Chapter 183: You've messed with the wrong person

Behind the iron door was exactly the storage room where Wu Sanye was being held.

Su Qiang pushed the door open and entered.

Wu Sanye sat in a chair, his hands bound behind his back, wounds all over his face and body, even his clothes stained red with blood.

Obviously, he had taken quite a beating during the few hours since being kidnapped and brought here.

"Fragrant, really fragrant..." Wu Sanye said, grinning with a bloody mouth, glancing at the open iron door behind Su Qiang.

Su Qiang approached, holding a bowl of scalding hot-pot soup, and said, "You damn well can take a beating."

Wu Sanye laughed and said, "This layer of fat on me didn't grow for nothing."

"Come on, open your mouth," Su Qiang said, extending the bowl to Wu Sanye's lips, smirking, "I want to see if your belly is just as tough-skinned and thick-fleshed."

Just then.

Wu Sanye's hands, clearly bound behind his back, suddenly lifted and he flung the bowl violently.

Su Qiang was caught off guard.

A bowl of scalding oil soup poured over his face.

"Ah!!!"

Su Qiang howled while wiping his face.

The oil soup then ran down his neck into his collar, burning all the way to his chest and belly, pain making him roll around on the ground.

Wu Sanye rubbed his wrists, raw from the ropes, gritted his teeth, and rushed out of the storage room.

Even before Su Qiang and his gang started eating hot pot, he had taken advantage of the lack of guards to slowly loosen the ropes binding his wrists; his cries for hot pot were merely a ruse to trick Su Qiang into opening the door.

The sudden scream made the people outside freeze for a moment.

Then they saw Wu Sanye stumbling out.

Everyone immediately rose to surround and intercept him.

Seeing that the opposition outnumbered him and had blocked his path in an instant, Wu Sanye, in desperation, lunged for the table and grabbed the hot pot.

"Don't come closer! I'll splash whoever comes near!"

The crowd now dared not approach easily.

Wu Sanye slowly moved the hot pot toward the warehouse exit, and whenever someone stepped forward, he flung the still-bubbling oil soup out of the pot.

A group of people flailed about in panic, dodging, and the scene descended into chaos.

Although this couldn't cause lethal injury, getting splashed with it was still painful enough.

Wu Sanye wasn't faring well either; although he held the pot by its two handles, the hot-pot oil was so hot that the handles burned badly, and the tighter he gripped, the more his fingers ached.

Ya She Mao sent two lackeys to check on Su Qiang's condition, then said to Wu Sanye, "Even if you could run out of this warehouse door, we could catch you and drag you back—why bother struggling?"

Wu Sanye endured the pain in his burned fingers, grimaced, and said, "What's that? You can catch me, but I can't run? I'm not even allowed to try?"

Ya She Mao had no reply, could only keep his eyes on Wu Sanye's hot pot while slowly approaching.

Wu Sanye retreated to a spot about four or five meters from the warehouse door and shouted at the few people blocking the entrance, "Move out of my way! Otherwise I'll splash your faces! Hurry up!"

Saying that, he turned around and made a motion to splash it.

The few guards grew flustered and instinctively stepped back.

Ya She Mao roared, "Stay right there! If you let him escape, Yang Shao won't spare you!"

The guards' faces changed.

Compared to getting a little hurt from oil soup, they feared being dealt with by Yang Shao more.

Wu Sanye grew frantic, "I really will splash it! If you get scalded to death, don't blame me!"

However, after shouting that, his own hands really couldn't take the burn any longer.

With a clang, the hot pot slipped from his hands and fell.

"Damn... I'm being scalded to death... hiss... huff... huff!" Wu Sanye blew on his reddened fingers.

Ya She Mao and his gang burst out laughing, piled on him, held him down, and tied him up with rope like a zongzi.

"Damn it!" Su Qiang cursed as he walked over and gave Wu Sanye a furious kicking.

Wu Sanye spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, laughed, and said, "Oh my, I thought you had a monkey's butt growing on your face."

By now, Su Qiang had already taken off his upper-body clothing.

From the right side of his face down to his neck and chest, a large area was red and swollen; the knife-like, needle-prick burn pain twisted his expression.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Su Qiang, seething with rage, grabbed a fruit knife from the table.

"Qiangzi! Don't act rashly!" Ya She Mao hurried to stop him.

Su Qiang's eyes turned bloodshot, "Today I'm going to kill him! That bastard is damn infuriating!"

Ya She Mao rebuked, "If you kill him, how will we answer to Yang Shao?!"

Su Qiang angrily put down the knife in his hand.

After two seconds of silence, Ya She Mao patted his shoulder and said, "Why don't you go to the hospital to treat your burns first?"

Su Qiang ignored him, gritted his teeth, and said, "If we can't kill him, can we at least hang him up? Maiming him would work too."

Seeing Su Qiang's miserable and frustrated state, Ya She Mao could only agree.

Soon after, they hung Wu Sanye from a beam in the warehouse with rope, his feet hovering just half a meter above the ground, swaying as he turned.

Su Qiang picked up an empty beer bottle and swung it hard at Wu Sanye's forehead.

Bang!

The beer bottle shattered.

Wu Sanye's head split open, blood flowing.

"I say..." Wu Sanye swayed his dizzy head, weak-voiced, "Your Yang Shao... still hasn't shown up; could it be... that he's already been arrested by the police?"

"Hahaha!" Ya She Mao laughed, "Did you get knocked stupid? Forget that we just went into the precinct and were bailed out by Yang Shao? Besides, who would dare arrest Yang Shao?"

Wu Sanye lifted his eyelids, stained red with fresh blood, and said, "Let me tell you the truth… this time you've really messed with someone you shouldn't have."

Ya She Mao feigned surprise, "Who? You?"

Wu Sanye chuckled, "Of course not me—it's Miss Ning Jinli. I sincerely advise you to quit while you're ahead and let me go."

"Hahahaha!!"

Ya She Mao laughed even harder.

Even the dozen or so henchmen around him doubled over with laughter, as if they'd heard the funniest joke ever.

Su Qiang wanted to laugh too, but every grin pulled at his face, causing a sharp sting, so he could only hold it in.

"Wu Sanye, let me also tell you the truth," Ya She Mao said, still laughing, "Young Master Yang personally went to deal with that girl. I admit she's got some weird skills, but Young Master Yang always carries a shotgun. As the saying goes, even the highest martial arts fear a kitchen knife—let alone a gun. Besides, Young Master Yang's background is anything but ordinary."

Wu Sanye slowly replied, "Miss Ning's background is even more extraordinary."

"Cut the crap!" Su Qiang kicked Wu Sanye in the belly, "What kind of background does she have? I don't even know where she's from."

Wu Sanye spun like a top from the kick, and as he wobbled he said, "She's backed by a top‑level national figure… and… I can also confirm that the person who came with her to the antique shop today… that person… has an absolutely non‑ordinary identity—certainly not someone your Young Master Yang can just go head‑to‑head with."

Ya She Mao tried to recall, "Oh, you mean that old thing? If you hadn't mentioned it, I'd have almost forgotten. I'm telling you, Third Uncle, save your breath—stop spouting nonsense to fool people, it's pointless."

"Don't waste words on him!" Su Qiang gripped the broken beer bottle in his hand, "You guys step back—I'll stab a few bloody holes in his belly first!"

Having said that, he grabbed Wu Sanye with one hand and jabbed the broken bottle hard into the man's big belly.

*Pfft—*

The sharp glass pierced his shirt and sank deep into the flesh.

Wu Sanye trembled all over from the pain, large beads of cold sweat mixed with blood trickling down from his temples across his face.

"Damn! That feels great!" Su Qiang roared excitedly, "Wu Sanye! You're nothing but a dog now! Apologize to me, call me 'grandpa,' and I might consider going easy on you."

"You? You think you deserve an apology?" Wu Sanye clenched his back teeth and sneered, "Didn't you just eat dinner? How come you still have no strength—didn't you eat enough?"

"What the hell? Still acting tough like a dead duck?" Su Qiang put more force into his right hand, "Does it hurt? Does it hurt? I'm asking you if it hurts!"

The bottle's shards kept digging deeper into the flesh on Wu Sanye's belly.

Wu Sanye was almost passing out from the pain, yet he still sneered, "Is this little pain a big deal? Have I never seen the world? If you've got the guts, just kill me! If I even frown, I'll take your surname, you little turtle."

Su Qiang flew into a rage and repeatedly jabbed the broken bottle into Wu Sanye's belly.

Fortunately Wu Sanye had a layer of fat on his belly, otherwise he'd have been ripped open on the spot.

Still, though it wasn't life‑threatening, the sight of blood spurting everywhere was pretty horrifying.

Su Qiang was panting from exhaustion, yet seeing no sign of Wu Sanye wanting to give in only made him feel more frustrated and angry.

Even though he was exacting revenge, doing it this way left him hardly feeling any satisfaction at all.

"Qiangzi, take a break too," Ya She Mao said, urging him, after all fearing that if Su Qiang lost his head he might actually kill Wu Sanye.

Su Qiang tossed the bottle aside, plopped down, and glowered at Wu Sanye, "You wait for me… I'll catch my breath, then keep at it—I want to see how long you can keep talking tough."

Ya She Mao pulled out his phone again to check—Liu Zong still hadn't replied to any message.

That gave him an inexplicable sense of unease.

After thinking it over, he sent two lackeys out, "Go find Liu Zong, and if you locate him, call me right away."

The two henchmen immediately left the freight warehouse, each mounting a motorcycle, rode two or three hundred meters away, and saw a tall figure walking toward them.

This freight warehouse is in a remote spot; outside there are only a few scattered streetlights, and normally no outsiders pass by.

Suddenly spotting a shadow emerging, the two grew wary and slowed down.

"Hey! This is private property—don't just barge in!"

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The warning didn't make the shadow stop; instead it sped up, heading straight for the two of them.

When the vehicle's headlights illuminated the person's face, both let out a sigh of relief.

It turned out to be a young woman.

The two hadn't followed Ya She Mao to the antique shop earlier that day, otherwise they'd have turned back to the warehouse to inform him.

Because the person appearing before them was none other than Ning Jinli.

Ning Jinli wore a simple sporty casual outfit, canvas shoes, and her hair was just loosely tied up, making her look completely harmless.

"I'm here to find someone," Ning Jinli said.

The two stopped on either side of her, leering and taunting:

"Looking for someone?"

"Little sis, you wouldn't have snuck out of home to meet your boyfriend in a secluded spot, would you?"

"What's up, did your boyfriend get lost?"

"Or how about we two keep you company?"

"……"

Ning Jinli said calmly, "I'm looking for Wu Sanye."

Hearing that, the two exchanged a look of surprise.

Although they thought it a bit odd, seeing she was just a girl they didn't think much of it.

After exchanging glances, one of them probed, "What's your connection to Wu Sanye? Surely that fat‑headed oaf isn't your man, right?"

Ning Jinli replied, "He's my friend."

The other, with a lecherous look, shifted his weight on the seat and patted the motorcycle's rear, "Come on up, I'll give you a ride to see him."

Although the two didn't speak to each other, they tacitly began scheming.

This girl looked pure and pretty, and she'd practically delivered herself—why would they pass up meat right at their lips?

First trick her into a corner, then talk.

There are several warehouses around here, all currently idle; pick any one and you can easily deal with her, then after having your fun you can still go look for Liu Zong without delay.

Ning Jinli's face showed an elusive smile as she reached out and placed a hand on the shoulder of the man who had invited her into the car.

Seeing the slender, long-fingered hand touch him, the man felt his whole body go limp and winked at his accomplice.

But the next second, Ning Jinli's hand had reached to the side of his neck.

Her five fingers clenched with force, suddenly tightening.

The man wanted to fight back, but with his carotid artery blocked he quickly lost oxygen, unable to even make a sound before his vision went black and his consciousness faded.

Less than three seconds.

His head lolled, he passed out, and he and the car collapsed to the ground.

"Huh? What's going on?!" another person exclaimed, jumping out of the vehicle immediately.

The nearby streetlights were too dim; he didn't even notice what had happened.

"Hey! Wake up!" he crouched beside his unconscious companion, slapping the man's face a few times, "Did you get over‑excited seeing a pretty girl?"

"Don't shout, he won't wake up for a while," Ning Jinli said, resting her right hand on his arm, "Now take me to the warehouse where Wu Sanye is being held—I suggest you cooperate."

Only then did the man sense something wrong, and he threw a backward elbow strike.

The result was that Ning Jinli gripped his arm firmly, leaving him unable to move an inch.

The man's heart was shaken violently.

He, after all, came from a martial arts background and had worked as a professional enforcer under Liu Zong for several years—yet now a mere girl had seized his arm?

"Didn't I tell you to behave?" Ning Jinli seized his arm and twisted it sharply toward his back.

Crack—

The man's right shoulder joint dislocated instantly!

"Ah—"

His brief shout was cut off the instant it left his lips.

Ning Jinli covered his mouth.

"Shh, don't make a fuss—just show me the way, or I'll break your other arm too."

She spoke in a soft, gentle tone, yet it made the man feel even more chilled to the bone.

The man gritted his teeth against the pain and said, "Little girl, you've got some skill… fine, I'll lead the way."

He now couldn't wait to take her there.

Inside the warehouse where Wu Sanye was held, there were over a dozen men—all Liu Zong's top fighters—so even if this girl were formidable, going in alone would be suicide.