Chapter Thirty-One: Becoming a Buddha on the Spot

Liu Chang'an walked over and reached for the door.

The few lackeys were quick-witted; without waiting for a signal from Zhong Qing, they stepped forward to block Liu Chang'an from closing the door, though they did not immediately resort to violence.

Liu Chang'an watched Zhong Qing quietly.

The night was cloudy with no starlight or moonlight. The construction site lights flickered, scattered building materials were piled high like mountains, and the towering crane in the distance lay dormant in the darkness like a mechanical giant.

Liu Chang'an switched on his flashlight and swept the beam forward. Zhong Qing felt a tug on her hand as the Rottweiler broke free. She let out a startled cry, only to hear a sharp, shrill yelp from the dog, which quickly devolved into a low whimper before falling silent.

Liu Chang'an turned off the flashlight. As the vision of the bodyguards and Zhong Qing gradually recovered, they saw a dead dog lying before him. The Rottweiler, known as High Templar, was lifeless, sprawled on the ground without a twitch.

Silence reigned. The bodyguards, in particular, instinctively retreated from their previous encircling formation. Their gazes were cold and vigilant as they assessed Liu Chang'an, yet Zhong Qing could clearly see the muscles in their backs tensed, and the veins at their temples and necks throbbing violently.

Even as a layman, Zhong Qing knew that Liu Chang'an's strike had deeply intimidated the men she had brought. A bodyguard near her whispered, "Miss Zhong, this man is too dangerous. We cannot act rashly..."

"You can't beat him?"

"The dog's skull isn't shattered, and there isn't a drop of blood from its nose or mouth. That means he used internal force to kill it instantly. We aren't much stronger than this dog; if he punches us, we'll meet the same fate."

Zhong Qing stepped back and adjusted her glasses, utterly shocked. Could this migrant worker who ate with a madam really be this terrifying?

No, that was impossible. How could he be with a madam... It seemed she had misjudged him. Zhong Qing finally regained her composure, her preconceived notions shattering completely.

"This city prohibits the keeping of aggressive dogs. If one encounters an aggressive dog that has broken free from its leash, killing it is not a crime." Liu Chang'an picked up the dog. In Junsha, there were similar laws and regulations, much like the ordinances used to combat motorcycle robberies, where Junsha had been among the first to post slogans declaring that "motorcycle robbers will be shot on the spot."

"Liu Chang'an!" Seeing that he was about to leave, Zhong Qing suppressed her lingering fear and called out.

"Something the matter?" Liu Chang'an turned back and clicked on his flashlight again.

The group was blinded by the glare. Dogs were different from humans; they could adapt to bright light quickly, but humans lacked that ability. The flickering light left them disoriented. The bodyguards had to rely on their memory of the layout to quickly surround Zhong Qing, hoping he wouldn't use the same tactic to launch a sudden attack. They had been too arrogant coming here, completely unprepared to face such a troublesome target.

"Turn off the flashlight first." Zhong Qing shielded her eyes and said to Liu Chang'an from the side.

Zhong Qing's side profile was curvaceous, the harsh light tracing a beautiful silhouette. Liu Chang'an did not turn it off. "If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."

"Come with me to see Third Mistress Zhu. We mean no harm; she just wants to see you." Zhong Qing said hurriedly. She hadn't expected High Templar to go berserk under the light's stimulation. If it had been an ordinary person, something terrible would have happened by now. It was fortunate Liu Chang'an had killed it... though discovering his skills were so astonishing didn't seem like a cause for celebration.

"I have one condition."

Money? That was Zhong Qing's first reaction. But recalling his petty attempts to take advantage of her, she thought he might ask for something even more excessive. Indeed, the fact that Zhu Juntang had hoped she would use seduction showed she had some understanding of Liu Chang'an. Was she really going to have to resort to that now? If she had known, she would have listened to Zhu Juntang and arranged for some escorts to satisfy him.

"Speak." Zhong Qing gritted her teeth. If his demands were too outrageous, she would have to abandon tonight's operation. After all, she couldn't beat him, and using force was no longer an option.

Zhong Qing now understood that Liu Chang'an was not someone to be trifled with, nor could he be intimidated by a few men putting on a show. If he could kill such a fierce dog with a single punch, the men she brought were likely not worth mentioning.

High Templar weighed over 60kg, the weight of a normal adult male, far exceeding Zhong Qing's own, not to mention the ferocity of an aggressive dog was incomparable to an average person.

"Can I have this dog?" Liu Chang'an asked, looking a bit embarrassed. Though according to old customs, the dog he killed was naturally his prey.

"G-give it to you..." Zhong Qing thought Liu Chang'an was a lunatic. She stared at him in disbelief. What was going on in his head? In this regard, he was a bit like Zhu Juntang.

Liu Chang'an dragged the dog behind the wall to hide it before following Zhong Qing away from the construction site with his flashlight.

Liu Chang'an stepped on Zhong Qing's shadow. This woman's waist was truly slender. In ancient times, women with thin waists often had narrow, flat hips, usually due to malnutrition or because they were courtesans who lived to entertain. Ordinary women tried to keep their waists and hips full to ensure safer childbirth, as giving birth back then was a walk through the gates of hell. Modern women were strange; their waists were so thin, yet their hip lines were lush. Was this a form of evolution, satisfying a man's desire for a slim waist and wide hips while also meeting the self-preservation needs of childbirth?

The bodyguards stayed downstairs. Aside from Zhu Juntang herself and Zhong Qing, as well as her invited guests, other servants and security had to use the other elevator.

"Why wouldn't you agree before, but you're willing tonight?" Zhong Qing had already made her judgment. Zhu Juntang wanted to see Liu Chang'an because he had some value... for instance, his impressive combat skills, which she hadn't known about before. When had Zhu Juntang come into contact with Liu Chang'an, and why did she become interested in him? This was her dereliction of duty, and she wouldn't be able to answer to Third Mistress Zhu. Thinking of Third Mistress Zhu's methods, Zhong Qing felt both embarrassed and hot-faced, and she couldn't help but frown.

Riding a scenic elevator at night was a beautiful experience, even if Junsha wasn't a city known for its light shows. Liu Chang'an replied, "I didn't want to before, so I didn't. Tonight, I felt I couldn't avoid it anymore, so I decided to meet."

"It's that simple?" Zhong Qing felt that Liu Chang'an's way of thinking and the things he said were always beyond her expectations.

Perhaps it was because they were from different worlds that communication was so difficult. Zhong Qing's current assessment was that Liu Chang'an was a young man from a family that practiced martial arts, now fallen on hard times.

"Also, I wanted that dog. Even though it's not the best season for dog meat, that dog was plump and fatty; it would naturally be delicious. I can't eat it all by myself, so I can sell the rest to the neighbors. I can make at least a thousand." Liu Chang'an did the math. A thousand was no problem. Although the people of Junsha didn't have customs like a dog meat festival, they, like most people in China, had the habit of eating a bit of dog meat during the dog days of summer.

Zhong Qing didn't want to talk to Liu Chang'an anymore; they were completely on different wavelengths.

The elevator stopped. Zhong Qing resumed her cold, distant, and indifferent etiquette as an exquisite female assistant, turning to the side and bowing.

Liu Chang'an walked down the long corridor as if strolling through a modern art gallery, except the art on both sides was modeled after Zhu Juntang—large photographs, oil paintings, and statues, all in abundance.

Zhong Qing led Liu Chang'an up the other staircase. Unsurprisingly, Zhu Juntang chose the place where they had first met.

The sky tonight was cloudy with no strong wind, only the silence of the night and the flickering lights in the distance. The straight streets looked as if they had been washed with countless grains of gold, bright and shimmering.

Zhu Juntang wore white square-heeled shoes, her straight, well-proportioned legs wrapped in pure white stockings. The fabric became faintly translucent ten centimeters above her knees, outlining an eye-catching territory along with the hem of her skirt. The skirt was fluffy with delicate lace, fluttering slightly like a butterfly perched on a flower branch.

"Qingqing, you go down first," Zhu Juntang said lightly.

Zhong Qing glanced at Liu Chang'an and retreated.

"Last time, we were talking about how Liu Bang locked me up." Liu Chang'an walked to Zhu Juntang's side, looking at the dark, heavy sky in the distance. "They say Ying Zheng called himself the First Emperor, dreaming of a dynasty that would last ten thousand generations. In truth, Liu Bang was the same. Since he couldn't achieve immortality himself, he pinned his hopes on his descendants, wishing for the Han imperial family to last ten thousand generations. He even left behind a so-called method for immortality. By the time of Liu Che, what he regretted later was that he had released me after ascending the throne. When he grew old and his dream of immortality became too strong to suppress, he could no longer find me..."

Zhu Juntang turned around. The same location, the same night, the same person. The dreamlike scene was finally reenacted to tell her that it had truly happened. This miraculous man who had leaped from a four-hundred-and-fifty-meter skyscraper had not died, had not turned into a pulp, and was now standing before her, whole and intact, talking calmly about immortality.

This time, Zhu Juntang would no longer dismiss him as spouting nonsense.