“Regarding today’s raid on the training base, didn’t Eagle Eye catch a single whisper?” Li Peak’s voice was low steel.
“We did, but the tip came after the first breach.” Zhong Shuhui slid a thin folder across the desk. “Wind, not substance. No names, no timetable.”
Li Peak flipped it once, snapped it shut. “Case closed, for now.”
Zhong Shuhui blinked. She had expected thunder and blood.
“Rome burns one brick at a time,” he continued. “Keep eyes on the Four Clans and the poison plot. Scrub every soul inside Fengyuan Group, top to bottom. In three days Intelligent One launches. My gut says someone will try to crash the party.”
“Understood.”
“How’s Old Lu?”
“Hasn’t left his suite. The waiter says he’s glued to the TV.”
“TV?” Li Peak snorted. “Let the Xiantian watch his soaps. We can’t leash a dragon anyway.”
“Young Master, ever heard of the Ancient Martial Association?”
Li Peak’s brow arched. “Explain.”
“Branches in every major city. Once a year they auction spirit herbs, weapons, manuals, whatever a cultivator craves. Tianhai’s turn is seven days away. You should go. Treasures find those who show up.”
“There’s an actual guild?” Li Peak leaned forward. “Who runs it?”
“No one knows. Doesn’t matter. Money or strength, that’s the entry fee.”
“Where’s the local chapter?”
“Wenjun Hall Pharmacy.”
Li Peak barked a laugh. Of course. Half his fortune had flowed through Old Tu’s counters. Gold cicada fruit, century ginseng, all roads led back to that unassuming shopfront.
“We’ll pay our respects next week.”
Two days slid past like calm water over a blade.
Fengyuan Group ran smooth, the base stayed quiet, yet Li Peak felt the pressure building, the way air thickens before lightning.
Zhong Shuhui delivered a brick-thick dossier: embezzlement, affairs, three spies. He dropped it on Hu Yuanyuan’s desk and let her wield the axe.
His own hours were simple: dawn cultivation, noon escort duty, night Dragon Roar Palm. A profound-grade art fought him like a wild horse; two days bought him barely a quarter.
Every afternoon he sent Xu Qing sprinting to the police station, just to keep the thief’s puppet-masters sweating.
That morning he lingered on the pavement after dropping Hu Yuanyuan, mind on tomorrow’s launch.
A crimson sports car purred to the kerb.
“Xu Qing?”上班 time. Odd.
“Boss Li, I… need a favour.” Her fingers worried the steering wheel.
“Name it.”
“My university reunion. Lunchtime. Will you come with me?”
Li Peak’s grin was slow and wicked. “Shield duty? Happy to oblige.”
Cheeks flaming, she popped the passenger door.
Inside, the cabin smelled of lily and midnight rose. He inhaled. “New perfume?”
Her blush reached her collar. “It’s… just me.”
He let it hang, deliciously awkward, and buckled in.
“Outside the office I’m not ‘Boss Li’. Try again.”
A shy nod. “Li Peak.”
“Better.”
Traffic lights turned the windshield into green glass. He studied her profile: willow brows, porcelain throat, legs sheathed in sheer black silk that caught every glint of sun.
“Am I pretty?” she asked the road.
“Devastating.”
“Prettier than Director Hu?”
“Different seasons, same perfection.”
A soft “oh” of disappointment.
Holiday Hotel, noon.
They stepped into the private room. Two round tables, mahogany and crystal, already half full of former classmates.
A woman in a scarlet dress pounced. “Xu Qing! You bloom brighter every term.”
Hugs, air-kisses, then every eye slid to the man at Xu Qing’s side.
“And this is…?”
Xu Qing’s hand found Li Peak’s sleeve. “My boyfriend, Li Peak.”
Twenty pairs of eyebrows shot ceiling-ward.
Li Peak offered an easy smile. “Honoured.”
A squat man in an Armani knock-off rose, wineglass high. “Xu Qing, still breaking hearts. Come, sit. Tell us, Mr Li, what do you do that our campus belle follows you around like a puppy?”
The room tittered.
Li Peak guided Xu Qing to the last empty chairs, directly opposite the loudmouth. “I keep her out of trouble,” he said mildly. “Someone has to.”
Laughter rippled, uncertain whether it was a joke.
Red-dress leaned in. “Xu Qing, spill. How long?”
“Long enough,” Xu Qing answered, fingers tightening on Li Peak’s wrist.
Under the table her knee brushed his, trembling.
Li Peak covered her hand with his own, warm, steady. Game on.
Dishes arrived: abalone, crab, champagne fountains. Toasts circled.
“To the queen and her mystery king!”
Glasses rose. Li Peak sipped, eyes cataloguing every face. Two tables, eighteen classmates, four waiters hovering like crows.
One waiter’s left hand never left his apron pocket.
Li Peak’s smile never wavered.
Armani-wannabe wasn’t finished. “So, Li Peak, which trust fund paid for that watch?”
Xu Qing stiffened.
Li Peak lifted his wrist: no watch, only a faint scar. “This? Souvenir from a mountain. Trust fund was busy that day.”
Snickers.
Red-dress tried again. “Xu Qing always swore she’d marry for love. Guess love drives a Bentley.”
The room waited, hungry.
Xu Qing opened her mouth, but Li Peak’s thumb stroked her pulse, quieting her.
“Love,” he said, voice velvet over steel, “drives whatever carries her safely home. Tonight that’s a red Ferrari.”
He lifted Xu Qing’s keys, spun them once on his finger, let them vanish into his palm.
Gasps, then applause.
Armani’s smile cracked.
Under the table, Xu Qing’s knee pressed harder. Gratitude, terror, something warmer.
Li Peak leaned close, lips brushing her ear. “Breathe. I’ve got you.”
Her shiver ran straight through him.
Course three: shark-fin soup.
The suspicious waiter finally moved, tray balanced on his wrong hand, eyes locked on Xu Qing’s glass.
Li Peak’s chopsticks flicked. A porcelain spoon arced, struck the waiter’s wrist. Soup splashed, glass tipped, red wine bled across white linen.
Chaos, shrieks, staff rushing.
In the uproar Li Peak was already upright, arm around Xu Qing, guiding her toward the door.
“Time to go, darling. Reunion’s over.”
Behind them, Armani shouted, “Hey, you can’t just—”
Li Peak paused, looked back. “Watch me.”
Corridor, elevator, lobby, sunlight.
Only when the Ferrari roared onto the boulevard did Xu Qing exhale.
“They… someone put something in my drink.”
“Powder in the apron pocket. Amateur.” Li Peak downshifted, tyres singing. “Old boyfriend?”
“Class president. Thought I owed him a second chance.”
“Consider the debt cancelled.”
She turned, eyes shining. “Why did you come?”
He met her gaze for one heartbeat. “Because you asked.”
The car leapt forward, city blurring.
Tomorrow: product launch, hidden knives.
Today: a girl’s hand still trembling in his.
Li Peak smiled at the road. One battle at a time.
