The saintess is pregnant, what does that have to do with me, a spoiled brat?

The Chen residence, master bedroom.

The stench was unbearable.

Chen Wanjin covered his nose, looking at his emaciated son on the bed, his face ashen.

"Master, the young master was given an extremely strong laxative, and his stomach was already weak. He almost lost his life." The old doctor wiped away his cold sweat.

Chen Wanjin suddenly turned his head and stared at Qian Dafu kneeling on the ground.

"Tell me! What exactly happened?!"

Qian Dafu trembled like a leaf as he recounted everything that had happened at Juxiange, including the incident of the kitchen helper stealing the secret recipe.

"Idiot!" Chen Wanjin kicked Qian Dafu to the ground. "Don't you know what kind of playboy Xu Nuo is? Do you think he'd let you steal the secret formula so easily? This is a trap!"

Qian Dafu clutched his stomach; his legs were weak from diarrhea, and he didn't dare to retaliate.

"The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion..." Chen Wanjin narrowed his eyes, revealing a murderous intent.

The Chen family is the richest family in Dali, and they have high-ranking officials backing them. Even imperial relatives usually give them some face. How dare a declining Duke of Zhenguo's mansion hog their head?

"Go and invite the Imperial Envoy," Chen Wanjin said coldly. "Have Imperial Envoy Zhao take men to Zuixianlou. Since he promised to disregard the rules, don't blame the Chen family for being ruthless. Smash Zuixianlou and seize the recipe. If Xu Nuo dares to stop us, break his legs!"

"yes!"

The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, the courtyard of Xu Nuo.

Xu Nuo is practicing boxing in the yard.

There are no fancy moves; it's just the most basic military long fist style.

With each punch, a muffled sonic boom echoed through the air.

With the combined qi of an eighth-rank martial artist and the physical strength of a true dragon, his casual strikes now weigh over a thousand pounds.

Shen Qingyi sat by the stone table, watching Xu Nuo practice his boxing, her gaze growing increasingly complex.

She infiltrated the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, expecting to be dealing with a useless and incompetent man. But the events of the past few days have completely overturned her perception.

Instantly crippling a peak sixth-rank Xuan Protector.

He swallowed a century-old blood ginseng whole and broke through several realms in succession.

This seemingly ordinary set of long fist techniques has now surprisingly exuded the charm of a martial arts master.

Just how many secrets is this person hiding?

"Have you seen enough?" Xu Nuo stood up, retracting his fist and exhaling a breath of turbid air like a white ribbon.

Shen Qingyi turned her face away: "Your boxing technique is full of flaws."

"As long as it can kill people, that's fine." Xu Nuo walked to the stone table, picked up the teapot, and took a big gulp.

Just then, the courtyard gate was kicked open.

Li Wanning rushed in, holding a thick stack of silver notes in his hand.

"Promise! I've got the money!"

She ran to the stone table, slammed the silver notes on it, and panted.

"A full 500,000 taels! I've taken out all the New Year's money I've saved up for over ten years!" Li Wanning's face was flushed, and her eyes were shining. "I've also found a plot of land for the workshop. It's in the south of the city, and construction can start anytime!"

Xu Nuo picked up the silver notes and counted them.

Dali Tongbao coins are valid for exchange throughout the country.

This girl is indeed a rich woman.

"Alright, you take care of the land, I'll provide the formula." Xu Nuo tucked the silver notes into his pocket. "However, there's a small problem I need to deal with now."

"What trouble?" Li Wanning was taken aback.

"The Chen family." Xu Nuo smiled. "I tricked Chen Yunfei so badly, that old fox Chen Wanjin definitely won't swallow this insult. Judging by the time, their people should be arriving at Zuixianlou soon."

Li Wanning's eyes widened: "Then why are you still drinking tea here? If Zuixianlou gets vandalized, how will we do business!"

"What's the rush?" Xu Nuo slowly straightened his cuffs. "Someone's offering money so readily, I should at least have a sack ready."

He turned to look outside the courtyard.

"Lin Hu, gather the brothers, grab your weapons, and head to Zuixianlou to collect the debt."

Zuixianlou (Drunken Immortal Pavilion)

It was lunchtime, and the lobby was bustling with noise.

Since the incident at Juxian Pavilion, Zuixianlou's business has become extremely booming.

Old Li, the manager, was fiddling with the abacus, grinning from ear to ear.

boom!

The door of Zuixianlou was suddenly kicked open.

The two heavy solid wood doors collapsed with a crash, smashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The diners in the lobby were startled and immediately stopped eating.

A dozen burly men wielding iron bars stormed in, led by a middle-aged man dressed in a gray cloth jacket.

The man was thin, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, and his temples bulged high.

The Chen family's patron, Zhao Tie.

A peak seventh-rank martial artist.

"Clear the area!" Zhao Tie shouted coldly.

The burly men immediately pounced on them like wolves, overturning tables and chairs and driving away the diners.

"What are you doing! What are you doing!" Old Li shouted, rushing out from behind the counter. "This is the property of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion! How dare you cause trouble here!"

Snapped!

Zhao Tie slapped Old Li across the face, sending him flying.

Old Li crashed into a pillar, spat out a mouthful of blood, and even lost two teeth.

"The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is nothing," Zhao Tie sneered. "Even if Xu Zhentian himself came today, I'd still smash up this Drunken Immortal Pavilion! Smash it!"

The burly men raised their iron bars and began smashing the furnishings in the lobby.

The sounds of porcelain shattering and tables and chairs breaking filled the air.

The diners were so frightened that they ran away with their heads in their hands, not daring to linger.

Just then, a lazy voice came from outside the door.

"You're really going all out with the smashing. Have you calculated how much you'll have to pay in damages?"

Zhao Tie paused, then turned to look.

Xu Nuo, along with Lin Hu and several guards, slowly stepped through the collapsed gate and walked in.

Li Wanning followed behind, and seeing the mess on the ground, he stomped his feet in anger.

"Xu Nuo! Look at the mess they've made!"

Xu Nuo ignored her and focused her gaze on Zhao Tie.

"Someone from the Chen family?"

Zhao Tie sized Xu Nuo up and down, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes.

"So you're that good-for-nothing heir? Perfect timing." Zhao Tie cracked his neck, his knuckles popping. "The patriarch has ordered you to hand over the secret recipe, and then he'll break both your legs. Will you do it yourself, or should I help you?"

Xu Nuo smiled.

He turned to Lin Hu: "Write this down. Two doors, one thousand taels. Tables and chairs, five thousand taels. Old Li's medical expenses, ten thousand taels. Add lost wages, compensation for emotional distress... round it up to one hundred thousand taels."

Lin Hu nodded solemnly: "The young master's calculations are fair."

Zhao Tie was so angry that he laughed instead.

"He's about to die and he still dares to talk back! Cripple him!"

Several burly men raised iron bars and roared as they pounced on Xu Nuo.

Just as Lin Hu was about to draw his sword, Xu Nuo raised her hand to stop him.

"I'll do it."

He promised to take a step forward.

boom!

The bluestone floor cracked instantly.

He moved like lightning, crashing directly into the crowd.

Without using any internal energy, it was a pure burst of physical strength.

Click!

Xu Nuo punched the burly man in the front right in the chest.

With a sickening cracking sound, the burly man didn't even have time to scream before he was sent flying like a cannonball, knocking over three or four people behind him.