Chapter 138: He Dares Not, But I Do!

Everyone followed the gaze toward the inner hall and saw a middle-aged man standing up beside the second table, glaring furiously at Xiao Feilong.

He was none other than Xiao Feihong, the acting head of the Feng family and Xiao Feilong's biological elder brother.

There were only six tables in the inner hall, and every person seated there was a truly powerful and top-tier figure, either the head of a major financial conglomerate or the patriarch of a supreme grand family. Even the second generation of the Six Great Families could usually only be seated in the outer hall. Being able to sit in the inner hall typically represented not just an individual, but an entire family or the formidable background standing behind them. Xiao Feihong was a prime case; as the current acting head of the Feng family, he represented the entire clan, which is why he was qualified to sit in the inner hall, whereas Xiao Feilong was relegated to the outside.

Yet right now, this acting patriarch Xiao Feihong was on the verge of going insane. He knew the relationship between his second younger brother and Chu Zangtian, which was why he had initially ignored Xiao Feilong's reckless behavior, deeming it normal. In fact, being aware of certain grievances from the past, he himself held the Fu family in deep contempt. But contempt was one thing; he would never openly display it—that was just reality. He had even planned to stand by coldly, watching to see how the Fu family and the Lin family would ultimately resolve the situation.

Never did he expect Xiao Feilong to go this completely insane. Beating people and cursing were one thing, but you simply could not drag the entire Fu family into the insults, let alone slap the fourth master of the Fu family across the face in front of the entire upper crust of Eastsea.

This was Elder Fu's birthday banquet! To curse the Fu family as ungrateful wretches and strike the Fu family's fourth master in the face—

This wasn't just slapping Fu Pengfei; it was openly slapping the entire Fu family right in front of all of Eastsea.

Xiao Feihong was utterly dumbfounded. When he finally snapped back to his senses, he hurriedly stood up to intervene. Offending the Lin family was nothing; the two houses had never possessed any real rapport. But completely offending the Fu family spelled trouble. The two clans were on the same boat with numerous cooperative ventures.

"Second brother, I demand that you apologize to Elder Fu right now, and then get the hell out of here!"

Xiao Feihong glared at his second younger brother in a fury, his voice burning with rage, attempting to salvage the spiraling situation.

"Xiao Feihong, did I hear that right? You're lecturing me?"

To everyone's absolute shock, upon hearing his elder brother's words, Xiao Feilong wore an expression of sheer disbelief before bursting into unbridled laughter. "Xiao Feihong, don't think that just because you're the acting head of the family, you have the right to bark at me—"

"You—" Xiao Feihong's expression shifted, a bad premonition gripping his heart.

"Today, I'm sticking my nose into this mess, and not a single damn person can stop me! Xiao Feihong, if you dare to block me, don't blame me for being heartless. Even if you're my older brother, I'll beat you right along with them!" Xiao Feilong declared with wild arrogance.

"——"

Xiao Feihong's face turned completely ashen. He pointed a trembling finger at Xiao Feilong, utterly speechless, and in the next moment, he was so consumed by rage that he collapsed back into his chair, nearly fainting on the spot.

This spectacle left everyone dumbfounded. Those familiar with Xiao Feilong's past privately cursed him as a mad dog—he used to beat his own father, and now he was threatening his own older brother; he truly had no equal!

"Feihong, don't lower yourself to his level. He's simply a lunatic."

A major tycoon sitting beside Xiao Feihong immediately comforted him, looking at Xiao Feihong with clear pity. Anyone cursed with such a scoundrel of a brother would likely be driven insane.

Xiao Feihong remained silent, merely panting heavily as he glared at the arrogant and lawless figure not far away, ultimately failing to stand back up...

"Heh, heh, this birthday banquet is certainly lively today!"

Just as Xiao Feihong was being angered to the brink of passing away, a delicate and coquettish laugh suddenly rang through the venue.

It didn't come from the outer hall, but from a table near the edge of the inner hall. Seated there was an exquisite woman dressed in a tight-fitting knitted maxi dress, radiating a dazzling allure. She was none other than Bai Miaoqing, notorious as Eastsea's premier siren.

Her laughter immediately drew the gazes of many.

Bai Miaoqing paid no heed to the attention, her pair of watery, seductive eyes fixed on Xiao Feilong at the junction of the outer and inner halls as she giggled, "I've heard people say before that the Second Master Xiao loses all recognition of friends and family when he goes crazy, but I'd never witnessed it myself. Today has truly opened my eyes; he's even more tyrannical than the legends,呵呵!"

Bai Miaoqing's sudden interjection made the atmosphere in the venue instantly bizarre. Everyone stared at this woman, failing to comprehend her motive.

Was she provoking?

Or was she adding fuel to the fire?

Yet no one dared to pipe up.

"Bai Miaoqing, what is the meaning of your words? Are you looking down on me, or are you worshipping me?" Xiao Feilong also turned his gaze toward this femme fatale, curling his lip with an arrogance and dominance that made even the calculating, viper-like Bai Miaoqing—feared by the entire upper class of Eastsea—look tame.

"How could I look down on you? I actually think Second Master Xiao's current demeanor is terribly majestic and domineering. I adore you so much!" Bai Miaoqing said coquettishly, casting a sidelong glance loaded with charm. Anyone unaware would have thought she was openly flirting with Xiao Feilong.

This sight caused everyone to knit their brows. As for the younger men sitting nearby, their hearts skipped beats uncontrollably, burning with heat as they silently cursed internally: What a vixen!

"Put away your slutty act. I already have a wife, and I have no interest in a loose woman like you!" Xiao Feilong retorted with a cold, gloomy face.

"Xiao Feilong, how dare you insult me?" Bai Miaoqing's smile instantly froze. Her peach-blossom eyes narrowed sharply as a latent murderous intent began to emanate from her.

"Insult you?"

Xiao Feilong sneered, "Who the hell in Eastsea doesn't know you're the number one loose woman? You aren't deaf—haven't you heard it before, or do you dare to do things without the guts to admit them?"

"You—"

Bai Miaoqing's pretty face turned pale as chalk. She locked her gaze onto Xiao Feilong, her beautiful eyes already brimming with murderous hostility.

The surrounding crowd's expressions shifted as well. None of them had expected Xiao Feilong to be so audacious. He truly lived up to his reputation as Eastsea's number one mad dog, daring to insult and curse Bai Miaoqing—the ultimate siren—right to her face. This scene was even more shocking than his earlier threat to Xiao Feihong.

After all, Xiao Feihong was still a member of the Xiao family, but Bai Miaoqing was different. She was a vixen who, decades ago, was the most enchanting and dreaded figure in Eastsea. For Xiao Feilong to hurl insults at her without the slightest bit of care was sheer madness.

Was this bastard crazy or just plain stupid?

Yet under these exact circumstances, Bai Miaoqing could not afford to fly into a rage. She stared fixedly at Xiao Feilong for a full two minutes before a seductive smile suddenly crept back onto her face. Her gaze, however, turned exceptionally chilling. Biting her lower lip, she said coldly, "Very well, Xiao Feilong. This account has been noted by this lady today. Another day, I will personally invite you for tea!"

Tea sounded innocent enough, but anyone with half a brain could discern the lethal intent in Bai Miaoqing's eyes as she uttered those words. This siren had truly been provoked into a rage.

What unfathomable and unreasonable things a genuinely furious Bai Miaoqing might do, nobody could guess.

"Get lost! I already told you I have no interest in you!"

Whether Xiao Feilong genuinely failed to catch the implication or was merely playing dumb, he let out a disdainful, cold snort and turned his head away...

"Fine—"

Bai Miaoqing trembled all over with fury, but she said no more. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and wisely chose to maintain her silence. Right now, Xiao Feilong was a lawless mad dog; continuing to engage him would only bring self-inflicted humiliation...

The onlookers viewed this scene with varying thoughts. Quite a few harbored schadenfreude, simply because Bai Miaoqing had been far too arrogant and overbearing over the years, even more domineering and ruthless than many men. It had left numerous men feeling deeply resentful in their hearts, though they had been forced to endure it solely out of fear for the forces standing behind her. Coupled with the fact that Bai Miaoqing was such a stunning femme fatale, people had simply gritted their teeth and swallowed their grievances.

In particular, the major tycoons sharing a table with Bai Miaoqing felt a secret wave of exhilaration. Sitting at the same table with this woman felt like sitting on pins and needles. They couldn't ignore her given her status, yet they dared not grow too intimate for fear of getting tainted by her infamous reputation...

Many guessed at the woman's purpose for coming today, concluding that she was simply here purely to watch a show, as no one had ever heard of her having any close ties to the Fu family.

Now, seeing Bai Miaoqing take a hit, quite a few felt a private surge of satisfaction.

Naturally, an even greater number of people felt a trace of pity for Xiao Feilong. Even if Xiao Feilong was the second master of the Xiao family, people still doubted his ability to triumph over this siren. Once Bai Miaoqing truly harbored a grudge against him, Second Master Xiao's fate was practically sealed, destined for tragedy...

Xiao Feilong, however, remained entirely unfazed. He walked straight into the inner hall and looked toward Elder Fu seated prominently at the center: "Uncle Fu, I will call you Uncle Fu one last time. I only want to ask you two questions now. Can you answer me honestly?"

"What questions?" Elder Fu frowned. Although he had witnessed the entire sequence of events firsthand, his expression remained tranquil—his depth of character was truly formidable.

"First, I want to ask you: without my big brother, would the Fu family be where it is today?" Xiao Feilong asked in a booming voice, his eyes fixed intently on Elder Fu.

"——"

Elder Fu frowned without uttering a sound.

"Second, I want to ask even more: everything the Fu family possesses was given by my big brother. Yet now, you intend to hand the Chu family's daughter-in-law over to that brat from the Lin family? Does doing this count as ungrateful betrayal?" Xiao Feilong demanded again, remaining direct without beating around the bush.

Elder Fu no longer just frowned; his expression rapidly darkened into a scowl.

He had anticipated that Xiao Feilong wouldn't give up and would cause trouble, but he hadn't expected this fellow to be so blunt, denying him any opportunity to ponder or offer explanations.

At that moment, Elder Lin—who, like Elder Fu, had maintained a silent stance while observing the developments—suddenly spoke up, his voice heavy: "Xiao Feilong, have you made enough of a scene?"

"Old man Lin, what do you want to say?" Xiao Feilong spun around. Unlike the shred of surface respect he maintained toward Elder Fu, he held zero reverence for Elder Lin. The Xiao and Lin families were natural rivals to begin with, not to mention the fact that the Lin family was now trying to snatch his big brother's daughter-in-law.

"I acknowledge that Xiao Qing and the Chu family had an engagement." Elder Lin looked calmly at Xiao Feilong. His single sentence stirred up a thousand ripples, causing numerous gasps of shock to erupt from the people outside. So the engagement was real! Yet Elder Lin acted as though none of it mattered; he had already formulated his countermeasure and continued, "However, that was merely a verbal promise with no concrete documentation. Besides, this is a modern society; even if a betrothal was formally established, breaking it off to marry elsewhere is entirely permissible, let alone a mere verbal pact."

"So your Lin family came to propose marriage?" Xiao Feilong sneered. "Old man Lin, let me ask you this: if my big brother were standing right here, would you dare to propose? Would you dare open your mouth?"

Elder Lin stared fixedly at Xiao Feilong before suddenly laughing. "If Chu Zangtian were here, I certainly wouldn't dare open my mouth. But, Chu Zangtian is not here."

"Yet the Chu family is still here, and I am still here." Xiao Feilong's eyes were bloodshot; he had grasped the implication behind Elder Lin's words.

"So what? You are not a member of the Chu family, nor can you represent them. As for the Chu family of Xicheng..." Elder Lin gently turned his head to look at Chu Zangxuan, who sat on the plaza with a face as pale as paper and completely motionless. "As long as Chu Zangxuan dares to acknowledge this marriage alliance and claim this engagement, I will take back what I just said. Go ahead and ask him—does he dare acknowledge it?"

Arrogant, tyrannical, and laden with undisguised threat.

Elder Lin's voice wasn't loud, yet it carried into every corner. In particular, Chu Zangxuan, sitting out there on the plaza, unconsciously clenched his hands tightly against his thighs before slowly relaxing them. Intense bitterness and helplessness washed over his eyes. He did not dare.

"Since the Chu family refuses to acknowledge this alliance, therefore..."

Elder Lin, seemingly anticipating this exact outcome, slowly retracted his gaze and looked back at Xiao Feilong, a sliver of undisguised sneer flickering in his eyes.

Before he could finish his sentence, however, someone interrupted him—

"Who says the Chu family doesn't dare acknowledge it? He doesn't dare, but I do!"

Swish—

Everyone whirled around to look, only to discover that at the edge of the plaza outside the waterside pavilion, a pair of youthful mortals resembling a golden boy and jade girl had appeared at some point. The young woman being held in the man's embrace—whose cold expression alone was enough to outshine heaven and earth—was none other than the Fu family's precious pearl, Fu Ziqing...

Chu Fei.

He had finally arrived!