Chapter 176: Want to Drag Out the Person Behind Su Qiang Too

Ning Jinli knows that someone like Su Qiang is the sort of petty person who, once they get ahead, cannot help but act wantonly, becoming reckless and not considering the consequences at all.

So don't expect to reason with or admonish them when they're on top.

If anyone had that kind of mind, how could they manage to do something like this?

The simplest solution, of course, is to take them down directly.

"Here you are." Ning Jinli approached calmly, saying lightly, "It's been a while since we last met; I never expected you to end up like this."

Su Qiang wore a smug expression, "Fortunes turn; I've finally got good luck—nothing can stop my meteoric rise."

Ning Jinli chuckled, "Oh? Looks like you've found a benefactor?"

She doesn't believe Su Qiang could have risen on the path solely by their own ability in such a short time; the only possibility is that this guy is doing dirty work for someone else.

In other words, there's someone behind them.

Moreover, that person is the one truly targeting Wu Sanye.

"Enough chatter, kneel." Su Qiang moved the gun off Wu Sanye's forehead and swaggered, brandishing it at Ning Jinli.

Ning Jinli had been waiting for exactly this opportunity.

The muzzle had been way too close to Wu Sanye a moment ago; even if she wanted to act, she feared the gun might fire.

As the pistol swung in front of her, she seized Su Qiang's wrist.

Su Qiang was momentarily stunned, but didn't take Ning Jinli seriously.

"You damn… still dare to snatch my gun? Looking—"

Before she could even utter the word "die," Ning Jinli's five fingers instantly exerted force.

Su Qiang's wrist was as if clamped by a tiger's jaws, the pain forcing the hand to open, and before he could react, the crude handmade pistol was snatched away by Ning Jinli.

"This kind of thing can't be used recklessly."

Saying that, Ning Jinli pointed the muzzle at Su Qiang.

The group of thugs panicked, yet dared not advance, all staring anxiously at Ning Jinli.

Su Qiang gritted his teeth, rubbing his wrist, a look of shock in his eyes, "You damn… how is your strength so great?"

The nearby Wu Sanye, seeing this, silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Being pointed at by a gun is truly terrifying; even someone like him, who has previously roamed the path, was greatly frightened.

"Third Uncle, step back," Ning Jinli whispered.

Wu Sanye decisively rose and moved back to Lao Yang's side.

Ning Jinli asked, "Su Qiang, who sent you to cause trouble?"

Su Qiang recovered from shock, sneering, "Sent? I already have a grudge against you; I don't need anyone to order me. Come on, if you have the guts, fire a shot at me."

So what if the gun was taken?

A woman, and she actually dares to fire a gun, huh?

Bang!

The gunshot rang out without warning!

The thugs were so frightened they fell backward.

Su Qiang's hair stood on end, a sharp pain pulsed in his left ear, and his head buzzed.

The muzzle of the gun was pressed against the left side of his head, a wisp of smoke curling from it.

"You… you're insane?!" Su Qiang shouted, eyes wide.

Ning Jinli pressed the scorching barrel against his left ear, smiling, "Sorry, I've never used this kind of thing before; at this distance I missed. This time I'll aim properly and see if I can blast off one of your ears."

Su Qiang gritted his teeth from the heat, his gaze darkening, and suddenly reached out to snatch the gun.

Even if Ning Jinli actually fired, he didn't think she had the nerve to aim at a person and fire again.

Moreover, if a woman can seize a gun when the opponent is off guard, why couldn't she take it back herself?

But the moment Su Qiang's hand began to rise,

Ning Jinli lifted her right hand holding the gun, and with her left hand she slapped Su Qiang's face twice, "You still dare to snatch a gun?"

Su Qiang not only failed to succeed, but also took two slaps, looking dazed.

What's going on? My move was clearly fast, yet I didn't get it?

No! Try again!

He immediately reached out again at top speed.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Ning Jinli swung her left hand, fanning his face left and right, delivering four solid slaps!

Su Qiang saw stars, dizzy and nauseous, his face hurting, and his heart raging with anger.

The surrounding thugs, having never seen such a scene, still dared not move or speak.

Ning Jinli, a bit helpless, thought briefly, then hurried to Wu Sanye, "Third Uncle, you hold it and protect Lao Yang."

Wu Sanye took the pistol, scratched his head, "Miss Ning… I've mixed in society in many places before, but I've never handled this thing."

"Give it to me," Lao Yang extended his hand.

Wu Sanye hurriedly handed it to him.

Lao Yang gave it a glance, then deftly removed the magazine and, within a few seconds, disassembled the gun body into parts, muttering, "The workmanship is passable, but the design is odd and prone to accidental discharge; better to take it apart for safety."

That casual display earned Wu Sanye's solemn respect, "Brother Yang, impressive!"

Lao Yang waved his hand, "No big deal, no big deal."

Ning Jinli leaned close to Lao Yang's ear and whispered, "I want to pull out the person behind Su Qiang as well; what do you think…?"

Lao Yang, smiling lightly, said, "I'm just an ordinary person now; do whatever you want, but if we encounter danger we can't handle, you'll have to run away with me."

His words amounted to tacit permission for Ning Jinli to handle it herself.

Ning Jinli nodded and returned to Su Qiang's side.

Su Qiang took six hard slaps from her in succession, his ears still jolted by the close-range gunshot, his head growing more dazed; he sat on the sofa, head back, mouth open, looking vacant.

"You lot, scram." Ning Jinli gave the surrounding thugs a cold glance.

The thugs exchanged a glance, hesitated for two seconds, then chose to retreat.

They were merely hired by Su Qiang with money; now that Su Qiang has been dealt with, there's no need for them to exert themselves.

"Hey hey hey!" Ning Jinli waved her hand in front of Su Qiang's eyes, "Snap out of it!"

Su Qiang flinched, covering his face as if shocked, "Don't… don't hit me!"

Ning Jinli smiled, "Not hitting is fine too; since no one's urging you on, today's responsibility falls entirely on you—the shop's losses and Wu Sanye's medical and compensation fees—how much do you think you should pay?"

Su Qiang's face darkened; he pressed his lips shut and said nothing.

His underlings all fled, the guns were gone, and he lacked the nerve to act arrogant as before.

Ning Jinli continued, "I won't mention the shop's renovation; just speaking of the things your people smashed, you probably owe about one or two million."

"One… one or two million?!" Su Qiang's eyes nearly popped out, "Are you extorting money?!"

Ning Jinli said, "Take a good look—this place counts as Xinghan City's finest antique shop; your people smashed nothing but antiques, and one or two million is already a low estimate."

Su Qiang's face grew even uglier.

Ning Jinli added, "You not only need to come up with huge compensation, but your actions are already illegal; privately possessing firearms in our country carries a sentence of up to three years, and you used a gun to smash the shop and make threats, which is a serious circumstance, punishable by three years minimum, up to seven."

"Seven… seven years?" Su Qiang felt as if his soul had been sucked out, his whole body going limp on the sofa.

Ning Jinli smiled faintly, quietly watching him.

After a few seconds, Su Qiang squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, "Can't we skip the police and settle privately? Let me raise the money—I'll pay, I'll pay everything!"

Ning Jinli deliberately set a trap, putting on a difficult act: "I'd like to give you a chance to raise the money, but your character is simply untrustworthy; if I don't see the compensation within an hour, I'll have to hand you over to the police."

Su Qiang was nearly in tears, "One hour? Where am I supposed to get the money?"

"Can't come up with it? Fine," Ning Jinli pulled out his phone from his pocket, "I'll call the police right now."

"Wait!" Su Qiang grabbed the phone with both hands, as if making a decision, "Let me try first—I'll ask a friend."

"All right." Ning Jinli's lips twitched slightly, she let go, walked to the door and closed the shop's main door.

Su Qiang's expression complex, he cradled the phone and dialed a call.

The call connected quickly.

He curled up on the sofa, lowering his voice: "Buddy, I've run into trouble… I'm being held in Wu Sanye's antique shop; could you… bring money to bail me out?"

After a few minutes of negotiation, the person on the other end agreed.

Su Qiang let out a long breath, telling Ning Jinli his friend would be coming shortly.

About half an hour later.

Urgent knocking sounded at the door.

Ning Jinli cracked the shop door open just a bit, sizing up the three anxious men outside, "Who are you looking for?"

The leader lowered the brim of his Ya She Mao, "I'm here to ransom Su Qiang; let me in."

Ning Jinli then let the three men in.

Upon seeing Ya She Mao, Su Qiang burst out with a choked voice, "Buddy, you finally showed up!"

Ya She Mao looked speechless, ignored him, forced a smile toward Wu Sanye and said, "Oh, Third Uncle! Really sorry, my friend's got water in his brain—he provoked you—"

"Don't try to cozy up," Wu Sanye said coldly, cutting him off, "Take it up with Miss Ning."

"Miss Ning?" Ya She Mao's gaze shifted to Ning Jinli.

He'd never seen her, didn't know her, but she was the only woman present.

Ya She Mao frowned, "Miss Ning, right? I'll offer a flat five hundred thousand—what do you think?"

Ning Jinli crossed her arms, "Five hundred thousand? That's ridiculous."

"Don't be ungrateful," Ya She Mao warned, "If I bring my boss over, you won't even get that five hundred thousand."

Ning Jinli asked lightly, "Who's your boss?"

Ya She Mao gave a name.

Ning Jinli had seen him in the news before; he seemed to be a fairly wealthy big boss.

But as far as she knew, this person had virtually no dealings with Wu Sanye, nor any business with Baoyun Hall Company.

She glanced at Wu Sanye.

Wu Sanye spread his hands helplessly.

Ning Jinli furrowed her brows slightly.

Could it be… that I overthought things?

Did Su Qiang truly have no one pulling the strings behind him?

However, Ning Jinli vaguely sensed it wasn't that simple, because Ya She Mao's rush to ransom Su Qiang even involved dragging out his own boss.

Might as well keep probing deeper.

Just as before in He Wan County, by following leads from the He Wan County Magistrate, she not only dealt with the Longyuan Governor but also rooted out the topmost source of trouble.

Besides, trying it costs nothing.

"Five hundred thousand is too little; five million I could consider." Ning Jinli said deliberately arrogantly, "If you can't negotiate, have your boss come."

Ya She Mao hadn't expected that after pulling out his boss's name, this woman would still lion‑mouthedly raise the price, pulling a face and saying, "Miss Ning, aren't you being too greedy?"

Ning Jinli chuckled, "Greedy? I was thinking of saying eight hundred million, or—how about ten million?"

"Do I look like a sucker?" Ya She Mao snapped angrily.

Ning Jinli wore an indifferent expression, "Since you won't pay to ransom him, don't waste time—go on, I'll call the police. I'll especially remind them that Su Qiang has a friend like you."

Ya She Mao's face darkened, "What do you mean, threatening me?"

"Huh? What am I threatening you about?" Ning Jinli blinked her big eyes, looking as if she didn't understand.

Ya She Mao felt a tightness in their chest.

They really couldn't tell whether the woman was just saying it offhand or doing it on purpose.

They only knew that Su Qiang's matter was troublesome; once sent to the police station, the police would definitely interrogate in detail, and if the woman specifically mentioned being friends with Su Qiang, they would surely investigate as well.

Anyone who hustles on the streets has something they'd rather keep in the dark, right?

It wouldn't be surprising if some of their own shady affairs got exposed because of this.

That would be a real hassle later.

Ya She Mao twisted his head and glared fiercely at Su Qiang, now truly regretting having helped Su Qiang back then.

"How about this…" Ya She Mao was almost grinding his teeth to the point of breaking them, spitting out a few words, "One million—that's already a lot."

Ning Jinli replied firmly, "If it's less than five million, don't even think about taking anyone away."

"Damn it!" Ya She Mao lost his temper, pointing at Ning Jinli's nose and shouting, "I gave you face and you don't want it? Forget even the five hundred thousand!"

After that outburst, he looked around, then shouted to his two subordinates, "Delete the surveillance footage from this shop!"

The two subordinates sprang into action, rushing straight for the counter computer.

Meanwhile, Ya She Mao yanked Su Qiang out of the sofa, intending to take him away immediately.

Ning Jinli kicked the nearby armchair with one foot.

The heavy armchair slid over like a bowling ball, crashing straight into the two people standing by the counter and toppling them.

Ya She Mao wore a look of utter disbelief.

Ning Jinli seized the opportunity to say, "No compensation, yet you still want to take someone away? Then just don't leave either."

"You're really bold!" Ya She Mao pushed Su Qiang aside, rolled up his sleeves and charged at Ning Jinli, "Little girl, this beating is on you for asking for it!"

Bang— Bang Bang—

After a few muffled thuds.

Ya She Mao clutched his stomach and collapsed onto the ground, cold sweat streaming from his forehead, his face full of disbelief.

Since he started hustling on the streets, he had never lost a fight.

He had even taken part in specialized combat training.

But just now, he didn't even manage to touch the little girl's clothes before he got hit with a few punches!

Watching, there was no technique and hardly any force.

He didn't even try to dodge…

Who would have thought he'd be beaten so badly he started doubting his own life.

"Are you planning to go to jail with Su Qiang, or find someone to pay compensation to free you?" Ning Jinli asked with a smiling glint.

Ya She Mao was both shocked and angry; this time he seemed to have been careless, running into an unassuming tough nut.

Not only could he not take Su Qiang away, but he also got himself tangled up.

What kind of mess is this!

At this point, besides asking the boss to settle things, there's no other way.

"You… you let me… call my boss," Ya She Mao said, clutching his stomach, stumbling to his feet.

Ning Jinli welcomed it, gesturing a polite invitation, "No problem, go ahead."

Ya She Mao made the call, and in less than half an hour, a luxury business car and several high‑end sedans arrived at the antique shop's entrance…