DING!

　　[Fairy Fertilizer: Used to fertilize plants in heaven’s Hundred Herb Garden. Great at increasing the growth of magical herbs. Do you wish to retrieve?]

　　“Wow! So it really does help plants grow. Just what I need right now!” Chen retrieved the fertilizer from his inventory. It came in only a small bag and didn’t seem like there was enough. One bag like this was probably just nice for one use when fertilizing magical herbs. But Chen used it for the Huaguosan peaches and not any magical herb in particular, so this one bag was more than enough.

　　Chen carried Xiaobai in one hand and the fertilizer in another and got down from the car.

　　“Chen? Where’d you get that cat from?” Mother asked.

　　“Oh, this? My friend gave it to me. I was thinking that you and dad would be bored at home, so I got him to keep you guys company.” Chen let Xiaobai down onto the grass and let it go free. The little fuzzball just haughtily strode off to a spot in the garden with sunlight and lazily lay there. Wenyuan, on the other hand, was really chirpy and kept calling out to mother wishing her well, but for obvious reasons, Chen’s mom could not hear her talking at all. Being only a low-level spirit right now, she could not stay out too long under the sunlight and went back into the spirit cage instead.

　　“mom, are you planting the peach seeds?” Chen asked.

　　“Yes. Your dad keeps telling me how much he misses the taste and kept on pestering me to plant them, saying the earlier we plant them the earlier we get to eat them.” Chen’s mom sighed. “You tell me, that old man of yours has already lived so many winters, but he still acts like a kid. Even if I plant these now, it will still take years for them to grow, let alone bear fruit.”

　　“Hahaha, fortune favors the bold. Who knows? A miracle might happen.” Chen chuckled.

　　“What miracle? Your mother has been planting crops for all her life, as if I don’t have any common sense about growing trees?” Mother said.

　　“Then let’s try this.” Xiaobe knelt over the dug up holes and opened the small bag. It was filled with dark and charred bits that looked like coal and ash but had a very distinctive fragrance to it.

　　“What’s that?” mother asked.

　　“Oh, just some special fertilizer that my friend was experimenting on. It’s something really new and high tech, made after lots and lots of research. He calls it the high tech genetically modified nano super fertilizer compound.” Chen said with a straight face.

　　“Oh, so it’s fertilizers… Such a long name, is it any good?” Chen’s mom did not understand what he just said, but with his charm at 7000, she believed him just fine.

　　“My friend said that the effects are wonderful! It might even be better than expected! So, whatever happens, promise me that you will be calm about it! And you mustn’t tell anyone else, this is my friend’s big secret!” Chen warned.

　　“Alright, I get it, I’ll keep this a secret!” mother nodded.

　　Chen smiled and began to sprinkle some of the fertilizer in the three holes in the ground. He dared not use too much, just a little more than a dash of it in each hole. If the effects were too shocking, that could become trouble for him.

　　After filling the holes up with soil and watering over them, Chen stood by the newly planted plots and waited. He expected the fertilizer to show its effects immediately. But after waiting for a while, nothing happened. So he decided to head back inside the house.

　　Back in the house, Chen boiled the Chinese herbs Luo gave him and gave a bowl of the medicine to father. Hearing that it was from Luo, father and mother were both all smiles. Especially father, as he downed the whole bowl quickly. Chen knew without a doubt that Luo was the perfect daughter-in-law in his parents’ eyes, and they were more than just accepting towards her.

　　After chatting with them for a while, Chen went to his room. He had a great haul today, there were a lot of new items that he wants to study. But just as he lid down on his bed, his phone beeped. It was a private message.

　　Monkey King: Brother Chen, are you there?

　　“Hmm? Why is Monkey King looking for me?” Chen was a little surprised. “He did buy one spicy stick from me, but didn’t say anything at all over today’s big fuss, and sifu didn’t bring him up at all… I don’t think he’s looking for me for trouble…”

　　Chen: Yes, Great Sage, how can I help you?

　　Monkey King: I just want to ask you for three God of War’s Body Strengthening Pills.

　　Chen: How did you know I have some?

　　Monkey King: When the chat was in an uproar today, although I kept myself quiet, I was watching from the sidelines. I saw when you acquired that three eye’s Red Envelope.

　　Chen: Since you were watching, why didn’t you say anything? Aren’t you angry at me for the spicy sticks as well?

　　Monkey King: Buying the snacks was totally voluntary, you didn’t make me buy them from you! And besides, they were really tasty, you didn’t lie to me about that! So it was a fair deal, what’s there to be upset about?

　　Chen: The Great Sage is really wise and open-minded! (thumbs up emoji)

　　Monkey King: Haha, Chen is flattering me! So, how about the three pills, can you give them to me?

　　Chen: Sure thing, of course! But I’m just curious, with your level of skill, why can’t you get other items? Why must it be this God of War’s Body Strengthening pills?

　　Monkey King: Oh you have no idea, these pills are used by that damned three eyes to train low-level Heavenly Soldiers. These pills give the best results for those still in the physical stage! I recently came across a very talented young monkey on my mountain and decided to train him. But as you know, I’m on very bad terms with that blasted arrogant asshole, so I can only ask it from you.

　　Chen: So that’s how it is. I’ll just send them over to you right now!

　　Opening his treasure chest and tapping on the pills, Chen sent them over to Monkey King in a Red Envelope and instantly got a reply.

　　Monkey King: Thank you very much brother Chen! If you need my help anytime, feel free to tell me. Don’t be shy!

　　Chen: Well I do have something that I will need your help with, but it’s not an urgent matter so I’ll message you later o’ Great Sage.

　　Monkey King: Sure! No problem! I got to go now, message me personally if you need anything, okay!

　　Chen turned off the chat and immediately opened his treasure chest. “Haha, this is really unexpected! These body strengthening pills are so great that even Monkey King wants them! My strength is going to grow very fast!”

　　DING!

　　[God of War’s Body Strengthening Pill: Used by God Erlang in the training of the Heavenly Troops. Each pill ingested will increase combat and defense by 500. Only limited to the physical stage. Would you like to retrieve?]

　　“Shit! This stuff is dope! If I take all seven of them, I can raise my combat power by 3500! And if I include my current 1000, that’s 4500!” Chen was overcome with excitement. “Just wait until my strength comes close to Murong Tian’s and exceeds Murong Xiaoyao’s! Heh heh heh… That girl dares threaten me? I’m going to whoop her ass!”

　　Chen immediately took one body strengthening pill out and consumed it. He instantly felt a mysterious warmth expanding from his core. The warmth coursed through his whole body like a surging river and he could feel it spreading from his navel to his chest, and finally to his limbs. Everywhere it went, the mysterious warmth excited every bone, sinew, and muscle fiber, making them stronger. Chen could feel his strength gradually increasing.

　　“This is pill is the real deal! It’s faster than slowly training and cultivating strength! The best part is, I can be doing something else while it works!” Chen was delighted. With these pills, he did not need to laboriously train and meditate like he used to. Training to gain strength had always been a time-consuming practice. But with this, not only was his growth rate high but also fast. By his estimation, he would have completely digested the first pill in 24 hours. And by then his combat and defensive strength would have increased by a whopping 500 points! If given any other normal means, that would take three to five years! And that was also given that the person was talented or gifted! If not, a normal human could not even reach this level in their lifetime!

　　“Wakaka… These pills are too awesome! At this rate, I just need one week to digest all seven pills and my combat strength will be 4500! I’m getting excited just thinking about that!” Chen then went on to check his other new items.

　　DING!

　　[Hundred Herb Pill: Made personally by Shennong. Can remedy all poisons and extend lifespan by 10 years. Would you like to retrieve?]

　　“What the f*ck! Extend 10 years! This is crazy! What if I sell this to an emperor or a dictator? How about a Forbes top 50 ranker? How much can I sell this for? Is 10 billion too much?” Chen’s eyes lit up as his mind imagined the possibilities. If Genghis Khan had another 10 years, the Great Yuan Dynasty would probably have even spread all the way to Africa! If Steve Jobs had another 10 more years, his wealth would have increased exponentially! To people like them, spending 10 billion for an extra 10 years to their lives was more than worth it!

　　After calming himself down, Chen continued examining the other items.

　　Ding!

　　[Unholy Spirit Pill: Low-level pill used by spirits in purgatory to raise their cultivation level and strength. Each pill raises 500 combat power. Would you lie to retrieve?]

　　“A pill for ghosts and spirits? This is exactly what Wenyuan needs!” Chen quickly took the pills out and inserted them into the spirit cage.

　　“Wow! Such strong Yin energy!” Wenyuan was surprised. She took a deep breath and absorbed some of the energy emitting from the pills and smiled. “Chen my master, where’d you get these from? I love them!” she said while staring at him with puppy eyes.

　　“Well if you like them then train well ok?”

　　“Yes, sir! Your wish is my command. Hehe, later when I’ve raised my cultivation enough, I’ll change into a maid outfit for you master!” Wenyuan pouted her lips and blew kisses at Chen.

　　“Hold on, I think there’s still something that I can give you.” Chen continues looking at his treasure chest.

　　DING!

　　[Art of Disguise: An unholy skill created by face swapping spirits. Creates perfect masks using yin energies. Would you lie to retrieve?]

　　Chen tapped and retrieved the item and a bluish colored jade talisman popped into his hand.

　　“Wow! What a beautiful piece of jade!” Wenyuan flew closer to the jade to touch it. As her tiny hand made contact with it, ghostly blue light shone from the charm and enveloped her.

　　“So it really is for you. You can try learning this in between your training when you’re taking breaks.” Chen placed the talisman into the spirit cage.

　　“Wenyuan obeys! I’ll work very hard! Then I’ll be able to change into a maid outfit, and also change my face to look like Sora Aoi! Master will definitely love it!” Wenyuan winked playfully at him like a naughty vixen.

　　“Ahem ahem… You, little girl, are too dirty minded… But, I like it! Heh heh heh…” Chen’s face flushed as he smiled perversely. “Oh right! There’s something I have to ask you.” Chen then became serious. “Didn’t your grandfather give you a jade pendant before he passed? Where did you put it?”

　　Wenyuan nodded. “Yes, grandpa did give me a jade pendant for protection. Dad asked me to hide it, so I hid it in my locker in Beyond Fitness. It’s wrapped up in a tiny pink underwear!”

　　“Ugh…” Chen sweated when he heard her. This girl has a really tacky way of hiding stuff… But come to think of it, it’s exactly because it was too tacky that even Wen Tiandou couldn’t find it even as hard as he looked. “Where are the locker keys? I’ll send Xiangyu to retrieve it later. “Chen continued.

　　“There’s no key. Beyond Fitness is the best gym in Greenvine, the lockers use passcodes. Mine is 520520.” Wenyuan then hesitated for a bit and continued, “I don’t think you should send Xiangyu. I’m very close to the people there, if she goes by herself then people will know something’s wrong.”

　　“Hmm, if that’s the case then I’ll come up with something else. Go train, leave this matter to me.” Chen continued browsing his items.

　　DING!

　　[Nightstalker’s Outfit: The uniform of Black Impermanence underlings. Cloaks the wearer at night (Unable to cloak while attacking, affected by strong yang energy). Would you like to retrieve?]

　　“Cloaking? That’s a very powerful ability!” Chen smiled. “With this, I don’t need to send Xiangyu, I can go there myself!”

　　After dinner and when the sky was completely dark, Chen was just about to go and retrieve the pendant when he received an unexpected call from an unwelcome person. It was the Princess Flat Board!

　　“F*ck! Just when I’m about to begin! Why’s this bitch calling me? This is so annoying!” Chen was pissed.

　　“Hey! Chen Xiaobei! Come meet me at the entrance of Beyond Fitness in half an hour!” A bossy female voice said on the other end. It was none other than Murong Xiaoyao. Everyone in Green Vine knew her as the princess of the underworld. But since she was rather flat-chested, Chen calls her Princess Flat Board instead.

　　“Uhh… Where did you want me to go?” Chen startled.

　　“Beyond Fitness! The best gym in Green Vine! You don’t know?” Xiaoyao replied rudely. “Use Baidu Maps, you idiot! Ok, I’m hanging up, I need to shower!”

　　“Hmph! Flat Board Princess! Don’t you dare throw a tantrum at me! Just you wait! I’ll have you kneeling into submission soon!” Chen’s lips twitched in frustration. He quickly donned the night stalker’s Outfit and leaped from his window on the second floor.

　　The Nightstalker’s Outfit was a traditional black suit like those seen worn by assassins in Wuxia movies. Since it was a spirit item, it had a certain level of magical properties as well and can be equipped or taken off just by thought alone. It also came with a ghastly looking mask and a pair of gloves that looked like ghost claws to prevent the wearer from being identified when uncloaked and from leaving any fingerprints. This outfit is really the ultimate assassin’s gear!

　　Beyond Fitness was located in the upper-class area of the city, which was a stone’s throw away from Chen’s villa. Hidden by the invisibility of the outfit, Chen only used less than ten minutes to run to the gym. The gym was as they call it, the best gym in Green Vine City. Just from the size and the posh design outside alone, it gave onlookers a feeling of luxury. With a yearly membership fee of ninety-eight thousand yuan, this gym was definitely not meant to cater for the standard white collar worker.

　　Chen, still cloaked by the outfit, waltzed his way right through the main entrance without anyone noticing. But as soon as he entered the expensive gym, he was surprised to find a big number of kids in there. The youngest of them seemed to be about six or seven, while the eldest appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. And from the clothes that they were wearing, Chen could discern that they were not rich kids, but instead lived in extreme poverty. It would appear that the group of children were not here to workout, but rather to explore a new and exciting place or just to sight see.

　　Chen was bewildered, but he stifled his curiosity. He was here for a different purpose. After figuring out the gym’s layout, he headed for the female’s locker room. It seemed like the entire gym had been booked for the children today and so much to his disappointment, the female locker was empty. Chen’s prospects of peeping on girls had been utterly dashed. But, he was still able to move about freely in the locker room without bumping into anyone and this made looking for Wenyuan’s locker a lot easier.

　　Finding her personal locker, Chen entered the password and opened it. He easily identified the pink underwear that Wenyuan mentioned in the locker but stopped when he saw the underwear. It was a tiny, silky pink piece of fabric with strawberry prints, which made him wonder if was smelled of strawberries.

　　“Wait! The f*ck am I doing?” Chen shook his head and suppressed his inner pervert. Unfolding the underwear, he found a well-crafted piece of jade pendant hidden in it! “So, this is the jade pendant that everybody is after! Just what kind of secret does this small thing hold to have so many people coming after it? Wen Tiandou, Murong Xiaoyao…” Chen curiously examined the pendant but didn’t find anything unusual about it.

　　Just as he was still looking at the jade piece in his hand, he heard footsteps coming out from the shower room. “Shit! Someone’s here!” Chen quickly stuffed the underwear and pendant into his pocket and closed the locker. The next second, however, he was almost unable to calm himself down: The person who stepped out of the shower was none other than Murong Xiaoyao! She had just stepped out of the shower and was buck naked, right in front of him!

　　With her hair behind held over her head, nothing else covered her fair-skinned and limber figure except the water droplets. The moisture glistening in the light, making her well-maintained figure much more attractive and alluring. Especially her super-model legs which, as hard as Chen tried, was having a hard time taking his eyes off them. It was driving his blood pressure and heart rate high that he was about to spray blood from his nose!

　　Too bad it’s a little too small…” Chen shook his head in disappointment as he looked at her chest. But then he remembered something and an evil grin flashed on his face. “There’s a boob massaging technique written in the Medicine King’s Journal that can help with this! Too bad we’re not on good terms, or I might just consider offering her help!”

　　As Chen was thinking to himself, Murong Xiaoyao had absolutely no idea that a pervert was ogling her body, just right next to her. She did not change into her clothes in a hurry and instead took out her phone. “Better give that Chen a call now. He better not show up late or he’s gonna get it!” Xiaoyao started dialing.

　　Chen was startled and slipped out of the locker room as fast as he could. His phone was not in silent mode and if it rang in there, it would be a really big deal… Exiting the gym, he went to a secluded spot and answered his phone, saying that he had already arrived. By a mere thought, he took off the Nightstalker’s Outfit and shrunk it down before putting it away in his pocket, out of sight.

　　After a few minutes, Xiaoyao had changed into some clothing and came out of the gym with the group of children earlier tagging along behind her. Curiously, it appeared that they were close as the lot was chatting away and smiling while they exited the building.

　　“Chen! Over here!” Xiaoyao shouted at him as she waved.

　　Chen walked over towards the group. “Flat… Sorry… Miss Murong, who are these children?” he curiously asked.

　　“They’re from the orphanage. I had a chat with them the last time and we were talking about gyms. So they got curious, and I brought them here for fun.” She replied.

　　“Last time? Do you visit the orphanage a lot?” Chen was astonished.

　　“Yup!” Before Xiaoyao could even answer, a young girl who couldn’t be more than seven or eight replied in her stead. “Sister Xiaoyao often comes to visit us. She does charity work, brings us lots of tasty food and treats, and even buys us school books and out bags!”

　　“Sister Xiaoyao also teaches us martial arts. She’s my idol!” a jock looking boy continued.

　　“This is unexpected. you’re quite the philanthropist.” Chen said in a surprised tone while turning his attention to her.

　　“Of course I am!” Xiaoyao replied proudly.

　　“Then why are you so cruel to me? You actually blackmailed me…” Chen asked with a pained expression.

　　“What blackmail? Don’t be silly!” Xiaoyou pouted. “I just wanted your cooperation, but you were getting too strong, too fast! You’re the kind that doesn’t submit to just anyone, so I was afraid that I would not be able to keep you under control. I had to do what I did for my own protection.”

　　“Protection? You think too highly of me miss. You’re at the pinnacle of the physical stage, how are you even afraid of me?” Chen retorted.

　　“Oh but I am,” Xiaoyao replied without hesitation. “My instincts are telling me that you are very dangerous! And that I need to do this to stay safe.”

　　“Haha, I don’t believe this.” Chen may have said that, but he was secretly elated by her words. To be able to make someone many times stronger than him feel threatened was somewhat of an achievement to him.

　　Just as he was about to continue their conversation, a black Benz pulled up in front of them and a young man in a suit came out of the car. He had a rose in one hand and a big smile plastered on his face as he walked up to Xiaoyao. “Xiaoyao! I’m not late am I?” Chen’s first impression of the young man was not bad, but as soon as he spoke again, everyone there just wanted to slap him badly.

　　“Shit! Where did these pests come from? Go beg somewhere else, and stay away from my girlfriend!”

　　The orphans did not have much confidence in themselves to begin with, and were a timid lot. When the young man shouted at them, they all got scared and took a few steps back.

　　“It’s okay, nobody’s gonna hurt you.” Xiaoyao quickly comforted them. She then turned and glared at the young man. “Xiao Jianzhong! Watch your tongue! These are my friends you call pests! You are scaring them!”

　　Watching all that happened, Chen was disgusted by the man, but also changed his impression of Xiaoyao for the better. This girl was much kinder than she appears to be and would very much be a good friend.

　　“Aiya why didn’t you say so! I love kids!” Xiao’s expression changed instantly. “Hey little friends, why don’t big brother bring you all to the karaoke? Won’t that be fun?”

　　“No…” The kids all hid behind Xiaoyao as if hiding from the big bad wolf.

　　“Jianzhong are you nuts? They’re kids! Why’d you want to take them there?” Xiaoyao was angry.

　　“Xiaoyao, how can you say that to your boyfriend?” Xiao responded with a cunning smile.

　　“Pssst! I’ve rejected you more than eight hundred times! Since when have I ever agreed to become your girlfriend?” Xiaoyao’s expression hardened. She then grabbed Chen by the arm and leaned against him before saying, “You better open your eye wide and see this clearly! This guy here is my real boyfriend!”

　　“What?!” Chen and Xiao both exclaimed, unable to believe what she just said. Especially Chen, who was still trying to get a grip on the situation.

　　“Wait, everybody just hold on for a minute, okay…” Chen pulled Xiaoyao away from the others and whispered, “What’s this? You called me here to act as your shield against that asshole?”

　　“Yep! I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend to get that hateful bastard away from me!” Xiaoyao nodded.

　　“You think I’m stupid? Look at him! He looks like he’s from a rich and powerful family, and you’re asking me to piss him off while you have everything to gain from this? You must be dreaming!” Chen is no fool and out rightly rejected her.

　　“Don’t you think that he’s an asshole and want to beat him up so bad?” Xiaoyao asked instead.

　　“Oh, you don’t say! I wanted to slap him in the face when I heard him yell at the children!” Chen replied.

　　“If that’s the case then what’s the matter? Are you scared?” Xiaoyao was obviously trying to taunt Chen into doing her bidding. But Chen isn’t one to fall for her tricks.

　　“Scared? I don’t remember seeing that word in my dictionary!”

　　“Then it’s settled! Help me get him to piss off!” Xiaoyao pressed on.

　　“Don’t pull me into your mess! What do I get from doing this? I’m not doing this for nothing.” Chen replied.

　　“Nothing? You get the privilege to act as my boyfriend and you still want more?” Xiaoyao replied angrily.

　　Chen pouted and stared at her chest before condescendingly say, “You’re as flat as a washboard. What privilege are you talking about?”

　　“You’re the one that’s flat! Your whole family is flat!” Xiaoyao was angrily stamping her foot on the ground. “Chen Xiaobei! Don’t forget that I know your secret!”

　　“What the f*ck? You literally just said that you didn’t want to blackmail me, that it was just for protection, and now you’re threatening me with it? Again?” Chen winced.

　　“Hmph! Didn’t you know that a woman can be fickle minded? You better not test my patience!” Xiaoya held both her fists up tightly and stared at Chen.

　　“Fine! You win!” Chen said, through his teeth. He then wrapped his arm around her waist and placed his hand on her belly before pulling her close to his side.

　　“What are you doing?” Xiaoyao was surprised. She had never let any guy get this close to her before.

　　Chen looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Didn’t you want me to be your play pretend boyfriend? This is me acting my part!” he said in a serious manner. However, he was smiling cunningly on the inside. “B*tch! You still dare threaten me? If I don’t do take this chance to touch you all over, won’t I be the one losing out?” Chen thought. His paws were now boldly touching and feeling her small waist up. Her skin soft and smooth, and nice to the touch. Xiaoyao was very angry at Chen for touching her like that and wanted to beat him up so badly! But with so many people watching them, she could not do so or her lie will be exposed. She could only leave him be as they both made their way back towards the others.

　　“Xiaoyao… Is this punk really your boyfriend?” Xiao’s face twitched when he saw how close the two of them are.

　　“Of course he is! What? Did you think that I’d simply make this up?” Xiaoyao glared at him while pushing herself closer to Chen’s side, making them appear intimate to the others.

　　“How could you!” Xiao’s face was turning purple from anger. “My grandfather saved your family once, even your father has agreed to our union! How can you be so ungrateful!”

　　“Hello! Are you dreaming? Father merely said that we can try getting along first, since when did he agree to us being a pair? And please, stop going around telling people I’m your girlfriend! Even if you’re not embarrassed, I still am!” Xiaoyao replied sternly.

　　“I don’t care about that!” Xiao did not back down, and instead held his rose up and said, “Either way, you have to accept my rose today! Or I’ll tell everyone that you, Murong Xiaoyao, are an ingrate, and that your father, Murong Tian, never keeps his word!”

　　“Jianzhong! You lying bastard!” Xiaoyao was gnashing her teeth. “If it wasn’t because of dad saying not to go physical on you, I’d have beaten you up by now!”

　　“I don’t give a flying f*ck about that! You must accept my rose!” Xiao didn’t budge.

　　“This bad guy is bullying Sister Xiaoyao!”

　　“Liar liar pants on fire! How can a grownup be so shameless!”

　　“You jerk! Stop bullying Sister Xiaoyao!”

　　“Stop bullying Sister Xiaoyao…”

　　A few of the older kids who were much mature than him stood out to defend Xiaoyao, but were screamed at by Xiao instead. “You vermin, better shut the f*ck up! This is not your place to talk! Step aside, if you don’t want to die!”

　　The kids retreated after being yelled at. They were just kids after all. But just at that moment, a hand came out and grabbed at Xiao’s rose. It clenched into a fist with the rose in it and destroyed the flower right in front of Xiao!

　　Chen then looked at Xiao with one eyebrow raised, a gleam of fervor in his eyes, as he said in a condescending tone, “Xiao Jianzhong! Am I invisible to you?”

　　Not Leaving? More Slapping!

　　“Wow! Xiaobei Brother is so ballsy! He ripped that bad guy’s flower apart!” The jock said in excitement.

　　“You don’t say! Xiaobei Brother is Xiaoyao Sister’s boyfriend, of course, he’ll chase that bad guy away!” another older kid said.

　　“Where can I find a man like that to protect me? He’s so cool and so reassuring!” a young little girl with eyes wide open in admiration said, with all the cuteness she could muster.

　　Just like that in the glimpse of an eye, Xiaobei instantly became the children’s hero, and Xiao’s nemesis.

　　“Motherf*cker! Who do you think you are, to destroy my rose! Do you think I won’t kill you!” Xiao yelled angrily.

　　“I’ll be honest with you, before this I just wanted you to get out of my sight. But now, I want to slap the shit out of you!” Chen said. “I’ll give you ten seconds. Get lost or get slapped!”

　　“You want to slap me? Are you stupid or what? Do you even know who I Xiao Jianzhong am? Slap the shit out of me and you’ll be sleeping with the turtles in Green Vine River tonight!”

　　*SLAP!*

　　Before Xiao could finish his sentence, Chen’s hand had already found its way across to his cheek and a swelling red hand mark was instantly visible on his good-looking face.

　　“This one is for scaring the kids!” Chen said in a cold voice before sending another hand out.

　　*SLAP!*

　　Xiao’s other cheek started swelling up as well.

　　“This one is for threatening a woman!”

　　*SLAP!*

　　“This is for using profanities in front of children!”

　　*SLAP!*

　　“This is for acting like you’re the boss of everyone else!”

　　“Boohoohoo…” Xiao’s face is now swollen and puffed up like a huge bun. Trails of blood streamed down from both ends of his lips. It was painful to watch. But just as he thought that Chen was done slapping him…

　　*SLAP!*

　　This slap was so hard, Xiao spun backwards and fell hard onto the ground, breaking his tooth.

　　“Boohoohoo… What was that for?” Xiao asked as he got up from the ground.

　　Chen merely looked at him and said, “Didn’t I tell you to get lost in ten seconds? Well, it’s been more than that. If you still want to hang around here, I don’t mind slapping you a few more times!”

　　“I…” Xiao felt a shiver go down his spine. He didn’t dare to stay any longer and ran away from Chen. After getting into his car, he turned back and screamed at the group. “You piece of shit! Just wait! I’m going to see Murong Tian right now and see how you deal with him!” And with that said, he sped off into the night.

　　‘Wow! Xiaobei Brother is so cool! That bad guy got what he deserves!”

　　“From now on, other than Xiaoyao Sister, Xiaobei Brother will also be my role model!”

　　“That’s right! Only Xiaobei Brother is a suitable guy for Xiaoyao Sister!”

　　“Hehehe, what a matching couple…”

　　The kids chirpily chatted away, all sincere smiles and praises for Chen and this gave his ego a little boost. He then wrapped his arm around Chen’s slim waist again and continued touching and rubbing his pervy paw along her waistline, taking advantage of the situation again. Xiaoyao had thought that what Chen did was very manly and wanted to thank him. But before she did, she felt Chen’s hand feeling her up and blushed instead.

　　“Get your hand off me!” She pulled his grimy paw away and kept a distance from Chen. She then took out her phone and called someone to come pick them up. Soon, a bus drove into the entrance and the kids lined up and boarded it.

　　“I need to send the kids back to the orphanage. You can leave now, we’re done here.” Xiaoyao told Chen.

　　“I’d like to check out the orphanage too! I wonder what the director looks like?” Xiaobei smiled and got on the bus.

　　“Get off! The bus is full, we don’t have enough seats!” Xiaoyao scolded as she followed him up the bus. Chen then pulled her onto his lap and said, “Well if there are no seats left, you can sit here with me!” Chen smirked as he felt her bouncy bum on his lap. He could still smell her green apple scented shower body shampoo and a wicked smile flashed across his face.

　　“You pervert! Let me go!” Xiaoyao muttered under her breath while she struggled and glared at Chen. They were on the bus with the kids so she did not want to cause a ruckus. If she did that right now, the kids will figure out that she was lying and get really disappointed.

　　“Nope. This is payback for threatening me!” Chen’s smile widened as he tightly wrapped his arms around her. “Now I have some leverage. If you don’t play nice, I’ll tell the kids that their Xiaoyao Sister is a great big liar!”

　　“You think they will believe you?”

　　“Well, you saw how much they looked up to me. What do you think?” Chen laughed.

　　“You jerk! You think you can threaten me?” Xiaoyao wanted to beat Chen up so badly but didn’t, because doing that would only make the children sad.

　　“Hey, I learned from the best. Now sit down quietly and stop moving around or I’ll have to slap your behind!” Chen replied.

　　“YOU! Ugh! I really want to choke you right now!” Xiaoyao was bursting with frustration. She, a strong fighter at the pinnacle of the physical realm, is letting a perv taking advantage of her, and yet she can’t do anything about it! Xiaoyao was on the verge of tears. She knew that she shouldn’t have threatened him in the first place and is now regretting her decision thoroughly.

　　“Oh right, who’s the guy I slapped? And what’s his deal with your dad? I need to know in case he comes for me later.” Chen asked.

　　Xiaoyao may be angry, but being the nice person that she was, she was also afraid of Xiaobei getting into trouble because of her. She calmed herself down and explained to him just who Xiao Jianzhong was. “There was once, when the gang got into trouble, and father had to borrow a large sum of money from Xiao Jianzhong’s grandfather. But after the crisis was over, father had returned the loan with ten times the amount he borrowed as thanks to the old man.”

　　“Both our families have always been on good terms with each other since then, until a few years ago when Old Man Xiao passed. The Xiao Family suddenly came to us and brought up history, claiming that the gang is indebted to them and demanded that father repay their kindness. They even went around and claimed that they were affiliated with father, and used that connection to start all sorts of business.”

　　“Father still feels indebted to them, so he let it slide, but they got too bold. They started running illegal businesses. They recently even started a Beast Fight Colosseum, and word is, people even died in there!”

　　“A Beast Fight Colosseumeum? what’s that about?” Chen had heard of the Colosseum from the Roman Empire where gladiators fought to the death for the entertainment of the masses, but he would never have thought that there would be one in modern times, let alone in this very city.

　　“I’m not sure about the details, all I do know is that they are pitting animals against each other in that wretched place and making money out of it,” Xiaoyao said in a disgusted tone.

　　“Well if that’s the case, then this Xiao Family are just businessmen and aren’t really that dangerous.” Chen was slightly relieved.

　　“Well, the family might not be strong alone, but they are on close terms with the Black Tiger Gang’s southern general. In fact, the Colosseum is under the Black Tiger Gang’s protection. If Xiao is coming for you, he’ll definitely get help from them.” Xiaoyao warned.

　　“The Black Tiger Gang again? Huhuhu, well what a coincidence! I have some unfinished business with them. Let them come! I’ll trample them all!” Chen smiled with malice in his eyes.

　　Before they knew it, the bus had arrived at their destination. As it was already quite late when they arrived at the orphanage and the children had their own curfew, they quickly bade Chen and Xiaoyao goodnight and hurriedly washed up and prepared for bed.

　　Xiaoyao had thought that Chen was tagging along as an excuse to take advantage of her, but as soon as they arrived, she was rather surprised to find him taking a tour of the orphanage by himself and even snapping some pictures on his phone.

　　“What are you taking pictures for?” Xiaoyao asked. She was obviously still annoyed at Chen.

　　“To share this on my Weibo!” Chen was browsing through his gallery and picking out pictures to post them on his wall.

　　“That’s stupid.” Xiaoyao rolled her eyes at Chen. “And here I was thinking that you are quite manly and matured, but here you are, taking pictures of your visit to the orphanage and posting them on social media like an attention whore. Showing off that you’re doing charity but you’re actually not doing jack shit! You’re just as pretentious as the other volunteers that come here!” Having helped the orphanage for a while, she has been disappointed again and again by the many other people who signed up to help, just to camwhore for praise and attention over their social media accounts.

　　“Awww… So you actually thought that I was manly and matured?” Chen smiled. He was actually rather elated by her earlier remarks.

　　“Well, you crashed Shi Dabiao’s underground casino, defeated and even killed Dufeng, beat Shi Kelang into a cripple, and leveled Pegasus Bar. I have been keeping a close eye on your achievements, and frankly, I thought you were really cool and brave. But now, I find you very disappointing!” Xiaoyao’s face twitched in disgust.

　　“Hoho, come let me show you how I use Weibo, then tell me what you think again.” Chen handed his phone over to her. Xiaoyao did not expect much, decided to take a glance at it, and was instantly amazed.

　　Chen had uploaded nine pictures of the orphanage into one post, showing how old and worn down it is and how lacking its facilities are, from the lack of warm water for baths to the badly maintained kitchen. And on the caption on the post, he wrote: “A trip to the orphanage. I’ll skip the pep talk. Half of the revenue made during the launch of Beicheng Jewelry will be donated to charity! I am committed to making this happen! Anyone is welcomed to keep tabs on this! Countdown to launch: 2 days

　　Chen had just posted the pictures, but it was already getting attention from the 130,000 fans.

　　Mr. En: Holy shit! Brother Bei is so awesome! Half of the revenue to charity! That’s got to unprecedented! This is history in the making!

　　Henry Rafael: No doubt about that! That’s half of the costs and profits there! It’s going to be a huge amount of money!

　　Anon: Doing charity, even at a loss! When it comes to being bold, there’s no one else like Brother Bei!

　　Summer Xiaohou: This makes me proud to be a member of the Harem! Brother Bei is really the most chivalrous person the world has ever seen!

　　…

　　Chen’s loyal fans started getting active and shared his post across their walls, messages, pages, and groups. In just a few seconds, the likes, comments, and shares kept pouring in wave after wave, and it quickly became the most trending news on Weibo. And as word spread, more and more new faces joined the ranks of Chen’s fans club, and more and more netizens promised to show up at the launch.

　　“How is it? Am I awesome or what?” Chen asked the stunned Xiaoyao.

　　“En…” Being an underworld princess Xiaoyao had seen a fair share of big deals and surprises, but none of that has prepared her to calmly react to what Chen did. First, it was how effective and efficient Chen’s harem was. In just mere minutes, and the post had already been liked and shared a few thousand times! Second, is the big donation. She had been following Chen’s Weibo and know just how much hype there was for the launch of Beichen Jewelry, the forecasted sales figures for the launch alone was estimated to be in the billions! Chen was willing to donate half of that! For any startup or rookie businessman, that was a really risky but cool thing to do! It was not just awesome, it was super freaking awesome!

　　“Then help me share the post would you?” Chen chuckled.

　　“Ok, I’ll share it right now.” Xiaoyao nodded and shared his post on her phone. “If you really do this for the orphanage, I’ll delete the video. And I’ll promise to bring your secret to my grave!”

　　“Awww, so you do have a heart!” Chen teased. When he decided to make the donation, he had sincerely wanted to do charity and help those in need. His other purpose was to use this to accumulate more merit points. Xiangyu needs 300,000 points to change his body, and this was a good way for him to earn those points. And now, with Xiaoyao’s unexpected promise, this deal just got a whole lot sweeter for Chen!

　　“Don’t celebrate just yet! If I find out that you were just using the orphanage to hype up your business and forget about the donations, I will personally find you and break all three of your legs!” Xiaoyao said while waving her small fists.

　　“Chill, I’m a man of my word. Besides, you’re free to come and watch me throughout the whole event!” Chen shrugged at her, but he was secretly smiling inside. “Hmph! Break my legs? I’ve got the body strengthening pills and in just a few more days, my combat strength will be greater than 3000! I would be slapping your bum instead!” he thought.

　　Xiaoyao could not hear his internal monologue and just nodded. “If you’re really sincere in doing this, I promise to stop blackmailing you. But you still need to find that green jade safety pendant for me!”

　　Chen was startled. He had absolutely forgotten that he was carrying the pendant in his pocket, as well as Wenyuan’s strawberry mini. “So what’s the deal with the pendant? If you want me to help you, shouldn’t you be telling me why?” Chen asked. He was not just going to simply hand it over without finding out what the pendant really was and why so many people were coming after it.

　　“Sorry, I can’t tell you that! But if you find it for me, I’ll give you ten million in cash!” Xiaoyao replied.

　　“Ok. Just give me more time. Wenyuan is rather mindful of that pendant and won’t tell me about it. I’ll need to find a way to slowly persuade her.” Chen lied. It was obvious that the pendant held a very important secret and could be of great benefit to him. Compared to that, ten million in cash was just chump change. But even with that said, with his current strength, he had no chips to bargain with Xiaoyao yet. All he could do was to focus on increasing his strength to a level that is on par with Murong Tian before he could openly bring up the pendant and negotiate for a better bargain!

　　*RING!*

　　Just as he finished, Xiaoyao’s phone rang. Upon answering her phone, Murong Tian’s deep voice could be heard on the other end of the line. “Xiaoyao, if you are with Chen, bring him home. Now!”

　　“What’s the matter?” Chen asked.

　　“It must be that Xiao Jianzhong! That asshole must have gone home and snitched us out to father! Father wants me to take you to him now!” Xiaoyao replied.

　　“Ugh… Can I not go?” Chen was troubled. Although he had a good impression of Murong Tian, he knew that nothing good would come of this meeting. Especially since that asshole Xiao Jianzhong was involved!

　　“You idiot! You’re my pretend boyfriend, remember? If you don’t show, everyone will figure it out!” Xiaoyao said sternly.

　　“Hold up, I was just pretending to be your boyfriend! Are you telling me that I have to do this for life?” Chen retorted.

　　“I don’t care! You are already part of this charade, so you’ll have to continue pretending, even if you don’t want to! And besides, when father says he wants to see someone, there’s no one he cannot see!”

　　“Ugh…” Chen’s brow twitched. As much as he hated admitting it now, no one in Green Vine City had the guts to deny Murong Tian if he wanted to see them personally.

　　“Ok fine… I’ll go with you. But I have a plan! Here’s what we’re going to do…” Chen quickly explained his plan. And when he finished, Xiaoyao’s eyes were wide with bewilderment as she stared at him as if he was the most cunning man on the planet!

　　…

　　North Mountain Residences. Three men were seated in the living room of the Murong Villa. Murong Tian was seated in the main seat in the middle, calmly meditating with his sandalwood rosary in his hand. Even while not doing anything, the biggest boss of Green Vine’s underworld still exuded an aura of overflowing dominance and superiority. The other two men were a younger and older duo, who seemed rather impatient, and were seated on the sofa to the left. The younger man’s cheeks were terribly swollen. He was no other than Xiao Jianzhong. The middle-aged man seated next to him was his father, Xiao Zhe.

　　“Master Tian, both our families are life-long allies, and my father had helped you in your greatest time of need. I demand justice for what happened to my son today!” Xiao Zhe said in a serious and forceful tone.

　　“Don’t worry Brother Xiao, I have just instructed Xiaoyao to return home with Chen Chen. We will find out what happened soon enough.” Murong Tian calmly replied.

　　“What’s there to find out? Look at my face! This is proof, right here! What else is there to it? I will have my vengeance! I want to slap that piece of sh*t’s face until it is disfigured with my own hands!” Xiao Jianzhong scolded through his teeth.

　　Murong Tian glanced at him with a hint of anger in his eyes. “I’ve met Chen Chen in person before, and he did not strike me as a rash young man. I will give him a chance to explain himself.” Since becoming the most powerful man of the city’s underworld, he had never let anyone get away with such disrespectful behavior. At then, he was contemplating teaching the young man some manners.

　　“What else is there to ask? He’s not one of us! Did you forget how grandpa helped you and saved your gang? Or are you really going to be ungrateful simply because of an outsider?” Xiao Jianzhong said while staring back at him.

　　Murong Tian heard him, and gently set the rosary down aside. He turned and glared at the young man, exuding an aura of superiority and dominance. “I, Murong Tian, have been walking the path of Jianghu for twenty years. I always pay my debts. I have never let anybody dictate what do and how I should deal with my matters, and most especially, not by someone like you!” He said in a calm voice. His words may be simple, but they carried the full weight of his authority in every letter. Xiao Jianzhong froze where he was, a feeling of regret and impending doom creeping up on him. His father, however, was much experienced in situations like these and was not as deeply affected as his son. But he too knew that Murong Tian was furious.

　　“You moron! How dare you speak up to Uncle Murong like that?” Xiao Zhe slapped his son on the back of his head before turning to face Murong Tian. “Master Tian, I apologize for my useless son’s rash behavior. Please let him off this once on account of my father.” He said politely.

　　Murong Tian picked up his rosary and said, “Very well, I will not take this to heart. As for the matter this evening, if the fault really lies with Chen, I will not stop your son from getting his revenge!”

　　“Well said! This is good enough!” Xiao Zhe said and looked at his son, both father and son had a vengeful look in their eyes. Just as this was happening, unnoticed by everyone in the room, the pocket in Xiao Jianzhong’s jacket mysteriously moved.

　　Meanwhile, just outside the villa gates, Murong Xiaoyao was standing alone and waiting. Chen had run off to do his “business” in the woods near the villa. But he had been gone for a while and there were no signs of him returning yet.

　　“Sorry. Did you wait long?” Chen suddenly popped out from the bushes nearby.

　　“I’m starting to think that you’re not right in the head. There are so many washrooms in my house just over these gates, but you had to go use the woods. What a weirdo…” Xiaoyao then quickly ushered him into the premises.

　　Before they entered the front door, Chen stopped her and asked, “Are you ready?”

　　“Yes, I’m ready!” Xiaoyao Nodded.

　　“No, this won’t do, you don’t even look the slightest bit vexed! This is totally amateurish!” Chen pouted.

　　“Then, what do you want me to do? I’ve already told you that I’m not a good actor, but you still insisted that I can…” She retorted.

　　“I know! We can use some “props”! Don’t move…” Chen licked his fingers and wet the edges of Xiaoyao’s eyes.

　　“Ewww! What are you doing? That’s disgusting!” Xiaoyao was surprised. That sleazebag was actually rubbing saliva on her face! That was so disgusting!

　　“No! Don’t you dare wipe them off!” Chen said in a serious manner. “This makes you look like you’ve been crying, and your acting will become much more believable! Now let’s get inside quick, before they dry up.”

　　With that said, they both pushed open the front doors and entered, and the three men already seated and waiting inside turned to look at them. “Go…” Chen gave her back a light push.

　　“Boo-hoo-hoo… Dad! You must help me…” Xiaoyao cried out as she ran over to her father and wrapped herself around his arm. She squinted her eyes and pouted her lips, and together with Chen’s saliva still wet on her face, she really seemed like she was crying like a damsel in distress.

　　“Xiaoyao? What’s the matter? Come, tell me!” Murong Tian frowned. For as long as he could remember, his little girl has always been the kind to act tough in front of him. But what could have happened to make her cry so much right now? Xiao Zhe and his son’s faces twitched.

　　“Xiaoyao my dear, just tell daddy what happened. Even if the sky is falling down, daddy will hold it up for you!” Murong Tian’s expressions and tone changed into that of a doting parent.

　　“Boo-hoo-hoo…” Xiaoyao sniffled and pointed at Xiao Jianzhong. “This pervert molested me! He’s horrible! Boo-hoo-hoo…”

　　“Pffttt…” Hearing that, Xiao Zhe and Xiao Jiangzhong both almost fell off their seat. Chen secretly gave Xiaoyao the thumbs up. They had been rehearsing this over and over again on the way here, but he was still worried that her acting might not be good enough and easily seen through. But what he did not expect was that this girl’s performance was absolutely perfect! Absolutely Oscar perfect!

　　“What! Molest? Xiao Jianzhong! What is the meaning of this!” Murong Tian bellowed and slammed his rosary onto the table. Xiao Jianzhong shivered as he felt an overwhelming and murderous chill creep up around him.

　　“That’s not true! Uncle Murong, this is slander!”

　　Xiao Jianzhong felt a shiver run up his back. His whole body was shivering from the sheer cold and frightening killing intent that was overflowing from Murong Tian. It felt as if he had fallen deep into an ice cave in Antarctica.

　　“Murong Xiaoyao! Stop throwing false accusations at me! I didn’t even lay one finger on you, how the hell did I even molest you?” Xiao Jianzhong’s face was already red from anxiety, and his father was not looking too good as well. Xiao Zhe had come here with his soon seeking revenge, but had the tables turned against them by Xiaoyao, instead. Although used to dealing with many different people in the business and underworld, this unexpected change of events caught them by surprise and threw them off guard. The accuser had become the accused.

　　“Bullshit! My daughter is already crying like this, how could she be simply accusing you!” Murong Tian said angrily. His deep voice sounded like a roaring tiger that was about to attack Xiao Jianzhong and tear him to shreds, terrifying Xiao Jianzhong to his bones.

　　“Master Tian! Please calm yourself down!” Xiao Zhe tried to defuse the situation to stop it from becoming any worse. “You know what my son is like, a little rude and roguish sometimes, but not the kind to lay a finger on your daughter!”

　　“But he did! He’s a pervert! Scum! Asshole! Moron…” Xiaoyao had had enough of Xiao Jianzhong’s haughty attitude and took the chance to let herself go all out mouthing off him. The more insults she piled on, the more she got into it. Letting go of all of her pent up resentment and contempt for Xiao Jianzhong for how he treated the orphanage children, how he had been going around and calling her his girlfriend in public, and how many times father had to turn a blind eye to the Xiao’s because of his debt to Old Man Xiao. Seeing how emotional she was when cursing at Xiao Jianzhong, Murong Tian discerned that she was not acting, and his anger intensified.

　　“Xiaoyao! Stop spouting nonsense!” Xiao Zhe was getting really anxious as he saw Murong Tian’s expression darkened the more she scolded. “You accuse my son of molesting you, but that’s just what you say! Now unless you have evidence, I refuse to believe that my son would do something like that! And I will not stand for your blatant slander!”

　　“That’s right! Father is absolutely right! This is slander! How dare you claim that I molested you?” Xiao Jianzhong snapped out of his fear and shot back at Xiaoyao.

　　“Xiaoyao, do you have any proof?” Murong Tian asked her softly.

　　“I am the evidence!” Before Xiaoyao could reply her father, Chen took the chance and stepped into the conversation. He strode towards them and said in a righteous manner, “I personally saw this Xiao Jianzhong bastard molesting Xiaoyao! And in a fit of anger, I beat him up!”

　　“What did you say?” Xiao Jianzhong jumped. He angrily continued, “You little piece of shit! Tell me which eye of yours was it that saw me molested her? You are just baselessly slandering me!”

　　Xiao Zhe who was listening in on the side also responded, “You little bastard! You and Xiaoyao are both are in this together! How dare you two slander my son!”

　　“Silence!” Murong Tian bellowed. “Let the boy talk!”

　　“Right… Right…” Xiao Zhe did not dare outright challenge Murong Tian’s authority in his own house and kept quiet.

　　Chen nodded and started telling his story, “We were supposed to meet up today, but as soon as I got there, I saw this asshole pestering Xiaoyao in an indecent manner, all the while with a pink underwear over his head! Xiaoyao couldn’t fight back or stop him and he continued doing all sorts of lewd and perverted things to her. Finally, he got really bold and forced her into a corner, and was even about to take his pants off! Absolutely shameless! Committing such a despicable act in public, in front of other children passing by! This hooligan was tarnishing our great city’s name and image!”

　　Chen then continued, “So as an upstanding citizen and righteous youth of the nation, I couldn’t bear to watch any longer! Especially when this is happening to my girlfriend! So I charged at him and taught him decency with my own two hands!” Chen had been practicing his lines on the way there, and was able to make his words sound righteous and just. His acting was so compelling and emotional, Xiao Jianzhong found himself tearing up despite being the villain in his story. Chen was simply too good at muckraking, Xiao Jianzhong’s name was so deep in mud and dirt, it would take a mining expedition to recover it!

　　“Xiao Jianzhong! Is this true?” Murong Tian frowned at him. He of could not just take Chen’s words as the truth.

　　“No, of course not! This little piece of shit is obviously framing me!” Xiao Jianzhong said through his teeth. “You want to play dirty? Fine! I also saw this kid molesting Xiaoyao! And also a lot more other girls! If his words are true then how about mine?”

　　“Enough talk! All these accusations are just empty words! Where’s the evidence? Where’s your proof? If you can’t show us anything, that’s just slander!” Xiao Zhe interrupted.

　　“Chen Chen, Xiaoyao, do you both have any proof to your claims?” Murong Tian asked them in a serious tone. Xiaoyao felt a pang of guilt when she heard her father, and did not know how to respond. They did not discuss anything about making up evidence while rehearsing.

　　“What kind of evidence could they possibly have? This is obviously an attempt to frame me for something I didn’t do!” Xiao Jianzhong noticed Xiaoyao’s expression and pressed on. “Uncle Murong! I’ll be slapping this a** wipe today, whether you allow me or not!”

　　Murong Tian’s face sank, he was furious at Xiao Jianzhong for speaking to him in such a rude manner. No one in Green Vine City had ever spoken to him like that and lived! But because of his debt to Old Man Xiao, he could only swallow his pride and let him off like nothing happened. Deep down, he secretly hoped that Chen had evidence of Xiao Jianzhong’s wrongdoing, so that he would have a proper reason to teach that rude prick a lesson. And Chen did not disappoint. “Hey you, Xiao boy! Don’t get your hopes up just yet. Do you think I’d be here and waste all our time without any proof?”

　　“Bah! Everything you said just now, right down to the punctuations, is a lie! If you really have proof, I’ll ram my head into the wall right now!” Xiao Jianzhong scoffed.

　　“Hohoho, I’m really wondering if you have shit for brains? I may not have brought evidence with me, but there’s one that can show us just how much of a pervert you are on you! Don’t you remember? You put the pink underwear into your jacket’s pocket!” Chen replied. He was smiling in anticipation for what is about to happen.

　　“Hah! You’re crazy! I’ve only got cigarettes in my pocket! I can turn my pocket inside you right now and see what else can you say about it!” Xiao Jianzhong was very sure about what he has in his pockets, and so he did just that without any hesitation at all. And so… A strawberry print pink underwear fell out of it, right in front of everybody.

　　“Pffttt…” Xiao Jianzhong was stupefied! His eyes bulged larger than that of a cow’s. Not even if he had a hundred more brains could he comprehend how exactly could this underwear have been inside his pocket!

　　“Xiao Zhe! So, this is the son you raised!” With this cold hard evidence, Murong Tian stopped holding his anger. On the other hand, Xiao Zhe’s face was now bright red from the embarrassment. As if he was slapped continuously, from left, right, up, down, and center.

　　“No! That’s impossible! Murong Tian! You’d rather trust an outsider than me? Don’t you remember how grandfather helped you? Are you not being ungrateful?” Xiao Jianzhong was too bewildered, and in his confusion, he started raving like a madman.

　　*SLAP!*

　　But before he could finish raving, a loud slap found its way across his face and sent him flying across the room and onto the floor. Murong Tian scowled and scolded, “Old Man Xiao was such an upright and respectable person. If he sees you, his grandson, acting the way you did today, how could he be resting in peace? If I don’t slap you for tarnishing his name, then that would make me a real ingrate!”

　　“Wu…wu….”

　　Xiao Jianzhong laid on the ground, howling in agony. The skin on his face had been split open and there was shockingly bloody palm print on it.

　　Clearly, Murong Tian was outraged.

　　“Calm down Master Tian! This is Xiao Jiangzhong’s fault. I apologize to Xiaoyao on his behalf! Please don’t be mad!”

　　Shuddering, Xiao Zhe hurriedly ran over to shelter Xiao Jiangzhong.

　　“Hmph! Your son did such a thing and you’re asking me to calm down? He touched my daughter! He might as well have slapped me in the face!” Murong Tian scowled, his tone menacing, “From today onwards, I rescind Xiaoyao’s order of not hitting your son! If Xiao Jianzhong dares to cause trouble again, he will bear the consequences!”

　　“Haha! This is just too great!” Xiaoyao’s face lit up with joy, “Did you hear that, Xiao Jianzhong? Next time, if you show up anywhere near me, your life will be beaten out of you!”

　　“I… I understand…” Xiao Jianzhong gulped. His face dripping with tears and snot. He wouldn’t dare to ever bother Xiaoyao again.

　　Murong Tian turned his gaze towards Xiao Zhe and said, “From today onwards, your family and mine are no longer associated! You are not allowed to use my name to run your dirty businesses anymore! Or else, I will personally destroy all your business!”

　　“What…” Xiao Zhe looked as if he had just been struck by lightning.

　　All this while, his businesses had been relying on Murong Tian to sail smoothly.

　　Now that Murong Tian wanted to cut off all connections with him, his business will surely take a dip for the worse. His losses would be nearly impossible to estimate.

　　“Master Tian, you can’t do this! Have you forgotten my father’s kindness towards you?” Xiao Zhe dripped with cold sweat.

　　“I am indeed indebted to elder Xiao. But I, Murong Tian, have done everything I can to repay his kindness. You should know better than anyone, how many bad deeds you have done all this time! Get out of my house now! Do it before I kick you out! Take care!”

　　Murong Tian deepened his voice. A powerful presence filled the air instantly.

　　There was nothing that they could do when Murong Tian made the announcement.

　　Xiao Zhe knew better than anyone that Murong Tian would never change or break his words. Thus, Xiao Zhe left the mansion with his son.

　　“Dad! That was so cool! I’ve been waiting for this day, for a long long time!” Xiaoyao cheered excitedly, a bright smile plastered across her face.

　　“Go wash your face. Good thinking – smearing all that saliva on your face!” Murong Tian laughed. Murong Tian smiled and said.

　　Xiaoyao was shocked, “Dad, you saw through that earlier?”

　　“I wouldn’t still be secure in my position today if I can’t see through these small tricks.” Murong Tian replied.

　　“It’s that idiot who painted saliva on my face! Today’s wiles were all his ideas. He is full of chickenshit!” Xiaoyao pouted. When she got reminded about her beautiful face is covered in spit, she fumed with anger and blamed everything on Chen.

　　Chen felt a sting, wondering how he would explain himself.

　　But Murong Tian laughed, “That’s not chickenshit, it’s called resourcefulness! In fact, I have to thank him.”

　　“Thank him? for what?” Xiaoyao looked puzzled.

　　Even Chen Xiaobei was a little flattered himself.

　　Murong Tian explained, “I have tolerated the Xiao family for a very long time. I have not had the chance to draw the line with them. Thanks to Xiaobei, today I can finally find a good reason to cut off with them completely.”

　　“If that’s the case, then you had already known earlier about our plan and you have been playing along all this time!” Xiaoyao’s eyes widened.

　　Chen was stunned as well, after all, that had happened tonight, the person who had acted the best was Murong Tian!

　　“Hahaha, life is like a play! It all depends on your acting skills! If I hadn’t played along, your efforts would’ve been wasted.” Murong Tian patted his daughter’s head lovingly, seemingly in a good mood.

　　Chen was a little taken aback, he had never thought that he would see this side of Murong Tian.

　　A playful person was always the most down-to-earth person.

　　An outsider wouldn’t have related him to Green Vine’s underground emperor.

　　After that, Murong Tian made tea himself, and allowed his daughter to order any fruits or desserts as she pleased. He sat Chen down and they talked while enjoying the tea Murong Tian brewed.

　　Just like that, in this serene atmosphere, they talked till it was ten, and then Murong Tian instructed his driver to send Chen home.

　　As Chen was leaving, Xiaoyao protested, “Dad! What is with you today? How could you make tea for that idiot?!”

　　Murong Tian only smiled and said, “What is so unusual about that? Would you have our honored guest make his own tea?”

　　“Hmph! Don’t patronize me!” Xiaoyao said.

　　“Last time, when the mayor visited, you let the nanny serve him tea! Is Chen Xiaobei more honorable than the mayor?”

　　“Silly girl. You cannot judge a book by its cover! The contents of a book is far more important than anything else!” Murong Tian said.

　　“Content? What content could that idiot Chen Xiaobei possibly have?” Xiaoyao was very unhappy.

　　“I could see through the mayor but I can’t see through Chen. This young man has hidden many things behind him, one cannot simply make an assumption!” Murong Tian said thoughtfully.

　　“Dad, you’re overthinking this. How come I do not see anything?” Xiaoyao wrinkled her forehead.

　　She had never heard her father praise a young man like this before.

　　“Time will show you. But you must remember to make friends with Chen Xiaobei, don’t ever make yourself his enemy!” Murong Tian commanded.

　　“Okay, I will…” Xiaoyao nodded. She understood clearly that her father was not joking.

　　Because of the effect of God of War’s Body Strengthening Pill, Chen no longer had to stay up all night to practice, he could get all the sleep he needs.

　　But early next morning, he was rudely awakened by a scream.

　　“That’s mother’s voice!”

　　Chen’s heart clenched, worried that something bad had happened. He jumped out of bed and ran to the balcony.

　　“Oh my god!” Chen could not help but exclaim at the scene before him.

　　Right there in the center of the villa’s garden were three lush peach trees.

　　Every one of them was two-floors tall. Their trunks thick and strong, their branches dense with leaves.

　　Hanging among the leaves were humongous pink peaches, juicy and plump exactly like the Mount Huaguo peach he ate the last time.

　　There was no doubt that, these are from the seeds that he had planted yesterday. He had used the Fairy Fertilizer and today, they were brimming with fruit.

　　That was completely unnatural!

　　“Xiao… Xiaobei… What happened?” Chen’s mom was as pale as a ghost. Nothing she knew could explain this.

　　Chen was also troubled, and quickly said, “Please go inside… I will explain it all to you…”

　　“It’s like this. A friend of mine has developed a high tech nano-integrated super-compound fertilizer! That is why the peach trees grew so quickly. The fertilizer is mainly made up of… Erm…even if I explain it to you, you wouldn’t understand.”

　　Chen activated his power of making-up-semi-believable-stories and fired away, “Anyway, all you need to remember is that this is currently the world’s most advanced technology! Our country’s highly classified information! Many of our nation’s enemies want to get their hands on it! So, if this gets out, we will be sinners in our country’s eyes!”

　　“Oh… How critical! We won’t say a word at all! Absolutely not!” Chen’s mom’s face crumpled in panic, her forehead wet with perspiration.

　　Chen’s dad, on the other hand, wore a grave expression on his face, he said in a stern manner, “We Chens, will never betray our country! This secret will die with us!”

　　When both elderlies have expressed their firm positions on the matter, Chen let out a loud sigh of relief. It’s a good thing his parents never went to school – and so are easily deceived.

　　“If anyone asks, we’ll tell them that the peach trees were transplanted here. As long as the three of us are on the same page, no one will suspect anything!” said Chen.

　　“Alright! No problem!” both Chen’s parents nodded their heads resolutely.

　　“Why don’t you sit here, I’ll go and pluck some peaches for you to taste.” Chen grinned and walked towards the garden.

　　Their saliva nearly spilled over when they heard that they would get to bite into some of those peaches.

　　That delicious sweetness of honey peaches had already been deeply imprinted in their hearts. Just thinking of it would invoke a sort of insufferable thirst and hunger.

　　Very quickly, Chen had picked about a dozen of large round peaches. After he had washed them, he presented them to his parents.

　　They were not shy at all. They each picked one up and immediately sunk their teeth into the juicy peaches.

　　Just then, Xiaobai came out of nowhere. His beady eyes were fixed on the peaches sitting on the coffee table.

　　“Little greedy cat!” Chen laughed, stood up and went to get a bowl from the kitchen. He cut open a peach and placed them in the bowl for Xiaobai.

　　That little guy was supposed to be an arrogant Frosty Jade Lion Spirit Beast. But when it came to eating, he revealed his true self – gobbling like a hungry pig. His face was covered in peach juice!

　　What was arrogance? He had already long forgotten it.

　　“How is it?” Chen picked up another peach.

　　“It tastes really good! Just as I remembered it! But I feel like there’s something missing…” said Chen’s dad.

　　What is missing?

　　Chen scratched his head and took a bite out of the peach in his hand.

　　It tasted as it should, mouthwatering – but that comforting feeling… Was missing.

　　Chen thought about it for a while and realized that he should not be surprised at all.

　　The honey peaches on Mount Huaguo that Monkey King had stolen were grown on the soil of Pantao Heavenly Garden and has longevity and strengthening effect on the body.

　　The peaches grown in his own garden would, naturally, not be able to produce the same effect.

　　“What are you babbling about? Nothing’s missing! It tastes exactly the same!” Chen’s mom said between bites. “Xiaobei, go get some more. Later, when Luo comes over to treat your father using acupuncture, give her some to bring home!”

　　“Oh, she’s coming today?” said a baffled Chen.

　　“She comes every three days! What kind of boyfriend are you? How incompetent!” Chen’s mom fumed.

　　“Listen to your mum! Go get more peaches. It’s because of Luo’s treatment that I was able to recover! You must pick the biggest and the best one for her!” Chen’s dad ordered.

　　“Er… Okay…” Chen felt troubled. His parents favored Luo so much. Did that mean that he would not even have a place in his family?

　　*Sob…*

　　Suddenly, Xiaobai cried, and blinked at Chen, as if saying, I’m here for you.

　　Damn, that was how deeply-bonded a Spirit Beast could be!

　　Chen was pleasantly surprised, feeling somewhat comforted. He then went off compliantly to pluck peaches.

　　After that, Chen’s mom took a couple of hundreds to go grocery shopping.

　　Normally, she was very frugal. The money that she took was almost a month’s expenses. But to welcome her darling daughter-in-law, she had gone all-in!

　　More than two hours had gone by.

　　Chen was lying in his bedroom and browsed through the Red Envelope chat group when he heard a burst of loud noises as well as the barking of what that seemed to come from large dogs – deep and rumbly – from outside his house.

　　Something was not right. He got up and went out to inspect.

　　Chen’s mom sat on the ground, the contents of her shopping bag scattered around her.

　　About half a meter away was a black BMW SUV.

　　A brawny guy came down the car and barked at her, “Are you blind, old woman? Crossing right in front of my car! If I hadn’t swerved in time, you would be dead!”

　　“Woof! Woof! Woof…”

　　In the backseat of the BMW was a ferocious German Shepard, cavorting and barking incessantly.

　　Chen’s mom, pale with fear, quivered, “I made sure there was no car before I crossed the road. It was you. You were driving too fast. You came out of nowhere…”

　　“Motherf*cker! How dare you blame me?”

　　The man’s tone grew aggressive, “Are you trying to pull a ‘crash for cash’ me? You run into me, put all the blame on me and then ask for compensation? Are you trying to extort money from me?”

　　“I don’t want money… I’m just reasoning with you…” Chen’s mom explained.

　　But the man didn’t want to listen, he raised his voice and snapped, “What a load of crap! Do you know who I am? How dare you try to blackmail me? Bored of living?”

　　“I…” Chen’s mom was frustrated and felt greatly misunderstood but she didn’t want to stir any trouble. So she stood up to leave.

　　But she had hurt her ankle during the fall and could not stand upright, causing her to fall towards the car.

　　“What the hell! Are you really that desperate to extort my money? Die!” the man hollered. He raised his hand and gave her a violent shove, causing her to lose her balance. This time, because she was not prepared, she fell on the back of her head. This could turn out bad!

　　“Mom!”

　　At this critical juncture, Chen rushed over like a cheetah, catching hold of her at the last moment.

　　“Why did you push my mother?” Chen asked, staring daggers at the man.

　　“Why? Do you know how much my car costs? Would this bitch be able to pay for it if she scratched it?” the man didn’t show even an ounce of remorse.

　　“POM!” before the man could finish, Chen raised his leg and kicked the guy in his stomach.

　　The huge impact sent the man flying off and landing with a bang on his car like a meteorite.

　　The hood of the BMW was caved in. Spiderweb-cracks lined the windshield.

　　“Blurrrrrhhh…” The man turned his head and spewed nearly half a bowl of blood. He felt as if his internal organs had exploded.

　　However, Chen had only used a third of his strength in this kick.

　　He did not want to kill someone in front of his mother. If not, the man’s guts would already be spilling out of him.