Li Chonglou removed the blindfold from his eyes and saw Zhou Yacheng stand up in the hot spring pool, pointing at a group of bald, greasy middle-aged men and yelling.
It turned out that the middle-aged men were soaking in a nearby pool, peeking at Tian Lingli while pointing and making vulgar jokes in the local dialect.
Tian Lingli and Huang Jian, being locals, understood everything.
Upon translation, Zhou Yacheng became enraged.
Although he was a playboy, anyone would be furious if their woman was molested or leered at.
Especially for the esteemed Young Master Zhou.
He had already endured enough humiliation these past few days, particularly from Zhao Hui. Although his junior grand-uncle had helped him vent his anger, it wasn't him who had taken action.
These bald men dared to provoke him.
Of course, he wouldn't hold back.
Splash!
"Who are you calling names, punk?" One of the men, not one to be trifled with, stood up and questioned.
As soon as he spoke, he was pulled down by his companion.
They muttered, "Let it go, let it go."
Another man even stood up to apologize, "Sorry, brother. My old friend drank a bit too much and made a few jokes. Please don't take it to heart."
Zhou Yacheng was one who responded to reason, not aggression.
If others opposed him, it only fueled his anger.
However, he was also quite reasonable. As long as others apologized, his anger would dissipate.
Seeing them back down, his face twitched, and he turned away, saying nothing more.
Li Chonglou, seeing that no further trouble had arisen, put his towel back on his head, enjoying the feeling of being nourished by nature.
The four of them soaked and played for over two hours. By around one in the afternoon, they had some food inside.
Li Chonglou didn't want to waste any more time and decided to go see Tian Lingli's uncle.
As soon as they reached the parking lot.
Suddenly, the door of a Buick GL8 minivan parked nearby opened, and several young men with crew cuts blocked the four of them in front of the car.
At first glance, these men were at most twenty years old, with immature faces.
Some still had hair on their upper lips that hadn't fully darkened.
Yet, each of them had fierce eyes, showing none of the innocence of children fresh out of school.
"What's going on? Who are you guys?" Zhou Yacheng's eyelids twitched, and he took a couple of steps back.
These kids looked like trouble. Anyone who had experienced street life knew that old gangsters weren't scary; it was the minors and young adults who were truly dangerous.
They had no scruples, no regard for the law, and acted with utter abandon.
Moreover, in this era, anyone who was pampered at home, full of arrogance, dared to cross anyone.
However, with the government's crackdown on crime becoming stricter in recent years, such scenes were rarely seen.
It was unexpected to encounter them in a mountain tourist spot.
Could it be Zhao Hui's men again?
"You pieces of trash dare to insult our Azure Dragon Gang leader?" The leading young man had a rough voice, brandishing a small knife with a ferocious expression. "You're tired of living."
"Kneel down, kowtow and apologize, each pay ten thousand yuan, and we'll let you go!"
What?
Kneel, kowtow, apologize, and pay money?
Li Chonglou and the other three exchanged bewildered glances.
"Azure Dragon Gang? What era is this? They were busted when I was in school!" Huang Jian's expression contorted, his voice cracking.
He was full of surprise and speechlessness.
Shuyu once had an ancient gangster group called the Azure Dragon Gang.
Fifteen years ago, it was at its peak, dominating Shuyu county town and striking fear into countless people.
At that time, the "Young and Dangerous" movies were popular, and young men eagerly imitated them, claiming to be members of the Azure Dragon Gang regardless of whether they were involved or not.
Huang Jian was in junior high school then, and many of his classmates had done the same.
However, because the Azure Dragon Gang was too rampant, in 2001, the public security organs took notice, apprehended them all, the leader was sentenced to life imprisonment, and other members scattered.
From then on, it vanished from the annals of history.
Unexpectedly, after fifteen years, they heard the name Azure Dragon Gang again.
It instantly evoked a sense of nostalgia.
But mostly, it was a feeling of amusement.
He almost burst out laughing, "Your leader got released? Life sentence commuted, fifteen years... that's not easy."
With the formidable Li Chonglou present, even the burly men Zhao Hui had sent to pursue them earlier were no match, being taken down with a single punch. How could these little brats be a threat?
Huang Jian felt no fear at all, instead, he struggled to suppress his laughter.
"How dare you insult our leader? Chop him!" The leading young man was utterly enraged by this remark. His face turned extremely ugly, and he charged forward, brandishing his small dagger.
How could Li Chonglou let him act so brazenly?
He stepped forward, easily disarmed him of the dagger, and kicked him in the shin.
With a thud.
He made the young man kneel before him on the spot.
Then, under everyone's gaze, he effortlessly bent the dagger into a shape resembling the Golden Serpent Sword.
With a clang, he tossed it on the ground.
Before these people could recover from their shock, he slapped the child across the face.
"This slap is me teaching you how to be a person on behalf of your parents. Why be a gangster, especially an outdated one!"
Slap!
He slapped him again.
"This slap is from my friends. How dare you, a bunch of young punks, demand that we kneel and apologize? You've gone too far."
Slap!
He said this while delivering another slap.
"This slap is for your useless leader. Go back and tell him that his hair is falling out, he should stop showing his face and embarrassing himself."
"If you want revenge, we'll be waiting. Go to Zhao Hui in the county town."
With three consecutive slaps, the child was dazed and utterly confused.
Of course, Li Chonglou hadn't used his full strength. Otherwise, one slap would have shattered his skull. Why would he need three?
He simply couldn't bear to see these half-grown youths being misled by their so-called leader into engaging in illegal activities in this peaceful era.
It was just a slight demonstration of his power.
However, the mention of Zhao Hui's name at the end did have a significant impact.
The children who hadn't stepped forward changed their expressions, showing fear. The weapons in their hands clattered to the ground.
With thuds, they all knelt down.
"You... you're Young Master Zhao's men. We were blind and wrong... we were mistaken..."
"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! We won't be in the Azure Dragon Gang anymore, please let us go."
"We're still children, we didn't know any better..."
...
Each of them cowered like a frightened dog.
Seeing their pathetic state, Li Chonglou lost interest.
He got into the car and left.
In his mind, he thought that Zhao Hui must have considerable influence in Shuyu county, given that even these lawless youngsters were so afraid of him.
It seemed that the feud between them wouldn't end easily.
However, he didn't dwell on such trivial matters.
His priority was to check for any treasures at Tian Lingli's uncle's place.
If Zhao Hui dared to cause trouble, he'd break another leg.
Li Chonglou didn't overthink these minor issues. Following the navigation provided by Tian Lingli, they arrived at a famous local tourist spot – Long Lake – about half an hour later, in a mountain hollow opposite the lake.
Tian Lingli's uncle lived in this location.
Although it wasn't as grand and majestic as the great mountains, it was more picturesque with its backdrop of Long Lake.
Tian Lingli had already made arrangements beforehand.
Before their car even arrived, a person was waiting at the entrance.
"Brother, we've finally been waiting for you!" Tian Meng, Tian Lingli's uncle, greeted them with a warm smile, but his eyes were filled with greed.