Chapter 110: One Hundred Thousand Yuan

"Ah!"

Following the girl's startled cry, she stood up abruptly and began patting her legs frantically, only stopping after a long moment. By then, the skin on her leg had turned somewhat red from the heat, and her hot pants were stained.

"What's wrong with you? Are you trying to scald me to death?" the girl shouted at A-Duo, her voice thick with anger.

A-Duo, holding an empty bowl, turned bright red and stammered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it."

Two men approached and inspected the girl's leg. Frowning, one of them said, "It’s scalded. You’re in trouble now."

"How about I pay for you to go to the town clinic?" A-Duo whispered.

The girl immediately shrieked, "What kind of medical care can I get at a lousy clinic? And these pants were brand new and cost over seven thousand! You have to pay for them."

Upon hearing that a pair of shorts could cost over seven thousand, A-Duo turned pale with fright.

Lu Ming, watching from the side, could see that the injury was minor. A-Duo had only spilled a small amount of soup on the girl’s bare leg, and after she patted it off, there was nothing left but a bit of redness that would heal on its own in a day or two. The girl clearly knew this, but she was more concerned about her expensive hot pants.

A-Duo stood there, bowl in hand, completely at a loss. She was just a waitress making barely over two thousand a month, most of which she sent home to support her family. Seven thousand was an astronomical sum to her.

Seeing that his presence had caused the situation, Lu Ming felt responsible for helping A-Duo. He stood up, walked over to the group, and said, "Everyone, my apologies. I called out to her just now, which caused her to lose focus and spill the soup. How about this? I’ll pay for the girl’s pants and add some money for medical expenses. How does ten thousand sound?"

In Lu Ming’s view, the girl’s burn just needed a bit of ointment and would be fine in two days—it was a trivial matter.

However, the two men didn't seem pleased. They looked Lu Ming up and down, and one of them sneered, "That's easy for you to say. You’ll definitely pay for the pants, but Lele is a model; her career depends on her legs. If this leaves a scar, her career is ruined. Can you afford that?"

"Exactly! Can you afford it?" the girl named Lele yelled at him as well.

Lu Ming frowned. "Then what do you propose?"

"How about this," the man who had spoken earlier stood up. "Since you want to intervene, I, Young Master Wang, won't extort you. Just hand over one hundred thousand, and we'll call it even."

Young Master Wang smirked at Lu Ming, convinced that Lu Ming was a penniless nobody trying to act tough. He expected the figure of one hundred thousand to scare the man out of his wits.

Lu Ming’s brows knitted together tightly. After a moment, he said, "You don't look like people who are short on money. Isn't this a bit excessive?"

The other man stood up and laughed.

"Young Master Wang and I are certainly not short on money, but we can't stand people acting big in front of us. To be honest, one hundred thousand is just a few days' pocket money for us; we don't care about it. But since you were bold enough to step forward, paying us one hundred thousand is barely fitting for our status."

Lu Ming couldn't fathom this twisted logic.

Young Master Wang sat back down leisurely and said, "If you want to handle this, then pay up. Honestly, saying 'one hundred thousand' is embarrassing—if my friends heard, they’d laugh at me."

Lele added, "Listen, kid, Young Master Wang spends more than that on a single meal. Him talking to you like this is already a huge favor. Otherwise, one word from him could bankrupt you."

Lu Ming shook his head. "One hundred thousand it is. I'll pay." He took out his phone and said, "Give me your account number, and I'll transfer the money."

Young Master Wang chuckled. "Lele, give him your account. Consider it pocket money for you."

Lele was overjoyed and quickly recited her account details. Lu Ming transferred the money without another word and turned to leave. He figured they were just spoiled rich kids playing the part of local bullies to show off in front of their dates; he didn't care to engage with them.

Lu Ming had over twenty million in his account; one hundred thousand was nothing to him. He simply didn't want A-Duo, a young girl, to take the fall for something he had caused.

After he left, the group looked at him with some surprise, but since he had paid in full, they couldn't say anything more and sat back down to eat.

A short while later, A-Duo brought two bowls of noodles to Lu Ming’s table. She looked guilty and whispered, "Thank you, brother. I'm so sorry you had to pay so much money."

"It's fine, I have the money. Besides, it was my fault, not yours. Don't worry about it," Lu Ming said with a smile.

To put her at ease, Lu Ming had indeed shown off his wealth, but to A-Duo, the amount remained an impossible sum. She felt terrible, but unable to do anything else, she added an extra-large portion of meat sauce to his bowl as a gesture of gratitude.

Lu Ming ate his meal, and upon finishing, he asked A-Duo for a pen and paper. He wrote down a phone number and handed it to her. "If anyone gives you trouble, call me."

He left a hundred-yuan bill on the table and stood up to leave. He felt that Young Master Wang’s group was unreliable and feared they might harass A-Duo after he left.

Unexpectedly, this gesture infuriated them. Before he could even step out of the restaurant, Young Master Wang shouted, "Hey kid, stop right there! What is this supposed to mean?"

Lu Ming turned around. "It doesn't mean anything. What's the problem?"

"Who the hell do you think you're looking down on?" the other man cursed.

Lu Ming walked back to them slowly and looked them in the eye. "You demanded one hundred thousand, and I didn't bother arguing with a bunch of children—I paid. What more do you want?"

His gaze suddenly turned sharp, causing the group to tremble instinctively. Lu Ming scoffed and walked away.

A moment later, they regained their composure. Young Master Wang looked flustered and cursed, "Damn it, we got intimidated by that brat. If we see him again, we’re breaking his legs."

After exiting the restaurant, Lu Ming checked his bearings and headed toward the mountains in the distance. This was Luoji Mountain, famous for its beautiful scenery in the Miaojiang region, and it attracted many tourists.

Knowing he had a long way to go, Lu Ming caught a shuttle bus at the foot of the mountain and traveled slowly along the winding road. Through his spiritual imprint, he could sense that Wula was moving steadily dozens of miles ahead. He wasn't in a hurry; he would wait until Wula stopped moving to confirm his lair before closing in, lest he alert his enemy too early.

He enjoyed the scenery as he traveled. Occasionally, he would see tourists in their own cars speeding past the shuttle. He even spotted Young Master Wang’s group in a Mercedes SUV, roaring past them. Lu Ming shook his head with a smile. It was fine to be young, wealthy, and carefree, but these spoiled rich kids had never faced real adversity. They acted as if they owned the world, unaware of the dangers that truly existed. To them, life was nothing but money, women, and wine.

Two hours later, the bus stopped at the entrance of the Luoji Mountain Scenic Area. Lu Ming bought a ticket and began his journey on foot.

After an hour of walking, he reached the deep interior of the park, known as "Tiger Leaping Gorge." The water surged through the narrow passage with immense force, flanked by towering ancient trees and mountain peaks that pierced the clouds. It was a magnificent sight.

"A fine place indeed," Lu Ming remarked.

Just then, a familiar voice cut through the air: "Well, well, what a coincidence to run into you here. Let’s see if you can keep acting so arrogant now."