Chapter 48: Leveraging the Momentum (Please follow, favorite, monthly tickets, and recommendation votes)

Su Mu followed the two men into a restaurant.

The decor of the establishment was luxurious and exquisite, and all the passing servers were young, beautiful women.

Even though Su Mu did not know much about the Inner City, he knew that a restaurant like this was likely beyond the means of ordinary people.

They went straight to a private room on the top floor. As soon as he entered, Su Mu saw several women in light gauze with graceful figures, swaying their hips to the sound of zithers and lutes.

To see such luxury in broad daylight—was this a restaurant or a brothel?

Su Mu grumbled inwardly, but he clearly saw who had invited him here.

Aside from the dancers, there was only one young man in the room, looking like a typical pampered playboy.

The young man appeared to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, lounging casually with women on either side of him.

The woman on his left held a wine cup to his lips, and without moving a finger, he drank the wine.

"Young Master, the person has been brought."

The two men who had brought Su Mu stood at the door and bowed.

The young man laughed loudly, pushed the girls aside, and sat up straight.

"So, you are Su Mu?"

His gaze fell upon Su Mu, sizing him up from head to toe. "You've got quite the nerve. Do you know who Xu Mingchen works for?"

"Is he perhaps working for you?" Su Mu asked calmly.

While the other man was sizing him up, Su Mu was doing the same.

The young man's flesh was firm; he must have undergone body tempering. He just wondered to what stage his skin, flesh, and bones had been tempered.

"Not as stupid as I thought. You can guess he is my man," the young man said.

Su Mu was speechless, lowering his evaluation of the man in his mind.

*You bring me here and ask that immediately? Does that even require guessing? Even an idiot would know you're connected to Xu Mingchen.*

"Since you know Xu Mingchen is my man, then you should know that when you beat a dog, you must consider its master," the young man said coldly. "Now that you've slapped his face, it's equivalent to disrespecting me. Tell me, how should this matter be settled?"

"You are mistaken," Su Mu said, shaking his head. "In my view, it was Xu Mingchen who caused you to lose face. He violated the laws of Great Xuan, and he might even implicate you. I gave him a lesson to make him more cautious in the future; this is only beneficial to you, not harmful."

"Nonsense!" the young man said coldly. "Do you think you can just bluff your way out with such nonsense?"

He paused, then continued, "Bullying a commoner like you wouldn't show my true capability. I happen to be lacking someone capable to work under me. I see you have some skill, so I'll give you an opportunity to serve me."

"That way, your matter with Xu Mingchen will be considered internal strife. No matter who wins or loses, it won't affect my reputation," the young man said incessantly, giving Su Mu no chance to respond.

Su Mu felt as though his eyes were being opened to a new level of absurdity.

This young man's logic was quite peculiar. *Doesn't infighting among your subordinates prove your incompetence? If you can't even control your own men, where is the prestige in that?*

"Working for you is likely out of the question," Su Mu said, shaking his head.

"Hmm?"

The young man's expression turned cold, and the dancers instinctively paused their movements.

"So, there is a path of life you refuse to take, and you insist on choosing the path of death?"

"I don't understand paths of life or death," Su Mu said seriously. "If you are determined to have me work for you, it isn't impossible, but someone else must agree to it first."

"Are you talking about He Yuxing?" The young man said with disdain. "Would he dare compete with me for someone I want to employ?"

"It's not him," Su Mu replied, shaking his head.

"Then who? Is there someone else trying to recruit you?" The young man frowned slightly.

He should have been among the first to receive news of Su Mu entering the Inner City. Could the recruitment efforts of those in the Outer City be compared to his status as a direct descendant of the Wang family?

"I cannot tell you his name," Su Mu said. "However, you can ask them where they found me."

Su Mu pointed to the two men who had brought him.

"Speak!" the young man barked at his subordinates.

"Reporting to Young Master, we found him at the entrance of the Taiping Bureau," the two subordinates said hurriedly.

"The Taiping Bureau?"

The young man's body visibly trembled, and he straightened his back, looking like a disobedient student who had suddenly realized a teacher was watching from behind.

"You work for the Taiping Bureau? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Realizing his reaction was somewhat undignified, the young man shouted in a fit of embarrassed rage.

"Given your status in the Inner City, do you think I could deceive you? You only need to make a quick inquiry to find out," Su Mu said. "You should already be aware of my identity. Aren't you curious where a refugee like me learned his saber techniques?"

"This—"

The young man's pupils contracted.

The news from Xu Mingchen suggested that Su Mu might have mastered "Saber Intent," but it hadn't mentioned where he learned his techniques.

"I'll tell you plainly: the saber technique I practice is called the Wave-Subduing Saber Technique, and it was bestowed by *that* gentleman," Su Mu said, cupping his hands toward the direction of the Taiping Bureau.

As soon as these words were spoken, the young man and his two subordinates gasped in unison.

Even the music and dancing came to a sudden halt. The dancers and musicians all looked at Su Mu with expressions of awe and fear.

The young man realized the situation had become extremely complicated.

His name was Wang Guan, a direct descendant of the Wang family, one of the four great families of the Inner City. But even with his status, he could not afford to offend the Taiping Bureau. He would be grateful if those killing machines didn't come looking for trouble; why would he go out of his way to provoke them?

Su Mu clearly wasn't a member of the Taiping Bureau yet, but since he had been granted a saber technique, he must have caught the eye of someone within the Bureau.

Looking at Wang Guan, Su Mu noticed he was trembling slightly, which surprised him. It seemed the deterrent power of the Taiping Bureau was even greater than he had imagined, enough to make someone like Wang Guan turn pale with fear.

Su Mu wasn't afraid of Wang Guan making inquiries; he hadn't told a single lie from beginning to end.

The Wave-Subduing Saber Technique really *was* given to him by "Brother Taiping." He had merely used some negligible linguistic technicalities in his description; he certainly hadn't lied. If Wang Guan misunderstood, that was his own error and had nothing to do with Su Mu. Even if he went to the Taiping Bureau to investigate, he would only find out about the existence of the Wave-Subduing Saber Technique.

And "Brother Taiping" might not have the time to explain anything to him.

"A misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"

Wang Guan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Brother Su, we are on the same side! I knew long ago that that man Xu had dirty hands and was committing crimes behind my back. Even if you hadn't acted, I would have wanted to teach him a lesson. Brother Su, you have done me a great favor this time."

He stood up and bowed slightly. "Brother Su, please, have a seat. Please give me face today and allow me to host you properly."

"It's getting late. I must leave quickly; I cannot stay overnight in the Inner City," Su Mu said.

"Don't you worry, Brother Su! I'll give the City Guard a heads-up. Who would dare kick you out of the Inner City after I've spoken to them?" Wang Guan said, patting his chest.

"Brother Su, please, take a seat!" Wang Guan greeted him warmly. "Everyone, get moving! Keep the music playing! Keep the dancing going!"