Shui Miao and his grandfather arrived at the intersection just as Sun Jihong drove up in his car. Sun Jihong let Xiong Ying and Shui Miao go ahead while he stopped to order the food first.
Sun Jihong nodded eagerly and drove off first.
In reality, Sun Jihong hadn’t actually made any banquet arrangements. His main purpose was to see whether Xiong Ying had confidence in solving the problem. Now that he knew Xiong Ying was certain, he naturally felt delighted and hurried off to make the banquet reservations.
Lin Hai Grand Hotel was only a few hundred meters away.
This hotel was one of the top establishments in Haiwan City, standing nineteen floors high with luxurious decor and extremely high consumption standards. Ordinary working people rarely came here; a simple stir-fried vegetable dish could cost 99 yuan, consisting of only about ten tender cabbage hearts. This was Shui Miao’s first time here. Xiong Ying had visited twice before and was not unfamiliar with it. Shui Miao had worked in Zhonghai, where the hotels were also quite luxurious, no worse than this place. However, entering such a place formally as a guest for a meal was a first for him.
After parking their bikes, Shui Miao and his grandfather had just entered the hotel when Sun Jihong rushed out to greet them. He was sweating profusely and panting heavily, his eagerness clearly visible.
“Master, please, follow me.”
Wiping sweat from his face, Sun Jihong led the way. The group of three took the elevator directly, and he casually pressed the button for the ninth floor.
The number nine pleased Xiong Ying greatly, as nine was considered the supreme number in the eyes of feng shui masters.
Looking at Sun Jihong, Xiong Ying feigned modesty: “Jihong, you really didn’t have to go to such trouble. A simple meal somewhere would have been fine. Coming here is too extravagant.”
“No problem, it’s just a meal,” Sun Jihong waved it off casually. Then he noticed Shui Miao, who seemed about his age. “Master, who is this?”
“Oh, this is Shui Miao; he’s my only disciple,” Xiong Ying introduced with a smile while stroking his beard.
This was the first time Sun Jihong had met Shui Miao.
Shui Miao and Sun Jihong exchanged glances. Sun Jihong smiled warmly and extended his hand. “Brother Shui, nice to meet you.”
“Um…”
Shui Miao had never shaken hands with anyone before. Friends usually just patted each other on the shoulder. This sudden formality made him feel awkward. “Nice to meet you too…”
“Brother, you seem quite young,” Sun Jihong, careful not to slight the master, also treated the master’s disciple with equal respect. “Hehe, I’m twenty-nine, so I must be a few years older than you.”
“Yeah, I’m twenty.”
Shui Miao replied briefly, showing little interest in continuing the conversation.
Worried Shui Miao might say something inappropriate, Xiong Ying quickly changed the subject. “Jihong, is your older brother not coming?”
“Oh, he’s out meeting clients today and definitely won’t make it.” Sun Jihong didn’t elaborate but started sending a text message on his phone.
At that moment, the elevator dinged as the doors opened.
Sun Jihong stepped out first, leading Xiong Ying and Shui Miao into a private dining room called Sihai Pavilion. A female server, around eighteen or nineteen years old, quickly followed in to help arrange the chairs.
“Jihong, are there more people coming?”
Xiong Ying usually only ate vegetarian dishes, which didn’t cost much. Seeing that Sun Jihong had reserved a private room made him feel it was too wasteful. He would rather use that money for gambling than spend it like this.
“No, it’s just the three of us. The dishes are already ordered. What kind of alcohol would Master like?” After finishing his message and putting down his phone, Sun Jihong prepared to call the server to bring the drinks.
Xiong Ying waved his hand quickly. “Jihong, since this is our first meeting, you don’t know my ways. I’m a Daoist practitioner; there’s no need to be extravagant. Just order a couple of vegetarian dishes and a bowl of rice. No alcohol, please.”
“Haha, Master, no need to be so modest with me. My older brother already told me you eat fish and drink alcohol. I won’t order recklessly.” Sun Jihong was well-prepared. He asked the server to bring two bottles of Shenlong Ye (Divine Dragon Liquor) and urged her to hurry with the dishes.
“Okay, I’ll go right away…”
The young female server hurried out, clearly nervous, probably a new employee.
Shui Miao glanced at the server and turned back, only to catch Sun Jihong staring at the server’s behind with obvious lust in his eyes.
What kind of person is he? Shui Miao frowned immediately. He turned to look at his grandfather, who seemed to notice too and gave Shui Miao a slight head shake while making a calming downward hand gesture.
Shui Miao took a deep breath and recalled his life in Zhonghai.
In the hotels there, most servers were young girls just entering society. They were very young, often fresh out of school and looking for jobs. Naive to the ways of the world, they had little defense against those adept at deception. Often within months, they were deceived and lost their innocence, their lives and dreams ruined. Many of these girls would fall into despair, becoming victims of predatory men. Shui Miao disliked this kind of society. Why had modern people become so lustful, willing to destroy someone’s life for a moment’s pleasure? Shui Miao even thought that such men deserved to die, unworthy of existing in this world.
Shui Miao had a strong sense of justice, but reality was harsh, not allowing him to fight evil and uphold justice in his own way.
Sun Jihong had no idea that a single glance had revealed his inner depravity, earning him Shui Miao’s disdain.
The private room fell silent. Shui Miao rested his chin in his hand, his thoughts racing.
Xiong Ying picked up the menu. He had always been treated to meals before and had never seriously looked at a menu. Today, seeing the prices, he was genuinely shocked.
As everyone seemed lost in thought or focused on the menu, Sun Jihong picked up his phone again to continue sending text messages…
Soon, two servers wheeled in a food cart and began placing the dishes and alcohol on the table.
Shui Miao happened to glance sideways and saw Sun Jihong’s hand resting against the female server’s leg. She didn’t seem to notice and continued serving the dishes. But Sun Jihong grew bolder, moving his hand upward…
Seeing the server resembled Xiaoxiang a bit and being molested by Sun Jihong, Shui Miao was filled with rage. He suddenly stood up and said, “Grandpa, I feel a bit unwell and need to go downstairs first.”
Without waiting for a response, Shui Miao strode out of the private room.
Seeing this, Sun Jihong was startled, quickly withdrawing his hand and standing up in confusion…
“Hehe…”
Xiong Ying smiled faintly and said to Sun Jihong, “Don’t worry, he had something bad for breakfast and isn’t feeling well. Nothing serious. Well then, let’s drink…”
Though he said this, Xiong Ying was inwardly sighing, blaming Shui Miao for being too impulsive. There were many ways to deal with bad people, and one needed to use their head.
So the two began drinking.
Xiong Ying had mastered the Yin-Yang Five Elements Kung Fu. He could neutralize the harshness in the alcohol by slightly circulating his energy, and the alcohol itself would be expelled through sweat.
Shenlong Ye, a premium liquor costing over a thousand yuan per bottle.
Xiong Ying found sipping from a small cup unsatisfying, so he poured a large bowlful and drank it all at once like a beverage, leaving Sun Jihong in awe.
“Master, you sure can drink!” Sun Jihong exclaimed, raising his thumb in admiration.
Xiong Ying stroked his beard and smiled lightly, “Haha, this is nothing. To be honest, I’ve never actually gotten drunk.”
“Really!” Sun Jihong expressed surprise outwardly but inwardly doubted. He thought, “At your age, even if you can hold your liquor, three bottles and you’ll be flat on your back. If I don’t let you drink, you’ll think I’m stingy. Today I’ll make sure you drink until you surrender.”
“Master, since you’re such a heavy drinker, you must drink to your heart’s content today!” Sun Jihong called out to the server, “Go bring a case of it.”
“Okay…”
A case of six bottles, nearly ten thousand yuan!
The server didn’t dare delay and hurried off to fetch the liquor.
However, before the server could bring the alcohol, Xiong Ying had already finished off the two bottles by himself…
Half an hour later, Sun Jihong walked out of the private room in panic and went to a quiet spot to call his older brother, Sun Jijun.
Sun Jijun hadn’t left Haiwan City yet. He was currently at a rooftop pool of a building, surrounded by bikini-clad beauties, indulging in pleasure.
“Brother, it’s bad! Master Xiong is going to kill someone!!” As soon as the call connected, Sun Jihong lowered his voice urgently.
“Kill someone?”
Hearing this, Sun Jijun immediately raised his hand to silence the beauties around him. “Don’t panic, tell me slowly. What exactly happened?”
“He’s already drunk eighteen bottles of Shenlong Ye by himself!” Sun Jihong’s heart was bleeding. Nobody spent money like this—it hurt!
“What!”
Upon hearing this, Sun Jijun immediately stood up from his reclining chair. “Eighteen bottles! How is that possible? Are you sure the liquor was fine?”
“It’s definitely real! I tasted it myself! You’ve got to come quickly. He’s not even drunk yet. It seems like he could drink another eighteen bottles and still not get drunk!” Sun Jihong was almost in tears. If this continued, his private savings would be completely drained.
The Sun family business was entirely under Sun Jijun’s control.
Sun Jihong was just Sun Jijun’s follower. He was simple-minded and not involved in business, with only about 100,000 yuan in private savings.
If Xiong Ying continued drinking like this, Sun Jihong would soon be bankrupt.
Sun Jijun paused for a moment before saying, “Little brother, don’t panic. We’re not short on money. Tell him I’m on my way back. Let him keep drinking. If he can drink this much, he must be capable. As long as he solves the villa problem, even a hundred bottles wouldn’t be too much.”
“Okay then, I’ll wait for you to come settle the bill,” Sun Jihong finally felt relieved.
※※※
After hanging up the phone, Sun Jihong returned to the private room and found that Xiong Ying was already gone…
The female server hurried over and said, “Boss Sun, Master said he’s going downstairs to find his apprentice first. He asked you to settle the bill immediately and head to the villa to meet him.”
Sun Jihong was stunned, not expecting Master Xiong to leave without saying goodbye. Looking down, he noticed the two cases of liquor that had been brought in were missing. “What happened? Weren’t there two unopened cases here just now?”
“Oh, Master took those two cases away, saying he’d give them to his apprentice as drinks,” the female server also looked puzzled.
“As… as drinks…”
Sun Jihong swallowed hard, not knowing what else to say.
At that moment, the hotel manager and security guard walked in. The manager smiled and said, “Boss Sun, time to settle the bill? The food is on the house, but you’ll have to pay for the alcohol.”
“Ho… how much?”
Looking at the manager’s insincere smile, Sun Jihong’s tongue felt numb, as if he was the one who had been drinking all along.
“50,000 yuan.”
The manager shrugged, saying it very casually.
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