Teahouse

Private room

The two men sat on the ground, each with two cups of tea in front of them. The tea was freshly brewed and steaming, and the swirling smoke hinted at a trap.

The man in white looked across at the other side, smiled, and then gently picked up the teacup. "I'll offer you a cup of tea instead of wine."

The person opposite him, however, seemed to show no respect whatsoever, his face remaining icy cold. Even when the man in white picked up his teacup, the man did not react.

The man in white was used to this. He finished his tea, wiped his lips, and said, "Zhou Xiong, there's something I need you to do."

The burly man gave the man in white a cold look. "As expected, no one comes here unless they have a reason. Sorry, I'm busy today."

After saying that, he got up to leave.

As Zhang Peng slowly poured tea, he said unhurriedly, "I know you won't leave, so there's no need to put on this show. Also, don't test my limits. The fact that I'm sitting down and talking to you politely is giving you face, but if you don't want this face, then don't blame me."

Are you threatening me?

Zhou Xiong never really intended to leave; he was just trying to scare them and increase his bargaining power. However, Zhang Peng brought up this well-known fact.

This made him a little embarrassed.

However, considering that he hadn't been able to open for business for several dozen days, he had no choice but to go back in order to make a living.

"Goal, reward."

Zhou Xiong remained as taciturn as ever.

"Heh." Zhang Peng chuckled and said casually, "Money really is omnipotent."

He paused for a moment, then looked up at Zhou Xiong and said, "The Sun family."

"Rewards." Zhou Xiong emphasized these two words.

"Don't you have a younger sister who was sold to a brothel? If you can complete the task I give you, your sister will have a chance to become free. How about it? Isn't that a tempting offer?" Zhang Peng said with a smile.

He slowly stood up.

Looking down at Zhou Xiong, seemingly enjoying the latter's interesting expression, Zhou Xiong said after a while, "Add one more condition: provide my sister with all the money she needs for the rest of her life. If you agree, tonight, no one in the Sun family will survive."

In his eyes, an extreme darkness slowly emerged.

"No, keep Bai Liu; I have a good use for her."

Zhang Peng did not deny Zhou Xiong's words, which meant he was certain.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Xiong's usually indifferent face suddenly broke into a smile. "Alright."

After saying that, he strode out.

Not long after he went out, a man walked in. Zhang Peng stood up and said, "Big Brother."

Zhang Ming nodded, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, and said, "You're reliable. See? Just a few words and you've got someone working for us, hahahahaha..."

"Brother is still the best." Zhang Peng smiled.

...

The world was dark, without a single ray of light.

Only the faint candlelight sustained the pitiful dawn.

In his confusion, Zhou Mu couldn't see east, west, south, or north, but his heart was extremely calm. Suddenly, a wall appeared in front of him that was even higher than the sky. Looking up, he couldn't see the end of it.

"Open the door."

Zhou Mu said calmly.

Nobody paid him any attention.

The vast emptiness of life echoes from afar.

Where is he?

Where should he go next?

Nobody knew, including him.

Darkness surged in like a tide, and the pitiful glimmer of light could not sustain its brightness. Just as the darkness was about to engulf him, he awoke.

He slowly opened his eyes.

After a good night's sleep, I felt as if I had just gone through a major battle; my limbs ached and I felt completely powerless.

"elder brother……"

The little girl's sweet voice carried in from afar.

Zhou Mu wanted to turn his head to look at the little girl, but he couldn't manage it. Fortunately, the little girl realized that Zhou Mu was in trouble, so she skipped in, climbed on Zhou Mu, and looked at him with her big eyes full of questions.

The little girl frowned, as if she had thought of something. "Brother, have you been doing something bad behind my back?"

Zhou Mu said helplessly, "Dandan, why would you think that way? Besides, is your brother a bad person?"

The little girl shook her head, but seemed somewhat uncertain. Then she quickly nodded, puffing out her rosy cheeks, and said, "That's hard to say. My brother doesn't tell me about the bad things he does."

"You silly girl."

The little girl giggled a few times, then skipped and hopped away.

At this moment, Lu Shan came in carrying a basin of hot water. After a quick wash, he saw Zhou Mu still lying in bed and said, "I said, aren't you getting up yet?"

Zhou Mu said with a dark face, "I had a nightmare. Let me catch my breath."

"Oh." Upon hearing this, Lu Shan immediately became interested, raising his eyebrows and laughing, "Could it be that you've done something wrong? Having nightmares in the middle of the night? Tell me, what kind of nightmare did you have? Did someone steal your wife? Hahahaha..."

He laughed loudly, looking up at the sky.

Zhou Mu suddenly stood up, swung his arm, and slapped the other person hard.

Snap

With a sharp crack, a tremendous force struck his cheek. Lu Shan was caught off guard and stunned. Lying on the ground, his cheek was swollen and several teeth were missing.

"Didn't you say you couldn't get up?" Lu Shan spoke, but the moment he moved his mouth, he winced in pain. "You hit me so hard, waaaah..."

In the end, perhaps because of the pain, he couldn't help but cry out.

Zhou Mu looked disdainful. "A grown man crying like this? Where's your pride?"

"You hit me... Waaaaah."

Lu Shan kept crying.

She seemed like a newlywed bride who couldn't bear to leave her family.

"Will you cry again?" Zhou Mu pretended to slap him again. Lu Shan was frightened and immediately composed himself. He was just pretending, so he could control his expression at will.

However, he couldn't just stand up as if nothing had happened, so he sat on the ground, waiting for Zhou Mu to back down and help him up. Then he could say something righteous and respectable, and that would be the end of the little incident, giving himself a way out.

However, it was clear that Zhou Mu ignored Lu Shan's plan. He went in and out several times, as if he didn't see the road on the ground, and went about his own business.

Before long, it was noon.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Mu took a nice nap. When he woke up, he was surprised to find that Lu Shan was still sitting there. The swelling on his face had gone down, and he looked thinner.

"Brother, with your perseverance, what can't you achieve? I admire you greatly."