One more catty, one more attribute point

Su Heng gently set down his wine cup and looked up.

What he saw was a grossly fat man forcefully smashing his wine pot onto the ground, shattering it into countless pieces at the most prominent seat with an open view.

The fat man squinted his soybean-sized eyes, and the fat on his chin trembled slightly with his breathing.

"Haven't you seen that my pot is already empty? I've called you several times, and no one pays any attention to me!" The fat man's voice was full of impatience.

In the ninth floor of Honglou, those who could come here all had some status and identity.

Strangely enough.

At this moment, this fatty was shouting loudly.

Yet, everyone else simply shut their mouths, bowed their heads in silence, and either sipped their drinks slowly, pretending to see nothing and hear nothing.

"This man is named Luo Tong, a direct son of the Luo Family." Chen Murong pulled Su Heng's arm and whispered beside him.

Fear was evident in his voice.

"The Luo Family..."

Su Heng raised his eyebrows, thinking of the results of his investigation these past few days.

He asked, "In Baihua County, is the Luo Family's influence very strong?"

"It's more than just 'strong.'" Chen Murong said with a wry smile, "Look at the nine major docks along the river here, half of them are controlled by the Luo Family."

"That's indeed remarkable..." Su Heng smiled thoughtfully and said, "But no matter how powerful a family is, there comes a day when it ends. Maybe tomorrow morning, something unexpected will happen at home; accidents are always possible."

"Shh!" Chen Murong made a silencing gesture with his hand, nervously saying, "In Baihua County, such words must not be spoken recklessly."

Su Heng nodded noncommittally.

Two maids carefully approached Luo Tong, one knelt down to clean up the shards of the wine pot, while the other refilled the wine to the brim.

Luo Tong's large hand groped over a maid's body yet still seemed unsatisfied.

He looked towards Su Heng and snorted coldly, "The quality of Honglou has really declined, even riffraff can come here now, it's dirtied my eyes."

Su Heng's wine cup, which he had lifted gently, hovered in mid-air.

His gaze also turned dangerous.

He and the Luo Family had a feud and since the other party instigated it first, he didn't mind collecting some interest in advance.

But before he could make a move, the sound of crisp footsteps came from the red staircase, slowly reaching the audience's ears where the atmosphere was tense and silent on the ninth floor, sounding especially clear.

"Luo Tong, I find that face of yours disgusting too, how should we deal with that?"

A cold, mature female voice rang out.

Everyone was shocked.

The Luo Family's influence in Baihua County was enormous, hardly different from that of an emperor.

These direct sons of families were even more lawless, who would dare to curse him to his face?

Descending the stairs and appearing before everyone was a stunningly cold-looking woman.

Just by appearance, she seemed about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing spotless white attire while her pupils were deep pools, and with a touch of rouge on her fair forehead. Her chest was amply curved, and a silvery white ribbon outlined her slender waist, with the contours of her well-rounded and lengthy legs subtly visible beneath her skirt.

"Jin Mingxi—how did you come here!" Luo Tong suddenly stood up, his chin tensed, his whole body quivering with fat, obviously terrified.

Jin Mingxi walked up to Luo Tong and without a word, she slapped him across the face.

The slap was heavy.

Luo Tong's teeth flew out of his mouth, his face quickly turned a visible shade of black and blue, swelling up, with blood seeping from the corners of his mouth and nostrils.

He reached out to cover his wounded face, but his hand only lifted halfway.

Under the cold gaze of Jin Mingxi, he put it down again, but his chest heaved violently, and his bloodshot eyes showed the explosive anger and frustration in his heart.

Jin Mingxi took a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped her fingers with it methodically.

Luo Tong took deep breaths, suppressing the rage ready to overflow and turned to leave with his two guards at his side.

But behind him came Jin Mingxi's cold voice, "Stop!"

Luo Tong stopped in his tracks.

He turned around, his face swollen with anger into a purplish hue, his entire head seemed to have grown a size larger.

He bowed deeply to Jin Mingxi and then, gritting his teeth, he said, "Luo Tong thanks Elder Jin for the lesson!"

"Hmm," Jin Mingxi neatly folded the handkerchief she had used and put it away, nodding.

Only then did Luo Tong feel like he had been granted amnesty.

He quickly left with two guards, vanishing around the corner of the staircase.

The atmosphere in the spectator seats was so tense it felt like a drop of water could ripple through it. In these people's eyes, Luo Tong was already an inconceivable figure. And the woman who could beat him to that extent and still make him lower his head to apologize—what kind of identity did she have?

It was beyond their imagination.

As for this farce, no one else even thought about turning their head to look.

They dared not move, heads bowed, muscles tensed, sitting as if on pins and needles, uneasy and tense.

In the vast nine-story spectator stand,

The only one who seemed like nothing had happened was Su Heng.

He continued to drink on his own, watching the singing and dancing performance on the stage in front of him, with his long hair draped over his shoulders, lifted slightly by the river wind.

Jin Mingxi came before Su Heng, her gaze appraising as she said coldly, "You are Su Li's brother."

"That's right." Su Heng nodded, putting down his cup.

"Come with me," said Jin Mingxi.

Without waiting for Su Heng's response, she turned and walked toward the open terrace outside.

Her scrutinizing gaze and tone made Su Heng somewhat annoyed, but he still slowly got up, stepped through the wooden door, and followed Jin Mingxi out onto the deck.

The river wind was fierce, howling around them.

On the deck, Jin Mingxi's white dress danced with the wind, clinging to her form.

Her full chest, slender waist, and the perfectly curved, plump thighs and legs, along with her mature and cold demeanor, truly made her a rare beauty.

"We've already looked at the letter and investigated your identity, but just those aren't enough for you to join the Demon Suppression Bureau," Jin Mingxi said emotionlessly. She was not very tall, standing at around one meter seventy, which was considered tall among women, but naturally petite in front of Su Heng.

However, her authoritative demeanor somehow made one overlook the difference in their stature.

"What else is needed?" Su Heng asked with a gentle smile, patiently.

"The Demon Suppression Bureau has many Daoist scriptures and abundant resources; not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can muddle their way in," Jin Mingxi stated coldly. "You still need to pass an assessment."

"What kind of assessment?" Su Heng asked.

He thought he heard a resigned sigh from Jin Mingxi, but it might have been an illusion.

In front of him, Jin Mingxi held out her pale hand, "It's simple. Just hold my hand."

Su Heng reached out and grasped it, the touch was ice cold.

Crack!

Jin Mingxi started to apply force, and along with it came a cold and sharp internal strength stabbing into Su Heng's meridians. However, as soon as these forces entered Su Heng's body, they were melted and evaporated by the scorching Yang Pole True Strength, not even requiring the use of his more formidable bone strength.

As for the gripping strength of Jin Mingxi's fleshly body? That was a joke. He barely felt it.

"Such a strong body..." After a few breaths,

A slight expression of surprise finally appeared on Jin Mingxi's cool face.

"You've passed the assessment," she said, attempting to withdraw her hand from Su Heng's palm, but as she applied a bit of force, it felt as though it was clamped by steel, unable to move.

"You—" Jin Mingxi suddenly looked up.

Just then, a gust of wind arose, and moonlight cascaded down, coating Su Heng in a silver glow.

The previously gentle smile in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a lordly coldness and authority, as if he were high above, looking down on all beings.

"I don't think such an assessment is sufficient," Su Heng said calmly, his fingers tightening suddenly.

Crack—a crisp sound.

Jin Mingxi's face turned pale, and the intense pain in her hand made her wonder if the bones were shattered.

Before she could scream, a turbulent and fiery force followed.

Green wood grew, black flames burned.

The overwhelming strength rolled down like a mountain torrent, unstoppable, breaking through Jin Mingxi's layers of protective strength. The feeling of utter helplessness, like falling into hell, sent chills down her limbs, filled her with horror, and no longer could she maintain her previous aloofness and indifference.