The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 10 Festival
Goodbye, Brother Lingjun~

Xu Leyi sat in the car and heard someone's lingering, coquettish voice outside.

After a while, the car door on Xu Leyi's left was opened, and Xu Xinyi stepped in as lightly as a butterfly, bringing with her a sweet fragrance.

"Sister, look!"

As soon as Xu Xinyi came in, she stuffed a gift box tied with a silver ribbon onto Xu Leyi's lap, her voice cheerful, "Lingjun gave this to you—I secretly looked at it, it's a Welsh crystal ball, the snowflakes inside can float, and there are two little figures that can spin and dance!"

Xu Leyi didn't even bother to lift her eyelids, and casually tossed the box aside: "Keep it if you like."

"You do this again!"

Xu Xinyi hurriedly picked up the gift box that had rolled to her feet, "It was the same at the Fu family just now. Brother Lingjun invited everyone to go horseback riding, but you refused to go with a cold face."

She suddenly raised her chin, with a girlish smugness, "Brother Lingjun taught me how to ride a horse, and even let me touch his rifle—bang! The sound was so loud it made my heart tingle! Sister, have you ever touched a real gun?"

“During the military training at Shenghai Girls’ University, we practiced at the shooting range every day.” Xu Leyi finally turned her face and stared into Xu Xinyi’s eyes. “Lingjun, Lingjun, Lingjun, you’ve been talking about Fu Lingjun all day today—do you like him?”

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinyi's ears instantly turned bright red, and her fingers instinctively twisted the ribbon around her waist: "No, no!"
I just think Lingjun is a really good person, and I'd be happy for him to be my brother-in-law.

"Good? What's so good about him? Is he good-looking?"

Do you know what kind of person Fu Lingjun was? Do you know anything about him?

Xu Leyi sneered, "I know, I understand."

Back then, when Mr. Fu sent him to Deke Machinery's new technology textile manufacturing school, Fu Lingjun drank coffee, learned to play polo, and learned to dance Western dances at Deke Machinery, but he didn't learn anything useful. In less than half a year, he was forced to drop out of school.

I heard that he seems to have recently become obsessed with gun handling and martial arts.

Oh, by the way, you didn't know, did you? Fu Lingjun has been having an ambiguous relationship with a girl from the Shenggong Girls' School.

"But isn't that how everyone is? It's normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines. Didn't Dad marry several concubines too?"

Xu Xinyi tugged at the hem of her cheongsam and muttered under her breath.

"Xu Xinyi!"

Xu Leyi looked at Xu Xinyi with a face full of disappointment and frustration. "The new laws of the People's Republic of China abolished the practice of concubinage long ago! If you're content to be a caged bird, you might as well just tell Father you want to marry him. As for me—"

Xu Leyi paused for a moment and said, "Father has promised me that starting next month, I will be in charge of part of the family business."

The Xu and Fu families can continue their good relations, but the Xu family cannot forever depend on the Fu family for its favor.

The car started moving, the carriage swayed gently, and then fell silent.

Suddenly, Xu Xinyi blurted out, "Sister, do you like that man surnamed Zhao who came to our house last time?"

Xu Leyi turned her head in surprise and found Xu Xinyi staring at her intently.

She was both annoyed and amused, and couldn't help but poke Xu Xinyi's smooth and full forehead with her finger.

"You, is this all you care about—your love and affection?"

"My sister hasn't replied to me yet."

Xu Leyi sighed softly, "Xin Hua is a friend I met in Shenghai. Apart from her family background, she is far superior to Fu Lingjun in both character and talent."

But there's really nothing between Zhao Xinhua and me. Back in Shenghai, he gave me a piece of advice, and now I'm passing that advice on to you.

Xu Leyi gently grasped Xu Xinyi's hand and said earnestly, "Women pursue education and careers not so that they can marry better, but so that they don't have to get married."

At the same time, the Fu family.

Fu Juemin stood on the second-floor balcony, which was covered with ivy, and watched as the two cars belonging to the Xu family drove out of their manor and slowly disappeared into the distance.

Only after the car had completely disappeared from sight did Fu Juemin casually loosen the tie around his neck and order to those behind him: "Go and call Wang Shuisheng here. He'll practice his boxing with me again."

August 28th.

Amidst the deafening sounds of gongs and drums and the ever-present scent of incense at the Luanhe River wharf, laborers with their bare, dark-skinned arms lifted struggling pigs and sheep high into the muddy river with a few "plop" sounds.

The animals' squeals were instantly swallowed by the waves, leaving only a few strings of murky bubbles on the river surface.

The dock was packed with people. Taoist priests in apricot-yellow robes and shamans wearing ghost masks were performing rituals together, while old women on the shore chanted incantations and continuously threw yellow paper into the river.
The smell of incense mingled with the fishy stench of the river, creating a somewhat absurd and lively atmosphere.

Fu Juemin, dressed in a khaki suit with a grey fedora pressing down on his brow, was followed by two young men in short black shirts. The three stood out like cranes among chickens in the crowd.

"How many times this month?"

Fu Juemin watched the livestock being thrown into the river, his voice calm.

"This is the third time."

A square-faced man with a short, neat haircut standing next to Fu Juemin laughed and said, "After each sacrificial ceremony, we have to hold a three-day banquet. The dock brothers can bring their own bowls and chopsticks and eat as much as they want."

"Would you like to try something new, young master?"

Fu Juemin glanced at the man, then turned his gaze to the high platform not far away.

Seated there were the heads of various businesses, with his second uncle, Fu Guoping, sitting in the center, looking very imposing.

"When did it become my second uncle's place to preside over the river god worship ceremony?"

Fu Juemin muttered to himself, and another man next to him immediately chimed in, "Second Master has a lot of influence!"

Everyone in Luanhe County knows that Master Fu's word carries more weight than the county magistrate's!

The man looked proud, his tone full of pride.

Fu Juemin remained noncommittal, his gaze falling on a cold-looking young man beside Fu Guoping: "Who is that person?"

"Wu Xiaoyun's son from the Black Shark Gang, Wu Bozhou."

"He is quite close to his second uncle."

"That's right. Second Master just adopted him as his godson the other day."

A hint of amusement flashed across Fu Juemin's eyes.

The Luanhe Wharf is teeming with gangs, where the big fish eat the small fish, and the small fish eat the shrimp, all happening every day. Last month, Wu Xiaoyun died, leaving the Black Shark Gang leaderless. Suddenly, it went from being a dominant force at the wharf to a piece of fat meat that many gangs wanted to grab and divide.

The fact that Second Uncle Fu Guoping chose to adopt Wu Xiaoyun's son as his godson at this time clearly shows that he wanted to support the Black Shark Gang and Wu Bozhou.

Based on Fu Juemin's understanding of his second uncle, Fu Guoping would never look down on the Black Shark Gang, which consisted of such insignificant individuals.

If they're not after any profit, why would they insist on getting involved in this mess? Either they have a life-or-death bond with Wu Xiaoyun, or the Fu family owes the Black Shark Gang a huge favor.

"Wu Xiaoyun is a hoodlum who started out selling fish at the docks. Even if he is compatible with Second Uncle's temper, it is unlikely that the two would be on equal footing. The only possibility is that Second Uncle owes him a favor."

"Taking in an orphan as an adopted son is such a huge favor. Could it be that Wu Xiaoyun's death is related to Second Uncle?"

Fu Juemin's eyes flickered as he quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.

He recalled Fu Guoping's confident demeanor a month ago, saying that the claim of a water monkey claiming his life was pure nonsense, and that Wu Xiaoyun had clearly died in a gang feud.

But in the blink of an eye, the wharf restarted the water festival in a grand manner, and the scale of the sacrificial ceremony was even greater than in previous years.
Fu Juemin suddenly turned to look at the two bodyguards beside him, narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, "What exactly does your Civil Affairs Department do?"

(End of this chapter)