Chapter 709: The Fangs of a Stray Dog

A black sedan weaved through the tangled, complex streets of Wu Zhou's old district. The driver was obviously extremely familiar with the local terrain, shaking off any possible pursuit after just a few turns.

In the back seat, Li Hengbo tore open his bloodstained shirt and frantically pressed the chest wound with the first‑aid kit kept in the car.

The intense pain turned his face ashen, cold sweat soaking his clothes, yet the fire of vengeful hatred in his eyes burned ever brighter.

"Go… to the old place." He gasped to the driver.

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror, said nothing, and merely nodded.

Half an hour later, the car stopped behind what looked like an abandoned logistics warehouse. The area lay at the urban‑rural fringe of Wu Zhou, surrounded by low‑rise self‑built houses and small workshops, a mixed crowd.

Li Hengbo was helped out of the car and walked into a concealed compartment inside the warehouse.

Inside the compartment was a hidden haven: simple furniture, stored food and water, even an old computer and several unopened encrypted phones.

This was a "safe house" he had rented under another identity through multiple proxies, a fact even He Qixi didn't know.

Medicine.

He slumped onto the chair.

The driver was a middle‑aged man with a scar on his face and a sinister gaze, known as Laogui, a fellow inmate Li Hengbo had met while serving time in Wuzhou Prison.

Half a year ago, Laogui was released after completing his sentence and sought out Li Hengbo.

Laogui took out a medical kit from the cabinet and, with practiced skill, redressed Li Hengbo's wound, injected antibiotics and painkillers.

"The situation outside is tense." Laogui said, his voice hoarse after finishing treatment: "All of Wu Zhou is on the hunt, and it seems the capital has also issued a warrant. You need to rest a few days for that wound."

"How many days?" Li Hengbo gave a grim smile, his eyes bloodshot: "Will Lin Dongfan and Li Zhenyang give me that time? They'd love to dig three feet deep to tear me apart, limb from limb!"

He grabbed a bottle of strong liquor on the table and took a hard gulp; the alcohol stung the wound, making his whole body shudder, yet it also roused his numb nerves again.

"Phone." He reached out.

Laogui immediately handed over a new phone.

Li Hengbo powered it on, inserted an anonymous black card, and slid his finger across the screen to browse the encrypted contacts and data stored inside.

His gaze stopped on a name—Xu Yaqiu.

That bitch!

If she hadn't sold the client list, how could Lin Dongfan have precisely cut the lifeline of the Rebirth Group? How could I have suffered a crushing defeat? And how could Li Zhenyang have treated me as a disposable pawn, hunted like a dog?

Hatred gnawed at Li Hengbo's heart like a venomous snake, hurting more than the chest wound.

"Laogui, go grab Xu Yaqiu for me." Li Hengbo's voice was icy, devoid of any warmth: "Act fast, keep it clean."

……

At noon, below the luxury apartment building where Xu Yaqiu lived.

She had just returned from the supermarket, holding a shopping bag, her mind uneasy.

Since handing over that client list, she hadn't had a good night's sleep. Although Li Hengbo had fallen, she knew too well how ruthless that man was—he would never let a betrayer go.

The elevator rose slowly, the mirrored walls reflecting her pale face and frightened eyes.

"Ding."

The elevator doors opened; she walked toward her own door, her hand trembling as she fished for the key.

Just as she inserted the key into the lock, the door of the adjacent safety passage opened silently, a large hand in a coarse cloth glove clapped over her mouth and nose, and a pungent smell flooded her nostrils.

Xu Yaqiu could only let out a short whimper before her vision went black and she lost consciousness.

The shopping bag fell to the ground, fruit rolling everywhere.

……

Inside the compartment of the abandoned warehouse.

Xu Yaqiu was awakened by a bucket of cold water, finding her hands bound behind the chair. Before her dim light loomed the face she feared most in her nightmares—Li Hengbo.

Li Hengbo sat in the chair opposite her, his chest wrapped in blood‑soaked gauze, his complexion ashen yet his eyes blazing frightfully, like those of a dying beast.

"H…husband, don't… do that to me……"

Xu Yaqiu struggled violently, her eyes filled with fear and pleading.

Li Hengbo gave a merciless cold smile: "When you betrayed me, did you ever think I was your husband? You're nothing but a stinking rotten fish! Even touching you disgusts me!"

"Husband, hear me out…" Xu Yaqiu cried: "I was forced! It's all that bastard Lin Dongfan who made me do this—if I didn't, he'd… do that to me……"

"Shut up!"

Now Li Hengbo flies into a rage at the mere mention of those three words—Lin Dongfan.

He glared at Xu Yaqiu: "We've been married so many years, we have a child—haven't I been good to you? Sure, you're a spendthrift, but all along! Whatever you wanted, I gave you! At the crucial moment you actually betrayed me—even if Lin Dongfan does that to you, what difference does it make? Would letting him do it once cost you a piece of flesh?!"

"What I mean by 'doing' isn't that kind of doing. If it were just that, I wouldn't care. Now I mean he wants to kill me." Xu Yaqiu put on an innocent look with tears welling in both eyes.

She didn't realize that her offhand remark—"If it's just that kind of doing, I don't mind"—had instantly stepped on Li Hengbo's trigger.

Suddenly.

Li Hengbo seized her jaw, his eyes flashing red: "You bitch! You're my Li Hengbo's wife! My enemies want to do that to you, and you say you don't care?!"

!!!

Xu Yaqiu stared, dazed: "Just now you yourself said being done by him wouldn't cost a piece of flesh, so following your line I can't say that either?"

"Bitch! I was blind to marry you, this stinking rotten fish!"

Saying that, Li Hengbo grabbed Xu Yaqiu's hair and jerked it hard.

Only to see Xu Yaqiu scream "Ah!" as the chair was flung over, her hands still tightly bound to the backrest, powerless to struggle.

Li Hengbo panted a few rough breaths, blood seeping again from his chest wound.

He didn't care, picking up a rust‑streaked wrench from the nearby table and hefting it in his hand.

"Lin Dongfan left me with nothing, abandoned by all!" He stared at Xu Yaqiu, eyes wild: "I'll make him taste what it's like to lose everything!"

Seeing the wrench in his hand, Xu Yaqiu burst into terrified sobs: "Husband… you… you won't kill me, I'll do anything you ask—please don't kill me……

"You and Chu Lingxi—weren't you old classmates?!" Li Hengbo snapped: "Call her right now, arrange to meet and catch up!"

"This... this won't work..." Xu Yaqiu broke down, saying: "I've already fallen out with her long ago, and you know that. I invited her, she definitely won't come out..."

"Just say you have evidence of her husband's infidelity, and ask her out for coffee!"

Li Hengbo didn't give Xu Yaqiu any chance to make excuses at all; he turned his head and gave Laogui a look.

Laogui, understanding instantly, untied the ropes binding Xu Yaqiu's hands and handed her a phone. The phone number had already been entered—it was Chu Ling's number—just press the call button.