Crimson Light

As long as they did not cross the line, the fellow disciples could still coexist without needing to resort to a life-or-death struggle.

Lu Bolin heard the intelligence he had been seeking, so he did not linger, turning to slip away quietly.

The corner of Ye Hai's eye swept past the spot outside the door where Lu Bolin had been, finally settling on Xu Yi's face:

"Jing Hesheng has been bedridden for years; he is long past the point of being able to shoulder the heavy burdens."

"Jing Tao is but a woman; for her to manage such a massive Lingtong Hall, I fear she struggles to support it alone."

"We have already helped her secure the factory. If we were to merely maintain security while turning a blind eye to her operational difficulties, that would be unrighteous."

"On our own turf, if we allow a young girl to be bullied by others, that would be inhumane."

"The little girl has it quite hard on her own. Xu Yi, you should help her more and build a closer rapport with her."

"I will recommend a few people to you later. These individuals have experience as accountants and assistants to company heads; they are experts at running a business."

"You will recommend them for positions at Lingtong Hall to help Jing Tao and ease the pressure of her company operations."

"Once Jing Tao receives such a great favor from you, she certainly won't refuse and will allow these people to join the staff smoothly."

"In this way, we will have bestowed true benevolence and righteousness upon Lingtong Hall, and it will bolster the reputation of the Green Gang. Once word of this gets out, our Golden Orchid Nunnery will have face!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Yi immediately understood that Ye Hai was not looking to help, but rather to plant his own people inside Lingtong Hall.

Jing Tao was not yet an adult and lacked experience in running a company. If the old foxes recommended by Ye Hai were allowed into Lingtong Hall, it wouldn't be long before they hollowed out Jing Tao's authority.

Xu Yi understood the crux of the matter, so he did not immediately respond to his master, instead letting his gaze fall upon the Elephant God Cup on the side of the tea table.

Ye Hai watched the greed in his eyes and grinned.

Good lad, you have finally grasped the knack for interpersonal relationships.

Ye Hai did not think greed was a bad thing.

Only when a person is greedy can they be considered to have ambition.

With ambition comes the drive to get things done!

He felt a surge of appreciation for Xu Yi.

Interpersonal relationships are all about give and take; only through the exchange of resources can a relationship be maintained for the long term.

Xu Yi not only survived this time but also secured Lingtong Hall, which meant he had earned the qualifications for resource exchange.

Ye Hai smiled:

"This was brought back from the Ganges River by your senior brother. He spent a great price and crafted it with his own hands. It is called the Elephant God Cup, and it is of immense value."

"If you like it, then take it."

He even emphasized that "this thing is very expensive" twice in a single sentence.

Ye Hai's subtext was:

You handled the matter well this time, and I had originally intended to reward you with money.

But since you have asked, this "invaluable" cup shall serve as your reward.

This subtext was too subtle for Xu Yi to fully grasp, but he understood a portion of the meaning.

To Xu Yi, the value of the Spirit Remains was far greater than money.

Thus, he said with a hint of feigned embarrassment:

"Is it a precious item... how could I be so bold?"

As he spoke, he picked up the Elephant God Cup, his fingers unconsciously stroking the surface of the cup.

Upon contact, his fingertips felt a tingling numbness, as if he were touching actual skin... At the same time, the spicy scent he had smelled earlier grew more intense, and the trace of blood hidden within that spice was identified by Xu Yi even more clearly.

This sensation made Xu Yi even more certain of his hypothesis.

This was undoubtedly a set of Spirit Remains possessing formidable spiritual power!

Ye Hai gave no further instructions, only telling Xu Yi to return often, as the people he recommended needed to be onboarded at Lingtong Hall as soon as possible.

Xu Yi simply nodded honestly, appearing as though he didn't have a single millimeter of rebellious bone in his body.

Xu Yi took his leave of Ye Hai, walked out of the Golden Orchid Nunnery with the Elephant God Cup, and arrived at the banks of the Green Shore River. Leaning against the railing, he pressed Ye Miao's sachet to his nose.

The fragrance activated his spiritual perception, and a black-and-white world unfolded before Xu Yi.

He looked at the Elephant God Cup in his sleeve again and clearly saw that the cup was wrapped in a layer of scarlet blood-light, identical to the one on Lu Bolin.

At the same time, that bloody, curry-like spicy scent grew even more pungent.

"This scent is quite peculiar; it's unlike any of the others."

Most of the scents Xu Yi had encountered before possessed a unique sense of "pleasantness."

Even the fragrance on the fox demon Ji Xiao was merely pungent, and that pungency contained at least a hint of stimulation.

Only this Elephant God Cup in his hand emitted a spicy scent that made Xu Yi's hair stand on end.

Fear—this was the scent Xu Yi smelled upon the Elephant God Cup.

Xu Yi did not attempt to activate it using any means.

Because he had absolutely no idea what the spirituality of this Spirit Husk was, and if it were to cause serious consequences, he could not afford the burden.

"The method for using the Spirit Husk Fox Incense is to ignite it.

As for the method for using this Elephant God Cup, should it be to pour water or wine into it?"

Xu Yi could not be certain.

A thought welled up in his mind.

He found a secluded, uninhabited spot, took out the Shadow Wood Incense Burner, and lit the incense burner with a match.

As the spirituality was refined into divinity by the Shadow Wood Incense Burner, Xu Yi focused his attention on the Elephant God Cup.

The Sniffer divinity was activated, and consequently, a pale red tassel-like thread emerged from the Elephant God Cup, extending into the air in the distance.

Xu Yi followed the pale red tassel-like thread.

He walked past the 38th Shop District, left the banks of the Green Shore River, passed through several bustling, crowded downtown areas, and headed south, arriving at Songding Gate Street in the Twenty-Third Shop an hour later.

The pale red tassel-like thread finally vanished into a seemingly quite luxurious Western-style building.

Xu Yi stood before the door and looked up, only to see that above this building, where people came and went, neon light tubes outlined five large characters—

Neon Grand Ballroom.

"Neon Grand Ballroom? Isn't this the place where Ji Xiao used to work?"

Although Xu Yi had never been here, he had heard people talk about it. He roughly knew that the Neon Grand Ballroom was quite far from the concessions and primarily served guests from the Chinese Settlement. It was a mid-range establishment that not only offered the various evening entertainments found in most ballrooms but also provided three meals a day—

Functioning as both a restaurant and a hotel.

Xu Yi glanced at his watch; it was currently ten-twenty in the morning.

People were coming and going at the entrance of the Neon Grand Ballroom, with all sorts of people from every walk of life entering and exiting, and there were even figures of Foreign Devils and Neon Devils.

Although it was crowded and complex here, Xu Yi's reputation in the underworld was not prominent, so he was not afraid of others recognizing his true identity.

Consequently, Xu Yi followed the flow of the crowd into the Neon Grand Ballroom, followed the pale red tassel-like thread forward, bypassed the dance floor, took the elevator to the third floor, and finally stopped at a corner of the wall.

Lu Bolin's angry voice drifted out from within the corner:

"Xiao Lianxin is considered one of your star dancers here, and you're telling me she just decided to turn over a new leaf?! Who are you trying to fool!"

A fawning, middle-aged man's voice cried out in distress:

"Calm your anger, Master Lu!"

At the Golden Orchid Nunnery, Lu Bolin was the approachable "Senior Brother," the master's "Bolin," and the harmless "good guy."

But outside, as long as anyone mixed in the underworld and their status was lower than his, they had to obediently call him "Master Lu"!

This was not only because of the fierce reputation he had beaten out with his fists when he used to roam the underworld, but also because the Lu family he belonged to had deep gang backgrounds, making him a person that ordinary people could not afford to provoke.