Chapter 235: Intimidation

Lou Xiaoe stood to one side, her eyes sparkling as she looked at He Yuzhu, and asked in a low voice with a hint of admiration: "Brother Zhuzi, can I learn Kung Fu from you? The way you handled those bastards just now was so satisfying!"

He Yuzhu smiled at these words, shook his head, and said: "Learning Kung Fu is very bitter work; I'm afraid I don't have that much time to instruct you. If you are truly determined to learn, I can recommend someone to you—my senior sister, Chen Daya. She has great skills and is a good person."

Lou Xiaoe immediately jumped for joy: "Then let's go find her at noon, shall we?"

Looking at this cute girl with the round face, He Yuzhu really couldn't bring himself to refuse, so he nodded and said: "I promise you, but taking on a master is a major event; you must get your parents' consent!"

"Whatever I do, they will support me!" Lou Xiaoe said childishly.

"Then let's go eat at He Ji Restaurant at noon. My treat, and I'll introduce Chen Wenjun to you as your master while we're at it," He Yuzhu readily agreed.

At this moment, Chen Xueru's parents also hurried over from the back courtyard. After clarifying the situation with Chen Xueru, they were still shaken, and as soon as they saw He Yuzhu, they bowed repeatedly: "Young Master He, we truly owe you for your help today! Otherwise, our family would have been in big trouble! This Xiao Erduo is just too persistent; he's practically worn down our threshold coming to propose marriage, and we've already told him we don't agree... but..."

He Yuzhu waved his hand modestly: "Uncle Chen, Aunt Chen, please don't be so formal. I also can't stand those bullying little thugs. If there is any trouble in the future and I'm not around, go find Boss Chen Qingshan at He Ji Restaurant for help; he will never sit idly by."

Chen's father replied gratefully: "We know Boss Chen Qingshan! He is a man of his word!"

Near noon, Chen Xueru's parents played host and treated them to a meal at He Ji Restaurant.

He Yuzhu told Chen Daya about Lou Xiaoe wanting to learn Kung Fu.

Chen Daya was also a straightforward person and agreed immediately: "If Miss Lou wants to learn Kung Fu, she must be willing to endure hardship. From now on, come see me twice a week, and I will teach you some basics first."

Lou Xiaoe said immediately: "Alright! Master!"

Chen Daya then pulled Ma Yan over from the side and said: "This is your senior sister, Ma Yan. If I'm not around in the future, she will lead your basic training."

Lou Xiaoe quickly called out obediently: "Hello, Senior Sister!"

Although Ma Yan was a bit shy, she still nodded earnestly: "If you don't understand anything in the future, feel free to ask me. If I can't answer, we'll ask our master together."

He Yuzhu said: "Since you've established the master-disciple relationship today, you should hold a formal apprenticeship banquet another day."

"Okay! Okay!" Lou Xiaoe agreed readily.

During the meal, Chen Xueru's mood remained low.

Near the end of the meal, she leaned into He Yuzhu's ear and whispered: "I saw the look in Xiao Erduo's eyes when he left; he didn't seem convinced. Do you think he will retaliate against us?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu's heart sank.

He had never been one to trust others easily, but he admired Chen Xueru's eye for people. Her eyes seemed to see things that ordinary people could not. It seemed he would have to pay Xiao Erduo a visit tonight.

He comforted her gently: "I will go to Xiao Erduo's house tonight to test the waters. If he really wants to retaliate against us, I have my own ways to make him vanish from the face of the earth."

Hearing this, Chen Xueru's tense shoulders finally relaxed, and she let out a long sigh: "Then... thank you."

After leaving He Ji Restaurant, He Yuzhu did not head directly to Xiao Erduo's residence.

He reckoned that even if the other party had plans, they wouldn't have gathered enough men yet, so he decided to detour to see Lao Zhou first.

He Yuzhu followed Lao Zhou into the secret room, where a kerosene lamp flickered on the corner of the table, casting long shadows of the two men.

"I'm leaving for two months soon, so I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with many things. By the way, have you caught that mole?" He Yuzhu asked directly.

Lao Zhou was silent for a moment and said: "We have safely sent the three comrades you brought back to the Liberated Area. But they don't know who betrayed them either. Although we have been working hard to investigate, we haven't found that person after a long time; it might even be a cell," Lao Zhou said, looking somewhat distracted.

He Yuzhu's eyes sharpened as he said: "There is one person you must pay close attention to—his name is Feng Qingbo. I suspect he is a double agent."

Lao Zhou immediately asked: "The name Feng Qingbo might just be an alias with no real meaning. Do you remember what he looks like?"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and then drew a rough sketch of Feng Qingbo's appearance.

Lao Zhou took a look and said: "I will hand this drawing to the people at the City Work Department as soon as possible."

"This Feng Qingbo is very cunning and highly skilled in Kung Fu. Even if you find out who he is, do not act without absolute certainty; wait until I return," He Yuzhu said.

"Some time ago, we locked onto a highly suspicious target based on clues; his name is Wang Jin. We wanted to eliminate him, but not only did he escape, we also lost several comrades. I don't know if this person is the same one as the Feng Qingbo you mentioned," Lao Zhou said.

"You can show me a photo of that person," He Yuzhu said.

"Alright, I'll find it as soon as possible!" Lao Zhou said.

In the dead of night, everything was silent.

He Yuzhu arrived silently outside Xiao Erduo's residence, only to hear noisy voices in the courtyard; there were at least several dozen people gathered.

He took a deep breath, suddenly exerting force in his limbs, and climbed onto the wall like a civet cat. Then, taking advantage of the night's cover, he slowly climbed onto the roof and pressed his ear to the tiles, the conversation in the hall below clearly reaching his ears.

"Brother, I want to marry Chen Xueru! If her family doesn't agree, we'll burn down both of her shops and see if she still doesn't agree!" This was definitely the voice of that fool, Lian Hu.

"Just burning Chen Xueru's shops is too easy on them; let's burn all five of Chen Qingshan's shops too! Jin Hai owes us anyway," Xiao Erduo's voice came from below.

Suddenly, a dissenting voice rose: "Big Brother, would that be too risky? The ten of us couldn't even beat He Yuzhu; if we provoke him, won't he fight us to the death? I'm afraid we won't be able to keep a single one of our casinos."

"Lian Wu, what do you know? We lost all face in the Qianmen area this time. All those merchants saw it; if we don't intimidate them, how will we collect protection money in the future? I've already spoken to Bureau Chief Feng about this, and he tacitly approved."

Lian Wu still tried to dissuade him: "Big Brother, haven't we been safe all these years because we know how to avoid the tough ones? I still think you were too impulsive today."

"What are you afraid of? He has no one backing him now! Lian Wu, you don't need to worry about the business here; take a few men and go collect the money from the casinos now. The money from several casinos disappeared inexplicably last time; we must not let that happen again."

"Yes, I'm going now." Lian Wu left in a hurry with a few men.

Watching Lian Wu walk away, He Yuzhu dropped lightly from the roof and strolled into the hall.

In the hall, Xiao Erduo and his younger brother Lian Hu were feasting at an Eight Immortals table.

Under the oil lamp, two greasy pig knuckles had already been gnawed to pieces, and both of their mouths were covered in glistening grease.

Eating something so greasy in the middle of the night, aren't you afraid of sudden death? He Yuzhu said coldly.

Xiao Erduo looked up abruptly at the sound, and upon seeing who it was, he looked as if he had seen a ghost; the half-knuckle in his hand dropped onto the table with a thud.

He hurriedly reached for his waist, but saw He Yuzhu's wrist tremble slightly, and a cold light pierced through the air—

Xiao Erduo let out a miserable scream as a Flying Knife precisely pinned his gun-wielding right arm, blood instantly staining his sleeve.

Seeing this, Lian Hu grabbed a porcelain plate from the table and threw it fiercely.

He Yuzhu dodged to the side, and the plate shattered against the wall behind him.

Almost simultaneously, two flashes of silver light streaked by, and two Flying Knives were embedded in Lian Hu's throat and heart respectively.

Lian Hu's eyes widened, a strange sound came from his throat, and his body convulsed violently before slowly collapsing, his eyes filled with unwillingness and terror.

I intended to leave you a way out, but I didn't expect you to dare plot against my Siqiang's property.

Xiao Erduo watched his brother stop breathing and grinned hideously with a twisted face: "He, you're ruthless! It's a pity you're destined to be buried with my brother tonight! There are over fifty of my brothers outside; even if you had three heads and six arms, you wouldn't get out alive!"

He Yuzhu's lips curled into a cold arc: "Since that is the case, I will let you open your eyes to what true despair is."

Xiao Erduo suddenly let out a sharp whistle.

In an instant, chaotic footsteps rang out from both the front and back courtyards, surging toward the main hall like a tide.

He Yuzhu struck with lightning speed, clamping a hand onto Xiao Erduo's throat.

Almost simultaneously, more than twenty men holding guns scrambled to squeeze into the main hall from the narrow doorway, their dark muzzles aimed squarely at him.