256: Chapter 245 Lei Long’s Invitation 256: Chapter 245 Lei Long’s Invitation Everyone had arrived, and the banquet began.
The first table was specially reserved for the three major gang leaders, while the seating for the rest of the attendees was arranged according to the strength of their gangs.
Song Yun was surprised to find himself assigned to the third table, facing none other than the leader of the Mingjin Gang.
This arrangement certainly cut down on a lot of trouble, saving people from looking down on each other based on gang size—with larger gangs despising mid-sized ones and mid-sized gangs looking down on smaller ones.
It would have been chaotic, as everyone in this mix is after respect.
If you disdain me, I’ll disdain you, and no fighting would be quite the miracle.
With the seating sorted like this, the status of those at each table wasn’t too disparate, so there was none of that nonsense about who had to yield to whom or who had to schmooze up to whom.
Everyone was just there to drink to their heart’s content.
With so many martial world types around, the drinking was impressively hearty, and it didn’t take long for Song Yun’s table to go through three or four bottles of liquor.
Others at the table were shooting the breeze, talking big and bragging.
Once they started drinking, it was like watching demons dance—a brotherly hug here and there; in no time, Song Yun had already been embraced by three or four people.
They sidled up to him now and then attempting to suss out his identity, but Song Yun simply said he was out to gain some experience with Zhao Yan.
“Damn, Zhao Yan, you’re one of the top dogs at our table.
How about you give your brothers some tips on making money?
I’m so broke at home I can barely keep the pot boiling,” the leader of the Mingjin Gang shouted.
The others egged him on.
Though the Shura Alliance was a rising power, its strength was undeniable.
In no time at all, it had consolidated all the territories surrounding Sunnan University.
Entertainment venues near the university were the most profitable, sustained by a wealth of student spending which meant no shortage of funds.
The Shura Alliance had managed to secure a lucrative slice of the pie, which left the group green with envy.
“Make money?
Nowadays, nothing makes money.
Money’s hard to earn and shit’s hard to eat.
If you want to make money fast, though, it’s easy—there’s the Industrial and Commercial Bank right across from the front door.
Go rob a bank,” Zhao Yan teased.
“Haha, Brother, I’d love to rob a bank too, just don’t have the tools for the job,” the leader of the Mingjin Gang replied, not at all annoyed, and laughed heartily.
At this point, the Wild Wolf Gang leader stood up, glass in hand, and said, “I’m Gulang, leader of the Wild Wolf Gang.
I’m glad everyone could join this gathering of heroes.
There’s no other purpose for today’s banquet except for brothers to bond with each other.
Enough said, everyone enjoy your meal and drinks.”
While he suggested everyone should enjoy themselves, his table was anything but harmonious.
The Fierce Tiger Gang leader was solely focused on his meal, utterly uninterested in the conversation happening between Gulang and the saucy lady from the Lotus Gang.
Gulang clearly couldn’t stand the Lotus Gang leader, but in contrast, she was all flattery and batting eyelashes at the two men.
To outsiders, such a love triangle was beyond comprehension.
After the meal was over, it was time for separate activities.
Gulang stood up, uttered a few niceties, then left first, while the Fierce Tiger Gang leader, since arriving, had been silent and brooding, eating his meal and rarely speaking.
As the banquet drew to a close, the saucy woman from the Lotus Gang strutted off with her purse, head held high.
Zhao Yan looked at Song Yun and asked, “Brother, the meal’s over, and Gulang hasn’t even glanced our way, see?”
“Don’t bother with him, let’s go,” Song Yun said, laughing as he wrapped an arm around Wu Xin.
As the trio reached the parking spot, they were stopped by a lackey who was clearly a messenger, insisting they meet with his boss.
Who the boss was, remained unknown.
Song Yun patted Zhao Yan on the shoulder and said, “Send Qingluan back first, I’ll go up and see which big Buddha has invited us.”
“Our boss said he wants all three of you to come along,” stressed the lackey, emphasizing ‘three.’ Song Yun shrugged and replied, “Who is your boss anyway?
If you can’t give me a clear answer, I can’t just blindly follow you.”
“You’ll know once you go,” said the lackey, still smiling.
“Well, then there’s no helping it.” Song Yun lit a cigarette and then suddenly punched the smiling lackey in the face.
As expected, several men from the Fierce Tiger Gang’s vehicles descended and surrounded Song Yun and his companions.
The crowd parted, and a woman approached Song Yun with a smile, “Hello, our boss would like to see you.”
“I’ve said before that I can go by myself.
Why involve these two?” Song Yun said nonchalantly.
“We’re right at Wild Wolf Gang’s doorstep.
Too much fuss doesn’t look good, does it?”
“You’re right, Brother Song, just you coming with us will suffice,” the woman said, slightly bowing her head.
“Song Yun, maybe we should just fight our way out,” Qingluan suggested, squinting her eyes fiercely.
“Relax, I’ll have Zhao Yan escort you back.
Seems like there’s nothing else for us here today,” said Song Yun gently as he patted her hand.
Knowing Song Yun to be someone who sticks to his decisions, Qingluan didn’t protest further.
She merely asked him to be careful before getting into the car.
“Seems like Brother Song is quite the gallant gentleman,” the woman said with a slight smile to Song Yun.
“Our boss has been waiting for a while, Brother Song, please.”
“If your boss was really one of us, he would’ve sent you to find me directly instead of sending a lackey to get beat up,” Song Yun remarked sarcastically, following the woman.
She didn’t take offense, merely smiled without a word.
Inside the stretched limousine, Song Yun found the Fierce Tiger Gang leader seated with a glass of champagne in a spacious interior that had it all—things that should be there and even things that shouldn’t.
The man across from him had clearly invested a great deal in customizing the vehicle.
“Make yourself comfortable,” the Fierce Tiger Gang leader said to Song Yun nonchalantly.
Song Yun, undeterred, pulled a beer from a mini-fridge, opened it with his teeth, and gulped down half the bottle in two swigs, belching before laughing, “I wonder, what’s the occasion for the Fierce Tiger Gang leader wanting to see me today?”
“Drop the ‘Fierce Tiger Gang leader.’ I do have a name.
If you don’t mind, just call me Lei Long, or Brother Long if you feel more intimate,” Lei Long said to Song Yun with a smile, then coughed into his handkerchief several times.
“Getting on in years is tough.
Turn forty and suddenly your whole body just falls apart.
Look at this, coughing up blood.”