“Reserved?”
Wang Xiaoyun furrowed her brows and landed her piercing gaze on the manager. “My secretary called you half an hour ago and you didn’t say anything. You can’t just lie to my face. Where is the owner?”
The hotel manager suddenly felt enormous pressure on him.
Wang Xiaoyun ran a multi-trillion yuan company and one decision of hers would affect the livelihood of hundreds if not thousands of employees, over time, she had gained an intimidating mannerism which she wasn’t afraid to flaunt in other’s faces when necessary.
“Boss Wang, please, I can explain! That guest is my boss’s friend, so we can’t really refuse him either…”
The hotel manager tried to explain, but Wang Xiaoyun wasn’t budging.
She might have been more forgiving on any other day, but not today. Today, she finally got a chance to spend some quality time with her son, so she was not going to let other people ruin it.
“Ah-ha, that’s Auntie Wang! I was starting to wonder who would have the guts to shout at my bodyguards.” A giddy voice came up from within the restaurant.
Chen Fan watched as a finally dressed thin young man emerged out of the entrance.
“It’s you, Yichen.”
Wang Xiaoyun furrowed her brows after she recognized the young man. He was the child of a retired senior officer in Zhong Hai, a good friend of the Ji Family and a reputable heir in Zhong Hai.
“Auntie Wang, I apologize. I have a few guests come to visit me from Lin Nan Province.”
Yichen apologized insincerely and perfunctorily.
A flicker of displeasure flashed in Wang Xiaoyun’s eyes. Before she could fling back at the man, a rowdy voice came up from inside. “Yichen! Is that the Queen of the Zhong Hai? Tsk, tsk… what a fine lady with curves and all!”
There was a large group of handsome young men and women sitting in the dining hall behind Yichen. One of the young men gawked at Wang Xiaoyun and shouted.
Before the young man’s words had faded, Chen Fan’s face darkened and was ready to lash out.
“Courting Death!”
Yukishiro Sa was one step ahead of Chen Fan and darted forth, turning into a flash of white light. When she reappeared right in front of the young man, she slapped him hard on his face.
By now, she had already reached the peak level of Internal Force cultivation and therefore, her attack had sent the young man flying in the air for a few dozen meters before he thudded heavily back to the ground.
“Asshole, how dare you hit Young Lord Qiu!”
“You are courting death! Do you have any idea who Young Lord Qiu is?”
“Guards? Where are the guards?”
The turn of events startled the group of young men and women. They pointed their fingers at Chen Fan as black-clad bodyguards rushed into the room.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Yukishiro Sa danced elegantly around the bodyguards like a butterfly, and a great economy of movement, she had laid low all the bodyguards in half a heartbeat. She didn’t hold back her strength and broke bones in each and every bodyguard’s body.
By now, it finally occurred to the young lords from Lin Nan that Chen Fan and his companions were much tougher nuts to crack.
As silence fell over the room, everyone turned to Yichen, their host.
“Auntie Wang, what is the meaning of this?”
Yichen glanced at Yukishiro Sa fearfully and then shifted his gaze back at Wang Xiaoyun.
“Get out of my face.”
Wang Xiaoyun narrowed her eyes and hissed at the young man.
By then, Wang Xiaoyun had gotten powerful enough to outright ignore insignificant trouble makers such as Yichen. Even Yichen’s grandpa had to think twice before making a move against Wang Xiaoyun, much less his spoiled grandson.
“You!”
Yichen’s face was flushed red like a cooked shrimp as his temper flared. However, the sight of Yukishiro Sa staring down at him had made him think better of her actions. He managed to swallow down the humiliation and let out an old smile: “Very well, Wang Xiaoyun. I will make you pay for this one day!”
After he had said that, he left the room with his group of friends in tow.
Once Yichen was finally gone, Wang Xiaoyun shook her head and said: “I didn’t mean to be so angry and mean to them. But they are going to ruin my day with my son. I can’t let them do that!”
“Bravo, mom!”
Chen Fan cracked a smile.
The restaurant owner also finally arrived with an apologetic smile. “Boss Wang, that group of kids are from powerful families in Lin Nan province. The one that got knocked out was called Young Lord Qiu and his father is a general stationed at the Lin Nan province. I hope they wouldn’t —”
“Doesn’t matter”
Chen Fan waved a hand.
If not because Yukishiro Sa had punished them for him, some of those teenagers’ heads would have already been rolling. Chen Fan wouldn’t care a tad bit about who his father was. That being said, Chen Fan had marked those young men and women with his Divine Sense: a dessert for later perhaps.
While Chen Fan sat down in the dining room, Yichen and his cohort filed out of the hotel.
Yichen scanned his friends and asked: “Is Young Lord Qiu alright?”
“He is fine, but his face is all swollen. That bitch might have fractured his cheekbone.” One of the young men put in indignantly.
“Humph! If we were in Lin Nan, I would skin them alive for what they have done!”
A scantily-clad girl fumed with a grin.
“Don’t be a hothead! We came with our young master on a mission. We can’t spoil our young master’s plan because of a frivolous brawl.”
“Just so! Brother Puojiun wanted us to spread the influence of the Hidden Dragon Unit to Zhong Hai and Jiang Nan Province. However, I doubt Brother Puojiun would leave Old Qiu’s injury unavenged. Once Brother Puojiun gets the time and energy to deal with that woman, she will be dead meat!” the leader of the group said.
The other group members nodded in agreement.
Yichen listened as great trepidation rose inside of him.
This group of young men and women were from families no less influential than his.
However, they spoke of the name of their Young Master with such devotion that it verged on religious zeal.
“He is the Lin Pojun of the Lin Family. No wonder my old man told me to butter him up and called him the most outstanding young man in the world.”
Yichen lowered his head and exclaimed in his mind.
Once lunch was over, An Ya gave Chen Fan and Yukishiro Sa a tour of the city and hit pretty much all tourist attractions.
“Zhong Hai really lives up to its reputation as an international hub. I can see why the family that could claim dominance in this metropolis is so much more powerful than those of the Ji Family of Zhong Hai. I think I might have underestimated the Ji Family.”
If Chen Fan was a little bit concerned, he didn’t show it on his face.
However powerful the Ji Family was, it would be a far cry from the might of Russia. Chen Fan was confident that he could bring them down with one slash of his blade.
“Xiao Fan, mom just called me and told me that she wouldn’t join us for dinner. She also said the Hua Family had invited us to a banquet at Mount Bajin.”
An Ya hung up the phone and said.
“The Hua Family where Hua Yunfeng was from? Fine, but we are not in a hurry, let’s finish these street snacks first.”
Chen Fan said lightly.
An Ya shook her head and followed Chen Fan with a wry smile.
When the dusk finally broke the night fell, Zhong Hai came alive with incandescent street lights and colorful neon lights.
Meanwhile, the Hua Family’s mansion at the top of Mount Bajin was filled to the brim with actions. More People flowed into the mansion than there had ever been over the last decade.
“Hey, Boss Li, nice to see you here!”
“It’s an invitation from the Hua Family, I have to make it. Do I look like I want to be thrown into the river by that evil witch?”
“Haha, Boss Li, quit pulling my leg. But you are right, it had been a while since the last time Hua Family had such a big banquet. I think the very last time I can remember was when their fourth-generation heir was born. ”
Many guests murmured to each other as they walked past the entrance.
Hua Family of Zhong Hai could trace their history all the way to the era of the Green Gang a hundred years ago. The current family lord, Hua Qinxiong was a renowned tycoon in Zhong Hai and had over a billion yuan at his disposal. The so-called Queen of the Underground World was also from the Hua Family and her name was Cheng Danqin.
That being said, the most revered figurehead of the family was Old Man Hua who had lived over a hundred years.
Hua Yunfeng!
He was the son of the Green Gang’s leader, a Martial arts Grandmaster and ranked number four on the Heaven roll.
Ever since Hua Yunfeng presided over Zhong Hai, he had protected the city from many invasions. He was revered by many as the guardian of Zhong Hai.
Once the guests were seated, they raised their cups a few times and then started to murmur to each other.
“Boss Li, have you heard the purpose of this banquet?”
“I am not entirely sure. But I wager it must have something to do with that group from Lin Nan province. Someone big, like really big has arrived at Zhonghai, and even the Hua Family had rolled out the red carpet for him.”
“No way! The Hua Family of Zhong Hai was one of the most powerful family clans in China. Only those top dogs from Yan Jin might be worthy of such treatment. Who was that?”
“No clue! But I heard people calling him… “Young Master” or some sort.”
The name “Young Master” had caught many people’s attention as it reminded them of the rumors they have heard that originated from Southern China.
“Do you mean the Young Master from Southeastern China? I have heard of him before. He was a popular figure among both the government officials as well as underground world criminals. He won over the young elites in Southeastern China and had formed a gang called Hidden Dragon Unit. Most of its members were from elite families, some of them were heads of the local districts.”
Someone put in.
“That has to be him.”
“He is from a mysterious family clan that was not only terrifyingly powerful but also extremely low key. Their influence could even be felt in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Some people told me that his family used to be the number one family clan in China.”
Someone else added.
These tycoons of Zhong Hai were all resourceful and well-connected businessmen.
Although the Lin family had lived in seclusion for sixty years, they didn’t stop spreading their influence across Southern China as well as Southeast Asia. Over the years, the Lin Family had only revealed the tip of their glacial power, but that was enough to impress most people.
Suddenly, someone cried out: “Lord Ji, Lord Shang, Lord Tang, Lord Zhu, Lord Nin and the family lords of other dozen great families are here. Oh, wait… who is that young man walking before them?”
People looked over toward the entrance and were stunned by what they saw.