Red Envelope Group of the Three Realms

Nezha: WOW! TOO! DAMN! TASTY! I have never drank anything as delicious as this! Chen, you’re so awesome! (three smooch emojis)

Lord Yama: This taste is just too exquisite! Now if only I had some spicy sticks to go with this right now, then that would be just perfect! Thank you, Chen for introducing me to a new and wonderful gastronomical experience!

Lubu: shit! I tried so hard, but only managed to snatch one box, and before I could drink it myself, my beloved Diao Chan had already taken it away! But she is extremely pleased with it though! Thank you!

Dufu: Thank you O’ Great Genius! This drink is absolutely delightful! Most splendid indeed!

Spider Demoness: Thank you! Thank you!

…

In just a short time after sending out the wave of Wahaha milk red packets, all manner of gods, ghosts, and demons who had been eagerly waiting became lively once more. They were all praising just how delicious the milk was, and thanking Chen profusely for his generosity.

Li Bai: Sigh… Delicious as it is, I only got two packs. (disappointed emoji)

God ErLang: shit! This stuff is so delicious, but I only managed to get three! Who’s the luckiest bastard? Come out now and give us back some red packets!

Chang’e: The luckiest one today is Monkey King! Monkey King, your red packets, please!

Guardian of Ground: Monkey King! Where are you? Come out!

Heavenly Soldier A: Come out!

Heavenly Soldier B: Come out!

DING!

[Monkey King just sent a red packet in the group!]

DING!

[Monkey King just sent a red packet in the group!]

DING!

[Monkey King just sent a red packet in the group!]

“Dafuq! This monkey is too generous! Three red packets in a row!” Chen’s eyes lit up and quickly tapped on the red packets to grab them.

DING!

[Congratulations! You have acquired Monkey King’s red packet! Received three Wishful Monkey Fur, it has already been stored in your treasure chest!]

DING!

[Congratulations! You have acquired Monkey King’s red packet! Received three honey peaches from Mount Huaguo, already sent to your treasure chest!]

“Hahaha! Double kill!” Having gotten two out of the three red packets, Chen was overjoyed!

Monkey King: Sending one red packet after another is no fun. Come on! Let’s all throw in something and flood the chat with red packets!

Moonlord: Yes, why not? It’s been ages since we did that. My hands are itching already! Come on everyone, let’s do one now!

Nezha: Flood the chat! Flood the chat! Ready… GO!

DING!

DING!

DING!

As soon as Nezha said GO, everybody in the group kept throwing in red packets like nobody’s business. Chen’s phone kept ringing with notifications as if it was broken! He kept on tapping away at his screen attempting to grab some of the many red packets that were coming down all over the chat like rain. However, everybody was much more prepared this time, and in many cases, the red packets were already taken just right before Chen could tap on it. Despite his severely lower chances, Chen did his best and finally managed to grab one.

DING!

[Congratulations! Acquired Xingjun the Heavenly Smith’s red packet. Received one discarded Heavenly Smithing Furnace. Already stored in your treasure chest.]

“Heavenly Smithy Furnace? What’s that? And it’s discarded? This Xingjun guy must be really stingy!” Chen complained as he opened the treasure chest to take a look at it.

[Unwanted Heavenly Smithy Furnace: A Smithing furnace used by the holy smiths of Heaven for crafting. Poorly maintained. Can only be used to smelt low-level materials and forge low-level items. Would you like to retrieve this?]

“Wait, it’s a forge?” Chen’s eyes lit up upon reading that, and he instantly thought of the bags of jade bits and scraps, and a bold idea came to him! “Low-level materials in Heaven are entirely on a higher level compared to these jade scraps of Earth. If I can use this forge together with the Flame of Transmogrification, I wonder if I can produce jewelry en masse?”

“Let’s give it a try!” Chen decided to try it out on the spot. He took two big sacks of the jade scraps with him and headed into the storage room deeper inside the store.

*BONG!*

He retrieved the furnace from the phone and placed it right in the middle of the room before emptying the bags of jade scraps into it. After putting the materials in place, he placed his palm face down on top of the jade pieces. “This is where I put the flame…” And with that said, a flame erupted from his hand onto the top of the pile of jade scraps and engulfed all the jade pieces in the forge in an instant. The forge, sensing Chen’s intentions, suddenly buzzed with a resonating hum.

“This really is a holy artifact! Even though it’s a discarded one, it still holds some divine power inside!” Chen found his thoughts synchronizing with the resonance coming from the forge and realized that he has full control of the forge! He could now control and manipulate the flame, as well as the materials in the furnace at will! With just a simple thought, he divided the jade scraps into a hundred even portions and melted them down.

“These will become bracelets… These, Goddess of Mercy pendants… These here will become hairpins…” Chen was concentrating. The forge responded to his thoughts and, and did exactly what he commanded and shaping the jade just how he had designed them in his head, producing jewelries at a pace faster than he could if he had done it alone. In just five minutes, dozens of completely new jade accessories were taken off the forge and laid out on the floor before them.

“Wakaka… This is just like getting a pillow just when I’m sleepy (Chinese idiom meaning getting exactly what you need just when you need it)! I needed some way to make jewelry faster, and the next thing I know, I found it! This is awesome!” Chen was elated. “Quick! Go, get the other bags in here now! I’m going to stay up all night and turn all these scraps into money!”

“YES!” Jing Fei was still in disbelief, but merely gulped and hurriedly moved the bags into the store room.

Over the next five hours, Chen continued forging jade accessories and jewelry. Other than taking small breaks from time to time and replenishing his energy with the Hundred Herb Potion, he never stopped his production line until almost all of the bags of jade have been used up. And as he continued, jade jewelry of all shapes and sizes, in a variety of colors and design were being fabricated, amounting to more than 30,000 pieces!

“My god! With these many materials in stock, we won’t even have to buy new material for the next few years! And if we do sell them all, I’d say can easily make more than three hundred million! And all that at zero cost!” Jing Fei’s feelings were in a mix of excitement and disbelief. Every beautiful and intricately crafted jade accessories that he is looking at before him right now, were not more than jade scrap pieces that had cost nothing just mere moments ago!

“Well, that sounds great. But… I’m still not done!” Chen’s smirked as he took out all the jewelry they had previously stolen from Dafeng and placed them in the furnace. After melting them down and reshaping them into new pieces, he placed them next to the other items.

“These are worth about one hundred million! We now have items worth four hundred million in total!” At this point, all Jing Fei was starting to become numb from all that excitement and started to calm down as he watched his master.

“Hmm… That’s not too bad. But wait, there’s more!” Chen said with a sparkle in his eyes as he brought out the four high-grade jade rocks that he had acquired from the jade market this afternoon.

“My god!!! These are extremely rare jade! These here are worth eighty million at least!” Jing Fei was an expert when it comes to grading and estimating the price of valuables like these and instantly determined their value. “If we can get the finest jade craftsman in the country to work on it, the value will definitely sky-rocket!”

“Meh. Why trouble ourselves looking for one when I am a jade-crafting artisan myself?” Chen turned to his phone and searched for images of various well-known jade masterpieces around the world for ideas. After studying the design and detail of the images from the web, he made a mentally designed the final product of each of the jade ores before putting them into the furnace together. He did not plan to recreate these masterpieces but took a page or two from their design as inspiration. And in no time, the four jade stones each became four different and intricately carved sculptures of a plum blossom, an orchid plant, a bamboo grove, and bunch of chrysanthemum. Because of the spiritual properties of the forge itself, these four sculptures were so well made that they were extremely life-like. Jade sculptures of such quality could only be carved by jade artisans of the highest skill and caliber!

“Now how much can we sell these for?” Chen asked as he smiled.

“These are… At least three hundred million…” Jing Fei gulped. The whole night had been one surprise after another for him. And just as he thought he has seen it all, Chen pulled out another one like a hat-trick!

With seven hundred million worth of jade accessories and jewelry, as well as the four masterpieces that Chen made, the store now more than enough items prepared for the opening. But Chen was still not done! He took out the bag of blood jade scraps and placed them all into the furnace.

“This… Isn’t this the extremely rare high-grade blood jade! But why is it all smashed up into bits?” Jing Fei’s sharp eyes identified the jade bits as soon as he saw them. He felt a pang of pity when he first saw them, but very soon broke into a wide smile. “Well, even if they are all smashed up, the master can easily transform these scraps into a fine work of art worth a few cities in no time!”

“Hmmm… What do you think I should make with these?” Chen was browsing through Baidu, looking for ideas while asking Jing Fei for his opinion.

“Well, how about a flying dragon? I think there are enough smashed blood jade pieces here to make one that’s about one foot tall!” Jing Fei then continued, “Just about three years ago, there was a well-made emerald jade dragon sculpture put up for sale at the Sotheby’s Auction. It was bid off by a mysterious billionaire from our country at the winning bid of 1.2 billion!”

“Then it’s decided! A flying dragon it is!” Chen nodded. And with that said, he lit the furnace up once again and melted the blood jade pieces before combining them into one red-hot molten pool. After working out the shape and minute details of the sculpture in his mind, he commanded the forge to shape the molten jade into the image in his mind: A dragon taking flight! It had sharp pointy horns, and claws that were grabbing onto clouds. If one were to look at it up close, every whisker and every claw was made with the utmost attention to detail in mind. It looked as if it could move and fly away at any moment, and was truly a work of art befitting such a magnificent creature!

Seeing the dragon sculpture finish right before his eyes, Jing Fei was once again awestruck by just how well-detailed the workmanship, as well as how life-like it was. “Wow! Just… Wow! This sculpture is nothing short of perfect! All we have to do now, is throw in a little bit of marketing, generate some hype across the country, and we can definitely let this one goes at a very high price! I think we can easily break one billion with this!” he said as he continued to admire the red dragon.

“Hahaha! Let’s hold on to it for a bit, I’m not planning to sell this just yet. Instead, this shall be the store’s treasure piece for now. Now, it’s impossible for a business to not boom!” Chen was smiling broadly. With all these jade sculptures and jewelry, the net worth of the shop sat at about 17 hundred million. If he took the real estate value of the shop itself, as well as his cars and the villa, Chen would now be a young billionaire, with 2.2 billion to his name!

“Even though I’m rich now, I’m still miles away from Lan Zhengguo. But I swear! One day, I will be on equal grounds as he is!” He thought himself. Although not being very vocal about it, he was actually very mindful about this. He still remembers how his last meeting with Mengchen’s father ended, and how he almost died because of that.

If you merely talk about it but don’t do it, that’s just being boastful and foolish. But, if you hustle until you get to where you said you want to be, then that’s putting money where your mouth is! When Chen had proclaimed that he would one day become as rich and powerful as Lan Zhengguo was, everybody laughed at his words, brushing it off as a joke. But deep down inside of him, his will and resolve to make that happen was absolute. Chen vowed to one day turned that “foolishness” of his into a reality and those who were laughing at him to be blinded by his success!

“Now that we’ve resolved the matter of the store’s merchandise, that should put us on schedule for the launch next week.” Chen then took out his cellphone, and transferred a sum of money to Jing Fei’s account. “Here’s some cash. Go hire some staff, and get everything else ready for the launch. You’re experienced in this line of business, so I’ll entrust this to you. Is that ok?”

“Of course master! I can guarantee you, that I will make this business grow bigger and better. And soon, everybody will know about us. I will not let you down!” Jing Fei used to be the leader of a group of notorious bandits. He was a very cunning man and was very familiar with selling expensive items like these. He was more than ideal for the role.

“But master…” Jing Fei hesitated before speaking up. “Most major jewelers would invest heavily in promotion and marketing, especially when they open a new big store. Should we perhaps consider posting a TV commercial for the launch?”

“Ah! Marketing! I almost forgot about that!” Chen whipped out his phone and logged into his Weibo, and was immediately greeted by a barrage of notifications! His post about the jade stones he made this afternoon had over six thousand shares and over ten thousand likes! And his number of followers had grown from twenty thousand to thirty thousand, with a number of jade lovers among them.

“Hahaha! My fans are too passionate… Six thousand shares in just half a day? This level of publicity is way better than any other forms of advertising!” Chen was very pleased. He quickly took some pictures of the jade jewelry and accessories posted them on his Weibo, along with the comment: “Bro Bei’s jewelry store is opening soon! My dear fans, please help spread the word! Also, all Bro Bei’s fans are entitled to make purchases at 88% the normal price!”

POST!

As soon as he posted the pictures, there was already a first comment! Followed by a torrent of likes, comments, and replies. The number of fans also increased bit by bit.

“Heh heh… My popularity online does a better job than TV ads at creating hype!” Chen grinned. “There are still seven days to go, I’ll just use the time and slowly break the internet! Wakaka…”

Chen then continued taking more pictures of the store’s merchandise. He was not planning to post them all at once, but a few at a time, over the next few days until the launch. But in order to build up excitement towards the event, he needed more than just the jewelry and accessories. That was where the four floral and the dragon sculptures came in. He planned to release them on his Weibo towards the last two days before the launch for maximum effect. This way it would generate a growing sense of wonder and anticipation towards the launch!

After taking enough pictures of his planned posts, the preparations for the event have pretty much been dealt with. Chen stored the forge back into his phone and opened his treasure chest to check out the other new items he had acquired. He remembered snagging something new just this evening, but had not had the time to examine it until now, because he was busy mass producing the store’s merchandise.

[Mount Huaguo Honey Peaches: Grown from the seeds of the Saturn Peaches that were stolen by Monkey King from the Heavenly Peach Garden. Effects may not be as powerful as the Saturn Peaches, but can extend life expectancy and strengthen the body. Retrieve it now?]

“Extends life… Strengthens body…” After reading that, Chen could not help but think about his parents. “Why don’t I take some time off and go home! I have a week before the launch… It’s time for me to bring them here to Green Vine City, and take care of them!” Chen decided. He had been wanting to get his parents to move in with him into his new mansion but had been too busy to do so. But now, since he had finished preparing all of the store’s merchandise for sale in just one night, he could finally attend to his family matter.

“This trip back home, I must do my best to make father and mother proud!” Chen thought to himself. He then went on and took out a few hundred pieces of the store’s items and stored them into his treasure chest.

“Oh wait, that’s right! I almost forgot.” Chen lifted his right hand and summoned the Chaos Sword. The sword had absorbed the little bit of unknown ancient blood contained in the blood jade stone when Chen was betting jade stone against Wenfeng in the afternoon and now looked different.

The Chaos Sword was still in its infantile stages and was slightly translucent. Now, a black serpentine-like figure could be seen inside the sword’s blade. “What’s this? Looks like a dragon…” Chen remarked as he examined the sword. Although it was small, the black figure had the distinctive shape of a dragon.

“Wait, what? Don’t tell me that the unknown blood was dragon blood!” Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief. He quickly activated the Scripture of Heaven and Earth and poured the Dragon Force in his body into the sword.

“ROAR!” A dragon’s roar came from the black figure within the blade. It grew larger and like a newborn black dragon, it exuded an aura of untamable wildness and raging pressure! However, it was not a real dragon. Just a mere projection of its existence that came alive because of Chen’s Dragon Force.

Sword Qi!

Chen was stunned by the shock. His mind could only remember the saying…

“Between the movements of my hands, a black dragon hides under my sleeve! Before I even move, my Sword Qi closes in!”

That was the ultimate super-cool spirit-weapon, of all time!

“But, this consumes a lot of Dragon Force… At my current cultivation level, I can only activate it once, and only for a very brief moment… I really should make time for my cultivation training!” Chen quickly stopped the flow of the Dragon Force, and the Black Dragon Sword Qi instantly went back into the spirit sword.

DING RING RING~

At this moment, the phone rang. It was a call from Fire Boss.

“Bro Bei! Help… Help us please…” As soon as he picked up, Chen can hear Fire Boss’s desperate cries for help.

“What happened? Calm down and tell me.” Chen’s brows creased as he said that.

“Shi… Shi… Shi Dabiao brought his men and attacked my bar… He’s specifically asking for you… He said that if you don’t show, he’s gonna cut off my arm…” Fire Boss barely sounded conscious, with a hint of pain and reluctance. It was clear to Chen that Fire Boss had suffered a great deal of punishment and had been coerced into making this phone call.

Chen instantly felt anger bursting out from his chest. “That bastard must be tired of living! How dare he come looking for trouble!”

“No… He did not come alone. There’s an insanely strong old man with him…” Fire Boss nervously replied.

“It’s alright bro! I’ve already given you my word – no matter what, I will always have your back! Wait for me, brother, I’m on my way!” Chen replied without any hesitation.

As he finished saying that, Fire Boss’s phone was taken away. What came afterward was Shi Dabiao’s voice on the other end. “Listen to me! You little piece of shit! You come, alone! If you call the cops, I’ll bust your brother’s asshole wide open!”

“I’m warning you, you better not touch Fire Boss, or I will make you regret this for the rest of your pathetic life!” Chen snapped back and hung up.

“Bro Bei, what happened?” Jing Fei worriedly asked.

“You stay here and take care of the shop. I’m heading out for a bit.” Chen hurriedly left the store.

West City. The streets that were under Fire Boss’s protection were in a mess. From end to end, not one customer was in sight. A few pubs even had their entrances smashed in. The other shops had their shutters locked down, not daring to open up for the day. And at the center of it was Fire Boss’s own bar. There were more than ten thugs hanging around at the entrance. Anything breakable had already been reduced to broken bits, and even the bar counter had been flipped over.

“Hmph! Fire Boss, that bastard actually had the balls to piss our boss off. He’s not going to live much longer!”

“I know right? After these three streets are being taken over by the boss, our revenue from collecting protection money will increase! We will be enjoying ourselves now! Muahahaha!”

“That’s for sure! Following Brother Biao is the best! We get to eat up lots of girls every day! Hehehe…” The group of thugs at the bar entrance were cheerfully chatting and smoking away. They had arrogant and haughty expressions.

“Eat girls? More like eating shit!” Suddenly, a furious shout came from not far away. Chen was slowly moving towards them, with a long steel pipe in his hand. Under the dimly lit night sky, he looked like a mysterious creature of the night, exuding a vicious and cold pressure.

“Now, where’d this idiot come from? Better get lost, if you want to stay alive!” One of the thugs with long, flowing hair haughtily scolded.

“Hey guys, could he be that bastard that boss was expecting?” another thug asked.

“Him? Nah that can’t be him. If Brother Biao is waiting for anyone, that guy must be some mean son of a bitch!” Long Hair curled his lips upwards and nonchalantly continued, “Look at that kid! His pubes aren’t even fully grown out yet! And he’s wandering the streets at night, swinging that heavy bar around. He’s either trying too hard to act tough, or he’s retarded!”

“Yea you’re right. I’ll go and scare him off.” the other thug breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards Chen.

*PONG!*

But before he could even get close, the steel pipe already swung and hit him square across the face. He flew back towards the other thugs, with a streak of blood streaming down his face, and passed out on the spot.

“HMPH! You little piece of shit! Do you dare to touch us? Do you even know who our boss is? Our boss is the notorious one and only “Human Bear,” Shi Dabiao! You better kneel down and beg for forgiveness right now! We might let you off easy!” Long Hair said with a threatening look. The other thugs there started cracking their knuckles and rubbing their palms, getting ready to work on the young man in front of them, if he did not choose his words properly.

“I kneel to nobody, you shitface!” With a bellow and a kick, Chen sprinted towards the thugs. He was now at the latter physical stage, with a body health stat of 1000. Running at blinding speed, he made it to the thugs in a heartbeat.

*PONG! POW! BAM!*

Positioning himself in the middle of the thugs, Chen executed one Luohan Staff technique after another, weaving between each target, and beating them up at the same time as if performing a well-rehearsed dance.

“Ow… Ow…!!!”

With every swing of his pipe, all sorts of screams and shouts of pain and agony could be heard coming from the ten or so thugs. To Chen, these small fries who barely had 30 combat power were like the smallest of small fries. Where his steel pipe landed, bones broke and muscles bruised. One hit, one thug down. Efficient, straight-forward, ruthless. In just a little more than ten seconds, the group of more than ten thugs was reduced to just one – Long Hair.

“You better kneel down and beg for forgiveness, right now! I might just let you off easy!” Chen said coldly, repeating the exact same words that he had used just now and giving him a taste of his own medicine.

*THUD!*

Long hair knelt without a second thought. Watching how the young man in front of him had single-handedly destroyed his other companions in mere seconds right in front of him, it was the only thing he could do! Not only was he kneeling, he was bowing his head down again and again at Chen, hitting the ground with each bow. “Big brother… Oh, grandpa… Please forgive me! I am blinded, my dog eyes looked down at others wrongfully… Please! I’m sorry…”

*BAM!*

Chen did not spare a thought about long hair’s plea, and with a kick to the face, he knocked him out. He then entered the bar. The decor had been destroyed beyond recognition. As he made his way further inside, the smell of spilled blood and fighting became more pungent. A mocking laughter could be heard from the back of the building. Chen kept his guard up. He had already readied a Monkey Fur of Prosperity in his pocket just in case. Making his way past the hallway, he arrived at the dance floor. What he saw here infuriated him further: Fire Boss and his closest gang members were hanging from the ceiling. Their bodies were covered with cuts and bruises, and they were barely breathing. They had been through hellish torture.

“Bro Bei…” Fire Boss mustered all his energy to lift his head up, his voice filled with guilt. “I’m sorry… I really didn’t want to make that call… But I can’t watch these brothers of mine who put their lives on the line for me, being tortured to death… I’m so sorry…” Although he may just be another thug on the street, his loyalty, and concern for those who he called his brothers was the real deal.

“Why are you being so polite? I’m here as your brother now, and you’re gonna treat me like a stranger?” Chen smiled kindly as replied. “Your problems are my problems too! Whoever did this to you… I will return the favor to them tenfold!” His words filled with emotion and truth. Chen turned and fixed his gaze on the row of decked seats to the right of the dance floor.

“You little piece of shit! You really showed up alone! You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that!” Shi Dabiao stood up and stared down at Chen, his expression full of disdain.

“Shut your trap, and cut the crap! You brought someone else, didn’t you? Let’s get this over with! Right here, right now!” said Chen in a serious and low tone as he gave the old man a mean, cold look.

DING!

[Cultivation level: Later stage of physical phase, health: 1500, combat power: 1500!]

Chen’s eyebrows twitched. This old man was stronger than the Mad Lion. Even back then, he had to resort to the super itching powder to win, and he had not prepared that for today. It would be really hard for Chen to defeat him!

“Heh! You are not even qualified to die by the hands of the great me, Shi Kelang!” The old man laughed at Chen mockingly and then continued coldly, “While I was making my way through the Jianghu years ago, you haven’t even been reincarnated yet!”

“Ptui!” Chen glared back and said, “More like, making your way to the nursing home! Grandpa, you’re so old, if I fight you I’d get a bad rep about how I go around beating up the old and frail! Making your way through the Jianghu my foot! Shameless!” Even though he was aware of how strong his opponent was, but he was determined not to lose out in this verbal show of strength.

“You…!” Shi Kelang’s face turned beet red instantly when he heard him. His mustache quivered with his breath and his eyes bulged in anger. He, a high-level physical stage fighter, was actually labeled as aged and frail. It was just too infuriating for him!

“BLAST IT!” Shi Dabiao shouted angrily. “Looks like you are really tired of living. You dare ridicule, my second uncle! If I don’t send you off crippled today then I AM NOT A SHI!

“You. Lost. Who gave you permission to speak? Do you still think that I didn’t beat you up enough the last time?” Chen shot a glance at Dabiao.

“That was only one time!” A sinister smile then flashed on his face as he said coldly, “Between then and now, the second uncle has taught me a group attack formation! It’s especially good for killing pests like you! BROTHERS! ATTACK!!!”

Seven gang members who were sitting next to the two got up as soon as they heard the order. Dabiao included, there were eight of them. Each stood in a position that corresponded with a corner in the Bagua diagram, and each held a machete. That appeared to be a solid attack move, and not just some random third rate attack formation.

“Bro Bei be careful! Their machete array is really strong! Just the eight of them took out thirty of my brothers!” Seeing the familiar attack array that he lost to, Fire Boss started calling out in concern.

“Relax, this kind of party trick isn’t much.” Chen’s sight remained focused, but he was unfazed. Although Dabiao had learned a new trick, Chen was now twice as strong as he was when they last faced off. He was confident of his victory.

“Come, taste the absolute power of my second uncle’s Bagua Machete array, you little punk!” Da Biao roared, and then he and the other seven members around him rushed at Chen all at once. Their complex footwork and positioning were well thought out and was the reason why the array was so strong. Each corner was able to join in the attack, without leaving a blind spot and they could also cover for each other when it came to defense. Supporting their weaknesses, attacking and defending together, that array was not something that ordinary people would easily break.

But Chen was not an ordinary person and did not even stop to appreciate the intricacies of the formation. With such overpowering strength, why should he work out the puzzle?

“Mount Hua Splitting Staff!” Chen held the iron bar with both hands, raised it over his head, and brought it down as forcefully as his arms could at the eight-man array. 1000 combat power was equivalent to having an attack power of 2350 newton! This was further amplified by the LuoHan Staff Technique! As the iron bar swings through the air, the sound of howling wind could be heard!

“It doesn’t matter how great your little array is, I alone can take on ten of your men!” Chen bellowed, his voice like that of a domineering and undefeatable conqueror.

*PONG! PONG! PONG!*

The eight men all held their machetes to guard against the blow, and their blades shattered all at once. In the face of a significantly greater force, they had absolutely no way of fighting back, even if they used a fancy fighting array. Although that one strike broke all their weapons, the attack did not end there, nor did it dampen in strength! As the bar finally completed its swing, it connected and smashed through the arms of the two thugs in front. The excruciating pain sent them both clutching their angled arms and rolling about on the floor.

“Oh god! The kid’s strength doubled since the last time… How’s that even possible?” Shi Dabiao’s eyes and mouth were wide open with fright. The remaining five were already shivering in their knees and quaking in their shoes, and looked at Chen as if they were looking at a very frightening monster.

“Dabiao! Retreat! You are no match for that boy!” Kelang finally stood up.

“You think I’d let you get away?” Chen’s expression hardened as he took the iron bar to work on the remaining people.

*BANG! BANG! BANG!*

One hit after another, the remaining five thugs that were with Dabiao all crumpled to the ground. Their right arms had all been smashed into complicated fractures that would never heal completely. One by one, the men clutched their broken arms and fell to the floor rolling, wailing in the most pitiful manner.

“This is for torturing Fire Boss!” Chen coldly stated as he turned his gaze to Dabiao. “You’re next!”

“No… No please… NOOOOO…” Shi Dabiao was so terrified that he had the eyes of deer caught in the headlights of a car. He kept gulping uncontrollably and his legs shook so violently, that it was impossible for him to run away. Right in front of him was a demon. A cold-hearted demon, carrying a deadly iron bar – Chen Xiaobei. One swing would be all it takes to drive him into eternal despair!

“No? So should I stop just because you said no, huh? Did you ask Fire Boss if he liked it when you pillaged his bar, hmm? Did you ask him again if he liked it or not when you bet him up? HMM?” Chen snorted. He then lifted the bar up, and swung it down on Dabiao’s right shoulder! At his current strength, that would completely shatter Dabiao’s shoulder joint and bones, causing him to forever lose the function of his right shoulder.

*THUD!*

But the very moment right before the bar could connect with its intended target, it was stopped mid-swing!

“Kid, as long as I am here, don’t even think about hurting Dabiao!” Shi Kelang had made it across the dance floor in a split second at a terrifying speed. What was more terrifying was that he only used one hand to completely stop Chen’s attack! A bare hand stopping a full swing from a meal bar! This was totally bizarre and unthinkable! Especially when that one attack had Chen’s full force behind it! This was definitely more than just the difference in their strengths! Kelang definitely had something up his sleeve, or that blow could not have been blocked so easily with one bare hand!

“Ha… Haha!” Dabiao felt like he was granted amnesty and started laughing. “You little bastard! Who’s the fool now? My uncle is a master of the Iron Sand Palm! His palm strikes can even split iron ores! You are dead!”

“Iron Sand Palm?” Chen startled.

Kelang turned his palm over and grabbed hold the iron bar tightly, and despite Chen’s best efforts, he was unable to pull it free from his grasp.

*BANG!*

Kelang’s free hand took the form a knife hand and struck the iron bar right down the middle, and the solid bar actually broke into two!

“This… This is the legendary Iron Sand Palm? That’s crazy!” Chen’s eye’s widened with shock and awe. That level of strength was absolutely not something that he could go up against!

Translator’s notes

“Know how to spell the word “fear” yet, punk?” Shi Kelang raised his eyebrows slightly, and looked at him mockingly. “If I wanted to, I could easily smash your little brain into pieces with my bare hands!”

“Whoa! Uncle is so strong and fierce! That little prick has been arrogant for too long, it’s time to put him in his place! Hahaha.” Dabiao laughed excitedly as he backed away from the two fighters.

“Put me in my place? Why don”t I put you in yours first!” Chen shot the Dabiao a murderous look. He tossed the remaining half of the iron bar in his hand towards him like a spear. Although the situation looked bleak, Chen had made up his mind that he would not back off, and that he would only hold his ground with even more fervor, the more the situation tries to displace him!

Never give up! Fight!

“Shit!” Kelang and Dabiao’s faces contorted. A second ago they were confident enough that they had claimed the victory of the fight, and that Chen was just moments away from crying and wetting his pants. What they never expected was that he would still retaliate so aggressively in this kind of situation. The unexpected spear toss totally caught them by surprise. The spear went right through Dabiao’s shoulder. Blood spurted out from the wound at a high pressure and caused him immense pain. He started trembling from the shock, his vision turning blurry.

“Ah! Aarrrgghhh” Dabiao screamed.

“You sneaky piece of shit! How dare you attack my nephew! I’ll take your life as compensation!” Kelang was furious. He had always prided himself as a martial artist. But now that Chen had actually attacked and wounded his nephew in front of his presence, it felt like a direct insult to his honor. Before he even finished his sentence, Kelang had already raised his right palm and was directing it at Chen. It was extremely fast and carried a force of 3530 Newtons of force behind it. The air whistled as his palm cut through it, showing Chen just how powerful and quick it was.

“BRO! LOOK OUT” Fire Boss screamed worriedly. He had witnessed how Kelang’s attack had made holes in the wall when they fought earlier. If that attack were to connect, his organs would rupture and explode!

Chen’s expression hardened, but he did not avoid the attack. At that speed, attempting to avoid the attack would be pointless. His only option was to take the power head-on! He quickly circulated his energy according to the Heaven and Earth Scriptures and channeled every Dragon Force in his body into the Chaos Sword Essence. Chen placed everything he had into this one moment!

“DIE!” Kelang’s Iron Sand Palm struck closed in on Chen’s heart. He wanted so badly to bust his chest wide open, to mince his heart and lungs, and end his life there and then!

“You don”t know who’s really gonna die yet!” Chen let out a loud roar that was as if it came from the deepest depths of his very being and threw out a punch.

*BOOM!*

Chen’s punch connected with Kelang’s palm, and the dull sound of the collision echoed across the room. Chen flew backward and crash-landed on the floor, coughing up blood.

“BRO!!!” Fire Boss screamed. His voice filled with guilt. He was the one who had made the call, asking Chen to save him. If anything bad were to happen to Chen, Fire Boss would be regretting it for the rest of his life.

“Ptui” Chen spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned through his red teeth. “Sheesh, don’t be so melodramatic. I’m not the one who lost!”

“Wha…?” Fire Boss turned to look at the other party, and let his jaw hang open.

“This… This is… THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!” Kelang was still standing after the exchange standing, but his face was contorted with shock and pain. He was staring at his right arm, or rather, what that remained of it!

The skin of his palm all the way up to the shoulder, had been peeled off like a banana! Pieces of flesh were dangling from the exposed flesh, indistinguishable from the shredded skin, and blood was flowing freely from it. Even splintered pieces of his bones poked out here and there!

“How can this happen?” Everyone else but Chen was utterly shocked! How did Shi Kelang’s Iron Sand Palm, which had the power to shatter a bar of solid iron, ended up almost disintegrated after taking Chen’s fist, head on? The whole arms looked as if it had been mauled on by a wild animal, it was such a gory scene!

“Old man! Know what’s defeat yet?” Chen slowly stood up. Their huge gap in combat power had caused him to sustain some internal injuries in their final exchange. But they were still nothing compared to Kelang’s arm right now.

“You! What did you do?” Kelang’s voice was shaky. Fresh blood continued to pour out profusely from his mangled arm. As if finally affected by the excruciating pain, his head spun, and the strength fled from his legs. Finally, unable to hold up any longer, he sank to the floor, falling onto his behind.

With one still standing and another down on the ground, it was as clear as day who had won.

“Hmph! I’m a martial arts master! Bullying a weakling like you is merely child’s play for me!” Chen boasted. But unlike the many other times, he boasted to look cool, this time he had to do this to divert everybody’s attention away from the truth. The fact that the “wild beast” that had torn Kelang’s arm apart was the Black Dragon Sword Qi from the Chaos Sword Essence! He had unleashed it the instant his punch connected and had sent it tearing through Kelan’s arm, ripping up every flesh, sinew, and bone. Since the Sword Qi was channeled through the arm and not outside the body, it remained hidden from sight. But Chen needed to keep this a secret.

“Impossible! Your combat strength is weaker than mine! You’re a fake master!” Kelang gritted his teeth, his face pale from excessive blood loss.

“Well, If I’m not the master here now, then who? You? Go take a nap!” Chen spat before kicking Kelang in the old man square in the mouth, causing him to roll a few turns over before lying down motionless, with several of his canines falling out from his mouth.

“Uncle!” Not too far off, Shi Dabiao was terrified. Never in his wildest dreams would he believe that the second leader of his clan, the strongest fighter that he knew, would take such a beating at the hands of a young brat like Chen Xiaobei.

“Oh, shut up. You’re next.” Chen threw him a sideways glance and made his way towards him in long strides.

“No… Don’t come any closer…” Dabiao was terrified! It was as if, a fearsome wild animal was prowling towards him, preparing to end him anytime. He tried to run away, but every time he tried to move, the pain coming from having a metal bar through his shoulder sent him into convulsions.

“Remember that time at the casino? I let you off easy back then, and this is how you return the favor. So! For trampling over my brother, I’m gonna break your arms and legs!” Chen’s stare was dead cold. There was still a small trail of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, but that only made his appearance all the more fearsome.

“Crack! Crack! Crack!…”

With each stomp, the clear sound of bones cracking could be heard. Shi Dabiao’s arms and legs were being stomped and grounded to pieces. That would definitely cause him a lot of permanent disability.

“YOU! ALL OF YOU! PUT YOUR HANDS UP! YOU HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED!” Just as Chen was contemplating whether to castrate the fella, a team of armed policemen barged into the scene.

“Who the heck called the cops?” Chen was startled. At this point, he could only put his hands up obediently and stay put.

The commanding officer scanned the surroundings and saw that Chen was the only one standing. He instantly barked orders at his colleagues, “Lock this kid up, and send the rest to the hospital!”

Chen was annoyed but did not resist. After being cuffed, he was sent off to the station in a squad car. As soon as Chen was hauled off the site, a mysterious person in a black hoodie came out from the darkness of the alley that was next to the bar.

Inside Green Vine Police Department, interrogation room number 3.

“Hello? Anybody there? You guys put me here, and don’t even talk to me? What’s the matter with you guys? This is a waste of taxpayer’s money! I demand to see your chief!” Chen shouted. He had been here for more than two hours, but no one has even come in to take his statement yet. What was more vexing is that even Liu Quanfu did not come to see him.

Aside from wasting his time, Chen had yet to properly recover from the fight and needed to get to his hundred herbs potion in his phone for treatment. The longer he left his injuries alone, the more likely it would result in some long-term or permanent effects. The potion may be magical, but it was not omnipotent. An example would be that if his hand was cut off, the potion could stop the bleeding and healed the wound, but it could not help him to regrow his arm. That being said, if Chen suffered any permanent damage now, no matter how many bottles of hundred grass potions he drank, the damage was irreversible.

*Creak…*

While he was caught up in his thoughts about his injuries, the door opened, and a pair of sexy long legs strutted into the room. Gorgeously fair and smooth, perfectly flawless legs that looked like fine jade. Chen’s eyes were reactively attracted to them. And as the saying that goes, ‘to know if the girl is hot, check out her legs.” Chen was very sure that these stunning pair of legs belong to a babe.

However, as soon as he exactly who their owner was, his eyes rolled so far back that he could see his brain. It was the very last person he wished to see now: Six Doors Inspector, Luo Puti! The moment she walked into the room, it became clear to Chen why was he kept locked in there for so long, and why Liu Quanfu who was so loyal to him, didn’t come meet him at all. She had everything to do with that! Agents from the Six Doors were like the Imperial Envoys of ancient times, and even the station chief had to listen to their orders because they were of higher rank and power.

“Mr. Chen! How unexpected! So this is how we meet again!” Luo said sarcastically as she slammed the door behind her.

“Really? You don’t seem all that pleased to see me tho” Chen pouted. “Inspector, I need to pee. Can you please uncuff me and let me use the bathroom?”

“Hmph! Uncuff you, my ass! You better stop joking around with me!” Luo said coldly. She was still the cold and emotionless iceberg as she always was. “I couldn’t find anything to put you away the last time. But let’s see how are you getting out of this!”

“Huh? What are you talking about, what do you want?” Chen was slightly flustered. That beautiful lady in front of him may be pleasant to look at, but there was something about her that made Chen felt a sliver of fear slowly growing in his gut. And unfortunately for him, his hands and feet were cuffed to the chair, denying him any means of escape and fighting back, making that fear of his sank deeper into his consciousness. Luo Puti was very adept and interrogation tactics.

“Answer me this!” Luo said as she stood across the table face to face with Chen. “The Dafeng burglary, the Wen clan massacre, and the recent case of Dafeng’s disappearance… You have something to do with all that. Don’t you?” Luo asked while bending over the table to look Chen in the eye. Her face came so near, that her pair of sharp, crystal clear eyes were penetrating his.

“Excuse me, miss inspector? But I think you got the wrong file or something. I’m here because of a bar brawl. And I have absolutely no idea what are you talking about!” Chen firmly replied.

“Of course you are. But I have no time to waste on a bar fight between a few thugs!” Luo responded as her face inched closer to his. “We have evidence that puts you near or at all these crime scenes when they happened. And I don’t think that’s a coincidence!”

Chen gulped. But not out of fear, but because of the distance between them. She was now bent towards him so low and so close, that just by looking down a little, he could already take a glimpse of the deep bottomless gorge that ran between her glorious pair of majestic twin peaks. Its darkness so deep and mysterious that it felt more like a black hole, drawing his gaze in.

“Hmm?” Luo who has been paying close attention to Chen’s eyes to discern if he was lying, suddenly realized that his attention was somewhere else. Somewhere on her chest… “You creep! Where do you think you’re staring at? If you’re tired of living, just let me know!” Luo hastily stood back up and hugged her chest tightly.

“How is that my fault? I am the one bound to the chair and you were the one bent over! Can you please be reasonable for a moment and stop pushing all the blame on me?” Chen responded.

“What did you say? So it’s my fault now?” Luo was flushed with embarrassment and anger. “Looks like if I’m not a little bit forceful with scumbags like you, you asshole won’t realize just what kind of situation you’re in!”

“Wait! Stop! Or I’ll report you! This is police brutality!” Chen was much anxious that before. He was still injured and did not wish to make his injuries any worse than it already is.

“Sure! Go ahead! Let’s see who listens!” Luo simply brushed his warning aside. As an inspector from the country’s special policing force, she has some special privileges.

“Wait, that’s right! I still have one monkey fur with me!” Just as he was about to get into big trouble, Chen remembered the Monkey Fur of Prosperity in his chest pocket. He had prepared it for the fight with Dabiao in advance. But since he did not need it in the fight, he could use it here and save himself right now! But… How? What should he turn it into? What could he possibly use it for in a situation like this? He was in a police interrogation room with many eyes observing him. If he used it to do something that defied logic, he might just end up being taken to some lab somewhere, to be dissected and studied like an alien!

“Wait, I got it!” Chen suddenly got an idea. He muttered softly under his breath, “Turn into a sleepy bug. And get inside her!”

*PUFF!*

He blew his breath into his chest pocket.

“Hmm?” Luo suddenly felt an itch in her ear, and in just mere moments after that, an intense urge to sleep overcame her. Her body slowly relaxed as her eyelids felt heavier and heavier.

“What’s wrong with me?” Luo tried hard to resist the drowsiness. She staggered a little before finally slumping into her chair. As soon as she sat down in it, her body gently collapsed onto the table as she fell fast asleep.

DING!

[Ten minutes until the Monkey Fur of Prosperity wears off.]

“What? The time limit on this thing is just too damn short!” Chen did not waste any time and shouted, “Guard! Guard! I need to speak with the chief!”

“Master! Not so loud!” Liu Quanfu opened the door and came in the room. “I was just right outside! Keeping a lookout just in case she did anything to you.”

“Uncuff me, quick! And get me my phone!” Chen ordered him without hesitation.

“Yes!” Liu Quanfu immediately carried out his master’s orders. As soon as he got his phone, Chen retrieved a bottle of Hundred Herbs Potion and drank it. An instant feeling of relief washed over his body as the potion healed his internal injuries.

“Master, What did you do to her? She’s not someone who can just suddenly get knocked out like that!” Quanfu was puzzled.

“She’s just asleep. But the effect will wear off very soon.” Chen answered.

“Then, how do you plan to take care of her? By using the dog biscuit?” Quanfu asked again.

“Nope. I only have one left, I can’t just simply use it here.” Chen shook his head. “And besides, as much as I hate this woman for being a pain in my ass, she was just fulfilling her duty and obligation as a police officer, and her intentions are just. If I did feed her the biscuit and enslave her mind, it would kill off her personality, and that would be a waste of talent.”

“Then, I better put the cuffs back on you and leave before she wakes up, or we will both not be able to explain our way out of this one!” Quanfu said while shaking his head.

“Just hold on a sec…” Chen squinted his eyes and smirked. “Even if I don’t want to control her, I am still not letting her off for being a pain in my ass that easily!” With that said, Chen made his way to the other side of the table and hoisted Luo’s body onto it.

“Master… Are you gonna do that… To her? And in here?” Quanfu gulped.

*SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP…*

Continuous slapping sounds came from Luo’s behind…

“Stop… You… Fiend… Unh…” Luo was bent over and pressed on top of the table, her face a mesmerizing hue of pink as sweat covered her forehead. Her eyes were closed, as she was panting heavily through her delicate, sweet cherry lips. There was also the occasional moaning and grunting that came along with her sleep talking.

“Always a pain in my ass! Always so arrogant and self-righteous! Always so icy-cold…” Chen was not holding back as he unleashed all of his pent-up frustration unto her sweet little behind.

“Unh…” Quanfu’s face was red as he meekly asked, “Master… Is this what you meant by ‘letting her have a taste of you’?”

“Well if it’s not this, then what did you think I meant?” Chen replied him casually, but suddenly realized what he meant. “Oy! You dirty minded… I’m meant slapping her butt as revenge! Did you really think I was going to do her here?” He rolled his eyes and continued slapping and smacking Luo’s behind as hard as he could.

“Ugh… You didn’t make yourself clear, master…” Quanfu said while sweating.

“Excuses! You need to rinse your brain with bleach! It’s too dirty!” Chen smirked and finally stopped. He was finally content after slapping that much. He then sat her back down on the chair to how she was before and made sure to not leave any trace of evidence behind.

“Hurry up! Put the cuffs back on me! She’ll be waking up anytime soon!” Chen returned to his chair as Quanfu hurriedly cuffed him before leaving the room.

“Umh…” A few minutes later, the sleepy bug’s effects have stopped and Luo finally regained consciousness. realizing that she had fallen asleep during an interrogation, she instantly stood up herself up realized something. “Why is my bum so painful right now?” She wondered and reactively stared at Chen.

The young man was still seated and bound to his chair like a good boy with an innocent look on his face.

“That’s weird…” Luo was in a daze. Her ice queen personality preventing her from questioning to him about her bum. What that was more puzzling to her was that she remembered having a very bad dream. In that dream, Chen pinned her down on the table, ripping her skirt off, and violating her bottom like a demon…

“Stop it!” Luo told herself as she shook her head hard, trying to shake the terrifying image out of her mind and calming herself down. A preposterous scene like that could never happen! And even if it did, she would have killed him before he could even lay a finger on her! No, she would castrate him! Luo’s ice-cold exterior was keeping all her raging anger inside. No man has ever laid a finger on her and walked away unscathed… Except for that one time when Chen had grabbed her boob to save her from getting shot.

“Luo, that was an accident! Yes, an accident…” She reasoned with herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to beat the living daylights out of him!

“Hello? Sister! Have you slept enough? If you have, then let’s get this over with. I still need to go prepare for my trip back to my village tomorrow!” Chen wanted to laugh but kept a straight face in front of her.

“Hmm? Why how suspicious! Why are you going back to your village all of a sudden? Are you trying to run away from this investigation?” Luo asked in a serious manner.

“Look, sister, if you have enough evidence, then lock me up already. If you don’t, then stop keeping me here for nothing! My patience is already near its limit!” Chen responded.

“You’re angry? Ooo, how scary!” Luo jeered. “Just what do you think you can do to me?”

“Want me to slap your behind?” Chen smirked.

“You!” Luo’s eyes widened. If Chen was not still restrained, she would have actually believed that he already did that. Her bum was still stinging! Luo was losing her cool and did not want to think much about it. “Cut the crap, and tell me the truth! What are you going back home for?” she asked coldly.

“I’ve recently made a small fortune for myself and would like to move my parents here to the city with me so that I can take care of them. Do I need a permission from you for that?” Chen pouted.

“Hah! Do you think you can get past me with that?” Luo replied.

“I don’t care what you believe! You don’t have enough evidence to keep me here anyways! Uncuff me and let me go now!” Chen said impatiently.

Luo’s gaze sharpened as she felt being challenged. “I may not be able to keep you here… But I can follow you home!”

“Ugh…” Chen almost puked blood when he heard her reply. “Are you serious? I’m just going back home for my parents, and you’re going to mindlessly follow me all the way there?”

“It’s simple: You either let me tag along and prove that you’re innocent. Or, I’ll assume that you’re trying to escape!” Luo said.

Chen frowned and thought about it. This trip was simply to bring his parents to the city, so she should not have any trouble with that. Besides, if simply letting her tag along could clear him of police suspicion, then why not?

“Fine! Come along if you want.” Chen agreed. “But you cannot go as a policewoman, or you’ll give my parents the wrong idea!”

“Then tell them that I’m your girlfriend! That way, they won’t have to worry about me. Any problem?” Luo’s lips curled upwards. She felt like a cat cornering its prey and was ready to pounce. She firmly believed that Chen was really trying to run away and that his claims about going to see his parents were nothing more than an excuse.

“Girlfriend…” Chen rolled his eyes. Who would want this kind of troublesome girlfriend?

“What’s wrong? I’m giving you a chance to take advantage of me, but you’re not even brave enough to do that?” Luo sneered.

“Fine, whatever… As long as it’ll help me prove my innocence…” Chen sighed. Since he was a “guest” here, might as well respect his “host,” he thought.

Having reached an agreement on that matter, Luo did not trouble him any further nor questioned him about the bar fight. The number of brawls per night in West City was too much and not on a level that requires her attention. They decided to start their journey at noon the next day as Chen needed to get a few works done before he leaving for his hometown. And with that, Chen was released.

The next morning, Chen got up early to meet up with Xiangyu. He handed the spirit cage, as well as the two holy relics he received from Sanzang to her, and asked for her help in cleansing of the malice from the spirit he caught. Xiangyu happily complied, as this was something she could earn merit points from.

After his meeting with Xiangyu, Chen then rushed over to the local Chinese medicine store and bought lots of medicinal plants. He took them home and refined them into one vial of roofie powder and another vial of itching powder.

Finally, Chen filled a leather suitcase with the jade jewelry and accessories that he had previously set aside for this trip and loaded it onto the back of the Bentayga. He decided to take this instead of the Veyron since it is better suited for off-road driving and is rather spacious. He also took his parents as well as their luggage on the trip back to the city into account. Chen also hid two metal rods in the car for protection.

By noontime, Chen drove to Luo’s place and picked her up. She was dressed casually instead of how Chen had usually seen her. A pair of skinny jeans tightly wrapped around her long and slender legs, well complemented by a white comfortable baggy shirt on top, and a chic small leather backpack. She looked much more youthful and energetic, unlike her usual ice-cold demeanor. Chen stole many glances at her through the mirror as he was driven out of the city.

And so, their journey to the Chen Clan Village began!

….

Meanwhile, at the Paradise Club in another part of the city, Blood Dove was getting busy Caucasian prostitute when the doors to the sex den opened and Wen Tiandou came barging in.

“Brother! I just got word that Chen is now just leaving the city! He’s heading to his village!” Tiandou said.

“So, what’s the plan?” Blood Dove asked as he continued satisfying himself with the prostitute.

The Chen Clan Village was located in the mountains. Although just 500 kilometers away from Green Vine City, the roads were winding and narrow and some parts were built next to cliffs. It was dangerous to drive fast on these roads, making normally 6-hour distance took more than half a day to complete. Although they had been driving for eight hours straight, Chen and Luo had only made it past one-third of the journey. Since it was already getting dark and dinner time, they pulled up by a small diner by the highway for dinner.

Halfway through the meal, Luo’s phone rang. “I’ll be just outside, need to take a call.” She excused herself from the table.

Chen did not pay much attention to her leaving and simply continued eating.

Once outside the restaurant, Luo answered her phone. “Chief inspector, why are you calling me at this time?” Luo’s asked anxiously.

“Of course I have to! Your locator shows that you are outside Green Vine City! Explain yourself!” The voice on the other end spoke with authority.

“Yes, sir! I am investigating a lead on the Dafeng Burglary case-” Luo started to explain.

“YOU IDIOT!” The Chief Inspector interrupted. “We assigned you to that case just as an excuse! If you don’t focus and complete your real mission there, then be prepared to face the consequences of your mistake!”

“Yes, sir! Finding that man’s long-lost children is still my biggest priority, and I will definitely find them! Please trust me.” Luo replied in a serious manner.

“You better!” The caller said that and hung up.

Just then, Chen came out from the restaurant. “I’m done eating. I’ll wait for you in the car.” He said to Luo before quickly getting into the car.

Luo had lost her appetite from the phone call with her superior. She decided to forget about dinner and leave as well. But as she got into the car, she felt her head spinning and her vision blurring. And in just a few seconds, she lost consciousness and passed out on her seat.

“Hey! Hello?… Ma’am?…” Chen lightly slapped her face a few times to check if she was conscious… No response.

“Hey, gorgeous?… Sexy lady?…” He continued. Only this time, he ran his hand up and down her thigh… Still no response.

“Annoying bitch! Haha! Finally, I can relax. Thanks to my roofie powder!” Chen smiled. He then quickly took out his phone and logged into the Red Envelope Group. For some reason, there was a huge wave of Red Envelopes being given out in the group right now. Chen did not want to miss on that but wanted to avoid Luo’s suspicion as well. So, he sprayed some roofie powder inside the car to knock her out. He was unaffected by the drug, thanks to the Seven Treasure Fragrance Pouch neutralizing its effects. Now he can safely focus on grabbing the Red Envelopes without any hindrance.

DING!

[Congratulations! You have acquired Mengpo’s Red Envelope. Obtained two bowls of Mengpo Soup. Already added to treasure chest!]

After a few minutes of incessant tapping, Chen finally got his first catch. He excitedly opened his treasure chest to check out the new item.

DING!

[Mengpo(1) Soup: Drink the soup and cross the bridge to reincarnation! Forget this life and enter the next! (Note: Amnesiac effects can be further diluted with water) ]

“What the hell? Meng Po’s soup can be diluted with water?” Chen’s eyes lit up as he looked at Luo mischievously. “Should I make her forget who I am? Heh heh…”

*VROOM!*

Just as he was thinking about how he could use his new item; a loud engine revving sound came from behind. Chen glanced at the rearview mirror and saw a heavily modified Land Rover approaching them from the back at a very high speed.

“Hmmm… That’s odd. Speeding on winding roads in the middle of the night? Something is definitely off!” Chen frowned. He then activated the Golden Eye and scanned the Rover. He saw two people in the car: a driver, and another in the co-driver’s seat that looked familiar.

“That’s… Blood Dove?!” Chen was shocked to see Wen Tian Dou’s shi xiong. The driver was skilled at driving on mountain roads with high speeds, he was most likely a professional off-road racer.

“Shit! We need to get away…” Chen quickly started up the car and floored the gas pedal. Blood Dove was a 6000 combat power martial arts expert. The last time they fought, Chen was lucky enough to trick him into passing out before he could escape, but he knew very well that the same trick was not going to work twice. Getting caught at then was definitely a bad idea.

Meanwhile, In Rover, Blood Dove spotted Chen’s car and broke into an evil grin. “That sneaky bastard killed two of my brother, he is not getting away this time!”

The driver next to him snorted and said, “No worries, Master Dove. See how his car is swaying as he drives? He’s definitely terrified! That kid is not going to outrun us like that!”

“Ho ho, you don’t say!” Blood Dove laughed. “That punk is too weak! Beating him down is easier than squashing a bug!”

“Why get your hands dirty Master Dove? There’s a cliff just up ahead. I can simply speed up a little, and give him a little bump. That will knock him into the valley, and he’ll be crushed to death!” the driver said.

“No.” Blood Dove shook his head. “Don’t run him off the mountain, just catch up to him. I will end his life with my own hands, and I will take his spirit weapon for myself!”

“Huh? Spirit weapon? What spirit weapon?” The driver was surprised.

“Don’t ask about things that you don’t need to know.” Blood Dove stared at him coldly. The driver felt a shiver crawl up his spine, he could sense Blood Dove’s killing intent.

“Yes yes yes… I’ll cut him off in front!” The driver gulped, He felt as if a knife had been placed on his neck. He did not dare annoy Blood Dove any further for fear of his life and simply sped the car up. As a professional driver, he drove with great precision and ease. The Land Rover sped through the narrow and winding mountain road in an extremely graceful manner and easily drove past Chen’s Bentley!

“Now make that punk stop!” Blood Dove ordered.

“Yes!” The driver did not hesitate and spun the car right around with a handbrake drift and brought the car to a stop facing Chen’s.

“What the f*ck! This guy’s driving is insane!” Chen frowned. The Land Rover was blocking him off and he had to stop the car. But if he stops, then he would have to fight Blood Dove, and Chen did not like the odds of that…

“I can’t stop!” Chen decided to drive into them head-on. He had a better chance of surviving a car crash than fighting Blood Dove right now. He quickly took out his phone and retrieved one Monkey Fur of Prosperity from his treasure chest.

“Looks like that punk is not planning to stop!” The driver said with a worried voice.

“Do I need to teach you everything?” Blood Dove said impatiently. “We’re in a heavily modified Range Rover, even the bumpers and chassis have been re-inforced. So run him down! Just hit him head on and turn his car into scrap!”

“Yes!” The driver nodded and floored it and charged at Chen.

20 meters… 10 meters… 5 meters… The distance between the two vehicles quickly vanished. But Chen did not show any intention to slow down and kept speeding up!

“Hmph! You think you can take on this tank with a luxury car that has nothing but good looks? Go to hell! Hahahaha…”

Just as both cars were about to collide with each other, Blood Dove held onto the side handle and braced himself for impact, with thrill and excitement in his eyes. This was merely something thrilling like riding a roller coaster or skydiving to him. In just a few moments, Chen Xiaobei would be dead!

However, what happened next made him almost shit his pants and choke on his saliva…

“Turn into tank armor, and cover this car!” Chen said and blew his breath at the fur of prosperity. In a split second, the Bentley Bentayga became encased in tank armor, and collided head-on with the Land Rover.

DING!

[Three seconds until the effects of Monkey Fur of Prosperity ends.]

“That’s more than enough!” Chen smiled with a victorious look in his eyes.

By the time the monkey fur finished covering Chen’s Bentley with tank armor, the two vehicles were already too close to avoid crashing into each other.

*BANG!*

A loud metal crash echoed through the mountain range. Blood Dove’s vision blurred and darkened, and the world spun around him. The heavily modified Land Rover that he was so proud of, vaulted upwards after colliding with Chen’s armored Bentley, and somersaulted through the air liked an amusement park ride. The two people in the flying car screamed as they helplessly watch themselves flew off the road and plunged into the valley into a two-hundred-meter drop!

“Phew…” Chen heaved a long sigh as a sense of relief washed over him. He had just survived a life-death situation! The world suddenly seemed much calmer and peaceful to him right now.

After the time limit expired, the tank armour disappeared. Chen went down and took a look at the car, just to find not even as much as a scratch on it. He then quickly drove away as fast as he could from the scene.

Meanwhile, deep down within the darkness of the valley, the Rover was now reduced to nothing more than a pile of scrap metal. The driver’s lifeless body was trapped inside the wreckage, gruesomely crushed and broken from the impact. He died a quick death, as soon as the car hit the ground. But Blood Dove however, survived! As a martial artist, he had a much durable body than that of a normal person’s, and this was what kept him alive even after driving off a cliff at that height. However, he was still very badly injured. As he struggled to crawl out of the wreckage, he was already bleeding from head to toe. He stood up and stared at what remained of the heavily modified Land Rover, and held his head with both hands. “What… The… F*ck…? My Land Rover… Got flipped over… How is this even possible? Where is the logic behind all this? That bastard… I WILL GET HIM FOR THIS!!!”

And with that, the night fell into silence once more.

The next morning, the women of the Chen Clan Village were all gathered under the shade of the biggest tree in the village, gossiping as usual. The crops had been harvested and sold, and it was still a while before they have to tend to the fields again, so they had nothing much to do and spend most of their idle time gossiping about the latest news and rumours in the neighborhood. Basking under the warm sunshine and chewing on sunflower seeds, talking about the Zhangs, the Lees and everybody else… They spent their days in a rather carefree and idle manner.

“Oh, Hu Zi’s mom! I heard that your son found work in Xuan City?” A fat middle-aged woman asked.

Hu Zi’s mom delightedly replied, “Yes he did! He’s earning more than 2000 yuan a month now!”

“Wow! That’s not bad! Hu Zi is such a good son! You must be proud!” The other women gathered around all look surprised by the news, and threw envious glances and compliments at the lucky mother. For a poor village like this, a monthly salary of 2000 yuan was already considerably high!

“And how about your son Da Xiong? I heard that he is in a relationship with that Tian Niu girl from the next village. They should be getting married real soon, no?” Hu Zi’s mother asked.

Da Xiong’s mother broke into laughter. “Hahaha, you guessed it right! They’ll be wed in a couple of months, and you are all invited to the wedding!”

“Wow, that’s so nice! Congratulations!…” The group of women were happily chatting and laughing away. The careers and the love lives of their children are always the favourite topics of discussion of these women.

“That’s right, Chen’s mom! Your son will be into his fourth year studying at the university by this coming September, no? Has he found an internship yet?” Hu Zi’s mother continued.

Sitting at the edge of the group was a middle-aged woman with streaks of white in her hair. Her head was down as she concentrated on her sewing, patching up a torn shirt with cloth from another one. She looked up when she heard her being called. “I’m not sure about that internship or work thing… Let’s wait for him to come home for the holidays, and I’ll ask him about it.” The woman’s name is Zhang Cuier. She is Chen Xiaobei’s mother.

“Or maybe… He couldn’t find one?” Hu Zi’s mother sneered. “Your Chen went all the way to a prestigious university in the city, but can’t even find a job. My Hu Zi didn’t even complete his high school education, but is already making 2000 a month. Looks like my Hu Zi is doing better!”

Mother did not respond, and merely lowered her head and continued with her sewing.

“Has your Chen found a match yet? Since he’s studying at a university, has he gotten you a daughter-in-law from the city yet?” Da Xiong’s mother smirked and sarcastically asked.

“Xiao… Chen did not mention if he was seeing anyone… Wait for him to come back… I’ll ask him…”Mother then fell silent for a while before looking up and asked, “Da Xiong’s mom, you are familiar with the neighboring villages, can you help me look for a nice girl for Chen?”

Da Xiong’s mother burst out in laughter. ‘Of course, I can set up something! But with your family’s current state of affairs… I’m afraid that might scare people off instead.”

“My family may not be doing well right now, but Chen is a fine lad, the girls will definitely like him!” Mother put down her stitching and earnestly replied.

“Is he really? After going off to the city, it seems like he has forgotten all about you and Chen Senior! I bet he doesn’t even know what’s happening to his parents! Even though it is such a big deal!” Da Xiong’s jeered.

Mother’s face reddened. “We haven’t told him about that yet, because we did not want to affect his studies!”

“You can hide it from him once or twice, but you cannot do that forever. Chen Senior offended the village head! And he won’t just leave your family alone!” Hu Zi’s mother was deliberately adding fuel to the fire.

*BEEP! BEEP!*

Right when she just finished, a BMW entered the village gates and stopped right before where they were gathered. A well-dressed middle-aged woman stepped out of the car, followed by a young man and lady. The three of them seemed pompous and condescendingly glanced at everyone, before the woman walked up to the group and speaking in a shrill voice, “My son is getting married next week! Let me be very clear, if any of you are going to show up with a red envelope that is less than 300 yuan, then don’t bother coming at all!”

“Yes, Mrs. Chen… It’s a joyful occasion for the village head’s family, we’ll definitely attend…” The group of middle-aged women nodded like a group of hungry chicken feeding. These three people were none other than the village head’s wife Su Yan Fen, his son Chen Wang, and his future daughter-in-law Ma Lirong.

Chen Ba, the village head, was a tyrant and ruled over the villagers with an iron fist. Whoever in the village who dared crosses him or anyone else in his family, they inevitably ended up with nothing else but suffering. His wife and son had always acted high and mighty and looked down everyone else in the village, as if they were socially of a significantly higher standing.

“Big Sister Su, my Da Xiong is also getting married soon. I was just sharing the news with everyone here and was just about to visit and inform you as well. I’ll personally deliver the wedding invitations once they are ready.” Da Xiong’s mother was courteously telling Yan Fen about her son’s wedding.

“Oh, I’ve heard! But I still don’t understand this, what does Da Xiong see in that fat, ugly girl? His taste in women is just horrible!” Yan Fen said and continued boastfully, “Look at my daughter-in-law! As beautiful as a flower, the daughter of a good family, has a look of a model… Perfect wife material!” While Yan Fen was saying that, Ma’s face was beaming with pride. She was considered very good looking in the village. But being openly humiliated like that, Da Xiong’s mother’s face was bright red with embarrassment, but she dared not speak up against her.

“Sister Su is right! Miss Ma is indeed a very beautiful girl!” Hu Zi’s mother smiled and complimented the richest woman in the village, wanting to stay on her good side.

“Awww aunty, you are such a sweet talker! I’ll ask father to take good care of Hu Zi when I get back.” Ma said pleasingly.

“You… You know my son?” Hu Zi’s mother was surprised by her words.

“Of course I do! The guard dog at my father’s factory just died, so he brought Hu Zi in as the new security guard.” Ma smirked.

Hu Zi’s mom felt her face heating up from her sarcastic reply.

“Now that we are done here, let’s leave at once! Let’s not stay here too long with these peasants!” Chen Wang urged impatiently. He was many times worse than his mother or fiance! Blatantly dealing such a direct blow to the villagers as soon as he spoke!

The group of women were all shivering with rage. All of them wanted to just run over and slap that foul-mouthed bastard repeatedly across the face for the humiliation they suffered! However, no one dared to. All of them knew what making an enemy out of them meant, and that they could only dream about it.

*VROOM!*

And just at then, a black SUV drove into the village.

“That’s… A Bentley…” Chen Wang’s eyes and mouth were wide open in shock.

“Hmph! What’s the big deal? Is that car even close to being as expensive as ours?” Su Yanfen scoffed.

“What? That SUV is worth eight BMWs?” The others were stunned. Chen Wang’s BMW was known to all the villagers as the most luxurious vehicle in the village. At then a car that was far more expensive than his drove into the village! Although they were not very sure just exactly how much that meany, they know that kind of price tag was astronomical figure to them. Everyone was curious and eager to see just who drove a car like that.

The car doors opened, and out came a young man and a lady. The young man was extremely good looking and had an unblemished complexion. The girl on the other hand, was too beautiful to be described with words! She had a perfect and shapely face, and an attractive lanky figure with curves in all the right places. She was so stunningly beautiful that the villagers all wondered if she was an angel! How could someone so beautiful exist on this planet?

Chen Wang was staring at her, dumbstruck. He was completely unaware that he was drooling in public! Compared to that lady, his fiancé Ma Lirong was nowhere as beautiful at all!

Ma and Yanfen noticed his stupid expression, but couldn’t say anything because even they themselves could not deny that girl was simply just too beautiful! So beautiful that even they themselves couldn’t find anything wrong with her to complain about!

And to be able to stand right next to such a beautiful woman, the young man himself must be no simple character! Everyone present felt a sense of admiration and did not dare do anything lest they embarrass themselves.

“Xiao…Chen! Is that you? You came home?” Mother hastily stood up and made her way over to welcome her son.

“Mom!” Chen held his mother in his arms and smiled. “How did you recognize me? And here I thought I could surprise you!”

“Silly boy, of course I can! I am your mother! How could I not recognize my own son?” Mother then looked at him with surprise. “But about that… You’ve certainly changed a lot! Even your skin looks better than a girl’s!”

Chen was embarrassed. “Mom! How can you say that? I’m still a real man!”

“You… Even your personality has changed! You would never joke with me like this before…” mother was puzzled.

“Mom, your son is now more cheerful than he was. Is that not a good thing?” Chen replied with a smile. Deep inside, Chen knew that it was not only his personality and skin complexion that had changed.

“Yes! Of course, it is! It’s fine, no matter how you change!” Mother was beaming, her eyes full of a mother’s love.

While Chen was happily chatting away with mother, everybody else in the village who were watching became shocked when they realized who the handsome lad was. Their mouths dropped so low that a fist could easily fit inside. Even with their collective cognitive intelligence and power of imagination, no one could compute that the young man who was driving the expensive car, and came here along with such a beautiful lady, was none other than the very Chen Xiaobei from this village! Did he win the lottery or something? That absolutely made no sense!

“Chen, you haven’t introduced me to this pretty lady… Who is this?” mother was nervously eyeing Luo.

“Hi aunty, my name is Luo Puti. I am Chen’s girlfriend.” Luo started introducing herself before Chen could react.

“Huh? Girlfriend!” As soon as the words left her lips, everyone who heard it, and especially mother, was stunned with shock and amazement! That beautiful lady right there was Chen’s girlfriend? My god! Was that a dream? Finding a girlfriend as beautiful as her was much harder than winning the lottery!

“Oh… And how old are you this year, Miss Luo?” Mother boldly asked.

“I’m 24 this year.” Luo answered.

“My Chen is exactly 21! How wonderful! They say that if the girl is three years older, then she will bring good luck!” Mother was pleased. “Then, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a public servant. I’m currently working in Green Vine City.” Luo answered readily.

“A public servant? That’s a very stable occupation! Splendid!” Mother was so happy, her eyes sparkled. She kept looking at her from head to toe, and the more she looked, the more pleased she was with what she saw. “Big bosom… Big bum… Good for bearing children! Absolutely perfect! I couldn’t ask for a more better daughter-in-law than you!”

“Err…” Luo was speechless. She had no idea on how to react to mother’s words.

Seeing the Ice Demon Queen at a loss for words, Chen laughed hard on the inside and secretly gave his mother 32 likes for that.

“Oh my goodness! I hope you forgive me, my dear… We country folks are too used to being this prude… I was just too happy, my tongue slipped…” Mother realized that she was getting a little too carried away and apologized.

“Aunty, it’s alright. Please don’t be shy around me…” Luo simply laughed, she did not appear offended. But as soon as she made sure that no one else was looking, she gave Chen’s foot one hard step!

“Oh my, she’s very thoughtful! My, I’m so envious of Chen’s mom…”

“Me too! If only my son can find himself a girl half as good as her, I’d be smiling in my sleep!”

“Half? Aren’t you being too greedy? If my future daughter-in-law is even one percent like her, that would make me more than happy enough…”

The women of the Chen Village kept expressing just how envious they are at Chen’s mother. And mother who was standing in the middle of the group, with one hand holding Chen and another holding Luo, was feeling very proud of herself right now.

“Chen, did you win the lottery or something? Hmph! Looks like every dog does have its day.” Chen Wang sneered as Su Yan Fen and Ma Lirong faces grew darkened with jealousy. They had every bragging right in the village, until Chen showed up in his expensive luxury SUV just moments ago. They just had the spotlight taken away from them, and they were not very pleased about it.

“Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky. I just happened to have earned a small fortune, and I even started a small jewelry business.” Chen replied half-heartedly. He may say so now, but when Beichen Jewelry opens, he was very certain that it would become one of the biggest business in Green Vine City. However, he was reluctant to waste his time explaining this to Chen Wang the arrogant brat.

“A jewelry business? Hah!” Chen Wang laughed and pulled out a jade pendant from under his collar before continuing, “Look at this! This is the snow jade Laughing Buddha pendant that my fiance gave me as a wedding present! It’s made from real snow jade and costs five-hundred thousand yuan! Does your business even sell anything expensive like this?”

“Wow… Five-hundred thousand for a pendant! That’s really expensive!” The villager’s eyes almost popped when they heard the amount. To them, that was an absolutely ridiculous sum of money.

“Five-hundred thousand? Haha…” Chen laughed. “I sell pieces like that for only 5000 yuan apiece! In fact, I have a trunk full of them right now!”

“What did you say?” Ma got nervous when she heard him saying that. “Are you insane? This pendant is my dowry! How dare you say that it’s only worth so little!”

“Sister, I run a jewelry business, of course, I can!” Chen shrugged and continued, “Either you were cheated of your money, or… You’re trying to fool Chen Wang!”

As soon as he said that, Yanfen frowned. She glared furiously at Ma. “You tried to fool us into marrying our son to you with something so cheap? We even gave you one million yuan as a wedding gift! You better explain yourself right now!”

“Mother! Please don’t believe this asshole! I really bought this for five-hundred thousand yuan!” Ma then marched up to Chen and shouted, “You fraud! Where’s your proof? If you don’t have any evidence, I will sue you for slander!”

“Hohoho… Do you want to see proof? Fine!” Chen turned and went to retrieve the big leather case that was sitting in the trunk of his SUV. He Took the case to the center of the villagers who were curiously looking at him and opened the case, revealing the hundreds of pieces of beautifully detailed and well-crafted jade jewelry and accessories inside.

“My dear fellow village neighbors, here are some small gifts that I brought for you from the city. Please don’t be shy and take any one you like!”