HR Chapter 20

Fighting often leads to gossip. Everyone knew the Fake Sloth had a little tail, a fierce fighter. Min Chu gave him a nickname, Weak Yama King, hoping he wouldn’t be as ruthless as Yama, taking lives without mercy.

Shang Ning City was a black den, backstabbing was commonplace, and betrayals were nothing new. Today’s brothers could be tomorrow’s enemies, drinking together today and offering incense tomorrow. Nothing was surprising in the shadows.

But these familiar sights became strangely new when they happened to him, blurring the line between truth and falsehood.

Lu Qinyuan sometimes wondered how he fell into such an obviously flawed trap.

Perhaps he cared too much, which dulled his ability to think.

What was it, again? Right, Min Chu said he was going back to his hometown and asked him to watch the house. But he never came back. When asked what he was doing, Min Chu said he was eating, drinking, and having fun. If he wanted to meet, Min Chu said they couldn’t meet at his place. When asked where his home was so he could find him, Min Chu said he’d tell him when he got back. Later, he couldn’t even get through on the phone. A mechanical female voice repeatedly said, “The number you have dialed is switched off, please try again later.”

Night after night, Lu Qinyuan wasted time in bars. Someone whispered, “Is Lazy Bro getting married? I heard the bride is almost two months pregnant.”

Lu Qinyuan calculated the time; it had been exactly two months since they separated. He gulped down his drink and heard another person say, “Guys with guys, I’m not saying I look down on it, but it’s really not secure. A woman can get pregnant, but you don’t know what a guy’s been up to. You can’t tell who’s clean and who’s dirty.”

Lu Qinyuan thought that made sense, even if he did it with a woman, he wouldn’t be able to tell.

Bars were filled with all sorts of people, and rumors were a dime a dozen. Even the smallest things could be found out. Lu Qinyuan drank here for three days straight, filtering through the story of how Lazy Bro met that girl, where they slept together, and the process of their engagement.

Lu Qinyuan treated it as a joke, just listening. Since he couldn’t see the person, at least he could hear about him from others.

They would settle the score together later.

When Lu Jianwei’s people invited him for tea, he was tipsy. Everything was blurry, and he felt like he was in a cloud. He just heard Lu Jianwei putting on a one-man show: “How did your mother die? You’re so successful, being so lovey-dovey with your mother’s killer! Aren’t you afraid of making your mother jump out of her grave! No matter how much I disliked your mother, she was still Black Wolf Lu Jianwei’s woman, and that will never change. I can’t let others laugh at me. The revenge hasn’t been taken, and you’re throwing yourself in too. Where am I supposed to put my face!”

“So you still care about face. How many years has my mother been dead? When have you ever cared? I’ve been through fire and water outside, almost died at the hands of others, and you didn’t even lift a finger,” Lu Qinyuan sneered. “What’s the meaning of bringing this up now? Too much pillow talk? Got wind in your ears!”

“Promising, you’ve really grown!” Lu Jianwei clapped twice and said, word by word, “You don’t need to care whether I have wind in my head or wind in my ears. You can’t be with that little thing.”

“Then kill him. What have you been doing all these years? Can’t even deal with a little Sloth?” Lu Qinyuan mocked. “You’re so capable!”

“Hmph, a little Sloth?” Lu Jianwei laughed mockingly. “Min Chu is the adopted son of Blood Bat, the recognized Bat Earl on the streets. Didn’t you know that!”

Shang Ning City was mostly gangsters, known as the Black Capital. Shang Ze City had advanced medicine, known as the Medicine Capital. Shang Yu City was a municipality, a vital economic artery, known as the Blood Capital. Shang Shui City was in the middle of the three cities, with a balanced development of various industries, so Shang Shui City was called the Water Capital. The four cities together were called the Four Springs.

So far, only one person had unified the Four Springs: Blood Bat. Even though Blood Bat had retired, he was still feared, and the thought of his ruthless methods sent chills down your spine.

When he decided to follow Min Chu, Lu Qinyuan had people check Min Chu’s background. Clean, without any backing, relying solely on his abilities. Thinking about it now, it was almost too clean. But if he was connected to Blood Bat, then clean would be normal.

Lu Jianwei stared at Lu Qinyuan with snake-like eyes, “Now, give me a reason. Kill Min Chu, and this position will be yours…”

“Black Wolf…” As soon as he said those words, the woman standing beside him became anxious. Lu Jianwei raised his hand to stop the woman and said to Lu Qinyuan, “Not avenging the death of your mother is not being human. I know you’re filial, now is the time for you to show it.” Seeing that Lu Qinyuan was unmoved, Lu Jianwei sneered, “What, can’t bear to? It’s been so long, and I haven’t seen you willing to do it. Even if Min Chu is cuckolding you, you probably wouldn’t care.”

“Nonsense!” Lu Qinyuan could treat Min Chu’s wedding as a joke, and he might not even get angry if Min Chu really married some woman, but men were different. With a woman, you could talk about carrying on the family line, but with a man, there was nothing to talk about.

“It’s no secret that Blood Bat likes men, and it’s no secret that Min Chu is Blood Bat’s first embrace,” Lu Jianwei revealed a victorious expression. “From first embrace to Earl, I don’t know how many times he had to sell his ass to earn it.”

“Shut up, I won’t allow you to slander him!” Lu Qinyuan clenched his fists tightly. Lu Jianwei added fuel to the fire, “You don’t act like you believe him at all, more like you can’t wait to fly to his side and catch him in the act. Lu Qinyuan, I pity you seeing you like this.” He threw a blood-red, gold-lettered invitation card on the table, and Lu Jianwei said with pity, “After all, you also bear the Lu surname, and losing face is also losing the Lu family’s face. Take this and go save Min Chu.”

“It’s a death warrant, right?” Blood Bat and Black Wolf were mortal enemies; everyone in the underworld knew that. Lu Jianwei wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill him.

“A death warrant is for those without ability,” Lu Jianwei didn’t hide his motives, openly saying, “So you don’t mind that little thing Min Chu cuckolding you, and you don’t care about his life or death. He’s nominally Blood Bat’s adopted son, but the relationship isn’t that close. This time, on the surface, he’s going as a guest, but in reality, he’s going to negotiate. Whether he can come back alive is another matter. I don’t know how that little thing offended Blood Bat. He won’t let him go until things are cleared up.”

“Probably because he’s not willing to sell his ass, for someone,” Lu Jianwei glanced at Lu Qinyuan. “If it were a woman, in two months, a baby should have been made, and you could directly be a father. How easy. Too bad, that little thing Min Chu has a dick just like you, otherwise I would still recognize him as my daughter-in-law.”

“You think too much.”

In any case, Lu Qinyuan could no longer sit at home and wait. Min Chu was in danger; how could he sit idly by? Even if it was a dragon’s den or a tiger’s den, even if it contained Lu Jianwei’s unknown purposes, even if he never returned, for Min Chu, Lu Qinyuan didn’t care about anything.

Whether it was true or false, he just wanted to see Min Chu now. He believed Min Chu would give him all the answers he wanted.

Holding the invitation, Lu Qinyuan smoothly entered a magnificent castle. The person leading the way, knowing his identity and understanding his purpose, smiled and said, “A newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, kid. You dare to come here looking for someone. For Min’s sake, I’ll let you live. Go back where you came from.”

Lu Qinyuan said, “I’ve come. I won’t leave until I see him.”

The guide chuckled, “Want to do a good deed, but you don’t appreciate it. Fine, let you meet.”

He led Lu Qinyuan to a two-story building and politely said, “Mr. Min and his brothers are inside. Go, I’ll take you to see the River God later.”

Min Chu was gambling with his brothers, looking relaxed, with a lollipop in his mouth. He was a little surprised to see Lu Qinyuan but still happy. He took the lollipop out of his mouth and waved it, “Why did the little cub come? Missed me so much you couldn’t sleep?” The brothers around him laughed knowingly and tactfully dispersed.

Lu Qinyuan hugged Min Chu tightly. Before he could say anything, Min Chu scolded him, “Why did you come? Here to die? Don’t you have a brain? Did you learn everything I taught you only to feed it to the dogs? Don’t you know the relationship between your black dad and the River God? And you dared to come here waving the invitation, don’t you know the River God’s face is on the line if they didn’t kill you?”

“Knowing you were here, I couldn’t care about that much,” Lu Qinyuan complained. “The phone doesn’t work, no information, I don’t know how worried I was. A-Chu, what is your relationship with Blood Bat? What exactly did you come here to do? You don’t tell me anything, I’m like an idiot, just waiting for you, not knowing how to help.”

Min Chu pinched Lu Qinyuan’s face and gave him a light, lingering kiss, laughing, “Silly, I told you to go home, and you chased after me. How much do you miss me, huh?”

With the sweetness of sugar, soft as cotton candy, Lu Qinyuan’s face flushed red, completely innocent, stammering, “A-Chu, don’t mess around, I came because I heard you were in danger. Who knew the home you were talking about was a bat cave.”

“Oh, why is your face red,” Min Chu bit Lu Qinyuan’s ear and blew air, “As soon as you heard I was in danger, you came regardless of your own life or death. I appreciate your feelings.”

Two months apart, the virile Lu Qinyuan couldn’t withstand Min Chu’s teasing. He flipped over and pinned Min Chu under him, kissing him wildly, eagerly tearing at Min Chu’s clothes. Min Chu chuckled and cooperatively took off his clothes, and the two rolled together.

Once wasn’t enough; they had a second spring breeze, continuing to mess around until dark, when Lu Qinyuan finally held Min Chu and lay on the bed to rest.

The lackeys knew better than to disturb them. The two were reunited after a long separation, and their tenderness and flirtation had a special sweetness.

After clarifying the cause and effect of Lu Qinyuan’s arrival, Min Chu glared at Lu Qinyuan with disappointment, touching his head helplessly, “Your black dad is dark enough, and so are you. When it comes to love, your brain isn’t a brain anymore, it’s mush. You’re still young.”

Lu Qinyuan especially hated Min Chu’s attitude, always treating him like a child. He turned his head away, ignoring him. After thinking for a moment, he grabbed Min Chu and kissed him fiercely. Min Chu quickly surrendered, “Okay, okay, I won’t mess around. I’m tired, let me sleep for a while. I’ll send you back tomorrow morning.”

“If you don’t go back, I won’t go back either.” What is your relationship with Blood Bat? Why did they release you so easily? The words circled on the tip of his tongue, but Lu Qinyuan didn’t say them. He didn’t want to ruin the beautiful atmosphere right now.

Once some things are made clear, they will produce a certain destructive force. Lu Qinyuan couldn’t control how much of an impact it would have and didn’t want to risk trying.