Chapter 86

After opening the courtyard gate, Mu Shulan went inside to tidy up, while Zhao Jin roughly recounted what he knew from yesterday. The information Chen Sheng had obtained was not much less, and after the two exchanged information, they felt a lingering fear. If Wang You Shan had not intervened, Yunlin Temple would not have let the matter rest.

As they were talking, Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang appeared together. Unlike their usual habit of entering directly, they peeked in from the doorway. Seeing Zhao Jin and the others, they ran in and let out a sigh of relief in the courtyard: "We came to check on you yesterday, afraid that something might happen to Brother Zhao. We came again today."

Of course, they did not have as much information as Chen Sheng, Wang Zhaojing, and Dong Bingfeng, but they could not put it out of their minds and had to come over to keep an eye on things.

After a few laughs and jokes, Wang Zhaojing also arrived. Among those who had gone yesterday, only Sun Dalei and Liu Yong had not shown up.

Just as they thought of these two, they saw Sun Dalei peering in from the doorway. His expression was not one of uncertainty but of hesitation about whether to come in.

Following Zhao Jin's gaze, everyone noticed Sun Dalei outside. Chen Sheng's expression immediately turned cold, Dong Bingfeng took a step back and remained silent, while Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang exchanged glances, both showing disapproval. Wang Zhaojing, however, smiled.

"What are you standing there for? Come in quickly!" Zhao Jin called out with a smile.

Sun Dalei, not expecting Zhao Jin to say this, was stunned, and the others were also quite surprised.

Zhao Jin smiled and said to everyone, "When we fought the enemies, Dalei was very brave. He just left a bit early because of family matters. What's the big deal? Are we not friends anymore?"

Hearing this, no one had anything to say, but Chen Sheng's expression remained grim. Wang Zhaojing smiled and nodded at Sun Dalei.

Sun Dalei opened his mouth to speak, coughed, and tried again, but he lowered his head, wiping his eyes before looking up and saying, "I... I..."

His old stuttering problem had returned, and he could not finish a sentence.

"Come in and practice martial arts; we don't have time to waste," Zhao Jin said with a smile. Sun Dalei nodded vigorously and quickly walked in.

Upon entering, they realized that Sun Dalei was not alone. Two men dressed as servants followed him, each carrying a food box. There were four large boxes, and no one knew what was inside.

After setting them down, Sun Dalei dismissed the two servants and said with a smile, "My parents sent some good things. Everyone, come and eat, come and eat."

His parents ran a business in Yutou Town, which was the midpoint of the Grand Canal, where goods from the north and south were plentiful. When the food boxes were opened, one contained candied fruits, two contained pastries, and one contained various cooked dishes. The quality and quantity of the food were impressive, and even Wang Zhaojing and Chen Sheng were taken aback.

"Isn't this worth at least ten taels of silver?" Zhao Jin asked. Sun Dalei chuckled but did not respond. Zhao Jin patted Sun Dalei on the shoulder and said seriously, "Dalei, we are friends and brothers. What you did the other day, helping and fighting bravely, was already a lot. If there were any misunderstandings, we can clear them up. There's no need to do this again."

Zhao Jin knew that Sun Dalei was afraid of being ostracized by his friends, so he had bought so much food to gain their forgiveness. Zhao Jin did not intend to refuse or say more. He then said with a smile, "Dalei brought a lot of good food. Everyone, come and eat. Shulan, come out and eat."

Mu Shulan came out of the house with a smile, taking a bit of each item from the food boxes. Then Wang Zhaojing came over with a smile, followed by Dong Bingfeng, Shi Manqiang, and Ji Xiang. Chen Sheng, however, stood to the side with a cold expression, not moving. Zhao Jin gave him a couple of looks, and Chen Sheng reluctantly came over to take something.

Seeing everyone take something, Sun Dalei's face finally showed a smile. He continued to make small talk, "Brother Zhao, why isn't Liu Yong here?"

His speech was still stuttered but much smoother than before, indicating that his mood had improved.

"Liu Yong has a job now, unlike us who are so idle. He's probably working in the southern part of the city," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

At that moment, Liu Yong was in the Black Tiger God Temple in the southern part of the city, standing in a corner of an inner room. Cheng Tongtou was discussing matters with several leaders. Liu Yong, who usually had no right to be there, had been specifically called in today.

Liu Yong was very measured in his actions. He stood quietly to the side, just listening. He noticed that Cheng Tongtou's expression was not good and that Chen Er'gou's position was closer to the front than usual. The situation had changed rapidly, and Liu Yong, of course, had not forgotten what had happened the previous night.

Not long after returning from the eastern part of the city the night before, Cheng Tongtou had sent people to bring him in, but he was not beaten or scolded, just confined to a room.

Around noon the next day, Cheng Tongtou had Liu Yong released and took him to a restaurant for a hearty meal with wine and meat. Today, he even allowed him to participate in the leaders' meeting.

Liu Yong could guess the reason. He had killed people from Yunshan Temple, and Cheng Tongtou would likely hand him over. As a local gang leader in the southern part of the city, he was just a nobody in front of a powerful entity like Yunshan Temple.

Liu Yong could guess why he was released. Chen Er'gou had privately told him the reason: Wang You Shan had intervened, characterizing the previous night's battle as an act of righteousness. This way, Cheng Tongtou did not have to hand over anyone to Yunshan Temple and had to treat him politely out of respect for Zhao Jin. The lavish meal was a form of apology.

It was truly fortunate to have such a big brother, but the big brother Liu Yong was thinking of was not Cheng Tongtou, but Zhao Jin.

The noise from the casino outside made it hard for Liu Yong to hear Cheng Tongtou's low voice. From Cheng Tongtou's expression, it seemed he was a bit afraid.

Cheng Tongtou was indeed afraid. As a local gang leader in Xuzhou, he was well aware of the seedy activities in the city. When Zhao Jin came to inquire, he immediately guessed who was behind it. There was only one group of traffickers in the city who would dare to kidnap from a constable's home.

But Cheng Tongtou also knew that Yunshan Temple had someone with designs on the little girl. The traffickers were likely working for Yunshan Temple.

While a constable was a significant figure, he was no match for Yunshan Temple. Cheng Tongtou knew how to choose his side. He pretended not to be there, thinking that if the constable came, he would just make some excuses, but for a half-grown kid, he would not bother. If the kid could not find out, he would leave, and even if he did, there was nothing he could do.

However, that night, news came from the constabulary that Zhao Jin's son had led a group to storm in and kill the monks from Yunshan Temple, sending the traffickers to the constabulary.

That was six lives! Cheng Tongtou took a deep breath when he heard the news. The monks from Yunshan Temple were skilled, well-fed, and well-equipped, and each was very strong. Cheng Tongtou knew that his dozen or so men might not be able to handle just six of them.

Yet, those six skilled and strong monks were completely killed by a few half-grown kids. These young men were truly ruthless and skilled.

Despite his admiration, Cheng Tongtou could guess the outcome. Yunshan Temple had too much influence in Xuzhou. If they pressured the authorities, Zhao Jin's constable father could not protect him. When Zhao Jin was imprisoned, Liu Yong would not escape either. To avoid being implicated, he decided to lock Liu Yong up first.

Unexpected events kept coming. The next day, two pieces of news spread: the traffickers had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and Wang You Shan had declared Zhao Jin and his group innocent.

Hearing that the traffickers had committed suicide, Cheng Tongtou felt a chill. He knew it was a cover-up. The news that Zhao Jin and his group were innocent made Cheng Tongtou even more uneasy.