There were two reasons. Firstly, the relationship between them was somewhat delicate. Although Hu Han genuinely regarded Li Chonglou as a benefactor, Li Chonglou required his practical assistance. Therefore, once the request was made, the nature of the relationship could easily change.
Secondly, Li Chonglou was also testing Hu Han. His journey in the Hu family would absolutely not be smooth sailing. Li Chonglou wanted to know how far he could endure and whether he would proactively seek his help.
Thus, the initiative had to come from Hu Han. Only in this way could their superior-subordinate relationship be truly established, and Li Chonglou could confidently entrust the Hu family to Hu Han.
Beyond these matters, there were also other trivial affairs to attend to, such as the people Shi Tou needed to meet, or Old Lin's eagerness to spar with strong individuals. However, these could only be postponed for the time being.
After organizing his plans, Li Chonglou soon fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, he received a call from Green Ox early on.
"You got out?"
"Yes, for safety. When can you guys depart?"
Li Chonglou glanced at the time. It was only a little past six in the morning, and the sun hadn't even risen yet. Chen Peiyue and the others were likely still sound asleep.
However, the mission was important, so Li Chonglou decided to knock on their doors.
After giving Green Ox a timeframe, Li Chonglou went to Third Brother's room first.
Although he was woken up, Third Brother immediately became energetic upon hearing they were preparing to depart.
"Boss, you go wake the others. I'll be ready in five minutes."
Then, Li Chonglou went to Yue Hai's room. To his surprise, as soon as he rang the doorbell, Yue Hai happened to open the door.
"You're up so early?"
"Habit."
Yue Hai chuckled and scratched his head. Upon learning they were preparing to depart, he followed Li Chonglou directly to Chen Peiyue's room.
This time, Li Chonglou didn't even press the doorbell before the door opened on its own.
"You're so early again?"
Li Chonglou was truly surprised this time. In his understanding, girls tended to value sleep and usually wouldn't wake up so early.
Yet, Chen Peiyue was not only awake but also clearly dressed after washing up and ready to go out.
"Why are you guys here?"
Seeing Li Chonglou's surprise, Chen Peiyue looked puzzled.
Li Chonglou later learned that Chen Peiyue had a habit of waking up early to exercise, and she practiced internal martial arts, something Yue Hai lacked.
"I tell you, you kid should learn more from others. How can you improve without putting in effort?"
Yue Hai said somewhat dejectedly, "I was just about to go out and exercise, but I don't have the conditions. No one has taught me any internal martial arts."
Li Chonglou smiled faintly, "Don't worry, I'll teach you a set later."
"Really!"
Yue Hai's eyes lit up. Li Chonglou had previously researched and designed a set of cultivation techniques tailored for each person. While his was for supplementing his latent potential, and it had successfully helped him break through some limits, he still used his old methods for regular training.
Therefore, Yue Hai, being a martial arts enthusiast, was naturally excited about having a new set of internal martial arts techniques to practice.
However, at this moment, Chen Peiyue, who was still unaware of the context, interrupted, "So, why are you looking for me at this hour?"
"We're about to depart. We're going to find that person named Ah Bao first."
Chen Peiyue nodded, "Oh."
"Do you want to finish your training first?"
"No, I was just idle. Since there's a mission now, let's go."
Only then did Li Chonglou nod.
After Third Brother was ready, they all left the hotel.
Green Ox had arranged to meet them in a secluded alley. When Li Chonglou saw him, he was still wrapped in bandages, especially around his right shoulder, with his entire right arm bandaged.
"Are you alright?"
Li Chonglou was a little worried about his condition. After all, Green Ox had been in the emergency room last night. For an ordinary person, it would take at least half a month to recover.
"Minor issue. In my line of work, we live on the edge every day. I'm used to it."
Green Ox chuckled, clearly not taking his injuries to heart.
This was not the first time he had mentioned the peculiarity of his profession. However, Li Chonglou didn't ask further and merely nodded before leading him out of the alley.
However, as they returned to Third Brother's car, Green Ox suddenly froze.
Li Chonglou noticed his unusual behavior and proactively asked, "What's wrong?"
A flicker of change passed through Green Ox's eyes, but it ultimately settled into calmness.
He raised his hand and pointed at Chen Peiyue, who was sitting in the passenger seat, "Who is she?"
Li Chonglou was stunned for a moment, then assumed Green Ox was concerned about having a woman among them. He explained, "She's also our friend. Don't worry, she's one of us."
"Oh."
Green Ox said nothing more and took a seat in the back.
Yue Hai sat next to him, while Li Chonglou sat outside.
After Li Chonglou got into the car, Green Ox gave Third Brother an address and said to Li Chonglou, "This is an informant of mine. Let's go find him first."
"Third Brother, drive."
Li Chonglou didn't think much of it. After the car truly started moving, Green Ox suddenly began to inquire about Chen Peiyue's information.
Li Chonglou, considering his special identity, thought Green Ox was concerned about Chen Peiyue's safety. Therefore, he answered many questions on her behalf.
However, they were only for inconsequential information, such as where Chen Peiyue was from, what she usually did, and who her family members were.
Li Chonglou provided brief explanations.
Of course, these were truly brief. For instance, when asked about Chen Peiyue's origin, Li Chonglou only mentioned Feng Town, not the Little Knife Society.
When asked about her occupation, it was even simpler: she had just entered society and was looking for a job.
As for why she was with them, Li Chonglou revealed a little, mentioning that Chen Peiyue also knew martial arts.
Therefore, Chen Peiyue never directly answered any questions from beginning to end, only responding with "嗯" (mm) or "哦" (oh).
Green Ox didn't ask further and then started chatting with Yue Hai.
As someone who had spent a long time abroad, his experiences were naturally richer than Gao Baisong and the others, so their conversation was more engaging for Yue Hai.
Even Chen Peiyue, sitting in the passenger seat, perked up her ears.
The informant's location provided by Green Ox was also in Shangjing, so it only took Third Brother about half an hour to reach their destination.
However, to Li Chonglou's surprise, it turned out to be a scrap metal recycling station.
Green Ox's informant was the owner of this recycling station.
He was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a simple and honest appearance.
The moment he saw Green Ox, he rushed forward excitedly, embracing him and exclaiming, "Boss, why are you back all of a sudden? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"