Chapter 991: Sharpening the Blade, Walking into Peril

Fu Xinping did not go home.

He sat in the car for Along time, smoking one cigarette after another, the cabin filled with swirling smoke, like a sealed coffin.

The driver sat in the front, not daring to breathe.

The streetlights outside the window went out one by one, the night grew deeper, but his heart grew brighter and brighter—not with light, but with the kind of brightness that comes from having one's eyebrows on fire.

"Chief, are we going home next?" the driver asked weakly.

Fu Xinping's brows remained furrowed.

With a great calamity imminent, who still has the mind to go home and sleep?

Fu Xinping took a deep drag of his cigarette, his helpless voice revealing a will to survive that refused to accept fate: "Go to Peng Xianjun's house."

The driver didn't dare ask why, started the car, and drove into the night.

In the rearview mirror, the lights of the Everyman Grand Hotel grew farther and dimmer. Fu Xinping closed his eyes, his mind racing with a single thought: Zhou Haidong has been dealt with—who's next?

It's him, Fu Xinping!

Lin Dongfan will definitely not let him go!

Peng Xianjun lives in a villa in Dacheng South.

Two luxury cars were parked at the gate, and the courtyard planted a few osmanthus trees; though not yet in bloom this season, the branches and leaves were lush, rustling in the night wind.

When Fu Xinping arrived, Peng Xianjun had not yet gone to sleep.

Peng Xianjun sat in the living room wearing pajamas, an opened bottle of red wine on the coffee table before him, the glass already half-drunk.

Seeing Fu Xinping enter.

Peng Xianjun stared for a moment, then hurriedly rose to greet him: "Chief, you came in person so late—has something happened?"

Fu Xinping said nothing.

He walked over and plopped onto the sofa, tossed his phone onto the coffee table, and lit a cigarette.

Peng Xianjun watched him, his heartstrings tightening as well.

He had known Fu Xinping for years, yet had never seen him so silent! Like a wolf with its throat choked, it still bore fangs but could not open its mouth to cry out.

"Chief, what on earth is going on?"

Peng Xianjun sat opposite him and poured him a glass of red wine.

Fu Xinping held the cigarette in his left hand, lifted the glass and downed the red wine in one gulp, his voice bitter: "After Zhou Haidong released your nephew, he was dealt with in less than 24 hours."

Peng Xianjun's face changed abruptly: "When did this happen?"

"Today, Lin Dongfan personally went to the Jin Kou Sub-bureau and removed his official hat." Fu Xinping took a dull drag of his cigarette, exhaling what seemed not smoke but endless sorrow: "Tonight, your nephew Cao Shaozhen was arrested again—also personally apprehended by Lin Dongfan, and it's said Lin Dongfan broke one of his arms."

"……!!!"

This series of information left even the usually composed Peng Xianjun somewhat unable to keep his composure.

The red wine was fine, but he no longer had the heart to drink it.

Peng Xianjun set down the glass he had just lifted, pondered for a while, then asked: "Chief, now that things have come to this, what do you intend to do?"

Fu Xinping looked up at Peng Xianjun: "The initiative in this matter is no longer in my hands, but in Lin Dongfan's. He moved against Zhou Haidong; the next target could be me, and then you won't be able to escape either."

Upon hearing this, Peng Xianjun fell silent.

Regarding the bar rape case, afterwards they reversed black and white, released Cao Shaozhen, and falsely detained He Wei—every step of the way bears the mark of Peng Xianjun's involvement.

Bribery!

Fabricating evidence of He Wei's failed extortion!

Once these matters are exposed, they will surely land him in prison!

In short, he and Fu Xinping are now grasshoppers on the same rope—share honor, share disgrace! This is also the main reason Fu Xinping came to see him in the dead of night.

By contrast, Lin Dongfan either does nothing, or when he acts, he uproots everything.

Whether it's the vice-ministerial-level Wang Qigang, or lower-ranked figures like Zheng Congwen and Wan Xiaoqing, none escaped! In the past year alone, the number of people who have fallen into Lin Dongfan's hands is too many to count on one's fingers.

After Along period of contemplation, Peng Xianjun resignedly said: "Why not… I turn myself in…"

"Turn yourself in?"

Fu Xinping seemed to have heard a huge joke, and instantly felt disappointed in Peng Xianjun.

He thought, "If you turn yourself in, what's the point of all my struggling? When the investigators run their whole interrogation routine on you, will you still be able to stay tight-lipped and not implicate me?"

Fu Xinping, suppressing his anger, advised: "Don't be so desperate; when the car reaches the mountain, there will be a way."

"Do you have a plan?" Peng Xianjun asked.

Fu Xinping flicked ash from his cigarette and analyzed: "Lin Dongfan is also a man of seven emotions and six desires; he's not an immortal, and he has his own weak points."

"What do you mean?" Peng Xianjun grew more confused the more he listened.

Fu Xinping smiled: "Right now he's lying in the Nineteenth Floor of the Everyman Grand Hotel, embracing not his wife Chu Lingxi, but a freshly graduated female college student—Su Qianqian."

"……???"

Peng Xianjun was dazed; the name Su Qianqian sounded familiar.

Fu Xinping added: "Locally, isn't there a big internet celebrity with tens of millions of fans? It's the very person you invited to help promote your bar's opening last time."

"You mean Xiao Weiming?" Peng Xianjun's impression of that big internet celebrity is deep.

Fu Xinping said: "You work in self-media and already have tens of millions of fans. In the realm of public opinion, he's an expert—bring him in. As long as we put out the news that Lin Dongfan and Su Qianqian shared a room, accompanied by photos, and ignite public opinion, what will the common people think? What will the provincial committee leaders think?"

"This…… where could we get the photos on short notice……"

Peng Xianjun frowned, thinking: The Everyman Grand Hotel is an enterprise under Ye Jiaying! To catch Lin Dongfan's scandal on her turf is no easy feat.

Fu Xinping apparently also understood his own confusion.

Fu Xinping smiled: "If we can't get the real photos, can't we fake them? The point is, Lin Dongfan really did room with Su Qianqian; once it's out, even if he has a mouth he can't explain it away. Add a 'insider leaks' segment—will netizens believe it? Online melon‑eating crowds all have a mentality of hoping the world stays chaotic; they'd love to see officials subjected to online lynching."

"……!!!"

Peng Xianjun remained silent for Along time.

He knew this was a risky move, but right now he felt he had no choice.

If he turned himself in, Fu Xinping would surely kill him.

If he didn't turn himself in, he would have to stand on the same side as Fu Xinping; he couldn't just wait for death, otherwise it would also be a dead end.

"Your butt's already on fire, and you're still hesitating?"

Fu Xinping spoke solemnly: "I'm telling you, this can only be done this way. We must wield this public-opinion sword well, draw society's attention, and in one fell swoop cut down Lin Dongfan from his horse; only then can we rest easy. Although his Lin family background is tough, they wouldn't dare oppose the whole society."

"This matter is too risky; I don't know if Xiao Weiming dares to do it." Peng Xianjun said worriedly.

Fu Xinping snorted derisively: "Money can make ghosts turn millstones; as long as the money is in place, what's there not to dare? Speaking loosely, if he doesn't cooperate, I can shut down his account in a minute. Then you just give him a proper warning—he'll have to do it whether he wants to or not; that's his fate."