The Han Family's Young Master

Lowering his head in thought for a moment, Ye Feng murmured.

"Let me borrow two ounces of ink from the mortal realm,

To write of all the love and evil in the jianghu.

Then take a lamp from the sacred mountain,

And forget the past, as youthful years fall away."

With that, he drank by himself. Beside him, Zhao Peng went to the table as though he had found a priceless treasure. Picking up a writing brush, he quickly wrote down the poem.

Ye Lin came over too. Looking at the poem on the rice paper, she remarked, "Brother, I have to say, Zhao Peng's skills aren't much, but his ink-and-brush work really is good!"

Zhao Peng scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Ye Lin, you flatter me. My work is nothing special. Brother Feng's poem is the good part. Hehe."

Ye Lin took the poem outside and handed it to a staff member, then hurried back. "Brother Peng, my brother and I helped you out so much. How are you going to thank the two of us?"

Zhao Peng didn't stand on ceremony. He declared generously, "Whether or not I get to see the courtesan queen, how about I arrange for us to spend a few days in Macau tomorrow? It's not like Huaxia over there. As long as you have money, you're God."

Ye Feng's interest was piqued. He had never been to Macau, and his only impression of the place came from a few God of Gamblers movies filmed in Hong Kong.

Beside him, Ye Lin was exceptionally excited.

"Yay! Let's leave first thing tomorrow morning! I once aspired to become a female Saint of Gamblers myself! Unfortunately, my mom mercilessly smothered that dream with schoolwork!"

Ye Feng burst out laughing too. He still remembered how, after watching Master Xing's movies as a child, Ye Lin had secretly spent her pocket money on three dice and practiced with the family's drinking glasses. Perhaps she had been too young then: she broke several glasses, got a beating from their mother, and finally had her dice confiscated and taken away for a game of mahjong.

The singing and dancing downstairs came to an end, and Xie Xiaoqing returned to the stage.

"Friends, my young lady has read all the poems you wrote. Please congratulate Mr. Zhao Peng on the second floor, who has won the chance to meet her."

The crowd downstairs broke into discussion.

"Does anyone know who this Zhao Peng is? There's no one by that name in Demon City, is there? Or in nearby Hang City and Su City?"

"Which brat got that kind of dog-shit luck? He actually gets to meet Miss Hua Ling'er! If I find out who he is, I'll make sure he learns how formidable I am!"

Seeing this, his friend immediately warned him, "Have you got a death wish? He's a young master of the Zhao Family in the Capital, connected by marriage to Demon City's foremost family, the Qin Family!"

When the people learned who Zhao Peng was, none dared say another word, for fear of retaliation.

In the private room on the second floor, Zhao Peng danced with joy. Seeing him like that, Ye Feng hurriedly urged him to go to the meeting.

"Brother Feng! I'm going on ahead! Hehe, everyone says Hua Ling'er has a beauty fit to topple a nation and the wisdom of Zhuge. I never thought I, Zhao Peng, would get a glimpse of her lovely face today. I'll have plenty to brag about when I get back to the Capital!"

When Zhao Peng opened the door, a man with a cold, sinister face stood before him. He looked up and saw it was Han Shaoqing, the young master of the Han Family in the Capital. The Zhao and Han families were comparable in strength, but there was a vast difference in the two men's status. Han Shaoqing was the future heir of the Han Family, while Zhao Peng was merely a universally acknowledged wastrel.

"Zhao Peng, I didn't expect you to come to Demon City too. Everyone says you're a wastrel, but I never thought a piece of trash like you could win Miss Hua's favor. I advise you to get lost, now. Miss Hua isn't someone you can covet!" Han Shaoqing said coldly. He knew something of Hua Ling'er's background from his family. Behind her stood a hidden sect of terrifying power, which was why he had come all the way from the Capital in hopes of establishing a connection with her.

"Humph! Han Shaoqing, you really are arrogant. Miss Hua is willing to see me. What business is it of yours? I'm going to see her, so what can you do about it? Bite me if you dare!" Zhao Peng refused to indulge him and immediately fired back with a taunt.

Hearing Zhao Peng, Ye Lin doubled over with laughter. Holding her stomach, she said, "Haha, Zhao Peng, I didn't expect you to be as good at tearing into people as you are at squandering money!"

Han Shaoqing's face had turned purple with anger. As the dignified young master of the Han Family, he was someone others looked up to wherever he went. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

"Uncle Feng, teach these two fools who don't know life from death a lesson!"

A middle-aged man sprang out from behind Han Shaoqing and attacked Zhao Peng and Ye Lin. Ye Feng watched the two men coldly without intervening. For a late-stage External Force martial artist to think he could hurt Ye Lin with Shadow Three protecting her was nothing but a fool's dream!

Just as the middle-aged man was about to reach Ye Lin, a black shadow flashed past. With a muffled thud, the man slammed heavily into the wall, vomiting mouthfuls of blood.

The others stared in surprise at the figure who had suddenly appeared. Without waiting for them to speak, Ye Feng ordered, "Shadow Three, cripple one of his arms!"

A black shadow flashed, and Han Shaoqing let out a miserable scream. His left arm was broken through and through, hanging limply at his side.

Beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead. His venomous eyes bore into Ye Feng, wishing he could tear him to pieces.

Ye Feng looked at him with disdain and said coldly, "You should be glad your guard wasn't trying to kill them just now. Otherwise, neither of you would leave this room alive. Remember, my name is Ye Feng. If you're not satisfied, you can come find me anytime!"

Though Han Shaoqing was unwilling to accept it, the situation was stronger than he was. He could only support the middle-aged man and leave in disgrace.

Ye Lin looked at her brother admiringly. "Brother, you were so cool just now! Who was that big sister in black? Is she your friend?"

Ye Feng looked at his sister, unable to make sense of it. Most girls would have been frightened to tears by something like this, yet Ye Lin seemed excited. Were her nerves really that thick?

"She's the bodyguard I assigned to you. Her name is Shadow Three. From now on, she'll step in whenever you're threatened! But you need to be careful. Shadow Three will kill people! If you don't want to see something that bloody, don't put yourself in danger again!"

Ye Lin nodded, not because she was afraid, but because she didn't want to trouble her brother. Beside them, Zhao Peng was looking at Ye Feng with an ingratiating smile, making his skin crawl. Ye Feng hurriedly said, "Don't look at me like that, or I'll have Shadow Three deal with you! I know what you mean. I don't have many Grandmaster-level guards myself, so don't even think about it."

Zhao Peng was so shocked by those words that he didn't know what to say! Grandmaster-level guards! And he didn't have many? Was he sure he wasn't joking? The Zhao Family was one of the Capital's top families and had been around for nearly a thousand years, yet its strongest martial artist was only at peak Internal Force.

"Brother Feng, a lower-level one would be fine too. I'm not picky, hehe."

"No. Hurry up and go see your courtesan queen! Otherwise, I'll have Shadow Three throw you over there."

Zhao Peng walked slowly away, looking back every few steps. Only when Shadow Three's figure slowly appeared did he flee in panic.