Chapter 236: A Careless Loss of Jingzhou

He Yuzhu hid behind the short and sturdy Xiao Erduo; the scene was truly comical, with most of his body exposed.

If the people who rushed in opened fire, he would have no chance of survival.

However, the Dagger in He Yuzhu's hand, held tightly against Xiao Erduo's throat, still deterred those who had entered.

Xiao Erduo threatened, "He Yuzhu, you can't escape! Today, I will definitely make you die here and pay for my brother's life!"

He Yuzhu curled his lips into a cold sneer and said, "Listen well, brothers outside! As long as you make even the slightest move to pull the trigger, I will kill him! If you don't believe me, try it. Come closer, let me see you clearly..."

Xiao Erduo cursed with a hoarse voice, "I don't believe you can make it out alive..."

Seeing Xiao Erduo's reckless attitude, He Yuzhu decided to show him his special ability—using his mind to pull enemies within a six-meter radius into his space to render them unconscious, then quickly releasing them. This way, it would take these people two minutes to wake up, and He Yuzhu could take advantage of this gap to snap their necks one by one. He had never liked using such cruel methods, but facing this gang of thugs led by Xiao Erduo, he had to let them witness what ultimate terror was.

With a thought from He Yuzhu, the people inside and outside the room suddenly disappeared, only to reappear shortly after, but everyone was in a state of unconsciousness.

Xiao Erduo's eyes widened as he stared at everything before him in disbelief, shouting crazily, "Monster, monster! You are a monster!"

He Yuzhu struck repeatedly, breaking Xiao Erduo's limbs. The shrill screams pierced the night sky, but unfortunately, there were no other buildings around Xiao Erduo's residence, so no one would hear them.

Xiao Erduo rolled on the ground in pain, forced to watch helplessly as He Yuzhu snapped the necks of those heinous thugs one by one.

Suddenly, two figures flashed through the courtyard, heading straight for the gate.

He Yuzhu flicked his wrist, and two Flying Knives tore through the air, accurately embedding themselves into the backs of the fleeing criminals.

The scene that followed was truly cruel: with Xiao Erduo as a witness, He Yuzhu snapped the neck of every unconscious person, the crisp sound of shattering bones exceptionally clear in the night.

Watching his subordinates being slaughtered, Xiao Erduo felt pain and fear intertwined, letting out a beast-like howl, yet he was powerless to do anything.

After disposing of everyone, He Yuzhu picked up the limbless Xiao Erduo and asked coldly, "You kept saying today that I rely on Miss Liu; do you know what I rely on now?"

Xiao Erduo's face was pale and his whole body trembled, yet he still braced himself to curse, "Monster! You are just a monster! I won't let you go even as a ghost! My brothers will definitely avenge me!"

He Yuzhu stared at him expressionlessly: "Tell me, where is the money hidden in your house? I will give you a quick end."

Xiao Erduo was indeed a tough nut to crack; even after He Yuzhu broke all his ribs, he refused to reveal where the money was hidden.

Seeing this, He Yuzhu had no choice but to send him to meet his brothers.

From then on, this tumor entrenched in Nancheng was almost completely eradicated, with only one person named Lian Wu escaping.

He Yuzhu cleaned up the scene, collected all the corpses into his space, and then carefully searched the large residence.

Searching from the front courtyard to the Houyuan, he finally detected gold and Big Ocean in a corner of the side courtyard and did not hesitate to collect them into his space.

After entering the space to count, he found there were a full five hundred Small Yellow Fish, two hundred Big Yellow Fish, and over a dozen Big Ocean.

Relying on casinos, brothels, and the opium trade, Xiao Erduo had indeed made a lot of money over the years; it was no wonder he had become much more arrogant than before.

He Yuzhu put away all the treasure, disguised himself slightly, and rushed overnight to the several casinos under Xiao Erduo's name to look for Lian Wu.

He ran to four casinos but found no trace of Lian Wu. He felt a bit lazy and wanted to deal with these people the next day.

He Yuzhu returned to Liu Rusi's home and went to sleep in his clothes.

On the other side, when Lian Wu returned to the Lian residence with the five thousand Big Ocean he had collected, his heart suddenly sank. The entire residence was deathly silent, without even a shadow of a night watchman, and a sense of foreboding rushed to his head. "Could it be that Big Brother followed those brothers to take action himself? No, Big Brother never does things like this himself... Something must have happened!"

"Quick! Everyone split up and search!" Lian Wu roared his orders. More than a dozen subordinates hurriedly lit torches, opened door after door, and went into every courtyard to find people.

Ten minutes later, a brother ran over to report: "Fifth Brother, we found bloodstains in the corner of the wall!" Lian Wu hurried over to check and indeed saw two pools of blood on the ground near the gate. He suddenly remembered something and rushed to the Houyuan like a madman, using his trembling hands to open the secret door disguised in the wall. Walking down the steps into the cellar, he raised his torch to look, and his whole body froze on the spot—the vault was empty, over a dozen large wooden crates had vanished, and not even a single Copper Coin remained.

"Quick! You all split up and go to my sister-in-law's house, the Hufangqiao casino... those places in Badahutong that my big brother and second brother often go to, and also the Chen Family Silk Store at Qianmen and those restaurants of Chen Qingshan! One person is responsible for one place; if you find anything, don't stay, come back and report immediately!" Lian Wu ordered with a trembling voice.

Xiao Erduo did not get along with his wife, and this house was merely a stronghold for him and his subordinates; he rarely returned to his real home.

An hour later, the brothers sent out returned one after another, all looking panicked:

"There's nothing at the sister-in-law's!"

"Nothing at the Hufangqiao casino!"

"Couldn't find anything at Badahutong!"

"No abnormalities found at the Chen Family Silk Store!"

Every place had been searched, but there was still no trace of Xiao Erduo, Lian Hu, or those dozens of brothers.

Lian Wu could no longer sit still; even though it was already dawn, he stumbled to find Bureau Chief Feng.

Bureau Chief Feng, having had his dream disturbed, came out wearing his clothes with a face full of displeasure. Seeing the disheveled Lian Wu, he frowned and asked, "In the middle of the night, are you reporting a death?"

"Bureau Chief... Feng... my big brother, second brother, and dozens of brothers... are all... gone!" Lian Wu was somewhat incoherent.

Bureau Chief Feng's mind cleared up more than half: "Tell me clearly! What exactly happened?"

"My big brother was going to burn down Chen Qingshan's restaurant and the Chen Family Silk Store tonight, but when I came back from collecting debts at the casino, there was no one left at home. I searched everywhere, but I just can't find them!" Lian Wu said.

"Are there any signs of a struggle at home?" Bureau Chief Feng asked.

"Just... we found two pools of blood in the courtyard, and a plate smashed against the wall..." Lian Wu replied.

Bureau Chief Feng pondered for a moment, sat down slowly, and looked grave: "I'm afraid your big brother won't be coming back this time; he must have provoked someone he shouldn't have. Some time ago, the armories of the Garrison around Si Jiu Cheng were all stolen, and there wasn't a single trace left at the scene either... I think it's likely the same group of people!" He sighed, "Lian Wu, you are more steady than your big brother and second brother. From now on, you can take over your big brother's businesses!"

Lian Wu fell to his knees with a "thump," grabbing Bureau Chief Feng's pant leg and wailing: "Bureau Chief Feng! You must avenge my brother!"

"Avenge?" Bureau Chief Feng gave a bitter smile, "When your brother came to see me this afternoon, I didn't fully agree with him provoking He Yuzhu. I heard that Bureau Chief Lou in Dongcheng was the one who provoked this kid... I don't want to follow in his footsteps."

Lian Wu felt as if he had been struck by lightning and slumped to the ground.

Bureau Chief Feng leaned over and patted his shoulder: "Your brother is gone, but those casinos and businesses still need to be managed with care; my share of the money must not be a cent short."

Lian Wu kowtowed in a daze: "Don't worry... I wouldn't dare miss your share, even if I missed everyone else's."

He Yuzhu hadn't gotten up yet when he heard Liu Rusi knocking urgently at the door. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked, "Sister, it's so early in the morning, what happened?"

Liu Rusi's speech was fast and urgent: "Your master's shop just got a call saying someone named Chen Xueru was kidnapped, and they want you to go take a look immediately!"

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly sobered up—not catching Xiao Erduo's brother, Lian Wu, had indeed led to a major disaster. He couldn't ignore this matter. He Yuzhu scrambled to put on his clothes and drove straight to Qianmen.

As soon as he arrived at Xueru Clothing Store, he saw Chen Xueru's parents with eyes red from crying. He Yuzhu stepped forward quickly: "Uncle, Aunt, what exactly happened?"

Chen Xueru's father's voice was hoarse: "Early this morning, Xueru said she was coming to the shop, and in just this short while, she... she just vanished! The old man selling sugar-coated haws outside said she was abducted by a group of people..."

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment: "You two don't worry yet, let me think carefully about what to do."