Chapter 316 - 316: Assassin Li Tianlu
Meanwhile, at Xingyi Martial Arts School, Wu Xinghuai stood respectfully before two men.
These two middle-aged men, one was about one meter eighty in height, while the other was only one meter sixty. However, the shorter one seemed to carry much more authority than the taller one.
If Ye Qing had been here, he would have recognized them at once—these two were Lin Zhen Nan's bodyguards. The last time Ye Qing had stormed the Lin family compound, they had stepped aside for Ye Qing, which could be considered helping him. Among the two, the taller one had a volatile temper but listened to the shorter one.
The shorter one was steady in his actions and had a clear sense of right and wrong, which had earned Ye Qing's respect.
And now, with the short and tall bodyguards sitting in the hall, Wu Xinghuai, the head of Xingyi Martial Arts School, and his disciples stood before them with utmost respect. This indicated the two men's status was definitely not low.
"Great Master Uncle, that Ye has gone too far. He barged into Xingyi Martial Arts School without any reason and seriously injured so many of us. Look what he did to me!" Wu Xinghuai pointed to the wounds on his face and said indignantly, "Our Xingyi Martial Arts School represents Xingyi Quan in the Eastern Province, as well as the entire Xingyi Boxing School.
He barged into our school and injured our disciples, clearly showing no regard for Xingyi Quan. Great Master Uncle, you must stand up for us!"
No wonder Wu Xinghuai's boxing technique was similar to that of the shorter man—they were from the same school. Moreover, the shorter one was Wu Xinghuai's Great Master Uncle, and naturally, his strength was much greater than Wu Xinghuai's.
Having been disadvantaged last night, Wu Xinghuai had sought out his Great Master Uncle today, hoping he would take action and avenge him. But he was unaware that the shorter man had already met Ye Qing and naturally held a degree of skepticism towards Wu's words.
The shorter man frowned slightly, remaining silent while the taller one started to protest, "We know that Ye Qing. He wouldn't lash out without reason. Although he's domineering in his actions, he distinguishes clearly between gratitude and grudges. If you hadn't provoked him, why would he bother to trouble you?"
Wu Xinghuai was taken aback, and seeing the shorter man's piercing gaze, he couldn't help but lower his head and say, "Great Master Uncle, we really didn't provoke him. It was a friend of his who had taken drugs and was confused, trying to attack Shao Yan. We saved Shao Yan and then called the police to arrest his friend.
But he wouldn't have it and not only did he force his way into our school, but he also threatened to kill Shao Yan. We blocked him and ended up being beaten by him. Great Master Uncle, if you don't believe me, you can go and ask Shao Yan!"
The shorter man's brows furrowed even more tightly as he said solemnly, "Unprovoked, why would that person want to attack Ding Shaoyan? In addition, Ye Qing is not an unreasonable person. If he insists on breaking into Xingyi Martial Arts School, there must be a reason. Xinghuai, tell me the truth about what happened. Otherwise, I will be the first one to not let you off!"
Wu Xinghuai's expression changed, realizing the shorter man trusted Ye Qing to such an extent. It seemed difficult to make accusations against Ye Qing with the shorter man, and now the key was how to smooth over the incident.
"Great Master Uncle, we don't know exactly what happened between Shao Yan and that man. However, the man did take a knife to attack Shao Yan, and of course, we could not just stand by and watch. In the scuffle, we did fight back and the man was injured, but it was unavoidable," Wu Xinghuai explained. "Great Master Uncle, Shao Yan is from the Ding Family, so we surely had to protect him.
As for the rest, given Shao Yan's temperament, we... we didn't dare to ask too many questions..."
The shorter man nodded slowly, well aware of Ding Shaoyan's character. Plus, Ding Shaoyan being from the Ding Family and their Xingyi Quan lineage also originating from the Ding Family meant they were obliged to protect him if he was in danger. Wu Xinghuai's words were indeed irrefutable.
However, the shorter man knew all too well that the issue probably lay with Ding Shaoyan given his and Ye Qing's characters, but that was not for them to concern themselves with!
"Don't mention Ye Qing's matter again," the shorter man said with gravity. "Starting tomorrow, your Second Senior Uncle and I will personally assess your boxing progress."
The faces of Wu Xinghuai and the others went pale, as these assessments were akin to an examination for them. If they failed to satisfy their two senior uncles, they were sure to suffer the consequences.
As everyone dispersed, several disciples followed Wu Xinghuai out of the hall, unable to hold back their words, "Why does Great Master Uncle trust that Ye so much, not even believing what we say?"
"How could Great Master Uncle know that Ye?"
"Exactly, Ye Qing stormed our Xingyi Martial Arts School, showing no respect for our Xingyi Quan. How could Great Master Uncle endure such an insult, what's his intention?"
Wu Xinghuai was also gloomily puzzled, having thought that Great Master Uncle would take revenge on his behalf, yet ended up being scolded instead. Recalling how he was defeated by Ye Qing the previous night made him grit his teeth with anger, yet he was powerless against Ye, especially with Great Master Uncle unwilling to intervene.
In the midst of everyone's discussion, no one noticed a thin man sneaking behind a rockery in the corner of the courtyard. A cold glint flickered in his eyes, casting a sinister aura around him.
As Wu Xinghuai and the others discussed while walking across the courtyard, they didn't notice this thin man. After they passed by, the man turned and scaled the courtyard wall behind him, leaving Xingyi Martial Arts School.
The man traveled about two kilometers before hailing a taxi and heading straight for a teahouse.
At this time, the teahouse had just opened, and the man walked straight inside. The Lady Boss was sitting there, and upon seeing the man, she showed no particular emotion but casually pointed to a box next to her and said, "The deposit is one million yuan!"
"Wasn't it thirty million?" the man said in a deep voice, "Shouldn't the deposit be six million then?"
The Lady Boss gave the man a glance and said, "Are you sure you can kill him?"
The man sneered and replied, "What's so difficult about that!"
The Lady Boss said, "Don't say I didn't remind you, even the little girl was injured by him!"
A look of surprise flashed across the man's face, but he immediately responded with confidence, "The little girl is just a child, lacking experience. It's not surprising she was hurt by him. Moreover, an assassin doesn't necessarily have to use brute force to kill. I, Li Tianlu, have encountered many experts over these years, but I have never failed even once!"
So, this man was Li Tianlu, the hitman at the seventh table in the tea house, with a commission fee of fifteen million. It seemed that he had arrived in Shenchuan City ahead of time!
The Lady Boss glanced at Li Tianlu and said, "Confidence is a good thing, but sometimes, excessive confidence becomes arrogance. The deposit for this deal is one million. If you succeed, you can come back to me for the rest of the money. If you don't trust me, feel free to decline this job!"
Li Tianlu frowned, a glint of ruthless intent flashing in his eyes. However, he eventually concealed it.
"Fine!" Li Tianlu replied gravely, not bargaining with the Lady Boss. He knew that the Ghost-faced Judge was backing the tea house, and the Lady Boss had the Ghost-faced Judge as her support, so he did not dare show any dissatisfaction!
Li Tianlu picked up the money box from the corner and left. The Lady Boss gave him a glance and slowly shook her head. Although Li Tianlu was very confident, she didn't believe he could kill Ye Qing.
In the morning, Ye Qing was in Eryao Town, getting the children settled. Fang Tingyun, Huo Pingping, and Mo Xiang had also fully moved over; they were to take full care of the children here.
The rooms in Huang Fulin's building were not plentiful, basically, four children shared one room, which was somewhat crowded. Still, the children were very excited, for these conditions were already very good for them.
Da Fei and his group had been busy helping arrange rooms for the children, running up and down the building, sweating profusely. After tidying up, they even set up some swings in the yard for the children to play, which pleased Ye Qing greatly.
It seemed that even if Ye Qing was not here, Da Fei and his group would definitely take good care of these children, and the three brothers of Huang Ziying could no longer bother Elder Huang.
Ye Qing had been busy here until the evening, and then he settled down Fang Tingyun and the other two ladies. With them here to look after the children, Ye Qing felt more at ease. The next task was to build a few more buildings here to give the children a better living environment. As for sending the children to school, Ye Qing would need to recruit a few teachers, which couldn't be rushed.
Originally, Ye Qing planned to stay here overnight, but at around nine o'clock in the evening, he suddenly received a call from the hospital informing him that Wang Tiezhu had been taken away by several strangers.
This news greatly shocked Ye Qing. He rushed to the hospital immediately and, indeed, Wang Tiezhu's bed was empty. Intravenous drips and the like were messily tossed aside, suggesting he had been forcibly taken away.
"Who did this?" Ye Qing exclaimed indignantly. Wang Tiezhu was already injured like this; why wouldn't someone let him go?
The nurse was frightened by Ye Qing's angry expression and said tremblingly, "I... I don't know. They came in and forcibly removed... all the medical equipment from the patient. We couldn't stop them, and one of the nurses got hurt. However, I did overhear them mention something about the Xingyi Martial Arts School, but I don't know what that means..."
"Xingyi Martial Arts School!" Ye Qing clenched his fists, instantly understanding who had taken Wang Tiezhu.
It looked like Ding Shaoyan had sent people to capture Wang Tiezhu; he was most likely planning to send Wang Tiezhu to his demise!
"Ding Shaoyan!" Ye Qing clenched his teeth, his face cold as ice. He had listened to Zhao Shilin's advice and was not planning to seek revenge on Ding Shaoyan for the time being. However, considering how Ding Shaoyan was treating Wang Tiezhu, Ye Qing could no longer restrain himself!
Ye Qing turned and went downstairs, driving straight to the Xingyi Martial Arts School. This time, he had decided not to hold back any longer; it was essential to put an end to this matter once and for all!