Jiaonan city is not close to the sea. To go to the sea, one needs to go to the pier in Fuyang County, which is under Jiaonan's jurisdiction.
Chen Xiao rented a van, with Li Mu driving, and took the group to meet He Xinyi.
Upon meeting, Chen Xiao discovered that He Xinyi had only driven one car, and there were only two people, herself and Master Lin.
This made Chen Xiao wonder, and he looked at the two and asked, "Just the two of you? Your bodyguards?"
Master Lin looked at Chen Xiao with cold eyes, appearing vigilant, as if trying to see through him.
He Xinyi simply responded with an "Oh" and explained, "Too many eyes are dangerous. I've already sent the others off last night. They should have arrived at the pier by now."
Chen Xiao nodded and said nothing more. He returned to his car, and the two cars set off one after the other.
Fuyang Pier is only forty-odd kilometers from Jiaonan City. After driving for more than forty minutes, they had reached their destination.
At this moment, the entire Fuyang Pier had been cordoned off, but Chen Xiao and He Xinyi's cars passed through without any hindrance.
It was evident that this must have been arranged by He Xinyi through her connections.
"As expected of the He family from Hong Kong, to be able to seal off such a large pier so easily."
Li Mu gripped the steering wheel and commented with a curl of his lips, unsure if it was jealousy, envy, or a mixture of both.
Chen Xiao noticed that a cruise ship was already docked at the pier not far away. On the deck of the ship stood several tall and strong foreigners with full beards.
They were smoking cigars, with the very standard appearance of mercenaries.
Moreover, Chen Xiao also noticed that their waists were bulging, indicating they were carrying real weapons.
After parking the cars, everyone got out and found a row of sports cars and luxury cars parked in the parking lot. A group of young men who looked like rich idlers were leaning against each other, boasting and chatting.
As soon as He Xinyi got out of the car, that group of people walked towards her.
Just as everyone was wondering who these young masters were, a flashy Bentley stopped beside them, and Huang Wenlei got out of the driver's seat.
Upon seeing everyone, Huang Wenlei was clearly taken aback: "Why are you all here too?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing, why are you here?"
Sun Buzhou asked.
Huang Wenlei gave a sheepish smile and explained, "Grandpa Sun, it's like this. You see that group of people over there? They are all prominent young masters from Jiaonan City. We are here today to accompany Miss He on her voyage."
The word "we" clearly indicated that he was there for that group, not for Sun Buzhou and the others.
"Hmph, a bunch of pampered rich kids. This voyage is extremely dangerous, why are you all tagging along?"
Sun Buzhou snorted unhappily. He had many criticisms of Huang Wenlei and, relying on his grandfather's friendship, expressed them directly.
"Grandpa Sun, please don't say that. What pampered rich kids, it sounds so unpleasant!"
Huang Wenlei's face immediately showed fear and respect upon hearing Sun Buzhou's words. "Grandpa Sun, I am your grandson, you can say whatever you want to me, but please don't let those people over there hear it, especially that one. He is the top young master in Jiaonan City, Zheng Aoqiu, Young Master Zheng. His influence is immense."
"Alright, I won't talk to you all anymore. I need to go and meet up with my good brothers!"
After speaking, Huang Wenlei walked towards the circle of young masters.
The person he pointed to was a young man with a mohawk hairstyle and a very ostentatious appearance.
This person was Zheng Aoqiu, the core figure of Jiaonan's idle rich circle. As for people like Huang Wenlei, they were merely peripheral figures with little presence.
And this group of Jiaonan idlers, in the eyes of the truly distinguished Miss He Xinyi, were nothing more than nouveau riche and bumpkins.
They swarmed around He Xinyi like flies, desperately trying to impress her, while He Xinyi simply crossed her arms, looking cold and proud. Occasionally nodding to someone was considered very generous.
However, the more indifferent He Xinyi was to them, the more they flocked to her.
In their eyes, He Xinyi was a true noble, whose family had been wealthy for centuries, unlike them, whose families had only become rich in the last one or two generations.
This sense of looking up to He Xinyi also instilled a sense of self-deprecation in them, who were usually arrogant.
He Xinyi further exploited this psychological trait, summoning them at will and dismissing them just as easily.
Master Lin also showed his disdain for these local idlers. After getting out of the car, he directly walked over to join Chen Xiao and the others.
Master Lin approached with a cold and proud demeanor, giving everyone a slight nod as a greeting.
As his gaze swept over Gu Zhendong, his eyes widened in surprise: "In just three days, how has your strength increased so much again?"
It turned out that after eating the Spirit Gathering Pill given by Chen Xiao yesterday, Gu Zhendong's strength had recovered considerably.
Master Lin had not noticed Li Qin's increased strength because he had never taken a woman like Li Qin seriously and therefore paid no attention to her.
Gu Zhendong sneered with a curl of his lips and said to Master Lin, "Do I need to explain this kind of thing to you?"
Master Lin's eyes turned cold, and then he understood: "I get it, you must have eaten the Buddha's Hand Tuber! To waste such a Buddha's Hand Tuber like this, it's truly a terrible waste of a heavenly treasure!"
In his opinion, a good thing like the Buddha's Hand Tuber should be refined into a pill. In his mind, it would take at least a month to refine such a treasure into a pill.
Little did he know that his rigid impression was only due to his low-level alchemy skills. What took him a month, Chen Xiao could do in a day.
And better than he could.
Gu Zhendong sneered and didn't bother to explain.
At this moment, Huang Wenlei was instructed to notify everyone: "Young Master Zheng has arranged a seafood banquet at a nearby hotel to bid farewell to Miss He. Young Master Zheng said that you are all invited to join."
Chen Xiao frowned. Did they have to go drinking too?
Sun Buzhou noticed Chen Xiao's displeasure and explained, "Chen Xiao, the trip to Ice Fire Island is not urgent. Since we will be sailing for at least two or three days to reach it, this meal won't make much difference."
"Alright then."
Chen Xiao nodded slightly and agreed.
Zheng Aoqiu, as the foremost wealthy young master of Jiaonan, was quite adept at showing off his wealth.
To treat Miss He to a meal, he had booked the entire seafood hotel. Lobsters, shark fins, abalone, and other seafood were served as if they were free. The alcoholic beverages were even more extravagant, with thirty-year-old Maotai being the minimum.
The county magistrate of Fuyang County, upon hearing of He Xinyi's arrival, personally came to accompany them, showing them great respect.