Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 8 Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road

"Master, should we avoid this place?" Hongxiu asked anxiously. "Young Master Wang has a bad temper; if he gets into a fight..."

"No rush." ​​Lin Chen calmly took a sip of his drink. "Let's see."

The door to the private room was pushed open roughly.

Wang Sheng barged in with four servants, and upon seeing three young women and a strange middle-aged man sitting inside, he immediately flew into a rage:

"Who dares to be so blind! This room is reserved by me!"

The pimp followed behind, sweating profusely: "Third Young Master, please calm down, this gentleman arrived first..."

"So what if he was here first?" Wang Sheng kicked over a stool. "Tell him to get lost!"

The three girls turned pale with fright.

Lin Chen slowly put down his wine glass and looked up at Wang Sheng:

"Young Master Wang, what a grand display of power!"

"Do you know who I am?" Wang Sheng was taken aback, carefully examining Lin Chen, but he couldn't recognize him.

"Who doesn't know the third son of the Minister of Rites?" Lin Chen smiled.

"However, Young Master Wang, we should always be mindful of the order of arrival. I booked this room first, so if you need it, you can wait until next time."

"Next time?" Wang Sheng laughed angrily. "Who do you think you are, to think you can make me wait?"

He waved his hand: "Throw it out!"

Four servants rushed up.

Lin Chen sighed.

He didn't want to cause trouble, but some people just need to be taught a lesson.

The moment the first servant's hand touched his shoulder, Lin Chen flipped his wrist, grabbed the servant's pulse point, and gently twisted it.

"Ah!" The servant screamed and fell to his knees.

The other three were stunned for a moment, then pounced on him together.

Lin Chen remained seated, holding a wine glass in his left hand and casually parrying with his right.

With three muffled thuds, the three servants were sent flying backward, crashing into the wall and unable to get up for a long time.

Wang Sheng's eyes widened: "You...you know martial arts?"

"You idiot, who in this world doesn't know martial arts?" Lin Chen stood up and walked up to Wang Sheng.

"Young Master Wang, I don't want any trouble today. You take your men and leave quietly, and we'll pretend we never met."

Wang Sheng's face turned ashen, but seeing the servants groaning on the ground, he knew he had met his match.

"Fine! Very well!" he gritted his teeth. "State your name! This young master..."

"My name is not important," Lin Chen interrupted him.

"The important thing is, if Young Master Wang doesn't leave soon, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave later."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an invisible sense of pressure.

Wang Sheng involuntarily took a step back, his voice laced with bravado but lacking any real strength, and said, "You just wait!"

After saying this, he fled in a sorry state with his servants.

The private room returned to silence.

The three girls stared at Lin Chen in disbelief.

"Master...you're amazing!" Cuiyan was the first to react, her eyes shining.

Lin Chen waved his hand and sat down again: "Just a small trouble. By the way, where were we?"

Hongxiu's expression was grave: "Master, you've offended Young Master Wang. Your future in the capital may be..."

"It's alright," Lin Chen said nonchalantly. "He won't be able to find out who I am."

The disguise mask would remain in effect for another two hours, giving him enough time to leave.

After chatting for a while longer, Lin Chen felt he had gathered enough information and got up to say goodbye.

Before leaving, he slipped a silver note to each of the three girls.

"I had a very pleasant chat today," he said with a smile. "I might come back to you again if I need anything in the future."

"I'll be there anytime!" The three girls beamed with joy.

After leaving the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Lin Chen circled the streets a few times to make sure no one was following him before finding a dark alley to remove his mask and reveal his true appearance.

It was late at night, and there were few pedestrians on the street.

As Lin Chen walked back to his residence, he sorted through the information he had gathered that day.

Zuiyuexuan, the Second Prince, Wang Sheng, Liu Kun... These clues seem chaotic, but they all subtly point in the same direction.

As Lin Chen reached a corner, he suddenly stopped.

"Aren't you tired after following me all this way?" he asked without turning his head.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

It was a man dressed in black, his face covered, only his sharp eyes were visible.

"Young Master Lin has such keen senses." The voice was hoarse, clearly a deliberate act of pretense.

Lin Chen turned around and sized up the other person: "Who sent you?"

"That's not important," the man in black said coldly.

"The important thing is that someone asked me to pass on a message to you—behave yourself and don't touch things you shouldn't."

Otherwise, next time it won't be as simple as a warning.

"Things you shouldn't have touched?" Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

"For example, Zuiyue Pavilion? Or... the Northern War three years ago?"

The man in black's eyes sharpened: "You know too much."

Before he finished speaking, he pounced like a ghost, his short knife aimed straight for Lin Chen's throat!

This strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless; it was at least at the level of a fourth-grade martial artist!

However, Lin Chen merely turned slightly to the side, the blade grazing his neck.

At the same time, he reached out with his right hand and seemingly casually patted the man in black's wrist.

"Snap!"

The sound of bone cracking was clearly audible.

The man in black grunted, and the dagger slipped from his hand.

He reacted extremely quickly, flicking his left hand and scattering a cloud of white powder!

Lin Chen held his breath and retreated. When the powder dissipated, the man in black had vanished without a trace.

Only a pool of blood and the short knife remained on the ground.

Lin Chen picked up the dagger and examined it carefully by the moonlight.

A small emblem—a ferocious tiger's head—is engraved on the blade.

"White Tiger Gate." Lin Chen's eyes were icy.

It seems that some people not only want to take a bite out of the Lin family, but also want to kill them.

He sheathed his dagger and hurried back to his residence.

Tonight's trip was much more fruitful than expected.

But the waters of the capital were even more murky than he had imagined.

The reason for not killing this person was simply to avoid revealing too much of their strength.

As for the strength now revealed—how could the son of a grandmaster not know any martial arts?

Besides, since he will be inheriting the title in six months, it's necessary to reveal some details.

Otherwise, how could he have become the Duke of Zhenguo?

With his current abilities, there are few in the entire capital who can be considered his equal.