Then, Shadakang didn’t linger. He walked straight to his car, pulled open the door, and got in.
The three black Ford sedans started up again and slowly drove away from the docks.
Feng Yuan watched Shadakang’s car recede into the distance, his expression so dark it looked like it could drip water.
He understood that Shadakang was using "pressure from the foreigners" as an excuse to blatantly side with the Lu Family.
’This mission was a complete and utter failure!’
A strong sense of indignation welled up in Feng Yuan’s heart. He had thought that with the authority granted by the Yanjing headquarters and the cooperation of the local departments, dealing with a regional family would be a simple matter.
He never expected that the Lu Family, this "local powerhouse," would be far more influential than he had anticipated.
"Even a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake."
Feng Yuan had to accept reality. On Yun Port City’s turf, he, the "river-crossing dragon," truly couldn’t suppress the Lu Family, the deeply-rooted "local snake."
Seeing Feng Yuan’s terrifyingly dark expression, Gan Wen Yao asked cautiously.
"Commissioner, what... what do we do now?"
Feng Yuan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his rage. He knew there was no point in staying here any longer.
"Go!"
Feng Yuan forced the word from between his teeth and turned toward his black sedan. "Back to Yanjing!"
"Huh? B-Back to Yanjing?" Gan Wen Yao stammered, stunned.
Feng Yuan stopped in his tracks and glared back at him. "What are we going to do, stay here? Wait around to be at the Lu Family’s beck and call? Or wait for that old slickster Shadakang to buy us dinner?"
He paused, a vicious glint in his eye. "It’s not a good time to move against the Lu Family, but I refuse to believe that old bastard Chu Baoshen can keep his mouth shut forever!"
Gan Wen Yao didn’t dare ask any more questions and quickly jogged to catch up. The two of them hastily got into the car.
The black Ford sedan turned around and sped back the way it came, quickly disappearing at the end of the street.
Yan Lintong watched the car disappear, a murderous glint flickering in his eyes. He leaned close to Lu Jingwu and asked menacingly, "Jingwu, those two bastards are far too arrogant! Should I take a few trusted brothers and... take them out on the road?"
Lu Jingwu shook his head slowly. "Brother Yan, they were sent directly from the Yanjing headquarters. If they die within Yun Port City’s borders, especially right after our conflict..."
"No matter how clean the job is, it will bring endless trouble and investigations."
"At that point, it won’t just be a matter for the Cultural Relics Department. It could alarm the higher-ups, and even hand a weapon to the rivals who are always watching our Lu Family."
"However... they may be spared death, but they won’t escape a living punishment. If we let them just swagger out of Yun Port, what would become of the Lu Family’s reputation? Wouldn’t everyone think they could come and walk all over us in the future?"
Yan Lintong’s eyes lit up. "Jingwu, you’ve already made arrangements?"
Lu Jingwu nodded and said in a low voice, "Before we came to the docks, Uncle Fu had already taken some gunmen to lie in wait on the only road out of Yun Port."
"We won’t kill them, but... we have to leave them with a lasting impression. Let them know Yun Port City isn’t a place they can just come and go as they please."
Hearing this, Yan Lintong broke into a satisfied grin and nodded vigorously. "Excellent! It’s about time those snooty bastards got a taste of their own medicine! With Uncle Fu on the job, I guarantee it’ll be a lesson they never forget!"
Meanwhile, after Lu Yun had used the modifier to bring the first level of his "Hard Qigong" to Major Accomplishment the previous night, he could feel the bottleneck of the mid-stage Huajin loosening. He was just one step away from the late stage.
The modified value on his Extreme Blue Martial Arts Modifier was back to zero, and for the time being, Lu Yun didn’t want to go back to the waters of Ghost Wail Ridge.
The path of quickly gaining modified value by slaying evil spirits was on hold for now. That meant the most direct method was to once again use aged, rare natural treasures to accumulate modified value.
Before long, Lu Yun arrived at a time-honored medicinal herb shop in a bustling, central district of Yun Port City.
Huichun Hall.
The shop’s facade was quaint and traditional, its black sign with gold lettering showing the weight of history. The air was thick with the rich, pure, blended scents of various medicinal herbs.
Huichun Hall’s Shopkeeper was a man named Chen Mo. With salt-and-pepper hair, he looked to be exactly sixty-five years old.
Not only was he a longtime friend of Lu Yun, but he was also a direct descendant of a Hospital Director from the former dynasty’s Imperial Hospital, heir to a profound family tradition.
He was not only well-versed in pharmacology but also had extensive channels for acquiring all sorts of rare medicinal ingredients.
The two prized ginsengs Lu Yun had acquired before—a Two-Hundred-Year Ginseng King and a Three-Hundred-Year Ginseng King—had been purchased from this very Shopkeeper, Chen Mo.
According to Chen Mo, they were treasures his father had risked his life to "liberate" from the Imperial Hospital’s secret vault.
He had originally intended to keep them for his own family, either for life-saving emergencies or for research.
If not for the deep friendship between Chen Mo and Lu Yun, coupled with Lu Yun’s extreme generosity and his promise that he would only use them for his own personal nourishment, Chen Mo never would have parted with such treasures.
"Brother Chen, it’s been a while. I trust you’re well."
Lu Yun stepped into the shop, offering a cupped-fist greeting to Chen Mo, who was behind the counter wearing reading glasses and meticulously checking his ledgers. A gentle smile touched Lu Yun’s lips.
Hearing his voice, Chen Mo looked up. When he saw it was Lu Yun, he quickly took off his glasses and came around the counter to greet him, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "Ah! Younger Brother Lu! What a rare pleasure! Please, come in, have a seat!"

Comments

Loading...