Chapter 239: Wealth Rivaling a Nation

He Yuzhu's long staff whirled like a dragon in his hands, the shadows of the staff weaving into an impenetrable barrier.

Only the whistling of the wind could be heard, and the miserable howls of the vicious dogs rose and fell; in the midst of the chaotic battle, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the shriveled old man still stubbornly blowing his whistle, the sharp, shrill sound rising and falling like a death-summoning incantation, driving the pack of dogs to charge one after another.

"Old bastard!" He Yuzhu shattered the skull of a hound lunging at him with a single strike of his staff, a scarlet mist of blood exploding in the air, "What kind of beasts are you raising? They're fiercer than wild wolves!"

The old man gave a sinister laugh, his turbid eyes gleaming with smugness: "To tell you the truth, these darlings usually eat human flesh. Gamblers who renege on debts in the casino, disobedient prostitutes, and enemies who oppose us—they've all been fed to them. You tell me, how could they not be like wolves?"

He Yuzhu's heart sank, and the veins on the hand gripping the staff bulged.

He had originally thought Xiao Erduo was nothing more than a local hoodlum; he hadn't expected him to commit such heinous acts.

"Very well! Since you like feeding dogs with living people so much, I'll let you taste that feeling yourself in a moment!"

"Kid, I know you've got some skills, having killed my three nephews. Even if I can't take your life with my own hands, I'll have these darlings gnaw you until not even your bones are left!" The old man laughed wildly with a ferocious expression.

"Dream on!"

He Yuzhu said no more; seeing that most of the vicious dogs had entered a six-meter radius, he shifted his thoughts. In an instant, dozens of vicious dogs vanished into thin air, as if they had never existed.

The shriveled old man widened his eyes, staring at the empty ground in disbelief.

He roared at the remaining dozen or so dogs like a madman: "Go! Bite him to death for me!"

Yet those vicious dogs merely looked around blankly, wagging their tails incessantly, and dared not step forward again.

No matter how shrill the whistle sounded, they actually cowered and retreated step by step.

Seeing that the situation was lost, the old man turned and ran.

He Yuzhu flicked his wrist, and two cold glints broke through the air.

The Flying Knife nailed precisely into the old man's thigh; he let out a miserable shriek and crashed heavily to the ground.

As He Yuzhu waved his hand, the last dozen or so vicious dogs also vanished instantly.

"A ghost! You, you aren't human..." the old man collapsed on the ground, speaking incoherently.

"I'm not human?" He Yuzhu sneered, "Compared to a demon like you who raises dogs on human flesh, I think I'm quite merciful."

He deftly sealed the old man's mouth and added a few more cuts to his limbs, then threw him into the empty dog pen.

The dozen or so vicious dogs, starving with green-glowing eyes, were released from the space and surrounded the old man.

At first, the vicious dogs cowered and did not advance, so He Yuzhu raised his horsewhip and lashed down fiercely.

The dogs, stung by the pain, suddenly unleashed their ferocity, letting out deafening barks as they swarmed forward to tear and bite madly.

He Yuzhu turned his face away, unwilling to look at this hell-on-earth scene any longer.

When everything calmed down, he retrieved the vicious dogs and the corpses back into the space, then dug a deep pit in the Houyuan to bury all these beasts.

When he returned to Xueru Clothing Store, Chen Xueru was waiting anxiously at the door. Seeing his grave expression, she hurried to greet him: "What happened?"

He Yuzhu let out a long sigh; he didn't tell her the truth, only saying that he was too tired and wanted to go home to rest.

Chen Xueru was quite understanding, and she and her parents thanked him profusely for a long time.

He Yuzhu reminded them to pay attention to safety and to hire a few more Bodyguards to prevent any stragglers from Xiao Erduo's side.

He Yuzhu dragged his exhausted body back to Liu Rusi's residence; as soon as he entered, he heard her sarcasm: "I heard the great hero He played the hero saving the beauty again today? Is the beauty still alright?"

He Yuzhu waved his hand powerlessly: "Sister, don't make fun of me." He then recounted what had happened that day, and after listening, Liu Rusi sighed: "This bunch of scum deserves to die!"

"If these malignant tumors aren't cleared away, the common people will be bullied by them forever..." He Yuzhu lamented.

"Zhuzi has really grown up, starting to care about big things," Liu Rusi said.

Zhao Ying also leaned in to tease: "Xiao Si, haven't you noticed our Zhuzi is becoming more and more like a real man?"

"I think it's you who won't give up, right?" Liu Rusi mocked.

Zhao Ying said: "I'm telling the truth."

He Yuzhu managed to pull out a smile: "Sisters, please don't make fun of me."

Half a month passed in a hurry.

On the platform of Qianmen Railway Station, Liu Rusi and Zhao Ying hugged in farewell, both women, who were always strong, having reddened eyes.

He Yuzhu and Liu Rusi hugged for a moment, then hurried onto the train.

The train started slowly, and Liu Rusi watched the carriage moving further and further away, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

The Bald Party had lost its momentum; where should she, a former member of the Military Statistics Bureau, go? Staying in Si Jiu Cheng, her past would always be criticized; drifting overseas like Zhao Ying, she couldn't bear to part with this familiar place.

"Miss, it's time to go," Pingping reminded her softly.

Liu Rusi replied with a sense of loss: "Let's go."

"Miss, I think you should go to Hong Kong like Zhao Ying; how happy everyone would be together!"

"There are still too many things to do in Si Jiu Cheng; I'll stay for as long as I can! There might not even be a chance to stay here in the future!" Liu Rusi said.

"Miss, Pingping will follow you for the rest of my life; wherever you go, I will follow."

Two Shengli Ships were docked at Tianjin Port, and water birds flew back and forth on the decks; as soon as He Yuzhu and the others boarded, they were met with a show of force.

"Open all the boxes! Take off your outer garments!" the soldier ordered rudely.

Zhao Ying was furious; like a fighting cock, she put her hands on her hips and cursed: "Open your dog eyes and look clearly! This is my ship! I'm going home by boarding my own ship; do I need you to manage me?"

Regimental Commander Guo, wearing a field officer's uniform, paced over and said with a fake smile: "Miss Zhao, please forgive me; the ship is carrying important supplies, so we have to be cautious. You don't need to take off your clothes for inspection."

"If I had known this, I should have unloaded the cargo in Yantai!" Zhao Ying sneered.

"Watch your tongue!" Regimental Commander Guo's face darkened, "Yantai is already a Red Zone; if these words spread, you'll lose your head!"

"Are you threatening me? I'm afraid you aren't qualified enough!" Zhao Ying cursed.

Regimental Commander Guo sneered: "Don't go against Officer Chen, otherwise those old matters of yours might be dug up."

As soon as Zhao Ying heard this, she became anxious and cursed: "Fine, then I won't lend this ship!"

"Miss Zhao, don't be ignorant of the times!" Regimental Commander Guo warned.

He Yuzhu didn't want to fall out with the man surnamed Guo over such a small matter, so he pulled Zhao Ying away.

In the end, the three of them were only assigned one cramped cabin, and there were only two narrow beds.

Zhao Ying wanted to go find Regimental Commander Guo again, but was stopped by Su Qing. "Zhao Ying, I went to check, even the lowest cargo hold is full."

He Yuzhu advised, "Sister Ying, why do you feel like you're going through menopause today, finding fault with everything? Your ship has been placed under military control; you need to face reality."

"You think I really care about these things? I'm just making sure they don't become suspicious," Zhao Ying said.

"Sister Ying really has the big picture in mind!" He Yuzhu buttered her up.

Su Qing said, "Zhuzi and I can just find any place to rest; you stay in this cabin by yourself."

He Yuzhu said, "Actually, it's quite good that this guy surnamed Guo is arrogant. If he were too nice to me, I'd psychologically feel a bit sorry for him."

Zhao Ying leaned in and whispered, "Zhuzi, you can't go soft when dealing with this guy surnamed Guo."

"Regimental Commander Guo, kill or keep?" He Yuzhu asked.

Zhao Ying lightly drew her fingertip across her neck.

"Understood."

Late at night, He Yuzhu and Su Qing spread a military blanket in the top-level cargo hold and lay down fully clothed.

Once Su Qing's breathing grew heavy, He Yuzhu quietly rose and, like a ghost, snuck toward the mysterious cargo hold on the second level that was heavily guarded.

Just as he pressed close to the cabin door, a burst of footsteps suddenly approached.

He Yuzhu had nowhere to hide and could only enter the space.

When he reappeared five minutes later, the guards had just finished their shift change.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he snuck into the cabin without a sound and began to activate the system Scanning.

One hundred specially made wooden crates were neatly stacked, and inside them was actually a full ton and a half of gold!

He Yuzhu gasped, "These high-ranking officials of the Bald Party are truly wealthy enough to rival a nation!"