"Hahaha, Brother Xu, aren't you being too formal? We are all subordinate to Yan Dao Tang, and the business of this safe apartment is not drug trafficking, gambling, or the sex industry. How much money can you make? You have a big family and a big business, do you still care about this small business?" said Lee Chong Wei.
Without waiting for Xu Heixing to speak, he continued, "My Yipintang has been dormant for many years, and I want to regroup recently, so I want to take over one or two businesses. I think about it, and only you, brother Xu, have a rich industry and many businesses, so why not give me a share?"
This was a high-sounding statement, but it was completely nonsense. Who would give up a profitable business in their hands, especially a tyrant like Xu Heixing? It was good enough that he didn't want to take over other people's business, but now he was trying to take a piece of fat meat from him, which was simply courting death.
However, to Zheng Yubai's surprise, Xu Heixing laughed and said, "You have a point. This safe apartment is not a profitable business. It is complicated and I don't like to manage it. But I have only been doing it for five years. If I give it to you as soon as you ask, I am afraid that people will say that I am not doing a good job."
Li Zongwei refused to give in and said, "Brother Xu is in a high position, are you still afraid of those idle people? I think you don't need to pay attention to them."
"Gossip can melt metal, and constant criticism can destroy a person. We have to be afraid of it." Xu Heixing actually picked up Wen. He looked like he was taking nothing seriously, and it was hard to guess his emotions.
The two were exchanging sharp words and undercurrents, and were in a stalemate when the unfortunate waiter knocked on the door timidly and came in, holding a large tray with two cold dishes on it.
Master Yan stared at the waiter, and was so frightened that his legs went weak and his hands trembled. The tray tilted over, and the dishes on it were about to fall. If it fell, the soup would probably spill on Master Yan. He would be killed.
Zheng Yubai happened to be standing next to the waiter. He reached out and held the tray steadily.
The waiter turned pale with fear, his lips trembled for a while, and he couldn't even say thank you. Master Yan snorted coldly and said, "You useless thing, if you spill it on me, I will kill you."
Zheng Yubai felt that Master Yan was a bit overbearing and he disliked him. However, he still took the tray from the waiter and placed the two cold dishes on the table.
Young Master Yan glanced at Zheng Yubai and sneered, "Are you Boss Xu's bodyguard or a waiter here?"
Zheng Yubai didn't answer. After putting down the plate, he retreated behind Xu Heixing.
Young Master Yan said aggressively: "Boss Xu, your bodyguard is quite unique."
Xu Heixing chuckled: "Young man, you don't know the rules, Master Yan, please don't mind. Yu Bai, quickly apologize to Master Yan."
Before Zheng Yubai could express his opinion, Master Yan said, "Oh!", "Is this the Zheng Yubai?"
Xu Heixing smiled and nodded: "Heroes have always emerged from youth. This is my new assistant."
"Bring some wine." Young Master Yan looked Zheng Yubai up and down, and suddenly waved his hand.
The waiter hurriedly slipped out as if he had been pardoned. A moment later, the waitress with a trembling smile came to serve two bottles of Moutai.
Master Yan asked the waitress to open the Maotai wine, and the room was immediately filled with the aroma of wine. The waitress filled several glasses, and Master Yan picked up a glass and said to Zheng Yubai, "Come, have a drink."
Zheng Yubai took the wine glass and drank it without hesitation.
"Good, so generous." Young Master Yan gave a thumbs up, "He is indeed a hero."
"Master Yan, do you judge whether a person is a hero just by looking at how they drink?" Zheng Yubai smiled slightly, placing the wine glass gently on the dining table.
"Yu Bai, don't be presumptuous. Young Master Yan is the son of Elder Yan..." Xu Heixing was scolding him on the surface, but there seemed to be no unhappiness in his tone. He and Lee Chong Wei were obviously at odds, and he and Young Master Yan were not necessarily good friends. Most of these people were just using each other, there were no eternal enemies, and no eternal friends.
"That's fine. I like young people like this the most." Although he is not very old, Master Yan's tone is mature. "Although I have been in London, I have heard a lot of rumors about Zheng Yubai. I heard that he is a person who gives the Skull Society a headache. After meeting him today, I find that he is indeed quite impressive."
Master Yan laughed. Even though the matter was exposed, Zheng Yubai was impressed by the fake smile in his smile. Since this man could bully the waiter in the restaurant, he must be a narrow-minded person. It is simply a fantasy to say that he would not retaliate after being offended. However, Zheng Yubai did not care. There is a saying that too many lice will not bite, and too many debts will not worry. Zheng Yubai already had enough troubles, and he did not seem to be afraid of adding one more.
The dishes were served quickly. Perhaps because Zheng Yubai had disturbed his mood, Master Yan did not calculate whether the dishes were worth two thousand pounds. Li Zongwei and Xu Heixing also tacitly avoided the sensitive topic just now. They talked about the weather, beauties, and fun places in London, and the topic was far away. After the three of them finished their meal, Li Zongwei smiled and said, "I know a club with beauties from all over the world. If you two brothers are interested, I will treat you."
Xu Heixing smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's getting late. I have to go back and rest. I'd better wait a few days to appreciate Taoist Wuchen's kindness."
Young Master Yan also politely declined, so the three of them stood up and shook hands to say goodbye. They looked like close friends. Zheng Yubai guessed that in their hearts they all wished the other would die immediately.
The three of them walked out of the restaurant chatting and laughing. It was almost midnight and the nearby shops were closed, but the lights in the windows were still on. Combined with the lights on the roadside, the visibility was good.
Zheng Yubai walked out of the restaurant in front of Xu Heixing and stood beside him. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong. He looked at both ends of the street cautiously, but found nothing strange. At this moment, he caught a glimpse of a reflection in the distance from the corner of his eye.
Not good! Zheng Yubai's heart trembled, and he almost subconsciously jumped up and pulled Xu Heixing to the ground, and the two of them rolled on the ground.
At the moment when he and Xu Heixing fell, a bullet pierced through the night sky, shot out from the top floor of a skyscraper nearly a kilometer away, traveled thousands of meters, and accurately hit where Xu Heixing was just now. However, there was already a mass of air there, so the bullet passed through and hit the chest of Master Yan who was walking out of the restaurant.
This was a sniper rifle bullet, very powerful. Young Master Yan was caught off guard and was knocked flying backwards by the impact of the bullet. A pool of blood splattered on his chest, and his white suit looked like a bright red rose.
The incident happened suddenly. Xu Yong and Mu Hong, who were with Master Yan, had no reaction at all. They watched Master Yan fall. When they came to their senses, Master Yan was lying on the ground, blood gushing out of his chest. There was a big hole in his chest, right in the heart, and his pupils were dilated rapidly. He was shot dead.
"What should I do?" Mu Hong was dumbfounded. He stood there at a loss, not knowing what to do.
"Call... you call an ambulance, I'll go catch the killer!" Xu Yong was relatively calm, and hurriedly took out his cell phone, calling for help while running out of the restaurant to look around. But it was dark at night, how could he possibly find the killer who was a kilometer away and ran away with one strike.
Xu Heixing slowly raised his head, looked at the dead Master Yan with a gloomy face, and asked Zheng Yubai coldly: "Is this directed at me?"
Zheng Yubai nodded: "If I hadn't seen that reflection, you would have been the one to die."
Xu Heixing looked at Li Zongwei, who had a rather unpleasant expression on his face, and slowly stood up, cursed under his breath, then pretended to be sad and went to visit Master Yan.
Soon the police arrived and cordoned off the scene, and the Yandaotang people in London also rushed in from all directions. Zheng Yubai saw a bald old man with a white beard cursing in anger and offering a million-pound reward for the heads of the killer and the mastermind behind it.
"It's such a pity that he died young." Li Zongwei came to Xu Heixing on the periphery at some point and sighed, "You were a good person and could have enjoyed your life, but you had to wade into this muddy water. As a result, I don't know who you offended and lost your life. Brother Xu, I think your business is big enough, why don't you retire early."
Xu Heixing smiled slightly and retorted, "I still have tens of thousands of brothers to support, but you, Taoist Wuchen, have no worries and are a cultivator. I think it's a good time for you to retire and enjoy your old age in peace and tranquility."
Li Zongwei laughed and pretended not to hear. Xu Heixing was too lazy to pay attention to him. The two stood side by side, looking like friends who stood together, but in fact they were enemies who stabbed each other in the back.
After a while of silence, when the situation gradually calmed down, Li Zongwei and Xu Heixing went to comfort Elder Yan. However, Xu Heixing did not mention anything about what happened just now. After all, Zheng Yubai's move to pull Xu Heixing down was very sudden, and no one could tell whether it was before or after Master Yan was shot. In the vague memories, it can only be speculated that when Master Yan was shot, Zheng Yubai reacted quickly and pulled Xu Heixing down to protect him. So no one doubted that the shot was actually aimed at Xu Heixing.
"Actually, this matter is very easy to trace. The only people who knew that we came here to eat were the few people present and the people in the restaurant. Since the killer set up an ambush, he must have known that we would eat here." Xu Heixing said to Elder Yan.
He downplayed the incident and immediately pointed the finger of suspicion at the inviter, Lee Chong Wei. Lee Chong Wei was not eager to clear himself, but said, "It's all my fault for choosing this place. I think there must be something wrong with this restaurant. Don't let their people escape."
Elder Yan was no fool either. He snorted coldly and said, "I will get to the bottom of this. I will not wrongly accuse an innocent person, nor will I let an enemy go. If I find out who did it, I will make him die with my son."
As he was speaking, one of his men ran over and said, "Elder, a worker in the kitchen is missing. I heard that he went out to buy cigarettes two minutes before the incident and never came back."
"It must be him!" Li Zongwei said firmly after hearing this.
Zheng Yubai was watching the subtle expressions on his face, and saw the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, which was a kind of hidden pride. He immediately understood that this was probably something that Li Zongwei had prepared long ago, to frame someone else for the assassination. The missing guy might have been thrown into the Thames by Li Zongwei's men, so it would be difficult to find clues.
"Find him out for me. Don't let him escape, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground." Elder Yan shouted angrily in an anxious voice.
All the forces of Yandaotang in London came out in full force, searching everywhere for the whereabouts of the guy. The London police also dispatched a large number of police forces and quickly found the shooting point.
The killer actually shot from the rooftop of a building 800 meters away, leaving behind a shell and several footprints. Although these clues alone cannot lead to the identification of the murderer, the elder of Yandaotang naturally has other channels for investigation.
"There are no more than twenty assassins in the world who can carry out sniping at this distance. Check them one by one!" Elder Yan ordered.
The commotion lasted until five in the morning, when everything finally came to an end. Young Master Yan's body was sent to the hospital's cold storage for preservation, and everyone dispersed. Xu Heixing and Zheng Yubai changed cars several times and quietly returned to Sylvester's small hotel. At this time, the eastern sky was already white.
"Lee Chong Wei, that bastard, he actually wanted to kill me!" As soon as he entered the room, Xu Heixing slammed the table. The wooden table was originally very solid, but it was shattered into pieces by his slap.
"Your one click warms my entire writing life. Let's watch the fantasy channel of Wenxue.com together, more exciting content is waiting for you!"
"Boss, I think we have to strike first." Sylvester made a cutting gesture.
Although Xu Heixing was angry, he shook his head: "Are you stupid? The whole city is trying to catch assassins. If we assassinate Li Zongwei at this time, wouldn't we also be responsible for this case? By then, we won't be able to clear ourselves even if we jump into the Thames."
"Are we just going to take the beating without fighting back?" Maccarone asked.
"Humph, Lee Chong Wei is a cunning old fox, but I won't be fooled." Xu Heixing pondered, "Now we can only be patient and not act rashly. The situation is still in our favor. If we attack recklessly, we will only destroy ourselves."
Because of the assassination of Master Yan, the Council of Elders was suspended for three days. During these three days, Xu Heixing was not idle. He took Zheng Yubai and Wang Feng to visit the other twelve elders of the Council of Elders one by one. Of course, he would never go empty-handed. The preferences of each elder were deeply imprinted in Xu Heixing's mind.
For those who like beautiful women, Xu Heixing will give the champion and runner-up of this year's world beauty pageant to accompany the elder on a romantic trip; for those who like money, he will directly give a black credit card, which can be swiped at will without any limit; for those who like to play, he will give a key that can open the newest yacht docked in Victoria Harbor, which is fully equipped with facilities and the crew are all top sailors who have just won the America's Cup Sailing Championship; for those who like collecting, Xu Heixing has prepared a famous painting by Picasso, which is said to have just been bought from Sotheby's auction house and is worth nearly nine figures.
After a round of this, Xu Heixing spent a lot of money, but the elders were like cunning foxes and did not reveal anything. Except for the three staunch supporters of Xu Heixing, the others were very happy to accept the gifts, but when Xu Heixing sought support, they were vague and refused to say anything definite.
"These old foxes are ruthless and heartless." Xu Heixing said angrily after coming out of the last elder's mansion.
"Boss, I'm afraid these guys can't be trusted. I see they all accept two gifts." Wang Feng said from the side.
Xu Heixing nodded: "While we are busy here, Li Zongwei must have been busy too. What do you think he was doing in London for the past six years? Let's talk about the lustful Johannes. One of his favorite mistresses is a sister of one of Li Zongwei's mistresses. I don't know what dirty things these two old perverts have done in secret."
Zheng Yubai was stunned. Thinking of Johannes's old and frail appearance, and then thinking of Lee Chong Wei's skinny and ugly face, it would be a real downer if he slept in the same bed with two beautiful sisters.
"Boss, the wind has relaxed a bit in the past two days, why don't we..." Wang Feng said in a low voice, his meaning was very clear, that is to get rid of Lee Chong Wei.
Xu Heixing shook his head: "No, if Li Zongwei died now, even a fool would know that it was me. Do you think that no one else would covet the safe apartment business except Li Zongwei? Now there is a Li Zongwei jumping around, and they are all watching the fun in secret. If we kill Li Zongwei, I guarantee that they will jump out and accuse us immediately, and then take advantage of the chaos to make money."
Wang Feng said in annoyance: "Are we just going to wait like this?"
Xu Heixing smiled and said, "Why are you pessimistic? We have the upper hand in terms of pieces and occupy the center of the board. As long as we don't make any mistakes, what can Lee Chong Wei do?"
Zheng Yubai was listening to the conversation between the two, but he was a little worried like Wang Feng. Li Zongwei was definitely not an ordinary person. He dared to assassinate at the door of a Chinese restaurant, so he must have someone behind him. Although I don't know why Xu Heixing is so confident, I'm afraid this fight will not be easy to decide.
Back at the inn, Xu Heixing went for a nap. Zheng Yubai and Wang Feng were in the outer room, Wang Feng was resting, Zheng Yubai was on guard. He turned on the TV out of boredom, and switched channels one by one. Although the screen was lively, his mind was not on the TV at all.
"Bang... Bang..." Two short knocks and one long knock on the door. This was Sylvester's code. Zheng Yubai stood up and opened the door. Sylvester walked in with a happy face and asked, "Where's the boss?"
"Is there anything wrong?" Zheng Yubai asked.
"The assassin who tried to assassinate Master Yan has been discovered. He had a fierce gun battle with the people from Yandaotang on Devinheim Street. He killed three people and then escaped. But our people have caught up with him and discovered his hiding place." Sylvester said hurriedly.
Zheng Yubai knew that this matter was of great importance and immediately woke up Xu Heixing.
Xu Heixing's face lit up: "Yubai, you and Sylvester go there and make sure to catch him alive. This is a good opportunity to overthrow Li Zongwei."
Zheng Yubai nodded and accepted the order. He and Sylvester quickly left the inn and got in Maccarone's car, heading quickly to the killer's hiding place.
The killer was hiding in an abandoned warehouse in the western suburbs of London. There was a tributary of the Thames nearby, and there was also a wetland nearby where some birds lived. There were few people around, so it was a good place to hide. If one of Sylvester's men had not been born nearby and was familiar with the terrain, he would have been thrown off like the pursuers from Yan Dao Tang.
But now, he is still monitoring the warehouse. When Zheng Yubai and others arrived, he excitedly told everyone that the killer had been hiding in the warehouse and had not appeared.
"This is an open area, and he could easily find us." Sylvester said with some concern after observing the terrain. Xu Heixing had said that he wanted to capture the person alive, and assassins usually have a strong sense of professional ethics. If they found someone approaching, and if the assassin committed suicide, all their efforts would be wasted.
"I have a plan." Zheng Yubai glanced at the river nearby and came up with an idea. He came to the river, took off his shoes and coat, slowly walked into the river, dived into the water, and then approached the warehouse.
Sylvester and others held their breath and watched Zheng Yubai's actions. They saw him quickly follow the river to the outside of the warehouse, find a blind spot in the field of vision, quietly go ashore, and then tiptoe to a dilapidated window of the warehouse.
Zheng Yubai hid his body and quietly looked into the warehouse. Although it was very dark inside, for Zheng Yubai's excellent eyesight, this darkness could not hide any secrets.
The warehouse was empty, with only a few broken wooden containers in the middle. A man was leaning against a broken box, holding his abdomen with one hand. There was red blood all around his palm.
"The killer was shot?" Zheng Yubai was shocked. He looked at the door of the warehouse and saw bloodstains on the ground. It seemed that the killer was injured in the gunfight, and the injury was not light.
Zheng Yubai was trying to think of a solution when there was a "bang" inside. Zheng Yubai looked inside and saw that the killer had fallen to the ground. He didn't care about anything else and flew in through the window. He came to the killer and leaned over to see that the killer had fainted. There was a large pool of blood under him. It seemed that he had lost too much blood after being shot and fainted.
"Bang" the door was pushed open, and Sylvester and others rushed in. As soon as they saw this situation, they knew what had happened.
"What should we do? He's almost dying." Maccarone checked the killer's breath and pulse.
Sylvester frowned: "We need to find a doctor."
"It's too late... He's already unconscious, and it looks like he can't even last twenty minutes." Zheng Yubai knew a little bit about medicine, and knew that the killer might not be able to hold on any longer.
"Other doctors may not be able to save him, but I know there is a doctor who can. Don't waste time and follow me!" Sylvester shouted.
Zheng Yubai and Maccarone helped the killer up, followed Sylvester and quickly left the abandoned warehouse, and drove away. (To be continued)