64 Chapter 64: Dragon Boat Festival Dinner

"Hmm, that's strange."

Mu Rong Shu was staring at her smartphone, her brow furrowed in puzzlement. I glanced at her, concerned.

"What's the matter, dear?"

"My calls aren't going through." When I raised an eyebrow quizzically, she elaborated. "I've been trying to contact my grandfather for details, but none of my text messages are being sent. I tried calling, but it seems like I'm…blocked?"

"Really?" I feigned surprise, but I was already aware of the reasons why because of my ability to break the fourth wall. Or you could just ignore my fourth wall breaks and assumed that I genuinely didn't know the reason because…well, that was the more realistic option. I handed my smartphone over. "Try using my phone then."

"Good idea." Mu Rong Shu nodded and dialed her grandfather's number using my smartphone. Unfortunately, it didn't get through as well. Yan Wan had schemed this accordingly. She wasn't stupid, so she had figured out that my wife would borrow my phone to try. Hence she had her hacker friend block my number as well. Neither of us were aware of this at that time, so when the call failed, she frowned and returned my smartphone to me. "Your phone isn't working either. Did granddad change his number?"

"Hmm…you can call your other cousins and find out," I suggested. She nodded and tried to contact Yan Wan, but apparently her cousin had blocked her number. She scowled.

"What's going on? Did the whole Yan family block my number or something?"

"Why would they do that? Aren't they the ones who want you to attend this Dragon Boat Festival Dinner or something?"

I wasn't familiar with the Yan family, meeting them occasionally once or twice a year, but this just seemed overly suspicious. Normally, I wouldn't have bothered to come to Jiang Nan City, but I was more than happy to accompany my wife. From what I knew, this was a yearly tradition because Jiang Nan City enjoyed the Dragon Boat Festival. As for me, I liked rice dumplings. They were delicious.

So why would they ask her to come back for this family tradition, and then block her number? This made no sense.

"I'll contact some friends and see what I can find out." I rubbed my chin and contemplated. Fortunately, I was friends with Tang Li, who wielded unparalleled influence over Jiang Nan City. Surely he could find out what was the problem.

"Don't bother." Mu Rong Shu sighed and shook her head. "Let's just return to Cheng Shi City."

"Eh? Is that what you really want?" I asked skeptically. Mu Rong Shu avoided my gaze for a few moments, then nodded.

"Yeah. It's clear what the Yan family thinks of us. Of you, especially. I can't stand them looking down on you all the time. I still remember what Yan Wan was trying to do the other day. She was trying to embarrass you and insisted on calling you trash. Most of the Yan family members feel the same way."

"I could say the same for the Mu Rong family." I muttered under my breath. That said, Mu Rong Qiu and Mu Rong Feng were only half of the cousins. Mu Rong Shan and Mu Rong Lin respected me for my strength, and didn't believe in those dumb rumors. I couldn't name anyone in the Yan family who treated me with the same respect that Mu Rong Shan or Mu Rong Lin did.

"Until the Mu Rong family tournament a couple of months ago," Mu Rong Shu pointed out with a giggle. "Now there's nobody in the Mu Rong family who dares to offend you."

"I could do the same with the Yan family if that's what you want."

"Please don't." Mu Rong Shu groaned. "The Yan family isn't a clan of assassins or cultivators or summoners, so they won't know what this is about. They aren't supposed to know about cultivation powers and the like. Don't drag them into this."

"All right, if you say so, dear." Then I hesitated. "But do you mind waiting until after Saturday? We'll pass the Solar Amulet to Tang Li on Saturday, maybe have dinner with him, and then return to Cheng Shi City on Sunday."

"Sounds like a plan," Mu Rong Shu said with a smile. I could detect some sadness in it, though. My heart hardened and I made a decision.

Picking up my smartphone, I went to the balcony to make a call to Tang Li. It took a few rings before he picked it up.

"Bro Huan Shi!" he exclaimed. "Always a pleasure to hear from you! Do you need anything?"

"Actually, yeah. Can you do me a favor?"

*

Saturday came very quickly. Tang Li had arranged for us to meet in the Long Chuan Hotel, one of the more famous hotels in Jiang Nan City. He went one step further and booked the entire Long Chaun Restaurant, which was also famous for its seafood, but it too served dim sum and other more exotic dishes.

"At least allow me to treat you and your wife to dinner before you leave Jiang Nan City," he insisted. "I want to show my hospitality."

"So he says," I told Mu Rong Shu, who accepted the reason. She didn't have any real reason to refuse. As for me, I was more than happy to get a free meal. Being treated to a free meal was one thing, but that was where I drew the line. I was going to pay for the accommodations properly.

What Mu Rong Shu didn't know, however, was that Tang Li had made all these special arrangements at my request.

And so we showed up for the dinner early, at 5pm or so. But before we did that, let's rewind the clock and switch perspectives for a bit.

While Mu Rong Shu and I prepared for our dinner with Tang Li, the entire Yan family had assembled outside Long Chuan Hotel.

"Wow, grandpa, how did you book the Long Chuan Resturant?" Yan Ying asked, a cousin of Mu Rong Shu's. "I heard that the seats here are of high demand, and that only VIPs can reserve them."

"Have you forgotten which family we're from?" Yan Yue asked idly and swaggered toward the lobby. Yan Ying nodded brightly, but the patriarch of the Yan family didn't spare him a second glance. Yan Ying was, to be frank, not very intelligent. He barely managed to graduate from high school, didn't get into university, and was only able to survive on a combination of various odd jobs here and there as well as smooching off his parents. Hence Yan Yue didn't hold him in high regard.

Even so, Yan Yue truly believed that his dull grandson was still better than that trash who married his daughter's daughter. A pity, he had high hopes for Mu Rong Shu too. She had so much potential and should have married someone more influential and richer.

What a waste.

He regarded Yan Wan affably. Liu Zhang Feng was beside her, looking a little nervous. He and Yan Yang were glancing around, half-expecting someone to pop out. They had been sworn to silence by Yan Wan and Ru Feng, but that didn't make them any less anxious.

Both of them knew better than to underestimate the cousin-in-law. Yan Yang, in particular, believed that this would come back to bite them in the ass.

Nonetheless, Yan Yue was blissfully ignorant of that. He nodded in satisfaction to see Liu Zhang Feng in close proximity with Yan Wan. He was right to have placed the hopes of the Yan family on her. If the two youngsters could get married…

However, his mood was spoiled slightly because a phone call he received earlier that day. His expression darkened at the memory, but he shook it off. He fully expected the staff to have resolved the issue by now.

Marching toward the entrance of the restaurant confidently, he glared sternly at the waitress who was handling the reception. She frowned when she caught sight of him.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the whole restaurant has already been booked. No one is allowed inside."

"Don't you know who I am?" Yan Yue thundered. He was already in a bad mood when they called him earlier that day, to tell him that they had cancelled his reservation. He had thrown a fit, yelling at the poor staff at the other end of the line and demanding that they resolve the situation, that he xpected them to prepare a table for his family when he came later that day.

Even though the waiter had apologized and insisted that they would be unable to do so and reiterated that his reservation was cancelled, offering a voucher in return for the trouble, he had hung up on the poor fella and pay the matter no heed.

"I told you to resolve the situation, didn't I?"

"Sorry, sir, but this isn't something that can be resolved. As we said, we will provide you with a voucher, as well as a new reservation at another restaurant, as an apology for the troubles…"

"NO!" Yan Yue snapped. "We are from the Yan family! Do you think we need your voucher? We're here for our traditional famly dinner every Dragon Boat Festival! It has to be Long Chuan!"

Behind him, the Yan family members looked uncomfortable, not knowing what was going on. Yan Yue's wrinkled face burned with embarrassment, but he refused to back down.

"Who booked the place and caused my reservation to be cancelled? Are they bigger than my Yan family?"

"I…I am not at liberty to answer that, sir…"

"Then call somebody who can! I want to speak to the owner! I demand to know why you think you can just cancel my reservation at the last minute…"

"But sir, we called you earlier today, and informed you earlier this morning…"

"And I told you to resolve the problem! Ugh, don't waste my time! Call the owner here, now!"

"Yes? You wish to speak to me?"

At the familiar voice, Yan Yue stiffened and a chill ran down his back. He slowly turned around and caught sight of Tang Li strolling toward him. The red-haired martial artist narrowed his eyes.

"Why are you making such a fuss in front of my restaurant?"

"No, Mr. Tang, I…" Yan Yue licked his lips and took a step back, suddenly frightened. Tang Li was not a man he could afford to offend. He was essentially the lord of Jiang Nan City, controlling the city's finances through his mega conglomerate. Not only that, he had ties to the underworld. Any idiot who tried to trouble him frequently disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

"I'm sure my staff has already informed you earlier this morning that your reservation has been cancelled. That should be more than ample time for you to make new arrangements, shouldn't it? We even offered you a voucher and a reservation at another restaurant under my chain."

"Y…yes, Mr. Tang. You're very generous."

"Also, I'm sure I heard you demand to know why I think I can cancel your reservation at the last minute. Simply put, it's because I own the restaurant. That said, I don't trouble my customers if I can help it. The actual reason is because I'm entertaining guests of honor, who have come all the way here to give me something extremely valuable. Therefore I feel the need to answer in kind by providing the best services and hospitality possible. What will my honored guests think when they see this? They will have a very low view of Jiang Nan City. You're giving outsiders a very bad impression of our city."

"That…that's understandable, Mr. Tang." Yan Yue smiled wryly. "I'm…I'm sorry for kicking up such a big fuss. I hope I didn't scare your honorable guests off."

"No, they aren't so cowardly." Tang Li then shook his head and waved them away. "Anyway, I'll definitely compensate you for this trouble, but for now, please avoid crowding around the front of my restaurant."

"Sure…right away, Mr. Tang."

Yan Yue quickly beckoned for his extended family to leave the place, but Yan Ying chose that moment to ask curiously.

"Who are these honored guests, sir?"

"Hmm…" Tang Li smiled, and then he raised his head. "Ah, there they are. Over here, Mr. and Mrs. Zhao!"

At that moment, Mu Rong Shu and I had finally shown up, and we were walking toward the entrance of Long Chuan Restaurant.