on his face.“Haha, if you like the scenery here, that's perfectly fine! If you enjoy it, feel free to stay longer. This place belongs entirely to our Wang Family; you can stay as long as you wish!” Up...Chapter 140: Making Acquaintances

The three panicked individuals glanced at the bald man still lying unconscious on the ground and then looked at Zhang Dahan's fierce expression. They couldn't help but shiver, wondering how they hadn't noticed his intimidating appearance earlier.

"Y-You... don’t come over here... We’ll do it ourselves..." The tall leader saw Zhang Dahan slowly approaching with a cold smile on his face and an imposing aura that made him feel short of breath. He involuntarily shivered as he spoke.

"Then hurry up! I haven't got all day to waste!" Zhang Dahan narrowed his eyes fiercely at the trio.

"Alright, alright..." After saying this, the tall leader hugged his head and looked at the steps by the door. Although there were only four steps, they made these bloated men dizzy. The tall man swallowed involuntarily and shut his eyes before rolling down.

"Ouch... Ouch..." With each roll, he let out painful cries.

The other two followed suit and rolled down as well.

“Hahaha...” At some point, Xiao Yu’s pharmacy was surrounded by people. Seeing the four men in such a pitiful state, everyone burst into laughter.

These people were local merchants who had all suffered from these individuals' extortion before. They didn't want to fight with government officials and knew that it would only hurt them more in the long run. It was better to pay up for peace of mind. Now seeing these four so humiliated, they felt pleased.

"Old Wang, I’m in a good mood today! Let’s go have some drinks at my place!"

"Drinks Old Uncle Zhang, you only invite Old Wang, no room for me"

"Haha, it's really refreshing today. Old Wang, just get the alcohol and I’ll buy the food!"

"Haha... These four rascals finally got what’s coming to them... Great...

Xi Yu stood on the steps and, by listening to the various comments from the crowd, understood how unpopular these few individuals were in their daily actions! Ordinary people had no way to address their grievances and could only endure them; unless they stopped operating their stores, but if they did that, how would their families survive

Originally, when Xi Yu saw Zhang Dahai reprimand the few individuals and was planning on letting it go, he suddenly felt that Zhang Dahai's punishment for them was too lenient.

Xi Yu stood by the door and gently waved his fingers. Unless one was a fellow practitioner, they wouldn't be able to see that Xi Yu was drawing talismans in mid-air; ordinary people would merely think he was exercising his fingers!

A moment later, a simplified version of a gathering煞符 (a term from Wuxia/fantasy literature which doesn't have a direct translation) took shape in Xi Yu's hands. With a light push, he inserted the talisman into the tall man’s body. Xi Yu then drew three more talismans and inserted them into the bodies of the other individuals.

When the talismans entered their bodies, the four individuals only shivered but felt nothing else! After they rolled down the stairs and heard the murmurs from the crowd, the tall man led the others away with bowed heads, carrying the unconscious bald-headed man out of the crowd.

Zhang Shaohua watched as the four individuals rolled down the steps. All his anger was vented; he wouldn't mention this matter to anyone. If people found out that a secretary to a city's party chief had been humiliated by some low-level street thugs, no one would laugh at the thugs but only mock him.

Furthermore, for a period of time, he would become the subject of ridicule among officials over tea breaks. Not only would he lose face, but Secretary Chu would also be embarrassed; therefore, he didn't plan on telling anyone and had plenty of opportunities to settle things with them later.

After the four individuals turned a corner and entered an alleyway, the bald-headed man opened his eyes. It turned out that this bald-headed man had already woken up earlier but pretended to be unconscious for fear of further beating; he only opened his eyes when they were far enough away from the scene.

"Damn it, you were faking, baldy!" The tall man and the others immediately let go of their supporting hands upon seeing that the moment they turned into an alley, the bald-headed man had opened his eyes.

"Captain, are we just going to leave it at this I'm not okay with it! What if we find some people to smash his window every day That piece of glass costs several thousand, and it will break his heart!" The bald-headed man said with a sinister expression.

“Nonsense, such underhanded tactics are beneath our status!” the tall man leading them scolded the bald man.

"What else can we do Can we just let this huge loss go unpaid If we want to continue operating in this area, we must reclaim our lost face!" The bald-headed man said when he heard the leader's disagreement with his plan. He had suffered more than anyone today; when Zhang Dahai choked him, he had never felt so close to death.

"Haha, Baldy, why are you in such a hurry I have my own plans!" The tall man chuckled and said.

"Oh What idea................." Upon hearing their隊長's words, Baldhead and the other two hurriedly asked.

"Hehe................" The tall man proudly chuckled and beckoned to the other three with a wave of his hand.

Baldhead and the others quickly leaned in to listen. After hearing what the tall man had to say, all three looked at him with admiration.

"Captain, you're too amazing!" The bald man looked up to their captain, full of admiration as he gave a thumbs-up.

"Haha......... Of course, how else would I be your captain" The tall man smiled smugly. At this point, they had long forgotten the embarrassing scene that had just occurred.

In Wan Sheng Hall

"Brother Zhang, earlier you suffered a lot because of me! I truly feel terrible about it!" Xiao Yu said to Zhang Shaohua with regret in his eyes. No matter how one looked at it, Zhang Shaohua had stood up for him today and endured much from those people.

"Haha, Xiao Brother, we're all brothers here, why be so formal" Zhang Shaohua smiled gently at Xiao Yu, speaking to him in a reproaching tone.

"It's my fault... Come, Brother Zhang, let me introduce you. This is my sworn brother Zhang Dahai!"

"Brother, this is Zhang Shaohua, Brother Zhang!" Xiao Yu apologized twice to Zhang Shaohua before introducing them both to each other.

"Hello! Zhang Shaohua!" Zhang Shaohua extended his hand toward Zhang Dahai.

Zhang Dahai sized up Zhang Shaohua with a scrutinizing gaze for a moment before extending his own hand to shake Zhang Shaohua's. "Zhang Dahai."

"Xiao Brother, you and your brother probably have plenty to talk about now that you've met. I won't bother you today! Let’s get together for a meal another day!" Zhang Shaohua said to Xiao Yu.

When Zhang Dahai looked at him with a scrutinizing and amused expression, he was initially quite annoyed. He had initiated the handshake; how could the other person still put on airs But then he remembered the amusement in the man’s eyes and realized that the person must know his identity. How did this person act like this knowing who he was What exactly does this guy do

This person looked so familiar, but Zhang Shaohua couldn’t remember where they had met before.

The other party seemed very familiar with him, yet he knew nothing about the man. This made Zhang Shaohua feel extremely uncomfortable, which was why he hastily left to think back on when and where he had seen this person before.

He had originally planned to meet up with Xiao Yu today for a meal while passing by the antique city in order to build their relationship, but now he didn’t have any desire to eat at all.

"Another time, another time! I’ll treat Brother Zhang to a meal and apologize to him!" As Xiao Yu was also curious about why Zhang Dahai had come to the deep sea area, when Zhang Shaohua said that he wanted to leave, he didn’t stop him too much.

After Zhang Shaohua left, Xiao Yu looked at Zhang Dahai with a curious expression and asked, "Big Brother, how did you come to the deep sea When did you arrive Why didn't you call me so I could pick you up"

"Haha! I’m going to be based in the deep sea area from now on! I arrived one week ago. Initially, I wanted to give you a surprise, but then I got busy and couldn’t make time for it until today!" Zhang Dahai said with a smile.

“What... Big Brother also came to work in the deep sea How did you know I was here” Xiao Yu asked. He found it very strange that Zhang Dahai could find him here, as he had only recently decided to open this store.

"Haha, yes! I’ve been transferred to work here! Xiao Zhuo helped me locate the place!" Zhang Dahai explained with a smile.

Xiao Yu nodded. If it was Zuo Simiao who wanted to find him, that wouldn’t be too difficult, as he and Wei Jun were classmates, so all he had to do was ask around.

Since Zhang Dahai had already eaten at the unit earlier, they stayed in Xiao Yu’s shop and chatted.

When Zhang Shaohua returned to the municipal committee, he kept thinking about where he might have met that person before. No matter how much he thought about it, however, he couldn’t recall. It wasn’t because he was being stubborn; rather, whenever he remembered the amused look in Zhang Dahai’s eyes as he looked at him, he felt uneasy and had a sense of foreboding.

"Xiao Zhang, what happened Why are you so distracted" Zhang Shaohua thought deeply to himself while walking, gradually catching up with Party Secretary Chu Guoqing who was strolling in the hallway. Chu Guoqing knew his secretary well and had always found him規矩守分，機靈懂事，從來冇有什麼越矩之事。

translator note: "規矩守分，機靈懂事" means Zhang Shaohua has been rule-abiding, sensible, smart, and considerate throughout the two years he worked under Chu Guoqing.Yu thought secretly in admiration when he saw the girl’s appearance. When he first noticed Wang Jing's features, he observed that her facial features were brimming with the five elements of prosperity...