Chapter 22: Kickbacks Treated As Compensation?
After Li Ye left, Pan Zhengyang sat back down on the stone stool, facing Xu Yanwu, looking at the table full of empty plates and leftovers, and smiled: “No food left.”
“We can still drink.”
Xu Yanwu picked up the wine glass, poured him a glass, and then poured one for himself.
“Can you handle it?” Pan Zhengyang asked in surprise: “With your body, you can’t take more than a few glasses, and you’ve already had some today.”
Xu Yanwu picked up the wine glass and drained it in one gulp, saying indifferently: “A man about to die doesn’t care anymore.”
Hearing this, Pan Zhengyang paused with the hand holding the wine glass, then tilted his head back and finished his drink.
“How much longer?”
“One month.”
Xu Yanwu refilled the wine glasses again. “I don’t think I’ll last that long, but luckily I found a successor. For that, I thank you.”
Pan Zhengyang sighed slightly. “Old Xu, if it’s just a successor, you know, hand it over to the higher-ups, and there will definitely be someone suitable who can cultivate it.”
Xu Yanwu drank another glass of wine and stared intently at Pan Zhengyang. “This is the martial arts passed down in my family from the Ming Dynasty. I have the right to choose whether to hand it over or not. You want me to hand it over—why don’t you make those people hand theirs over?”
Pan Zhengyang’s expression turned serious: “You know I hate those people even more than you do, but some things can’t be dismissed outright. They have made contributions too. Besides, what happened to you back then—the entire Shenzhou conducted serious handling against the noble families. Isn’t that revenge for you?”
“I didn’t say Shenzhou is bad.”
Xu Yanwu shook his head: “Shenzhou is great, people live and work in peace, demonic creatures are watched closely—but I’m just not happy! Thirty years, and I’ve always been unhappy!”
He looked at Pan Zhengyang. “You’ve reached the Three Realms, right?”
Pan Zhengyang nodded.
“Thirty years ago, you broke through Nine Dragon Gate. And me?”
Xu Yanwu pointed at himself and repeated: “You tell me, what about me?”
Pan Zhengyang sighed: “Also Nine Dragon Gate, but you could hang me up and beat me, and you were about to break through the three barriers. If nothing had happened to you, your future would have been limitless.”
“Right, so personally, I’m very unhappy. Look at me now—facial paralysis, can’t even make expressions. Can’t even be a normal person.”
“And look at now, after the serious handling—what happened? You’re the bureau chief yourself; don’t you know what a mess the Disinfection Bureau is? You can accept it, but I can’t, so I’m not handing it over.”
Xu Yanwu drank another glass. “But the grudges end with me. If Li Ye learns it, he can hand it over if he wants. Anyway, I’ll be dead and won’t see it!”
“Fine, fine, my bad for talking too much. It’s been so many years, and a dying commoner like you still has so many complaints.”
Pan Zhengyang snatched the wine bottle, poured him a glass, and cursed: “Not even a woman, what’s the point of drinking this stuff? It won’t make up for your death!”
……
In the afternoon, Li Ye became a street wanderer again, searching the streets for demonic creatures.
The rice would arrive tomorrow, so besides hunting demonic creatures, he had nothing else to do. He had memorized the Dragon Gate circulation method, but he planned to wait for the rice to arrive and practice while eating.
But demonic creatures didn’t appear every moment. The disinfection app on his mobile phone only showed a few unconfirmed suspicious points at most. Some that were closer to Li Ye turned out to be nothing after he checked them out, so he found a coffee shop to rest.
Coincidentally, Deng Hao sent a message.
Deng Hao: “Brother Ye, foot massage tonight? The Dragon Gate Realm technician I mentioned last time is available for an hour slot tonight.”
Li Ye: “Why do you always go for foot massage at night?”
Deng Hao: “Don’t mention it, exhausted during the day. The master craftsman we hired isn’t human. My build hasn’t changed, but I’ve gained ten pounds. Eat and then train every day—no chance to digest.”
Li Ye: “No shortcuts in martial arts. Fine, go by yourself. I’m busy too. Just so you know, I’ve already broken through Dragon Gate. If you don’t break through during summer vacation, we’ll be in different classes when school starts.”
Deng Hao: “Damn! Real or fake? Wait, you wouldn’t joke about this. Congrats, Brother Ye—you broke through so fast. Alright, no more talk; I’m going to train harder!”
Li Ye smiled, put away his mobile phone, finished his coffee, pushed open the door, got on the electric scooter, and left.
Since there was nothing else, he would go back to the Disinfection Bureau to access more demonic creature information.
The afternoon streets were even hotter. Besides the traffic, there weren’t many people on the streets. Li Ye had been riding for less than ten minutes when a car came up from behind. He didn’t pay attention, but the car kept pace parallel to him. At an intersection, it turned ahead and blocked him.
It was a four-seater luxury car, like a Rolls-Royce from his previous life, the six-or-seven-million kind. In the driver’s seat was an old driver—his experience was unknown, but he was very old, seemingly over sixty.
The rear door opened, and out stepped a young man about Li Ye’s age, dressed extravagantly and arrogantly.
His stance was steady, limbs strong, spirit vigorous—he should be a martial artist who had broken through Dragon Gate.
The young man smiled at him: “I’m Ren Xu, the Ren from Ren Family.”
This seemed like someone who came specifically to find him.
Li Ye looked at him for a moment before saying: “Li Ye, the Li from Li Family.”
This made him pause slightly, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
“To cut to the chase, I’m interested in the magic treasure you have, so can we talk now?”
It was the person who called in the morning.
“Not for sale.”
Li Ye turned the handlebars to ride away.
“Two million not enough? I’ll add two more—four million for the Five Flavors Chopsticks in your hand.”
Ren Xu stepped forward. There was still some distance, but this step blocked Li Ye’s path. Up close, there was surprise in the way he looked at Li Ye.
“Broken through Dragon Gate? Looks like good luck, but that’s thanks to the Five Flavors Chopsticks, right? That magic treasure itself improves ingredient quality.”
Ren Xu said: “But your family is just ordinary. Your parents work at a chain supermarket and can’t support your martial arts path afterward.”
Li Ye’s face darkened. “You investigated me?”
“Just basic background check. No malice.”
Ren Xu smiled and said: “Practicing martial arts is tough and resource-intensive. So what if you enter the martial arts track later? No. 14 Middle School is just an ordinary high school; even with Five Flavors Chopsticks, they can’t afford it.”
“You came from preparatory, trained at a martial arts school—this means more to you than me. If you really had talent for martial arts, no need for preparatory. You practice martial arts just for a good job and some money.”
“Why not turn it into money now? You can’t hold onto that treasure, and you don’t have the money to buy ingredients. Turn it into money now, improve your life—what do you say?”
Ren Xu stared at him and said: “You might not know Ren Family—in Ningjiang, our family has a lot of influence. If you’re willing, after graduation, you can work at my company, thirty thousand a month, hire you as security consultant. This condition is already very”
“What the hell are you blabbering about?”
Li Ye interrupted him and cursed directly: “You and your endless bullshit, bringing an old driver to talk about your damn family. You think this is some role-play of old slave and young master? How many years has the Great Qing Dynasty been gone? This is Shenzhou now!”
“And do I look like an idiot? Five Flavors Chopsticks are worth 10 million, and you offer four? Treating kickbacks like compensation? Asking if I know Ren Family? Do you know Disinfection Bureau? Investigating my background—you’re tired of living. Get lost!”
With that, Li Ye twisted the throttle, the electric scooter buzzed, and shot forward.
The sudden acceleration made Ren Xu instinctively dodge, letting Li Ye leave.
He turned his head, the cultivated smile completely gone from his face, terrifyingly gloomy.
“I tried to talk nicely, but you insist on courting death.”
He snorted coldly, got back in the car, and the door closed automatically.
“Find someone, teach him a lesson, and grab the Five Flavors Chopsticks.”
“Young master.”
The old driver in the driver’s seat said then: “He’s doing part-time at Disinfection Bureau. Director Pan seems to like him too. Doing this could be risky.”
“What risk? He’s just an ordinary guy with no background. We won’t kill him, just a lesson. After getting the item, give him the money. Pan Zhengyang won’t fall out with us over this. Last time he sealed our family industry, he was already in the wrong.”
“Understood, I’ll contact now.”
“Mm.”
Ren Xu leaned back in the seat, slightly closing his eyes. “Remember, do it cleanly.”
