Deng Zheyan knelt beside Er Kun, his eyes practically spitting fire: "Damn it, I swear I’ll never let this go!"
Er Kun: "Didn’t you say brothers should share hardships? Now that I’ve actually come to you, you’re not happy about it."
Deng Zheyan gritted his teeth: "You—"
Er Kun: "Enough with the ‘you’ already. Can’t you think of another word? Hurry up and cough up 280,000, or none of us are leaving this restaurant alive."
Deng Zheyan clenched his jaw: "No way! Even if you beat me to death this time, I won’t pay another cent."
Just then, a clamor of footsteps came from the direction of the kitchen.
Several burly chefs and a group of young men with dyed yellow hair emerged, carrying steaming pots of lamb stew.
The rich aroma of meat instantly filled the dining hall.
At Liu Yutong’s command, the underlings who had been standing around immediately swarmed over, digging in with gusto, their mouths soon slick with grease.
Deng Zheyan swallowed hard and muttered under his breath, "What kind of meat is that? Smells so good."
No sooner had he spoken than a chorus of retching sounds erupted beside him.
He turned to see the members of the Righteous Union League kneeling on the ground, their faces pale, all covering their mouths.
"What’s wrong with them?"
Er Kun leaned in and whispered, "They came with fifteen people. Now there are only fourteen. Their leader, Scarface Brother, was in the kitchen—well, now he’s been served up."
Deng Zheyan: "..."
"Ugh—" He barely held back the urge to vomit.
In the end, Deng Zheyan—the unlucky bastard—along with Er Kun, Crazy Dog Brother, and the others, scraped together 500,000 to settle the matter.
Ma Da held up a camera and called out to the Righteous Union League members, "Alright, everyone, smile! Say cheese!"
A dozen men clutching cleavers forced out grins as the shutter clicked, freezing the moment.
"Alright, load ‘em up," Ma Da directed his men as they herded the Righteous Union League members and Crazy Dog Brother into a few vans.
Crazy Dog Brother asked nervously, "Brother Ma, where are you taking us?"
Ma Da patted his shoulder and grinned. "To a very safe place, of course."
Hearing this, Crazy Dog Brother relaxed—as long as they weren’t about to off him.
Soon, the vans pulled into the courtyard of the county police station.
The moment Crazy Dog Brother saw where they were, his mind went blank.
"Safe enough for you?" Ma Da smirked.
Crazy Dog Brother’s voice cracked, "I’ll thank your whole damn family for this!"
Safe? Sure. But there was no way out now!
As soon as Ma Da stepped out of the van, a muscular man strode over with a group of officers in tow.
"Chief Qi, these are all yours now!"
Ma Da pulled a black USB drive from his pocket and added, "Oh, and this too."
After handing it over, he and his men left.
Back in his office, Qi Wei inserted the USB into his computer. As the files opened, his expression grew increasingly grim.
He pressed the intercom. "Little Zhang, detain all of them immediately and keep them under tight watch!"
Hanging up, Qi Wei rubbed his temples.
The evidence on the USB was exhaustive—confessions, photos of weapons, even a meticulously organized timeline of the crimes.
These guys from Bright Pearl City were implicated in attempted kidnapping and murder. They’d be looking at sentences of at least three to five years.
Despite cracking a major case, Qi Wei felt no satisfaction.
It had begun.
That girl, Liu Yutong, was slowly chipping away at Niu Ben’s power in her own way.
Qi Wei recalled his superior’s visit not long ago, and the cryptic remark the man had made before leaving: "Ping'an County must live up to its name—it must truly be ‘peaceful.’"
If Liu Yutong and Niu Ben were to clash now... Qi Wei didn’t dare dwell on it.
"Maybe it’s time to have a talk with that girl."
......
Liu Yutong’s plan was simple: send some in, let others go.
Crazy Dog Brother and the Righteous Union League thugs who’d come to kidnap her were destined for prison. With the evidence and confessions airtight, even an attempted crime would land them at least five years.
But Liu Yutong deliberately spared Scarface Brother and Er Kun.
She intended to send them back as double agents, planting moles within the Righteous Union League.
Scarface Brother wasn’t particularly capable, but he was Pan Xing’s trusted subordinate, having been with him since the early days.
Though he hadn’t risen to become a faction leader, he was still one of Pan Xing’s key lieutenants.
So, for now, he couldn’t be tossed behind bars.
Not that she expected him to be a real spy, anyway.
As for Er Kun, after screwing over Crazy Dog Brother, he’d never survive in Wushui County.
If he didn’t want to face retaliation from Niu Ben’s crew or end up in prison, he’d have to follow Liu Yutong’s orders.
When Er Kun, having narrowly escaped disaster, saw Scarface Brother standing unharmed before him, he gaped in shock.
He couldn’t resist reaching out to touch Scarface Brother, half-convinced he was hallucinating.
Scarface Brother: "What the hell are you doing?"
Er Kun: "Just checking if you’re missing any parts, Scarface Brother."
"..."
Once satisfied that nothing had been amputated, Er Kun asked curiously, "Scarface Brother, what did they do to you in the kitchen earlier?"
Though he now knew Scarface Brother hadn’t been butchered, the screams he’d heard had sounded all too real.
Scarface Brother shuddered, recalling the scene in the kitchen.
Those thugs had mercilessly stripped off his shirt and shoes, used tweezers to pluck hairs from his armpits, and even tickled his feet with feathers.
If not for his iron will, he might’ve cracked.
But he’d never admit this to outsiders—at least not without some embellishment to preserve his tough-guy image.
"They tortured me with the cruelest methods imaginable, trying to force me to betray our boss. But I gritted my teeth and didn’t say a word."
"Scarface lives by loyalty. Even if they’d killed me, I’d never betray my brothers or my leader!"
Er Kun’s expression filled with reverence. "Scarface Brother, you’re my idol!"
Scarface Brother waved it off modestly. "Just doing my part. By the way, where are my boys?"
Right then, several vans drove past in the opposite lane.
Er Kun pointed. "They’ve been taken away—headed toward the river. Doubt we’ll see them again."
(Since Wushui County was surrounded by water, any direction could look like it led to the river.)
Scarface Brother paled. "Holy shit, let’s get out of here!"
