The trio chatted and laughed, finally arriving at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport after a full day of flying. As soon as they disembarked, Alba, worn out from the journey, immediately clamored for a hotel, yet Chris and John, back in China once more, were bursting with energy and excitement.
John immediately dismissed Alba’s suggestion, stating, “No, no, it’s still morning. We need to hurry and get to Master’s city while it’s early. It’s quite a distance from here!”
Chris checked her watch too and added, “Hmm, the high-speed rail in this country is the fastest in the world. I’m sure we can make it from Shanghai to Tiannan City by noon. We might even make it to Tiannan University in time for lunch.”
John cried out dramatically, “Good heavens, the food at that university is notoriously awful! The queue alone could starve me to death!”
Chris shrugged her shoulders. “Then we’ll just eat somewhere near the campus.”
John grinned. “Great idea, my treat!”
Alba couldn't help but flare up, “Are you two in the habit of ignoring me now? Aren’t you afraid I’ll cause trouble for you?”
Chris and John both turned their heads simultaneously, giving Alba a strange look. They abruptly switched to conversing in Chinese. John said, “Chris, I think the Saw method would be better!”
Chris shook her head. “That’s too bloody!”
John exaggerated, “Is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre not bloody?”
Chris stated matter-of-factly, “I think it’s better if you teach her a few choice curses, and then have her go greet those officials at the gate of the Chinese government building. If she does that, even if she isn't thrown into a black site prison, she’ll be immediately deported back home.”
John chuckled wickedly, “That’s a good idea, I like it!”
Alba watched the two of them conferring furtively in Chinese, punctuated by sinister little chuckles. Though she couldn't understand a word, she still felt a chill run down her spine. She threw her hands up in surrender, saying, “Fine, fine, I won’t cause trouble. Stop whispering and plotting to murder me in Chinese.”
John burst into laughter. “Alba, you’re so smart!”
Alba kicked John angrily. “You bastard, I curse you to fall off a cliff and die someday!”
John snickered, “I don’t do mountain climbing or bungee jumping!”
Alba rolled her eyes at him. “Nonsense, of course I know that, otherwise would I dare issue such a curse? My curses are very effective!”
Chris stepped in to mediate, “Alright, alright, let’s go catch the high-speed train. It’s getting late.”
The three of them hurried towards the train station, dragging their luggage. With the men tall and the women beautiful, they drew many curious glances along the way.
Upon reaching Tiannan City, the trio hailed a taxi. Chris got in and told the driver, “Master, please take us to Tiannan City University.”
The cab driver was startled to see such a beautiful foreign woman speak such fluent, idiomatic Chinese. He dared not overcharge her and drove them steadily to the school gate.
It happened to be the university’s midday break. Standing amidst the dense, black tide of people, the three of them stood out starkly, drawing the gazes of the surrounding students and faculty.
Alba looked critically at the main gate and buildings of Tiannan University, shaking her head repeatedly. “Good heavens, this school is at least fifty years behind us! You expect supermen to emerge from this place? I don’t believe it!”
John, thinking of seeing Li Yundong soon, was buzzing with excitement. Uncharacteristically, he didn't argue with her, but scanned the area with his eyes, seemingly searching for a glimpse of him.
Chris, standing beside them, was also craning her neck to look. After a moment, she spotted a familiar figure. She suddenly waved her arms enthusiastically and shouted loudly, “Feng! Feng!”
She called out a few times, but the person ignored her. Only then did she realize she had called the wrong name and shouted louder, “Feng Na!”
Hearing this shout, Feng Na, who was walking out of the school while chatting with Cheng Cheng, stopped and looked up curiously in the direction of the sound. Upon seeing the sight, she froze. “Chris? Why is she here? Is the school hosting another exchange program?”
Cheng Cheng, beside her, her eyes twinkling, let out a knowing chuckle. “A beauty from across the ocean has come to snatch your lover!”
Feng Na glared at her. “What man? I don’t have a lover!”
Cheng Cheng said with a mischievous grin, “Don’t pretend. Your dream man, you know what I mean!”
The smile on Feng Na’s face immediately faded, and she sighed softly. “It’s not my place to think that way. Don’t joke about something I wouldn’t even dare dream of. Let’s go see Chris. I wonder why they came.”
Since Feng Na and Cheng Cheng had attended Zhou Qin’s birthday party with Chris and the others, they had developed a decent private relationship, even exchanging gifts when they parted ways.
Feng Na walked over with a smile and asked in English, “Chris, why have you come?”
Chris, however, replied with a broad smile in Chinese, “I’ve come to find Li Yundong.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Cheng Cheng subtly pinched Feng Na’s arm.
Feng Na glanced sideways at Cheng Cheng, sighing inwardly, but maintained a polite smile as she replied in English, “Chris, you traveled all this way just to find Li Yundong?”
Chris, unaware that the girl before her was already feeling a touch jealous, blinked her eyes and said, “Yes, I came to ask him to be my Master.”
John crowded over as well and added, “I’m here to apprentice as well!”
Alba, not wanting to be left out, poked her head in and stated very seriously, “I’m here to curse him!”
Feng Na gave Alba a strange look, thinking: Who is this woman? Is she crazy?
Though strange, Feng Na still smiled politely at Alba, then turned back to Chris and said, “Li Yundong hasn’t been to school for a long time.”
Chris and John exclaimed simultaneously in surprise, “What? Did he drop out?”
Feng Na shook her head. “Not exactly, he just filed for a temporary leave of absence!”
John groaned wryly, “Damn it, what do we do now? Where did he go?”
Chris quickly pressed for details. “Then what is he doing now?”
A look of profound admiration appeared in Feng Na’s eyes, and she said proudly and somewhat boastfully, “He opened his own teahouse. I even went for the opening ceremony last time.”
Cheng Cheng on the side also started showing off excitedly, even though she had used this topic as bragging material more than once: “Do you know who attended the opening celebration? The Provincial Party Secretary, the top leader! Ah, that’s the equivalent of your governor!”
“Governor?” Chris, Alba, and John all gasped in unison and exchanged glances.
In America, while politicians like governors often engaged in showy populist gestures, and meeting or even chatting with a governor wasn't unusual, inviting a governor to the opening of any business was no small matter—it was a demonstration of resources and connections.
Chris knew Li Yundong possessed exceptional skills and superhuman strength, but she hadn't known he also had such political backing. She paused, stunned for a moment, then asked, “Where is this teahouse? Can you take us there?”
Feng Na and Cheng Cheng exchanged a look, and Feng Na smiled. “Sure, I’ll give him a call and see if he’s around.”
She took out her phone and dialed, but the call went straight to voicemail. Feng Na couldn't help but scold, “That jerk! I told him last time not to use his cell phone like a landline, but he never listens!”
She turned to Chris helplessly. “Never mind, let’s just go find him. His teahouse has only been open for less than a month; he should be managing the business there every day. We can drop by, take advantage of his generosity, and call it robbing the rich to help the poor!”
Chris smiled slightly. “Sounds good!”
John also shouted excitedly, “Master opened a teahouse? That’s amazing! I want to go drink tea too!”
Only Alba, dragging her luggage, complained loudly, “Hey, hey, are we just going to drag our bags around everywhere?” But after whining for a while, she saw Chris and John chatting and laughing with Feng Na and Cheng Cheng, walking further and further away, completely ignoring her. Filled with resentment, she stomped her foot and sulkily chased after them.
When the group finally reached Di San Xian on Tiannan City’s pedestrian street, Feng Na was shocked to find the Di San Xian Teahouse completely shut, not open for business!
She gasped in surprise and quickly asked a hostess from the Zhao Family Teahouse across the way, “Excuse me, why is the teahouse across the street closed?”
The hostess replied with a hint of schadenfreude, “It’s been closed for sixteen days!”
Feng Na’s face turned pale with alarm. “What happened?”
The hostess shook her head slightly. “I don’t know.”
Feng Na stood rooted to the spot, only coming back to herself after a moment. She forced a smile for the hostess. “Thank you for your time.” As she turned to walk back, she overheard the hostesses by the door whispering, “With the way they solicit customers, it’s no wonder they closed down!”
“Exactly, no one does customer solicitation like they did!”
Feng Na found their comments strange and turned to look at them, but the hostesses immediately stared straight ahead with blank expressions, as if they hadn’t spoken at all.
Feng Na was suspicious, and Chris beside her asked hesitantly, “Feng Na, what’s going on?”
Feng Na shook her head, her face etched with worry. “I don’t know, but something bad has happened! Damn it, I don’t know where Li Yundong lives, and he won’t answer his phone. What do we do? What should we do?”
Alba, seeing the two of them speaking Chinese, tugged John to translate. After listening, she sneered, “This Li Yundong fellow must be afraid I’ll curse him, so he’s hiding like a coward!”
Feng Na and Cheng Cheng were instantly furious and glared at Alba. Just as Feng Na was about to retort, they overheard two men walking nearby whispering to each other: “This True Man Li is truly cautious. For the Lotus Gathering, he handed the shop over to those seductive vixens to manage early, and now he’s closed the doors entirely! Say, do you think he’s forging some powerful magic treasure?”
“Possibly, but no matter what he prepares, it will be useless! Hey, Senior Brother is worrying too much. Once his magic treasure is refined, even if Li Yundong has heaven-defying abilities, he’ll have to submit!”
“That’s not necessarily true. True Man Li’s abilities aren’t just talk; they were forged in one fight after another.”
“Tch, what forged in fights? He has so many seductive foxes around him. Even if he could fight, they’d grind down the iron rod to a needle. By the time of the Lotus Gathering, his legs will be weak; how will he fight?”
As they spoke, the two men chuckled quietly.
Feng Na heard them mention True Man Li and suddenly had an idea. She recalled that at the opening ceremony, hadn't someone also referred to Li Yundong as True Man Li?
She thought to herself: Could the True Man Li these two are talking about be Li Yundong?
With this thought, Feng Na couldn’t help but step forward and ask, “Excuse me, are the True Man Li you’re speaking of Li Yundong?”
The two men were surprised that their casual conversation had been overheard by Feng Na. They immediately stiffened slightly, sizing her up with guarded eyes, and said warily, “Who are you?”
For more novels, visit storyread.net.