The bosses grew angry. "You damn gatekeepers, do you really think you’re someone important? We’re partners of the Qifei Group! If you cause the company to suffer losses, can you bear the responsibility?"

"You have the nerve to talk about partnering with the Qifei Group? Let me tell you, I’d love to chop you traitors to pieces. If it weren’t for Boss Li’s orders not to use excessive force, I’d have killed you already. And you’re still here acting all high and mighty with me? Scram! The lot of you, get the hell out of here!" The security captain was a Martial Artist by trade and had a nasty temper. For these bosses to give him attitude was tantamount to courting death.

Just as the crowd was about to flee, a red Ferrari pulled up. Everyone recognized it as Li Qingyan’s car, and they all rushed toward it.

"Boss Li, Boss Li, wait a second!"

"Boss Li, we were wrong! We know we were wrong! You have to let us explain!"

They all put on pitiful expressions, as if they had suffered some great injustice. It was as if they were the aggrieved party, not the Qifei Group.

Li Qingyan got out of the car and instructed Black Widow to park it. Then, taking off her glasses, she gave the crowd a cold glance. "Have you no shame? The fact I haven’t struck you is already an act of mercy, because I know you were coerced. But since you’ve already chosen to leave the Qifei Group and cease your cooperation, you should understand that you have nothing to do with us anymore."

"Boss Li, we were all forced, you know that! Zhang Shan was killed for resisting. Surely you didn’t expect us to fight Gu Lingshan to the death, right?"

"Yes, that’s right! We’re just small business owners. We can’t afford to get involved in the games you Martial Artists play."

"We can’t fight the Gu Family, so we had no choice but to compromise."

The bosses were overcome with grievance, acting as if they were completely blameless. To hear them tell it, all the fault lay with the Gu Family, and every one of them was an innocent saint.

"Shut up!" Li Qingyan suddenly roared. "If I accept your apologies, how could I face Zhang Shan in the afterlife? You claim to be innocent? Are you truly innocent? I heard you were all celebrating, eagerly awaiting the Qifei Group’s collapse.

"Let’s take a step back. Even if you were truly forced, I don’t blame you. But from now on, any possibility of cooperation is gone. What if the Gu Family returns to Thunder City, or another powerful family comes and pressures you again? Would you just betray the Qifei Group once more? We can’t afford to take that risk.

"The Qifei Group suffered significant losses because of your abrupt withdrawal. We’ve only just recovered, and I’m in no mood to go through that again. Get out of here before I change my mind. Otherwise, I’ll bankrupt every single one of your companies. Do you really think you can bully someone just because they’re decent?"

With that, she walked straight into the company building. "Get them out of here. I don’t want to see their faces for another second."

The assembled bosses were completely dumbfounded. They had thought they still had a chance, but now they realized it was all over. Li Qingyan wasn’t giving them any opportunity at all, nor did she seem to care about them in the slightest.

It made little difference to the Qifei Group whether they were partners or not. For them, however, surviving without the Qifei Group was another matter entirely.

"Boss Li! Boss Li!"

They tried to rush inside but were immediately blocked by the security guards. "Get lost, all of you! I’ll break the legs of anyone who takes another step forward. A traitor is a traitor. The Qifei Group has been merciful enough."

The crowd was startled. They had no doubt that if they took another step forward, these security guards would genuinely attack them. These men were clearly different from ordinary guards; each one emanated a terrifying Killing Aura.

"Gentlemen, for the sake of our futures, let’s kneel and wait."

"Right, I refuse to believe Li Qingyan can bear to just watch us kneel here."

"Women are soft-hearted, after all."

The bosses came up with another bizarre idea and all knelt on the ground, waiting for Li Qingyan to emerge. They believed she could see them from the window. In their minds, women were fundamentally compassionate, and if they put on such a display, Li Qingyan would surely take pity on them.

Unfortunately, they were mistaken. Li Qingyan was the young miss of the overseas Hung Men. She had seen far too many things like this to be swayed. She was no ordinary woman and was not nearly so soft-hearted.

The bosses only lasted about ten minutes before their knees gave out. One by one, they struggled back to their feet.

The security captain chuckled. "You can wait on your knees. If you’re going to stand, then get lost."

They truly couldn’t kneel any longer, but they didn’t dare to just stand there either, so they had no choice but to flee in disarray. Their plan for the day was a complete failure.

The group gathered together once more. In truth, they could still survive if they just carried on as before. Without business from the Qifei Group, they would simply earn a little less. But these men had tasted the benefits of their former partnership and weren’t willing to give it up so easily. As they gathered, they began to hatch a devious plan.

"Hmph, since the Qifei Group is so heartless, they can’t blame us for being ruthless. We’ll go to the Gu Family and tell them everything that happened here."

"That’s right! We can serve as the vanguard for the Gu Family’s destruction of the Qifei Group. I don’t believe for a second the Gu Family will just ignore that Gu Lingshan died here. They’ll definitely be back for revenge!"

"Then we’ll ride the Gu Family’s war chariot to crush the Qifei Group! We’ll show that Li Qingyan the consequences of offending us and refusing our cooperation!"

"Exactly! Let’s teach her a lesson!"

"Let’s go! It’s decided!"

"Everyone, let’s go together! There’s strength in numbers!"

They had once had a choice. They could have continued to conduct their business honestly, but instead, they chose to make an enemy of the Qifei Group and cooperate with the Gu Family.

That very day, they boarded a high-speed train to Su Mansion. Su Mansion was adjacent to Jingnan Prefecture, so the trip from Thunder City to Su City only took a few hours.

「Su Mansion.」

Su City was the Provincial City of Su Mansion and its most economically developed area, ranking among the top cities in the entire country. Its commercial sector was far more advanced than Jingnan Prefecture’s. As the most powerful family in Su Mansion, the Gu Family held a near-monopoly on the region’s pharmaceutical industry, a truly terrifying prospect. Both in the secular world and the Martial Arts World, their power was immense. Unsurprisingly, the Gu Family’s domineering nature was also well-known. They didn’t even pay heed to the City Lord Mansion. Throughout all of Su Mansion, anyone who dared to disrespect the Gu Family was destined for misfortune. This was the root of Gu Lingshan’s arrogance.

At this moment, the old patriarch of the Gu Family, Gai Yunxiong, was practicing calligraphy in his study. Though he was over eighty years old, he remained hale and hearty thanks to his martial arts training. The Family Head, Gu Shanhe, stood respectfully to one side. Although he was the head of the family, he still had to defer to the old patriarch in all matters.

"Is there any news from Penglai Island yet?" Gai Yunxiong asked.