In the restroom, Zhao Dalong looked irritated.
"Brother Long~" His companion put on a coy voice and wrapped her arms around his neck. "What's wrong? Your expression suddenly changed."
"Fuck, the way Ding looked at us, it felt like he looked down on me and A Wen. All through dinner, he kept giving us that fake smile and staring at Li Nanshu!"
"Once you become a Red Pole, he won't look at you like that anymore."
"Cut the crap. Take my pants off. I'm fucking pissed right now!"
Zhao Dalong pressed his companion's head down and looked at himself in the mirror.
"One day, Ding will be paying tribute to me!"
Inside a black luxury car, Ding Sheng held a cigar between his fingers and gazed out the window.
"Brother Sheng, are you really going to join this Shengxing Society?" his trusted bodyguard asked.
"Just for fun. Zhao Dalong has some ability. I hear he's about to become a Straw Sandal, which would make him a key member of his gang. We're already on good terms. No need to cut ties."
"True."
"I mainly came to this gathering to win Li Nanshu over... The Southern Sky Martial Hall is a major power."
"Nan Shu's looks might only be above average, but her figure is damn fine. And she practices martial arts. If you could get her, Brother Sheng... whew."
"That woman is ambitious. I can't win her over right now... I don't practice martial arts, after all. She probably wouldn't be interested."
The bodyguard chuckled. "She is Ye Tiannan's disciple, after all. They say Ye has Seven True Disciples, all prominent figures in Fragrant Sea's martial arts world, known as the Southern Sky Seven Heroes. Li Nanshu only joined three years ago. Her footing is still shallow. With your status, young master, you still have a chance. Once the old master passes away and the fight to become his heir begins, she could be a great help."
Ding Sheng looked toward the oppressive, forbidding skyline ahead, where dark clouds shrouded the Walled City, and gave a knowing smile.
"Who would have thought our fortunes would change so much in just three short years?"
Everyone had their own fate, ordained by heaven!
Some were born dragons; others ended up outlaws.
So what if he lacked the martial constitution?
Money could make even ghosts turn a millstone.
He believed the power of money could solve most problems.
Night fell, and neon lights illuminated half the sky.
Mount Tianping, over a thousand meters above sea level, towered over the western part of the bustling island city.
Luxurious private residences dotted its slopes.
Every one of them cost more than 99.9 percent of the city's residents could earn working for ten lifetimes.
Inside one elegant residence built like a dojo,
Li Nanshu stood before an incense burner, overlooking Fragrant Sea.
"I heard you went to see some people from your hometown?" A tall woman with sharp brows, her hair pinned up and her body draped in loose Daoist robes, had appeared without her noticing.
"Greetings, senior sister. They're friends who crossed the sea with me back then," Li Nanshu said.
"Dragons do not dwell with snakes. Don't forget your current status. Stay away from filthy places, lest you bring back worldly impurities and disturb our cultivation." With that, the woman left.
Li Nanshu wore a smile, but inwardly she paid little heed to the woman's words.
With her talent, she might one day surpass the so-called Seven Heroes and inherit Ye Nantian's mantle!
She looked toward the Walled City and murmured to herself,
"A Wen is rather interesting. He's clearly trained in martial arts, yet he said he was working a regular job. Still as timid and low-key as before..."
That night,
Li Xiuwen returned to the Enclave carrying a pile of food.
Zhao Dalong had ordered far too much, and many dishes had gone untouched.
Accustomed to hardship in the Enclave, Li Xiuwen couldn't bear such waste and had packed up everything no one had touched.
His aunt-in-law had no objections when she saw all that delicious food.
She immediately set it on the table and called his uncle-in-law over.
"I'll open some good wine." His uncle-in-law brought out a treasured bottle of red wine he had never been willing to drink. A client had given it to him. It was a foreign brand, a hundred a bottle.
They had no wineglasses at home, so his aunt-in-law brought out three porcelain bowls and said with a smile, "We're family. No need to fuss over these things."
At the table, Li Xiuwen told his aunt-in-law and uncle-in-law about how his three friends from home were doing. Both grew excited.
"A gang's Straw Sandal, a disciple of a major martial arts hall, and the heir to a Newspaper Tycoon... With connections like those, the Thirteen Guardians shouldn't dare trouble us anymore, right?" His aunt-in-law looked hopeful.
"Hard to say. They're doing so well now. There's a huge gap between their status and A Wen's, a thick wall separating them... It wouldn't be right to casually use their names as protection," his uncle-in-law sighed.
"Why are other people so lucky? Why doesn't our family have relatives like that?" his aunt-in-law couldn't help saying.
After several rounds of drinks, his aunt-in-law and uncle-in-law were slightly tipsy.
Li Xiuwen had drunk quite a bit too, but he wasn't drunk.
Having twice an ordinary person's blood and qi was no joke.
"Looks like you three are eating pretty well." A hoarse voice came from the doorway.
A tall, skinny, bald man squeezed through the entrance, a lifelike green snake tattooed on his neck, with two thugs flanking him.
He spread his arms and leaned back, asking in a mocking tone, "Brother Yi, where have you been making your fortune lately?"
His uncle-in-law's expression changed before he forced a smile. "Brother Snake, come have a drink. Making a fortune isn't in the cards for me. I just watch over this flour factory and earn a little hard-earned cash."
"Such good food. I can't even afford to eat like this," Venomous Snake said with a smile.
"A Wen went to a gathering with some gang friends and brought these leftovers back," his uncle-in-law said.
The gangs had countless experts. He wanted Venomous Snake to know A Wen had such connections, so he wouldn't dare lay hands on him recklessly.
Venomous Snake's heart lurched. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at Li Xiuwen, who was still eating over there, and said with a smile, "A Wen's made something of himself. I'm glad."
"Yes, he certainly has. One of his friends is even Ye Nantian's disciple," his aunt-in-law chimed in with a smile.
Whether it was true or not, she was determined to use that name as protection.
Venomous Snake's smile froze.
Ye Nantian was indeed someone he couldn't afford to offend.
But this was the Enclave. Experts like Ye Nantian wouldn't casually enter the Walled City.
They stood out too much and could easily cause misunderstandings with Mr. Ming.
Besides, these days, people using Mr. Ming, Tian Yihao, or Ye Nantian's names as protection were a dime a dozen.
Who knew whether it was true?
"I came to talk business this time, A Wen. Have you seen Aji lately?" Venomous Snake asked with a smile, watching for changes in Li Xiuwen's expression.
Using acting skills worthy of Cassio, Li Xiuwen put on an innocent, bewildered look. "No... What happened to Brother Ji?"
"Nothing much... I had that kid collect money, but who knows where he ran off to. Now I have to collect it myself," Venomous Snake sighed.
"I haven't seen Brother Ji in ages. I was actually thinking of finding time to ask you about him," Li Xiuwen said with a smile.
Venomous Snake raised
his hand and waved it. "Forget it. Don't worry about him. I only came to ask about Aji. Since you don't know either, let's leave it at that."
He had originally wanted to make a small move to test Li Xiuwen's strength, to see whether he really was an azure membrane expert and whether he could have killed Rotten-Life Ji.
But now that he had heard Li Xiuwen had ties to Ye Nantian's disciple, he didn't dare risk it, true or not.
If Li Xiuwen really was close to someone as powerful as Ye Nantian's disciple,
even a little test might get him killed.
Venomous Snake turned to leave, deciding to report to Third Master before making any further decisions.
Third Master was a purple membrane expert. He could leave it to him.
Li Xiuwen kept smiling obligingly, never revealing the slightest trace of a martial artist's presence.
He was no different from the timid A Wen of old.
Once Brother Snake turned his back, Li Xiuwen's eyes went cold, and he suddenly moved.
With a single step, he caught up to one of the thugs behind Brother Snake.
His large hand shot out of his sleeve like a vicious dragon, trailing a fierce gust as it clamped onto the thug's neck.
A twist, a wrench-crack!
The thug's neck snapped. He lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.
His pupils were wide, his face still showing a hint of bewilderment...
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