True Solution of the Sword Dao

Following Yang Hao and Zhao Yuxin, the group walked slowly out of the neighborhood along the main road, turning left onto the street. The Green Fantasy Bar was not far; it was just outside the neighborhood and visible along the straight street by its sign.

It was about 4 p.m. by the time they reached there, and the surrounding bars had just started to open.

The group seemed very familiar with the route. From the outside, Green Fantasy looked somewhat gloomy. However, once inside and past a short corridor, the surrounding space suddenly seemed much brighter.

There were not many people during the day; the dimly lit hall’s strobe lights were off. Only rows of empty seats were there. The surrounding walls were lined with unlit lamps, all fashioned into white circular rings. The ceiling also had a large white circular lamp, complementing the others. The entire environment felt exceptionally mystical, as if one had suddenly entered another dimension. The current quiet was just waiting for the night’s noise.

A few people sat sparsely at some tables, chatting softly, while soothing instrumental music played throughout the bar. The atmosphere was very quiet.

Once inside, Zhao Yuxin was walking at the front.

"Wu Ruida, you’re still in that outfit, wearing sportswear to a bar, you really come up with ideas."

"Couldn’t bother to change," Wu Ruida laughed in response, "Anyway, I’m just killing time with you guys."

"Suit yourself."

Occasionally, one could see columns inside the bar shaped like large tree trunks; originally, they were just supportive pillars, but all had been modified to look like trunks. Zhao Yuxin chose a table next to one of these trunks to sit down, and everyone else found their own seats as well.

"Now, while there aren’t many people, it’s still pretty quiet to hang out, but it’ll be fun once it gets crowded."

A waiter came over, spoke a few words with Zhao Yuxin, and then brought some drinks over.

"We can start with some drinks. The Green Fantasy is still quite a relaxed environment during the day," said Zhao Yuxin with a smile.

"Play what?" Yang Hao pulled out a deck of cards.

"Oh please, don’t act like you are all professional," Zhao Yuxin replied irritably. "Do you know what kind of people usually come to bars?"

"What kind of people, just singers, right?" Yang Hao said casually.

"Pfft!" Zhao Yuxin scoffed, then pretended to be knowledgeable. "Those who come to bars are mostly lonely men or women. So we’ll sit for a bit and then leave to avoid getting into trouble from unwanted advances."

"What’s there to be afraid of, isn’t this your place? We didn’t have any problems the last few times we came here," Yang Hao said unconcerned.

"That was before," Zhao Yuxin glanced at Lin You, "I sort of regret coming now."

As she said, a man suddenly stood up from a nearby table, wearing a flashy white suit and holding sunglasses, also displaying a self-assured smile. He started walking over to their table.

"Isn’t that Xinxin? Did you bring friends to play again?" The man was quite young, around college age, but his attire made him seem much older. His clothes, reflective under the light, clearly were expensive.

"Song Yetao, have you got nothing to do apart from loitering around?" Zhao Yuxin retorted bluntly. "We don’t welcome you here; you can leave now."

The others remained silent, letting Zhao Yuxin do the talking.

Lin Yang whispered to Lin Fei, "Stay quiet, his family is influential. We rarely encountered him before, didn’t expect to run into him today."

Lin Fei nodded slightly, indicating he understood. However, his eyes were somewhat vacant, unsure if he was just subconsciously nodding to Lin Yang’s words or if he really understood.

"I didn’t come for you today. I just noticed this little sister seems to be at the bar for the first time," Song Yetao said smiling. He walked behind Lin You’s seat and stealthily reached out to touch Lin You’s long hair. "Actually, Green Fantasy is quite low-grade, even though it’s not cheap. I saw you guys last time and wanted to say something, but held back. You brought a bunch of people again; I guess it’s free for them as usual?" he said with a lewd smile.

His words were rather irritating. Indeed, if not for Zhao Yuxin, the group themselves would have had to pay quite a sum, as the Green Fantasy, even being nearby, was not cheap at all. They were all students with not much money to spend.

Lin You frowned and moved her seat forward, causing his reaching hand to miss. Song Yetao didn’t seem to care.

"They are all my friends; I can invite whoever I want. What’s it to you?" Zhao Yuxin spoke coldly. "Also, keep your paws to yourself."

But she didn’t need to say more.

"Meow!" With a cat’s cry, Song Yetao winced in pain, stumbling back two steps, clutching his hand. He was just about to step forward to grab Lin You’s hair but was swiped by Feil, who was on Lin You’s shoulder.

"Feil!" Lin You held the black cat tightly and frowned. She didn’t understand why Feil reacted that way; it wasn’t like her. They were not from here, and it wasn’t necessary to injure someone over such a trivial matter; it wasn’t about fear but about necessity.

"A bunch of freeloaders! Security! What’s the security here for? Does this bar even allow people to bring pets?" Song Yetao shouted angrily, his face turning dark. The other two who were originally sitting at his table also hurriedly stood up and came over, both dressed in high-quality clothing, clearly not from ordinary families.

"Yetao, you go get a vaccine first. I’ll handle this," said one of the men with a fierce look in his eyes.

By then, the security had also arrived. A muscular man came over with a wry smile.

"Brother Tao, everyone here is our own people, give me some face, let’s forget this matter," he said.

Song Yetao didn’t want to fall out with Zhao Yuxin, just as he was about to speak. But the man who spoke earlier waved his hand and said, "Yetao, you hold off. I’ll handle this."

Song Yetao instantly felt uneasy upon hearing this.

"Kunning, there’s no need to trouble yourself; I can handle this myself," he said, fully aware of Zhao Kunning’s methods. Although Zhao Yuxin didn’t get along with him, there was still a layer of kinship between them. If a conflict arose, it would be difficult to settle matters afterward.

Zhao Kunning casually glanced at another person beside him, his gaze flickering.

The man was tall, dressed in a black trench coat, and wore a faint smile.

"Kunning, these are trivial matters. There’s no need for such trouble. How about we just have the young lady here drink a few rounds with us and call it even?" the man spoke slowly, with a hint of sinister softness. He was referring to Lin You.

"Since Xiongjiang has spoken, what do you say? Can you give us an answer?" Zhao Kunning fixed his gaze on Lin You.

At this point, Zhao Yuxin also realized the situation had become troublesome. If it were just Song Yetao, it might have been fine, as both their families had connections and it wouldn’t lead to outright hostility. But now that these two were involved, hearing the name Zhao Kunning made her uneasy. Upon hearing him address the other man as Xiongjiang, the only person she could think of that would dine and drink at their level was Wei Xiongjiang.

Both Zhao Kunning and Wei Xiongjiang were well-known in Coastal City for hanging out with notorious figures, coming from powerful families themselves. Even Zhao Yuxin, whose father was a director at the electricity bureau, knew her background wasn’t comparable. Judging by Wei Xiongjiang’s demeanor, it seemed he had taken a liking to Lin You. This group had tainted the reputations of countless young girls, and Lin You and the others had been brought by Zhao Yuxin herself. She knew she couldn’t confront these two, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch them be tormented.

She suddenly stood up, walked over to Zhao Kunning, and placed a gentle hand on Lin You’s shoulder behind her, signaling her to stay calm and let her handle it.

"Kunning, I’m Zhao Yuxin, and this is my younger sister. She’s young and naive. Let me drink with you guys instead." She was confident that, considering her father’s position, they wouldn’t go too far. So, she decided to stand up and shield Lin You this time.

"You?" Zhao Kunning reached out playfully towards Zhao Yuxin’s face. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Zhao Yuxin? Your dad is the Zhao from the electricity bureau, right?" Wei Xiongjiang suddenly said.

"Yes... yes," Zhao Yuxin resisted the hand reaching for her face and replied with difficulty.

"Kunning..." Song Yetao said anxiously from the side.

Zhao Kunning glanced at Song Yetao.

"Alright, for your sake, Yetao, we’ll let this go today."

Song Yetao was relieved, but unexpectedly, Zhao Kunning suddenly grabbed Zhao Yuxin’s hair.

Slap!

Following the crisp sound, Zhao Yuxin’s face immediately swelled slightly.

Everyone was stunned. Especially Song Yetao, who felt as if the slap had landed on his own face.

Who was Zhao Yuxin?

She was his cousin!

The surrounding security guards were dumbstruck. The chief security officer, upon seeing Zhao Kunning stand up, knew trouble was brewing and discreetly moved away to make a phone call.

Suddenly, Yang Hao and others stood up. Wu Ruida grabbed a glass beverage bottle from the table. Lin You also got up, quickly grabbed hold of the released Zhao Yuxin, supporting her. The atmosphere instantly tensed up.

Tears suddenly streamed down Zhao Yuxin’s face, but she still held back from making a sound, whispering to Lin You, "This is all my cousin’s fault, don’t worry. It’s nothing." She forced a smile, but it looked distorted due to the swelling on one side of her face.

Lin You felt a mix of guilt and anger. This incident, after all, stemmed from her, and it wouldn’t have escalated if Feil hadn’t suddenly grabbed Song Yetao, although she had been the first to act.

"You," Zhao Kunning said with a smile, pointing at Lin You. "Come out with us for drinks, and we’ll consider the matter settled." His companion Wei Xiongjiang, also smiling, was meeting Zhao for the first time, but he understood that this was Zhao showing off his power as a sign that he was capable of collaborating with him. It was just unfortunate that Zhao Yuxin and this girl had crossed paths with him.

Neither cared about Yang Hao, Wu Ruida, or others who had stood up.

Lin Fei stood at the back behind Yang Hao, watching the scene with interest while sipping on juice. Lin You wasn’t so easily taken advantage of.

Moreover, day after day of endless monotonous self-study, Lin Fei occasionally enjoyed such scenes as a diversion.

He gently sipped his juice, savoring it as if he were tasting the emotions of everyone present.

The anger of Yang Hao and others.

The humiliation of Zhao Yuxin.

The guilt of Lin You.

The worry and tension of Song Yetao.

The enjoyment and slight triumph of Zhao Kunning and others.

Lin Fei slightly squinted his eyes, in that moment, he seemed like the center of the whole world. His long hair and shoulder-length face were reflected in the clear juice in his cup.