"Grandmother, Chu Tingting is no good woman anyway. She's not worthy of my Brother Changqing..." Ye Wanling said with a sweet smile, hugging Luo Changqing's arm.
Chen Fang thoroughly agreed. Her gaze fell on the hand Ye Wanling had looped through Luo Changqing's arm, and she suddenly smiled.
"She certainly isn't worthy! My Changqing naturally deserves someone better! Don't you agree, Líng'ér, my girl?"
She cast a meaningful glance at Ye Wanling as she spoke.
Ye Wanling started, and when it dawned on her, she flushed crimson. Glaring at Luo Changqing, she hastily pulled her hand back.
"Still staring? Tomorrow morning, come with me to find the Saintess of the Divine Sword Sect!" Ye Wanling chided playfully.
Luo Changqing smiled and nodded. "Don't worry! Leave this to me! We will definitely see the Saintess of the Divine Sword Sect tomorrow!"
"Braggart!" Ye Wanling rolled her eyes. "Brother Changqing, the Saintess of the Divine Sword Sect isn't that easy to find!"
Returning to his room, Luo Changqing took out the communication jade pendant Su Yanran had left behind.
"Master Luo?" Su Yanran's lovely voice came through, thinly veiling her surprise.
"Where are you?" Luo Changqing cut straight to the point. "I want to see you tomorrow!"
"No problem! Where are you? I will appear before you at once!" Su Yanran replied without the slightest hesitation.
"No need! I'll come to find you tomorrow morning!" Luo Changqing said without a second thought.
"I am in Cangyang City, at the Su Family—one of the four great families!" Su Yanran said respectfully. "The Su Family is hosting a chamber of commerce event tomorrow and has invited me to preside over it."
"Got it!" With that, Luo Changqing directly cut the connection on the jade pendant.
The next day, the gates of the Su Family, one of the four great families, were thronged with guests. Luo Changqing wore a azure robe, his bearing as upright as a pine. Ye Wanling was dressed in a mint-green long dress, looking as fresh as a water lotus, increasingly refined and striking.
As Ye Wanling followed Luo Changqing, and the two prepared to step through the gates, a familiar voice sounded from behind them.
"How utterly wretched! To run into them here!"
Turning back, the two saw none other than Chu Tingting.
Accompanying her was a man dressed in dark garments, who was currently glaring at Luo Changqing and Ye Wanling with great displeasure.
Today, Chu Tingting wore a pink dress with layer upon layer of ruffles that looked exceedingly cumbersome; her presence was simply incomparable to Ye Wanling's.
The man beside her lit up when he saw Ye Wanling, casting a jealous look at Luo Changqing while flirtatiously hooking Chu Tingting's chin with his fingers, shooting Luo Changqing a provocative look.
"When a dog blocks the path, you surely don't stoop to bickering with it!"
Chu Tingting offered a tight-lipped smile, hugging the man's arm tighter. "Brother Ting, you're so bad!"
Luo Changqing looked with disdain at the expanse of pale skin she was deliberately exposing, as her bosom rubbed back and forth against the man's arm. He seriously doubted his own judgment back in the day.
"When people call a man bad, it's usually in bed!" Luo Changqing curved his lips into a smile, looking at Chu Tingting as if she were a courtesan from a pleasure house.
"Luo Changqing! You really are a toad lusting after a swan's flesh! You've even learned how to play hard-to-get! I've already made it clear enough to you: someone like me, Chu Tingting, is far out of your league!"
She linked arms with the man and walked past Luo Changqing, her delicate neck held high, looking as proud as a white swan.
"So you're that Luo Family young master who spent three years on the mountain for Tingting?" The dark-robed man sneered. "I am Duan Wenting, the eldest young master of the Duan Family! Pleased to meet you!"
Luo Changqing didn't even spare him a glance, though Ye Wanling beside him could no longer suppress her anger, her face as cold as frost.
"Miss Chu's talent for seduction is certainly formidable. Back then she seduced my Brother Changqing, and now she's latched onto the eldest young master of the Duan Family. I just wonder who will be next?"
Chu Tingting's face stiffened, and she looked at Ye Wanling with contempt.
"All talk and no substance! Isn't your Luo Family here just to beg favors from the Su Family? Brother Ting and the Su Family are family friends! If your Luo Family wants to beg for help, you'd better see whether Brother Ting is willing to allow it!"
Luo Changqing narrowed his eyes, smiling uninhibitedly at Duan Wenting. "I, Luo Changqing, just love playing with young masters like you. Pale skin, tender flesh—they feel great when you slap them!"
Duan Wenting's face darkened, but Luo Changqing simply took Ye Wanling by the hand and strode straight through the gates of the Su Estate.
Upon entering, they saw that the Su Family courtyard was already packed with people, gathering virtually all the factions in Cangyang City.
"Luo Changqing? You actually dare to show your face here?"
A young gentleman emerged from the crowd, his gaze fixed on Luo Changqing as if dripping with venom.
"The Lin Family?" Luo Changqing raised an eyebrow, looking at the face before him that bore a resemblance to Lin Wenjie.
"That's right! You killed my older brother, and while the Lin Family hasn't come looking for you yet, you actually dare to show up here!" Lin Wenbin's expression was gloomy. If not for the many guests present at the Su Family, he would have killed Luo Changqing on the spot to avenge his brother!
"Since you're here, take a message back to your father! I'll come claim the heads of your entire Lin Family whenever I please!" Luo Changqing sneered.
"A Luo Family that exists in name only, and you still dare to bark at my Lin Family! Luo Changqing, today I'll settle the score for my brother properly with you!" Lin Wenbin's gaze hardened as he beckoned to the men behind him.
"Black Nine! Catch him!" Lin Wenbin grinned hideously. "You want to wipe out my Lin Family? Today I'll finish you off first!"
A burly man stepped out from behind Lin Wenbin, cutting an imposing figure.
"It's actually Black Nine! He's a Tier 2 Spirit Master!"
Hearing someone identify Black Nine, Lin Wenbin swelled with pride. A Tier 2 Spirit Master was a presence completely sufficient to support the foundation of a wealthy, influential family, and now he had become his bodyguard.
One had to know that the direct line of the Lin Family generation only had two males. The eldest young master, Lin Wenjie, had died at Luo Changqing's hands, so how could the Lin Family possibly fail to guard and protect their sole remaining scion, Lin Wenbin?
"Brother Changqing, I'll hold him off, you run!" Ye Wanling shielded Luo Changqing behind her, watching Black Nine warily with the posture of someone ready to fight to the death at any moment.
"Slap!"
The crisp sound of a palm strike was the best response Ye Wanling could have received. Before anyone could react, Luo Changqing flicked his fingers again.
An invisible giant hand seemed to materialize in mid-air, striking Lin Wenbin across the face again and again.
Lin Wenbin felt his ears ring with a heavy buzzing sound, his head spinning as he was slapped into a daze, completely losing his bearings.
He staggered and fell to his knees, staring at Luo Changqing in shock!
"You actually dare to strike!"
Lin Wenbin was dumbfounded. Fierce as his bluster had been, he had never intended to actually fight here. After all, this was the Su Family's chamber of commerce event. Bringing Black Nine along was nothing more than a bid to save face and give Luo Changqing a bit of a warning.
Who could have expected that this brat would actually dare to make a move!
Black Nine recovered his wits at that moment, swinging a palm the size of a cattail-leaf fan straight at Luo Changqing's face.
Luo Changqing remained expressionless, not even deigning to look at him, as he struck back with a single slap of his own!
Before Black Nine could react, he felt as though his brains were about to be battered out of his skull, and he spewed a massive mouthful of blood.
He, too, collapsed to his knees, staring in sheer disbelief at Luo Changqing.
"How can you be this strong?"