Chapter 81

"Master Yuan, that person doesn’t speak with our Tianjin accent. I think... he might be a river-crossing dragon."

Manlong used to call Yuan Bingqi "Brother Yuan," but as Yuan Bingqi's power grew, they all changed their way of addressing him.

Seeing that Yuan Bingqi's face was somewhat displeased, Manlong continued, "I’ve had people check all the hotels and inns in Tianjin, but we couldn’t find anyone named Li Tianyuan. To find that person, we’ll have to rely on luck..."

Although sometimes it’s easier for underworld figures to handle certain matters than the police, with millions of people in Tianjin, finding someone by just a name is almost impossible.

"Luck? My brother was killed, and you want me to rely on luck?"

Yuan Bingqi, who had a smile on his face, now had a grimace. He suddenly smashed the ashtray on the table and growled, "I don’t care what methods you use, but find that Li Tianyuan for me, and dig out his heart to honor Yuan Dong..."

If Qin Feng and the others had heard Yuan Bingqi’s words, they would have been greatly shocked. They didn’t know that Li Tianyuan had actually stabbed to death Yuan Bingqi’s cousin in that chaotic fight!

In fact, Yuan Bingqi’s initial trouble with Xin Nan was due to some old grudges with Xin Nan’s grandfather, Xin Zikai.

It was at the end of the 1980s. At that time, Yuan Bingqi was already making a name for himself in Tianjin, but what he lacked most was high-level connections, or what is now commonly known as a "protective umbrella."

Yuan Bingqi understood better than anyone that as long as one had desires, one could form relationships with anyone, even the king of hell. After some inquiries, Yuan Bingqi learned that this old cadre, who had come from the war era, was not interested in women or money but loved calligraphy and painting, and was himself a skilled calligrapher.

With a quick turn of his mind, Yuan Bingqi came up with an idea. On one hand, he would ask the old cadre to inscribe some business names for him, and on the other hand, he would search for valuable paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones to form a complete set of the Four Treasures of the Study to gift to him.

After much effort, Yuan Bingqi found several sheets of Song Dynasty "Four Feet Red" rice paper and Qing Dynasty pine soot ink, and had a fine jade brush made, but he was still missing a good inkstone.

When someone mentioned that the "Wenbaozhai" on the antique street had a "Dongpo Ancient Inkstone," Yuan Bingqi immediately found Xin Zikai. He didn’t act like a thug and directly offered a high price to buy it.

However, what Yuan Bingqi didn’t expect was that Xin Zikai, who considered the "Dongpo Ancient Inkstone" a family heirloom, refused to sell it no matter how high the price. Moreover, upon learning that Yuan Bingqi’s grandfather was Yuan Huiwen, Xin Zikai’s words became rude, and he kicked Yuan Bingqi out of the "Wenbaozhai."

This behavior was like slapping Yuan Bingqi in the face, and he was so angry that he almost had the "Wenbaozhai" burned down.

But after some inquiries, Yuan Bingqi learned that Xin Zikai had good relations with many old leaders in the city and was even the vice president of the Beijing Calligraphy Association, highly respected in the industry.

Yuan Bingqi had no choice but to endure it and found another valuable ancient inkstone to gift to the old cadre. Later, in the battle for the logistics yard, it was this old cadre’s word that helped him avoid many troubles.

Although this matter was over, the grudge between Yuan Bingqi and Xin Zikai remained. The patient and enduring Yuan Bingqi didn’t act against the old man, but when he heard that the old man had passed away, he remembered the old grudge.

This led to the various troubles that Xin Nan faced. Yuan Bingqi originally wanted Xin Nan to give him the ancient inkstone to save face, but since he, Yuan Bingqi, was no longer the same as before, he wouldn’t have held it against Xin Nan.

However, what Yuan Bingqi didn’t expect was that Xin Nan, like his deceased grandfather, sold the "Wenbaozhai" and took the ancient inkstone to Beijing, which made his plan fall through.

Xin Nan joined a national research institution, and Yuan Bingqi didn’t dare to act rashly, so he shifted his anger to the person who took over the "Wenbaozhai" and sent people to keep an eye on it, intending to teach the young man who ruined his plans a lesson.

Yuan Bingqi was busy and didn’t follow up much after giving the order, but one thing led to another, and his foolish uncle’s son, his own cousin, was stabbed to death.

Yuan Bingqi’s grandfather, who had committed many evil deeds, left behind three sons. The eldest, dissatisfied with the government’s execution of his father, led a group of people with explosives to attack the government, and was killed on the spot, leaving no descendants.

Yuan Bingqi’s father was a smart man. After his father’s death, he kept a low profile, running a bicycle repair stand on the street for decades, and died of illness in the early 1980s.

As for Yuan Bingqi’s third uncle, due to his poor mental resilience, he went insane after being tormented several times during the turbulent years and jumped into a river in the late 1970s, leaving behind a son who was over ten years younger than Yuan Bingqi.

Perhaps because of the genes he inherited from Yuan Huiwen, Yuan Dong was not a good person. He lacked his brother’s cunning but was ruthless and cruel, and was one of the top enforcers in the Yuan Bingqi group.

It was unlikely that Yuan Dong would do something as low-level as surveillance, and he wouldn’t bother with a small shop.

But that day was a coincidence. When Li Tianyuan and Xie Xuan were discovered, Yuan Dong happened to be playing mahjong in a teahouse on the antique street. Upon hearing from his subordinates that they had found two young men, he got excited and followed them.

Yuan Dong didn’t expect that his bad luck would lead to his death. He was stabbed in the heart by Li Tianyuan’s wild slashing and died on the spot.

Those who have fought in gangs since childhood should know that experienced fighters only slash with knives, not stab or thrust.

Because no matter how severe the cuts, as long as they don’t hit the neck arteries, they generally won’t be fatal. For example, Li Tianyuan, despite being slashed over ten times, would only suffer from excessive blood loss and recover in a month or two.

But stabbing is different. The sharp edge of a knife can easily pierce internal arteries and organs, which can be fatal. When someone dies, the nature of the incident changes, and experienced gangsters usually know this.

Logically, although Li Tianyuan was young, he was a seasoned gangster and shouldn’t have made such a mistake.

But surrounded by seven or eight people, Li Tianyuan was desperate and lost control, and his wild stabbing led to Yuan Dong’s death.

As the saying goes, "gang matters are settled within the gang." Yuan Bingqi followed the rules and didn’t report the incident to the police. He even kept it secret, and few people in Tianjin’s underworld knew about Yuan Dong’s death.

But his brother’s sudden death made Yuan Bingqi extremely angry. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have caused such a big stir in Tianjin just for a shop.

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