Zhu Li and Chen Jie were still smoking, the private room filled with drifting smoke.
After sitting down, Luo Yang also lit up a cigarette.
"Wanna take a drag?" Luo Yang offered the cigarette to An Yuying's lips.
"I don't want to," An Yuying pushed Luo Yang's hand away.
"Take a puff and see, otherwise how would you know what cigarettes taste like?" Luo Yang said with a smile.
An Yuying took a small puff and immediately started coughing so hard that tears came to her eyes.
Zhu Li and Chen Jie both laughed.
"I'm going to rest in the next private room for a while." An Yuying couldn't stand the thick smoke in the room.
With that, she stood up to leave.
"Sister An, let me help you over," Luo Yang said, placing his cigarette in the groove of the ashtray.
He wanted to hear An Yuying's opinion first, about the hangover remedy business; if Zhu Li and the others wanted shares, he wondered what to do.
"No need, I can walk," she said.
Though she said so, she was a bit drunk herself, her walk unsteady.
Luo Yang, afraid she might fall, quickly went to support her.
The two entered another private room.
After sitting on the couch, Luo Yang got straight to the point, whispering, "Sister An, there's something I want to discuss with you."
Choosing to consult An Yuying first was because she didn't like doing business.
In other words, she wouldn't be jealous knowing Luo Yang was going into the hangover remedy business.
Not like Tang Guihua, who would probably ask for shares if she found out.
She might even want to be a manager or something, which would be troublesome.
Plus, An Yuying was more compliant; she generally did whatever Luo Yang advised her to do.
An Yuying spoke softly, "Niu Zai, just tell me, I'm listening."
So Luo Yang told her about the hangover remedy.
After listening, An Yuying expressed her skepticism, "Niu Zai, where's this hangover remedy of yours? Let me try it and see if it's really effective."
People are all pretty much the same, believing only what they see.
Without seeing it for themselves, they would never fully believe.
"Wait here, I'll get it," Luo Yang said.
If he took out the Pond Water like magic from the "Shennong Scripture" landscape painting right in front of her, it would make An Yuying suspicious.
He went to the entrance of the private room, filled a cup with Pond Water, and came back in.
An Yuying, being somewhat drunk, didn't notice that Luo Yang had not gone far.
"Sister An, drink this," Luo Yang handed it over.
"Niu Zai, this looks just like plain water. Can it really cure a hangover?" An Yuying questioned as she looked at the cup in her hand.
Seeing Luo Yang nod, she then drank it.
A moment later, An Yuying exclaimed in surprise, "Niu Zai, your hangover remedy really works. I don't feel drunk at all anymore."
Luo Yang smiled and said, "I'm getting into the hangover remedy business, and Big Sister Qiao and Little Sister Qiao asked for shares. If I tell others, they'll want shares too. I don't know what to do."
This kind of problem actually stumped An Yuying.
She furrowed her brow for a moment before speaking softly, "Niu Zai, why don't you ask Guihua? She might have a solution."
Hearing this, Luo Yang smiled and nodded.
An Yuying was not adept at business; consulting her about business matters was indeed asking too much.
"Sister An, you rest for a bit, I'm going to chat with Sister Kick and the others," Luo Yang said.
A profitable business needed urgent attention; wasting a day meant losing a day's earnings.
"Then call me when you're going home. I'll take a nap here," she said as she lay down on the couch.
Upon returning to the private room where Zhu Li was, just as he sat down, Zhu Li laughed and said, "Niu Zai, it looks like you've had a lot to drink, but you don't seem drunk. Did you secretly pour out the alcohol?"
Chen Jie snickered at the comment.
"Sister Kick, Sister Chen, I didn't get drunk because I can hold my liquor," Luo Yang took a puff of his cigarette.
```
He wanted to talk to them about the hangover remedy, but since he hadn't made up his own mind yet, he could only wait.
"Sitting around is boring, let's drink. I don't believe you can't get drunk. Let's see how much you can take." Zhu Li stood up to go get the alcohol.
"I'll get it. What do you want to drink?" Luo Yang flicked away his cigarette butt.
"Let's have some strong liquor, vodka. And bring up a bottle of red wine while you're at it," Zhu Li said.
Immediately, Luo Yang went downstairs, took a bottle of vodka and a bottle of red wine from the liquor cabinet, plus three wine glasses.
Luo Yang usually didn't drink vodka; he poured it into the glass, took a look, crystal clear.
After taking a sip, it was actually light and refreshing, not sweet, not bitter, not astringent, his throat and stomach seemed to ignite into flames, burning intensely.
He was fine, as he could use his Inner Strength to force the alcohol out through his pores.
The three clinked glasses, just for the sake of formality.
Luo Yang said, "Sister Kick, from what you speculate, will Lin Guofa find someone locally to kill me, or will he bring someone from out of town?"
The matter was very tricky.
Zhu Li and Chen Jie had serious expressions; they also knew that Luo Yang was about to face a very important crossroads in his life.
No one whom the Lin Family had wanted to kill had ever escaped.
Unless you flee overnight, never return to Honghai County, hide far away, perhaps then you might survive.
"I will keep an eye out for you," Zhu Li said earnestly.
When facing such a big issue, everyone hopes for assistance.
Luo Yang was no exception, but he also saw the difficulties that Zhu Li faced.
"Sister Kick, you just help me gather information. I'll deal with the fighting myself," Luo Yang downed nearly half a glass of vodka in one gulp.
"You're my sworn brother, I won't let you fight alone. My family wouldn't agree to openly oppose the Lin Family, but I can help you in my own name, which has nothing to do with my family," Zhu Li stated seriously.
"How can you two leave me out? Isn't Niu Zai my sworn brother too?" Chen Jie jumped in, eager to be included.
With both his sworn sisters taking such good care of him, Luo Yang felt a warmth in his heart.
However, he knew that once they joined the battle, the Lin Family would target them as well.
This was not a child's play fight, but a decisive battle in Jianghu; to refrain was one thing, but once involved, it was bloodshed within five steps.
Luo Yang wasn't a very troublesome student, but he had been in fights before, although he had never really thought about killing someone.
In the past, when he heard that someone had killed someone else, he always wondered, why couldn't they sit down and talk things out instead of resorting to killing?
Having experienced some things, Luo Yang had come to understand that sometimes in this world one could reason, and sometimes one simply could not.
When you are in Jianghu, you are not in control of your own fate.
Not everything can be settled through negotiation.
The feud with the Lin Family had no room for maneuver; each regarded the other as a thorn in the eye, intolerable until plucked out.
"Sister Kick, Sister Chen, you don't have to help me openly. I have the ability to deal with the Lin Family. Just help me gather information. If I need your help, I'll tell you, okay?"
Luo Yang poured himself more than half a glass of vodka.
"Consider this a chance for me to train. I want to solve the problem with the Lin Family using my own capabilities."
"Alright," Zhu Li agreed readily.
"Come on, down this glass," Luo Yang raised his glass.
"I can't believe your capacity for alcohol! Niu Zai, I underestimated you," Chen Jie said, surprised.
The three clinked glasses and Luo Yang downed his drink once again.
Chen Jie moved next to Luo Yang, nibbling at his ear, but laughed, "Niu Zai, I want to tell you a secret."
As she spoke, she winked at Zhu Li.
Zhu Li rolled her eyes back and scoffed, "It's always you who talks too much, always spouting nonsense."
Chen Jie had also mentioned wanting to share a secret the last time they were in the county town.
"What secret?" Luo Yang asked, curious.
"This secret is no small matter, it's just that..." Chen Jie was just about to reveal it.
Zhu Li had already pounced over.
"Niu Zai, save me," Chen Jie giggled as she struggled to leave the private room.
But Zhu Li grabbed her, not allowing her to slip away.
```