Chapter 1585: One Stone, Three Birds

"Where is he?"

Qi Honghai bounced up from the kang in an instant; this period of time had stifled him to the point of madness.

Yet, the scene from that night still left him with lingering fears, and he dared not show his face easily.

The arrogance he had displayed in the bar had vanished, and he finally realized that this was someone else's turf.

Therefore, the very next day, Qi Honghai had someone go to the eastern suburbs and spend a large sum of money to rent this civilian house.

For the time since then, they had been hiding in the room every day, with only two people going out daily.

One was to stake out the places Hong Rong frequented, and the other was to buy daily necessities and food.

Bangchui said, "He's at Quanjude. When I finished paying for the roast duck, I saw him coming down from upstairs."

A thick murderous intent flashed in Qi Honghai's eyes: "He didn't recognize you, did he?"

"No!" Bangchui shook his head. "I had just finished paying, so I turned and slipped away. Then I waited outside for him to come out and followed him all the way to the Xingchen Karaoke Dance Hall."

"Fuck his mother," cursed the guy with the bandage wrapped around his arm. "He finally appeared."

Qi Honghai looked outside; the sky hadn't darkened yet. "Eat. We'll go find him after we eat."

They didn't even drink; the group quickly finished their meal, grabbed their gear, and got into the two vans parked at the gate.

The Xingchen Karaoke Dance Hall was in Fengtai. It wasn't large in scale, but it had quite a reputation in the area because it was Mr. Hong's establishment.

The two vans stopped on the side of the road in front of the dance hall. The two guys whose arms had been shot by the sniper stayed in the vans to provide support.

Qi Honghai took the other five men and got out of the car. He had already made up his mind.

If Hong Rong didn't give him the goods, he would kill him directly and then leave the capital overnight.

The six of them entered the dance hall. The lights inside were very dim, and the sound system was playing music.

In the hazy shadows, many people were huddled together, swaying on the dance floor.

Bangchui whispered, "Where are we supposed to find him here?"

Qi Honghai scanned the dance hall and discovered a stairwell next to the bar inside, so he walked over.

But he didn't go up immediately; instead, he sat on a high stool in front of the bar, took a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket, and placed it on the bar.

"Give me a glass of Rémy Martin."

"Alright!" The bartender poured a glass of Rémy Martin for Qi Honghai, picked up the hundred-yuan bill, and was about to give change.

Qi Honghai smiled and waved a hand: "Keep the change."

"Thank you!"

The bartender thanked him, but there was no look of surprise on his face; he probably saw this kind of thing often enough.

Qi Honghai picked up the glass and took a sip: "Listening to your accent, you're not from the capital, are you?"

The bartender looked to be only twenty-three or twenty-four. Hearing Qi Honghai's words, a hint of pride appeared on his face.

"I'm from Wancheng. Mr. Hong invited me over."

Qi Honghai gave a thumbs up: "In the capital, who doesn't know Mr. Hong? Any brother on the streets, no matter who they are, has to give him three points of face."

"With Mr. Hong's status and position, for him to personally invite you over, it proves your craft is beyond reproach."

The bartender's proud expression grew even more, but he remained humble in his speech.

"It's not that my craft is so good, but that my master and Mr. Hong are close friends."

"Oh!"

Qi Honghai realized, and said with an envious face: "I admire Mr. Hong very much and have always wanted to see him, even if just from afar. But I've been here several times and haven't run into him."

The bartender laughed: "Mr. Hong is here every day, but he's not downstairs; he's on the second floor."

"Is that so?" Qi Honghai's eyes flashed: "Then can I go up and take a look?"

"Just go up and find him."

The bartender never dreamed that the unremarkable-looking guy in front of him was bold enough to want Mr. Hong's head.

"I'll go pay Mr. Hong a visit right now."

Qi Honghai downed the drink in his glass, jumped off the high stool, and walked toward the stairs on the side.

His brothers followed him up.

The bartender just glanced at them and didn't pay any mind.

Qi Honghai reached the corner of the stairs and heard the sound of mahjong tiles being shuffled from above.

"Fuck his mother," Bangchui muttered: "He knows how to enjoy himself, while we've suffered so much these past few days."

Qi Honghai walked up, reached the top of the stairs, and the entire scene of the second floor came into view.

The area wasn't large, maybe fifty square meters, with sofas, a TV, and a pool table.

There were quite a few people up there, men and women, with two young men playing pool.

And Qi Honghai was playing mahjong. Not far from the mahjong table, there was a chair.

A woman was sitting on it, stark naked, interacting with two naked men.

The rest of the people were sitting around the sofa, each of them looking dazed.

Looking at the coffee table in the middle, there were several syringes; they had probably just finished shooting up.

"Mr. Hong, you have such refined interests."

Qi Honghai took Bangchui and another brother and walked up, while the others stayed at the stair corner just in case.

Hong Rong turned his head, and seeing it was Qi Honghai, his expression changed, followed immediately by a look of pleasant surprise.

"Brother Qi, I thought you had returned to the Northeast. I didn't expect you to still be in the capital."

As this guy stood up, he gave a wink to a man sitting opposite him.

"I was just thinking, when should I go to the Northeast to visit you."

Hong Rong was all smiles as he spoke and walked over to greet him.

"Stop!" Qi Honghai shouted vigilantly: "Just stand there and don't move."

Hong Rong stopped in his tracks and asked in astonishment: "Brother Qi, what... what do you mean by this?"

Qi Honghai sneered: "Mr. Hong, open people don't speak in riddles; why bother playing dumb?"

Hong Rong frowned and said with some displeasure: "I, Hong Rong, have always been open and aboveboard. I say what I mean, and I never play dumb."

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Qi Honghai clapped his hands: "Good, then let me ask you, Mr. Hong, do you know the identity of the owner of the First Bar?"

"I know a little." Hong Rong did not hesitate at all: "I know he has some background, but I don't know the specifics."

Qi Honghai didn't believe him at all: "The night before New Year's Eve, I took my brothers to burn down the First Bar, but we were ambushed. How do you explain that?"

"Explain?" Hong Rong's face sank immediately: "You suspect I betrayed you?"

"Besides you and me, who else knew about that night's operation?" Qi Honghai said mockingly: "Mr. Hong really has good methods, actually playing a 'one stone, three birds' game."

"First, you notified the bar owner that I would burn the bar before New Year's Eve, selling the bar owner a favor. Immediately after, I would definitely clash with the bar owner; no matter who wins or loses between us, you are the winner."

"Finally, you took advantage of this opportunity to take the goods I had placed in the car, right?"