As the banquet concluded, with the exception of Xiao Yun who hadn't drunk, only Li Chonglou remained seated steadily. Han, Liang, and Shi Jianming had already succumbed and were under the table.
"Chonglou, I didn't expect you to be not only knowledgeable about antiques but also to have such an astonishing alcohol tolerance," Xiao Yun's beautiful eyes sparkled with unusual light, her admiration for him undisguised.
She had been in charge of the Xiao family since she was twenty-four. In all these years, she had met countless capable and extraordinary individuals, but Li Chonglou, being so young and earning her genuine admiration, was a first.
"Must be natural talent. My senior sister can drink even more," Li Chonglou couldn't explain it himself, so he deflected the topic to Lin Ying.
"I know Xiao Ying can drink. I've never seen her drunk..." Xiao Yun heartily agreed. After speaking, her beautiful eyes flashed with a keen light, "Xiao Ying is my best friend, and you are her junior brother, which makes you my brother."
"How about we become sworn siblings while we still have wine? Do you look down on your old sister like me?"
This hit the mark. A flicker of astonishment arose in Li Chonglou's heart, but it quickly subsided. Who was Xiao Yun? The head of one of the Eight Great Families, her mind as deep as the sea, an absolute seasoned noble. Anyone she deemed worthy was either wealthy or noble. Her proposal to become sworn siblings wasn't just because of his relationship with his senior sister; otherwise, why bother with a formal oath? She possessed keen insight and had recognized his extraordinary nature.
At this moment, Li Chonglou couldn't help but feel admiration. Truly worthy of being a super career woman, achieving this after only two encounters and his promise to help her obtain the Three-Chain Seal. This was like Liu Bei of the Three Kingdoms era. Since she had put it this way, refusing would be a complete disservice to Xiao Yun. Moreover, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage; sisters always took care of their younger brothers. After dealing with Li Hanlong, he would face even greater forces, at which point he might need the Xiao family's intervention.
He immediately made the decision and declared, "Good! The heavens above, the earth below, I, Li Chonglou!"
"I, Xiao Yun."
They said it in unison, as if they had rehearsed it, raising their glasses and reciting, "We hereby swear to be sworn siblings, sharing fortune and facing adversity together."
"May those who break this oath be sliced into ten thousand pieces and die a terrible death!"
After speaking, they looked at each other, smiled, and drained their glasses.
No one knew that years later, the globally renowned power player Xiao Yun had already sworn sisterhood with the legendary Li Chonglou. Her entire illustrious career began with this impulsive act today.
After they dispersed, Xiao Yun arranged for rooms at the Han Palace and saw to Shi Jianming and the other two. After a round of farewells, she had her driver take Li Chonglou home.
In the car, Li Chonglou emptied his mind and gently closed his eyes. He had drunk quite a bit today. Although the sheepskin scroll cultivation technique prevented him from getting drunk, the effects of the alcohol were surfacing. There were three days left before he had to meet Li Hanlong. His fate would be decided then.
*Bang!*
Just then, a Land Cruiser suddenly shot out from an intersection and violently rammed into the side of Li Chonglou's car. The immense force sent Xiao Yun's Maybach airborne, tumbling over. The driver's face contorted in fear, utterly panicked.
Li Chonglou, in the back seat, tightly gripped both armrests, steadying himself as the vehicle flipped and bounced before landing. The safety of the Maybach was, after all, extremely high. After landing and a period of shaking, it didn't disintegrate, though the right side of its body was caved in. Fortunately, Li Chonglou was seated behind the driver, escaping the brunt of the impact. Coupled with his previous experiences of being in car accidents, he quickly regained his composure.
The driver's head had been broken, and he was unconscious. Through the shattered right passenger window, Li Chonglou could see a fierce-looking young man exiting the Land Cruiser, a machete in hand, walking towards the Maybach.
*Crash!*
The moment the young man approached the car, Li Chonglou unleashed his strength. With one kick, he sent the deformed right car door flying sideways, smashing into the young man. The machete clattered to the ground.
The young man spat blood, convulsed, and collapsed. Li Chonglou's strength was immense, and he had even held back a bit, not wanting to kill the man. After all, he needed to extract information about who sent him.
"Who sent you? Tell me, and you might live," Li Chonglou said coldly, stepping on the young man's arm.
"It was Young Master Tu. Young Master Tu sent me to send you to the hospital..." the youth wailed in pain.
Did he confess so easily? Li Chonglou was somewhat bewildered. In the past, coercion was necessary; he never expected this guy to be so spineless. Moreover, he felt no surprise upon hearing the mastermind's name. Tu Hong. That narrow-minded, effeminate second-generation heir, who had been slighted at the appraisal fair, wouldn't let it go. He actually sent his subordinate to ram the car.
Although Li Chonglou hadn't intended to kill him directly, this action had undoubtedly crossed his bottom line. He had originally planned not to bother with Tu Hong anymore. But since they had come looking for him, it was a good opportunity to follow the vine and deal with Old Ghost as well. Ning Lang couldn't deal with Old Ghost, but he could. It was time to settle the new and old scores, the loan shark issue, and this incident all at once. He'd consider it a super gift package for Ning Lang looking after his family.
"Get up. Take me to find Tu Hong," Li Chonglou released his foot and pulled up the injured youth. Then, he took out his phone and dialed 120. Afterward, he threw the youth into the passenger seat of the Land Cruiser, got behind the wheel himself, and sped away from the scene.
Only then did the onlookers who had gathered begin to approach the accident. It had to be said that the Land Cruiser was truly sturdy. It had rammed the Maybach so hard that only its rear bumper reinforcement had broken, not affecting its drivability at all. Beside him, the youth continuously groaned in pain.
*Slap!*
Li Chonglou freed his right hand and slapped him. "Shut up, or I'll knock your teeth out." This ordinary threat, coming from his mouth, sounded like an imperial decree. Terrified, the youth endured the searing pain of his broken ribs and dared not utter another sound. He was filled with regret. In his eagerness to claim credit, he had volunteered as soon as Tu Hong mentioned it to deal with Li Chonglou. He never expected to hit a massive iron plate and be severely injured before even seeing him.
What now? Not only did he fail to complete the task, but he was also being coerced into finding Young Master Tu. He was completely finished. If Young Master Tu appeared, he would surely face fierce retaliation from Old Ghost, making his life worse than death.
At this thought, the youth's heart filled with despair. His face was sallow, sweat pouring from him like a woman's, his eyes tightly shut as he twitched.
The next second, Li Chonglou's rough interruption broke his reverie: "Which way?"
"The city... the west, Jinhong Building..." the youth trembled as he answered.
Half an hour later, at the underground parking lot of Jinhong Building. Li Chonglou took the youth's phone, had him unlock it, and called Tu Hong.
"Tu... Young Master Tu, I've brought the person back. They're in the underground parking lot. How... how should I handle it?" the youth tried to suppress his nervousness, but his voice was still somewhat strained. Fortunately, Tu Hong, upon hearing that the person was back, was so excited that he didn't notice anything unusual.
He chuckled sinisterly, "Wait there, this young master will be down shortly." The call ended. Less than ten minutes later, Tu Hong, dressed in a tight-fitting pink casual outfit, swaggered with his four bodyguards to the elevator entrance. Li Chonglou stood leaning against the car with the bruised and battered youth. They watched them approach from a distance.
Tu Hong saw Li Chonglou unharmed, while his subordinate was covered in injuries. The forced smile on his face began to fade, and his eyes, lined with eyeshadow, were filled with confusion. However, he was, after all, a local bully, backed by the formidable Old Ghost. He merely assumed his subordinate had sustained injuries during a struggle, never considering that Li Chonglou had come looking for him.
"Useless thing, making such a mess trying to capture a nobody," Tu Hong approached, looking at his blood-splattered subordinate, took out a handkerchief, and covered his nose as he spoke softly. The bodyguards behind him, however, were all alert and unfamiliar. After all, Li Chonglou, though with his hands behind his back, was completely clean. Instead, his own men looked like they had been beaten up, which was too abnormal.
"Tu... Young Master Tu, I'm sorry to you, I..." Seeing Tu Hong, the youth's eyes were almost overflowing with panic. Trembling, he immediately knelt on the ground, weeping profusely. He wanted to beg, but Li Chonglou kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
This scene made Tu Hong's face turn pale green and white. "You little bastard, you dare to be so arrogant even on my turf!"
"Relying on Ning Lang's backing, where is Ning Lang now?"
"Without him, you're not even a blade of grass."
"You live if I let you live, you die if I let you die. And you still dare to hit my subordinate."
Tu Hong, accustomed to a life of luxury and decadence, had an extremely poor sense of crisis. Even with his subordinate knocked out, he didn't think Li Chonglou could escape his grasp. Instead, he was still contemplating how to torture him properly and vent his anger.
"Just beating you up is too cheap. What if I made you kneel at the entrance of the entire Jinhong Building in front of everyone?"
"Letting everyone know what happens to an unobservant fool who offends this young master!"
"Make him kneel and crawl to the first-floor lobby on his knees."
With a wave of his hand, two bodyguards immediately pressed down on Li Chonglou's shoulders, intending to force him to his knees.
*Crack... Crack!*
The moment the bodyguards' hands touched Li Chonglou's shoulders, his eyes suddenly turned cold, and his palm coiled, striking faster than them. He directly twisted the arms of two bodyguards. One must understand that Tu Hong's bodyguards were not the middle-aged men he brought to the appraisal fair. They were tall and burly, at least 160 pounds, clearly having trained in martial arts since childhood. Their arms were as thick as horses. Now, with one in each hand, Li Chonglou had flipped them to the ground, their screams echoing.
This scene made the remaining two bodyguards' faces change dramatically. They knew they had encountered a master. Li Chonglou's movements were so fast they couldn't even see them clearly.
"Protect Tu..." one of them had just exclaimed when he saw a dark blur rapidly enlarging before his eyes.
*Slap!*
Stars exploded before his eyes, the world spun, and he lost consciousness, slumping to the ground. The other one was flipped over with a single slap before he could even speak.
On the scene, only Li Chonglou and the now completely stunned Tu Hong remained.
"Kneel yourself, or shall I invite you to kneel?" Li Chonglou stared at Tu Hong, his eyes filled with chilling intent. This made Tu Hong's scalp tingle, goosebumps erupt, and his mind go blank. With a *thump*, he immediately fell to his knees. Tears streamed down his face.