In view, Liang Xiao was lying quietly on the bed, accompanied by a middle-aged couple who appeared to be his parents. His complexion was pale, but his spirits seemed relatively good. As Chu Ge stepped over the threshold, Liang Xiao glanced over.

"You're here."

Under the gaze of Liang Xiao's parents, which was extremely complicated, Chu Ge didn't know what to say. He just smiled slightly at Liang Xiao and nodded.

"Thanks, I was happy to spar with you today. I haven't been this happy in such a long time. Seeing you beaten like this, I'm even happier."

There was a bit of helplessness in Chu Ge's smile; this guy… sure has a hint of sadistic pleasure.

"Dad, help me, I want to give him a gongshou salute."

Liang Xiao's father frowned slightly. It wasn't until Liang Xiao weakly yet persistently called "Dad" again that he sighed, clenched Liang Xiao's right hand into a fist, and placed his left palm over it, forming the gesture of a gongshou salute.

Meeting Liang Xiao's gaze, Chu Ge returned the salute, yet still couldn't find the right words to say.

"Before I beat you, you better not die. While I can't practice martial arts these few months, you should improve a bit more, so I can't catch up too quickly."

Chu Ge nodded and smiled at Liang Xiao once more.

Liang Xiao slightly curved his lips, closed his eyes, and Chu Ge, after watching him for a few seconds, turned and left the room without saying anything.

Without meeting any other members of the Liang Family, Chu Ge went straight to Chen Zhihao's guest room and left the old residence with the Chen father and son.

Even though Chen Yujie knew that Chu Ge had just been brutally beaten and should theoretically be very weak right now, his hatred for Chu Ge didn't diminish in the slightest. Nevertheless, he kept a two-meter distance from Chu Ge the entire way and didn't say a word.

As the saying goes, a tiger's menace lingers even after death, let alone that this tiger was only injured.

After getting into Chen Zhihao's Bentley Mulsanne, Chu Ge still sat in the front passenger seat, while Chen Yujie continued to sit furthest away from Chu Ge on the left rear seat. No one spoke all the way until the Bentley returned to the provincial capital, Jiangyun City, and Chu Ge finally broke the silence.

"Mr. Chen, just find a place to stop by. You're so busy; I won't continue to waste your time."

The Bentley smoothly stopped by the roadside. Chu Ge yawned, and just as he was about to push the door open, he suddenly turned to look at Chen Zhihao.

"Mr. Chen, did you… forget something?"

Chen Zhihao was taken aback. Chu Ge pointed to the mini bar in the car. "Mr. Chen, with your big business, surely you can't be stingy about offering a drink?"

Chen Zhihao gave Chu Ge a complex look and, without saying anything, opened the car's mini bar, revealing inside a bottle of Romanée-Conti and two exquisite wine glasses, silently filled a glass, and handed it to Chu Ge.

Chu Ge smiled, took the glass, and gently swirled it, in a very gentlemanly manner, "Mr. Chen, since it's our first meeting, why not have a drink with me?"

What else could Chen Zhihao say? With a frown, he poured himself a glass as well.

"Ding"

Chu Ge clinked his glass lightly against Chen Zhihao's, "Here's to us never meeting again."

After saying that, Chu Ge drank the glass in one go, smacked his lips and sighed, "Ah… Romanée-Conti, truly a fine wine. Well then, Mr. Chen, goodbye."

"Wait."

Chu Ge had just pushed the car door open when he heard Chen Zhihao's somewhat hesitant voice from behind.

"Mr. Chen, is there anything else?"

"Can you tell me, what's the story behind the gongshou salute you and Liang Xiao exchanged?"

"Oh, that?" Chu Ge smiled, "It's actually quite simple. The normal etiquette is with the right fist inside, with the left palm placed over the right fist, symbolizing sincerity and respect. As for Liang Xiao's left fist inside gongshou salute at the time, that gesture is used in funeral rites."

Hearing Chu Ge say this, Chen Zhihao was taken aback, his mind involuntarily recalling the scene in the forest.

Back then, Chu Ge had said that Liang Xiao was a bit premature in giving him that salute. Could it be… was Chu Ge that confident in his skills?

Moreover, how did Chu Ge know such obscure etiquette details? What was hidden behind Chu Ge that he couldn't see?

By the time he came back to his senses, Chu Ge had long since left the front passenger seat and disappeared from his view.

Looking down at the wine glass Chu Ge had just used, Chen Zhihao pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply.

After leaving Chen Zhihao's Bentley, Chu Ge immediately hailed a taxi and returned to the West Forest Hotel.

Although Chu Ge felt an urgent desire to return home, his body was now bruised and battered, with a stab wound on his chest and a cut on his shoulder. If Qin Ruojing saw this, it would surely be a troublesome matter.

Given the current situation, he could only recuperate here for two days. With his physical condition and the Golden Wound Medicine from Liang Lao Qi, he believed he would recover quickly.

Golden Wound Medicine is typically made from ingredients like boar fat, rosin, flour, musk, beeswax, camphor, borneol, dragon's blood, catechu, and frankincense, used for pain relief and healing. For a martial arts family like the Liang Family, it's an essential medicine, far more effective than what can be bought at regular pharmacies.

Chu Ge wasn't worried that Liang Lao Qi would tamper with the medicine, but he was curious whether this was just an ordinary batch or one with precious ingredients reserved for the Liang Family's core members.

Back in the hotel room, Chu Ge applied some medicine and sat in the chair, reminiscing about his fight with Liang Yongping. Since returning to the city, he had never been as satisfied in a fight as today. Reflecting on it now, he felt he had gained a lot.

In fact, compared to fighting, Chu Ge was more adept at killing. While sparring with Liang Yongping, he couldn't use many of his skills. If the goal had truly been to kill, the outcome would have been uncertain.

However, Chu Ge didn't use this as an excuse for himself, nor did he feel discontent. A loss is a loss. In the art of formal combat, he indeed wasn't as good as Liang Yongping.

Of course, Liang Yongping hadn't intended to kill him either and had shown restraint. Otherwise, Chu Ge would be in worse shape than just being bruised and swollen.

As Chu Ge mused over Liang Yongping's exquisite moves, his phone suddenly rang. He took it out of his bag to see "Tiger Girl Police Flower" flashing on the screen.

Scratching his head, Chu Ge felt a bit anxious, hesitating for two seconds before answering. Unsure if it was convenient for her to talk, he cautiously probed first.

"Captain Mu, any orders?"

"Where have you been all day? How come your phone was unreachable? I thought you were dead!" Mu Lingshan began with a tone heavy with irritation.

Chu Ge immediately chuckled bitterly, understanding the situation. After all, he had left Mu Lingshan behind yesterday with those words; it would be odd if she spoke kindly to him now.

After the sarcastic chuckle, a gentle smile appeared on Chu Ge's face, recognizing a note of concern beneath the irritability.

"Hey, hey, it was just that my phone had no signal, so I missed your call. Why curse me like that? They say good people don't live long, but troublemakers last a thousand years. How could someone like me go down that easily?"

Mu Lingshan huffed, about to counter with more jibes, but Chu Ge's voice cut her off again.

"Actually, I almost did get beaten to death today. I got quite the thrashing and am now covered in medicine."

After Chu Ge finished speaking, he eagerly perked up, listening as silence fell on the line for a few seconds. Mu Lingshan's skeptical voice finally returned.

"You? Got beaten up? Almost beaten to death?"

Chu Ge replied with a rueful tone, "Exactly. What, don't believe me?"

"Oh, I believe you. I really do. It's just a pity... How come you didn't actually get beaten to death? If you had, I would have immediately bought ten thousand firecrackers to celebrate. Hmm... I'd also send a banner to thank the one who finished you off, emblazoned with 'Ridding Harm for the People!'"

Hearing Mu Lingshan's vicious words, Chu Ge was stunned for two seconds, then burst into hearty laughter.

His laughter carried over the phone to Mu Lingshan, who became even more frustrated, convinced that Chu Ge was just spouting nonsense.

After all, this guy was absurdly strong, tackling hordes of armed thugs alone. What sort of person could have beaten him up?

Moreover, if he had nearly been beaten to death, how could he laugh so carefree now?

"Laugh, laugh, laugh, what are you laughing at? I shouldn't have called you, bastard!"

After angrily cursing Chu Ge, Mu Lingshan irritably hung up, imagining his smiling face on the other end. Her anger only simmered more.

She slammed the phone down on the table with a "bang," intending to continue reviewing her study notes for the party school. However, upon picking them up, she couldn't concentrate at all and irritably slammed the notebook back down.

"Shanshan, what's wrong? You seem really upset. Did you have another fight with your boyfriend?"

Huang Yourong came out of the bathroom, smiling like an older sister, patting Mu Lingshan on the shoulder.

"That bastard..." Mu Lingshan frowned and sighed, "Forget it, let's not talk about him. Huang Jie, are you hungry? Let's go out for dinner."

Huang Yourong teasingly curled her lips, "Haha, Shanshan, are you planning to eat away your anger and grievance? Be careful, if you get fat, your boyfriend will..."

"Huang Jie, what are you saying? Can we not talk about that bastard anymore?"

Huang Yourong giggled, "Alright, alright, we won't mention him. Let's go, it's almost seven without realizing, and I'm actually getting a bit hungry."

While maintaining a charming facade, an insidious plan silently took shape in Huang Yourong's mind.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.