Chapter 248 - 248: The Cunning Old Fox Li Wenyuan
Li Chengxing returned to the Fu Bang headquarters with his men, dejected, and found the Gang Leader, Li Wenyuan.
Li Chengxing was Li Wenyuan's own nephew, which granted him a high status in Fu Bang. This relationship also fostered his arrogant and domineering nature. Having suffered a loss at Ye Qing's hands, he could hardly swallow his pride and rushed back to seek his uncle Li Wenyuan's help in exacting revenge.
After listening to Li Chengxing's account of the incident at Tian Sheng, Li Wenyuan's brow furrowed, and he fell silent.
"Uncle, that Ye guy didn't even take our Fu Bang seriously, and even told me to get lost. If this spreads, how are we supposed to hold our heads high in Shenchuan City? Who knows how many people are laughing at us now!" Li Chengxing said indignantly, "Uncle, we must take back our respect, otherwise more people will think they can step on Fu Bang in the future!"
Li Wenyuan ignored Li Chengxing and remained silent for a good while before suddenly asking, "Was it your men who initiated the fight?"
"Uh…" Li Chengxing paused, lowering his voice, "Uncle, you didn't see just how arrogant that Ye Qing was. If you had seen, you definitely would have been upset too. He completely disregarded me, and my brothers have a good relationship with me. Seeing him insult me like that, they just couldn't stand it!"
"When an elder speaks, what business do the younger ones have interrupting!" Li Wenyuan glared at him and said, "Where are those men who started the fight?
"Uncle, they were just trying to help me save face. Please don't be hard on them. When we do things outside, it's all about representing Fu Bang's face. That Ye guy didn't give me any respect, so it's normal for them to be impulsive."
"Enough with the nonsense, call them in for me!" Li Wenyuan commanded sternly, "As members of Fu Bang, they have no discipline at all. Allowing the situation to escalate like this, if they are not taught a lesson, will not the others beneath become even less disciplined?"
Seeing the dark expression on Li Wenyuan's face, Li Chengxing knew he couldn't change his mind and could only turn to leave reluctantly. Less than two minutes later, he hurried back and said, "Uncle, those guys are gone, did that Ye guy kidnap them?"
"What would Ye Qing want with them?" Li Wenyuan shot him a look and asked, "What do you mean they are gone?"
"I don't know either," said Li Chengxing. "I only found out they were missing when I went to ask for them just now; they didn't come back with us."
"What?" Li Wenyuan's expression changed dramatically as he suddenly stood up and ordered sternly, "Send someone to find them now!"
Li Chengxing said in a low voice, "Uncle, is that really necessary? Why not just wait for them to come back and then we can talk?"
"You don't know a thing!" Li Wenyuan exploded, "Find them and bring them back immediately, hurry up!"
Li Chengxing, not understanding why Li Wenyuan had suddenly become incredibly angry, could only leave to search. After nearly an hour of commotion, he still couldn't find those people and came back empty-handed.
"How could these people just disappear?" Li Chengxing was puzzled and said, "Uncle, I'm sure they were taken by that Ye guy, hidden away. He's not a good person, he must be holding a grudge and wants to get back at my brothers. Uncle, why don't you send some men with me to raid Ye Qing's place? I'm sure my brothers are over there!"
"Shut your mouth, you useless fool!" Li Wenyuan's face turned icy, "You've been betrayed by your brothers, and you still don't get it?"
"Betrayed? Who betrayed me?" Li Chengxing was astonished.
"Who in Fu Bang doesn't know the rules, who doesn't know how things are done?" Li Wenyuan said gravely, "The fight started without the boss even saying a word, how is that any different from the street thugs outside? Your men, they are long-time members of Fu Bang, and they understand the rules. Given the situation tonight, with Zhao Chengshuang there, a fight shouldn't have started.
But just because those few acted first, the fight broke out. Don't you see? Tonight's brawl was deliberately instigated by your men!"
Li Chengxing was stunned, and after some silence, he finally understood and slammed his fist on the table, angrily exclaiming, "These bastards, what exactly are they trying to do?"
"Do I even need to say it? Obviously, someone wants you to clash with that Ye guy!" Li Wenyuan frowned deeply and spoke seriously, "This way, our Fu Bang will have a feud with Ye, and consequently, we'll be at odds with Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan as well. The person lurking behind the scenes is the biggest winner!"
Li Chengxing looked at Li Wenyuan, "Uncle, who exactly is the bastard that's setting us up?"
Li Wenyuan said, "There are only two possible suspects, either the Tianqing Gang or the Fierce Tiger Gang."
"Tianqing Gang?" Li Chengxing frowned. Like Fierce Tiger Gang and Fu Bang, Tianqing Gang was one of the three big gangs in Shenchuan City.
When the three gangs stood in a triad, there was some semblance of peace among them. Now that the Fierce Tiger Gang has collapsed, Fu Bang and Tianqing Gang are in complete opposition. If you say Tianqing Gang did this, that's indeed possible.
"It wouldn't be the Fierce Tiger Gang, right?" Li Chengxing said, "The Fierce Tiger Gang is too busy dealing with its own issues to mind external matters."
"On the contrary, the Fierce Tiger Gang is the most suspect!" Li Wenyuan shook his head and said, "Tonight, Ye Qing and Zhao Chengshuang forced the Fierce Tiger Gang to give up the management rights of these twelve venues. How could the Fierce Tiger Gang not be furious?
Although they dare not act openly, they would definitely stir trouble behind the scenes to prevent Ye Qing from obtaining these venues so easily. Those brothers of yours, I suspect, were nine times out of ten bought by Pi Junchao!"
If Pi Junchao were here, he would certainly be struck by Li Wenyuan's cunning and deep calculations, almost exactly as he said. Those brothers of Li Chengxing were indeed bought by him, inciting tonight's big battle and contributing to the grudge between Fu Bang and the alliance of Ye Qing, Zhao Chengshuang, and Li Lianshan.
"That bastard Pi Junchao, with the Fierce Tiger Gang almost gone, he still dares to pull tricks behind our backs!" Li Chengxing said furiously, "Uncle, shall I send someone to wipe out his Fierce Tiger Gang?"
"Shut your mouth!" Li Wenyuan glared at Li Chengxing and said, "The Fierce Tiger Gang is like a centipede, dead but not stiff. No matter who it is, trying to take them down will cost a great deal. If we strike first, we'll definitely sustain heavy losses of vital energy, and Tianqing Gang will immediately come to swallow us up!"
Li Chengxing jumped in fright and quickly said, "Then let's not deal with them for now, and let Tianqing Gang make the first move."
"They won't make a move either!", Li Wenyuan shook his head and said, "Those few old men by Pi Junchao's side are all crafty veterans. They've already seen that under the current circumstances, neither Fu Bang nor Tianqing Gang dare to move against them, which is why they support Pi Junchao, hoping to restore Fierce Tiger Gang's strength!"
Anxious, Li Chengxing said, "So we're just going to watch them regain their former power?"
"It won't come to that!", Li Wenyuan said with a faint smile, shaking his head, "As long as these twelve venues don't return to their hands, the Fierce Tiger Gang won't be able to recover their strength. These twelve venues are almost half of Fierce Tiger Gang's income; without them, their vital energy is greatly damaged, and they're not a concern!"
Li Chengxing nodded, not quite understanding, and Li Wenyuan gave him a look and said, "The most troublesome issue now is with Ye Qing. He already has the ownership of these twelve venues. Whether to give him the venues or not when he comes for them, that's the problem!"
"Our Fu Bang can't be afraid of him, can we?" Li Chengxing immediately said, "I've already suggested that even if he gets these twelve venues, he won't be able to run a profitable business. We have plenty of people in Fu Bang; just send a few to cause trouble every day, and he won't be able to conduct his business!"
Li Wenyuan ignored Li Chengxing and fell silent for a good while before shaking his head, "Forget it, we'll wait a few days and see what Tianqing Gang does."
"What will they do?" Li Chengxing said curiously.
Li Wenyuan said, "If Tianqing Gang is willing to give those venues back to Ye Qing, then we might as well return them to him."
"What?" Li Chengxing was taken aback and protested anxiously, "Uncle, we fought so hard to seize these profitable venues; how could we give them to that kid so easily? Uncle, although Zhao Chengshuang is a police officer, we don't have to be afraid of him!"
Li Wenyuan ignored him, having mixed in Shenchuan City for so many years; he had become a wily old fox. In Shenchuan City, with his connections and relationships, he actually did not fear Zhao Chengshuang's family background.
What he truly feared was the East State Poisonous Mantis, the bewitching woman who, within less than two hours of entering Shenchuan City, killed the Tiger King and nearly toppled one of Shenchuan City's top three gangs, the Fierce Tiger Gang. Such a character was truly someone Li Wenyuan needed to be wary of!
He wanted to wait and see the Poisonous Mantis's reaction. He decided to see what stance the Poisonous Mantis would take towards Ye Qing before deciding whether to confront Ye Qing. If the Poisonous Mantis fully supported Ye Qing, he naturally wouldn't dare to oppose Ye Qing.
Over at Tian Sheng, the few of them, including Ye Qing, managed to send Li Chengxing's dozens of men fleeing, truly astonishing everyone present. Especially the staff in the store, who now saw Black Bear as a Heavenly God, watching him effortlessly lift a man with one hand.
A voluptuous and enticing mature woman even leaned her body on Black Bear, continuously teasing the tower-like strong man with her words.
Black Bear had never experienced such a scene before. Facing the mature woman's teasing, he didn't quite know what to do for a moment. He sat still as a statue, rigidly upright, with hands placed on his knees, his eyes no longer able to turn.
Seeing him like this, Li Lianshan sitting opposite couldn't help but laugh and said, "Beauty, this brother of mine is still green. If you can take him down tonight, the least you'll get is a hefty red envelope, right?"
"Really?" the mature woman said delightedly, her eyes on Black Bear nearly catching fire, her fair, tender hands roving over his body, her voluptuous chest almost completely pressed against him.
Black Bear finally couldn't stay seated any longer and abruptly stood up, startling the mature woman. Li Lianshan was also taken aback, only to see Black Bear hurry out of the private room and gasp for air in the corridor as if he were oxygen-starved, for a long while before turning his head to whisper to Li Lianshan, "Boss Li, could you ask her to stop touching me? I... I have a fiancée..."