Su Yunong raised her fair hand and greeted him as well. "Young Master Luo, you're right on time."
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Miss Su."
"No worries. Ah Ping, go fetch Young Master Luo's things."
Su Yunong turned to call to a plain-looking woman. The latter headed into the inner room, screened off by a cloth curtain, and when she emerged, she was carrying a bundle wrapped in coarse cloth. She set it down beside the table.
Su Yunong lifted her chin slightly. "Go ahead and inspect the goods. See what you think of my craftsman's handiwork..."
Luo Bin eagerly opened the bundle. Inside lay two sets of scale armor, one slender and delicate, the other somewhat larger. The grime on the Water Mountain Ghoul scales had been polished away until they gleamed smooth and lustrous. The moment he picked them up, a cool sensation seemed to rise from within.
After absorbing the warmth of his palm, the scales quickly reached his body temperature. They felt smooth and comfortable to the touch. Luo Bin rubbed them for a while and realized that, after the craftsman Su Yunong had hired worked on them, the Water Mountain Ghoul armor should have been strong enough to withstand the force of someone in the early or middle stages of the Golden Skin Realm.
Now, it seemed capable of offering some resistance even to the power of someone in the late stages of the Golden Skin Realm.
"Fine armor!" Luo Bin exclaimed delightedly.
It wasn't of much use to him. After all, he was now known as a Martial Master with Pure Yang Qi and Blood, and his health bar was pretty thick.
But it was different for Chen Mansheng and Chen Jing. The specially crafted ghoul armor retained the Water Mountain Ghoul's scales' ability to keep warm in winter and cool in summer. Not only could it withstand attacks from low-level Martial Masters, it might even block some low-impact firearms...
Things like revolvers and Mauser pistols, for example.
"Thank you for your generous help, Miss Su. And the information you gave me last time about that old Daoist from the Pei Family was a great help..." Luo Bin had meant to prepare a token of appreciation, but then he reconsidered. Aside from his martial prowess, he didn't seem to have anything worth giving.
So he had come empty-handed.
Now that he was trying to thank her, his words seemed terribly inadequate.
Noticing Luo Bin's slight awkwardness, Su Yunong giggled. "You don't have to be nervous. I was just a helpless woman at the Moon Veil Nightclub last time, and it was thanks to Young Master Luo that I got out safely. Consider this my way of repaying you..."
"Then... all right."
After chatting for a few moments, Luo Bin called Hu Junzhi over and left with the armor.
Chen Residence.
Chen Mansheng was lounging on the sofa, eating fruit. When she saw Luo Bin come in from outside with something in his hands, her heart gave a sudden jolt. She instantly changed her sprawled-out posture into a demure one and greeted him with a rather gentle smile:
"Ah Bin, what brings you here all of a sudden? I heard from Zhang Huai and Ah Jing that you've been busy practicing martial arts these past few days..."
Luo Bin walked over to the sofa and sat beside Chen Mansheng. "What's with Ah Jing? Is he still sulking in his room?"
"Pfft. What does he have to sulk about? He just thinks being kidnapped last time was a fluke, and that it'll never happen again. So last night he went to protest to Father again, demanding to be allowed out... The result goes without saying." Chen Mansheng was especially animated as she explained Chen Jing's impotent rage.
"He's probably so mad in his room that he's fallen asleep by now..."
Luo Bin's mouth twitched. Chen Jing really was a character. He could get so angry that he put himself to sleep.
He opened the coarse cloth bundle. The Water Mountain Ghoul armor, glinting with a faint luster, appeared before Chen Mansheng's eyes.
"What's this...?"
"Water Mountain Ghoul armor. During the River God Festival, I had someone bring back that Water Mountain Ghoul. I got someone to turn its scales into two sets of soft armor to wear under your clothes, for you and Ah Jing to protect yourselves." Luo Bin explained calmly.
Hearing that, Chen Mansheng suddenly remembered something. Her cheeks grew hot, and her mind went a little blank. "A maid once asked for my measurements, saying Aunt Ji wanted to have an outfit made for me... Later, I asked Aunt Ji about it, and it turned out there was no such thing.
"So does that mean you were the one who told her to ask?"
"Yes."
At his answer, Chen Mansheng abruptly turned away and lifted the wide sleeve of her casual clothes to hide her face. Her earlobes were red as drops of blood.
"Th-then just leave the armor here. I'll try it on in my room later."
Luo Bin chuckled softly. "Second Miss, you don't need to try it on to see if it fits. The armor is tailored perfectly to your figure. It'll keep you warm in winter and cool in summer, and it can withstand attacks from Martial Masters below the peak of the Golden Skin Realm. And..."
Chen Mansheng's heart was like a fawn that had plunged into a forest, dashing about wildly. She demanded, a little unsure of herself, "And what?!"
"And your figure is lovely. More slender than any other woman I've ever seen."
"You!... Well, good!" Chen Mansheng pointed at Luo Bin with her jade-like fingers, ready to flare up, but the second half of his sentence dispelled the little resentment she'd felt.
Luo Bin got up and headed for the door. "If Ah Jing wakes up, could you give him his armor too?"
"Oh, sure... all right."
Chen Mansheng watched Luo Bin's handsome, dashing figure as he walked away, clad in a sharp suit and radiating confidence. She lowered her eyes, lost in thought, the corners of her mouth lifting with delight. Did he mean my figure is better than every woman he's ever seen? Even Big Sister?
After delivering the armor to Chen Mansheng, Luo Bin went out alone and hailed a rickshaw at the roadside, heading for the Zhenyuan Escort Agency that Hu Junzhi had mentioned. The reason he had taken a car this time was simply that he didn't want to draw too much attention.
The Zhenyuan Escort Agency was in North City, but there was no Lord Xu here. Unlike the New World Foreign Market near Ping City Women's Normal School, this place had rickshaw stands, restaurants, and a few scattered theaters that were different from Qunyu Garden.
These theaters were generally for watching films, not for seeing opera performances like at traditional theaters.
Along the way, Luo Bin's thoughts were unusually calm.
"Most of the rickshaw stands here are backed by the Shuo Gang. It's a new gang formed by the Jiang Family after it brought the Green Bamboo Gang and its subordinate forces under its control. It's far more powerful than the Green Bamboo Gang used to be."
"When I'd just survived an encounter with Luo Wendi, Feng Yi said that the Green Bamboo Gang had risen so quickly because it dealt with demons and had a large stockpile of heavy firearms. The city government, despite being a provincial authority appointed by the Southern Democratic Alliance, didn't put a stop to it."
"Along with a few bits of information I learned earlier, the Green Bamboo Gang seems to be a force funded by a Lineage, but constrained by the powerful. It has no choice but to become the city government's black glove..."
And the things this glove dealt with were "folk affairs."
Based on what Luo Bin had learned since arriving in this world, "folk affairs" was more or less synonymous with "demonic disturbances." Since the Green Bamboo Gang could handle demonic disturbances, it must have plenty of information about them.
"I'll find a way to get the Shuo Gang to tell me where there have been demonic disturbances lately... then I'll go test myself..."
After all, every part of a demon was a treasure, perfect for raising his strength and increasing his power.
"Meals must be eaten one bite at a time, and roads must be traveled one step at a time. Around Ping City, there are warlords who even the Southern Democratic Alliance finds troublesome, big and small. Some are still seizing land and slaughtering the people, while a few young masters who 'don't eat beef' are so deranged they barely seem human..."
"Growing stronger and building up my forces—I need both. Otherwise, relying on a Chen Family that's teetering in the wind and rain is far too risky..."
Besides, even at the peak of the Golden Skin Realm, he still couldn't withstand many highly lethal bullets. He could only take things slowly and develop steadily.
The Zhenyuan Escort Agency soon came into view. Its signboard was gilded, and its well-dressed visitors all carried an air of distinction.
A young doorman saw a noble young master approaching from a distance and hurried over, bowing and scraping as he asked,
"Is the young master here to post an escort request, or to see one of our masters?"
"Neither..."
"Then what brings you here, young master?"
Luo Bin dusted off the nonexistent dust on either side of his suit, raised his elbow to check his watch, and gazed at the open yard inside the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. He said calmly,
"To challenge your school."
Before you continue