Chapter 1

At the East Sea International Airport, a direct flight from the United States slowly landed.

Lin Zixian, wearing a gray and white belted windbreaker, donned a pair of large sunglasses, slung a loose canvas bag over one shoulder, and carried a red travel bag in his hand, quickly following a tall and slender beauty.

The beauty had lustrous black hair that fell to her shoulders, a loose white pleated sleeve blouse that faintly revealed a black bra, and a pair of blue jeans with white sneakers, exuding a youthful and charming aura. The tight-fitting jeans accentuated her firm and shapely buttocks, which caught the gaze behind the sunglasses.

The red travel bag belonged to this cold-faced beauty. Lin Zixian was not very familiar with her; they had only met by chance when they sat next to each other on the same flight.

Lin Zixian, who had seen many beautiful women, was immediately struck by her appearance and figure, and without hesitation, started to chat her up.

Unfortunately, she showed little interest in him, barely responding to a few of his remarks before ignoring him.

However, this did not deter Lin Zixian from continuing to be attentive. After landing, he almost forcibly took her luggage and helped carry it.

"Fine, you can carry it!" The cold-faced beauty only gave him a cold look, showing no sign of dissatisfaction.

The two left the airport one after the other. Suddenly, the cold-faced beauty stopped and reached out without turning her head, saying, "Give me my bag!"

"Considering how hard I've worked, won't you at least buy me a drink or leave me your contact information? I don't have many friends here, let's be friends!" Lin Zixian chuckled, but he did not return the red travel bag, seemingly unwilling to let go until he got her contact information.

"Bang!" The cold-faced beauty suddenly elbowed him hard in the stomach.

The blow was severe, and Lin Zixian couldn't help but wince.

In the next second, the cold-faced beauty grabbed his arm and, with a swift movement, attempted to throw him over her shoulder, showing that she had practiced taekwondo.

Lin Zixian, caught off guard earlier, would not make the same mistake again. He quickly pressed his hand against her hip, preventing her from bending and exerting force.

Feeling her buttocks being touched, the cold-faced beauty quickly let go and turned to slap him, but Lin Zixian caught her wrist, preventing her from moving.

The cold-faced beauty was slightly surprised by his quick reaction. The elbow strike would have knocked out most men, but this guy seemed unaffected.

Lin Zixian wanted to make a joke, but six burly men in black suits, clearly bodyguards, quickly surrounded them from three parked cars.

Lin Zixian, who was just trying to flirt, did not want any trouble. Faced with the six menacing bodyguards, he immediately raised his hands in surrender.

In the next moment, two bodyguards grabbed his arms, waiting for orders. The cold-faced beauty snatched her red travel bag, grabbed Lin Zixian's shoulder, and delivered a knee strike to his stomach. "Bang!" Lin Zixian winced in pain.

"Miss, what should we do with him?" one of the bodyguards asked.

"Let's go!" The cold-faced beauty, unwilling to waste more time on this rogue, turned and left with her travel bag. The bodyguards reluctantly let Lin Zixian go.

One of the bodyguards opened the door of the middle car, and after the cold-faced beauty got in, the door closed, and the six bodyguards also got into their cars, which then sped away.

Lin Zixian watched the three cars drive off, rubbing his abdomen with a bitter smile, wondering if the women in the country had become so tough.

A few American friends who had arrived on the same flight and witnessed the scene approached. One of them asked in English, "Sir, do you need to call the police?"

"Oh!" Lin Zixian shrugged nonchalantly and replied in fluent English, "No, my wife has a misunderstanding with me."

The American friend understood, thinking they were a married couple having a dispute, and patted his shoulder, saying, "No problem, buy a bouquet of roses and give her a romantic surprise. I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"Oh! Not a bad idea, thanks!" Lin Zixian thanked him and shook his hand.

They chatted briefly, and then a minibus arrived to take the international friends away.

"A beautiful encounter, but unfortunately, it didn't have a perfect ending." Lin Zixian thought about what had just happened, a smile playing on his lips as he muttered to himself.

After scanning the surroundings outside the airport, Lin Zixian got into a taxi and gave the driver a destination: "Minghua Group."

The taxi sped off and eventually stopped in a commercial district with towering skyscrapers. Lin Zixian, behind his sunglasses, gazed at the high-rise building with the prominent Minghua Group logo, a blooming white lotus.

Before returning to the country, he knew nothing about this company. Who would have thought that after more than a year out of the game, while traveling the world, he would suddenly receive a call from the old man, saying that the CEO of Minghua Group, Qiao Antian, was in trouble and needed his help if he could spare the time.

The old man, busy with his card games, didn't say much. However, over the years abroad, the old man had never cared about his well-being, and this was the first time he had asked him to do something.

Since the old man had spoken, Lin Zixian couldn't help but pay attention to the company. He looked it up online and found out it was one of the top 100 companies in the country.

Lin Zixian found it strange. Despite the old man's good skills, he never showed them off and was just a lazy and idle villager who never left his hometown. How did he end up knowing the CEO of a major company? So, he interrupted his travels and returned to the country...

Seeing that he had no intention of getting out of the car, the driver reminded him, "Sir, we've arrived at Minghua Group."

"Um... find a hotel nearby," Lin Zixian said indifferently, his gaze still fixed on the building outside.

The taxi driver had no objections and dropped him off at a hotel not far from Minghua Group.

That night, the room was pitch black. Lin Zixian sat lazily in a chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cigarette and silently watching the headquarters of Minghua Group, contemplating whether to get involved.

Helping out was a small matter, but the key was that he had been out of the game for over a year and didn't want to risk exposing his dark identity in the international underworld, an identity even the old man didn't know about. Although the old man was his adoptive master, they never interfered in each other's affairs, and he had no need to report to him, only occasionally calling to check if he was still alive...

He slept until midday the next day.

Wearing only a white, tight-fitting underwear, Lin Zixian got out of bed, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and did some stretching exercises, loosening his muscles. He then did a handstand in the room.

His handstand was unusual. Not only did he use one hand, but he used just one finger to support his entire body, which remained perfectly straight from his finger to his toes. His muscles were taut and hard, like blocks of stone, not the bulky build of a bodybuilder, but rather a lean and solid physique with no visible fat. At that moment, his body exuded explosive strength, with clearly defined lines, almost like a stone sculpture.

His upper body was crisscrossed with a dozen scars, which an experienced person could tell were from six gunshot wounds of varying calibers and nine knife or dagger cuts, some long and some short, giving his stone-like body a sense of沧桑 (cang桑, meaning "weathered" or "aged"), as if the marks left by wind, rain, and snow on a stone sculpture, exuding a strong masculine charm.

Every ten minutes, he would switch to a different finger to support his handstand, a unique internal martial arts technique called "One Incense to Heaven." As for its origin, Lin Zixian didn't know, as the old man had never told him.

After ten fingers had each supported him for ten minutes, exactly one hundred minutes had passed. This was a habit he had developed over the years. He then returned to a standing position, his joints cracking as he exhaled a long breath.

He turned and resumed his lazy demeanor, slowly shuffling into the bathroom to shower.

After getting out of the shower, he put on the clothes he had bought the day before: a simple pair of jeans and a casual shirt, looking like a lazy and unmotivated young man.

He didn't change his belt, instead taking the canvas belt from his old pants and running his fingers along its edge. Suddenly, he lightly flicked it, and a shiny cow hair needle emerged from the belt, which he then pressed back in. It wasn't easy to extract without the special technique.

These cow hair needles were made from special steel, and the belt contained eight hundred of them, a must-have for Lin Zixian and his trump card. The belt also had the advantage of not being detected during security checks, as it could pass off as a regular belt with steel wire.

After a quick tidy-up, he went to the hotel restaurant and ordered some food, taking his time. Once the morning rush was over, he left the hotel, lit a cigarette, and walked toward the headquarters of Minghua Group.

"Sir, may I help you with something?" the receptionist, who was there to project the company's image, asked politely. Another receptionist looked at him with suspicion.

Lin Zixian leaned lazily on the counter, with a teasing smile, and said, "I'm here to see your company's CEO, Mr. Qiao Antian."

"You're here to see our CEO?" The receptionist was slightly surprised, looking him up and down. Although he was quite handsome, his ordinary attire did not suggest he was from the upper class. She asked with a hint of reserve, "Do you have an appointment?"