In an instant, all eyes turned in their direction as several thugs emerged from all sides, holding knives and steel pipes.
A middle-aged man stepped forward. Liang Yan stood in front of Qu Xiao, blocking him from view, which led the man to mistake Liang Yan for the leader.
He drew a gun from his waist and pointed it at Liang Yan. “Kid, if you’re here to cause trouble, you’ve come to the wrong place. Don’t you know whose turf this is? This is Master Qu’s turf.”
“Oh, really? Since when did I acquire such a turf without knowing it? You’re using my name to run this place—have you ever paid me tribute?”
Qu Xiao stepped out from behind Liang Yan, his expression cold as he stared at the gun-wielding man.
Although the man had never met Qu Xiao before, he had heard of him. The man before him was far too handsome to be someone making a living in their line of work.
He sneered and aimed the gun directly at Qu Xiao. “You’ve got some nerve, claiming to be Master Qu. Do you have a death wish?”
Qu Xiao’s patience had nearly run out. Without hesitation, he fired a shot into the man’s thigh.
Instantly, the man clutched his leg and began wailing in pain. The thugs armed with knives and pipes surged forward, ready to attack.
But Yu Yang and several bodyguards raised their guns, aiming at the crowd, forcing them to freeze in place.
The gamblers and pleasure-seekers in the room also came to an abrupt halt.
Qu Xiao walked over to the wailing man and delivered a fierce kick to his head.
Blood immediately gushed from the man’s nose and mouth, and his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Qu Xiao.
He had heard of Qu Xiao’s reputation—ruthless and merciless, never giving anyone a chance to recover.
Qu Xiao raised his gaze, scanning the room, and his eyes fell upon a white powder-like substance on a nearby sofa.
His expression turned icy, and his voice cut through the air like frost. “Who supplied you with this?”
The man, still clutching his bleeding thigh, stubbornly retorted, “It was Master Qu who gave us the goods. This is—”
Before he could finish, Qu Xiao delivered another brutal kick to his injured leg.
The man writhed on the ground in agony.
Qu Xiao took a step back. “Yu Yang, cut out his tongue.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yu Yang drew a military knife from his boot and advanced toward the man.
Now fully convinced that this was indeed Qu Xiao, the man was so terrified that he lost control of his bladder and bowels.
Yu Yang looked at him with disgust. “Who exactly gave you the authority to use my master’s name to run this place?”
The man shook his head frantically. “I don’t know! I’m just a small-time thug. Last year, a group of people approached me out of nowhere. They offered me a monthly salary of a hundred thousand just to watch over this turf. They told me it belonged to Master Qu.”
“They’re the ones who supplied us with the goods every month. These people showed up on their own—we only let them in.”
Qu Xiao’s face darkened with fury. It was clear that the mastermind had arranged everything in advance, using an ignorant pawn as a scapegoat.
His voice was cold as he demanded, “Who introduced the two young masters of the Gu family here?”
The man shook his head repeatedly. “I don’t know. The two young masters from the Gu family weren’t received by us. It was Tie Tou who handled them, and he’s been in charge all along.”
Yu Yang began pressing further. “Where is that Tie Tou now?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t come to work today. I really don’t know anything.”
Yu Yang looked up at Qu Xiao, seeking guidance on what to do next.
Most of the thugs here were around twenty years old, with some even looking underage – clearly just street punks.
At that moment, a voice came through Yu Yang’s air tube tactical headset. “Brother Yu, a man just ran when he saw us. I thought he looked suspicious, so I sent someone to follow him.”
Yu Yang turned to look at Qu Xiao. “Master, Qi Zi and the others encountered a man at the entrance who ran off as soon as he saw them. It must be that Tie Tou. What should we do now?”
Qu Xiao’s face was dark and gloomy. He knew there was nothing more to be gained from further questioning.
“Tell them to call the police.”
Yu Yang acknowledged the order. Qu Xiao had people come in to stand guard while he and Liang Yan walked out.
Liang Yan’s expression was grim. “Brother, I think the mastermind behind this must be connected to those people from the Qu Family. They’re probably trying to throw this muddy water on you.”
After all, if these matters were traced back to him, it could mean facing the firing squad.
Qu Xiao lit a cigarette and leaned against the car. “If it’s them, then everything makes sense. I’m just curious where they got those things from.”
Liang Yan also lit a cigarette, cursing under his breath. “What a bunch of bastards, coming up with such a vicious scheme to set you up.”
Qu Xiao remained silent. A long time passed until they heard police sirens approaching. He called Yu Yang.
“Everyone pull out.”
He and Liang Yan got in the car and drove off into the distance.
In a villa somewhere.
A man in a bathrobe looked at the disconnected phone, a smirk forming on his lips.
“Interesting. He actually figured it out so quickly. Looks like I’ll need to be more careful from now on. But this should keep him busy for a while.”
He picked up the red wine beside him and drank it all in one gulp. “Qu Xiao, let’s take our time playing this game. I have plenty of time to keep you company.”
Thinking of this, he sent another message to Xu Tao, then turned off his phone and went to bed.
He wasn’t worried at all about the investigation leading to him, because Master Qu only had Qu Xiao as his successor. Besides, he had arranged everything in advance – the investigation would ultimately only lead back to Qu Xiao.
…
When Qu Xiao and Liang Yan returned to Rose Garden, the bodyguards who had left separately had also arrived.
Yu Yang got out of the car and approached Qu Xiao. “Master, we’ve brought back all the surveillance footage from there. We’ll start reviewing it soon to see if we recognize anyone.”
Qu Xiao nodded and entered the house with Liang Yan.
“Let’s rest first. We can deal with everything tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Liang Yan responded. He was quite tired and decided to take a bath and go to sleep first.
Qu Xiao went to wash up in the guest room before returning to his own room.
As soon as he opened the door and entered, he saw Gu Yan leaning against the headboard, already asleep.
He turned off the bedside lamp, held her in his arms, and fell asleep.
The next day.
When Gu Yan woke up, Qu Xiao had already left for work.
She picked up her phone and saw that it was only eight o’clock.
She got up, washed up, changed her clothes, went downstairs with her keys, and drove off.
She still had to meet someone today and couldn’t be late.
Soon, her car stopped in front of a café.
Before she even entered, she heard a voice that made her sick to her stomach.
“Xiao Yan, it really is you.”