Urban Martial Saint

Xu Changzhi followed Ye Qing's words almost obediently, and now that Ye Qing had said so, he couldn't very well pursue the matter further. He gestured with his hands for Old Fifth Yang to bring in a fresh table of dishes.

Old Fifth Yang hurriedly called the restaurant owner over, cleared the table of dishes, and promptly set up a new one.

Although their mood had been disturbed by the interruption of the Monk, the meal turned out to be quite agreeable. Aside from cursing the "Madman" a few times when mentioning the Monk, there were no other discordant emotions.

At the same time, in Linnei County, Hu Liang was respectfully standing before a man. Judging from his demeanor, he seemed to hold the man in high esteem.

The man was about 1.8 meters tall with a well-proportioned figure, free from any excess fat. Tattooed on the back of his neck was a black Wolf Head; its ferocious visage faintly visible above the collar. Frowning, the man sat in his chair in silence for a long while before suddenly asking, "Do you know what the relationship between Ye Qing and Huang Feiming is?"

"Aren't they friends?" Hu Liang said, "I've had someone test the waters, and their relationship can only be considered ordinary. Besides, with your influence in Dengyang City, how could that Huang Feiming do anything to you?"

"Ignorant!" The man sharply reprimanded, "It's said that knowing your enemy and yourself leads to victory in every battle. You know nothing, yet you dared to provoke Ye Qing. Moreover, you've killed so many people in an attempt to frame him. Do you think it would be that easy?"

Hu Liang was taken aback, his expression somewhat embarrassed as he said, "Boss, that Ye, relying on Huang Fei backing him up, didn't take us seriously at all. Not only did he disrupt our plans, but he also conspired with Old Fifth Yang to wrest back control of the New District construction. If I hadn't done what I did, the construction project in the New District would be starting soon, and all our efforts for so long would have been in vain."

"It's not important if the effort is wasted; what's frightening is getting ourselves entangled too," said the man, slowly shaking his head. "This time, by killing so many people, Huang Feiming will definitely not investigate Ye Qing. You've made a big mistake in this affair!" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NovᴇlFɪre.ɴet

Hu Liang said, "Why wouldn't he investigate Ye Qing? Before the death of He Tao and the others, they were fighting with him, a fact witnessed by many. Moreover, Ye Qing had a sufficient motive to kill He Tao and the others. As long as you, Boss, put some pressure on him in the city, Huang Feiming definitely wouldn't dare to protect him and will surely investigate him. We don't expect Huang Feiming to turn up any concrete results, but just using this incident to tarnish the reputations of Ye Qing and Old Fifth Yang, wouldn't that stop the construction in the New District? If you, Boss, can just find a way to drag the case on for a year or half, preventing the construction from proceeding normally, the county would surely have to replace someone for the New District's construction project. Wouldn't you then get the project?"

"As I said, you've made a big mistake in this matter. And you still don't realize where you've gone wrong!" the man shook his head, looking pityingly at Hu Liang. "Your biggest mistake was misjudging the relationship between Ye Qing and Huang Feiming."

"What?" Hu Liang blurted out, puzzled, "What is their relationship? I've looked into it, and it's not that great between them. Huang Feiming shouldn't take such a great risk for Ye Qing's sake!"

The man nodded, "You're right, the relationship between Huang Feiming and Ye Qing isn't strong, in fact, it's a bit strained."

Hu Liang was even more astonished, saying, "They are somewhat at odds? Impossible. If they were at odds, why would Huang Feiming have helped Ye Qing so much?"

"That's exactly the key issue..." the man looked at Hu Liang, "Huang Feiming and Ye Qing don't get along, and yet, Huang Feiming is still helping Ye Qing. Don't you think there's something odd about that?"

Scratching his head, Hu Liang asked, "So what exactly is the relationship between Huang Feiming and Ye Qing?"

"I've looked into it. Before heading to Jiuchuan County, Huang Feiming reported the Wu Anping incident from Jiuchuan County to the city's principal leaders. If he had a good relationship with Ye Qing, he certainly wouldn't have reported this matter to the city. Thus, we can be sure that their relationship isn't as harmonious as it appears," said the man. "Furthermore, there was no need for Huang Feiming to go to Jiuchuan County for such a massacre. Yet, he rushed over there the same day. Why did he go to Jiuchuan County?"

Even more puzzled, Hu Liang looked at the man, "Boss, what exactly is Huang Feiming trying to do?"

The man said, "Haven't you noticed? After Huang Feiming arrived in Jiuchuan County, he didn't rush to solve the case nor meet with the county's main leaders. Instead, he was seen constantly accompanying a young man."

Hu Liang nodded, "You mentioned this, and I do recall something along those lines. Just who is that young man? I noticed that Huang Feiming was quite respectful towards him. Could that young man be a relative of some city leader?"

"If he were just a relative of some city leader, Huang Feiming wouldn't need to show such an attitude!" the man snorted coldly. "I've checked. The young man's name is Xu Changzhi. Coincidentally, the son of Xu Canjun, the Executive Vice Governor of Pingnan Province, is also called Xu Changzhi!"

Upon hearing this statement, Hu Liang's complexion suddenly turned deathly pale as he cried out in alarm, "He... he... could he be the son of Xu Canjun?"

The man shrugged and said, "With Huang Feiming showing such respect, how many others could there be?"

Hu Liang was immediately stunned; he had never before considered Xu Changzhi's identity. Now finally understanding Xu Changzhi's identity, he was completely taken aback. The Executive Vice Governor's son—now that truly was a Heaven-reaching figure!

"Moreover, I've looked into it..." the man said, "The relationship between Huang Feiming and Ye Qing is mainly because of this Xu Changzhi. Xu Changzhi has a very good relationship with Ye Qing, so naturally, Huang Feiming treats Ye Qing well too. In this scenario, do you think Huang Feiming would go investigate Ye Qing?"

Hu Liang opened his mouth but, in the end, couldn't find the words to speak. Just as the man had said, with the connection to Xu Changzhi alone, Huang Feiming would definitely not investigate Ye Qing!

"Hu Liang, you're usually quite shrewd in your dealings. But as I've always said, only by knowing the enemy and knowing yourself can you fight a hundred battles without disaster." The man stood up, walked over to Hu Liang, and lightly patted his shoulder, saying, "However, this time you didn't even figure out the other party's background before making such a big move. What you've done won't trap them; instead, it's backed you into a corner. With so many people dead, do you really think you can get away with it?"

Hu Liang shook all over with fear, his voice trembling as he pleaded, "Boss, save... save me, I don't want to die..."

"Save you? How can I save you with things having gotten to this point?" The man gave a cold smile and said, "You've been with me for quite some time, you should know my character. The thing I hate most is when people take matters into their own hands. You didn't even consider consulting with me before doing this; do you think I don't know what you're thinking? With He Biao dead, you were hoping to take advantage of the situation to bring down both Old Fifth Yang and Ye Qing. That way, the whole of Jiuchuan County would look up only to you, and you'd also get the construction projects in the New District. If you managed to get that project, you'd no longer need me, then you could replace Old Fifth Yang's position and become the most successful businessman in Jiuchuan County, and even gain full control of the underground forces in Jiuchuan County. Tsk tsk tsk, quite the clever plan. Too bad, you underestimated the other side's strength and overestimated your own!"

Hu Liang was dumbfounded, every word from the man striking deep into his heart. Indeed, just as the man had said, he wanted to bring down Old Fifth Yang and Ye Qing, so no one in Jiuchuan County would stand against him, and he could become the most powerful person in Jiuchuan County. But he never expected to hit such a hard nail with Xu Changzhi, not to mention his failed plan. If Huang Feiming were to conduct a thorough investigation, he feared his life wouldn't be spared!

Clinging to the man's legs, Hu Liang's voice trembled as he pleaded, "Boss, I... I never thought like that. I realize my mistake now. Please save me; if you save me, I swear I'll never go against your wishes again!"

"If it had been some other mistake, maybe I could help you. But with this, I cannot." The man kicked Hu Liang away and said coldly, "Everyone must take responsibility for what they have done, and so must you. The affairs of Jiuchuan County inevitably require someone to bear the burden; do you expect me to take the fall for you?"

Hu Liang became desperate and said, "Boss, I... I've been working for you all this time. Even if I have no merits, I've put in a lot of hard work. How... how can you just leave me to die?"

"I'm not the kind to leave someone to die!" The man said with a faint smile, gesturing dismissively, "I'll make sure to watch you die myself!"

After the man spoke, two burly men immediately approached and surrounded Hu Liang in the middle.

"Boss, boss, what... what is this? What is this?" Hu Liang exclaimed in terror, urgently saying, "I... I've been risking my life for you for so long, you... you can't do this to me?"

"With you dead, those secrets from the past won't leak out. Only if you die can you truly take this blame!" The man sneered, saying, "Don't worry, I remember the things you've done for me, and I'll take good care of your family."

Quivering, Hu Liang said, "Don't... don't joke, boss, please don't play around, I really know I was wrong..."

The boss paid him no heed and turned to sit at the table. The two men directly carried Hu Liang out of the living room, and soon, Hu Liang's miserable cries were heard from outside, "Zheng, you're crossing a river by tearing down the bridge. You bastard, you'll not die a good death. I did so much for you, and this is how you treat me; as a ghost, I won't let you off..."

Hu Liang's pitiful cries stopped abruptly. About ten minutes later, the two men walked into the room and reported to the man, "It's done!"

(Here's a recommendation of a friend's book, "DNF: The Berserker", for those interested, you might want to check it out.)