As the two bodyguards closed in, Mushu’s face went deathly pale.
But she suddenly stepped in front of Haochen, spreading her arms to shield him.
“I won’t let you lay a finger on my brother!”
Mushu’s voice trembled slightly, but it was unwaveringly firm.
Even though she was terrified, she had to stand up and protect her brother.
This enraged Zhao Shaocai even more.
He hadn’t expected Mushu to be so protective of Haochen.
“Ignore her!
Cripple this bastard for me!”
Zhao Shaocai hissed, his eyes bloodshot.
He had to personally watch Haochen be crippled today to sate the hatred in his heart.
Haochen looked at Mushu standing before him, and a warmth spread through his chest.
‘My sister is just an ordinary person, yet she’s standing up to protect me even though she’s terrified.
This is what true family feels like.’
‘Even without a drop of shared blood!’
“Sis, step aside.
This is men’s business.”
Haochen pulled Mushu behind him.
‘You always protected me when we were kids.
Now, it’s my turn to protect you!’
Haochen took a step forward and unleashed an icy wave of killing intent.
The two vicious-looking bodyguards froze mid-action, stunned.
“Take one more step, and you die.”
Haochen’s voice was glacial.
The moment he spoke, everyone present couldn’t help but shiver.
It was a piercing, bone-deep chill.
Without another word, Haochen took Mushu’s hand and started walking into the venue.
The crowd instinctively parted, clearing a path for them.
“Hold it!
You don’t have an invitation from the Qihui Conglomerate, yet you have the audacity to attend tonight’s banquet?
Is that how little you regard our rules?
Don’t think for a second that being a Martial Cultivator means you can ignore the Qihui Conglomerate.”
It was Huang Yichen who called out to Haochen.
From the killing intent Haochen had just released, he knew the young man must be a Martial Cultivator.
It was normal for a young Martial Cultivator to be a bit arrogant.
But if that arrogance went too far, there would be a price to pay.
“We were invited.
President Deng invited us personally this afternoon.
We just weren’t given a physical invitation.
If you don’t believe me, you can call and ask him.”
Mushu said, turning back to Huang Yichen after collecting herself.
She’d never imagined they would run into this kind of trouble just by attending a banquet.
‘And worst of all, Deng Wenbin himself wasn’t even coming!’
Huang Yichen snorted.
“Hmph.
So, President Deng personally told you this afternoon?
President Deng canceled all of his affairs for this afternoon and evening.
Are you saying he did that just to personally invite you to the banquet, and then didn’t even give you an invitation?
Do you believe that story yourself?”
“That’s right.
This afternoon, the City Lord and the Vice City Lord of Jin City in charge of economic affairs were supposed to meet with President Deng, but he canceled, saying something important had come up.”
The Jin City Lord’s secretary added, stepping forward at that moment.
As the head of Qihui Long Country’s Southwest Branch, Huang Yichen wouldn’t be mistaken.
With the City Lord’s secretary corroborating his statement, it all but proved that Mushu was lying.
Huang Yichen’s words also left Mushu confused.
According to him, Deng Wenbin had a very important matter to attend to that afternoon.
But Deng Wenbin had indeed spent the afternoon with her, discussing their partnership.
‘Could President Deng have canceled his other appointments for my sake?’
‘But that seemed impossible!’
“What else do you have to say for yourself?”
Huang Yichen stared coldly at Mushu.
He’d never seen anyone brazen enough to try and crash a banquet hosted by the Qihui Conglomerate.
“Well, well.
Isn’t this Chairman Lin of our very own Muchen Group?
Weren’t you trying to see President Deng for two weeks without any luck?
What are you doing here?
What?
Did President Deng actually invite you to the banquet?”
Just then, Liu Hong, who had been lurking at the back of the crowd, suddenly stepped forward.
He had used an invitation from the Wansheng Group to get in.
If all went well, he would become a senior executive at Wansheng once their plan was complete.
As Liu Hong came forward, he continued, “President Huang, my name is Liu Hong.
I came with Chairman Li Juwei of the Wansheng Group, but for now, I’m still a director at Muchen Group.
You may not know this, but our Chairman Lin has been trying to get a meeting with President Deng for two weeks and hasn’t even managed to see him.
Let alone get an invitation from him for tonight’s banquet.”
“It’s absolutely impossible!”
Liu Hong said to Huang Yichen with great deference, and his words further confirmed everyone’s suspicions.
“President Huang, if you deal with this brat, our Zhao Family is willing to give the Qihui Conglomerate an additional ten percent of the profits from our Celestial Valley Exchange partnership!”
Zhao Kuo said to Huang Yichen.
Since Haochen was a Martial Cultivator, it was best to let the Qihui Conglomerate handle him.
After all, of the Zhao Family’s two Martial Cultivators, one was in seclusion and the other was not in Jin City.
Huang Yichen gave a slight nod and glanced back at the siblings, Mushu and Haochen.
A smug look spread across Zhao Kuo’s face.
‘You dared to break my son’s hands?
I’ll see you crippled today.
After that, I’ll have you secretly captured and tortured to death.’
For the Zhao Family, making someone disappear in Jin City was a trivial matter.
The faces of the onlookers filled with mockery as they all prepared to enjoy the show that was about to unfold.
“Are you going to leave on your own, or do I have to help you?”
The moment Huang Yichen spoke, two elderly men standing not far away approached.
These were two of the Qihui Conglomerate’s Martial Cultivators!
Today, Haochen was surely doomed.
But just as the two Martial Cultivators were closing in on Haochen, the elevator doors opened, and two middle-aged men stepped out.
“It’s President Deng and the City Lord!”