Chapter 23: Cultural Differences Can Be Fatal

  In the cold night wind, a rough and barbaric voice suddenly rang out, breaking the normal atmosphere of the banquet hall.

  Without turning his head, Lin Taiping also knew who the uninvited guest was. Mr. Cohen immediately shook his head with an embarrassed expression: "No, I didn't invite Edward, he came on his own."

  Almost at the same time, Edward, who was uninvited, swaggered into the banquet hall.

  With an air of nonchalance, he puffed out a ring of choking smoke and insolently raised his chin: "You two, Xiao Bai Lian and Cohen, didn't even invite me. Do you think I'm not nobility in your eyes?"

  "How could that be?" Lin Taiping wasn't angry at all, but instead smiled warmly, revealing eight pearly white teeth. "Mr. Edward, actually I've been wanting to send you an invitation, but considering your face was swollen recently, I thought you were too ashamed to see people."

  Have to admit, when it comes to complaining, probably all the people present added together can't compare to Lin Taiping alone.

  So in an instant, Edward's face turned very unsightly, but just a few seconds later, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and burst out laughing like a crow, "Ah, I suddenly remembered that you were attacked on Commercial Street the other day and almost implicated several children. This is... Ha ha, really, too unfortunate!"

  Damn it! Kristen clenched her fists in anger, and if Lin Taiping hadn't stopped her, she would have picked up the red wine bottle on the side table and smashed this despicable bastard's head.

  However, it seems that Edward is clearly ignoring this threat, especially in public gatherings, so he laughs even more recklessly, and even the bodyguards standing behind him show a ferocious smile.

  For a moment, the atmosphere in the banquet hall became bizarre to the extreme, and it seemed that a conflict between the two sides was about to erupt. Earl Simmons hastily changed the subject: "Dear Lin, I heard that you are hosting this banquet to promote a new type of tattoo?"

  "A new totem? Just pretending. Before Lin Taiping could respond, Edward sneered coldly, "Lord Simmons, you're too kind and easily deceived. Be careful, there are many scammers these days. Who knows, they might just take an ordinary totem, package it up nicely, and sell it for several times the price."

  "Is that so?" Lin Taiping didn't get angry, but instead smiled and stroked his chin, "Mr. Edward, you're not a worm in my stomach, how do you know what kind of tattoo I'm going to push out?"

  "I'm just reminding, just a few reminders." Edward narrowed his eyes with a sinister expression: "Younger brother, I don't doubt your character, but I've always had a question, someone as outstanding as you..."

  Bang! Before he could finish speaking, a hard fist came flying towards him and heavily hit his left eye socket!

  Without warning, this scene came without warning. The nobles present were all thoroughly stunned. Edward was even more dazed, covering his swollen left eye with a stupid expression, and for a moment he was dizzy and unable to react.

  How could this be? How could it be like this?! Damn, I didn't even have time to say anything, and the carefully laid traps weren't even set up yet. That little white face actually dared to hit me directly, and in front of everyone!

  Bang! Before the words had fallen, another fist came crashing over, this time hitting the right eye socket, and it was actually symmetrical with both eyes now.

  He was finally thoroughly awakened, Edward covered his eyes and let out a miserable cry as he retreated, suddenly bursting into hysterical screams: "Damn it! Damn you, little white face, how dare you hit me?"

  "It was you!" Lin Taiping calmly retracted his fist and blew on it, "In my life, what I hate the most is when others say that... Kristin, beat him to death for me!"

  Christine had been waiting with bated breath, and upon hearing this, her eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed two bottles of red wine and charged forward. Edward's several bodyguards tried to come up and stop her, but after a couple of dull thuds, they were knocked flying backward and crashed into the wall.

  Edward was just about to make a frantic escape, but before he could even turn around, Kristen had already picked up a stool and smashed it down on him with great force, sending him crashing to the ground. She then grabbed a silver candelabra and struck his spine with heavy blows, one after another, again and again...

  My goodness! This scene happened in an instant, and dozens of aristocrats were stunned, staring with wide eyes as Kristin wielded various cruel instruments, beating poor Edward until he was covered in blood and rolling on the ground, his entire body bent like a large shrimp.

  Moved to tears, Viscount Forte and Earl Simmons looked with eyes brimming with tears, suddenly deciding to take back all the praise just now. Is this still that gentle and elegant beauty? This is simply a monster that eats people without spitting out bones!

  For a moment, only Edward's wailing was heard: "No! You damned bastard, how dare you... Lord Ford, what are you looking at? Are you just going to watch him insult a noble like that?!

  The protest was ineffective, and Christine's beating became even more intense. Lord Ford finally couldn't bear it anymore and interrupted with a few light coughs: "Lin, I don't know what grudge you have against Mr. Edward, but publicly beating up a noble is an unforgivable act of rudeness!"

  "Your Excellency, I'm doing this precisely because of my noble status." Lin Taiping smiled and spread out his hands, but then pointed at Edward. "Do you know? He just insulted me to my face. As a noble from the East, how can I accept such an insult?"

  "Insult? What insult?" Viscount Ford looked puzzled, and the dozens of nobles present were also at a loss, thinking to themselves that they hadn't heard any insult, it seemed like Edward had just said something like "someone as excellent as you..."

  "That's right, this is an insult!" Lin Taiping replied with a straight face. "In our Eastern culture, the word 'outstanding' is specifically used to scold people - the so-called 'out' means far away, and the so-called 'color' refers to male-female matters, so when combined, it means ridiculing others for not being able to do that kind of thing. Do you think this counts as an insult?"

  I'm floored! Dozens of aristocratic celebrities were left sweating, thinking to themselves that this was the first time they had ever heard such an interpretation of the word "outstanding", wondering if the cultural differences between East and West could be so vast.

  "Of course!" Lin Taiping's shoulders were shaking with rage, his indignant expression could win an Oscar. "Gentlemen, think about it, if someone said in front of you that your thing wasn't good enough, what would you do?"

  Does that even need to be asked? Viscount Ford felt a bit guilty and touched his chest, then indignantly expressed that if some bastard dared to insult him like this, he would definitely beat him until he couldn't take care of himself.

  It's just that, dozens of noble celebrities nodded in unison, and looking at Edward who was already bruised on the ground, they suddenly felt that this guy being beaten wasn't entirely unreasonable... Of course, whether they really thought so or were just piling on, only heaven knows.

  Only Viscount Simmons showed a few sympathetic glances, and couldn't help but whisper: "Dear Lin, I can understand your feelings, but after all, Mr. Edward is not familiar with Eastern culture, so..."

  "Is that so?" Lin Taiping blinked innocently, then turned to look at Kristen beside him, who was still taking advantage of the situation to beat people up.

  "Of course, this was just a misunderstanding."

  "Is it really just a misunderstanding? Wasn't he doing it on purpose?"

  "Absolutely not, Mr. Edward would never do such a foolish thing."

  "Really? Let me think about it, this question is a bit complicated."

  So, after they had been chatting for half a day, Edward on the ground was already vomiting blood and could have died at any moment. At this time, Kristen rushed out of the banquet hall with great momentum, and when she returned with a fierce killing intent, there was an additional crystal cannon on her shoulder...

  "Halt!" Fortunately, at this moment, Lin Taiping timely stretched out his hand to block it. "That's enough, I thought carefully just now, and it seems that I really misunderstood Mr. Edward. In fact, he was praising me, right?"

  Absolutely right! Dozens of noble celebrities nodded neatly, but Edward, with a bruised nose and face, didn't have that good mood. He was furious, his fingers trembling: "Bastard! Damn bastard, you've been beating me for so long, can one misunderstanding just pass?"

  "That's right, a simple apology is not enough." Lin Taiping's face was stern, and it seemed that he had deeply realized his mistake. "Turu, you take Mr. Edward to treat his wound first, I'll apologize to him later... Remember, take good care of Mr. Edward, make sure he's okay, got it?"

  Got it! Can't get any clearer than that!

  Turu and several Minotaurs exchanged a glance, then enthusiastically welcomed him, ignoring Edward's desperate struggles. They lifted his arms and dragged him into the small black hut: "Oh dear, noble sir, your face is bleeding! Our Minotaur tribe has a special herb that is very effective in treating injuries. Would you like to try it?"

  "Let me go! Let me go!" Poor Edward could only scream desperately, but in the strong arms of several Minotaurs, he was like a poor little chick. To use that classic phrase, you can cry out loud until your throat is hoarse, but it's useless.

  At this moment, the originally chaotic banquet hall suddenly fell into an eerie silence. A group of nobles looked at each other in dismay, suddenly unsure what to say next. Finally, Viscount Ford cleared his throat a few times: "Dear Lin, let's talk about the new Totem. When do you plan on showing it to us?"

  "How is it now?" Lin Taiping asked with a smile, and also sighed regretfully. "It's really a pity, I originally wanted to ask Mr. Edward for more opinions, but unfortunately he's injured now, it's truly regrettable."

  How despicable! A group of nobles couldn't help but roll their eyes, thinking to themselves that it was clearly him who had beaten the other person half to death, making it impossible for them to even try to cause trouble now. How shameless can one be?

  "Is there?" Lin Taiping blinked his eyes innocently, and under his hint, Lilia immediately proudly puffed out her chest, picked up a stone slab and placed it flat on the table. "But never mind, let's take a look at the new totem first."

  It's true, anyway, the poor die but not their friends, and Edward's reputation wasn't great either. So dozens of nobles immediately threw away their sympathy and surrounded him with expectation.

  On a very ordinary blue slate, the dense texture is like ripples spreading out, yet complex and intricate intersecting with each other, emitting a faint red glow...... So, if I'm not mistaken, this should be that amazing new totem, but what's its use?

  "To be precise, it's three totems combined into one." Lin Taiping corrected with a smile, his fingertips lightly tracing the totem, "As for its purpose, it's quite simple, it's just used to——"