Su Lin frowned and ignored him, looking instead at Xia Bingyu. "Wife, I can take you not letting me speak, but I really can't take this anymore. What should we do?"
"Do whatever you want!" Xia Bingyu snapped angrily.
"Got it!" Su Lin nodded, stood up abruptly, grabbed the bottle of red wine from the table, and smashed it fiercely over Sheng Lei's head!
Bang!
The bottle shattered!
Red wine mixed with Sheng Lei's blood began to slowly trickle down.
Before Sheng Lei could even react, Su Lin grabbed him by the collar, hoisted him up off the ground, and said coldly, "Fatty, you seem pretty arrogant, huh?"
"You... how dare you hit me?" Sheng Lei snapped back to reality, staring at Su Lin in shock and fury.
Slap!
Su Lin delivered a vicious backhand across his face. "I'm hitting you, and what about it?"
"Xia Bingyu! It looks like your company has really decided to make a clean break with our bank. Since that's how it is, your company can just wait to be completely blacklisted!" Sheng Lei threatened Xia Bingyu furiously!
Xia Bingyu finally snapped out of her daze and quickly barked at Su Lin, "Su Lin, what are you doing? Let him go right now!"
Su Lin curled his lips. "Wife, didn't you just tell me to do whatever I want?"
"Besides, things have already reached this point. Do you really think if I let him go, he'd let the Xia Group off the hook?"
Xia Bingyu fell silent at once!
It was obvious that Sheng Lei demanding the early repayment of the Xia Group's loan was a trap specifically set for her!
Unless she gave in to Sheng Lei, no matter what else she did, there was no turning this around!
Slap!
While Xia Bingyu was silent, Su Lin delivered another hard slap to Sheng Lei's face. "Fatty, are you going to dare threaten my wife again in the future?"
"Punk, if you've got the guts, kill me, because otherwise I'll never let you two go!" Sheng Lei's eyes were filled with malice and venom.
"You think I wouldn't dare?" A murderous glint flashed deep in Su Lin's eyes.
With that, he grabbed Sheng Lei's head and slammed it mercilessly onto the table!
Once!
Twice!
Thrice!
Each impact produced a dull, heavy thud!
As for Sheng Lei, his head was covered in blood, and he looked utterly wretched.
"Enough, Su Lin! Teaching him a lesson is enough, don't go too far." Xia Bingyu finally spoke up to stop him.
If this kept up, she was afraid Sheng Lei might actually die!
Only then did Su Lin stop. He grabbed Sheng Lei by the hair and forced him to look him in the face. "Do you still want me to kill you now?"
Sheng Lei didn't say a word, terror the only emotion left in his eyes.
In that moment, he felt a palpable murderous intent radiating from this young man. If he dared to keep running his mouth, the guy might really kill him!
"I was wrong... please let me go..." Sheng Lei pleaded tremblingly.
"Su Lin, let him go!" Xia Bingyu urged.
Sheng Lei was a man of some standing after all; if Su Lin killed him, things would blow up into a genuine crisis.
"Hmph! For my wife's sake, I'll spare you today!" Su Lin casually tossed Sheng Lei to the floor!
Sheng Lei said nothing, scrambled up, and silently scurried out of the private room.
"Hold on!"
Su Lin called out, pointing a finger at the maid outfit lying on the table. "You can leave, but you have to put on this outfit first."
"What?!"
Sheng Lei's complexion turned instantly hideous.
Pinxiang Pavilion was at peak customer traffic right now. If he walked out wearing women's sexy lingerie, he'd probably become the laughingstock of the entire social circle in no time!
"Looks like you're not willing. Since that's the case, I guess I'll just have to kill you after all!" Su Lin smiled sinisterly and strode toward Sheng Lei.
"I'll wear it! I'll wear it!" Sheng Lei shuddered and had no choice but to submit.
"Wife, the scene in a moment might be a bit harsh on the eyes. Why don't you go outside and wait for me?" Su Lin smiled at Xia Bingyu.
"But..." Xia Bingyu felt Su Lin had gone way too far.
"No buts. Leave this to me, you go wait in the car!" Su Lin practically shoved Xia Bingyu out of the room.
Xia Bingyu originally wanted to go back in, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Sheng Lei actually starting to strip, so she had no choice but to leave the restaurant first.
Before long, Sheng Lei had changed into that sexy sleepwear. Gritting his teeth, he asked, "Is this okay now?"
"Alright, now get lost." Su Lin waved a hand, fighting down the urge to vomit.
Sheng Lei didn't speak again, turning on his heel and bolting out the door, desperate to escape the restaurant at top speed.
However, the restaurant was packed right now. Scarcely had he stepped out of the private room when Sheng Lei drew the attention of numerous patrons. Seeing such a bizarre spectacle, several people even whipped out their phones and started snapping pictures!
Su Lin paid no attention to all that. He left the restaurant, found Xia Bingyu's car outside, pulled open the door, and slid into the passenger seat!
"Wife, we can go home now!"
Beside him, Xia Bingyu couldn't help sighing. "Su Lin, you were much too impulsive just now."
"Wife, why do you say that?" Su Lin asked, looking puzzled.
"Sheng Lei is the president of Baihua Bank, and he has vast connections. You beat him up and humiliated him like that, so he's definitely going to try and ruin the Xia Group!" Worry was written all over Xia Bingyu's face.
"He's just a bank president. Don't worry, Wife—if he dares to mess with your company, I'll step in and handle it!" Su Lin said dismissively.
"Heh, Sheng Lei has ties to the Golden Dragon Chamber of Commerce, and the Golden Dragon Chamber of Commerce is the biggest chamber of commerce in Longxia. How are you going to handle that?" Xia Bingyu gave a bitter laugh, not taking Su Lin's words seriously.
After all, Su Lin had just come down from the mountain and had nothing to his name. What could he possibly use to help her?
Yet Xia Bingyu didn't blame him either; regardless of anything else, everything Su Lin had done was for her.
"The Golden Dragon Chamber of Commerce? Isn't that Sixth Master's enterprise? He told me to go inherit it before he left. Looks like I should make time to drop by!" Hearing the name, Su Lin muttered to himself in thought!
Half an hour later.
Xia Bingyu drove back to the villa.
Yet all the while, a look of worry lingered on her face, clearly anxious about Sheng Lei's retaliation.
"Sister Bingyu, you're back!"
Lin Feixuan, who had been waiting in the living room all along, stepped forward when she saw the two of them return.
Before long, however, Lin Feixuan noticed something was amiss and her face darkened. "Sister Bingyu, your expression doesn't look too good. Did Su Lin bully you?!"
"Hey! Stop talking nonsense!"
"My wife is so pretty, I cherish her too much to ever bully her!" Su Lin glared at Lin Feixuan with annoyance!
"Hmph! Easy for you to say. I remember someone saying earlier that men ought to have wives and concubines galore!" Lin Feixuan glared right back at Su Lin, refusing to back down!
"Alright, stop bickering, both of you."
Xia Bingyu cut off their argument, explaining, "Feixuan, I'm fine. Just a bit tired from work, I'll go rest for a bit."
"Alright then, hurry up and get some rest, Sister Bingyu!" Lin Feixuan said with a look of concern.
Xia Bingyu nodded and headed straight for her bedroom.
Seeing this, Su Lin prepared to return to his own room as well.
"Hey, hold on!" Lin Feixuan blocked Su Lin's path.
"What is it now?" Su Lin asked with a frown.
"The president of our university's Martial Arts Club wants to invite you to join. Would you be interested?" Lin Feixuan asked directly.
"Is there any benefit to joining the Martial Arts Club?" Su Lin asked with a look of growing interest.
"Uh..." Lin Feixuan didn't know how to answer, because the biggest benefit of the Martial Arts Club was getting to learn martial arts techniques from the president.
But given Su Lin's skill, he clearly had no need for that.
"Sounds like there's no benefit at all. Not interested!" Seeing Lin Feixuan's reaction, Su Lin turned right around and walked back to his room!
"This guy is so mercenary!" Lin Feixuan muttered at Su Lin's retreating back.
Then she pulled out her phone and sent a message to Jiang Yuqing.
Su Lin didn't rest upon returning to his room. Instead, he took a jade pendant out from his pocket.
The pendant was exquisitely crafted, carved with a lifelike *qilin*.
This jade pendant was something his First Master had placed in his swaddling clothes when he was found, and it held the secret of Su Lin's true parentage!
Back on the mountain, with his eight masters keeping him company, Su Lin hadn't cared much about his origins.
Later on, however, seven of his masters left the mountain one after another to handle important matters, leaving only his Fourth Mistress behind with him.
Now that Su Lin had descended the mountain, he decided it was time to look into his background!
Of course, Su Lin held no emotional attachment to the parents who had abandoned him; he was merely following his First Master's wishes.
His First Master had told him before leaving that if he ever went down the mountain, he must uncover his origins—that this was extremely important to him, closely tied to his destiny!
"Sigh, First Master told me to track down my lineage, but with just a jade pendant, how am I supposed to find anything? Looks like I'll have to make use of Fourth Mistress's Fengyue Pavilion!" Su Lin sighed, pulling out a token.
Carved onto the token was the character "Yue" written in bold, sweeping iron-hook strokes.
This was the Fengyue Token his Fourth Mistress had given him, which granted him the authority to mobilize the entire network of the Fengyue Pavilion.
According to Fourth Mistress, the Fengyue Pavilion was not merely a pleasure house, but a massive intelligence network formed by leveraging the powerful and elite who frequented it!
Beyond that, the Fengyue Group under its name was among the top enterprises in Longxia.
Naturally, Su Lin had only heard about all this; as for what it was really like, he planned to take some time tomorrow to check it out!
The next day!
Su Lin came down to the first floor of the villa. The housekeeper had already prepared breakfast, and Xia Bingyu and Lin Feixuan were chatting as they ate.
Without standing on ceremony, Su Lin grabbed a plate and sat down at the table to eat.
"Hey, are you really not willing to join the Martial Arts Club?" Lin Feixuan asked, looking at Su Lin.
Last night, she had already told Jiang Yuqing about Su Lin's refusal, but Jiang Yuqing's brother refused to give up, sweet-talking her and begging her to try inviting him one more time.
"I don't do things that offer no benefits!" Su Lin's stance was firm.
"Joining the Martial Arts Club? What's that about?" Hearing their exchange, Xia Bingyu asked out of curiosity.
"Sister Bingyu, it's like this..." Lin Feixuan recounted what happened yesterday.
After listening, Xia Bingyu couldn't help glancing at Su Lin. "I wouldn't have guessed you could stir up so much trouble. You go to school for five minutes and end up beating up Dongying people."
"You can't blame me for that. Those Dongying folks were way too arrogant, so I just had to teach them a lesson." Su Lin spread his hands innocently.
Xia Bingyu said nothing more; she held an equal aversion toward Dongying people.
Soon, Xia Bingyu finished her meal and headed out for work.
"Su Lin, are you sure you won't join the Martial Arts Club?"
"Our president said that if you agree, he can hand the position of president over to you." Lin Feixuan finished eating and tried one last persistent persuasion.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in being president!" Su Lin flatly refused, then set down his chopsticks and walked away.
With no way to deal with Su Lin, Lin Feixuan could only stomp her foot in frustration!
Meanwhile, in an office at Baihua Bank.
Looking at a news story on his phone, Sheng Lei was so angry his face was twisted out of shape!
The news headline was explosive: *Shocking! Bizarre Pervert Appears at Pinxiang Pavilion, Runs Wild Publicly Wearing Women's Sexy Lingerie!*
The attached photo showed a man covering his face while dressed in erotic underwear!
The man in the news was naturally Sheng Lei. Fortunately, he had been smart enough to cover his face yesterday, or he'd be dying of social death right now!
But this humiliation could not be left unavenged!
A glint flashed in Sheng Lei's eyes. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number: "Young Master Zhou, I have something very important I'd like to discuss with you. You're definitely going to be interested..."
Elsewhere, after making some inquiries, Su Lin arrived at the Jiang City branch of the Fengyue Pavilion.
The entire Fengyue Pavilion was built in an ancient style—exquisite and full of antique charm, carrying a unique flavor amidst the surrounding concrete jungle.
Outside the Fengyue Pavilion, luxury cars were parked bumper-to-bumper, showing just how wealthy or noble its patrons must be!
Su Lin encountered no obstructions and easily walked inside the Fengyue Pavilion.
The first floor of the Fengyue Pavilion held numerous tables, with many guests sitting about sipping tea.
Right in the center was a stage where musicians played instruments and sang traditional tunes.
"Listening to tunes in a pleasure house—rich people really know how to enjoy themselves!" Su Lin marveled, then prepared to head upstairs to find high-ranking members of the Fengyue Pavilion.
"Oh, well if it isn't that country bumpkin!"
As Su Lin was walking across the first floor, Xia Fei spotted him, and his expression instantly turned ugly.
"Xia Fei, do you have a grudge with that guy?" Opposite Xia Fei sat a crew-cut young man who noticed his reaction and asked out of curiosity.
"Young Master Lin, you don't understand..."
Xia Fei recounted the incident involving Su Lin.
Only in his version of the story, Su Lin had been cast as an unmitigated scoundrel!
"This punk is actually your cousin's husband?"
"From what I hear, your cousin is a famous beauty in Jiang City. How could she ever fall for piece of trash like that?" The young master surnamed Lin asked with some surprise after hearing the tale.
"With Xia Bingyu's haughty personality, how could she ever fall for this punk? She probably just dragged him in to use as a shield!"
"Judging by this guy's look, not only does he not realize he's being used, but he's walking around all pleased with himself, thinking he scored some huge bargain!" Xia Fei sneered repeatedly!
"Xia Fei, I have to say you really are losing your edge. You're a member of the Xia Family after all, yet you let yourself get bullied this badly by some hillbilly!" The young master couldn't help shaking his head.
Xia Fei hurriedly defended himself, "Young Master Lin, this punk isn't as simple as he looks. He's got some combat skills, and his medical skills are top-notch too. With Xia Bingyu shielding him, it's really hard for me to make a move on him!"
"Is that so?"
"Heh, I don't have much going on today anyway, so I'll vent some frustration for you!" Young Master Lin grew rather interested and slowly stood up.
Xia Fei's face lit up with joy, but a moment later, a thought hit him and he worriedly said, "Young Master Lin, this is the Fengyue Pavilion! Causing trouble is strictly forbidden here. If you throw hands, won't it..."
Young Master Lin cut Xia Fei off directly. "Relax, this punk isn't even worth me dirtying my hands. Once I drop my identity, I reckon I can scare him into kneeling!"
"Besides, I'm a big spender here. Even if I do make a move, the manager of the Fengyue Pavilion has to give me some face!"
"Young Master Lin is awesome!" Xia Fei had nothing more to say and could only shower him with flattery.
Without further ado, the young master strode over toward Su Lin.
Seeing this, Xia Fei couldn't help sneering inwardly.
This Young Master Lin was none other than Lin Tianba, the son of the boss of Jiang City's underground Black Tiger Sect, a figure of noble and formidable status.
No matter how tough Su Lin was, landing in his hands this time meant he'd probably have to drop to his knees and call him daddy!
At that thought, a wave of excitement surged through Xia Fei as he followed Lin Tianba toward Su Lin.
Su Lin, entirely unaware of the two trailing behind him, walked straight toward the staircase leading to the second floor.
Just as he was about to step up, however, two figures blocked his path.
"Punk, I hear you've been acting pretty wild!" Lin Tianba looked at Su Lin with a playful smirk.
"Who are you?" Su Lin frowned at Lin Tianba.
Standing behind Lin Tianba, Xia Fei brandished borrowed authority and barked, "Hillbilly, this is Lin Tianba, the son of the boss of Jiang City's Black Tiger Sect! If you know what's good for you, you'd better get on your knees and talk to him!"
After Xia Fei finished his introduction.
Lin Tianba clasped his hands behind his back, raised his chin slightly, and looked down at Su Lin with haughty anticipation, waiting for him to drop to his knees.
After all, as the son of the Black Tiger Sect boss, no matter where he went on ordinary days, everyone had to show him some respect.
As long as this punk wasn't mentally retarded, once he learned his identity, he would definitely drop to his knees on the spot!
"What kind of garbage Black Tiger Sect is that? Never heard of it. Get lost before I start hitting people!" Su Lin barked impatiently.
"Hillbilly, how dare you talk to Young Master Lin like that? You've got some nerve..." Seeing Su Lin pay zero respect to Lin Tianba, Xia Fei instantly opened his mouth to curse!
Before he could finish, however, Su Lin swept a backhand across his face, sending him flying straight through the air to crash hard against the wall.
"I really didn't want to throw hands, but since you're begging for a beating, I suppose I have no choice but to oblige." Su Lin shook his head helplessly, then turned his gaze to Lin Tianba blocking his path. "Are you going to get lost or not?"
Lin Tianba finally snapped out of his shock and let out a cold laugh. "Punk, you actually dare throw punches right in front of me? Interesting, really interest—"
Su Lin couldn't take it anymore and kicked him squarely in the chest. "What the hell is interesting about your mom's face? Talking all weird like that, you're just begging for a beating!"
Lin Tianba was kicked backward onto his backside, clutching his stomach as pain contorted his face. "Punk, you actually dare hit me?"
Su Lin delivered another kick. "Are you a complete moron? Do you really have to ask when the answer is so obvious?"
Having been kicked twice in a row, Lin Tianba snapped completely. Roaring in rage, he lunged at Su Lin. "I'll fight you to the death, you bastard!"
"Scram!"
Impatient to the extreme, Su Lin lashed out with a single slap that sent Lin Tianba flying backward through the air.
With that done, he didn't even glance at Lin Tianba again and strode straight toward the second floor.
At that exact moment, however, a crowd of people swarmed in to encircle them—all of them stunning women dressed in traditional ancient long skirts.
"What's going on here?"
The leading woman surveyed the scene, her expression turning icy cold as a bone-chilling aura radiated from her!
Su Lin sighed. He had only wanted to find the person in charge of the Fengyue Pavilion—why did there always have to be so much trouble?
"Miss Feishuang, this punk not only caused trouble in the Fengyue Pavilion, he even attacked me! You have to punish him severely!" Recognizing the woman, Lin Tianba pointed viciously at Su Lin.
Whoosh!
Feishuang's sharp gaze instantly locked onto Su Lin. "Is that what happened?"