Sun Tianlei couldn't bear to watch any longer and quickly called two bodyguards to drag Qiu Tongren out.
"Mr. Lu, I'm terribly sorry. I almost misunderstood you just now."
Sun Tiangui said with an apologetic expression.
A moment ago, he had been this close to attacking Lu Yun. Fortunately, the old man had vomited just in time.
Lu Yun said offhandedly, "It's fine. You were just acting out of filial love."
Then, Lu Yun looked back at Elder Sun and smiled. "Elder Sun, you won't hold it against me for smashing your treasure anymore, will you?"
"Hehe... Of course not, of course not. Mr. Lu saved my life, how could I possibly blame him?" Elder Sun quickly waved his hands with a smile.
Although it hurt to see a blue-and-white porcelain piece smashed, he had gotten his life back. It was a good trade.
Sun Tianlei said respectfully, "Mr. Lu, please name your price for the consultation fee."
"No need. No matter how you look at it, I did smash one of your dad's antiques, so I'll waive the fee. Just make sure your family gives plenty of support to my sister's Qingcheng Group from now on."
With a hearty laugh, Lu Yun strode out of the Sun residence.
Watching Lu Yun's uninhibited figure leave, Sun Tianlei gritted his teeth hard and made a momentous decision.
"Call a family meeting immediately. I want to announce that from now on, all of our family's distribution channels will exclusively serve Qingcheng Group's products."
Sun Tiangui said worriedly, "Big Brother, isn't that a bit too risky?"
Dedication of all distribution channels exclusively to Qingcheng Group meant that their Sun family would be bound completely to the same rope as Qingcheng Group.
It was an extremely risky move.
The moment Qingcheng Group ran into trouble, the Sun family would face total annihilation.
"Is there ever a day when we in business aren't taking risks?"
With his mind made up, Sun Tianlei looked at the old man.
Elder Sun nodded at him and said, "Since I've already handed the family business over to you, I support any decision you make. Besides, I also believe that Mr. Lu is no ordinary man; one day, he will ride the wind and transform into a dragon."
Mr. Lu?
Sun Tianlei narrowed his eyes slightly. What drove him to make this decision wasn't just Mr. Lu—there was also that other man.
...
Lu Yun returned to Luyin Villa.
Liu Yan'er asked with an ambiguous smile, "Little Luyun, tell me, why would Master Yunlu suddenly send me a painting? How does he even know me?"
"You should go ask Master Yunlu that question."
"Hmph hmph, do you take me for a fool? Confess honestly, is there something you're hiding from your older sister?"
"Fine, I admit it. It was me who asked Master Yunlu to paint *Roses of the Prosperous Age*."
"You're still playing dumb!"
Dragging Lu Yun into the room, Liu Yan'er pointed to several crumpled sheets of rice paper on the desk and said, "I've already searched your trash can. Aside from a few strange wads of tissue paper, the rest were these."
Lu Yun was speechless. Sister Yan'er, are you part Husky? Who in their right mind goes digging through trash cans?!
Yet Lu Yun knew what these crumpled sheets of rice paper were—they were the discarded drafts he had used while painting *Roses of the Prosperous Age*.
Chapter 28: This Is a Misunderstanding
Lu Yun had only intended to tease Sister Yan'er a little.
There was no real need to keep his identity as Master Yunlu a secret.
Since Sister Yan'er had figured it out, Lu Yun simply decided to admit it openly.
Instantly.
Liu Yan'er's beautiful eyes welled up with tears.
To think that the idol she had worshipped for so long was actually her own younger brother—anyone in her shoes would be thrilled.
What touched Liu Yan'er the most was that Little Luyun had gone to such massive lengths, organizing an entire auction just to help her vent her anger and make her the center of attention.
If she hadn't exposed him, he wouldn't even have confessed to being Master Yunlu.
What was this called?
This was called silent guardianship—giving you the world's warmest and most touching moments when you least expect them.
Deep inside Liu Yan'er's heart, she felt as though she had found a harbor, a place where she could shed all her pretenses and dock safely.
"Little Luyun..."
Overcome with emotion, Liu Yan'er hugged Lu Yun, only for her footing to slip, causing the two of them to tumble straight to the floor together.
Lu Yun immediately put on a stern face and said, "Sister Yan'er, be touched all you want, but don't think you can take advantage of me."
Divine Lord Yuntian was a man of great principle!
Seeing Lu Yun look like this, Liu Yan'er's playful streak flared up. The corners of her tender, enticing lips suddenly curved into a charming and mesmerizing smile as she asked:
"Is your older sister not pretty?"
Looking down at Lu Yun from above, Liu Yan'er used her slender fingers to tuck the stray locks of hair blocking her vision behind her ear.
Lu Yun instantly lost his composure.
Sister Yan'er was practically playing with fire here!
No!
She was his older sister, after all.
Just as Lu Yun reached out to push the fire-playing Liu Yan'er away, a chilling voice suddenly rang out, scaring him nearly out of his wits.
"You two look like you're having a lot of fun!"
There stood Ye Qingcheng, arms crossed, half-leaning against the doorframe with an icy look on her pretty face.
"Cough cough... Sister Qingcheng, this is a misunderstanding..."
Before Lu Yun could even finish explaining, a chilly palm came flying straight across his face.
Why hit me?!
So innocent!
After disciplining Lu Yun, Ye Qingcheng turned a cold gaze toward Liu Yan'er and said, "Third Sister, from now on you'll share a room with me, so you two stop messing around."
Reluctantly, Liu Yan'er stuck out her tongue, but she had no choice except to obey her eldest sister's words.
Among the seven sisters, Ye Qingcheng still commanded considerable authority.
...
Millionaire.
An underground casino in Jiangcheng.
More than a dozen shirtless men with dragons and tigers tattooed on their arms were clustered together.
Among them stood two figures.
One was their boss, Flowery Arm Dragon, who chomped on a thick cigar with a fierce, terrifying expression that made anyone shudder just looking at him.
His notorious reputation was enough to stop crying children in the night.
The other person was Wang Gang, kneeling on the ground and trembling all over.
"D-Dragon, Brother Long, didn't we agree on a week to pay back the money? The week isn't even up yet..."
"Do you take me for a fucking idiot?"
Flowery Arm Dragon aggressively jabbed his cigar against Wang Gang's head and cursed, "If I hadn't had men keeping an eye on you, you trash would have run off to another province ages ago."
During the incident with Qingcheng Group a few days earlier, Xu Kai had promised Wang Gang that as long as he stepped forward to smear Ye Qingcheng, he would help pay off his gambling debts.
Who could have predicted the twist halfway through when the Prince of Nanjiang had inexplicably shown up and thrown all their plans into disarray.
With Xu Kai barely able to save his own skin, he naturally couldn't be bothered with Wang Gang anymore.
Left with no choice, Wang Gang attempted to flee to another province, only to be pinned down by Flowery Arm Dragon's men the moment he reached the train station.
"Brother Long... I wasn't trying to run, really, you have to believe me. I just went near the train station to blow off some steam. You know how it is, that area has the most of those girls, and the prices are cheap..."
Slap!
Flowery Arm Dragon delivered a hard slap to Wang Gang's face. "You're a fucking talent, coming up with an excuse like that."
"Don't hit me... please don't hit me, Brother Long."
Wang Gang begged desperately. "Give me a few more days, I'll definitely pay the money back within the agreed time."
"Pay? How are you going to pay?"
As Flowery Arm Dragon made a motion to strike him again, Wang Gang hurriedly grabbed his thigh and pleaded:
"Brother Long, trust me, I can definitely raise the money. You know Ye Qingcheng, right? She's my big sister, and she's very rich. Besides, she has a super close relationship with the Prince of Nanjiang."
"The Prince of Nanjiang?"
Flowery Arm Dragon paused for a second.
Thinking he had found an opening, Wang Gang rushed on, "Yes, the Prince of Nanjiang! My big sister is the woman of the Prince of Nanjiang."
Clearly, he hoped to use the Prince of Nanjiang to cow Flowery Arm Dragon.
To his surprise.
After a brief pause, Flowery Arm Dragon suddenly burst out laughing, and the tattooed men around him joined in.
"Wang Gang, hahahaha, I admire your genius more and more. Couldn't you make your story even more far-fetched? Why not just say your big sister is the woman of Divine Lord Yuntian and see if we'd believe that?"
"Brother Long, I'm really not lying..."
Slap!
Flowery Arm Dragon landed another heavy slap. His laughter instantly vanished, replaced by a ferocious expression as he barked, "Stop wasting my fucking time! Call your big sister right now and tell her to bring money."
Wang Gang froze in place.
Flowery Arm Dragon snapped, "What are you staring for? Want a taste of my fists first?"
"No, no, Brother Long, don't get me wrong. It's just... it's just that I've already asked my big sister for money too many times. She definitely won't trust me anymore."
With a trembling voice, seeing that Flowery Arm Dragon was about to resort to violence again, Wang Gang hastily added:
"However, Brother Long, all you have to do is record a video of me, send it to my big sister, and tell her that if she doesn't pay up, you'll go harass Grandpa Wu. She will definitely pay then."
Wang Gang knew full well that he meant nothing in Ye Qingcheng's eyes.
Grandpa Wu was a different story, though.
Ye Qingcheng certainly cared about Grandpa Wu. As long as he grabbed this weakness, she wouldn't dare stand by and do nothing.
Flowery Arm Dragon raised a foot and kicked Wang Gang right in the face, sneering, "You really are a wonderfully dutiful son."
Chapter 29: Not a Request, a Warning
Lu Yun had originally planned to go see his second sister today, but upon entering the living room, he found Sister Qingcheng sitting on the couch with a gloomy expression.
"What's wrong, Sister?" Lu Yun asked.
"It's about that ungrateful wretch Wang Gang."
Angrily, Ye Qingcheng played a video from her phone for Lu Yun.
Instantly.
A sharp, glacial light flashed through Lu Yun's eyes.
"Sister, don't overthink it. I'll handle this."
"Are you going to see the Prince of Nanjiang?"
"No need."
With a cold smirk, Lu Yun walked straight out of Luyin Villa.
Still feeling uneasy, Ye Qingcheng dialed Liu Yan'er's number.
After all, Liu Yan'er ran a bar and had some connections within the underworld; perhaps she happened to know the boss of Millionaire and could put in a good word for them.
The call went through, and Liu Yan'er's puzzled voice came from the other end: "Sister, why are you calling me at this hour?"
"Wang Gang has been locked up by the people at Millionaire." Ye Qingcheng cut straight to the point.
"What do I care if that bastard is locked up?"
"Little Luyun went over there too."
"What? Little Luyun went too?! I'm going to blow Millionaire sky-high right now!"
With a sharp click, Liu Yan'er hung up the phone, tucked a dagger into her waistband, and rushed toward Millionaire.
Flowery Arm Dragon, if a single hair on my Little Luyun's head is harmed, I will make you wish you were dead!
Meanwhile, Lu Yun had already arrived at the entrance of the casino.
His expression was ice-cold.
Whether Wang Gang lived or died was of no concern to him.
What mattered to him was that Flowery Arm Dragon had actually dared to harass Sister Qingcheng and even threatened to go after Grandpa Wu.
This man deserved to die!
"Show your membership pass."
Two expressionless men in black blocked Lu Yun at the entrance and spoke.
Millionaire generally did not allow unfamiliar faces inside; whenever strangers wished to enter, they had to be vouched for by a regular patron.
Regular patrons usually carried a specially made casino membership pass.
The two men stopped Lu Yun merely as a matter of routine checks.
In an icy tone, Lu Yun commanded, "Step aside!"
"You punk, are you here to pick a fight?"
The two reacted instantly, their faces darkening. But before they could even make a move, a sudden, agonizing pain tore through their abdomens.
Then.
Bang!
Their bodies slammed heavily against the heavy doors and tumbled inside.
Inside the casino, quite a few patrons were playing baccarat. Hearing the earth-shattering crash at the entrance, they jumped in fright.
What's going on?
Everyone looked toward the doorway in bewilderment.
A young man with an icy expression stepped inside.
"Anyone who doesn't want to die, get the hell out!"
Though the young man's voice wasn't loud, everyone in the casino heard it clearly. Especially as he spoke, the temperature in the entire room seemed to plummet.
This was a god of slaughter!
The gamblers' hearts trembled, and not daring to linger, they quickly cleared out of the casino, leaving only a few pretty female dealers cowering beneath the tables in terror.
"What's going on?"
Drawn by the commotion, Flowery Arm Dragon hurried over, followed by his gang of tattooed subordinates.
The moment he laid eyes on Lu Yun, Flowery Arm Dragon's pupils contracted sharply. "Who the hell are you?"
Without answering, Lu Yun countered with his own question: "You're the one who sent that video to my sister, right?"
Realization dawning on him, Flowery Arm Dragon figured out that this person had come for Wang Gang. He waved his hand, and several henchmen immediately ran to shut the casino doors, then blocked Lu Yun's path.
Flowery Arm Dragon instructed one of his subordinates, "Go drag that dog out here."
Moments later, a bruised and battered Wang Gang was dragged out. Catching sight of Lu Yun, he cried out excitedly, "Lu Yun, save me! Big sister must have sent you to rescue me, right?"
"Shut your trap!"
Flowery Arm Dragon slapped Wang Gang to quiet him down, then turned his gaze to Lu Yun. "If you're here to ransom someone, you should have the proper attitude. The moment you walked in, you scared away my customers. How are we going to settle this account?"
Suppressing the fury in his chest, Lu Yun asked coldly, "How do you propose to settle it?"
"Hehe..."
Flowery Arm Dragon let out a cold chuckle. "First, get on your knees and kowtow in apology. Then, hand over the money to ransom your brother here."
Lu Yun remained silent, quietly observing Flowery Arm Dragon for a few seconds before speaking slowly:
"First, there is no way I am getting on my knees to kowtow and apologize to you."
"Second, I didn't bring any ransom money with me."
"Third, trash like this doesn't qualify to be my, Lu Yun's, brother."
As his words trailed off, a brief silence hung over the casino before Flowery Arm Dragon's enraged voice broke out, "Why the fuck did you show up without ransom money, playing games with me?"
"I came simply to tell you that what you do to trash like Wang Gang doesn't matter to me, but don't ever harass my sister or Grandpa Wu again."
Hearing this, Wang Gang panicked. "Lu Yun, we grew up in the same orphanage, how can you just stand by and let me die..."
"Shut up!"
Flowery Arm Dragon delivered another blow to Wang Gang's face before turning back to Lu Yun. "So, is this your idea of begging for help?"
He gestured toward the entrance.
The two black-clad doormen were still sprawled on the ground, groaning as their stomachs churned in agony.
Lu Yun shook his head. "I'm not begging you. I'm warning you."
"You're out of your fucking mind!"
Flowery Arm Dragon's face darkened instantly, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.
At that moment, a muscular man stepped forward and said, "Brother Long, this guy looks like he knows martial arts. Why don't you let me test him out?"
The speaker was Li Hu, Flowery Arm Dragon's premier enforcer. Much of Flowery Arm Dragon's current status was thanks to Li Hu's contributions.
Flowery Arm Dragon nodded, then told Lu Yun, "Kid, don't say I didn't give you a chance. If you can last ten moves against my brother here, we can talk business. But if you can't..."
He sneered.
"Not only does Wang Gang stay, but you're staying too. The ransom goes up tenfold."
Bang!
No sooner had Flowery Arm Dragon finished speaking than he saw Lu Yun transform into a blur, unleashing a ferocious kick straight at Li Hu.
Though Li Hu managed to cross his arms in front of his chest just in time, the terrifying force was far beyond anything he could withstand. His arms shattered instantly, and his chest caved inward with a sickening crunch.
Turning his head to look at Flowery Arm Dragon, Lu Yun said indifferently, "What... did you just say?"
Chapter 30: A King's Wrath, Expelling Breath to Kill
Crack!
Flowery Arm Dragon's jaw nearly hit the floor.
One kick.
He had genuinely delivered only a single kick, and Li Hu was sent flying, his arms completely shattered by the impact.
Others might not know how formidable Li Hu was, but Flowery Arm Dragon knew all too well. Since the age of ten, Li Hu had practiced striking wooden stakes every single day, rain or shine, for over twenty years.
His arms had long since attained three times the hardness of an ordinary person's.
It was precisely this pair of iron fists that had allowed Li Hu to stand out among numerous thugs and become Flowery Arm Dragon's most trusted subordinate.
Flowery Arm Dragon had even been grooming him as his successor.
Yet today.
Before a young man named Lu Yun, Li Hu couldn't even take a single kick, his seemingly indestructible iron hands reduced to something as fragile as a sheet of white paper.
One could only imagine how terrifying the power behind Lu Yun's kick truly was.
A tempest raged in Flowery Arm Dragon's chest. Wide-eyed, he stared at Lu Yun and demanded, "Who the hell are you?"
Someone with such astonishing martial prowess at such a young age could never be a nobody.
Flowery Arm Dragon had to figure it out to avoid provoking forces he couldn't afford to cross.
"Who am I?"
Faced with Flowery Arm Dragon's question, Lu Yun gave a faint smile and replied, "I'm simply someone willing to risk his life to protect his older sisters."
Flowery Arm Dragon's heart shook.
After a moment of contemplation.
He suddenly said with apparent sincerity, "Since you're so capable, why not come work for me? Not only will I leave your sister alone, but I'll make sure you live the high life. What do you say?"
Flowery Arm Dragon quickly extended an olive branch, quietly awaiting Lu Yun's reply.
Yet.
Lu Yun looked at him with a peculiar expression before spitting out three concise words: "You're not worthy!"
Not worthy!
How immensely impactful those three words were.
The surrounding thugs were stunned.
They dreamed of winning Boss Long's favor, yet lacked the skills; yet this punk named Lu Yun—when Boss Long personally offered to recruit him—actually had the audacity to reply with "You're not worthy."
He was far too ungrateful.
Flowery Arm Dragon's face darkened further as he said, "Kid, I thought you were a sensible man. To think you prefer doing things the hard way."
Having his face slapped in front of so many subordinates naturally left Flowery Arm Dragon in a foul mood.
Even more unreasonably, Lu Yun threw his own words right back at him: "I also thought you were a sensible man. Now it seems you're just playing with fire."
"Playing with fire? Hehe... I'd love to see who's playing with fire here!"
A ferocious, sneering grin spread across Flowery Arm Dragon's face as he thrust his hand into his inner breast pocket and pulled out a homemade handgun.
The dark barrel locked straight onto Lu Yun.