Dragon Qi!
That was Hong Fei's personal name for it.
If this had been a few centuries earlier, with this plot of land so full of Dragon Qi, he would have given those Anglo-Saxons a lesson or two.
Unfortunately, he had arrived too late.
The red glow faded from his eyes, and the black-and-white world was once again filled with vivid, living color.
This had become Hong Fei's favorite thing to do lately, much like someone who had suddenly become rich and could not resist constantly checking their account balance.
The appearance of Dragon Qi was a sign, while the appearance of the dragon's phantom proved that Hong Fei's guess was not merely wishful thinking.
The only explanation was that a Dragon Bone truly lay buried beneath his home.
Many dragons had appeared in the Marvel Universe, but the most well-known was Kunlun's Immortal Dragon, the divine dragon Shoulao.
Of course, Hong Fei did not really agree with the title "divine dragon." Shoulao looked far too different from the divine dragons he knew. Even Yinglong, which had wings, did not look like that. Its appearance was more like the dragons imagined by Westerners.
Shoulao was Kunlun's guardian deity, the manifestation of Dragon Power. Usually, no one got to see Shoulao display its might. More often, people only witnessed it being defeated, then sacrificing its life to grant Dragon Power to a warrior before turning into an egg and reincarnating.
After Shoulao died, it left behind a Dragon Bone, and those remains naturally became one of Kunlun's treasures.
Over the long years, Kunlun used the Dragon Bone to create a weakened version of the Elixir of Immortality. Later, traitors emerged within the forces led by Kunlun. They fled Kunlun and used the Dragon Bone they had taken with them to survive for centuries.
Yes, he was talking about those ungrateful bastards from The Hand.
Hong Fei did not know how much Dragon Bone was needed to make a dose of the so-called Elixir of Immortality, but the traitors could not have taken much with them. Yet they had not used it up even after centuries. A simple deduction made it clear just how maddeningly valuable an intact Dragon Bone would be.
Therefore, when Hall first came to buy the land, Hong Fei had already been prepared to kill him.
But he soon realized that Hall really was only interested in the plot itself.
Although Hall was not a real lawyer, his father was an experienced attorney, and the company his father worked for was Fisk Industries.
It was a renowned spice company. Its owner was not only a successful spice merchant, but also a great philanthropist devoted to supporting education—Wilson Fisk.
If Hong Fei had not watched movies and television, he might have believed it.
New York's underworld consisted of many factions, chiefly The Hand, the Russian Mafia, the Mexican Cartel, and the men under Wilson Fisk, known as Kingpin.
The existence and purpose of the Dragon Bone were The Hand's unquestionable highest secret.
The Hand and Kingpin did not belong to the same organization; they were partners.
If The Hand discovered the Dragon Bone, they would never reveal the news to anyone, especially not Kingpin, whose power and influence were currently at their peak.
If Kingpin already knew about the Dragon Bone and understood its purpose, he would never have sent a rookie to negotiate the purchase. Even Hall's lawyer father would not have been enough. Kingpin would most likely have come in person, so that if Hong Fei refused, he could immediately twist Hong Fei's head off.
That was why Hall had been allowed to leave alive two days ago, only to return today with a gang of thugs to make threats.
A big shot like Kingpin had probably stopped bringing a bunch of lowlifes to do such lowlife things long ago.
At that point, the entire matter became clear.
Fisk Industries really did want Hong Fei's land. The plot was neither large nor small, so the company simply assigned the matter to Hall's father. Perhaps the father wanted to train his son after accepting the task, or perhaps Hall had volunteered. In any case, Hall eventually got the job.
Furthermore, Hong Fei guessed that Hall might have intended to pocket part of the acquisition money. Otherwise, what authority did he have to directly offer Hong Fei another five percent? He must have planned to withhold a substantial amount from the start, and only loosened his grip when Hong Fei failed to react.
Living in New York, Hong Fei naturally kept an eye on Kingpin.
News that Kingpin was overseas discussing spice business with partners was posted on Fisk Industries' official website. During Kingpin's absence, Hong Fei had not seen any of Kingpin's men showing their faces anywhere in the streets.
Kingpin was probably about to make a major deal, which was why everyone under him had suddenly begun keeping a low profile.
It made sense that Hall did not dare act rashly. Otherwise, if he caused trouble, the police would not even need to deal with him.
After reaching those conclusions, Hong Fei temporarily stopped treating the matter as a priority.
The next day.
Hong Fei got up early and drove his beat-up little car to a construction site in southern New York.
At the site, a burly man swung a sledgehammer against broken stones. He repeated the mechanical motion with steady breathing, his eyes slightly vacant.
"Castioni, someone's looking for you!"
A shout came from behind him. He snapped alertly back to himself, set down the hammer, and turned around. The foreman pointed toward the entrance.
The man frowned, instinctively becoming wary.
He had no friends to speak of now, and no one should have known the name he was using.
As he slowly walked toward the entrance, countless possibilities ran through his mind. He even wondered whether the moment he appeared, he would be surrounded by a massive police force.
But his peaceful life had not come easily, and without undeniable proof before him, he did not want to act rashly.
Even prison was nothing to him. If he could escape once, he could escape a second time.
But when he reached the entrance and saw the person waving at him, the wariness in his heart instantly turned into overwhelming astonishment.
Hong Fei was somewhat excited.
Judging by his appearance, the man's face perfectly matched the one in Hong Fei's memory.
Combined with the way he walked and the unusual glint that occasionally showed in his eyes, it further proved that he was no ordinary construction worker.
Frank Castle, The Punisher.
As Frank approached, Hong Fei looked at his deeply furrowed brow and smiled. "Nice to meet you. I've been looking for you for a long time."
Naturally, there was no smile on Frank's face. His already resolute features now seemed even more stern. "Who are you?"
"Hello, I'm Hong Fei."
Frank did not move in response to Hong Fei's outstretched hand. "I don't know how you found me, and I don't know how much you know about me, but..." He looked Hong Fei over once more and said solemnly, "Young man, from this moment on, I hope you forget me and never mention what happened this second to anyone. Otherwise, you will regret it for the rest of your life."
With that, Frank turned around and headed back, clearly intending to resume swinging his sledgehammer.
Hong Fei had expected this. He called out, "Castioni, do you want to slay a dragon?"
Frank did not stop walking.
Hong Fei said, "You're only clearing out the ants surrounding the evil dragon. But the ants replenish quickly. One day, they will still eat away your house until it collapses."
Smack!
Frank stopped abruptly and whipped around. The calm, unreadable expression on his face was instantly consumed by rage. Hong Fei seemed to see the blazing flames of vengeance erupting within him.
Frank turned and strode over, nearly pressing against Hong Fei as he glared at him. "How much do you know?"
Hong Fei's smile vanished. "I know a great deal. I think we can make a deal."
Frank's eye twitched. He glanced around and said, "How about we find somewhere quiet and talk properly?"
"No problem, but I have the feeling you want to hit me."
"Are you afraid?"
"A little."
Before you continue