Chapter 260: with translation of chapter title

After making a half loop around Shanghu, we returned to the guesthouse.

Seeing us return, Shangguan Zhuren happily ran straight out of the guesthouse,

He said to us, "You've finally come back; this old man was worried sick."

Shi Yong also came running after them,

Shi Yong looked at our faces,

"Brother, what performance are you putting on? How did your faces get all messed up like this?"

I said, "There's no time to explain; Shi Yong, bring this woman into the guesthouse."

I opened the car door and pointed to Shen Honghong.

"Who is this woman? Why did you bring a woman back?" Shangguan Zhuren asked.

"This woman is Zhou Fuhai's concubine, named Shen Honghong; she'll be very useful to us," I told Shangguan Zhuren.

"His concubine—how could she appear in Zaocheng?" Shangguan Zhuren continued.

"They came from Sijiucheng to Zaocheng looking for Zhou Fuhai." After saying that, I took out a cigarette.

Finally I could catch my breath and have a smoke.

Xiao Long came over then,

"Sir, what should we do with the car?"

"Xiao Long, go find Uncle Xiao Wu and have him handle it; he has special channels for dealing with such cars," I said.

Xiao Long then asked Shi Yong for Xiao Wu's phone number to take care of the car.

At that moment, Shi Yong lifted Shen Honghong from the car,

and said affectionately, "Brother, this woman is quite beautiful; how did her leg get so badly injured? It's heartbreaking."

I said, "First carry her inside, then hurry to Shanghu to find a doctor to check her. Shi Yong, hold her inside—you mustn't have any designs on her."

Shi Yong stomped his foot angrily and said, "Brother, what are you saying? Am I that kind of person? I hate nothing more than going against a woman's wishes."

"Especially that sort of thing—it's only enjoyable when both parties consent."

"Alright, no more explanations. Hurry inside—it's freezing out." After saying that, I followed Shangguan Zhuren and Shi Yong into the house.

I returned to the guesthouse,

first took a shower,

changed clothes.

poured a cup of water,

and sat on the sofa to rest.

Shangguan Zhuren handed me a cigarette,

"What's going on? Why did you run off so hastily?"

I took the cigarette,

"If we'd been a step later, Liu Shiru would have caught us. Fortunately Xiao Long's driving is good—we shook off their car in Zaocheng and got away."

"You have no idea how close it was."

"Shangguan Zhuren, I feel they've realized I'm just pretending to be Zhou Fuhai, because Liu Shiru never even saw me before bringing people."

"And Zhou Renfeng's phone call shows that old coot saw through me long ago, pretended not to know, and arranged for me to meet Liu Shiru."

Shangguan Zhuren took a puff of his cigarette,

"After you left, I sensed something was off—you disappeared for a week without contacting them; who wouldn't suspect? You told me Zhou Fuhai's old phone has auto‑location and message‑return functions, and I believe Zhou Renfeng knows Zhou Fuhai's movements very well."

"So even the slightest hint of truth on your part would make him suspicious."

"We were also careless. Fortunately you escaped from Zaocheng, or we'd have really messed up."

I said, "They're tougher than we imagined; it looks like we can't use the Zhou Fuhai identity for now."

"Yeah, Zhou Fuhai is dead—we shouldn't use him anymore. Let's think of another way," Shangguan Zhuren said.

"My plastic surgery will probably need more money to fix up," I laughed.

"No need—Xiao Fang said the surgery will revert if not maintained, so you don't have to worry about it. What do we do with this woman?" Shangguan Zhuren asked.

"This woman is Shen Honghong, a sports‑channel host; we must keep her, because she's also Zhou Renfeng's concubine and holds many of his secrets—he wants to kill her."

"I saw on Zhou Fuhai's computer that he was planning to murder her." I took a sip of water.

"That's great—it's extremely important; it's like we've directly seized Zhou Renfeng's lifeline."

"I never expected this—it's a huge gain. Does this woman know our background?" Shangguan Zhuren laughed happily.

"She knows part of it, but Shen Honghong doesn't want to cooperate with us; she's suspicious and doesn't believe we can overthrow Zhou Renfeng." I said.

"Being suspicious is normal—yeah, we're like a ragtag bunch; nobody would believe we could topple Zhou Renfeng, but things are done by people, we don't have full confidence, we've been striving, and through Zhou Fuhai we secured Niu Ju, and likewise we've grabbed this important woman."

"All we need is the right moment to push her out as a fatal blow to Zhou Renfeng; the Zhou family will soon collapse."

"But all this depends on waiting for the opportunity and striving for it," Shangguan Zhuren said, gazing into the distance.

I nodded,

"Yeah, we're weak, but weakness doesn't mean incapability. I've already run out of Xin Cheng in Zaocheng; I reckon Kong Shi and Liu Shiru will be fuming."

"First, don't worry about them; we still need to figure out how to rescue Li Ming, or else they'll use him as a pawn and cause trouble," Shangguan Zhuren said seriously.

"You're right—how to save Li Ming is a tough problem; I never expected Kong Shi to be so ruthless as to disown his own son. It's beyond imagination." I said.

"That Kong Shi is simply inhuman—a beast. I can't even mention him; just thinking of him makes me want to curse."

"I truly don't know what he's living for."

"Kong Xiangju in our hands has become a burden—we can't release him, we can't keep him." Shangguan Zhuren launched into a tirade.

I said, "When I have a chance I'll go see Kong Xiangju; I guess because he gambles, Kong Shi has lost faith in his son and therefore won't rescue him."

"That's possible. The only way to save Li Ming is for us to come directly,"

We found where Li Ming was detained and snatched him away; this is the only method.

I feel Li Ming is still in Zaocheng; if we have to transfer him to Sijiucheng, that would be troublesome. Shangguan Zhuren took another puff of cigarette.

The key is how to find out where Li Ming is being held; Xiao Wu told me that there really is no Li Ming brother in Zaocheng's detention center, because he knows many people there. I also took a puff of cigarette.

Li Ming won't be held in a detention center; he'll be locked up in some hotel or a place we don't know. Now they already know us; they'll keep a tighter watch on Li Ming.

Sigh, this is the most troublesome matter. Shangguan Zhuren let out a sigh.

I'll meet Kong Xiangju tomorrow to talk, ask Kong Shi what other weaknesses he has, and then we'll start from Kong Shi. I said.

Just as I finished speaking, Shi Yong knocked and came in,

Brother, that woman woke up, crying and shouting, wanting to leave; what do you think we should do?

I looked at Shi Yong,

You aren't the most fond of doing women's work; go persuade her, tell her not to shout or yell.

Shi Yong gave a wry smile and said: "I really don't have that talent; when I see a woman cry, I feel sorry and want to cry myself. Just now I already stayed in the room with that woman and cried for a while; look, my eyes are all red."

This Shi Yong is also a talent; keeping a woman company while she cries counts as persuading her.