The Beauty CEO's Personal Expert

"Family Head Zhu, you’re too kind," Ling Chen smiled slightly. He could feel Zhu Qian’s sincerity. After all, the Zhu Family was facing such a crisis, and there weren’t many people willing to help. The Dragon Tiger Hall was willing to exert all its efforts to assist the Zhu Family, so naturally, Zhu Qian was immensely grateful.

Under the guidance of Zhu Qian and Zhu Houchang, the group quickly arrived at the Zhu Family’s main hall. Once everyone was seated, Zhu Qian first had someone serve fragrant tea. After everyone had rested a bit, he began, "Everyone, given the dire situation we’re in, I’ll forgo pleasantries and get straight to the point. According to the Zhu Family’s intelligence, the Netherworld Snake has dispatched thirty assassins to enter Dengzhou City this time. Of course, this is only what’s known; I have no idea how many assassins might have secretly infiltrated Dengzhou City, but the number is likely not small." With that, he gestured to Zhu Houchang, who immediately took out a document and handed it to Ling Chen.

"Ling Chen, here’s the intelligence information we’ve gathered," Zhu Qian said. "You’ve dealt with the Netherworld Snake before; you should know more than we do. Take a look — do you recognize anyone here?"

Upon hearing this, Ling Chen carefully reviewed the document in hand. Calling it a document was an exaggeration; it was actually a set of photos, presumably taken at the airport from the angle. This group of thirty men in the photos were likely the Netherworld Snake assassins Zhu Qian had mentioned. These men looked solemn, their eyes fierce; even through mere photographs, one could sense they were different.

However, what attracted Ling Chen the most was an elderly man among them, appearing around sixty or seventy years old, expressionless, walking ahead of everyone.

This old man... Ling Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, then walked over to Ren Donglin, handing him a photo and asked, "Elder Ren, could this be Chen Qinghua?"

Ren Donglin examined it for a moment and nodded, "Yes, it’s him. Although we haven’t met in decades, I wouldn’t mistake him; his appearance hasn’t changed much."

"So, the Netherworld Snake has dispatched everyone this time," Ling Chen furrowed his brow. This is indeed troublesome; both Chen Younian and Chen Qinghua, the Netherworld Snake’s top martial artists, are in Dengzhou City, making it difficult to handle. Besides, I don’t believe the Netherworld Snake only has these two top martial artists. They’ve been operating for so many years; there must be other Heavenly List martial artists hidden, although the exact number is unknown.

After a brief contemplation, Ling Chen returned to his seat, looked at Zhu Qian, and asked, "Family Head Zhu, what preparations has the Zhu Family made?"

"Right now, it’s the Zhu Family’s moment of life and death. I’ve summoned almost all elite disciples, approximately over a hundred in rough count. In addition, the Zhu Family has three Heavenly List assassins. This is all the strength we can muster," Zhu Qian said.

At these words, Ling Chen couldn’t help but glance at Zhu Qing nearby. Sensing his gaze, Zhu Qing nodded lightly. He glanced at Zhu Qing to confirm whether Zhu Qian’s words were true.

Three Heavenly List assassins... He always thought the Zhu Family had only two. It seems the third Heavenly List assassin must be the Zhu Family’s ultimate card.

"Family Head Zhu, how many people are in the Zhu Family now?" Ren Donglin asked.

Zhu Qian replied, "Counting all members, there are about three hundred. Why, is there a problem?"

"Apart from the elite disciples participating in the battle, I advise you to transfer the rest elsewhere to avoid them becoming targets of the Netherworld Snake and suffering unnecessary losses." After a pause, Ren Donglin continued, "How concealed is your location here?"

"The Zhu Family takes this very seriously; except for internal disciples, outsiders are nearly unaware of its location," Zhu Qian replied. "You should have noticed before you arrived; we had the car windows covered so you couldn’t see outside. Even you may be unaware of the specific location of the Zhu Family."

Ling Chen nodded secretly. The last time he came to the Zhu Family, he experienced it once — that time they used a head cover, unlike this time. Perhaps because they needed their help, the Zhu Family didn’t use head covers this time, instead covering the car windows. Despite this being his second visit, he still couldn’t discern the Zhu Family’s location.

"Family Head Zhu, can you be 100% certain the Netherworld Snake won’t find this place?"

Faced with Ren Donglin’s inquiry, Zhu Qian hesitated. Previously, he could be confident, but now... he really had no confidence. After all, his opponent was an assassin organization that had dominated the martial arts world for centuries. Who knew if they had obtained the Zhu Family’s location information?

Seeing Zhu Qian silent, Ren Donglin continued, "We have two plans to choose from now: One is to consolidate all forces and hold fast to the Zhu Family, fighting the Netherworld Snake head-on. The other is to take the initiative and strike. Chen Qinghua has arrived in Dengzhou City; you’ve certainly located them. Chen Qinghua is the second top martial artist of the Netherworld Snake. If we can eliminate him, it would cut off an arm of the Netherworld Snake, greatly weakening their power. If it were up to me, I’d choose the second plan."

Ling Chen pondered for a while and said, "Elder Ren, your proposal is good, but haven’t you considered, Chen Qinghua blatantly appeared in Dengzhou City — isn’t he afraid of being discovered? Or perhaps he never intended to hide his tracks, but is deliberately letting us find him, waiting for us to come to him."

"I think Ling Chen makes sense," Golden Dragon, who had been silent, nodded slightly. "Though it’s just speculation, we must guard against it."

As the group discussed their strategies, a Zhu Family disciple hurried in, whispering a few words in Zhu Houchang’s ear. Whatever was said, Zhu Houchang’s expression immediately changed.

"Everyone, we’ve just received intelligence — the Netherworld Snake’s people have left their residence, heading directly by car toward the Zhu Family," Zhu Houchang reported.

Upon hearing Zhu Houchang, Zhu Qian stood up abruptly, "How could that be! Has the Zhu Family’s location been exposed?"

Zhu Houchang replied with a bitter smile, "I’m afraid so."

"Mr. Zhu, how many are coming toward here?" Ling Chen asked.

"Thirty-five in total, Chen Qinghua and Chen Younian have already united. It seems they don’t plan to play tricks, but rather are preparing for a direct confrontation." Looking at the time, Zhu Houchang added, "In about fifteen minutes, they’ll arrive here. Everyone, we have no extra time for preparation. Any good ideas?"

"Quickly evacuate any unnecessary personnel," Ling Chen said. "As for the rest...don’t do anything, just stay here. At this point, any more planning is useless; we can only respond to attacks as they come."