Hearing the commotion on the third floor, those on the second floor swarmed up the stairs. The sound of chaotic footsteps and shouts filled the air as more members of the Poisonous Snake Gang poured in.
In the blink of an eye, they had surrounded the hundred or so thugs the Lu Family had brought, along with Lu Jingwu himself, boxing them in three layers deep.
The cold muzzle of the gun was pressed firmly against his forehead. Zhang Hong’s raised hands trembled slightly, all traces of his earlier slick attitude gone.
"M-Manager Wu... calm down, please calm down! I’m just a messenger, a humble guy trying to make a living on these docks..."
"Even if you blow my brains out right now, it won’t solve anything."
At this tense, critical moment, Lu Fu, who had been standing silently behind and to the side of Lu Jingwu, suddenly took a half-step forward and whispered in his ear.
"Young Master Wu, the Security Bureau often has plainclothes officers watching the street corner downstairs. It’s not wise to shed blood here. This matter... it would be best to let the Elder decide."
Hearing this, Lu Jingwu’s brow furrowed, and a vicious glint swirled in his eyes.
He stared at Zhang Hong’s sweat-drenched face for two seconds before finally letting out a cold snort and slowly lowering the gun.
Zhang Hong felt the pressure on his forehead vanish. But before he could even catch his breath, his vision blurred!
A large, sinewy hand shot through the air, so fast he could only see an afterimage.
That hand seized Zhang Hong’s neck in a death grip!
As a Peak Mingjin Martial Artist, Lu Jingwu possessed the strength of two to three hundred jin in his arms. Lifting Zhang Hong’s body of just over a hundred jin was as easy as picking up a chick ready for slaughter.
As his five fingers tightened, Zhang Hong immediately struggled to breathe, his face turning crimson.
"An answer?"
Lu Jingwu leaned close to his ear, his voice ice-cold. "No need to wait three days. I’ll give it to you right now!"
He dragged Zhang Hong and turned to walk toward the stairs.
"FUCK! Let go of the Gang Leader!"
"Brothers, get them!"
Seeing this, the surrounding members of the Poisonous Snake Gang were enraged. They brandished their knives and clubs, roaring as they prepared to charge forward.
The gang members who had surged up from the second floor also pressed forward. It looked like a bloody brawl was about to erupt.
"All of you... stop... RIGHT NOW!!"
Zhang Hong, his throat crushed and on the verge of fainting, used all his strength to force out a broken roar from his constricted windpipe.
His feet kicked feebly in the air as he desperately waved his one barely movable hand at his subordinates. "Listen... listen to Manager Wu... I... I’ll go with them... None of you... are to move a muscle!"
The members of the Poisonous Snake Gang, who had been on the verge of a frenzy, were stunned by Zhang Hong’s unusual command. They froze in place, looking at each other, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Lu Jingwu dragged their Gang Leader down the stairs.
Beside the black Ford sedan, Lu Jingwu shoved Zhang Hong violently against the front of the car.
The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Lu Yun’s calm, expressionless face.
Lu Yun turned his head, his gaze falling on Zhang Hong’s face. His voice was so flat it betrayed no emotion. "I hear you have some ideas about our Lu Family?"
Zhang Hong stumbled back a step before regaining his footing. He cautiously sized up the old man inside the car.
The man’s clothes and bearing were extraordinary, but his face was completely unfamiliar. He was clearly not someone Zhang Hong would normally encounter.
"And you are...?" Zhang Hong asked tentatively, a note of caution creeping into his tone.
"Lu Yun."
Just two words.
Zhang Hong’s pupils contracted sharply, and he took an involuntary step back.
Lu Yun, the Patriarch of the Lu Family! To the older generation of the martial underworld and the dockside merchants of Yun Port City, that name carried the weight of a mountain!
’Why is he here in person?’
Lu Yun represented far more than just being the "Founder of the Lu Family Import and Export Trading Company."
In the stories passed down by the old-timers of the dock district’s martial underworld, his very name was steeped in the scent of blood.
What was most widely known was his status as a Former Martial Scholar of the previous dynasty, and his exploits during the chaotic years after the collapse of the Yin Dynasty and the founding of the Daxia New Country.
This ruthless man had carved out a fearsome reputation in Yun Port City with his bare fists.
Twenty years ago, the arrogant and powerful Qing Bang, which had dominated the docks, saw ten of its high-ranking members, including its leader, killed overnight. Their bodies were found neatly stacked at the entrance of their headquarters.
Rumor had it that this was his handiwork. The sheer brutality of the act sent a shockwave through the entire underworld of Yun Port City.
Of course, these were all just "rumors."
The Government had no evidence, and the Security Bureau was powerless against this Lord Lu, who held the honorary title of "Assistant General of the River Patrol" from the former dynasty.
A man’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow—it precedes him.
Even though this baleful star had been in seclusion for many years, his legend lived on in the underworld.
But now, with the living legend standing right before his eyes, Zhang Hong felt a chill shoot up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. His knees felt weak.
Understanding the situation instantly, Lu Fu quickly opened the car door for Lu Yun.
Leaning on a Rosewood Walking Stick with his right hand, Lu Yun slowly stepped out of the car.
After breaking through to become a Grandmaster of Huajin, his back, once slightly stooped with age, had straightened again. Now standing over 1.7 meters tall, he looked down condescendingly at the bowing and scraping Zhang Hong.
"Lord Lu! You... even if you gave this humble one ten thousand—no, a hundred thousand—guts! I would never dare to harbor the slightest thought of disrespect toward the Lu Family!"
Zhang Hong bent even lower at the waist, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
His slick and tough attitude from upstairs had completely vanished.
Just as Zhang Hong was scared out of his wits, a few voices, openly dripping with contempt, suddenly spoke up from the back of the Poisonous Snake Gang’s crowd.
"So that’s the Patriarch of the Lu Family? The Former Martial Scholar?"
"Tch... He just looks like a regular old man. He’s even leaning on a cane. A strong breeze could probably knock him over."
"You think Master overestimated him? This old fossil?"
"Just a decrepit old man. I hear he used to be a great fighter? I’d like to see how much of that strength he has left."
"Who cares? Master originally wanted us to invite that guy Lu Jingteng back for a ’chat.’ We didn’t catch our main target, but it looks like we’ve hooked a bigger fish."
"Perfect. This trip won’t be a waste after all. Let’s take this old geezer back to see Master!"
The crowd automatically parted as three unusually tall men with formidable auras pushed their way through.
They were dressed in the same short jackets as the regular gang members, but their eyes were exceptionally sharp.
Their steps were firm and steady, their bearing completely different from the street thugs around them.
These three were "nails" that Yishun Hall had planted within the Poisonous Snake Gang, secret pawns originally sent after Lu Jingteng.
Now, seeing Lu Yun himself arrive, the three exchanged a look. Far from being afraid, they showed a hint of excitement, as if they had "hooked a big fish."
The leader, a man with a hideous black scar on his face, gave a casual, cupped-fist salute in Lu Yun’s direction.
"Elder Lu, we’ve heard so much about you. Our Third Master invites you. Please trouble yourself to take a little trip with us."

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