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

"If the Second Master invites me to dinner again later, will I go?"

On the way to the mysterious and wonderful place, Gao Zhan asked.

"We still have to go," said Sixth Uncle. "The Second Master is so eager to help, you can't just turn your back on him."

"However... just listen to what he says. If he promises you anything, don't take it seriously."

Gao Zhan hummed in agreement.

The two walked a little further when a black sedan drove past. Gao Zhan looked at the car and asked, "Sixth Uncle, why don't you buy one?"

Tang Liu stopped, looking at Gao Zhan with a mixture of anger and amusement: "Damn it, what do you think a car is? Something just anyone can buy?"

He took another step and said leisurely, "Buying a car costs at least a thousand dollars. After that, you have to maintain it, with expenses for gas and repairs. And you also have to be eligible to buy one."

"Besides, if I actually buy the car, what will Master Tang think? What will the other people in the Tang household think?"

He shook his head. "Zhan, for people like us, when we come to a place like Pucheng, no matter how well we do, there's one thing we must understand."

"You need to be clear about your own status."

As he walked, he said, "This sounds easy, but it's not so simple to do."

"There are always plenty of people in this world who don't know their own worth, and think they are important just because they can talk to important people."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Gao Zhan again and realized that the guy hadn't been listening to him at all.

Across the street stood a woman in her early thirties, wearing a light purple collared Hanfu. Her hair was styled in fashionable curls, and she held a small pearl handbag in her hand, tilting her head to look this way.

Gao Zhan's lips curved into a smile, and then the woman opposite him also curved into a smile.

Tang Liu was amused by the kid's antics and immediately gave him a knee strike. Gao Zhan was hit by the knee and looked back at Tang Liu. Before he could speak, Tang Liu grabbed his arm and pulled him forward quickly.

After dragging Gao Zhan a few dozen steps away, he angrily said:

"What the hell?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Is it not enough that you've been messing around with a few Tang family girls in the countryside? You want to come all the way to Pucheng and do it again? Do you even know who lives here?"

"Next to Master Tang lives the concubine of Marshal Pei, and two alleys further on is the residence of the French Concession's chief constable! Are you blind? You keep throwing your eyebrows and eyes around like that; you won't even know how you died!"

Gao Zhan was dragged along for a while, then looked back and saw that the woman was no longer under the streetlight.

She withdrew her gaze, pulled her wrist from Uncle Liu's hand, and calmly straightened her cuffs, saying, "Uncle Liu, what you said is not right."

Tang Liu was taken aback for a moment: "Huh?"

"That's the mindset of the weak," Gao Zhan said. "The strong don't care about these things."

Tang Liu laughed in exasperation.

"Oh, a strong person?" He pointed to Gao Zhan's chest. "If you're so strong, how did you manage to escape from Liutang Town?"

Gao Zhan's face immediately fell.

"Those young ladies from the Tang family, uh," he paused, "they want me to marry into their family, don't they? I'm not willing."

Tang Liu scoffed, "In Liutang Town, the Tang family might admire you and be happy to promote you. But this is Pucheng, a major port city!"

"If you can't control your crotch here, you'll be carried out sideways! Don't think you're invincible just because you have a few rudimentary skills!"

"I'm not just a novice in martial arts."

Upon hearing this, Tang Liu immediately wanted to retort, but swallowed the words back.

That's true; the kung fu this kid practices isn't the kind you learn from street-side martial arts schools. His Tibetan master is probably a highly respected monk from the Western Sea Esoteric School.

"Even if you're not a complete novice, can your skills be better than this?" He made a gesture.

Gao Zhan looked at the gesture but did not refute it.

After walking in silence for a while, Tang Liu smugly withdrew his hand, just about to say a few more words, when Gao Zhan's voice rang out:

"Just because it's not possible now doesn't mean it won't be possible in the future." As he spoke, he raised his right hand, bringing his index and middle fingers together and bending the other three fingers.

A warmth emanated from the side, and Tang Liu turned to look, only to see Gao Zhan's two fingers glowing with flames.

The light was golden with a hint of white, and white with a touch of yellow, like thoroughly heated glass.

He opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

Gao Zhan withdrew his finger, and the flames went out, leaving only the residual warmth in the air.

The place the two were going to was quite far from the Tang residence, and it would take some time.

After leaving the residential area, the streets gradually became lively.

Tang Liu stopped in front of a small shop on the street, took out a few cents, bought ten bottles of beer, gave five bottles to Gao Zhan, and stood by the railway tracks to wait.

Before long, a tram came rattling by in the distance. The two jumped on and the tram started moving again.

Sitting by the car window, watching the streetlights fade into the distance, neither of them spoke, only occasionally clinking their bottles together and taking a sip.

The tram rattled along for about fifteen minutes. Just then, the two finished their last bottle of wine.

"arrive."

Tang Liu stood up and wiped his mouth.

Golden Powder Platform.

It's the name of the place they're going to.

This is one of the most bustling and lively areas in Pucheng at night. Colorful neon signs flash on and off, and the ambiguous light shines on everyone's face, making people dizzy.

Even without drinking alcohol, the flickering neon lights are enough to make one feel slightly tipsy.

Tang Liu led Gao Zhan through the streets. Gao Zhan looked around and could see some women in Western-style dresses leaning against the doors of various clubs.

Their skirts were so short they barely covered their thighs, they wore high heels, a cigarette dangling from their fingertips, and their eyes darted over the passersby.

Turning the corner, a Western-style building stands at the intersection, with a wide facade and bright lights.

Above the gate hangs a huge neon sign with the silhouette of a bunny girl, her legs rising and falling with the flickering neon lights.

There are three gold characters under the sign:

Golden Powder Platform.

"You want something tacky!" Tang Liu laughed loudly and pushed open the door.

Heat and sound surged out together, and all sorts of sounds pounded against our eardrums.

The overhead chandelier illuminated the entire hall, and on the stage in front, a dozen or so dancers were lined up, kicking their legs. Their legs were covered in flesh-colored stockings, and their high heels clicked on the stage to the music.

"How is it?" Tang Liu asked Gao Zhan loudly, "Do you like it!?"

"Haha!" Gao Zhan laughed loudly, nodding repeatedly, "I like it! I like it!!"

Leading Gao Zhan through the crowd, they found that the hall was already quite full of people, dressed in all sorts of outfits: suits, Hanfu, military uniforms, and more.

Tang Liu didn't stop, but just raised his chin at a servant wearing a white shirt and a black bow tie. The servant immediately bowed and nodded, and then led them straight to a round table in front of the stage.

Tang Liu plopped down on the sofa, gesturing for Gao Zhan to sit as well. He crossed his legs, and a servant came over, bowed respectfully, and offered him a cigar, lighting it for him.

Then, he bowed to Tang Liu again and turned to leave.

A moment later, two young women came swaying over and sat down next to the two men.

A woman stood in the center of the stage, her long, wavy black hair cascading over one shoulder. A hoarse voice rolled from the tip of her tongue, sticking to the ear.

"Drink today, for tomorrow we may die; let us not worry about tomorrow's sorrows. If the sky falls, someone will hold it up; if the earth sinks, water will flow. You laugh, I sing; after tonight, tomorrow will have its own worries."

After she finished singing a section, her eyes swept across the audience, pausing briefly on Gao Zhan's side before moving away.

"This is the best Western-style dance hall in Pucheng!" Tang Liu, cigar in hand, shouted to Gao Zhan beside him, "The girls here are way more interesting than those who just stand there dancing!"

Gao Zhan didn't listen, because his eyes were glued to the stage.

After a while, he picked up the wine glass in front of him and took a big gulp.

"Haha!" Embracing the woman beside him, Gao Zhan turned to his sixth uncle and exclaimed loudly, "Great! Absolutely great! Even better than the fires of Yiling!!"

Tang Liu burst into laughter upon hearing this.

The music on stage changed, the rhythm became faster, and the dancers on stage were also changed.

Gao Zhan put down his wine glass, leaned back on the sofa, stretched out his long legs, and relaxed completely. Then, he turned his head to look at his side.

The girl next to him was dressed like the girls on stage, with an oval face, looking to be around nineteen years old, and tilting her head to look at him.

When he looked over, the girl's ears immediately turned red.

Tang Liu, watching from the side, chuckled. Pointing at Gao Zhan and the girl beside him with his cigar, he said to the girl next to him, "Two country bumpkins, haha, they're a perfect match!"

The girl giggled.

Gao Zhan was not annoyed when he heard this. He picked up his wine glass and took another sip, then lazily put his other hand on the shoulder of the woman next to him.

I changed the channel; it's not good.

Five hours later.

The two staggered out, the door closing behind them, shutting out the sounds of the brocade platform and the scent of women's cosmetics.

The streets were deserted, most of the neon lights were off, and only a few streetlights remained, casting a dim yellow light on the road.

Tang Liu walked unsteadily, one hand on Gao Zhan's shoulder, the other gesturing: "You tell me... this kind of place... is it easier to deal with than Qunyu Fang?"

"Hmph... Uncle brought you to this kind of place, that's what you call a welcome feast..." he said, hiccuping as he stumbled and almost fell.

Gao Zhan was being carried by him, and he was walking unsteadily. He was also holding a bottle of wine in his hand, and he would take a sip from time to time.

The two of them stumbled and staggered into a small alley they had come from, and just then, Gao Zhan suddenly stopped.

Several figures appeared at almost the same time from both ends of the alley.

Tang Liu almost stumbled when he was pulled by him. He was about to complain when he looked up and saw the figure in front of him, and immediately shut his mouth.

Gao Zhan finished the wine in the bottle, then threw the bottle on the ground and slowly straightened his body.

The drunkenness on his face faded, and his true energy surged from his dantian, rising up his spine segment by segment, causing his muscles and bones to crack slightly.

"Whose people?"

Gao Zhan asked.

Tang Liu shook his head.

Gao Zhan made a move.

"Don't let anyone die!!!"

Tang Liu's voice drifted from behind Gao Zhan, and at that moment, he had already rushed to the group at the alley entrance.