Chapter 22: Being able to eat is bliss

  After listening to Lei Xing's introduction, Wang Chan only raised his eyelids and made no comment. At this moment, a faint sound of footsteps came from outside the palace, and a beautiful woman walked slowly from the distant nine-bend corridor.

  "Lei Shao, it's really you! Zhen has not seen your shadow for a whole week!" The woman exclaimed softly, her beautiful eyes widening in surprise. A slender jade hand covered her cherry-red lips, and amidst the joy, there was a hint of reproach, as if she were a wife who had suddenly seen her long-absent husband who had left without a word.

  Her expression was genuine, and her eyes seemed to have a hint of moisture that flashed by, falling into Wang Chan's cold and observant eyes, which couldn't help but evoke another sigh of emotion. It just felt like this "Red Sleeve Forest" was not an ordinary place, this woman was clearly just a welcoming and sending-off role, yet she saw every person with true emotions, her words and expressions as if coming from the heart, making people feel for a moment that they were in their own home from a past life.

  She was wearing a bright red palace dress with a long, trailing skirt that swept the floor behind her, embroidered with peach blossoms that seemed to dance in the air as she moved, filling the room with their fragrance, and looking very elegant and charming.

  On her head, only a strand of silk was tied back to hold the hair behind her head, and a two-finger-wide plain hairband was tied between her eyebrows. Although it looked simple, it somehow exuded a deep sense of laziness. With this woman's pale complexion that seemed almost translucent, there appeared to be a layer of mist swirling in her large eyes at all times.

  It's as if she had just woken up from a dream, with a fresh and charming appearance that makes one want to hold her in their arms and cherish her dearly.

  "She is indeed a beauty worthy of the title of Mei Ren, in comparison, those ladies from earlier seem to have become ordinary and unrefined, like cheap cosmetics. In the Han Dynasty, she would be a femme fatale who makes all the palace beauties lose their charm, a seductress who keeps the king from attending court early. No wonder Lei Xing wants her as his companion!"

  The beauty of this woman is enough to surpass the imagination of any ordinary person. If an ordinary person were to suddenly see such a beautiful woman, nine out of ten would first feel ashamed and not dare to look directly at her, and only then would they give rise to all sorts of other desires.

  However, Wang Chan is different. Twenty years of deep mountain asceticism have already honed him into a man with an iron will. Although he also has his own standards of beauty and ugliness, his boxing spirit has long been integrated into his daily life, where every move is part of his cultivation. Now that he has just come down from the mountain, his rational toughness can overcome all external temptations.

  As long as one's mind is not confused, external demons cannot invade.

  That woman lifted her hem, ran to Lei Xing's front like a deer, naturally wrapped her arms around his arm, shook her waist left and right, stood there lightly tapping her foot, with a face full of affectionate coquetry, amidst the beauty revealed a few parts of innocent and naive nature, truly making people look at her once and can't help but feel an itch in their heart.

  Her eyes lightly swept past Wang Chan, this woman was very intelligent and didn't show any unexpected emotions. The women in the Red Sleeve Forest were simply high-class courtesans, every one of them had received complete and systematic training, their behavior and etiquette were all proper and not easily offended. Especially since the people coming and going here were either wealthy or noble, each with their own background, when they came to indulge themselves, it wasn't possible that they only came for simple pleasure, the various transactions in the open and in secret weren't things that outsiders should know about, this was even more reason why the women attending them needed to be perceptive and have a sense of propriety.

  But a woman like Zhang Jieyu, in the past would be like Li Shishi, Chen Yuanyuan's role, famous for her beauty and attracting attention from all sides, naturally she wouldn't be like ordinary people in the same profession, indiscriminately accepting everyone, taking them all under her pomegranate skirt.

  In ancient times, there was also competition among the brothels, and it was very cruel. Those famous courtesans who could stand out from the crowd of beauties all had a unique "marketing strategy". Although they all wanted to sell themselves, how to sell and to whom were all very particular.

  It's just like modern society's advertising, everyone is selling the same product and pouring money into promotion without hesitation. However, some people can only sell things at a very low price to ordinary people, relying on thin profits and high sales volume. On the other hand, some people can repackage and rename these essentially identical products and sell them for an exorbitant price by taking the luxury goods route of the upper class. Selling one piece is equivalent to selling a thousand pieces.

  Zhang Jieyu obviously walked this kind of route. She was named by Lei Xing to come, unless Lei Xing had another purpose and opened his mouth to tell her to please others, then today she is a pet belonging only to Lei Xing.

  And men are animals with strong desires, in unclear situations, casually showing affection to another man can bring her big trouble. A woman like Zhang Jieyu, who is well-versed in men's psychology, would naturally not easily make such a mistake.

  "Alright, stop making a fuss. I'm here with a friend for dinner today and we've already ordered. You're just keeping us company."

  It must be said that another way to resist temptation is to walk out of it. Although Lei Xing is not old, he has been through many scenes and is not easily swayed by women. He had just observed Wang Zhen's reaction to Zhang Jieyu from the side, knowing that this person was indeed as he himself said, not interested in women, so he didn't ask someone to accompany him either. He also admired him a little in his heart.

  After seeing Leixingfa, Zhang Jieyu hastily ordered someone to open the hall on one side of the Changle Palace, light up the palace lanterns, and in a moment, there were more than a dozen people who came in with food boxes, carefully placing the dishes on a long table. Then they bowed and retreated quietly.

  This side hall is also a very spacious place, with thick woolen carpets on the soft couches on the ground. The long tables and chairs are all made of genuine Huanghuali wood, exuding an ancient charm. On the walls hang several ink paintings, while incense burns in the censer beside them, filling the air with fragrance. In the corner stands a wooden rack, neatly arranged with musical instruments such as guqin, guzheng, bamboo flute and xiao, giving off a rich cultural atmosphere.

  In the grand hall, there were no tables or chairs. Wang Chan and Lei Xing could only sit like ancient people, either cross-legged or kneeling on the soft couch. It wasn't until then that Zhang Jieyu, who was sitting next to Lei Xing, had the opportunity to take a good look at Wang Chan. She thought he looked very ordinary, his clothes were the kind you'd find on an outside stall, and he even had a shiny bald head. Except for those bright and clear eyes, which seemed cleaner than anyone she had ever seen, there didn't seem to be anything else about him worth paying attention to.

  With just such a person, how could he be mixed with the arrogant Leijia San Shao Ye? Looking at his demeanor and posture, it seems that this trip is specifically for him!!!

  Moreover, this person has never looked at himself properly from start to finish. For Zhang Jieyu, who has seen countless people, it is simply an unthinkable thing. With beauty like his own, wherever he is placed, he should be as eye-catching as the bright moon in the sky, but the person in front of him seems more concerned with the full table of wine and food in front of him.

  An ordinary person, unless he is a moron, would never encounter such a thing.

  Could it be that this man is still a reclusive and mysterious hermit, judging from Lei Xing's attitude towards him which is indeed different from others, but I don't know what his background is!!!

  Zhang Jieyu's thoughts were racing extremely fast, and on the other side, Wang Chan and Lei Xing were eating at an unusually slow pace.

  Lei Xing was young and robust, in the prime of his life, and had also practiced martial arts. When it came to eating and drinking, he could almost match the amount of three or four ordinary people, but compared to Wang Chan opposite him, he was still just a small sorcerer seeing a great sorcerer, and there was no comparison at all.

  Delicately prepared pastries, Wang Chan devoured them in two or three bites, his teeth grinding instantly into a pulp, and then swallowed into his stomach. He ate with gusto, like a beggar who had been starving for three days and nights on the city streets, suddenly finding food to fill his belly.

  So hungry that I don't care what I eat.

  Especially when Wang Chan eats, he never speaks, only buries his head on the table, and wields the chopsticks in his hand extremely quickly. It's as if the dishes in this Red Sleeve Forest are too exquisite and insufficient in quantity, so no matter how far or near, as long as he picks something up with one chopstick, half of it is gone immediately. The speed is faster than any spoon.

  Gradually, as he ate and ate, Lei Xing's gaze at Wang Chan also changed several times. He had seen people who could eat a lot, but never anyone like Wang Chan who could eat so much.

  Lei Xing was only half full, and more than 50 exquisite dishes on the table were left with only one plate. Wang Chan ate like a whirlwind, never putting down his chopsticks. Meanwhile, Zhang Jieyu came back and forth three or four times, ordering people to change the wine and dishes on the table several times. Later, she even had someone bring in a whole roasted sheep, a golden suckling pig, and a bucket of rice placed beside Wang Chan.

  This barely kept up with his eating speed, but Zhang Jieyu was also exhausted and sweating profusely. Her eyes looking at Wang Chan were like looking at a human-shaped monster.

  It was just that food, already enough for 7 or 8 big men to eat their fill, but not enough for Wang Chan alone.

  "Wang Chan, eating like this, aren't you afraid of indigestion and ruining your stomach? If I had known you could eat so much, I would have taken you to the seafood restaurant in town and let you sweep through it. Now that the food from Hongxielin has entered your belly, I'm afraid you still can't taste anything."

  Lei Xing was shocked and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Wang Chan eating so much, his eyebrows furrowed.

  "It doesn't matter, we're a family of practitioners, and what we cultivate is our vital energy and blood. We have robust physical strength, no illnesses or disasters. Especially with these sharp teeth, when eating something, ordinary people need to chew slowly and carefully, but we can crush it into powder in just two or three bites. Plus, our digestion and absorption are excellent, so if we ate like ordinary people, I'm afraid we'd have to eat continuously throughout the day. Your current skills are only superficial and haven't connected with your vital energy and blood yet, otherwise you would be eating like me too."

  Wang Chan tore off a leg of lamb with one hand, chewing it loudly. His snow-white teeth reflected the palace lamp and emitted a cold light like a fierce beast in the mountains. The lamb's leg fell into his mouth, and he actually ripped off both meat and bone together, chewed them up with a crunching sound, and swallowed everything down.

  To know that all martial arts masters have a huge amount of physical activity, their food intake is much larger than that of ordinary people. Especially for someone like Wang Chan who practices the 13 Taibao horizontal exercise, it's easy to cultivate strong tendons and bones, and to circulate the body's energy and blood throughout, nourishing the entire body, with incredible physical strength, and astonishing power in their digestive system, making them eat with an insatiable appetite that no one can match.

  It is said that during the late Qing and early Republic of China, there were countless skilled martial artists among the people. In Cangzhou, a region known for its martial arts, it was not uncommon to find masters who could devour an entire sheep or half a pig in one meal. Even General Lian Po of Zhao State during the Warring States period, when he was old and frail, could still eat a peck of rice and ten catties of meat in one sitting, showing that martial artists were truly big eaters.

  Moreover, Wang Chan was also a free and easy person who didn't like to be restrained by others. Even in the mountains, every meal had to have a large amount of meat to replenish his physical strength. His mouth was very particular. In the past decade or so, those fierce beasts in the mountains that he killed, tigers, leopards, and bears, except for their fur, were almost all eaten clean by him. People who practiced martial arts indeed had physical strength far surpassing ordinary people, but this also had a great deal to do with their ability to eat well.

  "Lei Shao can eat a lot too, but not as much as you." Zhang Jieyu, who was standing aside, had been shocked to the point of numbness. She kept thinking in her heart, whether this Wang Chan is still a real human being or not.

  "That's natural, different realms have their differences. Unless it's the legendary Bigu, eating wind and drinking dew, where does a martial artist get their physical strength from?" Wang Chan was not surprised at all by the two people's astonishment.

  "I think I finally understand why people in the past always said, 'The poor study literature and the rich practice martial arts.' If everyone ate like you, the poor would really starve to death! You know that this one meal of yours is going to cost me 600,000 yuan? I'm regretting it to death now!" Lei Xing's words were half-joking and half-serious.

  "Huh? Do you have an enemy here?" Wang Chan's expression suddenly froze for a moment, and he looked up at Lei Xing.

  "Huh? I have many enemies, which one are you referring to?" Lei Xing was also taken aback by the words, and a flash of light appeared in his eyes. He knew that Wang Chan was a straightforward person who spoke directly, and for him to ask such an abrupt question, there must be something behind it.

  "That's it, someone is coming over there to look for you."

  Wang Chan's ears and eyes were sharp, even in the midst of eating and drinking, but he still heard a faint sound of footsteps coming from afar on the long corridor, occasionally accompanied by someone muttering angrily. The words that entered his ears seemed to be directed at Lei Xing right in front of him. It was clear that the newcomer had ill intentions and was looking for trouble with Lei Xing.

  Lei Xing heard the sound and looked in the direction that Wang Chan was indicating, and all he saw was that in the midst of the dark night, under the cover of the palace lanterns, there were three people walking quickly with a fierce air.

  "Which one was it, that actually dared to monopolize Zhang Jieyu and not let go? It turned out to be the third young master of the Lei family. I don't know how the rules and regulations of your criminal police brigade were established, can people's police also come and go as they please to drink and have fun?"

  The three men who came were all middle-aged men in suits and leather shoes, looking quite dignified. The man who spoke first was probably over thirty years old, tall and handsome, with a fair complexion. He originally looked like a successful person with an extraordinary bearing, but now that he had entered the house and looked at Lei Xing, his eyes seemed to be spewing fire, his facial muscles twisted, adding a few ferocious colors to his face.

  "So it's you, Lin Quanxi. I knew that in this Hong Xiu Lin, no one would be as ill-mannered as you. What's gotten into you? Are you relying on your family's master having arrived in Ha City, and now you're showing off and daring to speak to me like this? You really are a dog relying on the power of others."

  Lei Xing's face also changed, his body lazily leaned back, he only took a glance at the three people in front of him, and then turned his head away with disdain, as if he didn't even have the mood to take another look.

  "Hmm, interesting. So this Lei Xing is actually the captain of the provincial capital's criminal police brigade. Zhou Lin didn't even mention it to me. It seems that this person isn't completely useless after all, relying on his ancestors' reputation to live off as a prodigal son. But what's interesting is that he also has the surname Lin...!" After hearing the conversation between the two, which was full of gunpowder from the very beginning, Wang Chan's heart skipped a beat, and it seemed like he also had some thoughts on his mind. Suddenly, he put his eyes on the three people standing at the door.

  That middle-aged man named Lin Quanxi was just an ordinary person, although he had a large build, but he was the least threatening one. On the other hand, the two men standing on either side of him, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin, were all wearing black suits, with buzz cuts, each with a pale complexion, their temples bulging high, their eyes bright and clear. Moreover, when these two men walked, their footsteps were extremely quiet, their feet landing softly on the ground, as if their entire soles had sunk deeply into the earth, giving people a sense of stability like an immovable rock.

  These two bodyguards are experts.

  At a glance, Wang Chan saw through the two people's true nature, and his mind began to ponder.

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  Thank you all for your support, Lao Lu bows to you!! New book uploaded, please give me more guidance!!!!!!!