In the restaurant, Lin Huang looked at the young man waving a folding fan in the dead of winter and frowned slightly. He used to be a notorious playboy in the Imperial City; there wasn’t a single prince or young noble he hadn’t teased, yet he didn’t recognize this person.
"Who is he?"
"Prince Qin, the son of the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs," Fatty Bai snorted. "He used to want to be my lackey, but I kicked him away. Now that he’s gained power, this son of a bitch comes to bother me every couple of days!"
Inside the restaurant, the shopkeeper quickly ran up to Prince Qin. "Prince, that is Young Master Bai from the Ministry of War’s Mansion," he said, his face full of awkwardness. "He’s not the... Hehe, peace is the most precious thing! Peace is the most precious thing!"
"Is that so? I heard the son of the Minister of the Ministry of War is suave and dashing. How could he look like such a freak of nature? Shopkeeper, if you keep talking nonsense, I’ll pull your tongue out."
Prince Qin looked toward Lin Huang’s direction, his gaze falling on Fatty Bai with indescribable arrogance. He had once humbly tried to follow Fatty Bai, only to be rejected. Now, the tables had turned. Fatty Bai? The son of the Minister of the Ministry of War? For the past two years, he had bullied him so much that the fatty didn’t even dare to step out of his house.
Lin Huang crossed his arms, staring intently at Prince Qin. "Is the current Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs at odds with the Ministry of War and the Divine General’s Mansion?" he asked softly.
Fatty Bai nodded. "Let’s go somewhere else. My old man has been heavily impeached recently, so it’s best if I cause less trouble."
"I remember you being fearless two years ago!" Lin Huang frowned. He hadn’t expected Fatty Bai to allow others to ride on his head.
"Isn’t it because of you?" Fatty Bai said, looking at Lin Huang with a face full of resentment. "The Ministry of War and the Divine General’s Mansion are as thick as thieves. But ever since you were paralyzed, Old Master Beichen has had no interest in court affairs. The Imperial City is a tangled web of factions. Since they don’t dare target the Divine General’s Mansion, they’ve aimed their spears at the Ministry of War!
"You have no idea how many people want to drag my old man down from his position."
Fatty Bai sighed heavily, looking at Lin Huang with the resentful expression of a wronged young wife.
Lin Huang suddenly understood. He thought, "It seems that after Grandpa lost interest in court affairs, the Ministry of War became isolated and helpless. Those with ulterior motives naturally wanted to quickly bring down the Minister of the Ministry of War."
And the easiest target was undoubtedly this playboy son of the Minister.
Historically, playboy sons were always the downfall of their fathers!
Lin Huang felt a wave of helplessness. A faint, cold gleam flickered in his eyes as he stood up and walked toward Prince Qin.
"Shopkeeper, do you have a saber? I just heard a dog barking. I’ve been lying in bed for two years, so slaughtering a dog would be perfect to practice my Saber Technique and stretch my limbs!" Lin Huang said, holding the shopkeeper’s hand, his face looking exceptionally gentle.
"Yes!" the shopkeeper blurted out. Then, realizing what he had just agreed to, his face turned ashen. "Young Master, the kitchen... the kitchen... the cooked duck in the kitchen has flown away! I have to go catch it!"
In a flash, the shopkeeper vanished without a trace.
"Which brothel did you crawl out of? Have you lost your mind? Daring to be so insolent in front of me without even weighing your own status!" Prince Qin sneered, looking at Lin Huang, whose steps were still somewhat unsteady. As the esteemed son of the Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, he knew every top-tier young noble in the Imperial City, yet he had never seen the person before him. Since he didn’t recognize him, this guy had to be some country bumpkin pretending to be a big shot.
SMACK!
Lin Huang raised his hand and slapped Prince Qin across the face. Then, with a wide smile, he said, "I did just weigh my status, and I feel I have every right to be insolent in front of you, Prince!"
"You hit me? You actually dared to hit me? Do you know who you just hit?" Prince Qin covered his face, staring at Lin Huang in disbelief. Among the younger generation in the Imperial City, other than Crown Prince Lingyun, there was actually someone else who dared to hit him?
SMACK!
Lin Huang delivered another slap. "I was just about to ask for this hero’s esteemed name," he asked with a serious expression.
"You... you..." Prince Qin covered his face. Feeling the mocking gazes of the crowd gathered around him, his heart filled with humiliation and rage. To think that he, the dignified son of the Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, was slapped twice by a country bumpkin in broad daylight. To him, this was an absolute disgrace.
A wild dog daring to bark so madly!
"You will pay for those two slaps with your life, you country bumpkin!" Prince Qin said venomously. As soon as his voice fell, a folding fan appeared in his hand, slicing a sharp arc through the air as it aimed for Lin Huang’s neck.
The atmosphere in the restaurant instantly grew tense, thick with the smell of gunpowder. Everyone on the floor looked toward Lin Huang and Prince Qin.
"This guy actually dared to go against Prince Qin. I’m afraid he’s going to lose an arm or a leg!"
"Of all people to provoke, he just had to provoke this psychopathic little Demon King."
The bystanders shook their heads. If Lin Huang and Fatty Bai were playboys, then Prince Qin was a true villain. At least Lin Huang and Fatty Bai had never truly ruined any young women or forced anyone to their deaths. When people talked about those two, they were at most a laughingstock for after-dinner gossip. But Prince Qin was different. He had committed every despicable act imaginable; he was genuinely loathsome.
Unfortunately, this playboy was backed by the Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs and the Eastern Palace Crown Prince. His backing was incredibly formidable. The crowd dared to be angry but didn’t dare to speak out, only able to silently say a few prayers for Lin Huang.
The crowd watched as the folding fan in Prince Qin’s hand slashed sharply toward Lin Huang’s neck like a blade, and they all shook their heads. As vicious as Prince Qin was, he possessed the Yellow Tier Advanced Iron Fan Martial Soul. He wasn’t someone Lin Huang could contend with.
"Get lost!"
Just as the crowd was silently mourning for Lin Huang, a sharp rebuke echoed through the restaurant. Lin Huang raised his foot and kicked Prince Qin flying.
It was an extremely simple kick!
Prince Qin was kicked so hard he landed squarely on his butt. He looked bewildered. What just happened? He clearly could have easily dodged that kick.
The crowd’s eyes lit up in surprise.
"Fatty, I’ll leave him to you!" Lin Huang turned his head and said to Fatty Bai. He then looked coldly at Prince Qin. "Did you think that just because you have your tail up in the air, no one would kick it?" he added calmly, adjusting his sleeves.
Although Prince Qin possessed a Yellow Tier Advanced Martial Soul, Lin Huang was, after all, the former Bei Linhuang. Below the Human Element Realm, as long as their cultivation was on a similar level, he could slay his opponent without even needing to use his Martial Soul.
"Stop! If you dare touch me again, you will all die miserably!"
Under Fatty Bai’s hammer-like fists, Prince Qin didn’t even dare to raise his head. He could only hug his head and scream, his heart unspeakably frustrated. Although he had just stepped into the Human Element Realm, over the past two years, whenever he wanted to beat someone up, how many had actually dared to fight back? Yet this country bumpkin before him didn’t know who he was messing with.
"My dad is the Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs! Try hitting me again if you dare!" Prince Qin roared with all his might.
Sure enough, the storm-like rain of fists came to a halt. It seemed they were afraid.
Prince Qin looked up and straightened his messy hair, his eyes filled with indescribable fury. This country bumpkin had finally wised up and knew fear.
"If you kneel and beg for mercy right now, and then break both your arms, I might spare your life!" Prince Qin said with a vicious face as he picked up his folding fan from the floor.
SMACK!
Before the vicious smile could fully bloom on Prince Qin’s face, Fatty Bai’s massive palm slapped down hard onto the top of his head.
It was a crisp sound, like cracking a walnut!
Following that, Prince Qin was met with Fatty Bai’s second round of attacks. Like a delicate young girl, he was brutally ravaged by a burly brute until he was half-dead.
"I forgot to tell you, my name is Lin Huang!" Lin Huang squatted in front of Prince Qin, revealing a bright white smile. "I have a grandpa named Lin Beichen. My family has quite a few guards—I counted, and it’s probably around six hundred thousand. My grandpa also has a nickname that he disdains very much: the Great Xia War God!"
"You..." Prince Qin’s expression changed drastically. Staring into Lin Huang’s captivating eyes, he felt a wave of coldness sweep through his entire body.
"Young... Young Master..." Prince Qin stuttered, no longer knowing how to beg for mercy.
"I told you earlier that I had weighed my status before daring to be insolent in front of you. But you didn’t listen. From beginning to end, you never truly listened to a word I said. That is a major taboo for a playboy, do you understand?" Lin Huang chuckled, looking like a genuinely good-natured person.
"Young Master, it’s been two years, but your temper hasn’t changed at all!" A hearty laugh suddenly echoed from the private room behind Lin Huang.
Soon after, a young man walked out of the room. He wore a snow-white cloak over an apricot-yellow robe embroidered with four dragons. His facial features were soft, even somewhat handsome, and his smile always gave people a comforting, approachable feeling, like a gentle spring breeze.
Lin Huang turned around. Looking at the newcomer, a familiar smile couldn’t help but rise on the corners of his mouth.
"Crown Prince, what a... coincidence!"