This time, Chu Wansong did not immediately answer Jiang Wuming's words. Instead, he got up, took a cigar from the humidor, and gestured to Jiang Wuming, "Wuming, would you like one?"
"No, Uncle Chu."
Jiang Wuming shook his head. He did not have the habit of smoking, nor did he smoke cigars.
Seeing this, Chu Wansong lit a cigar himself, took a few puffs, and exhaled two clouds of smoke deeply. After stabilizing his emotions, he continued, "When I was young, I came to Donghai to make my fortune. I had no education and no skills, so I could only do manual labor.
I moved bricks on construction sites, washed dishes in restaurants, and the longest I worked was pulling rickshaws. That paid a bit more.
One day, while pulling a rickshaw, a young lady, who had drunk too much, took off her shoes in the rickshaw. When she got out, she asked me to help her put them on.
At that time, it was the peak business hours, and I was in a hurry to get more customers. So, I squatted down to put her shoes on for her. She then used her foot to scrape my face and said that if I licked her feet, she would give me a tip.
I didn't do it. Instead, I yanked her out of the rickshaw and threw her onto the road.
That night, I drank three bottles of baijiu. Standing by the Huangpu River, I gazed at the starry sky and shouted with all my might, 'I, Chu Wansong, will never live like a dog in this life! Even if I beg, I won't earn money. I will live like a man and earn money while lying down!'
The next day, I sold my rickshaw, keeping only a hundred yuan for myself. The rest of the money I mailed to my family.
After doing all this, I plunged myself into the Jianghu.
The Jianghu is far simpler than what is depicted in the movies. Here, you can see all the dark sides. Da Feng Novel Network.
To make a name for oneself in the Jianghu, one needs not only good fighting skills but also a sharp mind.
Because I had practiced your Jiang family's spear techniques since childhood with my elders, I was quite good at fighting. I quickly gained a reputation, successfully joined the Qing character faction of the Qing Hong Gang, completed several missions with excellence, and soon established myself.
At that time, I didn't realize that my performance had attracted the attention of the leader of the Qing character faction, as well as the jealousy of some people.
Among them was a good brother of mine at the time.
We had undertaken several missions together. I had taken a knife for him and saved his life from a hail of blades.
However, out of jealousy and a desire to replace me, he designed a plan to kill me.
That day, I was being pursued. In a desperate counter-attack, using the Jiang family's spear techniques, I sent my so-called good brother on his way first, and then found myself in a desperate situation.
At that moment, your father happened to be passing by. Recognizing that I was using the Chu family's spear techniques, he intervened and saved me.
After your father confirmed that I was a villager from Chu Family Village, we talked a lot, including how your grandmother brought your father back to Chu Family Village.
When your father left, he gave me some medicine to take and also taught me some powerful martial arts techniques.
With the things your father gave me, my martial arts strength greatly increased. But I no longer relied solely on fighting. I gradually learned to use my brain, and eventually became the 'Red Flower Double Rod' of the Qing character faction. Finally, I married the daughter of the leader of the Qing character faction and took over his position."
Having finished his story, Chu Wansong leaned back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling, and continued to puff on his cigar.
He had never spoken about his past to anyone, not even Chu Weiyang or Chu Feng.
The world saw his achievements and his glory, but no one knew about his bitter past. Only he remembered it.
He did not resent the young lady from the lowest strata of society who had humiliated him. She had ignited the fighting spirit in him to change his fate.
He also did not resent the 'sworn brother' who was willing to take a knife for him but betrayed him. That person had made him truly understand the Jianghu, and realize that to survive long in that Jianghu, wisdom was more important than strength.
Nine deaths and one life.
He described his past life with these four words.
"Wuming, the Jiang family saved Chu Family Village, and your father saved me and changed my destiny. Without your father, I would have been a wandering ghost by now!
Therefore, from now on, whatever I do for you is only right. Please don't say thank you again.
Also, last night I told Xiao Feng here that if one day I am no longer around, you will have half of the Chu family's empire!"
"Uncle Chu, thank you for your kindness, but I cannot accept it, nor will I." Jiang Wuming gently shook his head.
"Wuming, before I met you, if anyone told me that someone in this world would refuse half of the Chu family's empire, I wouldn't have believed it. But after meeting you, I do."
Chu Wansong emerged from his memories and looked at Jiang Wuming with admiration. "You possess the loyalty and righteousness that people in the Jianghu admire, but loyalty and righteousness are precisely what people in the Jianghu lack the most."
Jiang Wuming agreed wholeheartedly.
In a sense, he was also half a Jianghu person.
Whether it was the missions arranged by his master, Tianlong Daoist, or the creation of the War Dragon Hall and his activities in the underworld later, he had genuinely experienced that dark Jianghu.
"By the way, Wuming, what do you think of Weiyang?"
Seeing Jiang Wuming remain silent, Chu Wansong extinguished his cigar and suddenly asked.
"Younger sister Weiyang is very good."
Jiang Wuming subconsciously voiced his observation. "I can see that you have protected her very well. She had a happy childhood, and even now, she retains her innocence and kindness."
"Wuming, why don't you marry Weiyang?" Chu Wansong's words were astonishing.
"Uh..."
Stunned by Chu Wansong's words, even Jiang Wuming, with his excellent psychological resilience, was taken aback. Then he saw that Chu Wansong did not seem to be joking.
"I know you have a fiancée, Li Lianyi from the Li family. However, I believe the possibility of you fulfilling your engagement and being together is very slim," Chu Wansong added.
"Uncle Chu, I am still young and have not thought about marriage."
Jiang Wuming thought for a moment and replied very seriously, "Moreover, I personally believe that for two people to be together, it must be based on mutual understanding, like, and appreciation. Whether it is Li Lianyi or Weiyang, I have not achieved that with either of them."
"Haha... you truly are loyal and righteous."
Chu Wansong burst into laughter and said, "If you and Weiyang eventually reach the state you described, then be together. If not, it would be good for you to be siblings."
Jiang Wuming smiled and said nothing.
Meanwhile.
In the villa's first-floor hall, Chu Feng, as a martial artist, heard Chu Wansong's proposal. With a mischievous smile, he turned to Chu Weiyang and said, "Sister, Dad wants Brother Wuming to be my brother-in-law. Do you have any objections?"
"Uh..."
Upon hearing Chu Feng's words, Chu Weiyang was first stunned, then her face turned red with embarrassment. Without saying a word, she returned to her room.
For the simple her, marriage was a distant matter. She had never even been in a relationship.
...
Huangfu Manor.
Although Jiang Wuming had left Huangfu Weixia's birthday banquet early, his conflict with Huangfu Yingjun had caused too much of a stir.
After Jiang Wuming left, Huangfu Weixia's birthday banquet ended shortly thereafter.
At ten o'clock that night, as the guests departed, Ye Rui and Wang Lin, along with his son Wang Zhisheng, got into the same car.
"Dad, do you know why Chu Wansong insisted on protecting Jiang Wuming?"
In the car, Wang Zhisheng asked the question that had been troubling him.
"I don't know the specific details, but it should be related to Jiang Zhan." Wang Lin made this judgment.
"Heh... Jiang Zhan has been dead for so many years. Jiang Wuming is addicted to gnawing on Jiang Zhan's corpse."
Ye Rui said with a sneer, not considering what his situation would be without the halo of the Ye family.
"Jiang Wuming establishing a connection with Chu Wansong is a disaster, not a blessing," Wang Lin sneered.
Ye Rui and Wang Zhisheng's hearts stirred upon hearing this.
"Originally, the identity of a teacher at the Donghai Martial Arts Academy was his protective charm. But by connecting with Chu Wansong, if he gets caught up in the struggle for the underworld, this protective charm will lose its efficacy!"
Wang Lin spoke again, and his words proved to be prophetic.