Chapter 41: I Truly Have No Money

After dinner, Hua Zhengjun and his daughter returned to Shudian Film City, while Chu Tianfeng stayed in Wushi. He took a public bus to the Kaidi Hotel, then waited outside the entrance for Liu Zhijian. However, Liu Zhijian seemed determined to play hide-and-seek with him; even after nine in the evening, there was still no sign of him.

With no other choice, Chu Tianfeng strolled around the vicinity of Kaidi Hotel, hoping to find a noodle shop for a simple meal. There’s an old saying: when misfortune comes, even cold water will get stuck between your teeth. Chu Tianfeng circled the area but couldn’t find a single noodle shop. He was nearly at his wit’s end and, with no alternatives left, he entered a small supermarket.

He picked up a cup of instant noodles and a sausage, totaling five and a half yuan. Cradling the instant noodles, he approached the cashier. “Excuse me, is there any hot water here?”

The cashier gave him a strange look. “We don’t have hot water here. You could try asking at the seafood restaurant next door.”

Chu Tianfeng genuinely considered returning the noodles, but his stomach was growling. With a bitter smile, he shook his head, paid, and headed next door to the seafood restaurant with the instant noodles in hand.

“Excuse me, do you have hot water?” There was a sincerity in Chu Tianfeng’s expression that was beyond words.

But the hostess at the door of the seafood restaurant looked at him with unmistakable disdain. “No, move along.”

“Tea would do as well,” Chu Tianfeng pleaded, almost groveling.

“We have plenty of alcohol,” another hostess said, eyes full of contempt, “but can you afford it?”

Chu Tianfeng took a deep breath and walked away as the two hostesses began gossiping loudly about him.

“Excuse me, do you have hot water?” one of them mocked in a shrill voice, mimicking Chu Tianfeng.

“You’re missing a bowl in your hand—and oh, a cane too,” the other sneered, pursing her lips.

“Tea would do as well!” The first one imitated him perfectly.

“I told you, you’re missing props. You’re not dedicated at all,” the other teased, her sarcasm sharp as a blade.

With Chu Tianfeng’s cultivation, he could clearly hear every word they said. Besides, they made no effort to keep their voices down; they had no intention of avoiding him. Still, Chu Tianfeng did not retaliate—partly because he didn’t wish to, and partly because he dared not.

Ever since leaving Ginkgo Restaurant, three people had been following him. At first, he hadn’t thought much of it, assuming they were just passersby. But after circling the hotel, they followed his every step. It was then he realized his initial assumptions were naïve—he was being watched.

He felt helpless, but he still had to wait for Liu Zhijian. Over ten thousand yuan was a fortune to him now; giving up was not an option.

What Chu Tianfeng didn’t know was that, aside from those three, someone else had been observing everything. In a car parked in the distance, Hua Wu stared at him through binoculars, watching as he wandered with instant noodles in hand. She couldn’t hear their conversation, but she could easily guess its content from their expressions and gestures.

She felt uneasy about Chu Tianfeng confronting Liu Zhijian for money, so she had hurried over after work. Yet she hadn’t arrived in time to see him counting a thick wad of bills with a silly grin. Instead, she saw him clutching instant noodles, looking for hot water like a beggar.

Seeing the disappointment and helplessness in his eyes, Hua Wu suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.

Especially when she recalled how many times she had made things difficult for him, squeezing and extorting him, Hua Wu felt she had been truly awful.

Chu Tianfeng, I’m sorry! she whispered silently in her heart.

Unaware that Hua Wu was tailing him, Chu Tianfeng only knew that he was very hungry. Returning to the hotel entrance, he could no longer care whether there was hot water or not. He tore open the packaging and began eating the dry noodles straight from the pack.

But just as he took a bite, he caught sight of a familiar figure at the hotel entrance—the very person he had been waiting ten hours for.

This man was of medium build, slightly plump, with a round face, small eyes, and a small mouth. Compared to Director Yang, he looked every bit the businessman and nothing like a director.

Indeed, this was Liu Zhijian, assistant director of “Bloodshed of Spring and Autumn.”

Chu Tianfeng immediately tossed the noodles aside and rushed over.

“Old Liu, hello! Haha!” Chu Tianfeng’s laughter was half-genuine, half-forced.

He was still dressed as a middle-aged man, so Liu Zhijian didn’t recognize him. Seeing Chu Tianfeng running over, Liu thought he must be looking for someone else. By the time he realized otherwise and tried to resist or ask questions, Chu Tianfeng had already struck a few acupuncture points, paralyzing everything but his legs.

“Old Liu, let’s have a chat.” Chu Tianfeng threw an arm around his shoulders like an old friend and dragged him into a deserted corner.

“If you want to die, just shout,” Chu Tianfeng said, releasing his hold.

“Who are you? Why are you kidnapping me?” Liu Zhijian cried out in terror.

“You owe a friend of mine eleven thousand yuan. Don’t think you can just disappear!” Chu Tianfeng seized him by the collar and lifted him off his feet. “Pay up.”

Chu Tianfeng dared not reveal his real name, fearing unnecessary trouble.

“Huh?” Liu Zhijian muttered, “But I really have no money.”

He owed so many people he couldn’t even remember who Chu Tianfeng was talking about.

“Don’t play games with me.” Chu Tianfeng infused a surge of inner energy into Liu Zhijian, letting it rampage through his body under his control. Liu felt an unbearable mix of itching and pain and soon broke out in a cold sweat.

“I really have no money, I swear!” Liu Zhijian was close to tears. “I had a few thousand just now, but I lost it all betting on boxing.”

“Boxing bets?” Chu Tianfeng asked absentmindedly.

“An underground boxing match at the Celebrity Club. Spectators can not only watch the fight, but bet on the outcome too,” Liu Zhijian dared not hold anything back.

“Oh? How does one get in?” Chu Tianfeng was intrigued—not to gamble, but to fight. He didn’t trust his luck, but he was sure no martial artists would be competing in such matches. It seemed like a shortcut to wealth.

“I have a membership card in my bag. You can get in and out with it,” Liu said honestly.

“Who’s the organizer?” Chu Tianfeng pressed.

“I don’t know—probably the power behind the club,” Liu shook his head.

Chu Tianfeng searched Liu’s bag, found the card, and also took a few hundred yuan in cash. “I’ll take this as interest.”

“Of course, take it, please!” Liu Zhijian’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Let me go, please. I can’t take it anymore.”

Chu Tianfeng withdrew his inner energy from Liu’s spine. “Be here tomorrow morning with the money, or you’ll regret it.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll definitely pay,” Liu nodded frantically.

Chu Tianfeng tossed him to the ground. “Get lost!”

Liu Zhijian scrambled up and hurried back to the Kaidi Hotel, grateful for the reprieve.

Chu Tianfeng, meanwhile, walked slowly to the roadside and kicked the instant noodles far away. He decided to make some money at the Celebrity Club, and then reward himself with a proper meal. As for the tails shadowing him, he pretended not to notice. As long as they didn’t block his path to riches, he was willing to let them be for now.

With his mind made up, Chu Tianfeng hailed a taxi and headed straight for the Celebrity Club.

Hua Wu followed close behind in her sports car. At first, she thought Chu Tianfeng was going to a bank, but the taxi passed several banks without stopping, speeding up and heading further out.

Hua Wu grew more and more puzzled, and vaguely anxious.

After winding through the city for over half an hour, the taxi finally stopped in a secluded area on the outskirts of Wushi—an upscale neighborhood, famous in the city. There were no businesses here, just endless rows of villas and a solitary clubhouse standing alone.

Under the cold moonlight, Chu Tianfeng was equally solitary.

Hua Wu watched as Chu Tianfeng got out and walked toward the clubhouse. She happened to know this place—this was the clubhouse in Lin Xi’s neighborhood. Lin Xi had even brought her in once.

She couldn’t for the life of her figure out why Chu Tianfeng would come here. Was he lonely and looking for company? Or had poverty driven him mad, and he was hoping for a stroke of luck?

Confused, Hua Wu called Lin Xi for help.

Lin Xi was surprised that Hua Wu would call so late, even more so when Hua Wu asked to go into the club. She remembered how, after taking Hua Wu there once, Hua Wu had criticized the place mercilessly, calling her degenerate, lost, and unambitious.

Now, it seemed Hua Wu wanted to degenerate and lose herself.

Lin Xi’s first thought was that Hua Wu must have had her heart broken, but to her knowledge, Hua Wu had never been in love.

Hua Wu’s urgency was unmistakable, so Lin Xi didn’t ask further. She threw on some clothes and hurried to the neighborhood entrance.

Indeed, Hua Wu was anxious. Chu Tianfeng had already gone inside, and who knew what might happen. She also noticed that, apart from her own car, there were three others parked nearby—one of them a white Xunda.

Her heart raced. She worried these people would see through Chu Tianfeng’s identity, or worse, plot against him.

Elsewhere, the three men trailing Chu Tianfeng were equally baffled. The most bewildered was the man in the white Xunda, because the Celebrity Club was the Wushi branch of the Mojin Sect, and he was a Mojin disciple.

Sitting in his car, watching Chu Tianfeng swagger into the club, his expression was a sight to behold. He never imagined the man he’d tailed all day would walk straight into their lair.

He had no choice but to step under a street lamp and report to his superior.

The other two were disciples of the Hengshan and Huangshan Sects. They also knew the Celebrity Club was the Mojin branch. In their view, Chu Tianfeng entering the club at this hour meant one of two things: either he was a retainer hired by the Hua family, visiting the Mojin Sect on their behalf, or he was himself a Mojin disciple, and his meeting with Hua Zhengjun earlier had likely been at the behest of the branch leader.

Either way, it boded ill for their own sects. The Mojin Sect’s collusion with the Hua family, their motives were obvious—they must be plotting over Chu Tianfeng’s treasure.

Still, they weren’t too concerned. The Mojin Sect was relatively weak; even if the Hua family allied with them, it was no cause for alarm.