Chapter 544: Three Heart‑Striking Blows, a Cure for Those Who Can

In the canteen of the Provincial Committee Reception House.

Lin Dongfan and Peng Tianhua were happily digging into several plates of stir-fry when gossip at the next table about someone jumping off the rooftop made them put down their chopsticks.

They hurried up to the rooftop to watch the spectacle.

The late-night breeze whispered, and the darkness was intoxicating.

Sure enough, Qiao Lianzhou stood outside the railing, deaf to all surrounding sounds, his whole body exuding an aura of utter despair.

"Holy shit! Is the Procuratorate laying off staff? Why would anyone be so desperate?"

"Gossiping, Peng Tianhua is a pro—he feels no sympathy whatsoever. In his view, sympathizing with corrupt officials who abuse power is a grave disrespect to the decent public."

What surprised Peng Tianhua was that, with so many skyscrapers in Yuezhou, why would someone surnamed Qiao insist on coming to the rooftop of the Provincial Committee Reception House to jump?

Could it be because Master Fan lives here?

Damn it!

His heart deserves death!

Peng Tianhua chuckled: "This old fool came to our turf to jump—clearly trying to extort money! He wants the world to think the Anti-Corruption Bureau drove him to death; we won't take that blame."

Lin Dongfan's eyes were icy; he clearly agreed with Old Peng's view.

Soon.

Firefighters and police officers from the station also rushed up.

The experienced fire captain leading the team stepped forward and urged: "Comrade! Don't act rashly! If you have any troubles, come down and we'll talk it out—we'll help you solve them. Think of your family, your children!"

Qiao Lianzhou turned his back on everyone, showing no reaction at all, standing still like a stone statue; only his shirt cuffs fluttered in the rooftop wind.

The fire captain tried all his professional persuasion tactics, but they were utterly useless.

He tried to approach slowly.

Qiao Lianzhou suddenly took a small step forward: "Don't come over!" Just uttering those words frightened the fire captain into stopping, flustered and at a loss: "Comrade, stay calm, don't act impulsively…"

Just then, Peng Tianhua slipped downstairs, crouching low.

Not long after, he returned with a handheld megaphone, testing as he walked: "Hey hey hey, you up there thinking of jumping, can you hear me?" The megaphone crackled with electric static.

Seeing this, the fire captain was stunned, a black line sweeping across his forehead.

The fire captain asked Director Lin: "Is this your subordinate, Director Lin? What's he trying to do? Please tell him to stop fooling around, otherwise…"

Lin Dongfan glanced at Peng Tianhua and instantly saw through Old Peng's scheme.

He turned back, smiled, and patted the fire captain's shoulder: "He's Section Chief Peng from the General Bureau, not my man—I can't control him. Sorry."

"……!!!"

The fire captain was speechless; a Section Chief from the General Bureau had arrived, and his rank was quite high.

How do we stop him?

Before the fire captain could gather his thoughts, Peng Tianhua grabbed the megaphone and shouted: "Hey! You up there! Qiao Lianzhou, Chief Prosecutor Qiao!"

The harsh megaphone sound split the night sky.

The crowd below, craning their necks to watch, had previously couldn't see who was at the rooftop edge, but now they heard clearly: it was Prosecutor Qiao intending to jump.

In an instant……

Qiao Lianzhou, standing at the rooftop's edge, seemed to hear the murmurs of the onlookers below.

But his face showed not the slightest ripple.

"You Anti-Corruption Bureau folks—your tricks are nothing new. Want to make me a laughingstock to the world? Go ahead and shout; I don't care. When a person dies, they're just a pile of dirt; worldly affairs are to me like passing clouds."

Thinking this, Qiao Lianzhou closed his eyes.

Just as he was about to leap…

Behind him, the loudspeaker blared again: "What the hell are you doing? Are you reenacting 'Forest Sea and Snowy Plains'? Even Yang Zirong had to pick a spot when he went up Tiger‑Majesty Mountain! You chose our Provincial Committee Reception House rooftop—do you think the feng shui here is good enough that jumping will send you straight into the lead role of 'Underworld Wind and Clouds'? I'll tell you, with your look, even if you crossed over you'd at best be a nameless extra—not even fit to play Ox‑Head and Horse‑Face!"

This tirade, thick with a Northeastern accent, hit like hail on dead water.

Qiao Lianzhou's back twitched ever so slightly—a reflexive recoil from feeling offended—but he still didn't turn around; only a faint flicker of annoyance crossed his face.

The fire captain stood awkwardly silent, unsure what to say, just watching the situation unfold.

Seeing Qiao Lianzhou so unflappable, not even bothering to glare back, Peng Tianhua felt his trash‑talking skills were being seriously slighted—'Uncle can tolerate it, but Aunt won't!'

"Your grandma's old leg pain—Grandpa won't bare his tiger fangs; you think Grandpa's a sick cat?"

Peng Tianhua held the blaring loudspeaker.

He spread his legs in a wide stance.

He bellowed, voice straining: "Qiao Lianzhou! No secrets between us—when I was secretly investigating you the other day, I accidentally uncovered some of your wife's secrets. You get it, Grassland Brother?"

The loudspeaker's quality was a bit poor.

But it was extremely insulting.

When the three words 'Grassland Brother' split the night sky, Qiao Lianzhou still didn't turn his head, but he clenched his fist in secret.

That tiny movement didn't escape Peng Tianhua's eyes.

Peng Tianhua went all out: "Just jump already, hurry up—don't waste everyone's time. Damn, you've got no skills at all, yet you're imitating those rope‑free bungee jumpers. Once you're dead, your wife won't need to sneak off to the gym for a membership; her personal trainer with eight‑pack abs is far stronger than you, this old vegetable stalk."

"……!!!"

Under the night sky, Qiao Lianzhou still gritted his teeth without a sound, but fury flared on his face.

Peng Tianhua added: "Still, your son surely calls you Dad sincerely—believe me. Though he doesn't look like you at all, he's still a Qiao. You might or might not be a good prosecutor, but you're definitely a living Lei Feng. Even the grasslands of Hulunbuir don't have the green you've got on your head; in the greening effort, you've also contributed to our country! You're absolutely qualified for the selection of 'Touching China Top Ten Pitiful Figures.'"

"Shut up!"

Qiao Lianzhou finally spoke, turning around—his eyes widened wider than bronze bells, his fingers gripping the railing so hard they turned white from the strain.

This sight left the fire captain so shocked he dared not move.

But Peng Tianhua only grew more relentless in his jeering, still shouting through the megaphone: "What's up? You're getting angry over this? Your son doesn't look like me either, so glaring at me does nothing. Still, I'm quite interested in your wife—she's got a hot bod. When you kick off your legs, and since I happen to be divorced too, I don't mind comforting her."

"You bastard!!!"

Qiao Lianzhou went completely insane; all his despair, deathly silence, and pretense were crushed to pieces by Peng Tianhua's extremely vicious file, leaving only the most primal, most violent rage!

He suddenly flipped over the guardrail and lunged forward with a punch.

Peng Tianhua shrank his head back, instinctively raising the loudspeaker to block his face; uh… as expected, the broken loudspeaker couldn't withstand the punch of an angry person, and it was honorably retired.

The next second.

Peng Tianhua then slid behind Lin Dongfan in a lewd manner, using Lin Dongfan as a shield: "Come on, if you've got the guts, hit me! If you can beat Fan Ye, I'll respect you as a man!"

"……!!!"

Lin Dongfan sported a black line on his head, speechlessly asking the heavens, and with one careless move found himself stuck between the two.

Qiao Lianzhou, flames three zhang high, now solemnly set aside an actor's self-cultivation, opened his throat and hurled abuse: "Peng Tianhua! I'll curse your ancestors eighteen generations!!! You motherf***er, your mouth is full of shit! Spreading rumors! Slander! You son of a bitch! If you've got the guts, come out for a duel; hiding behind others, what kind of man are you?!"

Lin Dongfan: "……!!!"

Fire Brigade Captain: "……!!!"

The crowd was speechless; the most terrifying lethality in this world indeed came from that patch of verdant green on the Hulunbuir Grassland.