Chapter 24: He Yuzhu Schemes Against Dengzhao

"Bang! Bang!" Two thunderous gunshots rang out.

A pungent smell of gunpowder instantly filled the entire room!

"Someone come! There's an assassin!" Dengzhao roared at the top of his lungs!

Heh, this bastard is a real man, goddamn it! His kneecaps were shattered, yet he still had the strength to call for help!

The moment he fell, his fan-sized hand flashed toward his lower back like lightning—he was going for his weapon!

The Japanese officer's eyelids twitched at the sight!

Without a word, he raised his hand and fired two more shots! This time, the muzzle was aimed directly at his head!

"Bang! Bang!"

Dengzhao's massive head was split open on the spot! Red and white matter splattered everywhere! His iron-tower-like body slammed into the floor with a "thud," and then went still.

Dengzhao, a fierce bandit who had dominated Nancheng for years, had fallen so miserably in his own den, dying without even knowing what kind of "His Excellency" had taken his life!

The gunshots were like poking a hornet's nest! The dim, intoxicated silence of the hall was instantly torn to shreds! After a brief, dead silence, everything descended into chaos with a "boom"! Opium smokers, waiters, and thugs wailed and shrieked, bumping into each other like headless flies.

Several thugs guarding the place pushed through the panicked crowd, drew their guns, and charged into the reception room!

When the accountant, Lao Xing, entered the room and saw Dengzhao's miserable state, he let out a wail.

A man with a scar on his face asked with a flushed, anxious look: "Lao Xing! Did you see clearly where that bastard ran?"

Lao Xing finally snapped out of it, trembling as he poked his head into the inner room: "The... the back window! He bolted through the back window!"

"Do you remember what that bastard looked like?" Daobalian pressed.

"A Japanese! Not tall, small face, had a little mustache, wearing gold-rimmed glasses..." Lao Xing shook like a leaf.

"Brothers! Split up and chase! Lao Xing, hurry up and send someone to break the news to the sister-in-law!" Daobalian roared.

A group of men grabbed their weapons and charged out in a swarming, cursing mob.

On the other side, that "Japanese officer" was running for his life through the alleyways!

He dove into a dead-end alley filled with junk, ducked into a dilapidated courtyard gate, pressed his back hard against the wall, and panted heavily, his chest heaving like a bellows.

He peered left and right like a thief, confirming no one had followed him.

He reached up and yanked off the cumbersome gold-rimmed glasses, then gave a sharp tug, tearing off the little mustache stuck to his mouth—revealing none other than He Yuzhu's face, still carrying his baby fat!

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and cursed under his breath: "Pah! Dengzhao, that bastard! He really loves his money more than his life! I wanted money, but you insisted on giving me your life! And you even tried to bite back! Fuck! It's a good thing my system upgraded, otherwise I'd have really been done for today!"

In the Lou Family living room, the air felt frozen.

Lou Zhenhua's finger was almost poking Lou Feng's forehead as he cursed, spittle flying everywhere.

Lou Feng shrank his neck, not daring to let out a peep.

The Third Concubine, Tan Yali, held her four-year-old daughter, Lou Xiaoe, and didn't dare to breathe a word on the side.

Lou Feng was Lou Zhenhua's head steward and the son of his late cousin; he had grown up in the Lou Family and was no different from his own flesh and blood.

Right now, all three of Lou Zhenhua's biological sons were studying abroad, so Lou Feng was the only one left who could do the "dirty work" for him.

Who would have thought this kid would get so bold as to help Xu Fugui commit such a wicked, lineage-ending act as kidnapping a child!

It wasn't that Lou Zhenhua hadn't had blood on his hands, but he had his own rules: he didn't harm the innocent. Otherwise, how could he have survived three regimes without falling? Even when he was taken in back in '65, there were people above secretly reaching out to bail him out!

"The old saying goes: do not refrain from a small good, and do not commit a small evil! You, the dignified head steward of the Lou Family, actually dared to collude with thugs to kidnap someone's child. If Lou Gang hadn't had sharp ears and heard it, I'd still be kept in the dark! You're done being head steward! Get out and guard the gate at the Rolling Mill! And stop being the driver for that bastard Xu Fugui! I can't afford to use people like that!" Lou Zhenhua slammed the table in anger.

Lou Feng nodded like he was pounding garlic: "Second Uncle, I was blinded by greed and got played by that bastard Xu Fugui! I'll change! I'll definitely change! But... but what about the 'Ouyang Feng' matter... what should we do?"

Lou Zhenhua waved his hand: "Keep the child at the Lou Mansion for now. As for the rest, I can't be bothered!"

Lou Feng left, looking wilted and dejected.

Tan Yali then spoke softly: "Master, now that you've fired Xu Fugui, what about his wife? She's been working in our house for nearly twenty years. If her man loses his rice bowl, their life..."

Lou Zhenhua pondered for a moment: "Send her to the Rolling Mill too, let her drive a car."

Outside Dengzhao's residence, the northwest wind blew like a knife.

He Yuzhu was wrapped in a tattered quilt with exposed cotton, huddled in a corner sheltered from the wind, looking just like a beggar. But his eyes were fixed intently on those two black-lacquered gates.

Not long after, several thugs who guarded the opium den rushed into the courtyard in a panic, then ran out again in a great hurry.

A woman in her thirties followed behind them, crying and wailing all the way as she chased them toward the opium den.

Watching the figures disappear at the mouth of the alley, He Yuzhu vaulted over the courtyard wall like a nimble cat, landing without a sound.

The courtyard was deathly quiet.

He Yuzhu crouched low, his ears pricked, his eyes darting around.

Soon, a "grunting" sound came from the main room! He Yuzhu even thought someone was doing the deed!

He crept to the base of the window and took a peek—holy cow!

A man was sticking his butt in the air, struggling to move a large bed!

He Yuzhu's mouth stretched to his ears; it was truly a case of someone sending a pillow just as he wanted to sleep.

Peering through the window crack, he saw the man pry up a floor tile and quickly pull out a small wooden box from underneath!

He Yuzhu wanted to enter the room and kill him, but he noticed this bastard wasn't finished yet; he went to the Houyuan, slipped into the cellar, and soon crawled out carrying a suitcase!

He Yuzhu held his breath and didn't move.

What luck; he had been worrying about how to find money! Someone was actually volunteering to help, saving this young master a lot of trouble!

The guy went into a few other rooms, gathered some odds and ends, and wrapped them tightly in a cloth bundle.

"Lao Er! Open the door! Open the door quickly!" A frantic pounding on the door and wailing screams came from the front yard!

The guy called "Lao Er" was startled, grabbed his things, and bolted for the back door!

He scrambled to push aside the broken baskets and rotten wood blocking the door.

That back door hadn't been opened in who knows how many years, and it was blocked tight.

He moved with all his might, and just as he was about to shift the last piece of broken door panel blocking the way...

A brick whistled through the air and slammed hard into the back of his head with a "thwack"!

Lao Er didn't even let out a groan before he collapsed to the ground like a limp noodle.

He Yuzhu lunged forward in a flash and swept everything—the small wooden box, the suitcase, and the odds and ends in the cloth bundle that he had rummaged out—into his space.

Then, he released Ma Wu and Xiaoliuzi, who had only half a breath left, as well.

He Yuzhu fished a Dagger off Lao Er, gestured with it, created wounds on the two of them as if they had been fighting, and finally stabbed Ma Wu and Xiaoliuzi each once.

Looking at the scene, it was the spitting image of an internal feud over an uneven split of loot, resulting in a knife fight.

Once everything was tidied up, He Yuzhu put Lao Er's corpse into his space.

Although this setup was a bit crude and would struggle to fool the authorities, it was enough to deal with that rabble under Dengzhao and keep them from reporting it to the officials easily.

He Yuzhu pushed open the back door he had just cleared, slipped out, twisted and turned through the maze-like alleys, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

He snuck back to the Siheyuan; hey, it was strange today, he actually didn't run into that door god Yan Laoxi! He Yuzhu tiptoed to his own door.

Inside the room, Shen Guizhi was sleeping soundly, holding He Yushui in her arms.

The mother and daughter's cheeks were rosy; compared to how sickly they looked a few days ago, it was truly like night and day.

He Yuzhu gently placed the few steamed buns he had bought on the road and a package of Liubiju pickles on the table, then turned around, wanting to sneak off to the small room to count his "spoils of war."

Unexpectedly, Shen Guizhi sat up with a "whoosh"! She glared at He Yuzhu, her eyes like shards of ice, shot him two sharp looks, then turned around and lay back down, her back facing him.

He Yuzhu knew clearly in his heart that she was blaming him for sneaking out this morning and making his mother worry.

He leaned close to the edge of the kang and lowered his voice: "Mom, I didn't just run around playing today! I went to ask about things for Dad!"

Shen Guizhi didn't make a sound, her shoulders held tight.

He Yuzhu hurriedly continued: "Mom, this job Dad took this time... I'm afraid it's a life-or-death situation!"

Shen Guizhi sat up again with a start, her voice cracking: "You little bastard! Don't try to scare your mother! Speak! What exactly is going on?"

"I went to Qianmen Street today to take a look; the whole street was full of plainclothes officers! And quite a few Japanese ronin were there, brandishing swords and guns, showing off! I reckon these little devils want to use this 'Martial Arts Tournament' as a pretext to round up all the heroes of the underworld in our Si Jiu Cheng! You tell me, with Dad just a cook, if he's caught in the middle, can he end up well?!" He Yuzhu said urgently.

"Then... then tell your dad to quit! We won't do it! Can't we?" Shen Guizhi's tears came streaming down.

"I'm afraid... it's too late!" He Yuzhu shook his head, "It starts the day after tomorrow, how can he just quit? I feel like that Boss Ma isn't a good bird either! He likely got some news and deliberately pushed Dad out to be a scapegoat and take the fall! Do you think Dad slept with Boss Ma's wife? Otherwise, why would he hate him so much?"

"You little bastard, get lost! Nothing good ever comes out of a dog's mouth!"