92: Jiuchi Roulin

After a period of tossing and turning,

Xiao Wen lay on Li Zhan's sweat-drenched chest,

her nose twitching slightly as her brow suddenly furrowed.

"Why is there a smell of blood..."

She looked up, "What happened again?"

Li Zhan didn't answer immediately; he just took a deep drag of his cigarette,

the scarlet tip flickering in the dim light of the bedside lamp.

Smoke escaped from his lips,

blurring his sharply defined profile.

"I've taken over Phoenix City..."

Xiao Wen suddenly propped herself up,

the thin quilt sliding down to reveal the snow-white lines of her shoulders and neck.

"Phoenix City?!"

Her voice tightened, "Then... what about Sister Hong?"

The ash at his fingertips fell silently.

Li Zhan turned to look at her,

his thumb brushing over her slightly trembling chin.

"She's fine..."

His rough thumb rubbed against her delicate skin, "I'm letting her continue to manage the affairs of Phoenix City as usual."

Her tense shoulders suddenly relaxed,

and Xiao Wen nestled back into the crook of his arm,

"Sister Hong was quite good to us; she used to sneak us late-night snacks..."

Li Zhan crushed the cigarette butt into the glass tray on the nightstand,

letting out a faint "hiss."

Forty minutes later,

the VIP area of Heaven on Earth in Xiagang.

Inside the private booth, the lights were hazy and the music was deafening.

Champagne erupted, the liquid flowing down the bottle necks,

caught by pairs of rough hands and gulped down.

The laughter of men, the coquettish whispers of women, and the crisp clinking of glasses,

intertwined into a boisterous sea of noise.

Big Ox was shirtless,

several wet bloodstains still remained on his bronze muscles, but they didn't dampen his spirits in the slightest.

He had his arms around two women,

two hostesses in sequined miniskirts clinging to him, giggling as they listened to him brag about tonight's exploits.

"That Thai Guy actually tried to use a knee strike?

I used an 'Iron Mountain Lean' and shattered three of his ribs!"

Big Ox took a gulp of wine,

slapping a woman's waist heavily with his large hand, eliciting a playful cry from her.

The brothers nearby laughed and cheered, "Ox-bro is mighty!"

In the corner,

although Tie Zhu's shoulder was wrapped in bandages,

it didn't stop him from holding a pure-looking girl and whispering something that made her cover her mouth and giggle.

Little Black had gauze over his right eye, but he still couldn't behave,

his hand rubbing the thigh of the woman next to him,

occasionally leaning in to whisper a few words, making her blush and playfully hit him.

A-Wang was slumped on the sofa, his right leg in a cast, but he was laughing the loudest.

The woman beside him was using a toothpick to feed him fruit,

and he shouted indistinctly while eating,

"Where's Senior Brother?

Why hasn't he arrived yet?

Is he afraid he can't outdrink us?"

Before he could finish, the booth door was pushed open.

Li Zhan walked in with Sister Hua, Lili, and Feifei.

He had changed into a black shirt, sleeves casually rolled up, and collar slightly open.

Sister Hua wore a dark red qipao, her charm still evident.

Lili and Feifei wore tight miniskirts—one pure, one enchanting.

"Senior Brother is late! Three penalty drinks!"

Big Ox was the first to jump up, grabbing a bottle of liquor and filling a glass.

Everyone immediately started jeering,

the noise in the booth almost lifting the roof.

The corners of Li Zhan's mouth curled up, and without refusing,

he took the glass and downed three in a row, his Adam's apple bobbing as not a single drop of wine remained.

"Good!"

The brothers slapped the table and cheered, the atmosphere instantly exploding.

Li Zhan put down the glass, walked forward, and toasted with the brothers at each table.

"Tie Zhu, how's the shoulder?"

"Just a minor injury!"

Tie Zhu grinned and downed his drink.

"Little Black, is your eye okay?"

"I won't go blind!"

Little Black raised his glass with a grin.

"A-Wang, is your leg ruined?"

"Even if it's ruined, I still have to drink!"

A-Wang hopped up on one foot but was pushed back down by Li Zhan; the two toasted and laughed.

After a round, Li Zhan clapped his hands,

"Everyone drink and have fun tonight... the wine is on the house."

Amidst the cheers,

Sister Hua gave the hostesses a look,

"Take good care of these big brothers."

The women responded sweetly, clinging even tighter to the men beside them.

Li Zhan rubbed his temples, already looking a bit tipsy.

Seeing this, Sister Hua, along with Lili and Feifei, supported him on both sides,

lowering their voices, "Brother Zhan, let's go."

Li Zhan nodded,

waved to his brothers, and left the booth amidst a chorus of jeers.

The moment the door closed, the noise was cut off.

In the corridor,

Li Zhan's steps were slightly unsteady, but hiseyes gradually cleared.

"Brother Zhan, where are we going?" Lili asked softly.

Li Zhan didn't answer; he just looked at Sister Hua.

Sister Hua understood and smiled slightly,

"The suite upstairs is ready."

...

——

The morning light filtered through the gauze curtains, casting irregular shadows in the suite.

Li Zhan broke free from the messy bedding,

Lili's snow-white arm was still across his chest, and one of Feifei's legs was pressed against his waist, both sleeping soundly.

As soon as he propped himself up, his waist felt sore and weak, and he fell back onto the mattress.

"Hiss..."

In front of the dressing table, Sister Hua was holding a hairdryer,

seeing his state through the mirror, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Look at how wild you were last night. Did you really think you were made of iron?"

She turned off the hairdryer, twirling the ends of her hair with her fingertips, her eyes still carrying the lingering flush of passion.

Li Zhan gritted his teeth, threw off the quilt, and stepped onto the carpet barefoot.

After just two steps,

his thigh muscle suddenly twitched,

he cursed under his breath and steadied himself by the foot of the bed.

"Look at you..."

Sister Hua glanced at him from the mirror, her red lips slightly curved.

He walked up behind her,

leaning down to kiss the faint scent behind her ear.

Sister Hua slapped the back of his hand with a "smack,"

"Do you want to die?

Didn't you have enough fun last night?"

She reached back and pinched his waist, "Go take a shower, you're covered in the smell of alcohol."

Rustling sounds came from the bed.

Lili rubbed her eyes and sat up, her long hair disheveled and one shoulder strap sliding halfway down.

She looked at the two of them dazed, her voice soft and sweet,

"Brother Zhan... what time is it?"

Li Zhan turned and scooped her up from the covers.

Lili let out a soft cry, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist.

"Wash with me one more time."

He bit her earlobe and strode toward the bathroom.

Sister Hua shook her head and turned the hairdryer back on.

Amidst the humming of the hot air,

she noticed Feifei had also woken up at some point and was giggling under the quilt.

"What are you laughing at?" Sister Hua arched an eyebrow.

Feifei blinked, "Sister Hua, your neck..."

Sister Hua suddenly covered the side of her neck, her ears turning bright red in the mirror.

The sound of water already came from the bathroom, mixed with Lili's coquettish cries.

She grabbed a comb and threw it at Feifei,

"You little hussy, go tell someone to bring breakfast!"

...

——

In the center of Dongguan City, the Ink Wash Orchid Pavilion Club.

The sunlight before the Winter Solstice slanted through the bamboo blinds into the tea room, casting fine lines of light on the black gold stone tea table.

A young man in his late twenties sat cross-legged on a futon,

wearing a grey-green Chinese-style stand-up collar shirt,

sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a faint snake tattoo on his forearm.

He picked up an iron kettle to pour water over the Zisha teapot; steam rose with the scent of tea, condensing into white mist in the cold air.

As the tea was poured into the fairness cup, three restrained knocks came from outside the door.

"Enter."

He didn't look up, his fingertips rubbing the rim of the cup.

A subordinate in black bowed as he entered,

"Young Master Liu, Ninth Master from Chang'an... is gone.

That kid surnamed Li from Nancheng bathed Phoenix City in blood last night."

The tea scoop hit the side of the cup with a crisp "ting."

Young Master Liu looked down at the swaying reflection in the tea, then suddenly chuckled.

"Even an old fox can have his day of reckoning."

He tapped the tea table with his fingertip, "Where is the approval for that piece of land?"

"It's still stuck at the Land Bureau,

but the connections Ninth Master previously cultivated are still there."

The tea was slowly poured into the waste bowl.

Young Master Liu pulled out a butterfly knife from under the tea tray, the tip of the blade picking apart the soaked tea dregs.

A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth,

He naturally knew Ninth Master's intention in yielding profits to him on that piece of land before—

the old fox couldn't have it himself, so he wanted to use his hand to deal with Li Zhan.

At the time, he was just going along with it, wanting to see what interesting things would happen next.

After all, in Dongguan, no one dared to plot against him.

"Go tell that guy surnamed Li,"

He picked up a tea towel and wiped his hands unhurriedly,

"I don't care who Chang'an belongs to now.

But that piece of land in Nancheng...

is mine."

Just as the subordinate was about to withdraw,

Young Master Liu suddenly grabbed the tea cup and smashed it against the wall, porcelain shards flying everywhere.

"Also,"

His voice suddenly turned cold, "remind him that in Dongguan, some rules cannot be broken."

Actually, he didn't care about that piece of land at all—

there were plenty of projects in the center of Dongguan City waiting for his approval,

why would he care about some scraps in Chang'an?

But what he cared about was face.

An upstart kid had just quietly taken out his partner,

without even saying hello, which made him very uncomfortable.

After the subordinate retreated tremblingly,

Young Master Liu walked to the window.

The sunlight shone on his sinister profile, and he suddenly laughed.

"Interesting."

He murmured softly, "I want to see what kind of waves this Li Zhan can make."

Outside the window,

an egret skimmed over the artificial lake, startling a circle of ripples.