Top-tier Unruly Master

Now that things have come to this point, there's essentially no relation to the people from Korea anymore. After expressing her gratitude to Ding Fan repeatedly for saving her life, the woman known as Guang Zhu left with Lee Jinghao and Che Guangtai in tow.

The Koreans had left, but Mei Xian, who had been standing off to the side the whole time, didn't leave. From beginning to end, she just stood in the corner, which Ding Fan didn't bother to pay much attention to.

With the Koreans gone, the spectacle was over, so the reporters all dispersed.

Jiang Anbang did want to take Ding Fan out for a meal. This time, Ding Fan had indeed helped him out of a tight spot. Without Ding Fan, they wouldn't have located Guang Zhu, and without finding her, Korea would definitely have made a big fuss about the cross-sea bridge incident. Thus, no matter what, Jiang Anbang wanted to properly thank Ding Fan.

However, Ding Fan declined Jiang Anbang's invitation outright.

Ding Fan still had his own matters to attend to. When he first entered Changsheng, he had agreed with Cheng Bufan that he was just scouting the way. So many days had passed without his return, and Ding Fan was actually worried that Cheng Bufan was concerned.

Ding Fan said his goodbyes to Jiang Anbang and had just stepped out of the city government building when Mei Xian caught up to him.

Ding Fan was taken aback. "You're safe now; there's no reason to follow me anymore. You can go home."

"Mr. Ding, if not for you this time, I would probably never have made it out of that forest. I wish to repay you," Mei Xian said earnestly, looking at Ding Fan.

"There's no need for repayment. Saving you was just a matter of convenience," Ding Fan replied indifferently.

Despite Ding Fan's words, Mei Xian showed no intention of leaving, standing stubbornly by Ding Fan's side, looking at him with determination in her eyes. "I want to repay you."

Mei Xian could be considered a beauty, with her delicate features and a sexy, striking figure. At this moment, her resolute eyes added an enticing charm that was hard for anyone to resist.

"There's nothing you can repay me with," Ding Fan said, shaking his head slightly.

"I can repay you with myself," Mei Xian said biting her lip.

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, the wateriness in her beautiful eyes shimmered with tears. At this moment, Mei Xian truly looked pitiable and appealing.

When Mei Xian mentioned repaying Ding Fan with herself, even Ding Fan could tell that she was offering her body to him as repayment.

"You're not that kind of girl. Have some self-respect and self-love. A woman's body is meant to be loved, not used as a bargaining chip." After saying this, Ding Fan didn't give Mei Xian another look and strode away.

Ding Fan had never had much of an impression of Mei Xian.

In the past, she had been willing to flirt with Guang Zhu in exchange for changing her nationality. Although Mei Xian had remained chaste, it was only a matter of time before she would have given herself to Guang Zhu.

She had her own goals, but she didn't want to put in the effort, preferring to take shortcuts by relying on her beauty...

Ding Fan truly had no good feelings toward such a woman.

Watching Ding Fan's figure disappearing into the distance, Mei Xian just stood there quietly, her gaze somewhat lost, indicating she didn't know what to think...

Ding Fan returned to the hotel. Cheng Bufan had been extremely worried these past days. Seeing Ding Fan return, Cheng Bufan let out a long sigh of relief. If Ding Fan hadn't come back, Cheng Bufan would have had to venture into Changsheng alone.

Ding Fan then recounted his encounter with Jin Minchong in Changsheng. However, he did not mention to Cheng Bufan about the Obsidian in Changsheng Village because he had previously promised Bian Zixuan not to tell anyone about it.

When they got to the part about Jin Minchong escaping, Cheng Bufan's expression became solemn again.

Previously, they had been able to track him because there were clues to follow, but now that Jin Minchong had fled, finding him would be more difficult than reaching the heavens.

"Big Brother, although the trip to Changsheng wasn't entirely fruitless, I'm not sure if this will be of any use." Ding Fan said, taking out the Peiyuan Stone.

Upon seeing the Peiyuan Stone, Cheng Bufan's eyes brightened. "Junior Brother, how did you manage to recover this?"

"When Jin Minchong fled in haste, he didn't have time to collect it, so I was able to take it back," Ding Fan said, intentionally omitting the events within Changsheng Village.

"Big Brother, I think since we can't find Jin Minchong right away, why don't we take the Peiyuan Stone back to the Sect? If we return this to the Sect, maybe your master will take you back into his good graces, considering you recovered the Peiyuan Stone," Ding Fan suggested.

In fact, Ding Fan had already thought through the whole situation on his way back.

Although Cheng Bufan didn't say it, Ding Fan believed that it was somewhat excessive to expel Cheng Bufan from the Sect just because Jin Minchong was close to bullying his Junior Sister. It is very likely related to the theft of the Peiyuan Stone and the Sect Leader blaming him for it, which led to Cheng Bufan being expelled from the Sect.

In fact, Ding Fan's speculation was entirely in line with the truth. Initially, Cheng Bufan had been guarding the Peiyuan Stone, and only he knew where it was hidden. But later, the Peiyuan Stone was stolen. When combined with Jin Minchong's near attempt to harass Qi Luomei in Cheng Bufan's territory, the sect leader, in a fit of anger, expelled Cheng Bufan from the sect.

After hearing Ding Fan's opinion, Cheng Bufan was at a loss for what to do; he couldn't capture Jin Minchong and only managed to retrieve the Peiyuan Stone but still felt too ashamed to return.

Cheng Bufan didn't want to go back, and Ding Fan really had no way to force him. Cheng Bufan had a knot in his heart that was yet to be untied.

Ding Fan had met Qi Luomei before; she and Cheng Bufan grew up together, it seemed they both had feelings for each other early on. With Cheng Bufan now misunderstood by his beloved, he must be feeling incredibly sad; without capturing Jin Minchong there was no way he could feel like returning.

Cheng Bufan's knot remained untied, so Ding Fan didn't feel it was right to pressure him.

In the following period, Ding Fan made a direct phone call to Hu Jin. After all, he had promised to help Yun Gang City build a cross-sea bridge, and Ding Fan was a man of his word.

When Ding Fan made the call, Hu Jin already knew what he was up to.

Ding Fan's public condemnation of those scoundrels from Korea on television, the video was now spreading wildly online, and Ding Fan had practically become a hero in the eyes of netizens.

As the CEO of Huaxia Group, Ding Fan's words carried weight with Hu Jin, who of course would take action.

Moreover, although Ding Fan's intention to help build the cross-sea bridge stemmed partly from a sense of rivalry, it actually offered great benefits to Huaxia Group.

First, Huaxia Group had just rebranded and its stock had recently gone public. It was in need of a chance to boost its reputation, and stepping forward to build the cross-sea bridge at this juncture would greatly benefit the future of the company and its stock prices.

Second, with Huaxia Group's headquarters now firmly established in Dancheng, it was natural for them to branch out. Hu Jin was looking for good locations to set up subsidiaries.

Yun Gang was one of the locations Huaxia Group was considering due to its coastal position—if the cross-sea bridge was built, the connection to the inland would be even more seamless. With the government policies offered after building the bridge, setting up a subsidiary there would be a sure bet for Huaxia Group.

Everything was coming together perfectly: the right time, the right place, the right people.

So, even before Ding Fan had made arrangements, Hu Jin was already preparing to start building the bridge.

"The cross-sea bridge will probably need about ten billion yuan. I'll transfer the money over later," Ding Fan said on the phone.

"Chairman, you're underestimating our Huaxia Group now," Hu Jin chuckled on the other end of the phone, "A mere ten billion is still within our capacity to manage."

At this point, Huaxia Group was very strong, thanks to the Calm Heart Pill, which had opened up markets both domestically and internationally. The regular version of the Calm Heart Pill had already captured over seventy percent of the market share in its category. If not for production capacity constraints, Huaxia Group could even push this percentage higher.

Plus, with Huaxia Group now publicly listed, raising ten billion yuan was indeed not a difficult task.

Hearing this, Ding Fan was quite astonished. The company hadn't been renamed for long, and yet it had already amassed such a substantial capital reserve.

Considering the company's ability to finance this project on its own, Ding Fan decided not to get involved any further, leaving the rest to Hu Jin to handle.

Handling these matters was Hu Jin's forte—a strong point. It can be said that without Hu Jin, it would be hard to imagine what state Huaxia Group would be in now.

After hanging up the call, Ding Fan intended to go out for a meal with Cheng Bufan. But just then, Ding Fan suddenly felt a surge of mental power sweep through his room.

Ding Fan's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Little brother, what's wrong?" Seeing the change in Ding Fan's expression, Cheng Bufan, who was beside him, asked in confusion.

"We are being monitored." Ding Fan used his True Qi to project his voice directly into Cheng Bufan's ears, ensuring that only he could hear.

Cheng Bufan pretended that nothing was amiss as he looked at Ding Fan.

"Let's go out for a drink…" Ding Fan said casually to Cheng Bufan.

Cheng Bufan nodded. "Sure…"

After Ding Fan and Cheng Bufan tidied up a bit, they walked out of the room.

Once Ding Fan and Cheng Bufan left the room, a casually dressed middle-aged man who appeared ordinary slowly emerged from a corner of the hallway.

The middle-aged man slowly took out his phone. "Boss, I'm sure the person with Cheng Bufan, the one who came back from Changsheng, is him..."