Looking at Jiang Yuxin, who possessed a different kind of charm, Li Chonglou truly wanted to have his way with her completely.
To consummate their marital union.
But unfortunately, this was at a friend's house, which was improper.
Secondly, he had been shot in the thigh. Although it wasn't a fatal wound, it still hindered his movements.
So, they could only sleep in separate beds.
Li Chonglou's cultivation throughout the night was quiet and undisturbed.
Jiang Yuxin, however, tossed and turned. As soon as dawn broke the next morning, she tiptoed out of bed and left.
Li Chonglou pretended not to know.
After one night, the wound on his thigh had already healed by more than half. This was also because the bullet had not injured any meridians.
For the sheepskin scroll cultivation technique, flesh and bone injuries were considered to be precisely what it treated.
However, if the meridians had been injured, he would have truly had to lie in bed.
"Brother Li, breakfast is ready." Not long after, Ning Lang gently pushed the door open, poked his head in, and called out, "Can you walk today? If not, don't go."
He was accustomed to waking up at five-thirty every day.
He would practice Tai Chi in the courtyard as soon as it was dimly lit. Seeing Jiang Yuxin emerge, he finished his practice and went to bother Li Chonglou.
Li Chonglou extended an arm and made an "okay" gesture.
He threw off the covers, got out of bed, took two steps with ease, and walked out the door to stretch, greedily inhaling the air.
This late autumn morning, the dew was heavy, but the air was remarkably fresh. As soon as he stepped outside, he could smell the refreshing scent of lotus leaves wafting towards him.
Ning Lang looked astonished and envious, clicking his tongue. "I didn't expect it to actually heal. If I had your recovery ability back then, I wouldn't have had to suffer so much!"
Anyone with a modicum of common sense knew that a gunshot wound healing overnight was simply impossible.
Li Chonglou must have been faking it, but even if he was faking, he was at least doing a convincing job.
It would be no fun to press the issue.
Having navigated society, he possessed such discernment.
Not only was Ning Lang surprised, but Jiang Yuxin, who had already washed up outside the door and saw him getting out of bed on his own, also widened her beautiful eyes.
She had thought he was just bragging yesterday, but she hadn't expected him to be able to get out of bed in just one day.
In fact, Li Chonglou could still be seen walking with a slight limp, his left leg not carrying much weight.
No matter how he concealed it, there was still a slight limp.
This was human instinct, after all. Having been shot and operated on, how could he be the same as someone completely unharmed?
In the courtyard, Ning Lang had someone bring out a table made of small-leaf rosewood.
On it were placed five bowls.
One large basin of lotus leaf congee and one large basin of soy milk.
They all seemed to be homemade.
There were also four small plates of side dishes, fried dough sticks, and mantou. They were ordinary yet exquisite, whetting the appetite.
Zheng Xiumei's health prevented her from waking up so early, but everyone else, including Zhang Dongxu, was soon woken up by Ning Lang.
Fortunately, none of them were heavy sleepers, otherwise, the days ahead would have been too challenging.
The group gathered and ate breakfast, praising it endlessly.
"This is truly living. Brother Ning, after all your time in the martial world, you've returned to simplicity." Lin Ying praised sincerely while chewing on dried radish.
She might never experience this kind of simple, rustic life in her lifetime, but here, she could enjoy it for a while.
As for Li Chonglou, his life in the latter half of his previous existence had been much like this.
Therefore, he was extremely accustomed to it.
Jiang Yuxin was more composed, not having many desires about how to live.
Only Zhang Dongxu wore a bitter expression, unsure if it was the bitterness of the porridge with added lotus seed hearts or the bitterness of his mouth having gone dry.
But his bitterness was internal, and he dared not show any outward signs.
He could only force himself to finish a bowl, then claim to be full and quickly get up to leave.
"Brother Li, after you finish eating, we'll set off," Ning Lang said with a chuckle, putting down his bowl.
"Then let's go." Li Chonglou was not one to procrastinate. He downed the congee in his bowl and got up to leave.
Outside the door, Zheng Rui had already opened the car door and was waiting.
A little over an hour later.
In the heart of Yong'an City, the liveliest and most prosperous area, the Ginza CBD Building.
The eighth floor.
This floor was unlike any other floor in Ginza.
The ceiling height was nearly three meters, and the entire floor had been opened up, leaving only some load-bearing walls.
The nearly twenty thousand square meters of space had been transformed into a massive exhibition hall.
Against the walls were countless glass display cabinets, labeled as bulletproof glass, housing various rare treasures.
It was not yet half past eight, but quite a few people had already gathered inside.
There were youthful and energetic receptionists, and elders with graying hair and a grave, steady demeanor.
Middle-aged men wearing glasses, who looked refined and scholarly.
Fat-eared businessmen, and young men with a fair complexion.
They mingled and chatted, creating a lively atmosphere.
Receptionists served platters of fruit and delicacies, making it look like a large gathering party.
As soon as Ning Lang entered, many people greeted him.
But he acted as if he hadn't seen them, not even bothering to smile, ignoring them all, and directly led Li Chonglou to find a seat.
He introduced, "The organizer of this appraisal fair is the boss of Ginza, who is also an antique enthusiast."
"We have some business dealings, so I had no choice but to come and show my support."
"I'll be a guest later, so you'll sit with me on the stage."
As he spoke, he pointed to the seats being arranged on the stage.
"No need. Too much attention draws trouble. It's better for me to sit here," Li Chonglou politely refused. "Don't worry about me. If there's anything, go ahead and attend to it. Just pretend I'm not here."
Ning Lang, from the beginning, hadn't intended for him to attend this appraisal fair.
Perhaps it was because of his status compared to others.
A guest of the organizer.
Would it be better to bring him or not?
Beyond that, there was likely another layer of meaning.
In such a showy occasion, his only role was to help the host show off and maintain the facade.
With Li Chonglou present, Ning Lang might not be able to act as ostentatiously as he wished.
"Then I won't be polite. You eat and drink, and I'll go chat about some things." Ning Lang knew that Li Chonglou was deliberately giving him face, so he didn't stand on ceremony.
He bid farewell and got up to leave.
Although he was involved in the industry, he truly had no interest in appraisal fairs centered around showing off.
If it weren't for the persistent requests from the Ginza boss and the need to discuss a business deal, he would have preferred to stay home, drink tea, and practice Tai Chi.
However, in the Jianghu, one's actions were not entirely one's own, and he had many brothers to support.
He still had to attend to business.
The appraisal fair was not officially scheduled to start until nine-thirty; for now, it was just casual mingling.
With Li Chonglou's abilities, no one would dare to provoke him here, so he had no reason to worry.
After Ning Lang left.
Li Chonglou stood up, his steps slightly uneven, and viewed each display cabinet.
After a round, he finally stopped before a gilded artifact of a turtle carrying a scroll.
Seeing that its name was written as Gilded Baxia,
He couldn't help but shake his head.
This item was a gilded candlestick from the Tang Dynasty, called the "Lunyu Candlestick."
The base was in the shape of a turtle, and the cylindrical part above was named a candlestick but was actually used for placing wine lot tokens.
This Ginza boss, although he had many collectibles,
At a glance, at least eighty percent of them were fakes.
He was undoubtedly part of the "National Treasure Gang."
Li Chonglou vaguely recalled that the National Treasure Gang was very popular in those years.
Because social development had stagnated, many bosses who had made a fortune previously couldn't keep up with market changes and stagnated.
They began to dabble in the antique industry, calling it investing in a different field.
These bosses were all social elites, confident, even arrogant. They possessed a certain understanding of societal development and human nature.
Therefore, they brought their business acumen into the antique circle.
As long as it fit their understanding, even the most absurd items were deemed correct.
Because they had the capital, many experts bent to capital, calling fake items real to cater to them.
Through this, the National Treasure Gang was born.
This Ginza boss was one of them, which explained Ning Lang's expression when he mentioned the appraisal fair.
"Why are you shaking your head? Could it be that President Zeng's collection isn't up to your standards?" Just then, a voice full of sarcasm sounded from behind Li Chonglou.
Followed by a fragrant breeze.
It was a young man wearing eyeshadow.
He wore a pink suit jacket, with pure white trousers and pointed shoes, exuding an effeminate aura.
His voice was affected and nauseating.
The young man was accompanied by several seemingly normal middle-aged men.
With the young man as the center, it was clear that his social status was higher than theirs.
"I merely shook my head," Li Chonglou said calmly. "Don't be so sensitive."
Outwardly calm, he was inwardly amused, thinking that the antique world truly had all sorts of people nowadays.
The National Treasure Gang was one thing, but this kind of character was also attending an antique appraisal fair.
It seemed that the depth of Yong'an's antique circle was indeed inferior to Qin Prefecture.
"Sensitive?" The pink-clad youth sneered. "This item, President Zeng spent tremendous effort and had my dad help him find it. On what basis are you shaking your head?"
"I've been watching you for a while. You're Ning Lang's lackey, aren't you? A wolf has raised a dog!"
"Ning Lang actually found a cripple to be his lackey. Isn't he afraid of losing face!"
A series of sharp and sarcastic remarks spewed out from the painted lips like a string of firecrackers.
Li Chonglou's eyebrows twitched slightly.
So, this pink-clad youth wasn't just targeting him.
It seemed he was an old acquaintance of Ning Lang and perhaps held a grudge, taking advantage of Ning Lang's absence to vent his anger on him.
"Is President Zeng the organizer?" Li Chonglou asked with a frown.
"Of course. Who doesn't know President Zeng's status? Asking the obvious!" The pink-clad youth sneered even more.
The next moment, Li Chonglou continued, "Then may I ask if you are President Zeng's dog?"
In an instant, the pink-clad youth's expression froze. Due to the makeup, it was impossible to tell what color it had turned into.
However, the middle-aged man beside him had already changed his expression: "How presumptuous! Do you know who you are speaking to?"
"Young man, words can lead to trouble. I advise you to watch what you say!"
The pink-clad youth's expression twitched. He reached out to stop his subordinate's outburst, his eyes flashing with malice. "Crippled fellow, you've got guts."
"Do you think you can be arrogant just because you have Ning Lang as your backer?"
"Even if Ning Lang himself came, he'd have to show me some respect. What are you?"
"How dare you speak to me in such a tone?"
As he spoke, his hand made a兰花指 (orchid finger) gesture, almost making Li Chonglou throw up his breakfast.
This kind of person could threaten someone?
This world was truly absurd.
But combining his words, in an instant, Li Chonglou's mind flashed with a person, and he blurted out, "You wouldn't happen to be that West City Old Ghost who deals in usury, would you?"
Given Ning Lang's status and position, no one should be this arrogant in front of him. Even the Xiao family wouldn't dare to show such blatant disrespect.
He could only think and be certain that Old Ghost was Ning Lang's adversary, and for years neither could do anything about the other.
Beyond that, his knowledge of Yong'an was blank.
"You want to die! How dare you call our boss by his name?" The middle-aged man beside the pink-clad youth instantly lunged forward.
But he was stopped by the pink-clad youth once again. His voice, soft and resentful, said, "Old Ghost is my dad's nickname. How dare you disrespect him."
"Even if Ning Lang came today, he wouldn't be able to protect you, you dead cripple!"
"Make him kneel for me!"