Su Ru looked at Shen Dianlan in surprise, not understanding what was wrong with the old lady today. She had offended so many people in the past without showing such panic, but today she was trembling like a mouse seeing a cat.
"Mom, what exactly are you afraid of?" Su Ru asked, confused.
Shen Dianlan sighed deeply. "Xiao Ru, you've been abroad all this time and don't understand the situation in Fog City. On the surface, Fog City is dominated by the Su, Fan, and Wu families, but that's actually because Fan Wentao has retreated to the second line and shifted his focus. If Fan Wentao returns, they will absolutely be the sole dominant power! The Fan family's strength is far greater than the combined strength of the Su and Wu families!"
Is it that exaggerated?
Su Ru had never imagined that Fan Wentao, a mere old man, possessed such immense power.
And it wasn't over yet.
Shen Dianlan explained further. "Fan Wentao has five emperors under him, each one more formidable than the last. Each of these five individuals, if singled out, is a hero capable of standing on their own. If all five return together, combined with the Fan family's inherent strength, they would be enough to annihilate all of Fog City!"
Hearing this, Su Ru broke into a cold sweat.
All along, she had believed that the Fan family was not much stronger than the Su family. However, through Shen Dianlan's words, it was clear that the Fan family could easily dominate Fog City.
If that were the case, Su Ru would likely suffer.
"No, if there are difficulties, I can't bear them alone. I need to drag Su Wanran down with me."
Su Ru immediately took out her phone and called Su Wanran.
Regardless of anything else, she had to call Su Wanran over to discuss how to deal with the future situation. Although the two of them had fought fiercely over the position of family head, they now had a common enemy and could set aside their animosity to face them together.
First, they would deal with the common enemy, and then decide the winner among themselves.
Therefore, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. As long as interests align, enemies can become friends!
After receiving the call, Su Wanran soon drove to the main house alone.
Both parties wore very serious expressions, knowing what kind of difficulties they were about to face. Although Su Wanran had never truly witnessed Fan Wentao's methods, having grown up in Fog City, she had heard all sorts of legends about him.
In Fog City, there was once a very prominent first-tier family. They thought Fan Wentao was old and past his prime, so they openly challenged him and brutally trampled on the Fan family.
The result was that within a week, the entire family was annihilated!
From then on, everyone in Fog City understood one thing: Fan Wentao was old and no longer wished to engage in fights, but that didn't mean his strength had diminished. If he were truly angered, the consequences would be dire!
They sat together.
Su Ru said with a somber face, "Wanran, you know what's happening. Fan Xiang and Fan Xiaoyun are dead, and Fan Wentao is said to have returned to Fog City. Now, the elder Mr. Fan is targeting us, intending to destroy our Su family. If we're not careful, both of us could lose our lives! What do you think we should do to solve this problem?"
Su Wanran sighed. If the problem could be solved easily, she wouldn't be worried.
She didn't reply.
Because she didn't know the answer.
Although Su Wanran was the head of the family, she didn't know how to resolve such a thorny issue. Her mind was filled with only one thought: if only Lu Ming were here.
She should have brought Lu Ming along. It seemed that as long as Lu Ming was present, any problem could be solved.
Just as they were both lost in thought, not knowing how to resolve the issue, the butler rushed in.
"Bad news, the Southern Emperor has arrived!" the butler said in a panic.
Everyone in the room froze.
"What Southern Emperor?" Su Ru asked.
The butler replied truthfully, "He's one of Fan Wentao's subordinates, one of the Five Emperors, the Southern Emperor, Xie Zhong!"
This... they came so fast?
Shen Dianlan said, "Xie Zhong's stationed area is the closest to us, so it's not strange that he arrived the fastest. Xie Zhong cooperated with our Su family back then, and he's shared meals and drinks with our old patriarch. I hope he can show mercy to us in consideration of our past relationship."
As she spoke, a middle-aged man in his fifties, accompanied by a group of thugs, walked into the courtyard.
The Su family members didn't dare to stop them.
This was because the middle-aged man had a gleaming saber tied to his waist, more than half a meter long. If he drew it and swung it at anyone, they would surely die on the spot!
This man was the Southern Emperor, Xie Zhong.
He strode into the room and looked at Shen Dianlan, smiling. "It's been many years, Old Madam. Your complexion is still as rosy as it was back then. It seems you'll live to be 100."
His tone was so polite, it didn't sound like he was here for revenge.
Shen Dianlan breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled. "Oh, Old Xie, don't praise me. You should have notified us in advance if you were coming. I didn't even have time to prepare."
Xie Zhong waved his hand.
He said, "No need for trouble. Just having some wine is enough. I don't like to eat, I only love to drink."
"Wine, we have plenty!" Shen Dianlan immediately instructed the butler to fetch wine, the best wine!
The butler hurried to get the wine.
During this time, Xie Zhong paced and said, "Old Madam, I hear your Su family has become quite accomplished, grown bold, and within a mere three days, you've consecutively killed two of the Fan family's juniors! Fan Xiang, Fan Xiaoyun, both were dealt with by your Su family. Impressive. I couldn't even do that, but your Su family managed it. I admire you, I truly do."
Upon hearing this, Shen Dianlan's face turned ashen, her entire face pale as paper. She stammered nervously, unable to speak.
Su Ru and Su Wanran were also extremely tense, trembling all over.
Are they going to fight here?
Xie Zhong chuckled and waved his hand. "You don't need to be nervous. If I truly intended to kill you, I wouldn't be so courteous and talk so much nonsense. The moment I entered, I could have taken your heads!"
Hearing this, Shen Dianlan and the others felt a little more at ease.
Afterwards, Shen Dianlan asked, "Then, Old Xie, what is the purpose of your visit today?"
Xie Zhong replied truthfully, "You dealt with Fan Xiang and Fan Xiaoyun, and the matter has become too big. Elder Mr. Fan will definitely seek revenge on you. The first thing he did upon returning to Fog City was to summon us Five Emperors back, to jointly destroy your Su family! The other four can go on a killing spree, but I can't. I have a relationship with the Su family. Back then, I had a good relationship with your Old Patriarch. I cannot bring myself to kill members of the Su family."
He paused and continued, "However, I cannot defy Elder Mr. Fan's orders. So, I thought of a compromise. I am the first to return to Fog City, to issue a challenge and curb your Su family's arrogance. But I will not be the one to kill. This way, at least I can preserve my relationship with the Su family and conduct myself with a bit more decorum."