"Huh?" Ning Lang looked at him with disbelief.
Had he misjudged? Wouldn't truly capable people be too lazy to attend such a mixed crowd event?
It seemed that even if Li Chonglou possessed immense talent at his age, he was still young.
Weren't young people prone to competitiveness? And wasn't it natural for them to enjoy lively gatherings?
"I want to see what Yong'an's antique circle is like," Li Chonglou stated calmly, offering an explanation for Ning Lang's reaction.
In truth, the real reason was far from that.
Although Yong'an was larger and more economically developed than Qin Zhou, its cultural heritage was not as profound as that of the thousand-year-old city of Qin Zhou.
Antiques were inherently built upon culture.
That was why Qin Zhou had masters like his mentor and Lu Weishen, while Li Chonglou remembered no particularly renowned figures in Yong'an.
Furthermore, even if a few capable individuals existed, in his eyes, they were no different from children.
Therefore, attending the appraisal fair was not about watching people show off.
It was an opportunity to understand his enemy.
Since returning to Qin Zhou was currently impossible, if he intended to establish himself in Yong'an, he needed to be thoroughly informed.
He would set aside the matter of the man surnamed Huang for now. Li Hanlong was his mortal enemy, and he had to be eliminated.
This person was also quite knowledgeable about antiques.
The circle was small, and to understand him, the appraisal fair was undoubtedly an excellent venue.
"Alright, since you've said so, Brother Li, I'll take you tomorrow," Ning Lang's confusion vanished, a flicker of hidden joy passing through his eyes as he agreed.
Tomorrow's event, while termed an appraisal fair, was essentially a showcase of wealth and status.
However, regardless of the display, if one's discerning eye was sharp enough, treasures could still be found.
With a master like Li Chonglou by his side, the chances of success increased significantly.
For a moment, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
Yet, Ning Lang, as a prominent figure, was accustomed to concealing his emotions, and naturally, he wouldn't display them like a child.
Ning Lang poured away the first cup of tea and was preparing to brew a new pot when Li Chonglou received a call from Jiang Yuxin.
His mother had woken up.
He was asked to return to the hospital quickly.
Seeing that Li Chonglou had no car, Ning Lang asked Brother Changbi to drive his Mercedes to take him back, which would also facilitate picking someone up.
Li Chonglou asked Brother Changbi to wait in the parking lot and returned to his ward.
Zheng Xiumei was already sitting up in bed, chatting animatedly with Lin Ying.
Her complexion was good, with no apparent abnormalities, just a bit of fatigue.
This finally put Li Chonglou's heart at ease.
Upon seeing her son, Zheng Xiumei became immediately emotional.
She beckoned Li Chonglou to sit beside her, stroking his face with concern. "My son, Xiao Ying has told me everything. You've been working hard, hiding things from your mother and Yuxin to achieve your goals..."
From being abducted in Qin Zhou to Yong'an, she had been unconscious for several days.
An explanation was necessary.
In Li Chonglou's absence, Lin Ying had taken it upon herself to fabricate a story, advancing the timeline of Li Chonglou being her junior by a few years.
She also provided a plausible reason: to help her father investigate a rare treasure, requiring him to conceal his identity to avoid attracting the attention of enemies.
This not only appeased Zheng Xiumei but also completely reassured Jiang Yuxin.
Li Chonglou looked at his senior sister, noticing the peculiar, cunning glint in her eyes, and found it both amusing and exasperating.
He dared not respond, fearing that speaking too much might unravel the deception, so he could only nod and vaguely reply, "Mom, it's not hard."
"We'll be staying in Yong'an for a while; we're not returning to Qin Zhou for now."
"I've already found a place to stay with my friend."
"I'll handle your discharge procedures shortly."
Hearing this, Zheng Xiumei sighed.
Living under someone else's roof was not her preference.
However, since her son had important matters to attend to in Yong'an, she naturally wouldn't be a hindrance.
She was willing to endure some hardship; it was better than burdening her son.
Knowing his mother's temperament, Li Chonglou changed the subject, chatting for a bit before asking Jiang Yuxin to accompany him to handle the discharge procedures.
Hospitals in big cities were indeed different; there were far more people than in Qin Zhou.
Li Chonglou thought he should get some medicine to take back before completing the discharge.
So, he headed to the first-floor cashier, where the atmosphere was bustling and chaotic.
Even paying required a long wait.
"Thief! Catch the thief! That's my father's life-saving money..."
"Please help, catch the thief!"
Just then, not far behind him, a woman's piercing cry suddenly rang out.
Many people turned their heads.
A woman in her early twenties, with delicately drawn eyebrows, sat slumped on the ground.
Her clean and elegant features appeared filled with panic and urgency.
Her beautiful eyes welled with tears as she pointed at a sprinting, burly man.
Many kind-hearted individuals immediately rushed to her side, intending to help her up.
"The times are truly changing for the worse. Stealing money even in a hospital?"
"This young lady seems quite pitiable. It looks like she was here to pay, and I wonder what illness her father has."
"Now that the money has been stolen, it would be good if it could be recovered, alas..."
"It's not that easy."
...
Everyone sighed in sympathy.
Yet, not a single person stepped forward to pursue the burly man.
This was not entirely blameworthy. Those who came to the hospital were generally the old, weak, sick, or disabled.
Who would come to the hospital for no reason if they were healthy and strong?
Or, they were accompanying elderly or sick individuals and were unable to disengage to help.
Furthermore, that wasn't just a thief; it was clearly a robbery. Even if one caught up to the tall, strong man, it wasn't certain they could prevail.
It was easy to offer congratulations in times of joy, but few offered help in times of distress. Who would want to court trouble?
Li Chonglou calmly stepped out of the queue and strode towards the direction where the burly man had disappeared.
The hospital in Yong'an was not a closed facility; both the front and back were connected to main roads.
The security guards were at the front entrance, but the robber was heading for the back.
Moreover, with the crowd, it was easy to lose sight of someone.
However, Li Chonglou's eyesight was exceptionally sharp; let alone a person, not even an ant could escape his keen gaze.
He never liked to meddle in others' affairs, but in this situation, he had to act.
His mother was seriously ill, and that girl's father was also sick, a shared misfortune.
He had tasted despair, and he never wanted to experience that feeling again.
Thus, he instinctively gave chase.
Li Chonglou's speed was extraordinary. After breaking through to the second level of cultivation, he could keep pace with cars within the city, let alone a single person.
In less than a minute, he caught up and intercepted the man by a flowerbed at the back entrance.
"Leave the money and get lost!"
Li Chonglou pointed at the black plastic bag in the burly man's hand and said calmly.
"Hey, who do you think you are?"
The burly man was initially startled, then looked at Li Chonglou's slender build, comparing him to a bamboo pole next to an iron tower. A sneer appeared on his face. "You've got quite the nerve, trying to swindle my money?"
He didn't perceive Li Chonglou as a righteous bystander but rather as someone trying to profit from the situation.
After all, in this day and age, especially in hospitals, he had done this more than once, but there wasn't a single person who had stepped forward to uphold justice.
He had become accustomed to it.
"Don't make me say it a second time," Li Chonglou said, feeling disgusted by the oily smirk on the burly man's face.
He didn't have time to argue with such a character. His mother was waiting for the discharge procedures.
If it weren't for the girl mentioning it was her father's life-saving money, he wouldn't have bothered.
"You dare speak to me like that on my turf, you must be tired of living." A sinister look flickered in the burly man's eyes.
He put his fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle.
Immediately, three menacing figures emerged from behind the flowerbed.
They were clearly accomplices.
In this era, everyone used electronic payments, and even the central bank had issued virtual currency.
Real money was becoming increasingly difficult to come by.
Out on the streets, even stealing a phone meant it would be unlocked and tracked.
Only the hospital, this treasure trove, offered some potential.
Thus, they all gathered here.
It seemed one of them, with his hair dyed a striking yellow-green, was the leader of the group.
He swaggered forward with a swagger, a cold smile on his lips. "Brother, a strong dragon doesn't oppress a local snake. I advise you to keep your eyes open."
"We all walk our own paths; we don't interfere with each other."
"Otherwise, if you get hit by a car on the road, don't blame us."
A blatant threat.
As he spoke, the other two took out daggers from their waists and slapped them in their hands as a show of force.
Passersby nearby turned pale with fright and quickly moved away.
Li Chonglou remained unfazed, scanning the group. "You have your paths, but others cannot live."
"Now, leave the money, and I'll pretend nothing happened."
"Otherwise, you know the penalty for robbery; after spending a few years in prison, these local snakes will likely become timid worms."
His words caused the four to look extremely displeased.
His sarcasm was evident in every word.
Li Chonglou didn't take them seriously at all.
He had seen plenty of people in the underworld. As the saying goes, even thieves have their own code.
These puny scoundrels who robbed people in hospitals were worse than animals.
"You're fucking looking for death!" One of them, his face contorted with rage at the remark, couldn't hold back and stepped towards Li Chonglou, intending to give him a couple of stabs to vent his anger.
Unfortunately, his movements, in Li Chonglou's eyes, were as slow as a turtle crawling.
With a slight shift of his body, he delivered a palm strike to the man's face.
*Slap!*
A crisp sound echoed, and the man spat blood, his teeth flying out in an arc as he fell to the ground, screaming.
Li Chonglou showed no mercy to such scumbags.
"Damn it, he's tough! Brothers, let's take him down together!" The blond-haired man, seeing his subordinate beaten, yelled with malicious intent.
The burly robber and another man immediately responded, converging on Li Chonglou from three sides.
Each wielding a dagger.
The ferocity in their eyes was palpable, as if they were determined to kill Li Chonglou today.
"Damn it, hospitals are becoming so unsafe now?" Just then, a voice like a thunderclap erupted.
Brother Changbi, who had driven Li Chonglou to the hospital, appeared nearby, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
His eyes were cold as he strode purposefully towards the group.
"Zheng... Boss Zheng..." The blond-haired man turned and saw Brother Changbi, his eyes widening, his voice becoming stammering.
In this part of South City, everyone in the underworld knew of a fearsome figure.
His arms were long, reaching past his knees, and his demeanor was as cold as ice.
He had once single-handedly fought off more than a dozen people with just his fists, sustaining seven stab wounds.
This man was named Zheng Rui.
After recovering from his injuries, Zheng Rui was reportedly taken notice of by a powerful figure and subsequently rose through the ranks.
Their immediate bosses were subordinates of Zheng Rui.
To encounter the legendary figure in the hospital today was beyond expectation.
The blond-haired man's excitement and shock were immense.
"You recognize me?" Brother Changbi approached the group, flicked the remaining half of his cigarette to the ground, and ground it out with his foot, asking coldly.
"Of course, you're a legend in the underworld! Our boss used to be your subordinate," the blond-haired man said obsequiously, attempting to curry favor. "This humble one is Chen Tian, also known as Huang Mao."
He completely ignored Li Chonglou, who was standing right beside him.
After speaking, he winked at the burly robber, snatched the plastic bag containing the money, and handed it to Zheng Rui with an ingratiating smile.
"Boss Zheng, this small amount of money is a token of my respect. Please accept it."
"I implore you to take it!"