“What is it?”
The old man furrowed brows. His severe cast of countenance emanated a majestic and overbearing quality whose presence would have shaken any ordinary young man to the core.
“It’s nothing. My good-for-nothing brother got himself in trouble again.” Han Juntu heaved a sigh and said.
“Ah, he is your younger brother, isn’t he? I have heard of him.” The old man left it at that and nodded.
He was impressed by Han Juntu, but he didn’t like his younger brother at all. On the contrary, the old man loathed bullies such as Han Hongkun who pushed others around using his family’s background. However, the old man was not going to intervene since it wasn’t up to him to teach Han Hongkun what to do. In the end, he told Han Juntu: “If you run into trouble in Jinlin City, don’t be afraid to ask me for help.”
“Thank you, Uncle Li.”
Han Juntu replied politely.
So far, Han Hongkun was able to get away with all the trouble he had made thanks to the weight of the Han family name. Han Juntu also believed that even if Han Hongkun failed to handle it himself, his involvement should save his younger brother’s hide as he always did. Sometimes Han Juntu hoped that his brother would get what he deserved, but he didn’t have any other options.
After he had exited the courtyard, he entered into a vehicle with a license plate from Yan Jin.
“Uncle Hu, what’s going on?” Han Juntu asked as soon as he entered the vehicle.
“Second Lord was invited by Young Lord Song to a Banquet. It was a gathering of heirs from all major families in Jinlin City. There is a new family who just joined the party this year, and they are called the Chen family. A member of the Chen family had forced Second Lord to his knees and Young Lord Song was knocked unconscious as well.”
The middle-aged man in the driver’s seat answered calmly.
The middle-aged man had a neat the tidy buzz cut; a sharp light glinted in his eyes as a calm and stately quality emanated from within. His muscular arms were bare and looked powerful enough to snap rebar. Han Juntu had placed a great measure of trust in this middle-aged man and called him Uncle Hu. He used to be the vice-captain of the Sharp Blade Squad of the Dragon’s Fang Unit. He retired from his service after being injured, but then he was hired by Old Man Han as Han Juntu’s personal bodyguard.
It was evident that the leaders of the Han Family held Han Juntu in high regard.
“A new family in Jinlin City?” Han Juntu tapped the armrest with a finger and cracked a smile. “I wager Hongkun walked right into a trap set up by the Song Family. The Song Family knew Hongkun’s hot-headedness and so they have invited him to the gathering to test the strength of their rival.”
So smart and shrewd was Han Juntu that he had seen through the Song family’s ruse right away.
Realization finally dawned upon the middle-aged man as soon as he heard Han Juntu’s analysis.
The Song Family was one of the greatest families in Jinlin City and Song Duanmin was also a cunning businessman. He wouldn’t have invited Han Hongkun to such a random event for no reason. Plus, he had pitted him against the newly risen Chen family. Song Family must have viewed the Chen family as their rival, but dared not to challenge the Chen family openly, so they egged Han Hongkun on to fight for them. To the Song Family’s surprise, the Chen family turned out to be a tough nut to crack and even the threat of the Han Family was ineffective against them.
“Regardless, he is my brother, so forcing him to kneel down is an outright insult to the Han Family.” Han Juntu sneered and then said: “What did the Song Family say about this? If they don’t give us a satisfactory answer, I might have to do something about despite the tie between grandpa and Old Man Song.”
“The family lord of the Song Family is already on his way to the scene. I don’t know what he would do though.”
The middle-aged man steadied the steering wheel with both hands as he looked into the distance. A smug smile of resolution appeared on his face.
“Humph!. We might as well drive there and see what kind of schmuck dares to insult the Han family.” Han Juntu snorted and then narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, Young Lord. ”
The Middle-aged man answered stoically but deep down, he lamented the situation in his mind.
He knew that Han Juntu was really riled up this time. However contemptible Han Hongkun was, he was Han Juntu’s younger brother. The Chen family’s action of forcing him down to his knees didn’t sit well with Han Juntu.
The Middle-aged man pressed on the gas pedal and accelerated the car to a hundred twenty kilometers per hour. All the while, he prayed for the Chen family’s lives, hoping the main instigator was already gone by the time they arrived. He knew the ruthless methods of Han Juntu first hand. The young man was capable of acts that could make the action of his bullying brother seemed pale in comparison.
Meanwhile, inside the Red Stone Club, the air was tense and heavy.
Song Duanmin slumped on the ground in half death. Some members of the Song family came closer to their young lord, trying to take him to the hospital, but they thought better of it after they felt Chen Fan’s cold glare on their faces.
Han Hongkun was still kneeling on the ground and was still swearing and cursing. After a while, Chen Fan was getting annoyed by the noise he was making, so he slapped him in the face, knocking out a few teeth from his mouth, and silenced the young lord.
The entire ballroom became deadly quiet and people could even hear the sound of Chen Guoguo and Chen Fan munching on their food.
Chen Fan still carried himself with a striking degree of levity after beating up Song Duanmin and forcing Second Lord Han to his knees. Chen Guoguo was a child and was oblivious of what was going on, she was the only person who seemed to be having a good time. The rest of the guests were terrified by the development and worried about what would come next.
“Tsk, tsk… Han Hongkun has his work cut out for him. Master Chen is not a pushover.”
Someone remarked gloatingly. However, more people watched on with concerned frowns.
“Master Chen shouldn’t have done that. Han Family of Yan Jin is not the same as the Ji Family nor the Su Family. It is the real top dog in the capital city of China. Although it is not as influential as the Wang and the Xiao families, it is not much inferior to them either. Old Man Han had just retired from his position and still wielded tremendous influence. Even beating up Han Hongkun would not have tarnished the dignity of the Han Family as much as making Han Hongkun kneel down did. By doing so, Chen Fan had not only insulted Han Hongkun, but also the entire Han Family.”
“I think Master Chen should get over himself. He believes that his rank in the military and the protection of Li Wuchen would shield him from everything. Little did he know that there will always be someone better than him.”
The young man with the gold-rimmed glasses said as he shook his head.
“Yan Dong, what is the reaction of the Song Family? Are they going to just let Song Duanmin continue to be knocked out?” A young woman asked.
Even as Yan Dong was about to answer, a wave of commotion drifted in from the entrance. He looked over and his eyes lit up with excitement.
“Family Lord of the Song Family is here.”
Lo and behold, a stately looking middle-aged man with a severe expression came into the ballroom with large confident strides. He first saw Han Hongkun who was kneeling down on the ground, then saw the body of Song Duanmin slumped on the ground. A pang of grief suddenly seized him.
He turned around and gave Chen Fan an accusatory look and said: “Chen Fan, this is too much.”
“Who are you to question me?”
Chen Fan flung back at the middle-aged man without even sparing him a glance.
“Very well, since you asked me.” The middle-aged man was no longer angry as an ugly grin surfaced on his face. He replied venomously: “My name is Song Shunhua, and I am the family lord of the Song Family, owner of the Songs Group. Is that enough?”
Song Family was one of the oldest families in Jinlin City. They owned tens of billions of assets in China. Although Song Shunhua was not in a position of power within the government, he had many other titles such as the Deputy Director of the Commerce Association of Jiang Nan Province, the Chairman of the Jinlin City’s Chamber of Commerce, lending him significant clout in the world commerce. The Song Family’s overall strength closely followed the Su Family of Wu Zhou City and Zhang Donghai.
However, Chen Fan simply snorted derisively: “That’s not enough.”
Song Shunhua blushed as anger spilled out from his eyes.
The younger generations of the Song Family were all stunned by the development. They heard that Master Chen was not a pushover and that he was extremely vengeful, but they had never really believed those rumors. However, Chen Fan’s cold replies to Song Shunhua proved and validated those rumors. If even Song Shunhua was not enough to speak to him, who would be?
Song Shunhua was a seasoned businessman and was experienced in dealing with crises such as this. He quickly gathered himself and coldly said: “I know you are a powerful fighter who knows how to cast a spell. I also know that you are the head sergeant at Cang Dragon and Li Wuchen is your main benefactor.”
“But I need to remind you that we the Song Family are not pushovers either. The Chen family has just risen to power this year, yet you have already riled up the Ji, Tang and the Nin Family. Now you are trying to mess with the Song Family. What are you trying to achieve? Do you really have to set yourself as the enemy of the entire Jiang Nan Province? I doubt the Chen family could handle the combined ire of all great families in Jiang Nan Province.”
Song Shunhua’s warning turned Chen Ning and Chen An into bundle of nerves.
However powerful Chen Fan was, he would not protect the Chen family if all the great families of Jiang Nan fought back. No family in China could have handled that.
Chen Ning scanned the crowd and noticed a lot of angry faces around her. She suddenly felt scared.
The Chen family might have overreached themselves.
The wind only howls around the tallest trees.
They should have adopted a completely different strategy of hiding their advantages and gathering as much support as possible. However, Chen Fan had acted without much thought. He injured Song Duanmin gravely and the other families would naturally be on the Song family’s side particularly after Song Shunhua’s incitement.
“Chen Fan, that’s enough!” Chen An shook his head with furrowed brows.
“Why should we be afraid? As long as we have the power, we should punish those who look down on us without mercy.” Chen Xiao said coldly.
However, most Chen family members shared Chen An’s sentiment. Chen Xiao’s suggestion might sound satisfying, but it was unrealistic. In the real world, no one could overreach themselves without grave consequences. Even the superpower America had to maintain its web of alliances. The only fool who dared to declare war against the whole world was Empress Dowager Cixi and the Chinese people paid dearly for her lunacy in the end.
“You might not be aware that Li Wuchen used to serve under my father. Which side do you think Li Wuchen would be during a conflict between the Han and the Chen family?” Song Shunhua grinned and then said: “Also, the Han Family’s oldest son, Han Juntu is in Jinlin City right now. How do you think he will react after he hears that you have forced his young brother to his knees?”
Everyone in the room was stunned by Song Shunhua’s words.
Han Juntu was in Jinlin City?