Chapter 115: Neither Painful nor Itchy

“Master, something has happened to Young Master Hu Yinghe.”

“I know. Hu Yinghe is the grandson I favor most. I believe he will handle it properly, so we should not interfere. Let him learn a lesson.”

“Young Master Hu Yinghe is the most likely candidate to take over Huayong. It is just that…”

“Just what? Speak freely.”

“Ah, it is only that Liu Sheng has joined Young Master Hu Ying’s faction. On the day the shipyard exploded, Liu Sheng was also in Duhai City.”

“Do you suspect that Liu Sheng blew up the shipyard?”

“No. After all, there is not the slightest evidence. It looked like a natural explosion. However, Liu Sheng did shoot eight of Hu Yinghe’s men.”

“Oh? By himself?”

“Yes. Alone. There was one of our informants in an abandoned residential building near the shipyard. Liu Sheng killed his way from the sixth floor down to the first. Our informant happened to see him kill the last man, then go back upstairs.”

“Liu Sheng… Ha-ha, he truly is skilled. Did he cause you any trouble over this?”

“No.”

“Courageous and resourceful. He knew Hu Yinghe would not dare investigate the matter openly, so after killing them, he simply left it alone.”

“What a pity that he failed to join Young Master Hu Yinghe. Otherwise, Huayong would certainly control the entire world. Even if the Lin family grew stronger, we would have nothing to fear.”

“Little Jin, Liu Sheng has not truly joined Hu Ying either. You should know what sort of person Hu Ying is. He does not value anyone, nor does he regard anyone as important. Liu Sheng is a talented man. Do you think he is unaware of that?”

“Then what exactly is Liu Sheng after?”

“Liu Sheng is not one of Hu Yinghe’s people, and he certainly is not one of Hu Ying’s.”

“Hu Jie? No, that cannot be. Young Master Hu Jie wants no part in worldly struggles. Then Hu Yingqi? No, that does not fit either. Miss Hu Yingqi has never involved herself in Huayong’s affairs. Could it be that Liu Sheng intends to…?”

“If Liu Sheng can truly defeat my grandsons, then that proves he is a talent. In any case, there is no one more capable than him. What would be wrong with handing it over to him?”

“If Liu Sheng really did it, then he violated the peace treaty…”

“Heh. Did you not say there is no evidence proving that Liu Sheng was responsible?”

This conversation between Old Master Hu and Butler Jin took place at Huayong’s headquarters in Yunhai City.

After returning home, Guan Xin was so fond of Liu Sheng’s house that she ran from the first floor to the third, then back down again.

Liu Sheng was sitting on the sofa on the first floor. He asked Ren Xiadong, “How do you think Huayong will deal with Hu Yinghe?”

“They’ll kick him out of Huayong and make him live in the most miserable poverty imaginable!” Ren Xiadong clearly had no fondness for either Hu Yinghe or Hu Ying. Whenever they were mentioned, he gnashed his teeth in fury.

Liu Sheng felt the same way. The thing that would satisfy him most would be to keep Hu Yinghe alive, drive him out of Huayong, and make him live a life worse than death. He had therefore been constantly thinking about how to turn Hu Yinghe into such a person.

“Your house is beautiful. Can I really live here?” Guan Xin asked from the stair railing.

Liu Sheng thought for a moment before replying, “You can.”

Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something, he waved to her. “Come sit down. I want to ask you a few questions.”

“What is it?” Guan Xin asked after sitting down.

Liu Sheng went straight to the point. “Is Hu Yinghe your employer?”

“No. My employer’s employer is Hu Yinghe. But all of us hope to get jobs at his Imperial Palace Baths. The pay there is extremely high.” Guan Xin spoke with obvious excitement.

From Guan Xin, they later learned that the largest brothel in the country was Hu Yinghe’s Imperial Palace Baths. It had seven floors. The first floor offered bathing and massages, while the second housed pole-dancing performances. Every floor above that provided special services. The higher the floor, the more luxurious and expensive the services. Female celebrities often worked part-time on the seventh floor.

“It is in Lu City. You could call it the private garden of every wealthy person in the south. It is an all-night capital of pleasure, filled with singing, dancing, bright lights, and extravagant living.” Guan Xin looked at Liu Sheng with longing.

Liu Sheng rubbed his nose and muttered, “They are really that brazen?”

“No, this sort of place is extremely harmful to the psychological development of young people. Such a filthy establishment should be shut down. When are we going to deal with it?”

Although Ren Xiadong’s words sounded perfectly righteous, his eyes revealed anticipation and excitement.

Liu Sheng stared at him in disbelief but did not expose him. He knew Ren Xiadong had always enjoyed such things, though he was also a man of principles. He could joke about it all he wanted, but with Tian Yun now in his life, he would not do anything outrageous.

There were three reasons such a massive place of vice had never been investigated.

First, it publicly claimed to be nothing more than an ordinary bathing center.

Second, its owner was Hu Yinghe, and its backer was the Huayong Group. No one dared investigate it.

Third, poor people could not enter such a place, so word of it never spread among the public.

Although Liu Sheng knew about it, he had not paid much attention. He felt that the shipyard incident alone was already enough trouble for Hu Yinghe.

As for Hu Yinghe, he had taken corresponding measures and sealed off all information about the shipyard explosion. Although many people had witnessed such a massive blast and the media had reported on it, Hu Yinghe personally stepped forward to explain that it had been caused by a fuel leak.

He also personally led people in clearing the site, gathering up every fragment of weaponry so that no one would notice the traces of an explosives detonation.

Old Master Hu did not interfere much in the matter. Although Liu Sheng had violated the peace treaty, there was no evidence. The fact that Liu Sheng had killed several men could not, by itself, prove that he had blown up the shipyard.

Huayong needed illicit businesses to survive, so Hu Yinghe suppressed the matter. As a result, Hu Yinghe was not punished. After all, he was the heir Old Master Hu favored most.

When Liu Sheng learned of this, he was both furious and bewildered. He could not understand why Old Master Hu was willing to indulge Hu Yinghe so completely. Hu Yinghe had clearly violated Huayong’s rules by operating a forbidden business in a place where the law did not permit it.

The next day, after class, Liu Sheng sat absentmindedly in the dormitory. After thinking about it all afternoon, he finally understood. Old Master Hu was not afraid of trouble; he was only afraid that trouble would be handled badly. The reason Hu Yinghe had escaped unscathed was that he had concealed the true nature of his business, preventing the forbidden activities from being exposed.

Likewise, Liu Sheng had left no evidence when he blew up the shipyard, so Old Master Hu had not investigated. But Old Master Hu certainly knew.

“Then let’s make the matter bigger!”

Just as Liu Sheng was deep in thought, Secretary Zhao called him.

“President Liu, was it you who blew up the shipyard?”

“Yes.”

“Have you considered the consequences? If the matter is investigated, none of us will escape unscathed!”

“Hu Yinghe got away with it. Do you really think we will have a problem?”

“That is true. Still, President Liu, you did an excellent job. Not only did you leave no evidence, you also greatly weakened Hu Yinghe’s influence.”

After hanging up, Liu Sheng muttered to himself, “None of this is enough to truly hurt Hu Yinghe. His abilities are far beyond what Hu Ying could ever imagine, yet Hu Ying boasts every day that he does not take Hu Yinghe seriously. Any one of the businesses Hu Yinghe keeps hidden could crush Hu Ying completely.”

“Liu Sheng, you and Ren Xiadong skip class whenever you feel like it. Just how busy are you?” Xiaojia asked, looking at Liu Sheng as he sat on his bed.

Liu Sheng looked at Xiaojia, then suddenly laughed. “Have you ever been with a woman?”

Xiaojia was stunned. Shaking his head, he said, “Stop joking. Women are such an exclusive species. How could someone like me ever get close to one?”

Liu Sheng turned to Lao Jiu on the opposite bed. “What about you?”

Lao Jiu sat cross-legged on his bed with his eyes closed and slowly replied, “I have practiced the art of celibacy since childhood. What is a woman? I have no idea.”

Thinking that he might need the two of them in the future, Liu Sheng decided to take them out once and let them gain some experience beforehand.

He shook his head and deliberately sighed. “All right, then. I’ll wait for Ren Xiadong to come back. It’s the weekend again, and I’m bored out of my mind. Looks like Ren Xiadong and I will have to go out and enjoy ourselves yet again.”

The moment Lao Jiu and Xiaojia heard that they were going out, Xiaojia climbed onto Liu Sheng’s bed and sat beside him, draping an arm over his shoulder. Lao Jiu leaped straight from his own bed onto Liu Sheng’s and sat down on his other side, also placing an arm around Liu Sheng’s shoulder.

The two men stared at Liu Sheng’s face.

Liu Sheng knew they wanted to come along. He wanted them to gain some experience, because after graduation he planned to keep them by his side. Having one’s own trusted people was extremely important.

“It’s a pity you two have no interest in women. Never mind. I won’t force you. Ren Xiadong and I will just have to endure it ourselves.”

Liu Sheng deliberately sounded troubled again.

“Have you never heard that failing to pursue a beautiful woman is a betrayal of morality?” Lao Jiu whispered beside Liu Sheng’s right ear.

Xiaojia immediately followed from Liu Sheng’s left. “If there is a beautiful woman, pursuing her is an act of justice.”

Liu Sheng wanted to laugh but forced himself to hold it in. Then he sighed. “Of course I’ve heard those sayings. I’ve also heard that a man’s lust is the mark of a true hero, and a woman’s allure leads the fashion of the age. Those are all Ren Xiadong’s famous sayings. But Xiaojia thinks he is unworthy, while Lao Jiu practices celibacy.”

“What do you mean, unworthy? If I had the chance, you’d see whether I could handle it!” Xiaojia declared.

Lao Jiu continued, “Do you think I wanted to practice celibacy? I simply never had the opportunity. Besides, I cannot even handle one woman. What use would all these skills be to me?”

“All right. Ren Xiadong probably won’t be back tonight. He has not seen Tian Yun for several days either. The three of us will have a few drinks tonight. Tomorrow, after Ren Xiadong returns, we’ll all go to Lu City and have some fun.”

Eight o’clock that evening.

Liu Sheng called Guan Xin out because he wanted to ask her in detail about the Imperial Palace Baths. If they were going there, he wanted Lao Jiu and Xiaojia to enjoy themselves thoroughly. They should at least understand how the place worked; otherwise, arriving there without knowing anything would be awkward.

“Why did you call me here?” Guan Xin asked as she came over to Liu Sheng and removed her coat.

Liu Sheng and the others were eating hotpot at a restaurant. After Guan Xin arrived, she did not stand on ceremony and simply took off her coat before sitting down beside Liu Sheng.

Xiaojia gave Liu Sheng a mischievous grin. “That was quick. You’ve already replaced her?”

“No. She is my secretary.” Liu Sheng casually invented an excuse. He could not tell Xiaojia and the others that he and Ren Xiadong had brought Guan Xin out of a brothel.

During dinner, Xiaojia learned that Guan Xin was not Liu Sheng’s girlfriend, so he immediately began trying to ingratiate himself with her. Perhaps because of her previous line of work, Guan Xin was naturally familiar with every man she met. Her warmth toward Xiaojia made him extremely excited, because no woman had ever treated him so enthusiastically.

Liu Sheng also asked the questions he had come to ask.

From Guan Xin, he learned that the Imperial Palace Baths operated on a membership system. Anyone wishing to go to the second floor or above had to be a member. Since the business was illegal, security was extremely strict, and not everyone was allowed upstairs. Naturally, the higher one went, the better the service became.