Chapter 99: Dim and Lifeless

People like Tian Xing, who truly have substance, usually carry a feeling of mutual appreciation for one another. He, too, had long hoped to meet a real master in the Bohai region, someone who could broaden his horizons. Today, at last, he had seen a true divine figure, and that was formidable indeed.

“Sounds pretty good. Can you make that call?”

Zhang Rui was not the kind of man who pressed his advantage once he had it. He knew he had only just started out and that there had to be a transition period. You could not swallow a fat man in one bite. Tian Xing’s willingness to yield like this was already showing him enormous respect.

“If Brother Hua won’t give me that face, then what am I even doing this for?”

Tian Xing was straightforward. As if the few words they had exchanged had made him forget completely that he had just been defeated, he went on, “As long as your price isn’t above the market rate, that’s fine.”

“Thank you.”

Zhang Rui took the initiative to extend his hand and shake with Tian Xing, wanting to make his acquaintance. He had not expected that men like Tian Xing, so full of loyalty and brotherly spirit, still existed in the world.

Ordinary street punks had long been polished into slick old hands, slippery all over and forever full of hot air, but Tian Xing was different. He seemed to have his own principles, and he was magnanimous, not fussing over momentary pain.

“Come on. Lunch is on me. Since we fought, we’re comrades now. Let me make amends.”

Zhang Rui pulled Tian Xing along and said with a smile, “Just right—I can talk with you about the deeper mysteries of the Eighth Trigram School.”

Back when Zhang Rui was in the special operations unit, he had also learned a bit of the Eighth Trigram School’s basics. That method was peculiar: it had the sense of softness overcoming hardness, yet also the imposing force of lifting a thousand pounds with ease. It balanced flexibility and strength, making it extremely difficult to pin down.

If Zhang Rui’s attack speed had not already reached a realm beyond what ordinary people could hope to surpass, today’s battle might still have been hard to settle.

“Good. Since my brother is so straightforward and gives me face, I have to accept it.”

Tian Xing agreed readily, then turned and shouted to the brothers behind him, “Anyone hurt, go to the hospital and get treated. Anyone fine, come with me for drinks and meat. This damn foundation-laying ceremony isn’t worth watching anyway. A bunch of leaders up there reading from scripts and flattering people like crazy—what the hell good is that?”

At that moment, the fat man, whose arm was badly injured, cried out nervously, “I’m going to the hospital. I’m going to the hospital.”

“Get going, you useless thing! Just a little blood and look how scared you are!”

Tian Xing looked down on the fat man. Usually he was all slick talk, always stirring things up from the sidelines, but as soon as a fight started he was useless. In ordinary times he liked to borrow Brother Hua’s name to swagger around the streets, bullying the weak to death and instantly dropping to his knees and calling someone father the moment he met a hard one.

The fat man nodded miserably, shot Tian Xing a covert glare, and said nothing more. He led two injured underlings toward the edge of the venue.

At this point, Wei Yong was still standing where he had been, thirty meters away from Zhang Rui, in an awkward position.

During the fight, he had been able to say he was afraid of disrupting Zhang Rui’s rhythm and had not dared come up to help. But now that the fight was over, what was he still doing there?

As the fat man passed Wei Yong, their eyes met. Each gave a faint, helpless sigh, and then they parted ways.

The fat man staggered off, leaving Wei Yong standing there like a fool, fear gnawing at him, unable to advance or retreat.

Just then, Zhang Rui, Li Liang, Tian Xing, and four or five steadfast brothers came walking over. They had agreed to eat at the Imperial Splendor VIP Tower, and as they walked they chatted, already feeling as if they had met too late in life.

The more this was so, the more panicked Wei Yong became.

Soon they were just a few steps in front of him.

Zhang Rui did not even look at him, while Li Liang kept glaring at him. If it had not been for the subtle look Zhang Rui had given him, Li Liang would already have gone up and flattened Wei Yong.

Tian Xing seemed to catch on to something. Glancing at Wei Yong, he said, “This one should be one of your brothers too, right? Bring him along.”

Tian Xing was one of Xie Tianhua’s internal attackers. He did not socialize much outside, so he did not know figures like Wei Yong, who were fairly visible in the Bohai district. If it had been Xie Tianhua’s other underboss, Zhao Chuan, he loved scheming and talking with a tongue as sharp as a knife. Thin as a dried chicken, yet able to read people like no one else, he was Xie Tianhua’s mind in human form. The two of them were also known as the Left and Right Vajras of Tianhua Industries.

“Oh! Right! Come along, then.”

Zhang Rui glanced at Wei Yong, whose face had already turned slightly red, and said with a smile, “Brother Yong, let’s go. We’re drinking. You look so tense that you’re sweating at the brow.”

Li Liang stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Wei Yong’s shoulder. On the surface it looked like a courteous invitation to join them for drinks, but in truth there was a hint of binding restraint in it.

Wei Yong did not dare break free and could only force himself to follow.

The Imperial Splendor VIP Tower had been a long-established name for twenty years. Back then, it was the most famous and grandest place in the entire Western Fourth and Western Fifth districts. It had long been the designated venue for the township governments and street offices of both districts, with very stable business. Only in recent years had it begun to fall behind the times. The decor, management, and dishes had grown outdated, several famous chefs had been poached by larger restaurants elsewhere, and the owner had lost the will to keep running it, eventually selling the entire business to someone else.

“Following Jiang Shunfa?”

After getting into Zhang Rui’s Q7, Tian Xing asked in surprise.

Earlier, when Brother Hua had dealt with Jiang Shunfa at the construction site beside the Kunming Building, he had driven this car. As Brother Hua’s chief fighter, Tian Xing had naturally charged at the front, but before he could even make a move, Jiang Shunfa had already run.

Seeing Zhang Rui driving Jiang Shunfa’s car, Tian Xing felt a little disappointed. How could such a vicious and formidable man be following that coward?

“Haha, Brother Rui took just two people, one of them basically along for the ride, and went to wipe out Jiang Shunfa’s lair. You haven’t heard about that?”

Li Liang shouted from the side.

“Oh! So it was you! I heard about that, just didn’t know who did it. I was thinking at the time that there couldn’t possibly be anyone this incredible in Bohai. I never expected it was you.”

Once Tian Xing heard this story about Zhang Rui, his admiration for Zhang Rui’s courage and daring only deepened. He admired exactly this kind of man, someone who could hold a pass alone against ten thousand.

“Heh, nothing much. Just a few little shrimp.”

Zhang Rui spoke lightly and with easy humor, not taking it to heart at all. He had seen far too many big scenes; taking on dozens of street punks was no different from playing around.

“Right, Brother Yong?”

As he spoke, Zhang Rui deliberately glanced at Wei Yong, who sat in the back seat with a blank stare.

“Yes, yes!”

Wei Yong hurriedly reacted and said, “That Jiang Shunfa bastard really needed a lesson.”

As soon as he finished, Li Liang picked up the thread. “And what about you, Brother Yong?”

At once, the atmosphere inside the car tightened.

Wei Yong stammered and could not get anything out.

Tian Xing, who was sitting with him in the back, did not really understand, but it was not his place to intrude on other people’s business. “The plaza project starts officially next Monday. When the time comes, just come directly to me and I’ll assign you the work. Find a green-clad Liberation truck, a loader, an excavator, and earth sources in advance—handle those yourself. I’ll just keep count on my side. The money gets settled every half month.”

“No problem. Those are easy. Wei Yong has a wide network; let him run this errand.”

Zhang Rui personally made the appointment, as if he had already counted Wei Yong among his underlings. This once-prominent head in the Western Fifth District could now only bow his head and smile stupidly, dim and insignificant.