Chapter 42: The Soaring Panther

"Hahaha." At this moment, Lu Ming burst into loud laughter and said, "Damn it, a fraud and a nobody, and you still have the nerve to demand an apology? You two really are something."

Meng Changjiang's expression changed instantly, and he quickly retorted, "Kid, who's a fraud? Make yourself clear."

Wei Wenbai was present, and if he let Wei Wenbai know he was a fraud, his loan would be lost. He absolutely couldn't admit to this.

"You swindled Chen Bing out of six million—do I need to spell it out?" Lu Ming said coldly.

Meng Changjiang chuckled, "You say I swindled him out of six million. Do you have any proof?"

When Chen Bing handed him the money, Meng Changjiang did indeed give him a receipt. But that same night, he got Chen Bing drunk and stole the receipt. There was absolutely no evidence of the transaction. That was why Chen Bing had repeatedly found no legal recourse; every time he tried to appeal, people would refuse to open a case without proof.

Chen Bing lowered his head deeply upon hearing this, blaming himself for his carelessness in losing the receipt, which had led to his current predicament. He still hadn't realized that Meng Changjiang had actually stolen it.

Lu Ming, of course, knew that the receipt was gone, but he didn't care about that. As long as he could get his hands on Meng Changjiang, he had plenty of ways to make him cough up the money.

Lu Ming said, "Meng Changjiang, I advise you to return those six million to Chen Bing, or I'll make your life worse than death."

"Oh, so you can't extort, now you want to rob me? Chen, what do you think we should do about this?" Meng Changjiang replied to Chen Lei, showing no sign of fear.

Chen Lei stood up, towering and muscular, and rolled his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds.

"Damn it, trying to extort me right in front of my face? Looks like you're here to die," he said.

Lu Ming, only one meter seventy-five, was average in height and didn't look especially strong. Yun Ketian was even thinner and taller, with a scholarly, frail appearance. Chen Bing, especially, was hardly worth a second glance. Compared to Chen Lei, the top boss of Baofeng City's underworld, the three looked quite weak.

Meng Changjiang laughed and said, "Allow me to introduce you: this is Chen Lei, known as Sky Leopard in Baofeng City's underworld. Surely you’ve heard the name?"

Looking at Lu Ming and his companions, Meng Changjiang wore a smile. The name Sky Leopard was renowned in Baofeng City; few were unaware of it. He had befriended Chen Lei precisely to find himself a shield in the underworld, as he had too many skeletons in his closet and feared his enemies would come for him. Now, it seemed this connection would be useful.

Lu Ming glanced at Sky Leopard and spoke calmly, "Even Nine Lives Tower bows before me. You, a sick cat, dare bare your claws? I advise you to crawl back into your hole and stay put, lest the leopard turns into a dead cat."

Chen Lei froze at once.

Nine Lives Tower—Lord Tu. That was a true heavyweight in the underworld, a man who had slaughtered hundreds of gangsters, risen from the dead, and in a single night subdued all the forces in Xijing, becoming a legend. When Tu took the throne as the underworld boss of Xijing, his deeds spread throughout the northwest. The second-tier bosses rushed to pay their respects and pledge allegiance, trembling before Tu's murderous aura.

Hearing Lu Ming mention Lord Tu, Chen Lei began to hesitate. If this man was connected to Tu, he couldn't afford to touch him.

Thinking this through, Chen Lei said slowly, "Please, tell me your name. If you’re one of ours, we can talk this out."

Yun Ketian spoke up, "Our boss's surname is Lu. Just call him Lord Lu."

Yun Ketian was enjoying himself, making Chen Lei call Lu Ming "Lord Lu" to get a bit of revenge.

Chen Lei listened, noting that these two had heard his reputation and showed no fear, even dared to joke with him. If they didn’t have some background, they wouldn’t dare.

"I'll make a call," Chen Lei said.

He walked out of the private room, pulled out his phone, and dialed Tu’s number. He needed to verify whether this Lu was connected to Tu—if he was, he’d back off; if not, he'd show them the true might of Sky Leopard.

After some time, the call connected.

"Hello, is this Lord Tu?"

"This is Huang Jiu. Who are you?"

"Lord Huang, I’m Chen Lei from Baofeng City. I need to speak to Lord Tu."

"Chen Lei? Hold on."

A moment later, a cold voice came through the phone.

"What do you want?"

"Lord Tu, there’s a man surnamed Lu here, says he knows you. May I ask if you know this person?"

On hearing the surname Lu, Tu immediately grew cautious.

"Did he say his full name?"

"No."

"What does he look like?" Tu’s voice grew urgent.

"Um, there’s a faint knife scar on his left cheek."

Tu responded at once.

"Chen Lei, let me tell you, Mr. Lu is my savior. If you show him even the slightest disrespect, or if he’s even a bit dissatisfied, I’ll make you howl for a year before you die."

Chen Lei broke out in a cold sweat.

He stammered, "No, absolutely not, Lord Tu. Mr. Lu is just doing business here, I happened to run into him, I swear I’ve shown no disrespect."

"Consider yourself lucky. Whatever Mr. Lu needs, you assist him immediately. If you handle this well, you’ll follow Huang Jiu from now on."

"Yes, yes," Chen Lei replied repeatedly. To follow Huang Jiu meant becoming Tu's trusted subordinate, a rare opportunity. From then on, who would dare provoke him in the underworld?

With that, Tu hung up.

He had intended to rush to Baofeng City, but reconsidered. Mr. Lu hadn’t called him over, and if he upset Mr. Lu by showing up uninvited, that would be bad. Besides, with Mr. Lu’s abilities, no one could touch him anyway. After much thought, Tu gave up on going to Baofeng.

Meanwhile, Chen Lei finished his call and returned to the private room.

"Brother Chen, why were you out so long?" Meng Changjiang asked with a smile.

Chen Lei didn’t say a word. He strode over to Meng Changjiang and slapped him twice across the face, the sound echoing in the room.

Everyone except Lu Ming’s group was stunned, especially Meng Changjiang. He couldn’t understand it—Chen Lei had only stepped out to make a call, but now he’d turned on him. Just minutes earlier, they’d been calling each other brother.

"What’s wrong, Brother Chen?" Meng Changjiang asked, clutching his face.

"What’s wrong?" Chen Lei sneered. "You dared provoke Mr. Lu and nearly dragged me into your stupidity. What do you think is wrong?"

With that, Chen Lei kicked Meng Changjiang in the stomach.

Meng Changjiang was sent flying, crashing into the wall before collapsing to the floor, rolling in pain, unable to get up. His frail body couldn’t withstand the full force of Chen Lei, a martial artist, and Chen Lei showed no mercy. This fool had dared mess with someone Tu revered; had Chen Lei not caught on, he would have gotten himself killed too. Chen Lei wished he could kick him to death.

Watching Meng Changjiang writhing on the ground, Chen Lei bowed deeply to Lu Ming.

"Mr. Lu, I was blind and offended you. Whatever punishment you see fit, I will accept without complaint."

Wei Wenbai and the hostesses were all astonished at Chen Lei's demeanor. They knew his reputation in Baofeng—he was a big deal—when had he ever humbled himself like this?

Especially Wang Xiaoyu, who saw Chen Lei suddenly turn on Meng Changjiang and treat Chen Bing’s party with such respect. She was at a loss for what to do.

Lu Ming spoke slowly, "I’ll spare you this once. Break Meng Changjiang’s leg for me."

With that, Lu Ming, Yun Ketian, and Chen Bing moved to sit on the sofa.

The hostesses watched the three, terrified, instinctively edging away.

Chen Lei, without a word, went to Meng Changjiang and stomped hard on one of his legs.

A sickening crack echoed.

Meng Changjiang’s knee was smashed, barely held together by a layer of skin, and he howled in agony like a slaughtered pig.

The hostesses all screamed and covered their eyes, while Wei Wenbai sprang to his feet.

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