Li Feng froze, looking at Song Zhiyuan in confusion. How could a simple invitation carry a risk of death? Was Zhu Yuanyang planning to target him? And how did Song Zhiyuan even know about it?
If Zhu Yuanyang really intended to deal with him, it was such a closely guarded secret that even if Song Zhiyuan had planted someone close to her, they could not possibly have found out. After the chewing-gum bomb incident last time, Zhu Yuanyang would surely be far more vigilant.
“Feng Shao, did you really think Zhu Yuanyang only invited you?” Song Zhiyuan asked with a laugh.
Li Feng paused. He had indeed assumed he was the only one.
“Haha, Feng Shao, you still claim to have no interest in her, yet you were secretly hoping for some alone time with the beauty.” Song Zhiyuan chuckled.
Li Feng shot him an annoyed glare. He was, after all, a normal man. When a beautiful woman invited him, it was only natural for his thoughts to wander.
Li Feng gave a smug smile. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s human nature. Looks like I made the right decision coming here tonight, otherwise you’d be trapped by Zhu Yuanyang without even realising it.”
“Trapped?” Li Feng blinked, a trace of disdain in his eyes. As if he feared any trap Zhu Yuanyang could set.
“You’ll understand soon enough why I said that,” Song Zhiyuan replied with a smile, offering no further explanation. Instead he continued, “Originally, Zhu Yuanyang invited me as well, but given the relationship between our Song and Zhu families, I turned her down without hesitation. Then I thought of you, Feng Shao, which is why I came to warn you.”
“Are you still hiding something from me?” Li Feng’s gaze sharpened. He felt Song Zhiyuan was holding something back.
“Feng Shao, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you. Some things lose their meaning if spoken aloud. Besides, this could turn out to be an opportunity for you. You must seize it properly,” Song Zhiyuan said earnestly.
Li Feng was momentarily puzzled, not quite grasping his meaning.
“Anyway, Feng Shao, you’ll understand once you go. Just remember my warning: be careful. Don’t fail to win the beauty and end up being played by her instead. Haha. It’s getting late; I should head back.” With a laugh, Song Zhiyuan waved goodbye and left.
Li Feng watched him depart, his eyes flickering. Though Song Zhiyuan’s words were vague, Li Feng had grasped the general idea.
“Let’s go,” he said to the Blood Slaughter Twin Eagles, then headed towards the Tianya Pavilion.
The two hurriedly followed.
“Young Master.”
As soon as Li Feng reached the Tianya Pavilion, Zhong Shuhui rushed over. Her eyes flashed with surprise when she saw the Twin Eagles behind him.
“Young Master, they are…”
“They are the Blood Slaughter Twin Eagles. From now on, they are our people,” Li Feng replied without further explanation. The fewer people who knew about the Divine Control Technique, the better, even Zhong Shuhui and Hu Yuanyuan.
“Understood.” Zhong Shuhui nodded. Although Li Feng said no more, she did not doubt him. She was simply very curious how he had managed to subdue the notoriously powerful Twin Eagles and their unrivalled combined technique.
Yet her dominant feeling was excitement. Li Feng’s forces had been short of top-tier experts exactly like these two. Their addition perfectly filled that gap.
Tap, tap, tap…
Footsteps echoed. Li Feng looked up to see Elder Lu approaching from within.
“Elder Lu.” Li Feng bowed respectfully. Even with his current strength, he could not gauge Elder Lu’s true power, which meant this man was no ordinary Innate expert.
“Hm.” Elder Lu gave a light snort, his gaze landing on the Twin Eagles. A sharp glint shot from his eyes. “Notorious bandits?”
“Elder Lu, they are the Blood Slaughter Twin Eagles, but they are no longer bandits,” Li Feng quickly explained, worried that Elder Lu might kill them on the spot for their past crimes and waste all the effort he had invested.
Elder Lu glanced coldly at the Twin Eagles, snorted again, then turned to Li Feng. “Boy, quite the methods you have.”
With that, he left without waiting for a reply.
Li Feng stood stunned. What did Elder Lu mean? Had he seen through the Divine Control Technique?
After a moment’s thought, Li Feng decided it was impossible. Although Innate experts could produce divine sense, it was not true Innate divine sense; it required gradual cultivation and improvement, just like true qi, starting from the First Layer of the Postnatal realm.
So even if Elder Lu was an Innate expert, he might not be able to detect the technique Li Feng had used on the Twin Eagles.
If that was not the reason, then what had Elder Lu meant?
While Li Feng puzzled over it, an icy chill ran through the Twin Eagles. When Elder Lu had looked at them just now, they felt as though every secret they possessed had been laid bare.
This was an extremely powerful expert.
The Twin Eagles exchanged a glance and saw the shock in each other’s eyes. They had never imagined that such a master was hidden in the Tianya Pavilion, someone at least at the Innate realm, far beyond anything they could handle.
They realised how wise their earlier decision had been. Had they not worried about official repercussions and stormed the pavilion to deal with Li Feng, they would probably have been effortlessly slain by this expert by now.
If previously they had submitted only because Li Feng defeated them and then bound them with the Divine Control Technique, now their submission came from the depths of their hearts. A master of this calibre stood beside Li Feng, and Li Feng himself was extraordinarily strong. Following such a person could only benefit the Blood Slaughter Twin Eagles.
After instructing Zhong Shuhui to arrange quarters for the Twin Eagles, Li Feng asked her, “When Zhu Yuanyang sent the invitation last time, did she leave any message?”
Zhong Shuhui paused, unsure why he was asking, but shook her head. “No, she left no information at all. Young Master, has something happened?”
“It’s not exactly trouble.” Li Feng briefly recounted what Song Zhiyuan had told him, then added, “I know Song Zhiyuan well enough. He doesn’t speak without reason. If he said this, there must be something behind it.”
Zhong Shuhui nodded. Song Zhiyuan was not the type to make baseless claims.
However…
She looked hesitantly at Li Feng. “Young Master, could Song Zhiyuan have some ulterior motive? Would he really be kind enough to come all this way just to warn you?”
“That’s exactly what I think. If it were only a warning, a phone call would have sufficed. Yet he came in person. That alone makes his intentions suspicious.”
Li Feng nodded and glanced at Zhong Shuhui. “The problem is, I can’t work out what he’s after. Does he want me to clash with Zhu Yuanyang? Given the relationship between the Song and Zhu families, that’s not impossible, but if that were all, he wouldn’t need to go to such lengths.”
Recalling how Song Zhiyuan’s attitude towards him regarding Zhu Yuanyang had abruptly changed after the Fengyuan Group press conference, a ridiculous idea suddenly popped into Li Feng’s mind.
But the moment it appeared, he shook his head. The likelihood seemed too small.
“Young Master, we don’t need to guess Song Zhiyuan’s purpose. Whatever it is, you only need to act according to your own wishes. Are you really afraid he can manipulate you?” Zhong Shuhui said.
Li Feng’s eyes lit up. She was right. Why overthink it? He should simply do what he wanted. There was no need to worry about Song Zhiyuan’s motives. With his current strength, even if Song Zhiyuan meant him harm, it would not be easy to succeed. Besides, he could not recall any reason for Song Zhiyuan to turn against him at this point.
“Moreover,” Zhong Shuhui continued after a pause, “weren’t you planning to get certain information from Zhu Yuanyang? This is your chance. Are you really going to let it pass?”
A sharp glint flashed in Li Feng’s eyes. Exactly. Regardless of Song Zhiyuan’s intentions, he had to accept this invitation.
“Zhong Shuhui, you’re right. I was overcomplicating things.” Li Feng nodded, his gaze hardening. “Still, we can’t ignore Song Zhiyuan’s warning. Go and investigate immediately. Find out exactly who Zhu Yuanyang has invited this time.”
“Understood.” Zhong Shuhui left at once. With less than a day until the event, she needed to uncover the truth quickly.
At that moment, a powerful surge of qi rippled through the air. Li Feng’s face lit with joy as he looked towards the quarters of the Ge siblings.
Someone had broken through. He wondered whether it was Ge Feng or Ge Ying.
He started towards them to find out, but footsteps sounded behind him. Turning, he saw Hu Yuanyuan walk in, exhaustion written across her face.
“Yuanyuan, why are you so late?” It was almost midnight. Li Feng had assumed she was already home.
“Li Feng, we’re in serious trouble,” Hu Yuanyuan said with a bitter smile the moment she saw him.
“Serious trouble? You mean the official pressure on the company?” Li Feng asked, surprised. Could even Hu Yuanyuan not handle this government intervention? With her management skills and resourcefulness, it should not have reduced her to this state.
Hu Yuanyuan shook her head. “Yes, that’s the issue. Originally it wouldn’t have been a big problem, but Tianhai City has a new mayor now, and no connection helps. Li Feng, guess who the new mayor is. You’ll never get it right.”
