“If I hit him, I have to apologize? Honestly, even if I killed him, I wouldn’t see the need for that!” Jiang Tian said with a calm, faint smile.
It seemed the Nie family had really kept this information under tight wraps—these people had no idea what was going on.
“Well… fine, fine, consider this me sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, alright!”
Chu Mengyao saw how arrogant and dismissive Jiang Tian was, and suddenly felt a surge of anger. She let out a cold snort, turned, and walked over to the tea table.
“I was only trying to help you out of kindness, but since you’re so full of yourself and don’t know your limits, forget it. Go ahead and court death if that’s what you want!” she thought to herself, fuming.
“Miss Ye, Mr. Jiang is here!”
Suddenly, a lazy, soft, and sweet voice called out. Through the moon-shaped doorway, a gracefully curvy woman emerged.
She was around thirty years old, but her skin was as smooth and lustrous as jade—even softer and fairer than a girl in her late teens. Her pair of phoenix eyes were clear and sparkling, and her slender, willow-leaf eyebrows carried a rare, heroic charm that few women possess.
Under the hazy glow of the lights, her aqua-green cheongsam, embroidered with bright red peonies, hugged her enchanting and delicate figure. Yet, she somehow exuded an alluring, seductive aura that could make even a revered monk lose his composure.
“Ruocheng姐… I haven’t seen you in so long!”
Chu Mengyao ran over with a face full of pleasant surprise, hugged the woman, and rubbed her little head against the crook of her neck, whining sweetly.
“Sister Ruocheng!”
Several young men who usually wielded immense power and influence, capable of controlling things from behind the scenes, stood up to greet her like subordinates meeting their boss. Their faces were full of deep respect. Even Nie Mingyuan’s expression turned serious and cautious.
Xu Ruocheng was the only daughter of Xu Zhenlei, the sole martial arts grandmaster in Jinling.
The Xu family had been deeply rooted in Jinling for decades, cultivating connections, power, and wealth that ordinary families could never match. Even the three great families, including the Nie family, had to tread carefully and give them a wide berth.
Rumors also said that during Xu Zhenlei’s years of seclusion, he had completely withdrawn from worldly affairs, and all of the Xu family’s various enterprises were entirely under Xu Ruocheng’s control.
In Jinling’s high society, she represented the Xu family and was known as the queen of the city’s underground world. She could stand shoulder to shoulder with the parents of Nie Mingyuan, Chu Mengyao, and Xia Miao.
“Everyone, carry on with your chat. I’ll step outside with Mr. Jiang for a few words.”
Xu Ruocheng’s gaze landed on Jiang Tian’s face, and she broke into a radiant smile that made her look utterly enchanting. For a moment, it felt as if the whole world brightened.
With that, she made a polite “after you” gesture and gracefully walked outside.
Jiang Tian looked completely calm and composed, as if none of this surprised him. With his hands behind his back, he lazily followed her out and got into a silver-gray Bentley with her.
After the two left, the young masters and heiresses present burst into an uproar, unable to believe what they had just seen.
“How is Jiang Tian so capable that Sister Ruocheng wanted to speak with him alone?”
“Yeah, Sister Ruocheng treated him with so much respect, like she would with our elders!”
“Ziwei, what exactly is your brother capable of? You’ve been hiding a lot from us, haven’t you?”
Chu Mengyao was stunned, Tang Bao’er clicked her tongue in amazement, Mu Yunqing looked confused, and the other young men and women were all baffled.
Wasn’t Jiang Tian supposed to be the useless, good-for-nothing of the Jiang family? How could he command such serious attention from Xu Ruocheng?
“Could it be that Xu Ruocheng already knows the true strength of the Jiang family?”
Ye Ziwei furrowed her brows, unsure whether Xu Ruocheng was friend or foe. Her heart was a tangled mess.
Nie Mingyuan looked at Ye Ziwei, and a flash of malicious hatred flickered briefly in his eyes.
“All my life, I’ve been a falconer, but I got pecked by a little sparrow. This woman is so deeply calculating! She hid Jiang Tian’s strength all along, putting the Nie family at a disadvantage, costing us the Fulong Mountain land plot, and causing my brother’s untimely death!”
…
Inside the silver-gray Bentley, Xu Ruocheng sat in the back seat next to Jiang Tian. She crossed her right leg over her left, letting the hem of her cheongsam naturally slide down to reveal a dazzling stretch of pale, smooth skin that made one want to reach out and touch it.
Her right foot, dangling a high heel, idly swayed, exuding an endless, captivating charm. Her slender foot was so delicate it could be held in one hand, and her ankle seemed so boneless and soft that it was breathtakingly beautiful.
She smiled and said, “Mr. Jiang, when I was younger, I once learned a bit of fortune-telling and palm reading from a wandering master. Would you let me take a look at your palm?”
“Go ahead,” Jiang Tian said, extending his left hand.
Xu Ruocheng’s soft, delicate fingers gently took his hand. She tilted her head to examine it closely, then said:
“Before the age of twenty-five, Mr. Jiang, you were incredibly ordinary and unremarkable. But after twenty-five, your career line soars dramatically upward—this is the mark of a late bloomer, a true dragon among men.”
“Heh, Miss Xu, you’re too kind.”
Jiang Tian gave a noncommittal smile and asked, “So, where are you taking me, Miss Xu?”
“Hehe,” Xu Ruocheng chuckled softly, her breath fragrant like orchids. Her bewitching eyes sparkled as she looked at him and said, “Mr. Jiang, you’re a man of grand presence. A conversation between us shouldn’t be confined to a small room. We need the open sky and earth, overlooking Jinling, to truly lift our spirits and stir heroic passions.”
Every smile and glance from her was filled with a thousand charms, incredibly alluring. Any ordinary man would find it impossible to resist and would surrender completely.
Just then, the car radio broadcast an announcement:
The Municipal Police Bureau and the Municipal Meteorological Bureau have issued a joint statement. Typhoon “Huazhi” is about to make landfall in Jinling, which may cause natural disasters. Citizens are advised to stay off the streets for safety reasons.
“Miss Ruocheng, it’s about to rain. Shouldn’t we head back?” Jiang Tian said with a smile.
“We’re wanderers of the martial world. What do we have to fear from a little wind and rain?” Xu Ruocheng replied with a soft laugh.
Jiang Tian could only shake his head helplessly.
“Heh, isn’t this the Fulong Mountain land plot?”
The car quickly left the city and reached the peak of Fulong Mountain. Jiang Tian smiled faintly.
“Indeed,” Xu Ruocheng said, stepping out of the car and standing by the mountain path, overlooking the sea of lights from Jinling’s thousands of homes. “The Fulong Mountain plot was coveted by many prominent families, yet in the end, it fell into the Jiang family’s hands. It really surprised everyone.”
She continued with a smile, “But what I’m even more curious about is how Mr. Jiang managed to raise those two billion yuan.”
“Oh, I simply secured a loan using shares of the Pharmaceutical King Group as collateral,” Jiang Tian said with a chuckle as he got out of the car.
“Mr. Jiang, let’s not beat around the bush. You might fool others, but not me. You’re the renowned Jiang Master of Lingnan!”
Xu Ruocheng gazed deeply at the dazzling night view below, her expression a knowing smile.
“Seems like you’ve done quite a bit of digging yourself,” Jiang Tian replied, his expression unchanged.
“Jiang Master, you shouldn’t have returned to Jinling,” Xu Ruocheng said softly, letting out a gentle sigh.
“Why not?”
“One mountain cannot tolerate two tigers,” Xu Ruocheng said with a light laugh. “You, Jiang Master, leading the heroes of Lingnan to conquer Jinling territory—it’s making my Xu family lose sleep.”
She added, “If you crush Jinling’s three great families, the next step would be for Lingnan’s warriors to flood in, strike hard, sweep away the Xu family, and unify Jinling’s underground world.”
“Miss Ruocheng, you’re overthinking things.”
Jiang Tian said helplessly, “I only came back to revive the Jiang family. I have no interest in fighting over the underground world. Have you seen me meddle in Jinling’s underground affairs these days? It’s just normal business competition.”
Xu Ruocheng turned to face him, her eyes as clear as an autumn lake at rest. She pressed her red lips together slightly, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth, and said, “But I’m still not reassured.”
“What do I need to do to reassure you, Miss Ruocheng?” Jiang Tian asked with a resigned smile.
“Only if you become a dead man.”
Xu Ruocheng’s bright smile was breathtakingly beautiful, but her words were sharp and ruthless: “Jiang Master, don’t worry. The Jiang family is just an ordinary family. Today, I’ll only kill you—I won’t harm the Jiang family. You can rest easy in death.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than over a hundred fierce, burly men charged down from both sides of the mountain path, surrounding Jiang Tian.
These men were all tall, muscular, with fierce eyes, and their bloodthirsty aura was as deep as an abyss. Each carried weapons like machetes or axes, their blades glinting coldly. They were all “Red Stick”-level enforcers from the Xu family’s organizations, hardened by bloody fights and rich in combat experience. Every one of them was as capable as a well-trained special forces soldier.
“You’re relying on them?” Jiang Tian sneered coldly.
In the mundane world, these were indeed skilled fighters. But in his eyes, they were no more than ants he could crush with a flick of his finger.
“Of course, not just them,” Xu Ruocheng said with a charming smile, tucking a strand of hair that hung over her forehead behind her ear. “The greatest respect you can show an enemy is to go all out for a single, decisive kill.”
Rumble!
A massive thunderclap echoed, like a stone roller grinding across the ice above people’s heads, rattling eardrums and making scalps tingle. It felt like an unstoppable force of nature.
And then—there was the roar of motorcycle engines.
Jiang Tian’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them.
From both ends of the mountain path, Harley-Davidson motorcycles sped toward him, carrying immense momentum and kicking up clouds of dust.
Over a hundred heavy bike riders boxed Jiang Tian tightly into the center of the path!
Every rider was bald, with dragons and tigers tattooed on their arms. They wore studded leather vests left open to reveal their muscular chests. One person drove, while the rider behind carried a long blade.
This steel cavalry was the “Iron Wolf” unit of Xu Ruocheng’s organization—highly mobile, each member a battle-hardened veteran capable of ruthless, merciless strikes.
In Xu Ruocheng’s ranks, this motorcycle gang served as the vanguard, one of her sharpest forces.
Murderous intent filled the air.
It radiated from every rider’s icy gaze, from their clenched jaws, from their white-knuckled grips on their weapons, and from the cold gleam of their sharp long blades.
Together, it formed a surging torrent of killing intent, crashing toward Jiang Tian like waves slamming against a shore.
Colorful speakers on the bikes flashed with lights, blasting explosive metal music.
The riders’ eyes were all fearless and fiercely brutal.
At the front was a lean young man. On his clean-shaven scalp, a tuft of bright red hair grew down the middle like a rooster’s comb.
He rode an even larger, fiercer Harley than the others, wearing high-top combat boots and leather pants and jacket covered in chains, rings, and studs—pure punk style.
Dark circles ringed his eyes, whether from eyeshadow or lack of sleep, but his gaze was sharp, icy cold, and infinitely murderous.
He wielded a strangely shaped curved blade that glowed with a sinister blue edge—clearly poisoned. On his back hung an imposing replica of Zhuge’s repeating crossbow.
Crack! Boom!
A bolt of lightning slithered down like a silver serpent, and instantly, raindrops the size of beans began to fall. The dense, unbroken curtain of rain completely enveloped Jiang Tian and the gathered fighters.
“Miss Ruocheng, is this all you’ve got? I was half-expecting a tank battalion. But this—flesh and steel—I could wipe them out in minutes,” Jiang Tian said disdainfully, his body quickly soaked by the rain.
