94: Chapter 94 Behind the Scenes

The Jiangzhou Mingyue Grand Hotel is located at the most bustling intersection in the downtown area.

The entire building features dark glass curtain walls throughout.

As night fell, the neon light strips intertwined into dazzling lights and shadows, dyeing the surrounding night sky brilliantly colorful.

A black business van stopped steadily outside the revolving glass doors of the hotel's main entrance.

The bellhop stepped forward to open the car door.

Lin Ye stepped out of the car, his black custom-made suit fitting snugly against his straight back.

Leng Yue followed closely behind, that dark blue velvet evening gown shimmering with a dim luster under the brilliant crystal lights of the hotel lobby.

Frost Star lifted the hem of her blood-red Lolita dress and jumped out of the car together with Ayugu, pinching a half-eaten lollipop in her hand.

Fatty Wang sat in the driver's seat without turning off the engine.

He lowered the car window, fished a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, pulled one out, and bit it in his mouth.

"Ye-zi..."

Fatty held the cigarette between his fingers, hesitating to speak.

Lin Ye stopped in his tracks and turned his head.

Fatty looked at the red carpet laid out at the hotel entrance, as well as those glamorous celebrities and wealthy tycoons draped in fine clothes and fragrances, holding red wine glasses and chatting merrily.

His face rarely shed its usual flippant smile.

He heavily exhaled a ring of smoke, which quickly dissipated in the cool wind of the autumn night.

"I won't go into this dinner party."

Fatty flicked the ash off his cigarette, his gaze falling on the steering wheel.

"I just got a call from Designer Su; that batch of obsidian bricks in the backyard was shipped to Jiangzhou overnight. This material is terribly precious, and those guys in the construction crew haven't seen the world, so I have to go over myself and keep an eye on the unloading."

Lin Ye walked to the car window, looking at this close friend of many years.

Fatty grinned, pointing at himself with the hand holding the cigarette.

"Look at this fat on me, and then look at those people inside. I, Wang Defa, am just a landlord, albeit one who loves money. But I've hung around vegetable markets and urban villages since I was a kid. If you really make me put on a suit and go toast those bosses, my whole body feels miserable."

Fatty's tone was frank and completely unmasked.

"The path you're walking now is getting increasingly perilous, and the circles you contact are getting higher. With my little bit of courage and ability, I can't help when going into tombs to catch ghosts, and standing by the side simply holds you back."

He reached out and patted the back of Lin Ye's hand resting on the edge of the car window:

"The tens of millions grand project of the Funeral Shop, the registration of those shell companies outside, and the cash flow of over 100 million in your card—"

"Leave these messy chores to me. You open up territory at the front, and I'll manage accounts and finances for you at the back, guarding our base camp."

Lin Ye gazed at the determination in Fatty's eyes.

Having known each other for many years, he knew Fatty's personality well.

Forcibly dragging his brother into a vanity fair and life-and-death game that didn't belong to him would instead ruin this pure friendship.

With the accumulation of system rewards, and with those surrounding him ranging from the Millennium Drought Demon to the Miao Territory Saintess, his world had leaped from "surviving" to "engaging in dharma battles."

This level of leap was truly too heavy for an ordinary person who only wanted to guard a few old houses to collect rent and drink a couple of mouthfuls of brewed wine in leisure time.

Although Fatty said it was because he "wasn't used to wearing suits,"...

...yet in those seemingly turbid narrow eyes of his, there hid a wisdom called "sobriety."

He was drawing a line, and he was also leaving a way out for himself.

Furthermore, it was so that Lin Ye wouldn't have to waste effort protecting a burdensome soft underbelly while fighting for his life.

"This damn fatty is as shrewd as an old fox who has lived for a hundred years,"...

Lin Ye silently sighed in his heart.

He remembered the days when the two of them grabbed roasted sweet potatoes on the old street when they were kids. Back then, the pugilistic world was very big, so big that a single ruffian could give them a headache for half a day.

The pugilistic world now was even bigger, so big that gods and buddhas all over the sky and millennium corpse fiends all entered the chess game.

"Fatty."

Lin Ye suddenly spoke.

"For that batch of obsidian bricks, you must have the foreman align the grain of every single piece with the Li position. If the materials are wrong, or if evil qi enters the house during construction, immediately crush the jade talisman I gave you."

Fatty froze for a moment, then nodded heavily, putting away his flippant smiling face.

"Rest assured, Ye-zi. In this Jiangzhou City, when it comes to bargaining with people and switching beams for pillars, ten Yinshan Sects tied together aren't as slick as your Fatty Grandpa here."

"You just go ahead and be glorious up there; I will definitely nail the foundation at home for you tightly, unshakable by thunder."

Lin Ye looked at him, and the last shred of hesitation in his heart also dissipated.

He reached into his bosom, pulled out the black bank card holding a huge sum of money, plus a set of keys to the old residence, and threw them all together onto the front passenger seat.

"The password is my birthday. Leave all matters in the shop entirely to you. When encountering materials you can't be sure about, just smash money on them, don't save for me."

Lin Ye straightened up and tidied his cuffs.

"If supervising the work makes you tired, go to the Prosperous Dynasty to book out a venue, put it on the public tab."

"Got it! Master Lin The Big Boss is generous!"

Fatty beamed with joy, tucked the card and keys into his bosom, and slammed down on the accelerator.

Amidst the roaring sound, the business van merged into the traffic flow of the primary road, speeding away in the direction of Taiping Old Street.

Lin Ye watched the tail lights disappear at the end of his vision, turned around, and walked toward the hotel doors.

Leng Yue stood quietly at the edge of the red carpet.

She did not utter any urging words; a trace of detached, chilly gaze fell on Lin Ye, quietly waiting for him to finish dealing with mortal trifles.

Frost Star and Ayugu squatted on the steps of the nearby landscape fountain, poking the swimming koi in the pool with the sticks of their lollipops.

"Let's go, let's go inside and meet the big figures of Jiangzhou." Lin Ye walked between the two women, slightly raising his arm.

Leng Yue stepped forward half a small step, her slender, fair jade arm threading through his arm.

The fingertips transmitted the slightly cool touch of silk gloves, and a faint, ethereal cold fragrance instantly dispelled the turbid automobile exhaust around them.

The few of them stepped into the banquet hall.

Huge crystal chandeliers hung down from the hall's dome, their light refracting off the pristine marble floor.

Melodious classical string music flowed through the air, and hundreds of invited guests gathered together in groups of threes and fives.

The moment Lin Ye stepped into the venue, the surrounding sound waves paused for several seconds.

Leng Yue's sense of presence was far too strong.

The dark blue velvet gown outlined the perfect curves of her waist and hips, and the large area of her hollowed-out back was blindingly white under the lights.

That chilly, peerless face carried no superfluous emotions, and her deep red eyes swept faintly across the entire venue.

Meanwhile, as Ayugu walked, she looked disdainfully at the exquisite macarons and finger puffs in the hands of passing socialites.

She lowered her voice and whispered into Frost Star's ear: "The things in this city look fancy and smell like essence. If you add some of our Miao Territory deep-fried cicadas, that's what you call truly chewy."

Frost Star nodded vigorously in deep agreement, the little girl staring at that row of steaming, ice-chilled oysters on the long table, faint blue light flashing within her heterochromatic pupils.

"These 'bugs' are still alive, and they smell a bit salty."

Taking advantage of the waiter's inattention, Frost Star quickly stretched out her small hand to grab one, shoved it into her mouth and sucked on it, then frowned and stuck out her tongue.

"Ptui, it's not as sweet as Brother-in-law's neck. Ayugu, can I suck those uncles who have been staring at you dry? Their gazes smell so stinky."

Ayugu was so frightened that she hurriedly covered this little ancestor's mouth, sweat almost pouring down:

"My little great-grandmother, there are surveillance cameras everywhere here. We came today to freeload on food and drinks... No, we came to act as consultants, so restrain your foodie instincts!"

Leng Yue, walking in front, turned her head, and a chilly gaze swept over. The two girls who had still been frolicking instantly behaved as docilely as quails.

That absolute suppression stemming from their hierarchy made all their restlessness in the vanity fair docilely extinguish their fire.

Just at this moment, Patriarch Song Zhenguo, leaning on a golden-thread nanmu walking stick and surrounded by several bodyguards, hurried forward to welcome them.

The richest man in Jiangzhou was beaming with health today. With his granddaughter newly recovered from a serious illness, he seemed to have grown ten years younger overall.

"Master Lin's honorable arrival is truly an honor, and Song has failed to welcome you from afar."

Patriarch Song Zhenguo stopped two steps away from Lin Ye, bowing slightly, his attitude respectful to the extreme.

The surrounding guests saw this scene, their eyes full of shock.

Wealth God Song had summoned wind and rain in the Jiangzhou business world for decades; when had he ever put on such a junior's posture toward a twenty-something young man?

Lin Ye slightly nodded in return.

"Elder Song is too polite. Tonight we only speak of personal friendship, no need to be constrained."

Patriarch Song Zhenguo, old and shrewd, instantly caught on.

He waved his hand to dismiss the various bosses around who attempted to step forward and converse, leading Lin Ye and his party toward a secluded corridor deep within the banquet hall.

"Master Lin, it's too noisy outside. This old man has prepared a quiet tea room in the inner room."

Patriarch Song Zhenguo led the way while lowering his voice.

"Just these past two days, this old man's subordinates acquired several unearthed rare items from the northwestern borderlands, among which one bronze ware exudes a bit of weirdness."

"Master's Daoist magic reaches the heavens, and this old man would like to ask you to cast your eyes on it and judge its fortune and misfortune."

Passing through the corridor paved with heavy carpets, the noisy string music was completely blocked out by the heavy soundproof door.