Love is the most unreasonable thing in this world. Although Li Yundong failed in his Foundation Establishment, he didn't feel the slightest sadness or regret; instead, he was lightheartedly joking with people. Any other cultivator would surely criticize him severely for being: coarse in temperament and unambitious.
But Su Chan found Li Yundong’s disposition easygoing, magnanimous, and cheerful—the very best kind of cultivation temperament under the heavens.
As soon as Li Yundong started his antics, the terror and fear that had filled Su Chan’s heart due to his failure vanished, replaced by a strong sense of attachment and adoration for the young man.
“It’s better if you hadn’t mentioned it; now you’ve made me hungry!” Su Chan pouted, rubbing her belly.
Feng Na, standing nearby, laughed. “Then let’s go eat; it’s about lunchtime anyway.”
Cao Kefei smiled. “Then let me treat everyone today.”
Li Yundong clapped his hands enthusiastically. “Excellent! Someone’s finally paying! Little lady, eat until your stomach bursts later!”
Cao Kefei knew Li Yundong had an astonishing capacity for drinking, but she didn't know Su Chan had an astonishing capacity for eating. She laughed, “Eat to your heart’s content; one meal won't bankrupt me!”
The moment she finished speaking, Li Yundong, Su Chan, and Zhou Qin all simultaneously thought of Liu Dakai Zi Liu Chuan. The three of them couldn't help but exchange a look and burst into laughter together.
Zhou Qin smiled, pursing her lips. “CEO Cao, one meal can bankrupt someone. The last time someone paid for us, it ran into six figures!”
Cao Kefei gasped, chilled. “Don't scare me! I can’t compare to a wealthy tycoon like Zhou Qin!”
Li Yundong chuckled. “Don’t worry, CEO Cao. If it comes down to it, we’ll make Zhou Qin pay!” With that, he winked conspiratorially at Zhou Qin.
Although the words were rough on the wallet, Zhou Qin loved hearing them. For no particular reason, she felt a surge of joy, and her smile broadened. She felt utterly delighted inside.
The group left the hotel, laughing and chatting. Except for the single man, Li Yundong, the rest of the party were all stunning beauties. Standing on the street, they instantly drew countless gazes.
“Hurry up, hurry up,” Feng Na urged, getting goosebumps from all the staring.
Cao Kefei walked to the car, inserted the key, and started the engine. “CEO Yin took his car, so we’ll have to squeeze. Li Yundong, you sit in the front and hold Su Chan, and the three of you beautiful ladies can squeeze in the back?”
Just as Li Yundong was about to reply with a laugh, a loud roar suddenly erupted from down the street: “Damn it! Stop right there, you bastard!”
This was immediately followed by a chorus of shouts: “Stop! Don’t run!”
While Li Yundong was wondering what was happening, a man suddenly sprinted past directly across the road. Li Yundong recognized this person; it was Er Lu, the same guy who had clashed with him repeatedly before!
Su Chan saw him clearly too and tugged on Li Yundong’s sleeve. “Hey, Yundong, isn't that the guy I kicked over last time? Why are so many people chasing him?”
As they spoke, Er Lu had already rushed past their line of sight, closely pursued by seven or eight thugs wielding iron pipes. They shouted viciously, “Stop! You can run away from the monk, but you can’t run away from the temple! Pay up, or we’ll carve you up!”
Li Yundong recalled how Er Lu had tried to threaten Su Chan last time, and anger instantly flared within him. He sneered coldly, “Hmph, this is what happens when you do too much evil—retribution comes knocking! Serves him right!”
Cao Kefei asked curiously, “What’s going on? Do you have history with him?”
Feng Na recounted a brief version of the events. Cao Kefei couldn't help but sneer in agreement. “He deserves it. He refuses to walk the righteous path and insists on crooked ways! He’ll get his comeuppance sooner or later!”
As she spoke, as if to confirm her words, Er Lu, perhaps due to panic, looked back at his pursuers, stumbled suddenly, and fell to the ground with a thud.
The pursuers immediately caught up, surrounding him tightly, and began punching and kicking him, cursing all the while: “Damn it, you still won’t pay? You son of a bitch, if you don’t pay, we’ll cripple you!”
Er Lu curled into a tight ball, protecting his chest, abdomen, and head, screaming wretchedly under the beating.
At first, Li Yundong felt immensely satisfied by the revenge, but after a short while, a middle-aged woman came running up, crying out loudly: “Stop hitting him! Stop! You’ll kill someone! Oh, my son, what kind of evil have you done!”
“Wait a minute, isn’t that…” Su Chan instantly recognized her—it was the same older woman who had argued with Li Yundong at the vegetable market last time.
Li Yundong frowned, saying nothing.
The market auntie, ignoring the solid, terrifying iron bars in the thugs’ hands, rushed forward and threw herself over Er Lu’s body, shielding her son from the beating. Like a mother hen protecting her chick, she desperately spread her arms to prevent any harm from reaching her son.
The leader of the group, a smooth-headed punk with a shaved head, pointed his iron pipe at Er Lu’s mother and cursed loudly: “Get out of the way, you old hag! Damn it, your son owes money and won’t pay—are you going to pay for him?”
The market auntie wept, snot and tears streaming down her face. “Son, what debt have you racked up now? I told you not to gamble, why won’t you ever listen! How can this family withstand you ruining it like this!”
After being severely taught a lesson by Su Chan at the school gate last time, Er Lu had been mocked by street toughs for being taken down by a delicate young girl. Feeling disheartened, he descended into self-destruction, spending his days gambling away his time.
But the casino is a place that devours people whole! Within a few days, he amassed a huge debt. At first, he could still ask his family for money, but when his mother eventually found out, she refused to give him any more. So, Er Lu began stealing things from home to sell.
When everything valuable was sold off, he was left with no choice but to be chased and beaten in the streets by creditors.
Er Lu looked at his mother with shame, murmuring hesitantly, “I couldn’t help it, Mom! Just pay it off for me, and I swear I’ll never gamble again.”
Er Lu’s mother began wailing hysterically. “Everything valuable in this house has been sold by you! The only things left are a few plots of land in the village that you can’t sell. What else is left that you haven’t sold? Tell me, are you planning to sell our family’s ** next!”
When the bald punk heard this, he snorted coldly. “Oh? A few plots of land left at home? That’s good. This kid owes us one hundred and eighty thousand. We’ll just sell your land to cover the mortgage! Damn it, go back and get the property deeds!”
Those few plots of land were the lifeblood of Er Lu’s family. His mother absolutely refused to hand them over. She instantly became agitated and cried out: “Heavens! What kind of world is this? They want to seize farmland in broad daylight! You can force gambling on people, fine, but now you’re trying to drive us to extinction? You—you have a cruel heart! I’ll fight you!”
Saying that, she lunged straight toward the bald punk.
The punk became enraged, kicked the market auntie so she tumbled over, and pointed at her nose, yelling: “You shameless bitch! Murderers pay with their lives, debtors pay their debts—that is natural justice! And there’s only gambling in this world, not forcing people to gamble! It’s your son’s own choice to gamble, don’t you dare blame me!”
Seeing his mother struck, Er Lu’s eyes instantly turned red. He charged forward like a maddened beast: “How dare you hit my mom? I’ll beat you to death!”
The bald punk was caught completely off guard and was tackled by Er Lu. In the ensuing confusion, he took a flurry of punches, but the surrounding thugs immediately closed in, raining down a barrage of blows from their clubs onto Er Lu. In just a few strikes, he was beaten to the ground.
Er Lu rolled around on the ground from the severe beating, emitting screams like a slaughtered pig.
His mother listened, her heart twisted with agony, and she cried out loudly to the bystanders: “Murder! Help! Someone!”
But the passersby, witnessing the scene, either stopped to watch or pointed and sneered relentlessly. Not a single person stepped forward to help, and not even one person pulled out a phone to call 110. The coldness of the world and the indifference of human relations were fully exposed.
Su Chan couldn't bear to watch and whispered, “Yundong, he still shows some concern for his mother. He must have a shred of compassion left. Help him out, okay?”
By this time, Li Yundong was already boiling with righteous indignation. Although he was angry at the mother and son—one being greedy and materialistic, the other unreasonable and tyrannical—what enraged him even more was the thugs’ arrogant, bullying behavior in public, preying on the weak and the old!
“Stop it!!” Li Yundong couldn't hold back, and with several swift bounds, he leaped from the side of the road—
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