Chapter 738: with translation of chapter title

At the end of the corridor, the evening wind blew through the wooden window, carrying the old street's distinctive dampness.

Lin Dongfan and Xu Jijun stood facing each other; the air between them seemed to stagnate for a few seconds, never again returning to the passionate state they had when they raced together in their youth.

"My uncle never participates in this kind of statement."

Lin Dongfan spoke slowly, his gaze calm yet sharp: "The Xu family case shook Jingcheng back then. Getting a reduced sentence—whoever gets involved gets stained. Old Xu, change your condition."

Xu Jijun's lips curled slightly as he flicked ash: "Then change the condition—hand Liu Shu over to me to handle."

"Impossible." Lin Dongfan shook his head: "Liu Shu is now a key witness; his safety is my responsibility."

"Responsible?" Xu Jijun laughed, tinged with mockery: "Poseur Fan, what's your position now? Do you know how many eyes are watching Liu Shu? Li Zhenyang's people want to silence him, the vested interests in Wu Zhou want him gone, and even some people in Jingcheng… don't want him alive entering the capital."

He stepped closer, lowering his voice: "You think hiding Liu Shu in a villa west of Jingcheng keeps him safe? Let me tell you, yesterday at three p. m., two 'couriers' circled the villa three times. This morning, the cleaning company suddenly proposed a deep clean on site. Have your people noticed these?"

Lin Dongfan's eyes narrowed slightly.

These details, Lao Ba indeed did not report.

"Are you surveilling me?" Lin Dongfan's voice turned cold.

"Not surveillance, but concern." Xu Jijun stepped back, leaning again against the window: "Old classmate, I owe you my life; I remember this favor. That's why I'm reminding you: Liu Shu won't live past three days. No matter how well you hide him, someone will find him. Better I set a trap than let him die at others' hands."

"What kind of trap?"

"A death‑fake trap." Xu Jijun spat out three words: "Make Liu Shu 'die accidentally,' then quietly send him abroad. The evidence he holds—what should be made public, made public; what should be destroyed, destroyed. This way we save his life and let those who want to silence him lower their guard."

Lin Dongfan remained silent.

He was judging the truth of Xu Jijun's words.

Four years ago, Xu Jijun hated the death penalty; he might genuinely want to help him, with no murderous intent. But the present Xu Jijun… is not what he was; it's hard to tell.

"I need to consider." Lin Dongfan intended to play a delaying tactic.

"You have only twenty‑four hours." Xu Jijun stubbed out his cigarette: "If Liu Shu isn't 'dead' by this time tomorrow, those who want to silence him will resort to more extreme means, and then you won't be able to protect him."

Having said that, Xu Jijun turned to leave.

"Wait." Lin Dongfan called him back: "Who exactly is Su Jin?"

Xu Jijun's steps paused: "I said, she's my girlfriend."

"What about Han Jinling?" Lin Dongfan asked directly: "Before, for her you didn't hesitate to become G Xiansheng and oppose the law. Is she still in a wheelchair now? Have you just transferred your affection?"

Xu Jijun's back stiffened slightly.

After Along while, he slowly turned, the smile gone from his face: "Jinling… she passed last year. Late‑stage cancer; she didn't make it."

Lin Dongfan froze.

"When she left, she was calm, saying the thing she regretted least in this life was meeting me." Xu Jijun's voice grew hoarse: "But the thing she regretted most was also meeting me. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have lived so many years, nor would she have sat in a wheelchair enduring so much suffering."

The evening wind blew, lifting Xu Jijun's forehead bangs and revealing a shallow scar.

"Su Jin is Jinling's sister." He continued: "After Jinling passed, she came to find me, saying she wanted to watch over me for her sister and keep me from doing foolish things. I agreed, so she's been with me."

The truth exceeded Lin Dongfan's expectations.

Han Jinling bears the surname Han, Su Jin the surname Su—different surnames—so how could Su Jin be Jinling's sister? Lin Dongfan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know how.

"So, do you believe me now?" Xu Jijun asked.

"Half‑belief, half‑doubt." Lin Dongfan spoke frankly: "Old Xu, I can only believe half of what you're saying now; the other half I need to see with my own eyes."

"Then let's see." Xu Jijun shrugged with a smile: "Time will prove everything. By the way…"

He pulled a USB drive from his pocket and tossed it to Lin Dongfan: "This is the detailed information of Li Zhenyang's overseas accounts—consider it my meeting gift; no thanks needed."

Lin Dongfan caught the USB drive; it felt icy cold in his hand.

"Why give me this?"

"Because Li Zhenyang is already useless." Xu Jijun said lightly: "A useless pawn, if kept, will only cause trouble. Better to have him 'exit' now than let the inspection squad take him and spill more secrets."

He paused, looking meaningfully at Lin Dongfan: "Poseur Fan, I know what you want to do. You want to take down Li Zhenyang, completely clearing the obstacles to your return to officialdom. But let me tell you—the waters of Wu Zhou are deeper than you imagine. Moving against Li Zhenyang will at least involve three fierce tigers."

"Which three?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Xu Jijun raised three fingers: "The first tiger, a certain retired senior leader in Jingcheng, who was the earliest weaver of Wu Zhou's interests network. The second tiger, a certain multinational conglomerate in the south, they laundered at least over two hundred billion of black money through Wu Zhou. The third tiger…"

He lowered his hand, chuckling: "I can't say the third; if I did, I wouldn't survive tonight. You just need to know that any of these three tigers, if it stirs, can stir up huge waves."

Lin Dongfan stared at him: "And you? What do you want to do?"

"Me?" Xu Jijun gazed toward the deepening night outside the window, his voice drifting: "I want to scoop some clean money out of this murky pool, then take Jinling's ashes to Erhai, the place she always wanted to go, open a small inn, and watch the sunrise and sunset every day."

A very beautiful vision.

But Lin Dongfan knows the chance of realizing this vision is minuscule.

For those who have entered the game, getting out completely is too hard.

"Alright, I've said what needed to be said." Xu Jijun turned and walked toward the stairs: "Twenty‑four hours—think it over and give me a reply. Also… be careful of Li Zhenyang; he still has a trump card in his hand."

"What trump card?"

"I don't know either." Xu Jijun turned back, his eyes complex: "But I know him. This kind of person will never sit and wait for death. When he feels there's no way out, he'll surely drag others down as a shield."

His footsteps faded at the stairwell's end.

Su Jin followed behind Xu Jijun; as she passed Lin Dongfan, she whispered, "Be careful."

Just two words.

Yet it made Lin Dongfan's heart turn cold.

When he returned to the private room, Li Zhenyang was still slumped there, but his gaze had changed.

From despair,

turning into a kind of ruthlessness.

"Finished talking?"

Li Zhenyang asked, his voice eerily calm.

"Mm."

Lin Dongfan sat down, poured himself a cup of tea; the tea had gone cold, bitter and astringent on the tongue.

"Did Xu Jijun sell me out?" Li Zhenyang laughed, a somewhat manic laugh: "I knew it, this kind of person can't be trusted; he's no longer the G Xiansheng of old who kept his word worth a thousand gold."

Lin Dongfan said nothing.

"Lin Dongfan, let's make a deal." Li Zhenyang suddenly said: "A deal that Xu Jijun doesn't know about."

"What deal?"

"I know what Xu Jijun has been doing these past four years." Li Zhenyang lowered his voice, a flicker of madness in his eyes: "He has an underground money house in Southeast Asia, specializing in money laundering. Of the black money that has flowed out of Wu Zhou these past years, at least a third has passed through his hands. I also know he has a training camp in Myanmar where he keeps a band of desperadoes."

Lin Dongfan's finger twitched slightly.

"Do you have evidence for these?" he asked.

"Yes." Li Zhenyang pulled out an old flip phone from his pocket: "It contains photos, recordings, and transfer records. I had kept it as insurance against him, but now… I give it to you."

He pushed the phone toward Lin Dongfan.

"What are the conditions?"

"Keep my daughter and son safe." Li Zhenyang stared into Lin Dongfan's eyes: "My son is studying in Canada; he's only nineteen this year. He knows nothing about domestic affairs, he's clean. As long as you promise to keep him safe, this evidence is yours. With it, you can seize Xu Jijun's weak point."

Lin Dongfan picked up the phone and weighed it.

It was light.

But its contents might be heavy.

"How do I know these pieces of evidence are genuine?" Lin Dongfan asked.

"You can look now." Li Zhenyang gave a string of numbers: "The thirty-seventh photo in the album is of Xu Jijun at the Myanmar training camp. The first recording is his conversation with a certain Southeast Asian gang leader."

Lin Dongfan entered the password and opened the phone.

The photo was genuine.

The recording was also genuine.

Xu Jijun's voice was clear and distinct; he was discussing a thirty-million-dollar money‑laundering deal with the other party.

"This evidence is enough to send Xu Jijun to prison." Li Zhenyang said: "But I must warn you, there are still people behind Xu Jijun. If you move against him, you might provoke a far more troublesome existence."

"Who?" Lin Dongfan asked.

"I don't know his name, only his code name—'Laoshi'." Li Zhenyang lowered his voice further: "Four years ago the Xu family fell, and everyone thought Xu Jijun was as good as dead. But he didn't die; instead he's doing fine, and he's managed to pull off this huge operation in Southeast Asia. Do you think one person could do that on his own?"

Lin Dongfan remained silent.

Indeed, behind Xu Jijun's "resurrection" there must be a manipulator.