Chapter 81

Chapter 20: The Dangerous Assassination

At the welcome banquet, Su Nan also attended in a neatly pressed suit and gave a speech.

Huang He, who had heard the news, hurried over, his eyes darting around the banquet.

Yang Zixuan secretly found it amusing; it seemed that the Taiwanese businessman he had brought in was truly a prized catch in the eyes of the county party committee.

Even the usually low-key Huang He wanted to show his face and share in the credit!

However, the absence of Fang Ling, the vice-county magistrate and member of the county party committee, was quite puzzling to Yang Zixuan.

Logically, for such an important banquet, Fang Ling, as the second-in-command of the county government, should not have been absent, even if she was reluctant to attend!

At the banquet, Zeng Ming seemed to have a particular interest in Lin Ruoshui, the beautiful county party secretary, and repeatedly raised his glass to invite her.

Lin Ruoshui did not have a good impression of this so-called assistant and politely brushed him off with a few words before excusing herself from the banquet.

Yang Zixuan noticed all of this!

He walked over to Zeng Ming, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Assistant Zeng, let me toast you."

Zeng Ming was lost in thought about the direction in which Lin Ruoshui had disappeared. He turned his head and forced a smile, "Sure!"

Just as Zeng Ming was about to drink the wine in his hand, he found his crotch wet. Yang Zixuan, flustered, said, "I'm really sorry, Assistant Zeng. Look, I wasn't careful, and the wine spilled on you..."

Zeng Ming was about to burst with anger.

Zeng Jingzi noticed the tension and quickly pulled Zeng Ming aside, giving him a stern lecture.

Zeng Ming, being Taiwanese and rarely visiting the mainland, was not familiar with the political landscape here. He did not understand the immense power and influence in the mainland and thought it was similar to the money-driven politics in Taiwan.

This is why he dared to make a move on Lin Ruoshui, the young and formidable county party secretary.

However, Zeng Jingzi, who was in charge of the entire group's operations and had been dealing with the mainland for a long time, understood the immense power and influence. She was very frustrated that Zeng Ming had upset Lin Ruoshui, a prominent figure in the southeastern region, as soon as he arrived on the mainland.

...

After the banquet, the convoy set off again, heading for Tianma Township!

The Land Cruiser easily navigated the rugged mountain roads of Tianma Township. It took nearly half an hour for the off-road vehicles to reach the foot of Tianma Mountain, while Yang Zixuan's Santana arrived much later.

"County Magistrate Yang, with such a mountain road, how can this place be developed into a scenic area? Tourists would be exhausted just from driving this road, let alone enjoying the scenery," Zeng Ming said angrily, feeling cheated.

Previously, when Zeng Jingzi proposed investing in Tianma Mountain, Zeng Ming was very reluctant, thinking that the group's main business was electronics manufacturing, and tourism was not their forte.

However, Zeng Jingzi had her own considerations and, with her significant influence in the group, pushed this decision through the board.

Although Yang Zixuan did not have a good impression of the assistant, he still wanted to attract investment from the strait, so he smiled and said, "Assistant Zeng, you only know one side of the story. The road from the county to the south of Tianma Mountain is indeed rugged, but if you go from the north, it's a vast plain with several important railway lines. The Ziyu Expressway, which our Luofu Province is about to build, also passes through the plain north of Tianma Mountain, just a ten-minute drive away..."

Zeng Jingzi nodded, a smile appearing on her ivory-like face. "So, the transportation to Tianma Mountain is actually quite good."

"County Magistrate Yang, I've seen the tender notice your county government office drafted, but I still have some questions. While the government provides resources, shouldn't it also be responsible for some of the infrastructure construction? It seems a bit unfair to put all the infrastructure construction on the investors," Zeng Jingzi said as she stepped on the damp, fresh soil of Tianma Mountain, talking to Yang Zixuan beside her.

The faint scent of Chanel perfume lingered in Yang Zixuan's nose, making him feel refreshed. Looking at Zeng Jingzi's classical beauty, he couldn't help but admire her. He never expected that a globally renowned electronics group like the Strait Group would be led by such a delicate and beautiful woman.

"President Zeng, the tender notice is a collective decision of the county government, not something I can veto. Since it's stipulated in the notice, it must have been carefully considered from all angles, and the possibility of changing it is very low," Yang Zixuan smiled.

With a light remark about the collective will of the county government, Yang Zixuan deflected the responsibility, leaving Zeng Jingzi at a loss.

Zeng Jingzi was so frustrated that she couldn't find a way to counter, and could only seethe in silence.

"President Zeng, the trees ahead are too dense for us to walk through. Let's turn back," Yang Zixuan said, seeing the dark forest ahead.

"But the documentary mentioned a Danjing and a furnace site. We haven't seen them yet."

"The Danjing and the furnace are right there!" Yang Zixuan pointed to a large stone wall nearby.

Zeng Jingzi followed his finger and walked over, surrounded by the dark forest.

Yang Zixuan followed behind, noticing some fresh mud nearby and sensing something was wrong!

"Don't go any further!" Yang Zixuan shouted. Zeng Jingzi instinctively stopped. From the dark forest ahead, several tall, muscular men with black hoods and fruit knives rushed out.

They quickly aimed their knives at Zeng Jingzi, who was at the front of the group.

Zeng Jingzi turned pale with fear and stepped back. Yang Zixuan grabbed her slender waist from behind and pushed her away, shouting, "Run!"

At that moment, the first masked man's sharp knife was already coming at them. Yang Zixuan instinctively kicked the man's wrist, causing the knife to veer slightly and stab into his arm.

A large amount of blood seeped out, staining half of his sleeve.

The path was narrow, only allowing one person to pass, so the first masked man blocked the others behind him.

Yang Zixuan's position was higher, and the first man fell to the ground after stabbing him...

Zeng Jingzi turned and saw the large amount of blood on Yang Zixuan's arm, screaming and attracting the attention of the people behind them...

Yang Zixuan didn't dare to stay. As the first masked man fell, he quickly climbed up and shouted to Zeng Jingzi, "Run! What are you waiting for?"

Within ten minutes, the officials and drivers caught up with Zeng Jingzi, who was heading back, and the already weak and bloodied Yang Zixuan!

Yang Zixuan felt a wave of relief, but the intense running made him dizzy.

He could vaguely hear "County Magistrate," "President Zeng," and "County Magistrate Yang" around him.

...

Again, the pungent smell of soda water.

Yang Zixuan opened his eyes and found it was already dark. He was wearing a hospital gown and lying in a hospital bed.

A slender figure was sleeping by the bed.

Yang Zixuan recognized the girl; it was the health doctor, Lü'er, arranged by Mu Xi.

Some sounds he couldn't understand were floating in the air.

These sounds were coming from Lü'er's crystal-clear lips.

Yang Zixuan frowned. These were not the dialect of Daming City but sounded like a foreign language. How could Lü'er speak these languages?

...

When Yang Zixuan woke up again, he found Lü'er gone, and Song An, Zeng Jingzi, Lin Ruoshui, An Zai Shan, and Liu Xiao standing by his bed.

Except for Zeng Jingzi, the others were all his close allies.

"County Magistrate, you're awake. Deputy Mayor Xu and Secretary Su Nan from the city have already come to visit you!" Song An said, bowing slightly.

Yang Zixuan nodded. He noticed that Lin Ruoshui, standing at the back of the group, looked tired, clearly not having rested well. She had not gone to Tianma Mountain the previous day, so she hadn't slept well after hearing about Yang Zixuan's injury.

An Zai Shan, looking guilty and exhausted, said, "County Magistrate, I'm really sorry. The masked thugs escaped into the dense forest of Tianma Mountain. We haven't caught them yet, but rest assured, those bastards won't get away. If they do, I won't be able to stay in the police system! We already have some leads!"

"Deputy Mayor Xu has already given important instructions to thoroughly investigate and strictly handle the thugs! We will dig deep into the case!" An Zai Shan said through gritted teeth, knowing that his position as the top deputy chief of the police and his standing in the force were entirely due to Yang Zixuan.

Yang Zixuan nodded and smiled, "Old An, there's no need to rush. Of course, we need to catch them, but don't exhaust yourself before we do. I won't forgive you if you do."

The others also said a few words of comfort and then left.

Lin Ruoshui wanted to stay, but she was afraid of being misunderstood, so she had to leave.

Yang Zixuan calmed down and began to reflect on the entire incident. Fortunately, the path was narrow and the terrain steep, which hindered the masked men's movements. Otherwise, he and Zeng Jingzi would have been seriously injured or even killed.

However, Yang Zixuan noticed a detail: the masked men did not aim to seriously injure him but to knock him down and go after Zeng Jingzi.

Clearly, Zeng Jingzi was their true target.

Could the thugs have been sent by Zeng Jingzi's enemies?

However, given that the thugs had not been caught by the police and seemed familiar with the terrain of Tianma Mountain and Hongshui County, they were likely local criminals. Zeng Jingzi, being Taiwanese and mainly operating in the Pearl River Delta, how could she have enemies in Luofu?

It was a puzzle he couldn't solve!

---

End of Page AD

Start of Page AD