The atmosphere in the private room instantly became tense. Sen Lang stared intently at Li Chonglou, as if he would strike the moment Hei Dao spoke!
Li Chonglou chuckled and resumed his original voice.
"Long time no see, your temper has certainly grown. I wonder if your strength has also improved? Don't slack off."
This voice!
Hei Dao straightened up abruptly, staring at Li Chonglou with disbelief.
"You!"
"It's me."
"Brother Li?"
Li Chonglou nodded, but Hei Dao still couldn't believe it. His body began to tremble, a visible sign of him suppressing his excitement.
"But you..."
"I had no choice. I offended someone I shouldn't have, so I had to assume a new identity."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hei Dao lowered his voice and ordered Sen Lang, "Guard the outside first!"
"No need. No one can sneak in under my watch. Wait for me here."
With that, Li Chonglou also stood up and walked into the restroom. Just a few minutes later, when he reappeared, he had already returned to his original appearance.
"Brother Li!"
Hei Dao lunged forward, tightly embracing Li Chonglou, murmuring, "Brother Li, it's so good that you're okay, so good."
"Hey, hey, don't tell me you're going to cry tears of joy."
Hei Dao quickly let go and rolled his eyes. "Am I that sentimental?"
Sen Lang, standing by, chimed in, "Brother Li, you don't know, Boss was really down for a while after finding out you went missing. He even lost interest in going to see beautiful women."
Hei Dao's eyes widened. "When did I ever like looking at beautiful women? I'm devoted to Ah Yan!"
"Alright, alright, everyone knows you're a devoted lover, no need to emphasize it further."
Although the relationship between the two was that of a boss and subordinate, their interactions were more like bickering brothers. Hei Dao was not one to put on airs, and he also showed considerable respect to Sen Lang, who was a cultivator.
This was also what Li Chonglou was happy to see.
"Okay, enough idle talk. Tell me about your current situation first."
Li Chonglou returned to his seat, his expression turning serious.
Hei Dao's face also tightened, and he immediately became serious. "Brother Li, I've already worked my way up to a management position. Although it's not comparable to Sister Feng or Sister Yan, if Brother Li needs it, a hundred or so people are at your disposal!"
"Are there any cultivators?"
Hei Dao looked at Sen Lang and honestly replied, "You'll have to ask Brother Lang. He handles all that."
Sen Lang immediately followed up, "There are five, but their strength is relatively weak. The strongest is only at the second layer."
He himself had now reached the fourth layer of cultivation. However, due to his talent, without further opportunities, he would likely remain at this level for his entire life.
Li Chonglou nodded. Five was already quite good. Although the Qing Gang was the top gang in Shangjing, it was, in the end, just an underground force. They usually only dealt with the police, and hadn't even reached the level of the General Bureau.
After all, times had changed. The General Bureau could allow for some gray areas, but it couldn't allow these gray areas to fully collude with cultivators. The true experts of the four major gangs never appeared in the open, and even gang members knew very little about them.
The reason Li Chonglou was satisfied was that he had always developed the lower levels below cultivators on Hei Dao's side. Above them were Yue Hai and the others, so everyone had a clear division of labor.
"By the way, Boss, have you told Ah Hai and the others about your situation? What about Brother Zhou?"
"Yue Hai and the others also know I was in trouble?"
Li Chonglou's expression froze. He hadn't heard Zhou Tong mention this. Besides, weren't they in the underground world? They shouldn't be able to receive news from the outside, right?
Unless someone intentionally brought it in!
As expected, Hei Dao provided the answer in the next second.
"They knew the first week you got into trouble, but Brother Zhou suppressed the news."
They knew in the first week. This clearly indicated someone had intentionally leaked the news. It had to be said that Zhou Tong handled this very well. After all, even if Yue Hai and the others came out, they wouldn't be of much help. What Li Chonglou needed was for them to develop their own strength as quickly as possible.
"Brother Li, how are you now?"
Hei Dao finally realized the crux of the matter. Was Brother Li trying to handle something that their kind should have been dealing with this time?
Li Chonglou smiled frankly, "My cultivation is all gone. I can only be a normal person again. Speaking of which, I should be calling you Brother Hei now, and Brother Lang too."
The expressions of both of them changed drastically, and they said in unison, "Brother Li, please don't say that!"
Their expressions immediately became tense. For them, even if Li Chonglou was a normal person, it would be easy for him to deal with them. Moreover, they had long considered him a true magnate in their hearts. How could status be determined by strength?
Li Chonglou was merely testing them and couldn't help but smile. "We'll discuss this later. For now, let's get in touch with the police."
Hei Dao looked puzzled. "Get in touch with the police? Brother Li, aren't you with Sister Qian? If there's something, can't you just tell her? Do you need to come yourself?"
Li Chonglou immediately rolled his eyes. "What 'this' and 'that'? Watch your words, boy. Don't think I can't deal with you just because I don't have cultivation now."
Hei Dao chuckled. "Brother Li, I was just kidding. Everyone knows that when it comes to being devoted, I can't even compare to you."
Seeing Li Chonglou's face darkening, Hei Dao quickly changed the subject. "Brother Li, leave this trivial matter to me."
Sen Lang also chimed in, "That's right, Brother Li. It's just a small matter. The other party is just a local person in charge. How could they be worthy of Brother Li personally taking action?"
"I am no longer Li Chonglou. Also, when we go out, you can call me Hua Dong. Don't expose me."
The two fell silent. Hei Dao's expression looked even a bit sad.
This was their boss. To have suddenly become an ordinary person after reaching the top echelon of experts, if it were him, he wouldn't be able to get over it so quickly.
He didn't know what Li Chonglou had experienced, but he could imagine how he felt!
"Brother Li..."
"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile. Perhaps one day I'll suddenly encounter an opportunity and return to my peak strength. No, I should say, even stronger."
"Definitely!"
The two said in unison again, their tone firm.
Li Chonglou smiled. He also responded to Hei Dao's suggestion. "You have a point. Then this time, you two go alone. Have you arranged things with Sister Feng?"
"Don't worry, understood."
After that, the three sat together and drank tea. Li Chonglou hadn't enjoyed this for a long time, and for a moment, he even felt as if he had returned to his past days.