After finishing the other cigarettes, Tao Bai only bought "Zhenlong Shengshi" and "Zhenlong Jinyun."
He bought five cartons of each at once, spending nearly ten thousand yuan.
"Zhenlong Shengshi" came in brown packaging, with a raised totem of a true dragon in the center of the box.
It appeared classical and elegant without losing the domineering aura of a true dragon;
It was Tao Bai's favorite.
"True Dragon - Golden Rhyme(Zhenlong Jinyun),"
On the other hand, came in gold packaging.
It exuded the scent of money from every inch and looked somewhat tacky and gaudy, but Tao Bai would occasionally smoke this variety as well.
Seeing their companion hit, the three men behind him immediately stepped forward, glaring furiously at Tao Bai.
They looked at him as if they were looking at a dead man.
Tao Bai glanced at them.
Judging by the aura they emitted, they were likely associates.
As it turned out, the man who had been hit was named Xu Jinchang, a notorious "Young Master" in Wucheng, and the other three were also wealthy scions.
Xu Jinchang was currently pursuing the beauty singing on stage.
The seat Tao Bai occupied happened to offer the perfect angle for viewing, commanding the best line of sight.
In Xu Jinchang's view, his spot had been taken, and the occupier was leisurely smoking and drinking, eyes closed in intoxicated enjoyment of the atmosphere.
This made him extremely unhappy.
Thus, he had intended to "politely" ask the man to leave, which would also serve to display his "chivalry" in front of the beauty.
Unexpectedly, he was the one who was "swept off his feet"—
By a slap to the face.
"When my eyes were stabbed..."
Seeing the conflict unfold offstage, the beauty's singing gradually trailed off.
In the corners, burly security guards in black uniforms rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
Just as the security guards were hurrying over, the enraged Xu Jinchang snatched a square ashtray from a nearby table and aimed it at Tao Bai's head.
This time, Tao Bai sensed his killing intent.
Well, you were the one who wanted to kill me first...
As the ashtray was about to smash into his head, Tao Bai advanced instead of retreating.
He took a large step forward and sent Xu flying with a "Heart-Piercing Elbow（顶心肘）" strike.
Xu Jinchang knocked over quite a few tables and chairs, which in turn fell onto the feet of several bystanders.
Instantly, gasps and screams erupted from the crowd below, and the scene descended into chaos.
"A Bajiquan(Eight Extremes Fist) expert?"
A middle-aged man in the venue noticed that Tao Bai's kung fu resembled Bajiquan.
He stroked his beard and muttered to himself, but did not step forward;
He was merely a spectator.
"Cough, cough."
Xu Jinchang, his hairstyle now a mess, lay on the ground clutching his chest and coughed twice.
"Wo diu, guo tiao you shi guo ye zhou..." (Cantonese: Damn, that guy has trained...)
Although he had practiced martial arts for a while, his amateurish skills were nothing in the eyes of an expert, let alone in Tao Bai's eyes.
He felt he had no "chivalry" left to show tonight.
Had he known this would happen, he would have brought bodyguards.
Realizing he couldn't win—
And would only get beaten again if he got up—
He decided just to lie there and recover for a moment.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and made a call.
Three security guards walked up to Tao Bai.
The leader spoke in standard Mandarin,
"This is a public place.
You must pay for the broken tables and chairs.
Although this matter has nothing to do with us, I will ask one question—
Why did Your Excellency have to be so ruthless?"
"Humph, he used a weapon, am I not allowed to use legitimate self-defense?"
Tao Bai said coldly.
He then pointed at Xu Jinchang lying on the ground not far away.
"How about this: Tell him to come over and apologize to BenZuo, and we'll let this matter drop."
"Sir, I'm afraid that isn't appropriate, is it?"
"He struck first. How is it inappropriate?"
The head guard looked at Xu Jinchang on the ground, then at the resolute Tao Bai, and said helplessly,
"You will bear the cost for the broken tables and chairs. Is that a problem?"
"No problem."
"Then, regarding your unpleasantness, please go outside and resolve it amongst yourselves! Please step to the front desk, Sir."
The three guards and the three wealthy scions followed Tao Bai toward the front desk.
Xu Jinchang, supported by the other two guards, followed behind.
After Tao Bai paid at the front desk and stepped out of the bar, he saw three black SUVs with Guangxi "Gui-D" license plates and special numbers speeding toward them.
They came to a steady halt not far from the bar's entrance.
From the three cars, nine men emerged.
They wore uniform attire, had cold expressions, and carried extendable batons at their waists.
Three others remained in the driver's seats, ready at a moment's notice.
Seeing these guys, Tao Bai's mood became even more stifled.
Can't you just let BenZuo listen to a song in comfort?
"Young Master Chang!"
Among the nine, the leader saw that Xu Jinchang appeared injured and immediately walked over.
He glanced at Tao Bai, then looked to Xu Jinchang.
Xu blinked, then gave a slight nod.
"Come with me!"
The leader spoke in a tone that allowed no refusal.
Tao Bai sensed the leader's spiritual pressure.
He was roughly at the third level of Qi Refining.
Tao Bai himself, however, appeared just like a mortal, with no fluctuations of spiritual power on his body.
"Alright," Tao Bai responded with a smile.
Tao Bai got into the car with him.
Placed in the back seat, the man beside him put handcuffs on Tao Bai and then placed a black hood over his head.
Tao Bai did not resist.
He was just a bit curious—
How did they have handcuffs?
And you put a hood on me?
Treating me like a criminal suspect?
Interesting...
These "silver bracelets" seemed to be of good quality, making a clanking sound when pulled.
Sitting in the passenger seat, a hint of satisfaction appeared at the corner of Xu Jinchang's mouth.
The guy sitting next to Tao Bai, who had bestowed the silver bracelets upon him, laughed disdainfully.
"Don't waste your energy. You can't open those without a key."
"Oh, is that so!"
Tao Bai, inside the black hood, exclaimed as if suddenly realizing.
But he kept pulling at them incessantly, like a child playing with a pull-string top.
It was just that the chain of these cuffs wasn't quite long enough.
The silver bracelets appeared to be made of refined steel; the texture was very hard.
If someone below the fifth level of Qi Refining were handcuffed, the probability of breaking them open with brute force would be extremely low.
Of course, in the mortal world, even the first level of Qi Refining was considered elite.
Who would be bored enough to put handcuffs on a Qi Refining stage cultivator?
After a bumpy ride lasting about half an hour.
The five cars arrived at an abandoned factory complex overgrown with weeds.
There was an open space in the factory, formerly a basketball court, with four floodlights.
As the cars drove in, the four lights turned on one by one, illuminating the area as bright as day.
The person beside him yanked off the hood and dragged Tao Bai out.
Tao Bai stood firm, looking up at the four incandescent lights, feeling the glare.
Is this a kidnapping of BenZuo?
More than a dozen people surrounded Tao Bai.
Xu Jinchang, fixing his hair and wearing a bizarre grin, approached Tao Bai step by step.
He extended two fingers, and someone immediately stepped forward to hand him a cigarette and light it for him.
He exhaled a puff of smoke and said,
"Are you stupid or are you crazy? You dare hit even me?"
Saying this, he made a gripping motion with his hand.
Someone immediately stepped forward and handed him an extendable baton!
Holding the baton, he flung it forcefully downward, and it instantly extended.
With a sudden lunge, he charged at Tao Bai!
He raised the baton high and swung it straight down toward the crown of Tao Bai's head!