Extra Story - Tales of the Capital: The Brawl

Ice cubes and liquor dripped down Li Xiujian's face, leaving him in a disheveled mess.

The situation instantly spiraled out of control.

"Get them!" Li Xiujian roared, throwing a punch.

Lu Mingye also saw red, directly grabbing a bottle from the table and charging forward.

Their respective entourages instantly clashed into a chaotic brawl.

The VIP booth area descended into pandemonium.

Screams, curses, and the sound of shattering bottles blended into a cacophony.

"Stop fighting! Stop it!"

The nightclub manager rushed over with a large group of security guards.

Everyone scrambled to try and separate the two brawling top-tier young masters.

"Young Master Li! Young Master Lu! Do me a favor, please stop!"

Even after being forcibly pulled apart by the crowd, Li Xiujian and Lu Mingye still glared at each other furiously, their chests heaving.

Li Xiujian wiped the liquor from his face, his eyes venomous enough to kill.

"Lu Mingye, you just wait."

"I'll be waiting," Lu Mingye replied, straightening his disheveled collar.

He was also sporting some bruises, but he refused to back down verbally.

"Anytime."

The farce ultimately ended with both sides wounded.

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous corner of the nightclub.

Lu Mingshi coldly watched everything that had just transpire.

He watched his elder brother and Li Xiujian fight like two enraged bulls.

His face showed no anger, only a twisted, gleeful satisfaction at the spectacle.

He raised his glass and downed the strong liquor in one gulp.

A bunch of fools.

...

The nightclub brawl quickly became headline news within their circle.

However, the rumor that spread was that two of the three young masters of Jinghua had come to blows over an unknown woman, leaving both injured.

There was even a version that claimed all three of the young masters of Jinghua had fought over an unknown woman!

It became the freshest gossip among the circles of the wealthy playboys.

Lu Mingye recuperated at home for two days.

The bruises on his face hadn't yet faded.

But his mood wasn't bad.

He felt that although he hadn't won that night, he had held his honor.

He hadn't backed down when facing Li Xiujian.

He had thrown the drink in Li Xiujian's face.

That was something he could boast about for a long time.

Surprisingly, his father, Lu Chengsi, didn't scold him.

He only punished him with a month of house arrest, forbidding him from visiting those decadent entertainment venues again.

Lu Mingye was happy to have the quiet time.

He was already planning how to pursue that girl from the horse riding club once his confinement was over.

He had even forgotten the girl's name.

But that didn't matter.

...

On the other side, the Li household.

Li Xiujian's treatment was completely different.

The bruises on his face hadn't faded either.

He stood before his father, Li Hongji, head bowed, awaiting reprimand.

Li Hongji put down his cigar and looked at his unruly son.

"Fought with Lu Mingye?"

"Yes."

"What for?"

"He had a foul mouth." Li Xiujian was unwilling to go into details.

"I heard it was still because of that incident at the horse riding club the other day?" Li Hongji smiled, a hint of disdain in his grin. "How impressive."

Li Xiujian's head hung even lower.

"Look up," Li Hongji said.

Li Xiujian raised his head to meet his father's gaze.

"Did you lose?"

"No." Li Xiujian gritted his teeth. "I got my hits in too."

"Good that you didn't lose."

Li Hongji's tone was unexpectedly mild.

"People from our Li family cannot lose face outside."

"No matter the method—fighting fair, using underhanded tricks—the result is what matters most."

He stood up and patted Li Xiujian on the shoulder.

"However, don't resort to violence over such trivial matters next time."

"What is Lu Mingye anyway?"

"He's a useless good-for-nothing. Aside from being born into a good family, he's utterly worthless."

"Mo Zhenbang has a bit of cunning. But all the Mo family members are the same—hesitant and indecisive, incapable of great deeds."

A near-fanatic confidence flickered in Li Hongji's eyes.

"Take a longer view. Lu Mingye is just a useless fool. The real threat from the Lu family is Lu Chengsi."

"As for that Mo Zhenbang..."

Li Xiujian's gaze turned sinister. "He doesn't seem simple. Father, we need to be wary of him."

"Wary?"

Li Hongji laughed, his laughter brimming with disdain and arrogance.

"In Jingzhou, it's others who need to be wary of our Li family."

"Since when does our Li family need to be wary of others!"

"The future of Jingzhou belongs to the Li family."

He exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

"I just had Old Hei secure that piece of land from the Zhang family in the north city."

"The Zhang family?"

Li Xiujian was taken aback.

"Weren't they refusing to sell at all costs?"

"Hmph, he had no choice."

The corner of Li Hongji's mouth curled into a cruel arc.

"That old fool Old Zhang, relying on his seniority and refusing to know what's good for him."

"I had Old Hei 'invite' his son for a few days of 'tea.' After that, he signed everything."

"I heard the old man couldn't take the shock and jumped off a building."

"Good riddance."

Li Hongji's tone was as if discussing an ant.

"With him dead, the Zhang relatives are fighting tooth and nail over the inheritance. It saves us a lot of trouble."

This was the Li family's way of doing things.

Savage, brutal, leaving no loose ends.

"Xiujian."

Li Hongji looked at his son.

"You must remember. Money and power are the only reliable things in this world. As for face, that's something only the weak need."

...

The news of the Zhang family head's suicide quickly spread.

To ordinary people, it was just another tragedy in the saga of wealthy family feuds.

But in the eyes of some, it was a signal.

A signal for the final assault.

The Lu Family Study.

Lu Chengsi hung up the phone.

The call was from an old friend.

"Old Zhang... just like that, he's gone."

The voice on the other end was filled with grief and indignation.

Lu Chengsi remained silent for a long time.

The Zhang family was also one of the old-established families in Jingzhou.

Though not comparable to the Lu family, they were respectable.

The Zhang family head was an old-school businessman who had been upright his entire life.

Yet, in the end, he ended his own life in the most tragic way.

"I understand."

Lu Chengsi's voice was unusually calm.

He walked to the window and looked outside.

The nightscape of Jingzhou was as prosperous as ever.

But behind this prosperity hid too much sin and bloodshed.

The Li family, this malignant tumor, had rotted to its core.

If not excised, it would bring disaster to the entire city.

Lu Chengsi picked up the encrypted phone on the desk.

He dialed only one number.

"Brother Jingsheng."

"Brother Chengsi."

"The time has come."

Lu Chengsi's voice was cold as iron.

On the other end of the line, Mo Jingsheng was silent for a few seconds.

Then, he replied with just two words.

"Received."

Almost at the same moment.

Mo Zhenbang was standing before a huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the city's nightscape below.

His phone vibrated.

It was an encrypted message.

On it, there were only two words.

"Begin."

Mo Zhenbang's face showed no expression.

He powered off his phone, turned around, and issued the command to the team poised and ready behind him.

"Begin."

An unprecedented financial siege against the Li family was now formally underway.