The Elder Pavilion Master founded the Dragon King Pavilion. In less than a decade, he built it into the foremost faction in all of Xia Country. Every underground power in the nation answered his call. His authority was absolute, his reputation legendary, and he became a figure of universal reverence.
The Elder Pavilion Master later vanished from public view, but he left behind a decree: the Young Pavilion Master would one day take his place and assume control of the Dragon King Pavilion. The token of authority was the Dragon King's thumb ring. To see the ring was to see the Elder Pavilion Master himself. Any who dared to be disrespectful were to be killed.
A member of the Dragon King Pavilion could forget his own wife's name, but he could never forget this—not unless he had a death wish.
So when Liu San saw the ring, his gallbladder nearly burst from terror. He staggered over to Ye Feng, dropped to his knees with a THUD, and began kowtowing like a chicken pecking at grain, crying out in a shrill voice,
"It is I, your worthless servant, who was blind and failed to recognize your greatness! I have offended you, Young Pavilion Master! I deserve to die ten thousand deaths! I deserve to die ten thousand deaths..."
With that, he slammed his head on the floor. THUD! THUD! THUD! His forehead split open and blood streamed down his face, but he seemed to feel nothing, continuing to kowtow again and again.
The thugs behind him, terrified, scrambled to their knees behind Liu San and began kowtowing frantically.
Just then, Cui Biao approached, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Ye Feng. "Young Pavilion Master, these blind fools have offended you. Should I have them dismembered, or should I just sink them in the river? Just say the word."
Upon hearing this, Liu San and his men let out a pitiful whimper and collapsed to the floor in a heap. They had wet themselves, and the pungent stench of urine filled the air.
Ye Feng stood up with a look of disgust, turning to walk toward the door. "I'm here to collect a debt, not to kill anyone. Just have them pay what they owe me."
Hearing this, Liu San and his men felt as if they'd received a presidential pardon. They scrambled to their feet, kowtowing repeatedly to Ye Feng and shouting with emotional gratitude, "Thank you for sparing our lives, Young Pavilion Master! From now on, our lives are yours!"
Liu San hastily added, "We'll transfer the money to Qingya Cosmetics's account right away! Please don't worry, Young Pavilion Master!"
Ye Feng glanced at them, frowning. "And stop pissing your pants over every little thing. It's embarrassing."
The men all shouted in unison, "Yes, yes! We won't pee anymore! We won't!"
Ye Feng tossed the ledger to Cui Biao. "There are a few more in here who owe my wife money. Go collect it for me. I don't have time for this nonsense."
Cui Biao snatched it up and declared excitedly, "Don't you worry, Young Pavilion Master! If anyone dares to be a single penny short, I'll beat the shit out of them!"
Ye Feng waved his hand dismissively. "From now on, just call me by my name. Stop with the 'Young Pavilion Master' this and 'Young Pavilion Master' that. I'm not used to it."
'I just need to fulfill the terms of the bet, get the Jade Pendant, and leave,' he thought. 'There's no need to expose my true strength. The last thing I need is for that greedy Xiao Gang to get any funny ideas and make it hard for me to leave.'
Cui Biao paused for a second, then nodded eagerly. He broke into a sly grin. "I get it, Young Pavilion Master! Big shots always love to hide their identities while they chase after girls. Don't worry, I won't blow your cover. From now on, I'll just call you 'Sir'!"
Ye Feng's face darkened. 'What in the world is this guy talking about?'
Ye Feng turned and left, with Cui Biao and his men bowing deeply as he went.
But when Cui Biao saw Ye Feng wheeling out a small electric scooter, he nearly fell over in shock.
'If the higher-ups in the Dragon King Pavilion find out I was driving a luxury car while the Young Pavilion Master was stuck with an electric scooter,' he thought, 'they'd have my head for sure.'
He scrambled a few steps to catch up to Ye Feng, pressing the keys to his Rolls-Royce Phantom into Ye Feng's hand. He said with a sycophantic smile,
"Sir, how can you ride an electric scooter? You're making me look bad! Please, just make do with this car for now. If there's another car you'd prefer, just say the word, and I'll buy it for you!"
"I actually really like riding my scooter," Ye Feng said earnestly.
But before he could finish, Cui Biao snatched the scooter away, saying with a perfectly straight face, "Sir, I've been trying to lose some weight lately. Let me be the one to ride the scooter!"
He thought for a moment, then pulled out another set of keys, stuffed them into Ye Feng's pocket, and said with another obsequious smile, "These are the keys to the Celestial Villa in the Riverside Villa District. Take them. Go there to relax whenever you have a free moment."
Without waiting for a reply, he hopped on the electric scooter, gunned the throttle, and zipped away, disappearing in a flash.
He was willing to pay any price to get on the Young Pavilion Master's good side. A car and a house were nothing. If Ye Feng had a thing for his mother, he'd go dig her out of her grave for him.
Watching Cui Biao's hasty retreat, Ye Feng couldn't help but chuckle. 'This guy,' he thought, 'he's pretty sharp.'
Just then, his phone began to buzz incessantly.
Ye Feng picked up his phone. Messages were flooding in.
Third Senior Sister, Chen Yun'Er: Xiaofeng, I heard you left the mountain! Come find your Third Senior Sister! I'm fair-skinned, gorgeous, and have legs for days.
Fourth Senior Sister, Feng Qingwu: Xiaofeng, don't listen to your Third Senior Sister brag. Come to me instead. You know I've always had a better foundation than her, even as kids. Plus, I've been practicing yoga these past few years, so my body is better than ever—a perfect golden ratio. And my other skills have improved, too. Just how good are they? Heh heh, you'll have to come and find out.
Second Senior Sister, Mu Qingyun: What are you two doing? Xiaofeng is a grown man now, can't you stop teasing him? Xiaofeng, why don't you come to your Second Senior Sister? I'll give you the Cyan Cloud Group.
Third Senior Sister, Chen Yun'Er: Pfft. Second Sister, you just want to get Xiaofeng all to yourself. You act all high and mighty, but deep down, you're more shameless than any of us!
First Senior Sister, Meng Jiaxin: You're all adults now. Have you no shame, talking like that?
Xiaofeng, ignore them. A real man should join the military, earn merits, and build a legacy. Get ready. In a few days, I'll come get you and bring you to the Eastern Domain.
Third Senior Sister, Chen Yun'Er: Hehe, she sounds so noble, but she's just like Second Sister—another one who wants him all to herself.
...
Ye Feng felt his face darken again. He quickly replied, "Sisters, I'm in the middle of something important..."
He briefly explained that he was following his master's orders to fulfill a marriage contract with Xiao Yufei so he could obtain the Jade Pendant and search for clues about his parents.
That's when all hell broke loose.
Third Senior Sister, Chen Yun'Er: They dare look down on my little brother? Do they think my position as leader of the Dragon Group is just for show? Just you wait. I'm taking my team to Jiangcheng to have a word with Yuan Long about how he runs this city.
Fourth Senior Sister, Feng Qingwu: So they're completely disregarding me, the president of the Chinese Medicine Association? Fine. I'm immediately issuing a notice to all practitioners of Chinese medicine: anyone who dares to treat a single member of the Xiao family will see what happens.
Second Senior Sister, Mu Qingyun: The Xiao family of Jiangcheng, is it? Heh. They get a little bit of money and suddenly they don't know their own place. Alright, then. Let's see how many waves of attacks from my Cyan Cloud Financial Group they can handle.
First Senior Sister, Meng Jiaxin: Why are you all wasting your breath? I'll mobilize a million of my elite troops right now and march on Jiangcheng. I will have the Xiao family razed to the ground within a day.
...
Ye Feng stared at the messages, stumbling back a few steps, nearly falling to the ground. 'They're... they're each more ruthless than the last,' he thought. 'Are they planning to completely annihilate the Xiao family?'
Ye Feng coughed violently and quickly sent another message: "My dear sisters, I can handle this. When it comes to matters of the heart, it has to be mutual. If she's not willing, you can't force it, right?
"Just give me two days. In two days, I'll turn Qingya Cosmetics around and win the bet. Then I can get the Jade Pendant and get out of here."
Second Senior Sister: The wedding is in two days, then? Alright. We'll be sure to come with extravagant gifts to congratulate you. Even if it's just for show, we can't lose face, can we?
Third Senior Sister: I'm out, gotta go! Time for yoga. Xiaofeng won't like it if I get any love handles!
Fourth Senior Sister: I'm out too. Time for a spa day.