To one side of the docks, several men with shifty eyes huddled at the edge of the crowd, their gazes locked on Zhou Lie and his group.
The moment they spotted the two faces from the newspaper, their eyes lit up.
A young man with weaselly features said excitedly, "Brother Fa, those two look like Chen Baitong and Chen Yuyu!"
A tall, skinny man beside him grew excited as well. "It really is them! I’ve looked at that sketch in the paper a hundred times. I’d recognize them even if they were burned to ashes!"
"Brother Fa, what do we do?" ree
The man they called Brother Fa, a thirty-something in a short gray tunic, watched the distant group with flickering eyes, his expression shifting uncertainly.
’Those out-of-towners... they look like trouble.’
’The brawny man in the lead, his tunic open, is clearly a true expert.’
’And the dozen or so men behind him are all tough and battle-hardened, their gazes savage. They’re clearly the kind of men who live and die by the blade.’
’Us, a few small fry, trying to snatch them? That’s pure suicide.’
After a moment, Brother Fa gritted his teeth and gave a sharp wave of his hand. "Let’s go! Back to headquarters to inform the Gang Leader!"
The men took off, diving into the crowd and vanishing from the docks in the blink of an eye.
The officer on the docks stood rooted to the spot, his gaze burning as he stared at Chen Yuyu and Chen Baitong.
It wasn’t just him; the soldiers behind him were also staring, their eyes wide.
’That’s Chen Baitong and Chen Yuyu!’
’In all of the Daxia New Country, who didn’t know these two were a living, breathing treasure?’
’The very people the Grandmaster of Divine Intent put a bounty on himself! Capture them alive, deliver them to the Lu Family, and the Grandmaster of Divine Intent will grant you a wish!’
’A single wish! What did that mean? It meant untold riches and glory! A meteoric rise to the top!’
’Anyone, even a beggar, could leap the dragon gate and live a life of luxury and power from then on!’
A thousand thoughts flashed through the officer’s mind. ’If I could just snatch these two and present them to Lord Lu...’
’Wouldn’t that mean...’
The next moment, a chill ran down his spine, and the greed in his heart was instantly extinguished by reason.
It was simple: for an ordinary person, this wasn’t some heaven-sent opportunity. It was a death warrant from King Yama.
The officer looked up at Zhou Lie again. ’That man was definitely not someone a small fry like him could afford to cross.’
He took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Zhou, you should put their hoods back on!"
"Get them where they need to go as quickly as possible. This place is crawling with shady characters. You all need to be extra careful from here on out."
Zhou Lie gave him a surprised look, then grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth. "Let’s move!"
Behind him, the two burly men deftly pulled the hoods back over the heads of Chen Yuyu and Chen Baitong.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the group strode toward the exit of the docks.
The officer stood his ground, watching them go. Once their figures had vanished from sight, a soldier sidled up and asked cautiously.
"Chief, are we really just letting them walk?"
The officer shot him a glare. "What else were we supposed to do? You want to try and take them?"
The soldier flinched and fell silent.
The officer turned, gazing in the direction they had vanished, and muttered, "Affairs of big shots like them aren’t for us to meddle in. Best to just do our job and stand guard."
「A few hours later」
Zhou Lie and his group reappeared near the Lu Family estate, looking utterly battered.
Half of the dozen-plus men, once so formidable, were now wounded.
Many had suffered multiple knife wounds. Their clothes were rent with gashes, and blood trickled down their fronts.
Two of the more seriously wounded men could barely stand and had to be supported by their comrades.
As for Zhou Lie himself, he looked as if he had just crawled off a battlefield.
His open-fronted black tunic was now shredded, covered in a crisscrossing mess of slashes.
His chest, shoulders, and abdomen were also peppered with at least seven or eight bullet holes.
However, though Zhou Lie looked like a beggar, he was completely unscathed.
He cracked a grin and cursed, "Son of a bitch! The local gangs have no goddamn manners!"
A burly man behind Zhou Lie quickly chimed in, "Master’s right! These local gangs have no martial honor. They even used firearms!"
"They’re a complete disgrace to us martial artists!"
Another disciple chimed in, relieved, "Good thing Junior Brother Chen was smart and had us prepare firearms beforehand."
"And if you ask me, when it comes to marksmanship, those Ba Fuxi Bang thugs are in a different league entirely—a much lower one!"
Another disciple agreed. "Exactly! If we weren’t dragging these two along, I would’ve charged straight into their den!"
"And shown them what the Bao Hu Tiegu Hall is made of!"
As the disciples chattered indignantly, Zhou Lie’s expression returned to normal.
"Let’s go. First, we hand these two over to Advisor Lu. After I’m done with things here, I’m going to find that son of a bitch—what’s his name—and settle the score!"
A disciple quickly reminded him, "Master, he’s the Gang Leader of the Ba Fuxi Bang. They call him Brother Chen."
The Ba Fuxi Bang, like Yishun Hall which had been wiped out by the Cyan Dragon Gang, was one of Yun Port City’s three great Cao Bang.
Hearing this, Zhou Lie’s eyes narrowed and a cold smirk played on his lips. "Brother Chen? Good. I’ll remember that name."
With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Let’s go!"
The group hauled their two tightly bound captives toward the main gate of the Lu Family estate.
Two men were waiting in the villa’s living room: Lu Yun and Lu Jingjun.

Comments

Loading...