"Let me go if you've got the guts! I'm a man of iron and steel. No matter what hardships I face here, I won't make a peep."
The two bastards in front of Tenfold Brother were enjoying themselves, and he couldn't help but curse them out.
They were worse than dogs.
They'd tied him up here and weren't doing anything at all. Were they even human?
He didn't know whether they were nervous, but his heart was about to give out.
Lu Mingchuan picked up his wineglass and gently clinked it against Old Butler's.
"Oh? You really are that tough?"
The guy's face was red as he spoke, but somehow Lu Mingchuan just couldn't believe him.
"Hmph. Of course."
Tenfold Brother's gaze suddenly turned vicious. "But just you wait. If I get the chance, I'll pay you back tenfold!"
Lu Mingchuan's interest was piqued.
"So you'll pay me back tenfold no matter what I do to you?"
Old Butler curled his lip in disdain. What a load of bull. Anyone could brag. He might as well say he'd pay someone back a hundredfold.
Tenfold Brother glared at them and spat. "You just wait and see. Time will prove that I'm right."
Lu Mingchuan looked at the guy.
He'd originally brought him here intending to trick him into doing something.
But now it seemed there was no need for him to play the villain and hurt Yu Xiaogang so Bibi Dong could swoop in and play the hero.
Besides,
if Bibi Dong didn't go over and kick Gangzi a couple times, then humiliate him,
Lu Mingchuan would have to praise her for being in such a good mood today.
So now, he could only entrust this important task to the guy in front of him.
He'd rescue Yu Xiaogang from his dire straits—never mind where those straits came from.
Lu Mingchuan gave Old Butler a cheeky grin. "Butler, do you think he has any chance of getting back at me?"
Old Butler played along beautifully. Soul Power surged through him, revealing his muscular upper body and seven Soul Rings.
His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul coiled around him like a tattoo.
Seeing the old man looking so hale and hearty, the bound guard swallowed nervously.
The old guy was terrifying. Who'd have thought the arms beneath those robes would be so thick? It looked like one punch would knock him half to death.
Still, he stubbornly replied, "So what? I remember you've got a cousin."
He'd finally taken the bait.
Seeing how cooperative the guy was, Lu Mingchuan played along, putting on a hesitant expression. "My cousin..."
Tenfold Brother acted as though he'd seized a handle on Lu Mingchuan and had him under his thumb.
"Let me go right now and treat me properly. Otherwise, who knows what kind of treatment your cousin will get?"
He was the leader of the Spirit Hall guards and had close ties with those guys who locked people up. The man in front of him had dared threaten the Spirit Hall Saintess, so she'd surely had his accomplices taken into custody.
And aside from the Saintess, he was the person with the most direct control over Lu Mingchuan's cousin's safety.
At this moment, Lu Mingchuan must be scared out of his wits.
Lu Mingchuan put on his signature frightened expression. "Please, don't hurt my cousin."
Then he turned around, his face going blank.
"Butler, prepare a Manchu Han Imperial Feast for our friend here."
Got it.
Old Butler understood Lu Mingchuan at once. He rolled his shoulders, and his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.
"Kid, you're in for a treat."
Lu Mingchuan returned to his room.
With a massage going on behind him, he began pondering a question.
Dongzi isn't protecting Gangzi, and Gangzi's such a coward. With no one left to protect him, doesn't that mean I can deal with him however I want?
Lu Mingchuan suddenly realized this plotline seemed to be taking a rather difficult turn.
Someone had to protect him?
Bibi Dong suddenly felt that Yu Xiaogang was even more useless than she'd thought.
Come to think of it, it had been quite some time.
He hadn't shown any Soul Rings, Soul Power, or even the signature Martial Soul of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect.
Could that guy be an ordinary person who hadn't even awakened his Martial Soul?
No, Bibi Dong remembered the look of alarm on Lu Mingchuan's face when Yu Xiaogang used a Soul Skill earlier.
What exactly was going on with that guy?
"Saintess, what's wrong?" Tang Yuehua had already begun enjoying her time by Bibi Dong's side.
Bibi Dong needed her domain, and she wasn't just dead weight, so why tire herself out being so reserved?
Bibi Dong glanced at Tang Yuehua, who was lounging leisurely in the room.
That was exactly how Bibi Dong liked her: calm and composed as she absorbed Soul Power. The feeling she gave off was truly soothing.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about what Cuihua did earlier..."
Cuihua!
Bibi Dong had only mentioned her in passing, but that was all it took for her to think of a brilliant plan.
It would let her stop protecting Yu Xiaogang while also giving her a chance to hear what was on Lu Mingchuan's mind.
Cuihua, get ready to receive what I've brought for you.
She was always muttering cryptically.
Tang Yuehua lounged in her chair without a care, showing off her fine figure.
That guy had started speaking like Mingchuan, too—always leaving half his words unsaid and making people guess the rest.
Fortunately, she was an ordinary person without even a single Soul Ring.
She didn't have to agonize over these things too much.
Besides, could she solve the problem Mingchuan had brought up earlier now?
The person behind her was none other than Bibi Dong, Saintess of Spirit Hall.
If the businesses run by the Saintess's people could still be brazenly trashed, did those people not want to make it in the Soul Master World anymore?
The first step was to let her move freely around Spirit City.
"Saintess, your domain works even better with my massage. Let me show you." As she spoke, she went behind Bibi Dong and started massaging her of her own accord.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to Spirit Hall,
two guards were standing watch.
When they saw Tenfold Brother limping toward them, his clothes in tatters, they hurried over to help him.
"Big Brother, what happened to you?"
Seeing his underlings' concern, Tenfold Brother lifted his bloodshot eyes.
"You know where the person the Saintess brought back and had locked up is, right?"
The two guards nodded, their voices full of delight. They didn't hear the frightening undertone in his words at all.
"Yeah. Big Brother, you don't know—after just half a day, that guy—"
"Show me the way."
The two guards had no idea what was going on, but they obediently pointed the way.
After changing into decent clothes, Tenfold Brother limped to his destination.
There, he saw Yu Xiaogang teaching a crowd of guards.
When the guards saw their captain return, they immediately dropped their studious expressions.
Yu Xiaogang looked smugly at the guards he'd won over with his talent. Even if this man was their leader, he'd surely end up bowing before Yu Xiaogang's brilliance.
But his first words left Yu Xiaogang horrified.
"So you're his cousin?"
"Guards! Find me five or six big men—no, as many as you can!"
"I'm going to let that guy's cousin have a taste of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, too."
Before you continue