Li Feng turned his head to look at Xiao Mingyue: "You be my introducer."
"What, don't trust me?"
Xiao Mingyue curled her lips: "You saw earlier, I still have some status in the Longevity Sect; introducing someone into the inner circle is not difficult for me."
Li Feng didn't believe Xiao Mingyue would be so kind-hearted. Their relationship was more adversarial than friendly, especially last time when Li Feng and Xiao Mingyue were at each other's throats.
"What do you want?"
Xiao Mingyue's eyes sparkled as she looked at Li Feng: "What I want, would you give it to me?"
"I'm afraid you can't afford it."
Li Feng stared into Xiao Mingyue's eyes, remaining calm and steady.
He wouldn't think Xiao Mingyue was the kind of woman who would throw herself at him; she was the underground queen in Sea City. For her to be so proactive, she must have bigger plans.
"Oh, really?"
Xiao Mingyue raised her hand and brushed past Li Feng: "Then I might want to give it a try. But before that, come with me to a place."
Suddenly, Xiao Mingyue took a half step back, creating some distance from Li Feng. This sudden change was like the weather on the grassland, easily changing without notice.
Li Feng watched Xiao Mingyue, whose face changed faster than flipping a book, as she took two steps forward and turned her head: "What, is the mighty Hidden Dragon of Huacheng afraid I'll eat you?"
Li Feng grinned, stepped forward, and followed her out of the hotel. Xiao Mingyue immediately had someone bring the car around.
"Get in!"
After saying that to Li Feng, Xiao Mingyue got into a pink luxury car, and Li Feng opened the door and sat inside as well.
The car drove all the way to the suburbs, where the road started to become bumpy. Li Feng looked outside at the surrounding scenery, furrowing his brow slightly. This place was so desolate, undeveloped even after ten years in the future. He didn't understand why Xiao Mingyue brought him to this remote wilderness.
"Don't stare, we're almost there. It's not as barren as it looks; there may be few people, but the mountains hold hidden wonders you'll see when you arrive!" Seeing Li Feng's expression, Xiao Mingyue explained to him.
Oh.
Li Feng didn't say anything and let Xiao Mingyue drive through a winding mountain path, through dense forests, until suddenly the view ahead became open. There was a large reservoir here, and beside it were numerous scattered and well-arranged buildings.
Entering the valley, there was a guard post up ahead.
Xiao Mingyue used facial recognition, and the security guard did not obstruct them, allowing them to pass.
"Where is this?"
"Haha, didn't you want to enter the inner circle of the Dharma Conference? You wouldn't really think that the inner circle would be held at the crowded and noisy Wanjin Grand Hotel, would you?"
Xiao Mingyue said with a curl of her lips.
The Wanjin Grand Hotel was indeed high-end, one of the top hotels in Zhongtian City, but it was suitable for the average wealthy individuals. Truly affluent people disdain crowded places.
It's beneath one's dignity.
Xiao Mingyue drove the car to the parking lot, opened the door, and got out.
It was then that Li Feng realized, compared to the valley's exterior, the villa in front of him was truly extraordinary. The well-arranged buildings blended naturally with the surrounding environment, everywhere exuding the charm of bird songs and floral fragrance.
Seeing Li Feng's interest in these things, Xiao Mingyue commented beside him: "This villa was specially built for summer retreats, but it's not open to the public. There used to be a Daoist Temple here with quite a history, but for some reason, it became abandoned!"
"Later someone found it interesting, fenced it off, and developed this resort villa as a place for summer retreats, also hosting some friends occasionally."
Xiao Mingyue said.
Li Feng squinted at the villa, developing such a place for retreats; wow, that's quite a feat. This valley was immense.
Not to mention securing such a large piece of land requires significant background and connections.
However, Li Feng was more mindful of Xiao Mingyue's last remark—hosting friends.
She probably didn't know he would attend the Dharma Conference, and their encounter at the hotel was likely coincidental, hence this spur-of-the-moment decision.
What kind of friends was she introducing him to?
Li Feng followed Xiao Mingyue through flower corridors, passing a lotus pond with artificial mountains, until they reached the villa's main building. This building seemed to be modified from the past Daoist Temple, with the temple's image still visible.
Passing through the temple to the back, there was an open platform. Not far away, there was a small waterfall cascading downwards, below which was a pond. The temperature here was seven or eight degrees cooler than outside, making it extremely comfortable.
Li Feng's gaze landed on an umbrella on the platform, under which were a table and several chairs. A few people were sitting there drinking tea.
Li Feng's eyes swept over these three people, who appeared to be about the same age as him, around thirty years old.
The one sitting in the middle seemed to be the person in charge. The person beside him, with his legs crossed, had an air of playful unruliness, while the person on the far right had a stern expression.
Li Feng and Xiao Mingyue's arrival naturally caught the attention of the group.
"Xiao the beautiful, hasn't it been a while? You're still as stunning as ever," the playful man immediately stood up from his chair and came over to greet them.
"Who is this?"
The man had also noticed Li Feng. Xiao Mingyue was known for her icy demeanor, rejecting men from a thousand miles away, making people wonder about her sexual orientation.
Today, she unusually brought a man over, which was rare.
"Century, Li Feng."
Xiao Mingyue introduced briefly.
"Li Feng?"
The playful man's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Li Feng, evidently recognizing him.
"Mingyue, you actually brought him here. Why didn't you give us a heads up?"
The man who had been sitting in the middle, exuding confidence, immediately stood up, his smile giving an impression of a refreshing spring breeze.
"Li Feng, right? You are quite the renowned figure; I have heard of you. Didn't expect to meet you in person today!"
Xiao Mingyue introduced the people beside her. The one speaking was Qin Wannian; the stern-faced one was Cao Ran; and the man with the playful demeanor was Wei Tao.
Li Feng glanced at them, immediately understanding their background was not simple. If their level wasn't high, Xiao Mingyue wouldn't associate with them.
Especially Qin Wannian, who addressed Xiao Mingyue as Mingyue, indicating a close relationship, suggesting their family statuses were likely not too far apart.
Their identities were basically revealing themselves; if one wanted, it was easy to trace some information through their names.
"Wei Tao, go grab a chair."
"Sit!"
Li Feng wasn't shy, he sat down directly, raising his gaze to look at Qin Wannian.
"I'm far from being a famed figure; there's more scandal about me than anything, You're being too polite, Young Master Qin."
Li Feng's reputation was mostly negative. Although he wiped his news clean during the New Century Group's launch event, his previous image was too ingrained, as he topped trending searches for several weeks.
Cleaning up wasn't something done overnight.
"Haha, those in gossip circles are merely mundane people. What do they know? They simply follow the herd."
"Huacheng's Hidden Dragon, conquering Sihai, annexing Century, scattering them like smoke at the wave of a hand, playing two major groups like puppets—this is not something anyone can do."
Qin Wannian looked at Li Feng with a hint of admiration.
For others, Li Feng's public image as a smokescreen might fool them, letting them think he was just lucky, climbing to success clutching a woman's coattails.
But for people like Qin Wannian, Li Feng's identity as Huacheng's Hidden Dragon wasn't a secret.