Chapter 73

As the night deepened, the wealthy Ziyuan neighborhood was enveloped in tranquility. In the master bedroom of Villa 18, Situ Ruoshui had already fallen asleep in Situ Chen's arms.

Under the lamplight, her face was marked with tear stains, making her look pitifully vulnerable.

Situ Chen reached out, intending to wipe away the tears on Situ Ruoshui's face, but he hesitated, fearing he might wake her. He paused his hand in mid-air.

After a moment, he gently lifted Situ Ruoshui's head, placed it softly on the pillow, and covered her with a towel blanket. Then, he got up and walked to the window, slightly closing it.

After completing these tasks, he silently slipped out of the room.

In the corridor, Aunt Yang seemed to have been waiting for a long time. Seeing Situ Chen come out, she hurriedly approached him.

Situ Chen made a gesture for silence, walked to Aunt Yang, and said, "Sister Yang, go to bed."

Before Aunt Yang could respond, Situ Chen quickly walked to the villa's balcony, took the pipe from Xiao Si, lit it, and began to inhale deeply.

After letting the nicotine circulate in his lungs for a while, Situ Chen's emotions gradually calmed down. He tapped the ash off the pipe and said to Xiao Si, "Call Haotian."

Hearing this, Xiao Si silently took out Situ Chen's phone, dialed Situ Haotian's number, and handed it to Situ Chen.

"Tomorrow, take Xiao Jiu and the other seven to Hanghu to participate in the e-sports competition. Have Liu Tianjun conduct a thorough investigation and meet you at the highway exit."

Situ Chen instructed in a solemn tone, "I will call Dong Jianjun to ensure more police presence during the competition to prevent the Nanqinghong people from making any moves against Ruoshui."

"If nothing goes wrong, the Nanqinghong people shouldn't dare to act in public. My only concern is that Ruoshui might be in danger when she goes to Lingyin Temple to make a wish!" At this point, Situ Chen's brows furrowed.

On the other end of the line, Situ Haotian, adopted by Situ Chen, frowned and said, "Father, for safety, I suggest not letting Ruoshui go to Lingyin Temple..."

"She gave me a reason I can't refuse."

Situ Chen's voice was low, "After the competition, have Liu Tianjun pretend to take you to the highway exit, but you take her to Lingyin Temple. Remember, do not reveal your whereabouts. If you encounter any danger, immediately have Xiao Jiu take Ruoshui away!"

"Yes, Father!"

Situ Haotian accepted the order immediately, but his expression was somewhat unnatural.

"Blood is thicker than water after all..."

After the call ended, Situ Haotian gave a self-deprecating smile, his thoughts unknown.

In a private club in Hanghu city.

An Audi Q7 drove into the club and parked in the lot. Three imposing men got out of the car and were led into the empty club by a respectful driver.

The leader wore a black robe, had long hair, a hooked nose, and deep-set eyes, giving him a very sinister appearance. His cold gaze was particularly chilling.

To his left was a man nearly two meters tall, with a robust build, long arms, and large, flat-fingered hands. He looked like a mountain, exuding a strong sense of oppression.

In comparison, the man to the leader's right appeared more normal in both build and appearance.

That is, unless you looked into his eyes!

He had only one eye, and it was narrow and elongated. When he looked at someone, it would instinctively narrow to a slit, like a snake flicking its tongue, which was quite unsettling.

"Damn, I'm used to wearing martial arts clothes. Wearing these things is a torture."

Entering the club's hall, the robust man grumbled. As he spoke, he suddenly inhaled deeply, and his body swelled. With a few "pop" sounds, the buttons on his shirt burst open, revealing his iron-hard chest and abs.

The man leading them was so startled that his heart skipped a beat. Before he could recover from the shock, the one-eyed youth's words made his face pale.

"Master Qu, it's one thing that Qiao Bazhi didn't come to pick us up, but now that we're here, he's nowhere to be seen. He's really putting on airs."

Under the light, the one-eyed youth spoke with dissatisfaction while playing with a black dagger, his eyes flashing with cold light.

"Putting on airs is a minor issue. The key is that he needs to give me a reasonable explanation for Xiao Wu's mysterious disappearance."

The middle-aged man in the black robe spoke for the first time, his tone casual but sending a chill down the robust man and the one-eyed youth's spines, making them feel icy cold.

They knew very well that Qu Feng, who had reached the peak of the Later Heaven realm, had come to Hanghu largely because of Wu He's death—Wu He was Qu Feng's disciple!

Initially, after discovering Wu He's martial arts talent in the secular world, Qu Feng not only took him as a disciple but also brought him into the Hongwu Gate...

Given this, Wu He's mysterious disappearance in Hanghu naturally made Qu Feng very unhappy with Qiao Bazhi.

Even... in their view, if Qu Feng insisted on pursuing the matter, even if Lin Tianyi intervened to protect Qiao Bazhi, Qiao Bazhi would still suffer greatly!

All of this, besides Qu Feng being a peak Later Heaven expert, was also due to the terrifying power of the Hongwu Gate behind him!

In comparison, the robust man, who came from the wild, and the one-eyed youth, who was a former assassin, held a much lower status in Lin Tianyi's heart.

Before the robust man and the one-eyed youth could say anything, the sound of a car engine turning off came from outside the club. Qiao Bazhi quickly got out of the car and rushed into the club.

"Sorry, Master Qu, Master Zhang, Master Wu, the Donghai Gang's Liu Tianjun sent people to tail me. I had no choice but to lose them first, so I'm late. Please forgive me!"

Qiao Bazhi, already troubled by how to explain Wu He's disappearance to Qu Feng, immediately apologized upon entering, lowering his posture.

"Hmph!"

The one-eyed youth snorted coldly, giving Qiao Bazhi no face.

Qu Feng, however, stared at Qiao Bazhi with a gaze like a knife, making Qiao Bazhi's heart clench. He turned to the more approachable robust youth and asked, "Master Zhang, how long have you been here?"

"Qiao Bazhi, why did Wu He suddenly disappear?"

Qu Feng coldly cut off Qiao Bazhi, deliberately reminding him, "Don't tell me Wu He was killed by the Donghai Gang's bunch of scoundrels, or that he was taken out by the Yanhuang people!"

"Sorry, Master Qu, it's all my fault!" Feeling Qu Feng's anger and knowing his identity, Qiao Bazhi quickly bowed and admitted his mistake.

Hearing this, Qu Feng's heart sank, and his tone became even lower, "What happened?"

"Before the recent changes in Hanghu's political and business circles, to follow Mr. Lin's instructions and establish a connection with Han Guodong, I reached a cooperation agreement with the He family—I would help them eliminate a young man named Ye Fan, and they would help me connect with Han Guodong..."

Qiao Bazhi dared not hide anything and explained, "Because this matter was significant, and Xiao Wu was feeling restless, he volunteered to take on the task. I agreed, and he went to eliminate that Ye Fan, but... he never came back!"

"Xiao Wu, though not at the peak of the Later Heaven realm, had been in the Great Success realm for a long time and had few equals at his level."

The one-eyed youth was somewhat surprised, "Qiao Bazhi, according to what you said, that Ye Fan must be at least at the peak of the Later Heaven realm?"

"I've never heard of such a person in the martial world. Where did he come from?" the robust man asked in a loud voice.

"I don't know, they say he's a doctor."

Qiao Bazhi said, glancing at Qu Feng to gauge his reaction. Seeing Qu Feng's cold expression, he quickly lowered his head.

"Give me his information, and I will personally take his life!"

Qu Feng spoke in a low voice, and a terrifying killing intent instantly emerged, spreading from his body and making the atmosphere in the hall extremely oppressive.

"Master Qu..." Qiao Bazhi hesitated.

"What? Do you think I'm not a match for that young man?" Qu Feng asked coldly.

"Of course not, with Master Qu's strength, dealing with that Ye Fan is like slaughtering a chicken." Qiao Bazhi shook his head quickly, then hesitated and said, "But..."

"But what?"

"I'm afraid that if we act rashly, the Donghai Gang will discover your arrival, which could affect our operation."

Qiao Bazhi expressed his concern, then, guessing that Qu Feng might get angry, quickly continued, "Master Qu, I suggest we wait until after our operation to deal with that Ye Fan. He's like a fish on the chopping block, and we can deal with him at any time, no need to rush."

"Master Qu, I think Qiao Bazhi's suggestion is good."

The one-eyed youth agreed, different from Qu Feng, who represented the Hongwu Gate in cooperation with the Nanqinghong, he was Lin Tianyi's loyal subordinate and had to prioritize the interests of the Nanqinghong.

"Master Qu, killing a nobody is not worth your effort. After the operation, we will personally take his head for you!" The robust youth, like the one-eyed youth, nodded in agreement, giving Qu Feng a way out.

"Fine, I'll let that reckless person live for three more days!"

Qu Feng pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke, directly sentencing Ye Fan to death, "In three days, I will take his head and feed it to the dogs!"