Chapter 543: Fight
After ending the call, Yao Xinhua waved to a nearby middle-aged man. After the man came over, he then whispered to him, “Divide our men into two groups and have them hide nearby. Also, place a sniper on the opposite building and wait for my next orders.”
“Understood!” The middle-aged man replied and left with a cautious expression.
A cold glint flashed in Yao Xinhua’s eyes. He took a cigarette pack from his pocket but put it back after recalling where he was. However, his eyes penetrated through the gaps in the crowd and looked at Tang Xiu, who was sitting in a remote corner.
At this time, Tang Xiu tilted his legs and sat quietly on the sofa in the corner of the banquet hall. His eyes observed all the guests, whose faces were all smiling. He never liked this kind of banquet, for charity was nothing but only a flaunting banner; whereas the true purpose inside their minds was something else altogether. It was far from being as pure as it was supposed to be.
Nevertheless, he could understand how these people thought as well. They were all mortals, and doing such mundane things were what ordinary people did; this fact was a common knowledge for cultivators. Managing such a complicated personal and social connections if they wanted to set a foothold in society, they must seize every opportunity and obtain all the benefits they could get whenever they made friends with each other. Only by doing that could they better develop their careers and obtain more wealth in the future.
“What is it? You don’t like the scene here?” Tang Xiu looked at Gu Xiaoxue, who was sitting across from him, as a trace of a smile appeared on his face.
“Yeah, I really don’t like it,” replied Gu Xiaoxue with a gentle nod.
“It’s you who were willing to come along. Don’t force yourself if you really don’t like it.” Tang Xiu smiled. “Go back! And tell our men to prepare the ship. We’ll head to sea after this charity party is over.”
Gu Xiaoxue hesitated for a moment before she got up and said, “Then, I’ll be waiting on the boat.”
Sitting next to Tang Xiu, Yang Le watched Gu Xiaoxue’s back as she left. His strained expression finally relaxed. The experience of being hung upside down in the hallway made him wary and afraid toward Gu Xiaoxue, thus he felt uneasy whenever Gu Xiaoxue was around him.
Huff…
Yang Le secretly breathed a sigh of relief and forced a smile, “Brother Tang, I’m really curious about something. How can you have such a grand-disciple?”
“Isn’t she great?” Tang Xiu chuckled. “Xiaoxue is such a cute and well-behaved kid. She’s pretty good, too!”
Cute and well-behaved?
Yang Le almost spurted out a mouthful of blood and secretly grunted inside,Yeah, yeah, yeah. She’s all good and respectful towards you, even treating you like an ancestor. But towards me…
“I know what you’re thinking. If anything, as long as you don’t take the initiative to provoke her, she definitely won’t act against you,” Tang Xiu smilingly said. “I know how you love pretty women, but don’t mess with women whom you don’t know anything about, or else you’ll be in for big trouble later.”
“What you said is spot on.” Yang Le said with certainty. “I gotta be more vigilant when dealing with women later. The saying that a woman’s heart is more lethal than a hornet’s sting is very true.”
“Don’t be so extreme.” Tang Xiu couldn’t help laughing. “Anyways, let’s forget about these boring things, shall we? You have only tonight. I hope Ouyang Lei to be in a restless state everywhere before I get back from Clam Island.”
“An adage says that brothers keep the account in a clear and straight manner, Brother Tang.” Yang Lee flicked his fingers. “How will you thank me if I help you tonight?”
“I’m planning to provide you with a small opportunity. If your performance is satisfactory, then the chance will be a big one,” said Tang Xiu with a faint smile,. “Ten times. Your strength will be promoted by at least ten times as long as you do well.”
"Deal!" Yang Le got up with excitement. “A man can never take his own words back. I’ll investigate everything about Ouyang Lei. Wait for my good news!”
“Then off you go!” Tang Xiu laughed. “Stay in the Everlasting Feast Hall before I get back from the sea and help me investigate the Yao Family while convenient as well.”
“Copy that!” Yang Le gave his word and quickly left the banquet hall.
The charity party began at 6 PM. As the host, Ouyang Lei delivered his speech with great enthusiasm, and then invited his father, Ouyang Wenzhen, to come to the podium and to deliver his speech. It was Tang Xiu’s first time seeing Ouyang Wenzhen, a quite dignified person with an imposing aura, and his gestures gave off the vibe of a great person.
Tang Xiu recalled Ouyang Lulu’s request to visit the Ouyang Family. Although he promised her to do so, he had yet to honor it. In actuality, it was not so much that he wanted to go back on his word as it was because he didn’t want his relationship with Lulu to turn more complicated.
The charity party proceeded very quickly, and the subsequent events of the charity auction unfolded smoothly. The auctioned items were not precious, and there was nothing that could enter Tang Xiu’s eyes. Hence, he didn’t spend his money on anything at all and regarded himself as a bystander as he quietly stayed in the most inconspicuous corner while observing Yao Xinhua.
At the end of the charity auction, some bought something they liked, showing favor and buying the Ouyang Family’s friendship. In a short note, the charity auction couldn’t be considered as successful, regardless.
“Tang Xiu, isn’t it?”
By the time the cocktail party started, Yao Xinhua finally appeared in front of Tang Xiu carrying a glass of red wine.
Still sitting on the sofa with tilted legs, Tang Xiu looked up at Yao Xinhua without much attention. The corner of his mouth slightly arched, and then he smilingly said, “Ah, it turns out to be the defeated general! I never thought you would dare to take the initiative to appear before me. Are you not afraid that I’ll cut off your head myself and make it into a chamber pot?”
Yao Xinhua let out a sneer and turned to sit down on the opposite sofa. He gently sipped the red wine and then lightly said, “An old adage says that both victory and defeat are common things for generals and soldiers, and the winner who can laugh at the end is really elusive. As for me, I’m looking forward to what kind of performance you will have in the future!”
“You can be sure that I’ll have many chances in the future to have good performances and achievements in the future, but I’m afraid that you’ll have few chances to participate in them.” Tang Xiu smiled. “Anyhow, you may not like to hear what I’m gonna say, but of all people in your Yao Family, only the old family head is worthy of me to look at. As for the others… Hehehe!”
Giving him a thumbs up, Yao Xinhua didn’t look angered due to Tang Xiu’s contempt. On the contrary, a bright smile appeared on his face as he smilingly said, “I got you! I was kinda filled with anticipation that the Tang Family would give me some pressure and motivation after I got back from abroad. But the other members of the Tang Family are too weak, so weak that they didn’t give me the slightest stimulation. Luckily, you appeared. I’m glad the Tang Family found you, otherwise, I’d still feel bored even if the Tang Family was destroyed later.”
Tang Xiu smirked “Great! You have pride carved in your bones and confidence in your blood. A pity that I already incited one-third of my opponents’ fear already. If I knew that I was so rude to you in Fukang, I would have acted gentler and perhaps would have obtained a better harvest.”
“Tang Xiu, a man will not be stranded by things already in the past. Do you want to make a bet with me?” Replied Yao Xinhua with a sneer.
“Say it! How do you want to play?” Tang Xiu shrugged his shoulders.
“Let us bet on ourselves. Who will leave the hotel while standing and who will lie down? Do you dare to bet with me?” Asked Yao Xinhua.
“What’s the stake?” Asked Tang Xiu with a smile.
“You can choose,” said Yao Xinhua.
“Fine! Then let’s take the common option. We’ll bet with money!” Tang Xiu chuckled. “I’ve been quite poor recently, I can’t even eat in the cafeteria on my campus. How about 1 billion RMB?”
“So little?!” Yao Xinhua sneered. “1 billion it is! That’s just the way I like, to always show myself in a rich and imposing manner.”
The smell of gunpowder filled their every exchange. And as they were now engaged in a psy-war, they wanted to strike each other’s minds with words. Unfortunately, both of them were mentally tough, thus they were not very affected.
“Gimme your cell number.” Tang Xiu took out his mobile phone and flicked his fingers.
Yao Xinhua curled up his mouth, “You wanna know my cell number? Do you wanna personally message me, by chance? Didn’t someone in your family give you my cell number?”
“I never liked troublesome things,” said Tang Xiu.
“I’m the same. I kinda hate troublesome things, too,” said Yao Xinhua with a nod.
After saying that, he told Tang Xiu his cell number.
Tang Xiu quickly typed a short message and sent Yao Xinhua his name and a bank account that only had a small amount of savings. He then got up and smilingly said, “I sent my bank account to you. Just remember to transfer the money to my account early tomorrow.”
“You’re that confident, huh?” Yao Xinhua mocked.
While maintaining his smile, Tang Xiu nodded and said, “I am very confident. You’ll see.”
The next moment, Tang Xiu’s figure instantly appeared in front of Yao Xinhua, his speed extremely fast. Despite Yao Xinhua himself not being an average person, he wasn’t able to sense Tang Xiu’s action. His body quickly turned stiff, as his sight then turned black and he fainted shortly after. Tang Xiu’s body flickered and disappeared silently from the banquet hall without anyone noticing.
The purpose of his coming here today had already been achieved, thus he didn’t feel like wasting his time here anymore. He didn’t kill Yao Xinhua given the 1 billion yuan gambling money. He also thought that, by oppressing Yao Xinhua, he could eradicate more of the Yao Family’s influence.
“Huh?”
The moment he stepped out of the hotel, a cold glint burst out from Tang Xiu’s eyes. He could keenly sense that numerous eyes were staring at him, and the sense of crisis which rose inside his heart made him instantly release his spiritual sense.
Fifteen men, all armed with firearms. But it’s not them who’s giving me a sense of threat, however. It’s someone else. It should be… a sniper who’s hiding somewhere else, since only a hidden sniper can give me such a feeling.