...
About two minutes later, the phone call finally ended.
Huang Youjun's hands trembled slightly as he returned the phone to Qin Ning.
"Young Master Qin... I am truly sorry. I... I shouldn't have taken matters into my own hands..."
Before he could finish, Qin Ning waved his hand impatiently. "Get out. Have someone bring the food over, and don't ruin our mood for eating."
"Yes, yes, Young Master Qin, I will take care of it right away."
Hearing this, Huang Youjun finally breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling as if he had been granted amnesty, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and scurried away.
Before long, several waiters brought the dishes over. Qin Ning and his companions did not pay much mind to the minor episode that just occurred, chatting as they ate.
Meanwhile.
In another private dining room just opposite.
Several middle-aged men had arrived. Huang Youjun was also there, looking a bit absent-minded, clearly not having fully recovered from what had just transpired.
Leading the group was a potbellied middle-aged man.
Jiang Xingzhou, the director of the provincial Bureau of Culture and Tourism.
Beside Jiang Xingzhou stood a young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old named Shi Wenjie. He was his liaison and secretary. Holding a briefcase, he frowned at Huang Youjun and said, "Little Huang, why did you arrange such a small private room?"
"Director Jiang, Secretary Shi, I am truly sorry. It was my poor arrangement. The largest private room was booked in advance by someone else, so I have to ask you to make do with eating here today," Huang Youjun said with an apologetic smile.
His mind was still completely preoccupied with wondering just what kind of background that Young Master Qin had.
"Then can't you just go over and ask them to switch rooms?"
Shi Wenjie spoke up, "Director Jiang finally managed to find the time to visit your Nanxi County, and this is how you host him?"
"This..."
Hearing this, Huang Youjun found himself in a dilemma, and sweat beaded on his forehead once more.
Having no other choice, he carefully recounted the incident that had just occurred to them.
"Oh?"
After listening, Jiang Xingzhou was slightly taken aback. "Are you saying that the person in that private room knows your Secretary Yu?"
He was a little surprised. Who was Yu Yongchang?
He was the top official of Shuishan City.
For someone to be acquainted with him, it was highly likely that they possessed an extraordinary background as well.
However, if that was all there was to it, he still wouldn't think too highly of the other party.
After all, he was from a provincial bureau. In terms of rank, he was on equal footing with Yu Yongchang.
What he was curious about now was, who could the person in that private room be?
Could it be another leader from the province?
With this thought, Jiang Xingzhou stood up and said, "Let's go. Come with me to see which comrade it is. We might even know each other."
With that said, the group walked right out of the private room.
At the same time, Qin Ning and the others, who were eating and chatting, were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.
He frowned slightly and said, "Come in."
Then, Jiang Xingzhou and his group walked in, with Huang Youjun following behind, whispering something into the other man's ear.
After listening, Jiang Xingzhou's gaze couldn't help but size up Qin Ning with curiosity before he said, "I am Jiang Xingzhou from the provincial bureau. I wonder..."
"Is there a problem?" Qin Ning looked at him.
Seeing that the other party had directly interrupted him, Jiang Xingzhou immediately frowned, a look of displeasure appearing on his face.
At this moment, Qin Ning turned his gaze to Huang Youjun and said indifferently, "Did I or did I not just say not to come over and disturb our meal?"
"This..."
Hearing this, Huang Youjun immediately looked troubled.
He felt like he was caught in the middle, unable to please either side.
On one side was someone who could directly converse with Yu Yongchang, and on the other was a leader from the province whose rank was equal to Yu Yongchang's.
When immortals fight, mortals suffer.
Today, he truly experienced this firsthand.
"Heh, we just came over to say hello. There's no need to be so cold, is there?" Jiang Xingzhou's temper was starting to flare up.
Although he didn't know the exact background of the other party, at the end of the day, it was just a young man.
Even if he really was a relative of Yu Yongchang, he shouldn't be so arrogant, right?
He was, after all, an existence on the same level as Yu Yongchang. When had he ever been treated like this by such a young man?
"Say hello? Am I familiar with you?"
Qin Ning looked at him. Judging from his facial features, this man was an absolute parasite through and through. Since they had crossed paths, the man could only consider himself unlucky.
Without waiting for Jiang Xingzhou to say anything, he pulled out his phone and made a call right in front of him.
"I heard you're keeping Brother Tang company on a tour. Why did you suddenly think to call me?"
The puzzled voice of Elder Zeng came through the phone.
Qin Ning didn't waste any words and directly said, "Jiang Xingzhou of Xi Province is unfit for his position. A parasite like him needs to be removed."
Hearing this, Elder Zeng nodded. He never doubted Qin Ning's words in the slightest and said, "Alright, I understand. I'll have someone handle it immediately. You shouldn't just call me every day; when are you coming to the capital to have a few drinks with me and Elder Liu?"
"Ha, once I'm done with things here and have some free time, I'll make a trip over. I was just planning to visit Yun Shan and the others anyway. Yes, alright, we'll talk more when we meet."
After chatting casually with Elder Zeng for a few more sentences, Qin Ning finally hung up. He then swept his gaze toward Jiang Xingzhou and said indifferently, "Get lost. You can call your family to say your goodbyes."
"Heh, what a big tone for a young man. I'd like to see what you can do to me with just a single phone call."
Jiang Xingzhou scoffed disdainfully. Leaving behind that sentence, he had no intention of staying any longer. He turned around and led Huang Youjun and the others back to their own private room.
Back in their private room, Shi Wenjie frowned slightly, feeling a sense of unease in his heart. He couldn't help but say, "Director Jiang, that kid didn't look like he was joking. Why don't we..."
"I'll make a call and ask," Jiang Xingzhou said.
With that, he took out his phone, found Yu Yongchang's number, and dialed it directly.
"Old Jiang? Why are you looking for me all of a sudden?"
Yu Yongchang, who had just spoken on the phone with Qin Ning ten minutes ago, was currently dealing with some documents. Seeing the caller ID, he asked curiously.
"Haha, Old Yu, I've arrived in your Shuishan City. It's been quite a while since we last saw each other, so I was wondering when we could grab a drink." Jiang Xingzhou started with some pleasantries, not mentioning the matter directly.
"Oh? You're in Shuishan City?"
Yu Yongchang was immediately stunned upon hearing this. Just as he was about to say something, as if he suddenly thought of something, his brows furrowed. "You aren't in Nanxi County right now, are you? Together with Huang Youjun?"
"Heh, yeah, we were just about to eat. However, we ran into a bit of a situation just now, and I wanted to ask you about it," Jiang Xingzhou said with a smile.

d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"

with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!