The space inside was small, yet crammed with people.
The first sensation the two felt upon entering was a choking smell. The entire room was thick with smoke, shrouding it in a layer of white mist.
Then, they heard the cacophony they had heard earlier.
A man was kneeling on the ground, being beaten by four others. The assaulters spewed vulgarities, while the one being beaten dared not utter a sound.
Li Chonglou even saw that the blood from the beaten man’s nose had stained a large portion of his clothes.
This scene immediately darkened Yue Hai's expression. Li Chonglou gave him a look, signaling him not to act rashly.
The two eventually followed the burly man into a small room.
The room contained only a long table and two sofas. The burly man casually lay on one of the sofas and said, "How much do you two want to borrow? Did you bring your IDs?"
Li Chonglou pondered for a moment and then said, "We've come to understand some things. I have a friend named Ping Hu who borrowed fifty thousand from you. Do you recall him?"
The burly man's expression stiffened. Then, his eyes narrowed suddenly, and he sized up Li Chonglou from head to toe before saying in a deep voice, "Of course, I remember every client I have. But you two... are you here to repay it?"
Li Chonglou shook his head. "I want to understand what he did with the money he borrowed."
The burly man's expression suddenly turned cold. "So, you two are here to cause trouble?"
Yue Hai, displeased with the burly man's attitude, stepped forward. However, before he could speak, Li Chonglou's hand stopped him.
Li Chonglou first shook his head at Yue Hai, then said to the burly man, "We just want to understand the situation, not cause trouble."
The burly man suddenly stood up.
"Don't you two know my name?"
This inexplicable question left both of them stunned, unsure how to respond.
However, the burly man suddenly sneered, "It's been a while since I, Sen Lang, have seen young hotheads like you. Speak up, who is your boss?"
The burly man, Sen Lang, then looked at them with a challenging gaze.
Li Chonglou's brow furrowed slightly, as he saw a hint of killing intent in Sen Lang's eyes. Did this guy intend to kill him?
Li Chonglou sighed. Before he could speak, he heard Sen Lang say again, "I advise you had better have one, or you two won't be leaving alive today."
Well, this threat was no longer subtle; it was staring them right in the face.
"You handle it."
Li Chonglou patted Yue Hai's shoulder and turned to walk out of the room.
A cold sneer curved Sen Lang's lips. He suddenly exerted force on his thick thighs, which were thicker than a skinny person's waist. With a bang, he sprang towards Li Chonglou like a coiled spring!
However, midway, he was blocked by a dark figure.
It was Yue Hai.
The moment Sen Lang moved, Yue Hai also moved. Their fists collided in mid-air. Before the impact, Sen Lang's face was full of ferocity, but once their fists truly met, his expression changed drastically, and he staggered back several steps.
Apart from the clear thud of the collision, Sen Lang felt a constant pain in his fist, as if the clash had caused an internal injury.
"Who are you!"
Sen Lang's expression turned serious. He had been here for so many years and hadn't encountered such an opponent for a long time. He refused to believe that someone with such strength could be an unknown nobody!
Could it be a high-ranking member of one of the major factions?
While Sen Lang was in doubt, Yue Hai coldly sneered and charged forward again.
The previous intensity was merely a warm-up for Yue Hai.
"Underestimating me?"
Sen Lang was enraged. He could no longer hold back and met the attack with a punch.
Meanwhile, Li Chonglou had already exited the room. The four men were still beating the kneeling man. Li Chonglou now noticed that the man being beaten didn't seem like an ordinary person; he could kneel there without a sound after being beaten for so long.
An ordinary person would have likely fainted long ago.
Inside the room, besides the four men, there were six thugs positioned in corners. Seeing Li Chonglou walk out alone, the six thugs sensed that something was wrong and surrounded him.
"Does anyone here know Ping Hu?"
Li Chonglou's words interrupted the four men's actions. The fighting sounds coming from the room behind them made them realize the situation was not right.
However, not a single one of them showed any concern.
One of the assaulters wiped his bloody fist and said nonchalantly, "Looks like another one who doesn't know his limits."
As the man finished speaking, the six thugs suddenly drew handguns from their waists and pointed them at Li Chonglou's head.
However, Li Chonglou's expression remained unchanged. He said calmly, "I just want to understand the situation. I don't want to fight."
"Quite arrogant, kid."
Sen Bao, one of the assaulters who had just spoken, walked over.
Li Chonglou suddenly realized that he bore a slight resemblance to Sen Lang inside.
"Are you the manager here?"
Sen Bao chuckled. "My name is Sen Bao. The manager is my elder brother, Sen Lang. But that's not important anymore. Kid, if you don't want to die, kneel down for me now."
Li Chonglou remained calm. "I don't want trouble. I just want to understand Ping Hu's situation. Whoever can tell me, I'll leave immediately."
At this moment, Li Chonglou was facing six guns, and two men were blocking the doorway. From the looks of it, he was completely surrounded.
However, his composure also made Sen Bao somewhat puzzled.
If it were anyone else in this situation, how could they be so calm and composed?
"Kid, which faction do you belong to? Xi Bang? Huang Bao?"
Li Chonglou shook his head and reiterated his purpose, but this only drew a cold laugh from Sen Bao.
"Do you think this is just any place? You can come and go as you please?"
As Sen Bao spoke, he walked over to the man who had been kneeling and grabbed his hair. "Do you know who this guy is? A high-ranking member of Xi Bang. But so what? Isn't he still kneeling here like a dead dog!"
Sen Bao's intention was to intimidate Li Chonglou, but to his disappointment, Li Chonglou's expression remained unchanged.
This, however, piqued his interest.
"Kid, are you genuinely clueless, or are you pretending? Don't you know what Xi Bang is?"
"I know."
Sen Bao's expression suddenly froze.
"Then you're not afraid of me?"