When the young man dressed in black spoke, Xiao Chen arched an eyebrow. Search me?
"Alright, hands up! Everyone!" one of the black-clad men barked, giving Ding Li—who stood at the back—a shove.
Startled, Ding Li flinched and instinctively raised his hands high.
"And you…" another man in black pointed at Xiao Chen, stepping closer, reaching out to pat him down.
But before his hand could even brush Xiao Chen's clothes—
Bang!
Xiao Chen's foot shot out, sending the man flying backward.
"I hate being touched by men," Xiao Chen said icily. "Keep your hands to yourself."
"Bastard! How dare you attack us!"
The rest of the black-clad men roared in anger and charged at him with fists clenched.
Boom!
Xiao Chen didn't even need to move. Li Hanhou stepped forward instead, a hulking figure like a human tank, and sent two of them crashing through the air with a single sweep.
"Kill him!" another man shouted furiously. Pulling a knife from his waist, he lunged at Li Hanhou with a savage slash.
Li Hanhou's eyes hardened. He dodged sideways, drove a kick into the attacker's chest, and sent him spitting blood across the floor.
"Enough!"
A bald man known as Snake appeared, fury flashing across his face as he glanced at his fallen subordinates. "Minister Xiao, why are you hurting my men?"
Xiao Chen met his glare coldly. "Remember this—Huang Xing invited me here tonight. I didn't come begging for forgiveness. So watch your tone."
"Brother Snake," one of the men muttered, "they refused to be searched."
"Heh, guests are guests. No need to search them."
Before Bald Snake could reply, a voice called out. Huang Xing emerged from inside the hall. He looked Xiao Chen up and down, quietly taken aback—so young, yet clearly a top-tier expert?
"Heh, you must be Minister Xiao," Huang Xing said with a practiced smile. "I'm Huang Xing, leader of the Falcon Hall under the Flying Eagle Gang."
As Huang Xing observed him, Xiao Chen did the same. The man was of average build, slightly overweight, with a sly, sharp face—the very picture of a street boss.
"Yeah, I'm Xiao Chen," he replied evenly, making no move to shake hands.
What a joke, he thought. They've set up this whole trap to kill me, and I'm supposed to shake his hand?
Huang Xing's eyes flashed with cold irritation at Xiao Chen's attitude, but his smile didn't waver. "Minister Xiao, please, come inside. We can talk over dinner."
"Sure. Dahan, let's go eat."
"Alright!" Li Hanhou grinned. Finally, food—he was starving!
Huang Xing cast a brief glance at the big man. So this must be the one Snake mentioned. Looks strong enough… but let's see if he can dodge bullets.
This was Huang Xing's turf tonight, and the whole setup was his show. He was confident everything would go exactly as planned.
Xiao Chen, Li Hanhou, and Ding Li followed him in. Huang Xing gave a quick signal to Bald Snake, who nodded in return.
Xiao Chen caught the exchange but didn't care. If I dared to show up tonight, I came ready for anything.
"Minister Xiao, have a seat."
"Thanks."
Xiao Chen sat down and glanced at a man in a gaudy floral shirt seated nearby—he could tell at a glance this one was an expert.
"Heh, Minister Xiao, what would you like to eat?" Huang Xing asked with a smile.
"Do you have a menu?"
"What?"
Huang Xing froze for a second. He'd only asked to be polite—did this guy actually mean it? Did he not realize what kind of dinner this was supposed to be?
"What, no menu in such a fancy place?" Xiao Chen frowned, sounding displeased.
"Of course, of course!" Huang Xing forced a smile and waved to a waiter. "Bring Minister Xiao the menu—let him order whatever he wants!"
"Yes, sir!"
Xiao Chen took the menu and passed it to Li Hanhou. "Dahan, order what you like."
"Thanks, Brother Chen!" Li Hanhou beamed, opened the menu, and began ordering one heavy dish after another—meat, fish, all the hearty stuff.
"Is that enough?" Xiao Chen asked with a smile.
"Yeah, that's enough… oh, and add a braised lion's head too!" Li Hanhou added, suddenly remembering.
"…."
Huang Xing's mouth twitched. Did I really invite these guys to dinner? If this goes south, I'll chop him up and make him into the next lion's head.
"Ding Li, what about you?" Xiao Chen asked. "Hall Master Huang's treating us, so order freely."
"I—I'm fine… I'm not hungry," Ding Li stammered, pale.
"Alright." Xiao Chen ordered a few more dishes, then tossed the menu aside. "Master Huang, anything else you want to add?"
Under the table, Huang Xing clenched his fists, then relaxed and smiled stiffly. "That's enough. What shall we drink?"
"Moutai."
"Sure thing. Bring it out, quick!"
As the waiter left, Huang Xing leaned forward with a smile. "Minister Xiao, about that conflict a few days ago—I think it was just a misunderstanding, don't you agree?"
"Heh, if Hall Master Huang says it was a misunderstanding, then it's a misunderstanding," Xiao Chen said mildly.
If things could be settled peacefully, he had no reason to stir up trouble—so long as they didn't push too far.
"Good! I like a man who's straightforward," Huang Xing said, his spirits lifting. "As the saying goes, you only get to know someone after a fight. I'd like us to become friends."
"Heh, I've no wish to be enemies with the Flying Eagle Gang either."
"With that, we can call it even," Huang Xing said, nodding. "Snake over here collected protection fees that day, got into it with you, and paid the price."
At that, Bald Snake grimaced, lifted a cup of tea reluctantly. "Minister Xiao, it was my fault that day. I'll drink this tea in apology—and later, I'll punish myself with three cups of wine. How's that sound?"
"Heh, I already forgot about it." Xiao Chen smiled faintly, took a sip of tea—but in truth, he was wondering why the food still hadn't come. I'm actually starving here.
The atmosphere grew lighter. Huang Xing made small talk, occasionally steering the topic toward the Flying Eagle Gang.
Soon, the dishes began arriving.
Li Hanhou's eyes lit up like a child's. He looked at the table full of food as if awakening from a long sleep.
Ding Li glanced between Xiao Chen and Huang Xing—both smiling and chatting—and let out a small sigh of relief. Maybe this "Hongmen Banquet" won't turn violent after all.
"Come, Minister Xiao, let's drink!" Huang Xing raised his glass.
"Sure."
They clinked glasses and downed the Moutai.
Huang Xing lowered his cup, ready to speak—but stopped when he saw Xiao Chen had already started eating heartily, chatting with Li Hanhou between bites.
"Dahan, this one's good—try it… and that one too," Xiao Chen said.
"Yeah, Brother Chen, this is delicious! But the braised lion's head isn't as good as the one from our company cafeteria…" Li Hanhou mumbled through a mouthful of food, face shining with oil.
"Haha, eat slowly, no one's taking it from you."
"Mm-hmm…"
"Minister Xiao," Huang Xing said after a pause, "let's put that previous incident behind us. Snake apologized, and his injuries were his own doing. Agreed?"
"Sure." Xiao Chen nodded casually, waiting for what came next.
"I heard from Snake that you're a first-class fighter?" Huang Xing asked, lighting a cigar and puffing slowly.
"Heh, first-class or second, it's all just talk. I've only trained for a few years," Xiao Chen replied with a smile.
"So young and already first-class—that's impressive. You used to be a soldier, right?"
The man in the floral shirt, Fei, suddenly spoke.
"I was, for several years." Xiao Chen's lips curled slightly. "I've only been in Longhai a few days, and I've already met four first-class fighters. When did top experts become as common as cabbage?"
Fei fell silent again.
"Four?" Huang Xing's brows rose. "Who are they?"
"Heh, there's one sitting right in front of me." Xiao Chen gestured toward Fei. "Now, Hall Master Huang, why don't you tell me what this meeting is really about?"
"Minister Xiao, how much do you make a month at Qingcheng Company?" Huang Xing asked suddenly.
Xiao Chen blinked. "Why are you asking that?"
"Two thousand," he said dryly.
"Only two thousand? Heh, if you work for me, I'll give you twenty thousand a month! And that's just salary—add a car, a house, and women if you want!" Huang Xing laid out his offer with a grin.
Xiao Chen was momentarily speechless. So that's what this is about.
"Minister Xiao—no, I should say Brother Xiao—I appreciate talent," Huang Xing went on.
"Hall Master Huang, don't you already have a first-class expert under you?" Xiao Chen asked, glancing at Fei. "Why recruit me?"
"Haha, who ever said you can have too much talent?" Huang Xing laughed. "Come on, Brother Xiao, you'll have a brighter future with me than at that little company."
"Future?" Xiao Chen chuckled, sipping his wine. "One's legitimate, the other's criminal. You really think they're comparable? I can't imagine any bright future in the underworld."
The smile faded from Huang Xing's face. "So, Brother Xiao doesn't want to join us? Or are you looking down on me?"
"No," Xiao Chen said calmly. "Everyone has their own path. I just hope you don't make things difficult for me."
Huang Xing's expression darkened completely. "So Minister Xiao refuses to give me face?"
"Hey, you think your face is that big?" Li Hanhou muttered with his mouth full. "My brother said no. Don't you get it?"
As soon as he spoke, the room's atmosphere froze. Huang Xing, Bald Snake, and their men all glared coldly—the warmth of moments ago vanished, replaced by a sudden chill.
"Minister Xiao," Hu
ang Xing said, his voice low and sharp, "is that your final answer?"
"That's right," Xiao Chen replied evenly, rolling his wine glass between his fingers. "What he said is exactly what I mean."