Chapter 647: Yu Manli

Night, Hong Kong, a small garden villa on the main island.

Du Yong, thin, with a sharp head and long face, hair slightly graying, and already half a hundred years old, was wearing a light silk Tang suit, sitting in a chair in the study drinking tea. His eyes were slightly hollow and listless, and his movements of drinking tea were very mechanical; he was thinking about things.

He didn't know if his choice was correct. Last year, he followed the footsteps of the Kuomintang and cooperated closely with Dai Yunong to form the "Loyal and Righteous National Salvation Army." He served as a standing committee member and had certain power. The development of the war did not exceed expectations. The Japanese wolfish ambition had long been prepared, and their control of information on mountains, rivers, geography, and hydrology was even more familiar than the Central Army, the local national defense army. With strong ships and cannons, and even more advanced weapons and equipment, the Central Army moved step by step toward failure. Japan occupied Shanghai and surrounded the concessions.

Affected by this, he naturally couldn't stay in Shanghai and, under the protection of his disciples, went to Hong Kong alone to take refuge. Later, he went to Wuhan to meet the Baldy, plotted a job as a standing committee member of the Central Relief Committee, set up a sign in Hong Kong, and started the work of "begging for alms."

He was doing okay here; after all, he had never lacked money, and he had dozens of disciples to protect him, with no worries about food and clothing and safety. But his state was not very good, because he had detached from the center of power and no longer had the huge power he once mastered; his influence was dissipating. This feeling was obviously unacceptable to a big figure like him, who had the title of "the number one gangster in three hundred years," simultaneously interfered in government affairs, had huge political resources, and had been stirring up trouble for decades.

He actually knew that his current choice was the most correct path. Because if he hadn't followed the footsteps of the Kuomintang at the beginning, he would have died! If he hadn't gone to Hong Kong to take refuge later, but instead defected to the Japanese, he would also have died!

Only by taking the current path was he alive, so it was correct.

His influence was greater than Zhang Xiaolin's, and the impact of defecting to the Japanese was also greater. Zhang Xiaolin could live for a year, but he definitely wouldn't live that long. At that time, the Military Statistics Bureau would definitely spare no cost to kill him to extinguish the seeds of others defecting to the Japanese, especially since he had a friendship with the Baldy, which represented a different significance; he would definitely die, and it would be as fast as possible.

To this day, he had accepted it, just occasionally unable to let go. Although the living conditions here were not that bad, compared to his Du Tianyue Gongguan in Shanghai, compared to being flattered everywhere he went, it was a huge gap.

Now, his gap was even bigger, and his mood was even worse. Because a little "red-headed" (little punk) named Wang Yan had stood up, challenging his authority, and he was a bit unable to cope.

He knew about Wang Yan. In the 16th year of the Republic of China, his parents died at the hands of the Kuomintang, or perhaps it should be counted as dying at his hands, because he organized Green Gang members to suppress and slaughter. Coincidentally, at the end of the 15th year of the Republic of China, that is, less than half a year before April 12, Wang Yan worshipped Lin Hongyuan as his "old man." He pondered at the time, hindered by some feelings, and plus Wang Yan didn't know, so he didn't take Wang Yan's life.

In the 17th year of the Republic of China, Wang Yan joined the French Concession Police Station and started doing "information gathering." In the 18th year of the Republic of China, he cracked a serial robbery and murder case and multiple theft cases, and was promoted to a team leader. In the 19th year of the Republic of China, he was promoted to deputy captain again for his merits. In the 20th year of the Republic of China, Wang Yan started doing business with the French, and was promoted to captain in the same year.

Since then, he suddenly became low-key, not plotting for the position of detective to kill Chen Jiangliu, but focusing on doing business, weaving a network of contacts, and step by step opening up the paths of the Kuomintang military and political circles, while also making connections with some people from the Red Party, doing huge business. Selling opium, engaging in yellow, gambling, and drugs, none made as much money as Wang Yan.

Now, in the 27th year of the Republic of China, Wang Yan exerted his strength again, becoming the Chinese detective of the Central Police Station in the French Concession, having ambiguous relations with the Japanese, taking advantage of Zhang Xiaolin's death to pick peaches, and establishing the Qinglian Bank.

In eleven years, this little punk, twenty years his junior, grew from a little hooligan he could crush with a flick of his finger into a rival he could barely cope with, and at one point, couldn't cope with at all.

He was old... He felt powerless, with heart but no strength. But he couldn't help but resist; he couldn't do the thing of sitting and waiting for death.

He had experienced countless big storms and waves in his life. To be able to live until now, his wisdom was unquestionable. Didn't he know Wang Yan's resume and reputation over the years? He knew! Didn't he know it was the Japanese or those Green Gang members who defected with Zhang Xiaolin who assassinated him? He naturally knew that too. But precisely because he knew, he was angry and powerless.

Because assassinating but not killing was a complete humiliation to him. Think of him, a dignified Green Gang tycoon, actually no longer having the value of being killed? How could he swallow this breath? But he couldn't settle accounts with the Japanese, so he could only fulfill the Japanese's wishes, make a fuss, which indeed conformed to his interests. Getting rid of Wang Yan, or collapsing Qinglian, would both benefit him. This breath had to be swallowed even if it couldn't be swallowed.

Thinking messily like this, until the tea in the cup was drunk, he came back to his senses. Being an old senior surpassed by a junior was not easy. He wore a self-deprecating bitter smile on his face, picked up the teapot next to him to pour another cup, but realized the water in the teapot was also gone. He opened his mouth to call someone to pour tea for him, but when the words reached his lips, he suddenly widened his eyes. Wrong!

He remembered that the tea had just been brewed and brought in by someone, which meant he had unknowingly drunk a whole pot of tea. This time was very long. Usually, someone would come over to see if he had any other instructions, and occasionally report some things for him to know.

Although he only did the work of "begging for alms," other businesses actually hadn't stopped and were still making money. In addition, he was assassinated at noon today, and he used this to make things difficult for Wang Yan. Now it was night. Messages had indeed been sent back before, saying Wang Yan didn't face their questioning, but there should have been follow-up reports. He wasn't dead yet; he had subordinates in Shanghai. What did Wang Yan do after not going to the tea house to meet? What was his reaction? These all had to be reported to him.

But now that he had drunk a whole pot of tea and no one had come, something must have happened. He hurriedly got up, walked behind the desk, pulled open the drawer, took out a pistol, clicked it to load, and first walked to the door in a few steps, holding his breath and listening to the movement outside.

The room was very quiet, and the study was even quieter. For a moment, he could only hear the sound of his own old heart beating wildly. After listening for a while, he let out a long breath, walked to the balcony in the study, where the door was open due to the hot and humid climate of Hong Kong for ventilation. He walked out lightly onto the balcony, looked down, and saw a middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth, standing under the light in the small courtyard, looking up at him and grinning.

Seeing Du Yuesheng (Du Yong) discover him, the middle-aged man smiled and spoke loudly in authentic Shanghainese: "Senior Du, I am Tang Long, the manager of the Hong Kong branch of Yonghua Industrial. Rest assured, your subordinates are all fine. I have no malice this time; it's just that Mr. Wang has a few words to say to you. Please wait a moment, I'll come up right away."

Du Yong shook the small broken gun with only seven bullets in his hand, looked at the submachine guns held by the two people below, sighed, and said: "The tea has no water. Bring me a pot of hot water."

After speaking, he retracted his body and disappeared from the balcony.

When Tang Long opened the door and walked into the study with a hot water kettle, Du Yong was already sitting in the chair, the pistol was placed on the small square table in front of him, his face calm, without sorrow or joy.

First, he filled the teapot with boiling water, then poured a cup for Du Yong. Only then did Tang Long take out a pistol from his waist and load it. In Du Yong's shocked eyes, which were shrinking rapidly, he pressed it firmly against his forehead: "Mr. Wang asked me to tell you, this time it was his handiwork."

Feeling the cold muzzle, Du Yong shook his head and smiled bitterly, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea without haste, looking at Tang Long strangely: "Gone?"

"Gone!"

Tang Long shrugged his shoulders. He understood his boss's meaning and also felt that such an action was very domineering and very refreshing, but to go to such great lengths for such a thing was indeed very stupid...

In front of Du Yong, he unloaded the magazine, then ejected the bullet that had been chambered, pressed it back into the magazine, put the gun back at his waist, tidied his clothes, and bowed slightly to Du Yong: "Your subordinates are all safe, just drugged; they'll be fine after a sleep. In addition, I promised the person who drugged them that I would send him away from Hong Kong. I hope you won't pursue it anymore and let him go. That's all. I won't disturb your interest in drinking tea. Goodbye."

"Don't see me out!"

Tang Long came silently and left directly. Du Yong stood on the balcony again, with his hands behind his back, silently watching the line of more than twenty men in black carrying submachine guns filing out of his villa. These men in black moved very fast; they put all their weapons into a car, and then scattered in all directions, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Du Yong just stood on the balcony, silently watching this scene, speechless for a long time.

The evening breeze blew ripples on his silk clothes; he didn't feel cool...

"Since you've already done it, why not do it thoroughly? Anyway, you've offended Du Yong to death. In the future, if this old guy has a chance, he will definitely give you a ruthless one. How can you treat a figure like him lightly? Without the foundation in Shanghai, he still has the connections he has managed for many years. No matter how much you look down on Du Yong, he will always help out for the sake of some old feelings. It's not impossible for him to make a comeback. You've left yourself a bigger trouble."

In the Paramount, hearing Liu Yitong's words, Wang Yan took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "There's no way around it, right? He has some merit in resisting Japan and saving the country. Once he resists Japan, the things about yellow, gambling, and drugs are covered up, and he has also been gilded. If I kill him, wouldn't I be an enemy of resisting Japan? If someone with ulterior motives maliciously attacks, it will be even harder to mix in the future. Moreover, as you said, he has many connections in the Kuomintang, and he is also a standing committee member of the Central Relief Committee personally arranged by Chiang Kai-shek. He is a proper Kuomintang member. If I kill him, wouldn't I be breaking with the Kuomintang? By then, I would really become a big traitor, and I can't carry this name.

Calculating carefully, from the time I knelt and kowtowed to Lin Hongyuan to now, it's been eleven years. I'm twenty-nine years old and have everything I have now. You tell me, how high can the "comeback" of a fifty-year-old guy on the decline be? How much trouble can he add? Relax, the problem is not big. I estimate that Feng Nairong and his group will receive Du Yong's letter tomorrow. You go and talk to them again. If they still don't listen, then we really have to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. Du Yong is hard to kill, but killing this group of people is really killing a chicken."

"You're awesome..." Liu Yitong gave a thumbs up, speechless.

Wang Yan didn't pay attention to him, just raised his glass to invite a drink to a place not far behind him. Liu Yitong followed his gaze and looked back, seeing a woman in a cheongsam with a few small moles on her face, delicate features, and a slender and tall figure, sitting at a small table there, looking up and drinking with great charm.

Liu Yitong was very familiar with this bridge, because in the past few times, when the two of them were having fun in entertainment venues similar to the Paramount, as long as Wang Yan raised his glass to invite a drink and the other party responded, they would almost certainly end up in bed that night.

He glanced at the delicate woman again, thinking that this girl was quite good, why couldn't she think it through and come out to play this game?

Raising his glass and drinking the wine, he wiped his mouth and stood up: "I won't disturb your romantic fun. Leaving."

Wang Yan laughed and nodded, continuing to eat, occasionally looking at the woman who was posing to attract his attention. After eating for a while and feeling full, Wang Yan took his glass and sat down next to Yu Manli: "Came alone?"

The woman turned her head to look at the Green Gang leader close at hand: "You've been watching me for so long, besides those few who came to get close just now, have you seen anyone else?"

"You look unfamiliar. First time out?"

"Why can't it be that you didn't see me before?"

"Perhaps." Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "You don't look like a dance hostess. What kind of work do you do?"

"Teaching Chinese in a primary school at the Catholic Church in the French Concession."

"A teacher who teaches and educates people, coming here?"

The woman blinked, not avoiding Wang Yan's deep eyes: "Why, can't I?"

"Do you know who I am?"

"The famous Detective Wang, how could this little girl not know? Rumor has it that you are greedy for money and lustful, and very generous to women. I don't know if it's true?"

"Don't just listen to what others say; you have to feel it yourself to know if it's true or false." Wang Yan reached out and touched her face, feeling the tenderness of her skin: "How should I address you?"

"Yu Manli."

Yes, Yu Manli.

In fact, Yu Manli had already arrived when Wang Yan was talking to Liu Yitong, and had even passed by him twice, before finally sitting in that position, using her side profile, which was outlined by the cheongsam with a passable curve, to attract his attention, occasionally releasing a little charm to send signals, seducing him just right. In terms of attracting men, Yu Manli was a professional, because of her tragic past.

Undoubtedly, Yu Manli was specifically sent to seduce and approach this greedy and lustful person. Behind the scenes, besides Wang Tianfeng, there would be no second person.

Originally, this Yu Manli was arranged to be some kind of "life-and-death partner" for Ming Tai. It's just that perhaps at this time, the "Dead Intercept Plan" hadn't started yet. It just so happened that Wang Yan appeared, and he was such a character, so they sent Yu Manli, a woman who had been sentenced to death and was proficient in seducing men, to his side to collect intelligence.

Wang Tianfeng could do this kind of thing without any psychological burden, just like in the original drama, where he killed his subordinates with his own hands and personally arranged for Yu Manli to die. After all, he didn't even care about his own life, so would he care about others? As long as it was beneficial, he could do anything. Moreover, Yu Manli herself had been in a brothel and later relied on her looks to take revenge, so this kind of thing was easier to accept, without any psychological burden.

Furthermore, Wang Yan has a very good reputation in this regard; he has never once "dined and dashed." He has even helped out women he once had fun with when they encountered trouble and came to him for aid. It is said that he is quite skilled in that department, and he is also very generous with his money. It is quite possible that Yu Manli has come here to enjoy a good life...

No wonder there was no movement from Wang Tianfeng's side; it turned out he was waiting here.

Wang Yan raised his glass to clink with her, looked up, and drank it all in one gulp. "Then, Miss Yu, let's dance."

Yu Manli also drank the wine in her glass, went to the dance floor with Wang Yan, and danced a ballroom dance to the music.

Wang Yan's hand landed on her waist: "You don't look like a teacher."

"Why do you say that?"

"Teachers don't have your dance skills."

"Now I have."

Feeling the big hand on her butt, Yu Manli's hand was also rubbing on Wang Yan's back. The distance between the two was no longer that of a normal ballroom dance. Wang Yan lowered his head, just right next to Yu Manli's ear, while Yu Manli's forehead was already pressed against Wang Yan's solid chest.

The two talked sporadically, quickly closing the distance. After dancing, they drank for a while. Wang Yan raised his wrist to check the time; it was already past eight: "Let's go, go upstairs."

"Let's go to your house. I heard the Wang Tianyue Gongguan is very luxurious. I, a little girl with no experience, want to see it and open my eyes."

Wang Yan smiled: "You are the second woman who wants to go to my house."

"You've been through so many women, hasn't anyone else said that? I don't believe it."

"Because they know clearly what is a 'dewy relationship' and what is 'wishful thinking.' These women have their own ways of survival; they know what can be said and what cannot be said."

Yu Manli asked: "Then who was the first woman?"

"A Chinese woman arranged by the Japanese, a rich young lady."

"Then will you take me?" Yu Manli leaned in Wang Yan's arms, blinking her eyes at him, activating her charm skills.

Honestly speaking, according to Wang Yan's aesthetics, Yu Manli was inferior to Wang Man Chun in various indicators. But in terms of seducing men, Yu Manli was several levels higher; she had a pair of eyes that could speak.

"Of course I will..."

Drinking the last glass of wine, Wang Yan hugged Yu Manli and left the Paramount, not ruining Qi Si's good thing, and had the Paramount send a driver to drive them back to the Wang Tianyue Gongguan.

That night, Wang Yan fell into Wang Tianfeng's beauty trap... ===== CHAPTER 648 =====