You believe that your gun is no match for my fist?

"I lost my parents when I was young," Gao Zhan replied. "When I was too young to remember anything, I was abandoned by the roadside. Later, a wandering Tibetan monk picked me up and I became his disciple. I traveled with him to many places."

"He taught me some kung fu and literacy. Later, he passed away, and I had nowhere to go. I ended up in Liutang Town, where Sister Tang took pity on me and took me in."

The second master, holding his teacup, listened to his story, then suddenly smiled and asked, "Enter Nirvana?"

"This word isn't used casually. It seems the Tibetan monk who took you in isn't just an ordinary monk staying at a temple; he seems to be someone of great virtue and spiritual power?"

Gao Zhan smiled slightly, nodded, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

Believe it or not, this Tibetan monk is indeed real; he just doesn't exist in this world.

Gao Zhan's primary school physical education teacher was a Tibetan, a man over two meters tall and 150 years old, from the lineage of the Great Vajrabhairava King.

"Do you not know your master's Dharma name?"

“Jiangqin Queji,” Gao Zhan replied, “the Great Compassionate Dharma Banner Master.”

This is indeed the correct Dharma name. The old man used to be a monk, and his identity was quite special; he was also a member of a sect.

Of course, that's no longer the case; I'm just an ordinary elementary school teacher now.

The second master nodded and did not continue on this topic.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and several men in short jackets filed in carrying lacquer trays.

On the plate were several small dishes, a pot of wine, a steamed sea bass, and a plate of braised duck, all steaming hot.

The second master gestured, "Come on, the dishes are all ready. Let's eat first, let's eat first."

Gao Zhan didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of fish, put it in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and a satisfied look appeared on his face.

Tang Liu, who was standing to the side, originally wanted to say a few polite words, but seeing how he ate, he could only tap the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks and apologize to the Second Master with a smile: "My nephew Xiao Ce is an old man, a country bumpkin, and doesn't know the rules. Please don't take offense, Second Master."

The second master waved his hand and picked up his chopsticks as well: "What's so strange about that? That's how you eat, that's how you make your appetite."

He then picked up a piece himself and put it in his mouth.

There weren't many dishes, and people probably didn't come here for the food itself, since they were there for the ambiance, and... well...

After eating for a while, the music suddenly rose a notch before stopping. The door opened again, and a delicate fragrance wafted into the room.

Seven or eight women entered, wearing thin gauze dresses that clung to their bodies as they moved, revealing their perfect figures.

Unfortunately, underneath it was a strapless bra and trousers, covering up everything that should have been covered.

They entered without a word, and went straight to the dance floor in front of the woman playing the zither. Only when the music started did they begin to move.

The dance was clearly from the court; the woman's figure was graceful, her movements elegant, her sleeves fluttering and silk ribbons swirling, her dance as fluid as water. The style and taste were undeniably impeccable.

Gao Zhan leaned back in his chair and watched for a while. His gaze slid from the faces of the dancers to their waists, and finally settled on their feet.

After staring at it for a while, he looked away, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

boring.

He doesn't like the refined; he likes the common.

The second master sat opposite him, constantly watching his face.

Seeing his expression, she smiled and leaned forward slightly: "Brother Gao, these are all the best dancers from Qunyu Fang. Are they not to your liking?"

Gao Zhan glanced at his sixth uncle. His sixth uncle was completely unaware of the commotion, his eyes fixed on the woman holding the long silk ribbon in the center of the dance floor, his mouth slightly open and his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

Gao Zhan withdrew his gaze, turned to the Second Master, and answered honestly, "It's too vegetarian, there's not much meat."

The second master was taken aback, then threw his head back and laughed, stopping only after several laughs: "Good, good, good," he said, pointing at Gao Zhan.

"He's a down-to-earth person. He likes the mundane. Alright, let's have a welcome dinner today, I'll take you there later."

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and looked at Gao Zhan: "Are you full? If you are, let's go."

Gao Zhan glanced down at the table; there was still half a sea bass left, and only half of the braised duck had been touched.

He picked up his chopsticks, quickly scooped the remaining food into his bowl, ate it in a few bites, put down his chopsticks, looked up, and said, "I'm full."

The second master smiled and nodded, then walked towards the door.

At this moment, Uncle Liu came to his senses, hurriedly got up, and patted Gao Zhan on the back.

After the second master walked ahead, he leaned close to Gao Zhan's ear and whispered viciously, "You little brat, have you lost your mind? You're still not satisfied with this kind of trash?"

Gao Zhan rolled his eyes at him.

Sixth Uncle glared, about to curse again, but Gao Zhan had already turned and followed. He had no choice but to swallow his words, shake his head, and quickly catch up with the two.

When it comes to aesthetics, the two are clearly not uncle and nephew, and neither is willing to compromise.

Upon reaching the outside of Qunyufang, two black sedans were parked one after the other at the entrance.

The first car was longer, with a shiny black paint job. The second car had several people in it, wearing black overcoats and fedoras, with rugged faces.

The second master opened the back door of the car in front and stepped aside, saying, "Brother Gao, sit next to me." Then, he gestured with his chin towards Tang Liu, "Sixth Brother, sit in the front."

Gao Zhan crouched down and crawled inside, and a strong smell of leather and perfume immediately wafted up.

Uncle Liu sat in the passenger seat, glanced back at Gao Zhan, and grinned.

One of the Second Master's bodyguards sat on the other side, while the other bodyguard got into the car behind.

Once everyone was seated, the engine gave a low hum, the car started up, and drove onto the main road.

The lights outside the window slowly receded, yellow, white, red, and green, flowing past in clusters.

The second master leaned back in his chair, tilted his head, and began to speak to Gao Zhan.

"This Pucheng, it's both very big and very small."

"The large area consisted of foreign-owned docks, concessions, and factories, plus our old town, which was crowded with over a million people."

"The small ones are the ones who really call the shots; there are only a handful of them."

He held up one finger. "The Tang family is one, and there are two more. You'll find out more as time goes on."

"On the government side, it's Commander Pei's men; they don't get involved in our affairs here. Then there are the foreigners in the concession."

He paused for a moment, then added, "They don't compete with us for land-based business, but they control most of the docks and railways."

"The Tang family's goods have to pass through their hands before they can be shipped overseas."

After saying this, he smiled and added, "My surname is Zhang, my given name is Jinghan, and my courtesy name is Chengzhi. I studied in Gaul for a few years in my early years, reading some useless books."

He turned his head to look at Gao Zhan, "What about you? Did you write anything?"

Gao Zhan shook his head: "No. Just call me Gao Zhan."

Zhang Jinghan nodded: "It's alright. With your talent, you'll make a name for yourself in Pucheng in the future, and someone will naturally take care of it for you."

He paused, his gaze lingering on Gao Zhan's face for a moment. "By the way, which school or sect do you belong to with your martial arts skills?"

Gao Zhan was somewhat puzzled, because he had never shown any martial arts skills since arriving in Pucheng.

However, he only demonstrated his gun-drawing technique today in the warehouse.

But he didn't care and was about to speak when a series of piercing sounds suddenly tore through the night air and crashed into him.

Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!!!

The sound came without warning, crackling and popping. Gao Zhan felt the car suddenly sag, and the tires emitted a piercing screeching sound.

Immediately afterwards, several more muffled, heavy thuds struck the car body, one after another.

"Eek!!!" Tang Liu, who was in the passenger seat, shrank back and covered his head with his hands.

Gao Zhan didn't move. He turned his head to look at the car window, which was covered with cracks. A bullet was embedded in it, but it hadn't broken.

Immediately afterwards, a black iron plate rose from the frame of several car windows, fitting perfectly into the window frame and blocking out everything outside.

The car lights came on, casting a dim, yellowish glow on everyone's faces.

The bodyguard in the back sat ramrod straight, his right hand already inside his shirt. Zhang Jinghan leaned back in the seat, her hands clasped in front of her abdomen, her face calm.

"Heh." He sneered.

The car didn't stop; the engine continued to hum softly as it moved forward.

The sounds of impact outside rang out a dozen more times before gradually fading into the distance.

At this moment, Zhang Jinghan turned her head and glanced at Gao Zhan: "Bulletproof glass."

He said calmly, "Our car isn't afraid of being shot."

The car drove all the way back to the Tang residence, where the group got out of the car in the garage.

"Brother Gao, Sixth Brother, I'm truly sorry about today." The Second Master cupped his hands to the two men. "I have to report this matter to my eldest brother, so I won't be able to host a welcome dinner for Brother Gao."

As the second master clasped his hands in greeting, Tang Liu immediately bowed deeply, saying, "Second master, what are you saying! Who could have predicted what would happen today?"

"You've been frightened, you've been frightened! My nephew and I are fine. Please go about your business. The master's affairs are more important. Don't let us delay your important matters..."

The second master cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, apologetic, but after saying only a few words, he turned and left.

Tang Liu straightened up and watched the figure disappear completely before slowly exhaling. He turned to look at Gao Zhan.

Gao Zhan asked, "Are you still going?"

Tang Liu wiped the sweat from his brow: "Damn it! Going?! You almost got shot and you still want to go? Don't you want your life?"

Gao Zhan smiled slightly: "Scared?"

Tang Liu's eyes widened immediately: "What are you afraid of! Let's go!"

The two of them exited the side gate of the Tang residence one after the other and turned onto a small road.

The night breeze was a bit cooler than before, and it felt damp on my face.

After walking for a while and making sure there were no eyes or ears around, Gao Zhan continued looking ahead and asked, "Sixth Uncle, what do you think?"

Tang Liu was taking out his cigarette case when he heard this, and his hand paused.

Tang Liu is certainly not stupid. He has climbed to this position in ten years. Although he is not a core member, he is still considered one of Master Tang's closest people.

He's naturally quick-witted.

He took out the cigarette pack, knocked out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, struck a match, lit it, and took a puff.

"One of Master Teng's men?" he asked.

Gao Zhan smiled. "Definitely. And..." He raised an eyebrow, "It can only be that."

Tang Liu didn't reply.

He took two more puffs of his cigarette, and smoke billowed out of his nostrils.

As the smoke dissipated in the night breeze, he flicked off the ash and said, "It's none of our business, and we can't interfere."

He nodded, took one last deep drag, and finished the cigarette. He said, "These next few days, let's just have some fun. Eat and drink as we please. This is the big shots' business, not ours to worry about."

After he finished speaking, he threw his cigarette butt on the ground and kicked Gao Zhan, who immediately dodged to the side.

Tang Liu missed kicking, snorted, and cursed, "Damn it! You beast, you can't even stand those simple, clean things, you have to stick to the most vulgar stuff, are you some kind of animal reincarnated?"

Gao Zhan crossed his arms, didn't reply, but his expression was indifferent.

Tang Liu cursed a couple more times, then, having finished, stuffed the cigarette pack back into his pocket and waved at him, "Alright, alright, let's go!"

"You like vulgar things? Uncle Liu will take you to see some today. Damn it, tasteless, you little rascal."

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhan immediately changed his expression and approached with a grin.