Chapter 35: Eastward Journey

Shangguan Ying was full of unwillingness, glaring fiercely at Chen Erpao. As Chen Erpao gazed at the four beauties, he thought to himself that this was no place to linger. If they all attacked him together, things could get out of hand. It was best to make a swift exit.

When he reached the security office, he found that Wang Xing had already arrived well before him.

“Brother Pao, I watched a movie last night that was really good—quite moving, too. But most importantly, the leading lady, her name’s Youth, so beautiful! So pure,” Wang Xing exclaimed.

“You act like you’ve never seen a woman before! How pure could she be? You’re exaggerating,” Chen Erpao retorted, thoroughly unimpressed.

Wang Xing quickly pulled out his phone and said, “Look, here she is. The hottest new star these past few years, Zhang Xiaoyu.”

“It’s her,” Chen Erpao said in surprise, staring at the woman on the screen. Wasn’t that the girl who drove the Lamborghini yesterday—who even chauffeured him for free? Who would’ve thought she’d be a big celebrity.

He couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter.

Wang Xing looked on in confusion. “You know her? Don’t tell me you two have a complicated past. Before she was famous, when you were still in the army, maybe you saved her heroically one time, you met, fell in love, but in the end she found fame, you retired, and your love became a tangle of passion and regret.”

“Have you been watching too many movies? You’re getting way too dramatic and gossipy,” Chen Erpao replied, annoyed.

“Ah! Heaven is unjust! I hate you. Look at us, both in security uniforms, but you’re always surrounded by campus beauties, and now you even have a connection with a starlet. I hate it!” Wang Xing put on a pitiful, tragic face. But to Chen Erpao, it was simply laughable: “What a waste of true acting talent. But gold will shine someday. I heard Wang Xing is planning to film a racy movie called ‘Eastbound Journey.’ Maybe I’ll recommend you for the leading role.”

“Great, I’ll think about it. Maybe I can get Zhang Xiaoyu to be my co-star,” Wang Xing snickered.

While the two were chatting away, a taxi suddenly pulled up at the school gate. Out stepped Li Ziyang, looking utterly dejected and drained of energy.

“Hey, isn’t that Li Ziyang? The Q7 is gone, and now he’s taking a taxi. Did Blondie and his crew actually do a number on his car?” Chen Erpao wondered aloud.

“Very likely. You said yourself that Blondie’s got talent. He’s got potential,” Wang Xing nodded approvingly.

Li Ziyang wore a sullen face, his usual cheerfulness gone. When he walked past the security office and saw Chen Erpao and Wang Xing laughing gleefully, he immediately recalled that he’d sent Blondie to deal with Chen Erpao days ago, yet here Erpao was, alive and well, whereas his own beloved car had met disaster. He instantly understood, shooting Chen Erpao a venomous glare before hurrying away.

“Looks like Li Ziyang’s picked a fight with you. Watch out—one day he might use his connections to get you summoned to the police station for ‘tea.’ I hear the tea at the Hong Kong station is quite something. Once you’ve had it, you won’t be able to drink anything else for weeks,” Wang Xing said, grinning mischievously.

Just as he finished speaking, Blondie suddenly popped up at the security office window, grinning in that infuriating way of his.

“Hello, bosses! The task you assigned, my brothers and I have taken care of it,” he announced.

“Oh? And how do I know you actually did it?” Chen Erpao replied calmly.

Blondie chuckled, then pulled out an iPhone. After fiddling with it for a moment, he handed it over.

Chen Erpao and Wang Xing leaned in curiously. The photo on the phone showed the Q7—none other than Li Ziyang’s car. No wonder Li Ziyang hadn’t dared drive it today; even his own mother might not recognize it now.

“Bosses, did I do a good job or what?” Blondie laughed cheekily.

“Excellent work. Your Brother Pao is very pleased with your performance this time. Now let’s see if he has any more instructions,” Wang Xing replied offhandedly, immediately shifting the spotlight to Chen Erpao.

With a sly grin, Chen Erpao issued a command that nearly made Wang Xing choke with disbelief.

“Now, on behalf of Brother Xing, I’m giving you a new assignment. Normally, you punks do what you do—fight for territory, get into scrapes, recruit more little brothers. If anything comes up you can’t handle, come to him for help. But remember, don’t bully honest folk—those running street stalls or small businesses. Understood? We’re the good citizens among the rogues.”

“Yes, yes, Boss! Worthy words as always, deep and profound!” Blondie fawned.

Wang Xing stared at Chen Erpao in disbelief and protested, “What’s this all about? You’re telling them to go cause trouble and come to me if anything goes wrong? That’s not fair!”

“You’re their leader, aren’t you? It’s your job to sort things out for them. With all these followers watching, you can’t back down now,” Chen Erpao said earnestly, though Wang Xing couldn’t help but feel he’d been royally swindled.

“All right then. Just don’t embarrass me out there! If there’s anything I can’t handle, I’ll send you to Brother Pao. He’s the real deal—there’s nothing he can’t fix,” Wang Xing said.

Blondie left, overjoyed at the two new “decrees” he’d received, thinking that with an invincible boss behind him—and an even more formidable one for backup—he had nothing to fear.

Night fell. In one of the school’s large, spacious girls’ dormitories, Nangong Yu, Murong Pei, Shangguan Ying, and Sima Hong were deep in conversation. Being in the dorm, the four wore only simple nightgowns, their graceful figures faintly visible beneath the fabric. If Chen Erpao could have seen all four beauties together in such a state, he’d probably have suffered a nosebleed.

“Our family wants us to find a woman at Lingnan University with five black dots on the sole of her foot. But with all the female teachers and students here, there must be ten or twenty thousand—are we supposed to check everyone’s feet?” Murong Pei complained.

“Exactly! I heard there’s a huge secret behind this woman. I only found out by accident from the old men in the family. Supposedly, she’s a direct descendant of Pirate King Wang Dacu, who used to roam the seas near Hong Kong,” Shangguan Ying added.

Sima Hong, seemingly well-versed in the tales of Pirate King Wang Dacu, spoke up: “That title was well-deserved. Despite the name Wang Dacu—‘Big Brute’ Wang—he was anything but crude. He was obsessed with martial arts, a true master. I once read in an old family chronicle that, over a hundred years ago, the four most famous martial arts leaders all went to sea together to challenge Wang Dacu. None of them were his match; all ended up as shark food. It caused a sensation in the martial world at the time.”