Chapter 132: Take Care of Them?
"Go? Go where? What about Zhou Fan?" Zhang Lei, who was still carrying Zhou Fan on his back, couldn't help but demand loudly. 'Damn it, is this guy really a friend?'
"Go back where you came from. He's staying here with me. He won't die. Don't you understand?" Feng Shen frowned and shot them an impatient glare, looking as if he'd start throwing punches if they didn't listen.
"You're Boss Feng, right? My name is Fan, and I'm—" Fan forced himself to calm down and tried to state his identity, but Feng Shen cut him off before he could finish.
"Are you incapable of understanding plain language? In my territory, I don't care who you are—you listen to me. If it weren't for Zhou Fan, you'd all be dead already!"
Feng Shen's words were domineering and blunt. From the twitching muscles in his face, it was clear he was struggling to suppress his rage.
Neither Fan nor Zhang Lei were good-tempered people to begin with, and they were about to make a move when Chu Qianqian stopped them.
"Listen to him," Chu Qianqian said softly, holding out a hand to stop the two men. "Put Zhou Fan on the bed. I'll stay here to take care of him. You two go handle everything else."
"But Mr. Zhou is..." Zhang Lei was still worried about Zhou Fan's injuries.
"Trust Zhou Fan!" Chu Qianqian's voice was soft, but it carried an authority that couldn't be questioned.
Fan and Zhang Lei hesitated for a moment. They remembered that Zhou Fan himself had told them to come here. He wouldn't be foolish enough to send himself, severely injured, into an enemy's hands. So, they laid Zhou Fan down, gave Chu Qianqian a few words of caution, and turned to leave.
Just before they left, however, as if they had planned it, both men simultaneously turned back to shoot a glare at Feng Shen. 'We'll remember this arrogant bastard.'
Without even a glance at the two departing men, Feng Shen pulled a bottle of clear liquid from his coat. He handed it to Chu Qianqian and said, "Take his clothes off and use this potion to clean his body. I'm going to prepare some things." Then he turned and left the room.
"I don't know if that man has some other identity, and I don't know what your relationship with him is, but since you trusted him, I'll trust you," Chu Qianqian murmured as she cleaned Zhou Fan's body with the potion. "Of course, if you die, I won't go on living either."
After leaving, Fan immediately returned to Black Water City. The situation there had to be dealt with. He was certain that the group from last night was hiding in a nearby county or town, and he was determined to drag them out and eliminate every last one of them.
'As for his promise last night to let bygones be bygones? That was impossible. It was just a stalling tactic.'
Zhang Lei, however, remained in Bin City. He checked into a different hotel and called his men, ordering them to investigate the whereabouts of the group from Black Water City and to identify the person who had ambushed Zhou Fan last night, leaving him severely wounded and unconscious.
At that moment, in a bungalow in Jiang Province, there were two men. One was standing, the other sitting. The standing man had his chest wrapped in bandages; he was the very person who had ambushed Zhou Fan in Black Water City the night before.
"Grand Elder, I am sorry. I was careless this time and failed to complete the mission you assigned me. I am ready for my punishment," the man said, his head bowed. Though his wound was still bleeding, he seemed to feel no pain as he spoke to the person seated before him, a figure completely shrouded in a black robe.
"Liang He, you don't need to apologize. This was not your fault," the Grand Elder's aged voice rang out. "I did not expect that Chu Qianqian would give the Li Hen Sword to Zhou Fan so soon. Nor did I anticipate that Zhou Fan would have such a perfect affinity for it. Go and focus on your recovery." He waved his hand, dismissing him.
Liang He bowed deeply, exited the room with utmost respect, and closed the door behind him.
"Zhou Fan, oh, Zhou Fan. You continue to surprise me again and again. Worthy indeed of being the one I've chosen. I truly look forward to the day you reach your full potential." The Elder Witch sat in his chair, his gaze fixed on the distance. His voice had lost its aged quality, now sounding young, though tinged with a certain hoarseness.
In her office, Chu Yan was distracted. It had been four days since Zhou Fan left, and there was still no news. She had just arrived at the company when Xu Ruonan pushed the door open. "Ruonan, is something wrong?"
"President Chu, I just spoke with Brother Qian. He told me that Master is abroad for a few days. To avoid being tracked by his enemies, he's keeping his phone turned off. He said this is normal and has happened before, and he wanted me to tell you not to worry."
Xu Ruonan had approached Chu Yan's desk in a daze, and thinking of Qian Rong's words, she had relayed them to Chu Yan without missing a single detail.
"Is that so? Then how did this Brother Qian of yours manage to contact your master?" Hearing news about Zhou Fan, Chu Yan immediately stopped her work and looked up with concern.
"I don't know. Apparently, they have a satellite phone. The chances of being monitored are much lower with one of those," Xu Ruonan said, shaking her head. She wasn't clear on the details herself.
"A satellite phone? Hmm, I see." 'I'll have to remember that,' Chu Yan thought to herself. Just hearing any news of Zhou Fan was enough. The heart that had been tense for days could finally relax.
Xu Ruonan walked out of the office, let out a soft sigh, and took out her phone to call Qian Rong. "I've delivered the message. This morning, I spotted a few suspicious individuals at the company entrance. Should I take care of them?"