He Insists, He Insists, So You Give In?

"Thank you for your hard work, brothers!"

"I still had things to do, so I'll be leaving first!"

Jiang Wangzu patted A-Long and A-Hu on the shoulders, then swaggered out of Immortal Music Gate.

"When the matter was done, he brushed off his sleeves and left, hiding his merit and name deep away."

"This Ru Meng was no simple woman, and those suitors of hers were even less simple."

"I'd better lie low for a while."

"That way, I wouldn't get targeted by some fanatical suitor of Ru Meng's and not even know how I died."

Jiang Wangzu did not leave through the front entrance.

He slipped quietly out the back door instead, turning left and right through a maze of paths until he left the Upper District.

Immortal Music Gate.

Ru Meng limped her way into an extremely luxurious two-room suite on the third floor.

This was the room of Immortal Music Gate's big boss.

Ru Meng pushed the door open and plopped down onto the soft sofa, not showing the slightest intention of standing on ceremony.

Instead, with a hint of morning temper, she said in an extremely lazy voice, "Sister Qiao, why did you wake me up so early?"

"So early?"

"Look at what time it is. It's almost noon, and you still hadn't gotten out of bed!"

"I heard from the people downstairs that some pretty boy went into your room last night and only left this morning."

"You... gave it to him?"

A beautiful woman in a bright red qipao, red high heels, wavy curls, and exquisite makeup walked out from the bedroom.

The woman looked around thirty, mature and gorgeous, carrying a touch of heroic dominance, like a honey peach ripened to perfection.

This woman was called Han Qiao, the big boss of Immortal Music Gate.

"He insisted!"

When Ru Meng thought of last night's frenzy, her heart tightened despite herself, and a faint blush rose on her face.

"He insisted, so you just gave it to him?"

When Han Qiao heard that, her eyes widened, and her voice rose several notches as she spoke with the frustration of hating iron for not becoming steel.

"Little Brother A-Zu is handsome and talented. It was very hard for me not to love him!"

"Sister Qiao, you'll support me in pursuing my own love, right?"

Ru Meng said coquettishly to Han Qiao.

She and Han Qiao had known each other since childhood, and the two were as close as sisters.

Although now, one of them was the big boss of Immortal Music Gate, and the other was Immortal Music Gate's Golden Voice Queen, the two of them were not strictly in a superior-subordinate relationship.

Especially in private, they addressed each other as sisters.

"Support my ass!"

"Right now, I can't wait to find someone to chop that pretty boy into eight pieces and throw him into the Dragon River to feed the fish!"

"Ru Meng, oh Ru Meng, do you have any idea how big a disaster you've caused?"

"If what happened last night gets out, what will those high officials and nobles who fawn over you think?"

"They may not be able to have you, but they can easily destroy you!"

Han Qiao pointed at Ru Meng's nose and cursed angrily.

Although the forces behind Immortal Music Gate were tangled and complicated, and the fact that she, Han Qiao, could open Shen City's number-one cabaret, Immortal Music Gate, in this inch-of-land-inch-of-gold Upper District of Shen City naturally meant she had her methods and confidence, that did not mean she could, by her own power alone, offend all of Ru Meng's suitors.

Although Ru Meng's origins and background were not simple either, the backgrounds and methods of people like them were only suited to be used when faces had been completely torn apart.

They could not be put out in the open at all!

"Sister Qiao, I rely on my own ability to make a living, not on their fawning!"

"And you don't know this, but Little Brother A-Zu really is far too outstanding."

"Not only was he handsome, he was also brilliantly talented. A song he casually wrote for me would be enough to become a masterpiece handed down through the ages."

Ru Meng spoke with utter infatuation.

A woman in love had a negative IQ, and that was displayed to the fullest in her.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

"I don't want to hear your romantic tales of moonlight and flowers right now."

"I'll help you keep this matter covered up. No one in Immortal Music Gate will dare wag their tongues, but you and he end here. I also won't send anyone to trouble him."

"But if you insist on being with him, not only will you get him killed, even I won't be able to protect you."

"You should also know that Young Marshal Du, son of Grand Marshal Du, the Shen City Military Governor, is very interested in you. He's always wanted to take you as his ninth concubine. Once he learns you've given yourself to some pretty boy, what do you think he'll do?"

"The reason our Immortal Music Gate has been able to stand tall in Shen City and become Shen City's number-one cabaret is also thanks to Grand Marshal Du's support."

"If this matter turns Grand Marshal Du against us, have you thought about the consequences?"

"Even if Young Marshal Du's interest in you is only a passing whim, what about the other high officials and nobles pursuing you?"

"Chairman Ding of the Shen City Chamber of Commerce, who throws away gold by the thousand for you; Chief Commissioner Xu of the Police Station, who didn't hesitate to divorce his lawful wife in order to pursue you."

"And the other wealthy, powerful young talents—I won't list them one by one for you."

"If any one of these people was dragged out at random and wanted revenge on you, it would be enough to smash you and your lover to powder, leaving you beyond redemption for ten thousand kalpas!"

"You and I are as close as sisters. Don't blame me for beating apart a pair of mandarin ducks."

"If that pretty boy truly has you in his heart, then let him bring out the ability to protect you completely."

"But you know as well as I do that this is simply impossible."

"If you two truly are man and woman in mutual affection, then over the next few years I'll slowly fade your presence."

"When you're past thirty, these people probably won't be very interested in you anymore. At that time, you can withdraw at the height of the current and spend your life together with your lover, and I'll give you my blessing too."

"What do you think?"

Han Qiao looked at Ru Meng, her tone calm, but every word was like a knife, making Ru Meng's face turn increasingly pale.

"Everything... will be as Sister Qiao says!"

After Ru Meng finished speaking, it was as if all her strength had left her.

With the matter done, Jiang Wangzu brushed off his sleeves and left, hiding away his merit and name.

He naturally knew nothing about what had happened at Immortal Music Gate.

He left the Upper District and passed by Dragon River Pier, where he saw quite a few people gathered around watching.

"Another dead person!"

"Yeah, the thirteenth one this month!"

"Is the Canal Gang going to handle this or not? This Dragon River Pier is their turf. They don't take any less protection money on ordinary days!"

"Friend, saying that is a bit naive. How would a murder case fall under the Canal Gang? This is a matter for the Police Station. Who knows when the Police Station will solve the case!"

"I think this matter's hanging by a thread, because I heard the killer isn't human at all, but a Water Ghoul. They say the necks of all those who died were bitten to shreds, and all the blood in their bodies was sucked dry."

"More than blood. Even the internal organs and brains and such were eaten. Their deaths were so miserable. Otherwise the dock workers wouldn't have stuffed the corpses into burlap sacks. It's too frightening!"

"If the Water Ghoul can't be driven away or killed as soon as possible, who would still dare go into the water to fish? The fishermen's livelihood will be cut off again."

"This world truly won't let people live!"

"Who says it isn't? If we don't go into the water for even a day, how are us common folk supposed to get by!"

"..."