"This..."
The entire street fell deathly silent. Everyone was stunned, their minds completely blank.
First, Wu Zhongyi—the Third Hall Master of Yishun Hall, a notorious figure who struck fear into the heart of Yun Port City—had been sent flying by a single, casual punch from this seemingly decrepit Elder Lu.
Then, the five armed guards were killed instantly from several meters away, without even having the chance to draw their guns.
Killing from a distance!
Those four words exploded like a clap of thunder in the mind of every underworld figure with any real knowledge.
’This... Isn’t this a legendary ability, something only a Huajin master—a true Grandmaster—is said to possess?’
’Could it be... Lord Lu is...’
Lu Fu and Lu Jingwu were equally stunned, but they understood the implications far better than any of the onlookers.
They exchanged a glance, and each saw the same incredulous joy and awe reflected in the other’s eyes.
While no one dared to even breathe, Lu Yun’s calm, unwavering voice rang out, reaching every ear with perfect clarity.
"Tell Xu Fei to come to the Lu Family residence and see me."
Xu Fei, the Big Master of Yishun Hall and one of Yun Port City’s most powerful crime lords!
With those words, Lu Yun looked at no one else. Leaning on his Rosewood Walking Stick, he walked step by step back to the black Ford sedan.
Lu Fu reacted in an instant, immediately releasing the burly, scar-faced man he was holding. He hurried forward and respectfully pulled open the car door.
Lu Yun bent down and sat inside. His voice drifted out from the window. "Jingwu, Ah Fu, we’re going back."
"Yes, Master!"
"Yes, Great-Uncle!"
Lu Jingwu and Ah Fu replied in unison, their voices filled with irrepressible excitement.
On his way, Lu Jingwu shot a vicious glare at the members of the Poisonous Snake Gang, who stood frozen in fear with ashen faces. He paid special attention to Zhang Hong, who had collapsed to the ground, utterly terrified.
Only then did he turn and lead the hundred or so similarly agitated enforcers in a swift retreat.
The two black sedans, escorted by over a hundred Lu Family enforcers, slowly drove away from Baihua Avenue.
Not long after, the dull roar of engines sounded in the distance.
Three dusty police trucks with peeling paint rumbled onto Baihua Avenue.
On the sheet metal railings of the truck beds, the words "Yun Port City Security" were painted crookedly in white.
The police emblem in the corner was so faded and caked with years of dust and grime that its original color was impossible to make out.
From the driver’s cabin of the lead truck, a sergeant in a greasy, wide-brimmed cap leaned out. Holding a sheet-metal megaphone, he bellowed in a hoarse voice at the dumbstruck members of the Poisonous Snake Gang on the street.
"You people up front! What do you think you’re doing?! All of you, get on the ground! Hands on your heads!"
As he shouted, the tailgates of the three trucks were kicked open with several loud CLANGS.
About twenty officers were crammed into the bed of each truck.
They wore faded, coarse cloth uniforms. Some carried old Hanyang rifles slung over their shoulders, while others had blackened batons tucked into their belts.
As they disembarked, a few fresh-faced young officers, choking on the wind-blown sand, couldn’t help but complain under their breath.
"Damn it, I’m changing out of this crappy uniform the second we get back."
Beside him, an old, stubbled, dark-skinned policeman spat. "Ptooey!" He cleared his mouth of the sand the wind had blown in and cursed with narrowed eyes.
"Son of a bitch, what a shitty assignment! Sitting in this damn tin can eating dust... I’d be more comfortable walking!"
All the officers jumped noisily down from the trucks, quickly spreading out to form an encirclement.
The sergeant in the lead was the same man who had been shouting earlier.
He was in his forties, with a sallow face and teeth stained black from opium. He had a prominent paunch that his belt could barely contain.
He clutched a Mauser pistol, its muzzle waving about carelessly before finally pointing at the terrified Zhang Hong and a few other higher-ups of the Poisonous Snake Gang. He cursed in a gravelly voice.
"Son of a bitch! Zhang Hong, what are you up to this time!"
"Who? Who had the gall to run wild and kill people on my, Li Biao’s, turf? Are they tired of living?! I’ll have their heads!"
Li Biao, a sergeant from the Yun Port City Security Bureau’s Baihua Avenue precinct, was the veritable local emperor of the dock district.
He wielded immense power, taking from both the criminal underworld and the establishment. He was a crucial figure for local gangs like the Poisonous Snake Gang to suck up to and bribe.
As expected, seeing Li Biao was like seeing a savior to Zhang Hong and his men.
Zhang Hong immediately roared at his underlings, "Are you all deaf? Get down! Get your asses down with your hands on your heads! You dare disobey Master Biao? If you want to die, just keep standing!"
After yelling at his men, his face instantly twisted into a sycophantic smile that was uglier than a grimace. He scrambled over to Li Biao, his trembling hands pulling a crumpled pack of off-brand Daxia New Country cigarettes with a crude design from his coat.
Zhang Hong offered the pack with both hands. "Mas-Master Biao! Please, calm down, calm down! Have a smoke, cool your temper..."
Li Biao was clearly very familiar with this routine. Without even raising an eyelid, he casually took the pack, pulled out a cigarette, and stuck it in his mouth.
Seeing this, Zhang Hong fumbled for his matches. With a STRIKE, he lit one and leaned in to light Li Biao’s cigarette.
Zhang Hong watched as Li Biao blew out a smoke ring, his brow furrowed as he eyed the five corpses on the ground.
He knew his moment had come and quickly lowered his voice. "Master Biao... Those men, they’re... they’re from Yishun Hall..."
"Hmm?"
The fingers holding Li Biao’s cigarette paused, and his gaze sharpened abruptly.
His precinct had received a tip that a large-scale gang war was breaking out on Baihua Avenue, causing a huge commotion, which was why they had hastily gathered their men and rushed over.
He’d assumed it was just the local Poisonous Snake Gang stirring up trouble again—a perfect opportunity to knock them around a bit and squeeze some money out of them.
But he never expected that the dead would be from Yishun Hall!
Yishun Hall... They were one of the three great Cao Bang of Yun Port City. Their power was deeply entrenched, and their connections ran deep.
And whoever killed five men from Yishun Hall in broad daylight... Well, they had some serious nerve!
Li Biao quickly weighed the situation in his mind and made a decision. ’I absolutely cannot get involved in this mess!’
’Let Yishun Hall solve its own problems. If someone from the Security Bureau like me gets involved, it would be meddling and just asking for trouble.’
That might be what he was thinking, but he couldn’t show it on the surface.
Li Biao maintained his sergeant’s air, asking in a grave voice, "Who did this? Who was so bold?"
Seeing this, Zhang Hong shuffled closer, almost pressing his mouth to Li Biao’s ear, and said in a whisper only the two of them could hear, "The Lu Family."
At that word, Li Biao’s pupils contracted violently, and the cigarette between his fingers nearly fell to the ground.
’Here in the dock district, when someone said "the Lu Family," who else could it be but the one even he had to give a wide berth to?’
Li Biao took another drag from his cigarette. "Zhang Hong, are you fucking telling the truth?"
Zhang Hong nodded vigorously and added, "It’s the absolute truth! And... it was the Lu Family’s old master, Lord Lu himself, who did it!"
"Lord Lu?"
This time, Li Biao sucked in a sharp breath, forgetting even to smoke the cigarette in his mouth.
’The Lu Family’s old master, Lu Yun? That legendary figure actually showed up in person, and even took action?’
He subconsciously looked up at the gaping hole in the second floor of Tonghe Pavilion, then back at the five corpses on the ground, all of whom had died in a bizarre fashion...
’If it really was that man... Forget about a mere precinct sergeant like him; even if the Commander-in-Chief of the Yun Port City Security Bureau himself came, he would probably have to think twice!’

Comments

Loading...