"You little punk, do you have a death wish!"
Calvin Zhou's mouth was full of blood, his face instantly swelling up like a pig's head. Struggling to get up from the ground, he glared at Evan Lin with vicious eyes, and when he spoke, air whistled through his broken teeth.
Just as he finished speaking, Evan Lin threw a punch and sent five security guards who rushed over flying. Calvin Zhou's face changed instantly—he didn't dare keep talking.
The stares from the people nearby made Calvin Zhou's face burn with shame.
Even Summer Mu was startled by Evan Lin's sudden move.
"Summer Mu! You actually dared to bring someone here to wreck the place!" One of the women who'd come with Calvin Zhou snapped out of her shock and immediately shouted at Summer Mu, her face twisting in anger.
Her words instantly pulled everyone's attention back, and all eyes turned to Summer Mu.
It's true the Summer Family is powerful in River City, but the Zhou Family isn't weak either. Plus, Evan Lin had just injured the security guards at the Jared Qian Auction, putting Summer Mu directly at odds with Jared Qian's side.
As soon as the woman spoke, quite a few people turned their gaze this way.
Summer Mu frowned, glanced at Calvin Zhou—still sprawled on the ground, missing most of his teeth thanks to Evan Lin—then looked at Evan himself. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke slowly: "That’s a bit much. My friend was just teaching Calvin Zhou a lesson. How is that wrecking the venue? If anyone started trouble, it was Calvin Zhou, not us. Smacking him around is just doing his parents a favor."
Summer Mu made his stance clear—he was firmly on Evan Lin's side.
Before the woman could say anything else, a cold laugh came from the side: "Summer Mu, so you really plan to protect your friend? Everyone here saw what just happened—your guest trashed Jared Qian's venue. Trying to deny it?"
The crowd slowly parted, and two men in their twenties stepped forward, both about 1.78 meters tall and holding glasses of wine. One looked quite a bit like Summer Mu, while the other tilted his head and gave Evan Lin and Summer Mu a cool glance.
"Summer Jade and Leon Zhao?"
Seeing these two, a few people nearby looked surprised.
Summer Jade was the Summer Family's second young master—he was actually Summer Mu's cousin. As for Leon Zhao, his uncle Victor Zhao was the project department head at Wansheng Real Estate, which gave Leon a fair bit of influence in River City.
"Why isn't Summer Jade backing his own cousin? Looks like he's actually siding against Summer Mu." someone asked, puzzled.
"You don't know? The Summer Family's a mess right now. Summer Mu's dad was the family head, but something happened a few days ago and now he's still in the hospital—could die any time. Everyone inside the family is just waiting to split the inheritance." a man who seemed to know some inside info whispered.
The people around immediately understood—family infighting like this was nothing new. For money and benefits, plenty of people would turn on their own relatives.
"Summer Jade." Summer Mu looked at him, his face darkening. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, calling me Summer Jade now? I'm your second brother! You actually dare address me by name?" Summer Jade raised an eyebrow and snorted. "You really don't get what I mean? This is Jared Qian's venue. If you want to make trouble, that's your problem, Summer Mu—not the Summer Family's. Don't drag us into it."
"You’re causing trouble here and expect us to take the blame? Dream on." Summer Jade looked down on him, then turned to Evan Lin: "And who’s this little nobody you brought? Just look at what he’s wearing! Only you, Summer Mu, would bother making friends with someone like him."
"Are you talking about me?" Evan Lin looked Summer Jade up and down with interest. Summer Jade was a bit taller than Evan, but when their eyes met, he couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.
"Yeah, I mean you. What, not happy about it? Or do you want to start something?" Summer Jade raised an eyebrow. Leon Zhao chuckled: "That commotion probably already alerted Drake Huang inside the manor. Even if you want to fight, let's see if you survive long enough to try."
Drake Huang!
The moment Leon Zhao finished speaking, a wave of shocked exclamations rippled through the crowd.
Every guest's expression changed.
Even Summer Mu's face tightened. He looked at Evan Lin, his expression suddenly anxious: "You should leave now. We can deal with this later."
"Drake Huang is Jared Qian's honored guest. Rumor has it he can lift a cauldron and walk on waves. Staying here is way too dangerous for you!"
Summer Mu recalled all the rumors about Drake Huang in River City and couldn't help but shiver. He'd never actually seen Drake Huang fight, but a place like Jared Qian's auction wouldn't last a day without a top-tier enforcer.
But in all these years, no one had ever managed to cause real trouble at Jared Qian's venue. The few who did ended up dumped in the river to feed the fish the next day.
A few years back, word had it that a Baji Fist prodigy from Beijing—supposedly built like iron—came here threatening to break Drake Huang's bones. They found him buried alive on a mountaintop outside River City.
The rumors about Drake Huang were endless, each one hinting at his terrifying strength.
"Lift a cauldron, walk on waves?" Evan Lin wasn't intimidated—he was just more curious. What kind of person was this Drake Huang, really?
If Drake Huang was really as strong as Summer Mu said, Evan Lin actually wanted to test himself against him.
Just then, the main gates of the manor swung open, and a squad of men in martial arts uniforms filed out. None of them were particularly burly, but the murderous aura they carried was enough to make anyone take notice.
They quickly formed two circles around Evan Lin's group. Then, a stern-faced steward in his fifties stepped forward and said seriously, "Who’s causing trouble at Jared Qian's auction?"
"Steward Qian, it's that kid! Not only did he hurt guests, he also beat up the security guards. Why not ask Master Drake Huang to come out and teach him a lesson?" Summer Jade laughed.
Steward Qian turned to Evan Lin, his gaze icy: "You think something this minor needs to bother Master Huang? Ridiculous! Do you think Master Huang just sits around waiting for trouble?"
"Do you have an invitation for tonight?" Steward Qian narrowed his eyes at Evan Lin. The twenty-plus men in kung fu uniforms were already in fighting stances, ready to strike at any moment.
"I brought him!" Summer Mu quickly stepped forward.
"Summer Family invitations don’t allow outsiders. Sorry, you don’t qualify." Steward Qian’s voice was cold, and Summer Mu’s face fell in embarrassment.
Evan Lin glanced around, his gaze cool: "Anywhere I want to go, I never need an invitation. If you don’t like it, come at me—all of you."