White-Robed Chief

Chu Li frowned. “There’s quite a number of idlers. I will go and take a look.”

“Brother, is there really a problem?” Zhao Ying knitted her brows and asked.

In her opinion, this was normal. Chen Ying and the girls were all beauties. There were no men who disliked pretty girls so it was no surprise that they fell for the girls.

Chu Li shook his head and sighed. “It might not be a good thing.”

“What is the problem?”

“Since long ago, there had been lots of cases where love was turned into hate!”

“They only see each other for a few times and they just like the girls. It was not to the extent of harboring hate because of love, right?” Zhao Ying was incredulous.

She believed that love at first sight was a joke or just a very superficial impulse.

This is the type of people who were not serious about their feelings: they fell in love with each other in just a few glances despite not understanding one another. What can they do out of hate if their hatred was supposed to be generated from love?

Chu Li said, “Let’s just take a look. It is better to prevent trouble than wait for it to happen.”

“Okay. You should go and take a look.” Zhao Ying smiled.

Since the start of the business, he seldom went there. It was as if he did not care about it.

Chu Li just smiled.

In truth, he avoided going to the pub because it brought back unpleasant memories when they saw him. He did not want to make the girls feel embarrassed.

Chu Li quickly changed the topic with some interesting news and this immediately directed Zhao Ying attention away from the girls’ issues.

In the evening, Chong Ming Town was lit up with beautiful lights.

The street where the Leisure Cloud Pub was located was quiet but it was lit up as bright as the day. Strings and strings of lantern lined the street. It was even more magnificent than during the day.

Chu Li and Li Yue strode down this street. Li Yue surveyed the surroundings and sighed with approval. “This is a good location: a quiet street in a busy town. Who would have thought that it will be so lively on the other side?”

Chu Li nodded in agreement.

The two of them walked slowly towards the Leisure Cloud Pub.

Li Yue appraised the pub. The exterior of the Leisure Cloud Pub was just average. There was nothing extravagant about it, just like the shops around it.

Chu Li raised the curtains and went in. He was instantly hit by the cool air and noise in the pub. There was a hint of fragrance in the air too.

“Master?” Chen Ying and Chen Xue beamed when they saw him.

Chu Li smiled. “Any tables available?”

“Coincidently, there is one!” Chen Ying smiled brightly at him.

Chu Li replied with a smile, “I will sit with Brother Li Yue.”

“Follow us, please.” Chen Ying and Chen Xue led the way.

The two of them did not gather any attention. Soon, they reached a square table. The surrounding tables were occupied.

Li Yue observed. “Wow, it is very busy indeed!”

He had no idea that the pub with such a quiet exterior will have an entirely different interior. It was like two different worlds.

Chen Ying smiled at Li Yue. “Mr. Lee, the pub is full every night.”

“Brother Chu Li has good judgment. You can even earn money by opening a pub in such a remote area.” Li Yue laughed.

Chu Li smiledBrother Li Yue, please order any dish you like. I will have four of my favorite dishes.”

Li Yue studied the menu carefully and picked six dishes.

Chen Xue left with the order while Chen Ying stayed. Chen Ying smiled at Chu Li and asked, “Master, are you busy nowadays?”

“Yup, very busy. You can ask Brother Li Yue if you don’t believe me.” Chu Li pointed at Li Yue.

“Yes… exactly.” Li Yue laughed awkwardly. “The flowers in the garden were sick so we were busy treating them. Hai, we were extremely worried!”

He glared at Chu Li — he did not know what Chu Li was busy with.

“I see,” Chen Ying chuckled and glanced at Chu Li, trying to see if what he said was true or not.

Chu Li’s line of sight landed on Feng Wen. Feng Wen was narrowing his ugly eyes towards them, with a cold glint in his eyes. His eyes were filled with killing intent. Chu Li activated his Omniscient Mirror and frowned at what he saw.

“Master, that’s Feng Wen. Mr. Feng,” Chen Ying told Chu Li.

Chen Xue served them tea and retreated with a smile.

“What is his background?” Chu Li sip his tea.

Chen Ying replied, “He is Feng Shi Cai’s son!”

“Feng Shi Cai?” Chu Li turned to take a look at Li Yue.

Li Yue shook his head, indicating that he had not heard of this person before too.

Chen Ying explained, “Some said that this Feng Shi Cai or better known as Hero Feng is an innate master. He is very famous. He is kind and generous so he gained high respect among those in the martial arts circle.

“High respect…” Chu Li glanced at Feng Wen. “But this Mr. Feng…”

“Mr. Feng always come here these few days. Not even a day less. He kept on staring at me but he did not do anything out of the place so I just let him be,” Chen Ying told Chu Li.

“Did you inquire around about his personality?” Chu Li asked.

Chen Ying hesitated for a moment and then shook her head.

“Keep your distance from him.” Chu Li furrowed his brows. “This fellow is quite skilled in martial arts.”

Chen Ying was surprised. “Mr. Feng knows martial arts?”

“Acquired Mastery,” Chu Li revealed. “He is pretending to be a pig to prey on the tiger [1].”

“I never thought…” Chen Ying shook her head. “I thought he didn’t know martial arts and was just someone with intellectual pretension.”

“He is very good at disguising himself,” Chu Li instructed Chen Ying. “Be extra careful, especially recently — do not go out alone!”

“He will?” Chen Ying was shocked.

Chu Li repeated, “It is better to be careful.”

“… Okay.” Chen Ying nodded reluctantly.

She felt that Chu Li was over-cautious. That Mr. Feng did not seem like someone who is brave enough to do anything out of line. He only stared at her every day. He did not do anything else besides that.

Chu Li glanced at her and gave a knowing smile. This Mr. Feng had an ugly appearance and his inner-self was as ugly as his exterior.

It was better to avoid this type of people. Otherwise, once he had gone insane, the person himself would not even know what he would do.

The pub closed at midnight.

Chen Ying and the girls were all exhausted, both physically and mentally. It was truly tiring to deal with so many customers even with more than twenty of them.

“Let’s go eat something nice,” one of them suggested.

“Agreed. Let’s go to the Sky Inn.”

“Actually, the food we made was no worse than the food at Sky Inn.”

“The food made on our own won’t be as tasty as those made from others. We served others all day and it’s time we enjoy being served by others too. Let’s go! To Sky Inn!”

“The food at Sky Inn is quite expensive.”

“You rich girl! You have earned quite an amount already!”

The pub’s revenue was divided into fifty-two portions: one for Chu Li, one for Zhao Ying and the girls get one portion each. The amount of money earned in a day despite being split into fifty-two portions was no small number and on top of that, they have their own savings.

“Yes, let’s have a feast at Sky Inn!” the girls laughed. They were all for a rest.

Once they got out of the Leisure Cloud Pub and arrived at the central street, the central street was still buzzing with activities. It was like there were no differences of day and night in the town. There were always people on the streets regardless of the time.

Twenty or more girls walking and laughing on the street was attention-grabbing. People on the street looked at them and could not help but wonder which brothel’s girls were having a night out together on the streets. However, after seeing their simple garments, introverted temperament with no hint of a prostitute’s aura, they became even more curious.

Chen Ying surveyed the surroundings. After receiving Chu Li’s instruction to not go outside alone, she followed his command despite feeling that it was unnecessary.

They were traveling in a group, so it should be fine. Thinking so, she continued to talk and joke with the other girls during the short trip to Sky Inn.

Sky Inn was still in business. When the girls arrived at the inn, they were immediately served as guests of honor. Soon, their meals were served and they enjoyed their meals while gossiping.

“Don’t you guys think Master Chu is avoiding us?” a girl gulped a mouthful of wine and asked casually while narrowing her eyes. Her face was red from the alcohol and it made her look charming.

The lively atmosphere took a sudden turn.

“I don’t think that is the case,” Chen Xue shook her head and justified. “I think Master Chu is just trying to minimize contact with us since he is a guy and we are girls.”

“Hmph! Even if he is minimizing contact with us because of our gender, he doesn’t have to go as far as to avoid us totally!” someone snorted in dissatisfaction. “Since the opening of the pub, he is like an arrow — once shot, we can’t even catch its shadow. He only appeared in the pub the day before yesterday and he just sat for awhile. He did not even talk to us!”

“Hehe, he talked to Chen Ying!”

Chen Ying gave them a disdainful look. “Master Chu helped us out more than enough already. Without his protection, how can we enjoy this peaceful life?”

“That’s true.” All the girls nodded in agreement.

In this cruel world, they were just like sheep waiting to be killed [2] — anyone can kill them. Opening a big pub and still leading a peaceful life was all because of the influence of the Public House.

“Chen Ying, seeing as you are so eager to speak out for Master Chu, is it because…”

“What nonsense are you sprouting?”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of to admit that you like Master Chu. Everyone likes him, isn’t it?”

“Haih…” All the girls sighed and shook their heads in dismay.

They thought of their past and instantly felt sorry for themselves. They were not qualified to be together with Master Chu.

“Maybe he thinks that we are dirty…” Someone blurted out.

“Now, stop talking about this!” Chen Ying quickly cut her off and continued in a louder voice, “Master Chu is a busy person. He is working for the Public House so he could not help it … Let’s finish up our meals quickly and return home!”

The girls were not in the mood for jokes anymore. They ate their meals in silence and went back home without a delay.

They need to cross two streets to reach their home. The two streets were lit up as bright as day. As they were feeling down and in addition to alcohol consumption, they swayed and staggered back together.

When they were crossing the second street, suddenly two black silhouettes jumped out, grabbed Chen Ying and ran away. The two silhouette and Chen Ying disappeared from the girls’ view in the blink of an eye.

“Ah…”

“Chen Ying!”

The group was in chaos: some screamed in fright while some called Chen Ying’s name in panic.

“Let’s return to our home first!” Chen Xue urged loudly and the girls stumbled back to their house.

At that moment, Zhao Ying was training her swordsmanship in the front yard.

She was worried to let them stay on their own, therefore, she stayed with them every night.

The girls rushed inside and all of them started talking at once. Chen Xue shouted at them to keep quiet and told Zhao Ying, “Sister Zhao Ying, quick! Quick, Chen Ying… Chen Ying was kidnapped!”

“Sister Chen Ying was kidnapped?!” Zhao Ying was stunned.

Chen Xue was out of breath from running but Zhao Ying could not do anything to help her as her inner energy could not be transferred so she urged, “Who kidnapped her?”

“Don’t… Don’t know, there were two masked men. They grabbed Sister Chen Ying and ran away instantly!”

“… I will go find Brother!” Zhao Ying turned and ran, disappearing from their line of sight in no time.

They had used up all of their energy just now thus all of them slumped to the ground. Their hearts were filled with helplessness and fear. It was like going back to the days when they were kidnapped by the Raging Tiger Encampment.