... even its experience fighting others.
It imparted all of it to Luo Bin.
At the final moment of the vision, the little figure melted away like spring snow and merged with Luo Bin.
"Let anyone say my realm is hollow, and I'll have words with them."
"Everything I, Luo Bin, have achieved today is thanks to my diligent practice..."
At the thought, Luo Bin couldn't help but chuckle. He summoned Crimson to take a look.
[Luo Bin] [Realm: Late Golden Skin Pass] [Techniques: White Ape Through-Arm Fist (Second Layer, 1/6), Primordial Stance (Third Layer, 5/20)] [Essence Soul: Water Ghoul · Phantom] [Modification Value: 12] [Spirit Charm: 3]
The White Ape Through-Arm Fist had originally been at 0/6 progress, while the Primordial Stance had only been at 3/20. Luo Bin's recent hard training had not only brought natural progress in his martial arts, but also advanced his techniques...
Most importantly, with the support of a large amount of Spirit Charm, the Primordial Stance had raised his realm once again.
Luo Bin had initially planned to hold back the Primordial Stance's development to avoid arousing Jiang Ling's suspicion. But then he reconsidered: if he wanted to make rapid advances in his realm, the Primordial Stance's progress was unavoidable.
"Whew... late Golden Skin. If I run into a Water Mountain Ghoul again at the River God Festival, I won't need firearms. I can smash it to pieces with a single punch..."
Luo Bin had spent nearly half a month at Jiang Ling's Qufang Garden. During that time, Chen Tianren had sent people to deliver precious herbs, and Chen Jing had often come to visit...
What puzzled Luo Bin was that, besides Aunt Wen occasionally bringing him food, Chen Mansheng had also started bringing over soup now and then.
With the Chen Family buzzing about his marriage to Chen Manqing, Luo Bin was beginning to feel like the family's son-in-law...
He didn't want to dwell on the marriage. If it worked out, great; if not, so be it... As for what they'd do without an emotional foundation—
All he could say was: spend enough time together, and feelings would come naturally.
But Chen Manqing seemed so mortified that she'd moved out a few days ago...
Luo Bin cleared the jumble of thoughts from his mind, stepped outside, and called over Hu Junzhi, who was dozing. "Junzhi, where's Ah Jing?"
Without even realizing it, Luo Bin had begun changing how he addressed Chen Jing and the rest of the Chen Family.
"Brother Luo, Second Young Master went to Qunyu Garden to see a show. There's a famous kunqu performer there tonight, with a figure as sinuous as a snake, as bewitching as a demon.
He knew you'd be coming out of seclusion today, so he went ahead to check the place out.
He told me to say that once you were done, you should go find him..." Hu Junzhi found Luo Bin increasingly hard to read, especially when it came to his martial realm.
Just standing there, he exuded an imposing presence, like an abyss and a mountain peak...
"Come on. You drive, and we'll go find Ah Jing and listen to the opera."
Hu Junzhi grinned. "Sure thing. I'll go get the car from the back."
The car rolled over the stone road with barely a bump.
Luo Bin leaned against the back seat, absently rubbing the fabric of his suit trousers with his fingertips.
A few days earlier, Chen Tianren had sent a tailor over to take his measurements and make several outfits. He wore a lightweight dark gray suit over a crisp white shirt, its collar unbuttoned at the top. Without a tie, he looked less like a stuffy scion of a prominent family and more like a young man with sharp, unrestrained edges.
"Brother Luo, Qunyu Garden isn't like those foreign-style places such as Moon Mantle and Red Night." Hu Junzhi gripped the steering wheel and glanced at Luo Bin in the rearview mirror, chatting with a smile.
"It's the oldest theater in Ping City. It's been open for nearly thirty years.
"They don't just perform kunqu there. They have storytelling and clapper opera too. Most of the patrons are city literati, prominent family patriarchs, and some politicians from the south. It's a real mix of people."
Luo Bin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Do people from the Jiang Family and the Sun Family go there often?"
"Of course." Hu Junzhi gave a derisive snort. "The Sun Family loves squeezing into places like that, putting on airs as a family of scholars. Meanwhile, they've done plenty of things behind closed doors that would make a bandit blush.
"The Jiang Family doesn't go there as much. They're closer to the foreigners, so they prefer nightclubs.
"But over the past half month, some of the younger members from the Jiang Family's branch have been going to Qunyu Garden all the time. They say they've become infatuated with a new performer who hasn't yet made her debut."
Luo Bin's fingers paused, a faint gleam passing through his eyes.
The car slowed to a stop. Qunyu Garden's entrance was already in view.
Unlike the foreign splendor of Moon Veil Nightclub, Qunyu Garden was a genuinely Chinese-style building modeled after ancient architecture, with sweeping eaves, vermilion doors, and a black plaque with gold lettering above the entrance. The three characters "Qunyu Garden" had been written in vigorous strokes by a Hanlin scholar of the previous dynasty.
Two stone lions stood outside. The attendants welcoming guests wore clean blue cotton robes. Seeing a car arrive, one hurried over, an ingratiating smile on his face.
Luo Bin straightened his clothes and got out of the car. When he looked at the attendant, the man's heart gave a thump.
Wasn't this the gentleman who'd appeared in the papers a few days ago?
"Mr. Luo? Please, come in! The Second Young Master is waiting in a private room upstairs!"
Just then, a clear, melodious voice rang out, making Luo Bin pause. He turned and saw a rather alluring woman standing by the entrance.
"Mr. Luo? You rescued my young lady last time. She heard you were coming today and specially asked me to wait here..."
Luo Bin frowned. "Your young lady?"
The alluring woman smiled. "Her stage name is Su Yunong."
Luo Bin understood. The woman hurried over and leaned close to his ear. "My young lady said, aren't you curious why the eldest Miss of the Chen Family is so fond of sleeping?"
Luo Bin's heart jolted.
Before you continue