In a quiet old mansion in Jiangzhou, an elder sat in a rattan chair, gazing at a blossoming begonia flower before him. He let out an almost imperceptible sigh, his eyes half-open as if he had aged several more years.
This elder was none other than Qu Donglin, who had just left the Qu family's luxurious residence. This old mansion, situated beside a seascape, was another villa owned by Qu Donglin, a place where he stayed for a month each year to rest and recuperate.
He had just finished a phone call with one of his students, Wang Weiguo, who was the current leader of Team 3 of the Sky Group. After talking for a full hour, Qu Donglin hung up and came out into the courtyard to bask in the sun.
"This young man is too strong," Qu Donglin said with a light sigh as he looked out towards the calm sea.
At that moment, a woman dressed in casual clothing emerged from the courtyard. It was Qu Lianyan, who changed into a long white dress. Born into a family of high status and possessing an ethereal grace, she held a cup of clear tea in her hand, which she gently placed on the pear wood table nearby.
"Grandfather, what did the Sky Group say? Lin Mo has killed dozens from our Qu family. Even though they were from a side branch, we still share the same bloodline. Are we really going to swallow our pride and say nothing?" Qu Lianyan asked, parting her rosy lips.
Qu Donglin shook his head, his eyes filled with a mixture of bitterness and helplessness. "Do you know his true identity?" he inquired.
"His real identity?" Qu Lianyan's pretty face showed confusion.
"The Sky Group Chief Instructor, only a step below the Dragon Emperor in status," Qu Donglin explained slowly.
"What? The Sky Group Chief Instructor?" Qu Lianyan's face showed shock.
Qu Donglin nodded and said in a solemn voice, "Although the Sky Group is not as influential as the Huaxia Royal Group, we don't have any high-status connections in the Emperor Group. Therefore, we must not offend Lin Mo again; otherwise, once I leave this world, no one will be able to stop him."
Qu Lianyan's eyes shone brightly. The Qu family was entirely reliant on Qu Donglin's influence. If he were truly gone, would those generals, officials, and top leaders still come to their annual meetings?
"I plan to return to the main house to give some final instructions, asking them to avoid Lin Mo as much as possible. Tonight's banquet in Jiangzhou will be attended by you on my behalf," said Qu Donglin as he looked at the still sea surface, his voice calm.
"Yes, Grandfather," Qu Lianyan nodded in response.
Lin Mo, after crushing the Qu Family, did not hurry to leave Jiangzhou. After all, there were still many resources to be leveraged here. Jiangzhou's wealthy elite jointly decided to host a banquet, a mere formality, with the explicit purpose of submitting to Lin Mo.
Even the Qu family, renowned for controlling Jiangzhou, had been toppled by this young man from Shu Province. Even the arrival of the Qu family patriarch had been ineffective.
The upper echelons of Jiangzhou society were shaken, and numerous wealthy dynasties came bearing gifts to pay homage, willing to submit to Lin Mo.
On a national highway in Jiangzhou, a black Baojun, a red Ferrari, and a blue Porsche 911 sped along the road.
In a Mercedes-Benz, sat a middle-aged man with a square face looking very nervous, his forehead even beaded with sweat.
He was Jiang Xun, the helmsman of the Jiang family of Jiangzhou.
"How much longer till we reach Jiangzhou?" Jiang Xun frowned, glancing at the Rolex on his wrist.
"Mr. Jiang, we should arrive at the Jiangzhou border in about an hour," said the driver.
"I hope it's not too late," Jiang Xun muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
He and his brother had established Jiyao Hall and sought to collaborate with Die Mo Pharmaceutical. However, due to some reasons at that time, they were turned away by the manager from Die Mo Pharmaceutical in Shu Province.
Later, when the Qu family took action against Die Mo Pharmaceutical, the Jiang family also got involved. But now, with Lin Mo stamping out the Qu family and killing dozens, sending shivers throughout Jiangzhou, the Jiang family could no longer sit back.
If he could strike directly at the Qu family's doorstep, and even the family patriarch couldn't stop him, then the Jiang family was indeed far inferior to the Qu family.
Jiang Xun immediately gathered his people and hurried over, ready to take the initiative to apologize and convert their hostility into a strategic alliance.
In the red Ferrari behind them sat a distinguished-looking young man and a flamboyantly dressed girl around nineteen years old. In the following Porsche 911 was a woman in her thirties, fair-skinned, dressed revealingly, showing her snowy skin.
"I really don't understand what Uncle is thinking, bringing Jiang Yingxue along. Does he plan to have her inherit his position in the future?" The young man in the Ferrari sneered dismissively.
Jiang Yingxue sat alone in the back seat of the Mercedes, looking somewhat unnatural. She didn't know why, but this trip to Jiangzhou gave her an inexplicably odd feeling.
...
The night sky glittered with starlight as if it were crystal.
A grand party organized by the wealthy of Jiangzhou had one primary purpose: to show sincerity to Mr. Lin.
Although most of the wealthy didn't know the true face of Mr. Lin, their respect for him—who had slain dozens of people from the Qu Family and shaken Jiangzhou—was heartfelt.
"Master, it's getting late. Shall we go now?" Yingzi stood obediently next to Lin Mo, her cherry lips parting slightly as she spoke.
Lin Mo had changed into a simple set of casual clothes and nodded faintly, "Hmm, let's set off."
He and Yingzi were temporarily residing in a small farmhouse in Jiangzhou, and while others were unaware of his whereabouts, the wealthy could certainly find where Lin Mo was staying—if they dared.
Especially after knowing that Lin Mo had decisively killed dozens from the Qu Family, everyone was aware of his ruthless nature. Who would dare to snoop on his movements?
Thus, Lin Mo and Yingzi called a taxi and headed towards the Shuiyue Pavilion Hotel.
The hotel was of five stars, located in the busiest commercial area. Passersby hurried by, but at the hotel entrance, luxury cars like Rolls Royces, Bentleys, and Mercedes clustered like clouds, resembling a large-scale car exhibition.
"Wow, why are there so many luxury cars here? Is some big shot hosting a banquet?"
"That car with the license plate 66666—I remember it seems to belong to our city's richest man, Yuan Kun."
A man working in civil service widened his eyes at the sight, but when he saw a commonplace Volkswagen Passat, he immediately scorned, "A Volkswagen Passat parked among so many luxury cars, isn't it a bit embarrassing?"
"What do you know? Is that a Passat? That's a high-end Phaeton worth more than two million! It seems to be the car of Secretary Xiao's family head. I was fortunate enough to see it once two years ago; I can't be wrong," another person said in a serious tone.
The hotel gathered so many luxury cars, and all who came were big shots, quickly sparking discussions among the crowd, wondering who had arrived to warrant such a grand spectacle.
"Could it be someone from the family head's house of the Qu Family that would make the richest man and the family head of the secretary personally attend?" someone speculated.
"Maybe, otherwise why would so many big shots turn up?"
At the hotel entrance stood a woman in a silver gown with long black hair cascading over her shoulders, the night breeze caressing her creamy skin, giving off a slight chill.
As she was about to step inside, she suddenly heard a somewhat familiar teenage voice behind her:
"Mr. Jiang, what are you doing here?"
Jiang Yingxue turned around and saw a young man and a young woman standing behind her. A look of surprise appeared on her pretty face, "Lin... Lin Mo, what are you doing here?"
It had been almost half a year since Lin Mo graduated from high school, and they hadn't seen each other for most of that time.
Seeing Lin Mo again, a flush of shyness crept onto Jiang Yingxue's beautiful face.
Memories of the past six months and her time as Lin Mo's class teacher involuntarily flooded her mind.
Yet sometimes memories are the most beautiful, and first encounters the happiest.
Lin Mo looked at Jiang Yingxue and almost couldn't recognize her. After not seeing her for six months, Jiang Yingxue didn't look like the class teacher from school. Now, she wore a beautiful gown outlining her graceful figure, with delicate makeup that made her even more striking and ethereal. Her waterfall-like black hair rested on her pale, sensual neck, adding a touch of allure.
Lin Mo was about to speak, only to hear a cold voice interrupt:
"Yingxue, why haven't you gone in yet? Uncle is inside waiting for us." The speaker was a woman around thirty, her skin smooth as ivory, heavily perfumed enough that the scent could be detected from afar. She was adorned with jewelry, resembling an acclaimed socialite.