Chapter 336: How Interesting!

Li Xuewu took a drag of his cigarette and asked Yang Zongfang, "Has Yang Mingsu's wife confessed?"

"She has."

Yang Zongfang nodded and said, "That trick of yours was really... really useful, hehehe."

Li Xuewu glanced at Yang Zongfang. This guy was suspected of backstabbing; he would need to find an opportunity to knock him down a peg or two.

When Li Xuewu went downstairs today, he had already given instructions to Yang Zongfang: other tricks wouldn't work on Yang Mingsu's wife; she was a woman who would risk her life but not her wealth.

Li Xuewu had discovered this when he went to search the Yang residence last night; this woman recognized money, not people.

As they were sticking the seizure seals on one item after another, the woman's eyeballs seemed ready to be stuck on along with the seals.

During interrogations, one usually looks for a suspect's weakness to cut into the conversation.

And for a greedy person like Lu Yazhen, her greatest weakness was greed!

In her eyes, there was only wealth.

No dignity, no human sentiment, no right or wrong, no family, no friends, no domestic happiness, no life!

For wealth, she could use any means necessary.

For wealth, she could abandon everything.

For wealth, she could trade everything.

"We first said that Luo Cheng had implicated their family, and that Yang Mingsu had already confessed that the money was all with her."

When mentioning the interesting parts, Yang Zongfang chuckled and said, "You wouldn't believe it. Following your arrangement, I told Lu Yazhen that she was the one who collected all the money, and that Yang Mingsu was mostly unaware."

"Lu Yazhen flew into a rage right then, saying she wasn't the deputy factory director, so why would others give her money? And when she heard Luo Cheng had implicated her, she even bluntly stated that no one's hands were clean."

"Hehehe."

Yang Shuji placed the fountain pen in his hand beside his notebook and chuckled softly: "For the sake of money, these people have already become neither human nor ghost; between father and son, husband and wife, there is not a shred of trust left."

"Human nature is just like that!"

Li Xuewu took the cigarette from his mouth with his hand, flicked the ash into the ashtray in the middle of the table, and with drooping eyelids, said contemptuously: "Some people cannot tolerate the dust on their bodies, yet they indulge the filth in their hearts."

Everyone present knew who this was referring to.

Whether it was the Luo family, Luo Cheng, or Lu Yazhen, whom Li Xuewu had seen last night, they all lived very exquisitely.

Whether it was their clothes or their appearance, they all possessed a cleanliness and tidiness that surpassed ordinary people.

One could tell from Yang Mingsu's daughter that the effect of this money was still very powerful.

"Tell her to confess as soon as possible to strive for lenient treatment. Dispel her wishful thinking. Tell her that whoever confesses first has the merit of surrendering and reforming, while stubbornness will only bring more severe punishment."

Yang Shuji made the final decision, setting the interrogation strategy for Lu Yazhen, and subsequently arranged the interrogation work for the afternoon.

Because of Li Xuewu's interrogation results with Luo Cheng, Yang Shuji specifically took him along this time to interrogate Luo Jiaping, who "never felt sleepy."

Actually, not sleeping for two days and one night was nothing; Li Xuewu saw that Luo Jiaping's state was quite good.

He turned back to close the door and walked into the somewhat dim room.

To prevent the person under investigation from feeling the passage of time, the room was deliberately covered with thick curtains.

And the times for meals and shift changes were not fixed; they were very casual.

"How is it going?"

Seeing Yang Shuji bring Li Xuewu in, Luo Jiaping ignored Yang Shuji's inquiry and instead cast his gaze toward Li Xuewu.

"No need to look at me, and don't be afraid. I won't lay a hand on you, hehehe."

Li Xuewu smiled and walked to the diagonal opposite of Luo Jiaping, sized up the bed that hadn't moved, and then turned to sit on it.

Luo Jiaping, however, cast a contemptuous glance at Li Xuewu and turned his head to look at Yang Shuji.

"Since when does the Discipline Inspection Commission need the Security Division to back them up?"

This was not treating Li Xuewu and Yang Shuji as people. It was blatant sowing of discord, meaning: if I can't ruin you, I'll disgust you.

Yang Shuji was also an old... old schemer; he didn't care about Luo Jiaping's provocation in the slightest.

Only to see Yang Yuansong nod shamefully and say: "Indeed, it is my incompetence; I haven't done the discipline inspection work well."

"If you ask me, I'd say so too!"

Li Xuewu tested the softness of the mattress and asked with a slight frown: "This broken mattress dares to charge one yuan a night? Does your guesthouse provide special services or what?"

Luo Jiaping looked at Li Xuewu askance and said: "Stop spitting blood. These little tricks won't bring me down."

As he spoke, seeing Li Xuewu's expression of disdain, he instead mocked: "In a small place like ours, Li Ke's golden buttocks are naturally unaccustomed to the beds in our poor, remote countryside."

"If you want to smear me, just do it directly. Don't beat around the bush. In case I don't understand, wouldn't you be wasting your breath?"

Saying the mattress was uncomfortable, he retorted at Luo Jiaping, but Li Xuewu still pulled the quilt to the middle and sat leaning diagonally.

Seeing Li Xuewu in such a sloppy manner, Yang Shuji turned a blind eye, and Luo Jiaping couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Heh heh heh, the forest is big, so there are all kinds of birds. Even a person like that can get into the steel mill's discipline department."

Seeing Yang Shuji turn a deaf ear to his words, he couldn't help but ask provocatively: "Do you intend to interrogate me like this?"

"You misunderstood."

Before Yang Shuji could speak, Li Xuewu said first: "This isn't an interrogation right now."

As soon as Yang Yuansong entered the door, he discovered that Luo Jiaping had targeted Li Xuewu, knowing that this meant Luo Jiaping was experiencing emotional fluctuations.

Therefore, he now yielded the main seat of the interrogation to Li Xuewu, while he himself acted as a "supporting role."

Li Xuewu leaned back, changing from half-sitting to half-lying, looking as if he were about to take a nap.

"Yang Shuji is the most understanding; he knows you don't want to talk, so he didn't arrange your interrogation at all."

"Then what did you come here for?"

"To look at a stray dog, hehehe."

Li Xuewu ignored Luo Jiaping's slightly narrowed eyes and said with a chuckle: "Actually, you don't need to say anything. Someone will tell exactly what you did."

Yang Shuji rested his hand on the table, glanced at Luo Jiaping, and then sighed regretfully.

This actually made Luo Jiaping lean back, narrowing his eyes and scanning the expressions of Li Xuewu and Yang Shuji from time to time.

"Last time I left, I secretly swore that whoever undermined me, I would undermine them back, and double it."

Although Li Xuewu was still smiling, the words coming out of his mouth were a blatant threat.

Luo Jiaping looked at Yang Shuji; this did not conform to interrogation requirements.

But Yang Shuji did not look at Luo Jiaping, nor did he reply to Luo Jiaping's words. Instead, he stood up while resting on the table and said to Li Xuewu: "Stop while you're ahead; it's not worth it for this kind of person."

After speaking, he shook his head and walked out of the room.

Li Xuewu, however, never looked at Yang Shuji, nor did he respond to Yang Shuji's words.

After the door was closed, Li Xuewu maintained that smiling expression and said to Luo Jiaping, who was sitting on the chair and glancing at him: "I advise you not to say anything. Saying it will only prevent my hatred from being vented, and then I will be even crazier."

"Then I'd like to see how crazy you can be."

"You will see, no!"

Li Xuewu had just said one sentence before negating his own words, instead saying triumphantly: "It is I who will see."

Luo Jiaping managed to steady his mind at this moment. He was also a person who had been a top leader for many years; naturally, he wouldn't fear the threat of a small section chief, nor would he feel angry because of such tactics.

"No need to act mysterious. Use whatever tricks you have; I'll take them all."

Li Xuewu straightened the pillow on the bed and reached out to unbutton his coat.

Then, under Luo Jiaping's gaze, he kicked off his shoes with his heels and got onto the bed.

"Cough, you're thinking too beautifully. Want to play the chili water and tiger bench routine with me, and then act righteous and unyielding? Not a chance!"

While speaking, Li Xuewu was already lying on the pillow, and even pulled the quilt over himself.

"Don't daydream. There are no tricks. All you have to do is watch with your eyes wide open and wait!"

After speaking, Li Xuewu had already closed his eyes and started snoring.

Originally, Luo Jiaping thought Li Xuewu was acting with him, but damn it, he listened for half an hour, or maybe longer.

Because there was no clock in the room and the window was sealed by curtains, Luo Jiaping couldn't estimate how long he had been listening to the snoring.

This damn thing was definitely asleep!

Not acting!

Luo Jiaping now hated Li Xuewu so much his teeth itched. He hadn't closed his eyes for two days and one night, and his eyes were almost glued shut, but this bastard was actually snoring.

And damn it, it was the rhythmic kind.

Cursing in his heart, Luo Jiaping's eyes couldn't help but disobey him; they were about to close.

"Hey!"

The guarding squad member was also malicious. Seeing Luo Jiaping about to fall asleep, he walked to the bathroom, soaked a towel in ice-cold tap water, walked back to Luo Jiaping, and "gently and considerately" wiped Luo Jiaping's face and neck.

Seeing Luo Jiaping shivering, but his eyes just wouldn't open.

"Not feeling energetic, huh?"

The squad member listened to Li Xuewu's snoring and said softly with a wicked smile: "Hehehe, you wait. Once this trick of mine comes out, if you're not energetic, I'll take your surname!"

As he spoke, he walked back to the bathroom, pushed open the window, scooped a handful of snow from the outer windowsill, squeezed it tight, and closed the window with a wicked smile as he walked back.

At this moment, Luo Jiaping had already caught up with Li Xuewu's rhythm; the snoring sounded like a duet with Li Xuewu's, one rising as the other fell.

But before Luo Jiaping had slept for three minutes, he felt a chill sliding down his neck and along his back.

"Ah! Hiss~"

With this, Luo Jiaping's eyes widened directly, feeling the coldness at his waist, and he was about to twist his body to avoid it.

But this bad boy from the guard squad had already grabbed Luo Jiaping on the chair after doing the bad deed.

"Hiss~ I'll screw your grandmother's leg!"

Luo Jiaping, who came from a scholarly background, couldn't curse any flowery words, only hissed while greeting the guard behind him with his relatives.

And the guard didn't care about this; at worst, he'd just stuff another one in a while.

After the snowball in his clothes melted, Luo Jiaping twisted his shoulders and said through gritted teeth: "Fine, you guys are ruthless, but let's see what other tricks you have."

"Actually, little Luo, this snowball of yours isn't very effective. I have a more effective trick called 【Want You Awake 3000】!"

Just as the two were competing, they suddenly heard such a more malicious remark.

Luo Tonggang turned his head and greeted with a smile: "Li Kezhang, you're awake?"

It turned out Li Xuewu was watching the show while resting his head on his hand.

"You come over."

As he spoke, Li Xuewu beckoned Luo Tonggang over and whispered in his ear for a while.

"Hiss~ Li Kezhang, you... you really know how to live!"

"Get lost! I heard it from somewhere too."

Li Xuewu grabbed Luo Tonggang's collar and whispered: "The time can't be long. Ten seconds per stage, otherwise it will cost a life."

"Understood, understood."

This Luo Tonggang nodded busily, but in his heart, he was muttering: And he said he didn't know how to live; he even timed this so precisely.

After there was no show to watch here, Li Xuewu lay back down, preparing to continue sleeping, muttering: "Pay attention to hygiene!"

Although Luo Jiaping didn't understand what Li Xuewu meant, he knew it wasn't anything good.

So he raised his neck and said to Li Xuewu: "If you won't let me sleep, then you don't sleep either!"

As he spoke, seeing Li Xuewu unmoved, he would shout from time to time.

Li Xuewu couldn't sleep, so he sat up leaning against the head of the bed with both hands, took out two cigarettes from his coat pocket, threw one to Luo Tonggang, and lit one for himself.

Looking at Luo Jiaping, who was triumphant after a successful revenge, Li Xuewu chuckled twice and said: "Continue. The louder you shout, the more comfortable I find it, just like listening to music."

How could Luo Jiaping let Li Xuewu have his way? Seeing Li Xuewu wasn't sleeping, he stopped shouting.

Li Xuewu ignored him, finished his cigarette, and lay down to continue sleeping.

But seeing Li Xuewu sleeping, Luo Jiaping started shouting again.

But this time it didn't work. No matter how Luo Jiaping shouted, Li Xuewu's snoring didn't stop at all.

Shouting and shouting, Luo Jiaping lost his voice. It wasn't that he gave up; it was that his throat was torn.

"Hmm?"

Luo Jiaping stopped shouting, but Li Xuewu's snoring stopped. He raised his head with closed eyes, looked at the furious Luo Jiaping, changed his posture, and continued sleeping, continuing to snore.

Li Xuewu's snoring was quite hypnotic, more effective than those live streams in later generations that used ASMR as a cover to satisfy the viewing desires of certain quirks.

Lou Jie, Qin Jie, and Yu Jie in the Beijing area had personally tested it and found it effective.

Luo Jiaping had no strength left to shout, and listening to the snoring of that jerk on the bed, he was about to doze off again.

And the bad boy Luo Tonggang, who had received Li Xuewu's guidance, didn't wait for Luo Jiaping to close his eyes before changing shifts with the guard on duty at the door and running downstairs amidst the surprised gazes of everyone in the corridor.

Yang Zongfang, who had just come out of Lu Yazhen's detention room, thought something had happened and hurriedly chased after him.

When he chased to the first floor, he saw the guard from just now running back with a long icicle and a pair of medical gloves in his hand, his pockets bulging.

"What are you doing?"

This bad boy chuckled and said: "A refreshing weapon invented by our Li Kezhang—【Want You Awake 3000】."

After replying, he didn't say anything more to Yang Zongfang and continued running upstairs.

It wasn't that this Luo Tonggang was impolite; it was that the icicle in his hand was truly freezing.

It was damn cold!

"What's going on with this kid? What refreshing weapon?"

Seeing it was a false alarm, Yang Zongfang walked back, muttering: What a bad-luck name!

Yang Zongfang walked back to the third floor and asked the guard on duty in the corridor: "Li Ke has been interrogating for over four hours, right? He hasn't come out yet?"

The guard on duty turned to face Yang Zongfang, about to answer, but before he could, a wail came from Luo Jiaping's detention room.

"What are you doing!"

"Ah!!!"

"Hiss~~~"

"Oh roar roar~~~"

Hearing the "Ah!" in the room, Yang Zongfang, standing in the corridor, could guess that Luo Jiaping was being beaten.

But what the hell were the "Hiss~" and "Oh roar roar~" that followed?

Was he beaten into comfort?

Yang Zongfang took two quick steps, opened the door while shouting: "Li Xuewu! You are not allowed to lay a hand... Hmm?"

What surprised Yang Zongfang, who opened the door, and the guards on duty curiously peeking inside, was that it wasn't Li Xuewu beating someone in the room.

And it could be said to have nothing to do with Li Xuewu, nor with the act of beating someone.

"Ugh!"

"Eh!"

"Blech!"

A sound of retching came from the doorway. At this moment, Yang Zongfang regretted meddling in other people's business immensely, and he almost dropped his jaw at the eye-stinging scene in the room.

"Damn! Can't you tell me before you take action!"

Yang Zongfang was leaning on the door, not knowing what to do, when he saw Li Xuewu cursing while carrying his clothes and shuffling his shoes, running out in a flurry.

Behind him came Luo Jiaping's angry curse: "Li Xuewu! I'll screw your eight generations of ancestors!"

"What are you looking at! Haven't you seen 'hanging the head from the beam' and 'stabbing the thigh with an awl'?"

As he spoke, Li Xuewu glared at the "ignorant" Yang Zongfang with an expression of disdain.

He pushed the guard aside, grabbed the doorknob from Yang Zongfang's hand, walked out, and closed the door.

"You... I... He..."

Yang Zongfang looked at Li Xuewu, his face turning red and yellow, pointing at the door, his mouth feeling as if it were stuffed with 【Want You Awake 3000】, not knowing how to express his shock.

Li Xuewu leaned against the wall at the doorway and put on his shoes, saying: "I told you to study culture and read more historical allusions. If you can't write essays, knowing a few idioms is also good."

The guard on duty looked at Li Xuewu with eyes full of "worship," not knowing the Li Kezhang was so "learned."

At this moment, both had one thought: Li Ke is truly... not malicious!

After putting on his shoes, Li Xuewu straightened up, put on the clothes he was carrying, and said incessantly: "Hanging the head from the beam, that is, in the Eastern Han Dynasty there was someone called..."

As he spoke, his hand putting on the clothes paused, then he shook his head and said: "This story isn't worth telling. Let me tell you the story of stabbing the thigh with an awl."

Li Xuewu put on his clothes, put his arms around the shoulders of Yang Zongfang and the guard on duty, and walked back, saying as he walked: "You know Su Qin, right? In order to stay up late reading novels, he used an awl to stab his thigh."

Between the two whose complexions were changing, Li Xuewu chattered: "This awl also depends on what kind of awl; there are those used in summer and those used in winter, and as for this thigh..."

Before Li Xuewu could finish, Yang Shuji walked out of the bedroom, looked at the three people with arms around each other's shoulders, and asked in surprise: "I seem to have heard Luo Jiaping's voice. What happened?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Li Xuewu lowered his arms and said to Yang Shuji: "He's just energetic, doesn't want to sleep, very excited, right, Li Kezhang Yang?"

As he spoke, Li Xuewu turned his head to look at Yang Zongfang.

What could Yang Zongfang say? He hadn't tried it himself.

"Energetic is energetic, but... won't there be problems?"

Yang Zongfang's question to Li Xuewu was a bit stuttering; this had truly shattered his understanding of that position for over twenty years.

Perhaps also shattered on the ground was something called integrity.

Li Xuewu looked at the stunned Yang Shuji and explained Luo Jiaping's "excitement" with a smile.

"You!"

Yang Shuji didn't know what to say to Li Xuewu either; this was just nonsense.

Li Xuewu waved his hand and said: "It's fine. That bad boy knows his limits. As long as it doesn't exceed ten seconds at a time, the colonic mucosa won't become necrotic."

Yang Shuji had the heart to go to Luo Jiaping's room to stop that guard, but the scene simulated in his mind made him shrink back from Luo Jiaping's room.

"Stop it quickly, what does it look like."

As he spoke, Yang Shuji turned and returned to the bedroom.

He must have come over halfway through a phone call with the Steel Mill.

Li Xuewu signaled to the guard on duty, then patted Yang Zongfang on the shoulder.

But as soon as Li Xuewu's hand touched him, Yang Zongfang dodged away.

"What do you mean?!"

Li Xuewu glared at Yang Zongfang and asked: "It wasn't me who took action! My hands are clean! If you don't believe me, smell them!"

"Fine, fine, fine!"

Yang Zongfang dodged Li Xuewu from far away, covering his mouth and saying: "I really admire you!"

Li Xuewu chuckled and said: "Isn't your reaction a bit late? Just now I was still putting my arm around your shoulder!"

Yang Zongfang cast a look of disdain at Li Xuewu's hand, then grinned and walked quickly back to the bedroom.

"Hehehe, a scholar..."

As he spoke, he remembered his own university, looked at Luo Jiaping's room door, and changed his words: "A bitch is just pretentious!"

Li Xuewu ate his dinner with great relish, because several people had no appetite tonight, so the amount of food seemed sufficient.

Eating even more happily was Luo Tonggang, because there was no one around him to compete for food.

After washing his own lunchbox, Li Xuewu said to Yang Shuji, who was walking out: "Secretary, if there's nothing else, I'm off work."

Actually, Yang Shuji still wanted Li Xuewu to follow him to see Luo Jiaping, but he was afraid Li Xuewu would do something strange again, so he nodded to indicate it was okay.

When he came out of the guesthouse, the moon was already out.

Li Xuewu yawned, stood at the doorway and stretched, got into the command vehicle, and drove out of the Steel Mill.

"Let's eat, he won't be back."

Gu Ning stood up and said to Zhou Wang Yamei, who was standing by the dining table looking at the wall clock.

Zhou Wang Yamei saw it was already seven o'clock; a phone call should have come long ago.

"Should we wait a bit longer?"

Gu Ning glanced at Fu Zhidong, who was sitting on the sofa holding a canned bottle, and said: "He is always punctual. If there's no phone call, he definitely won't be back. Let's eat."

As she spoke, she reached out and picked up the canned bottle containing the hashima from Fu Zhidong's hand and placed it on the coffee table.

"Eat."

Fu Zhidong looked up at Aunt Gu, who had already walked past him, then looked at the uncle in the canned bottle, jumped off the sofa, and followed Gu Ning toward the dining table.

"Then I'll leave some for him."

Zhou Wang Yamei turned and went to the kitchen to get a plate, and took some food out of the serving dish.

Gu Ning didn't express anything further, but placed the deboned small pieces of meat into Fu Zhidong's bowl.

"Thank you, Aunt Gu."

"Hmm, eat."

Fu Zhidong glanced at Gu Ning's expression, picked up his rice bowl, and started eating.

Zhou Wang Yamei didn't know if her son was afraid of Gu Ning or liked her; all day long, wherever Gu Ning went, he followed.

Gu Ning didn't pay him any mind either, so he just played by himself.

Whatever Gu Ning said, he obeyed more readily than when she said it herself.

Putting the food left for Li Xuewu back into the pot and covering it, Zhou Wang Yamei walked back to the dining table and sat down, taking care of her son while eating.

She had thought Li Xuewu would be back today, so Zhou Wang Yamei had specially prepared four dishes, but now there were only two people and a child eating.

"How long have you known Li Ke?"

After finishing the meal, Zhou Wang Yamei washed the bowls and sat on the sofa with Gu Ning, drinking tea and chatting.

Gu Ning's hand holding the teacup paused, then she replied: "Not too long."

Then, feeling she had been a bit perfunctory, she added: "Less than half a year."

Over the past two days, Zhou Wang Yamei had already understood what kind of temperament Gu Ning had, so she didn't feel Gu Ning's answer was arrogant or cold.

"Is it a very special way of knowing each other?"

Zhou Wang Yamei sank into the sofa back, hugging her bent legs with both hands.

Gu Ning glanced at Zhou Wang Yamei and asked: "Why do you ask?"

Zhou Wang Yamei smiled and said: "I feel that you two have completely different personalities. If it weren't for some special experience, it seems..."

Zhou Wang Yamei thought for a moment and continued: "It seems they don't match well when put together."

"Is that so?"

Gu Ning didn't have much reaction; she just asked casually.

"Hmm."

Zhou Wang Yamei nodded and said: "But strangely, now that you two are standing together, it's quite natural."

"Is that so?"

After Gu Ning finished speaking, she also thought about what state she was in when standing with that person.

"Maybe."

It seemed it really was like that. Gu Ning placed the cup in her hand on the coffee table, hugged her shoulders, lay back into the sofa, and stared at the flames in the fireplace.

"Do you like him?"

Zhou Wang Yamei tilted her body, her eyes looking at the somewhat dazed Gu Ning.

Hearing Zhou Wang Yamei's question, Gu Ning frowned, thought for a while, and then shook her head.

"I don't know."

After answering this question, Gu Ning turned around, looked at Zhou Wang Yamei, and said: "I'm not too sure either. Although we met half a year ago, we only... after a blind date..."

"Confirmed the relationship?"

"No, not yet. He doesn't like me."

"Hehe, quite interesting."

Zhou Wang Yamei shifted her body, moved closer to Gu Ning, and whispered: "I can imagine his arrogant expression at the time."

Gu Ning looked at Zhou Wang Yamei and nodded, very much in agreement.

Zhou Wang Yamei hugged her legs, rested her chin on her knees, and said while looking toward the fireplace: "Fu Haibo was the same way when he went on a blind date with me back then; he was extremely arrogant."

"Then do you like him?"

"Who? Fu Haibo?"

Zhou Wang Yamei raised her hand to tuck the hair behind her ear and smiled: "I felt the same way you do now. I didn't know if I liked him, but seeing his arrogant expression made me feel unconvinced."

As she spoke, her eyes lowered, looking at the teacup on the coffee table: "Later we got married. I did like him, or perhaps I admired him, worshipped him."

Gu Ning pinched her fingers, looking at Zhou Wang Yamei's lonely figure, not knowing what to say.

"He was handsome, dashing, decisive in his actions, very good to me, and very good to my family."

Seeming to recall the past, Zhou Wang Yamei's face revealed a melancholy expression.

"If you like him, tell him, or show him. Otherwise, a man will never know you like him."

As she spoke, Zhou Wang Yamei turned her head to look at Gu Ning and said: "I can tell he cares about you."

Gu Ning nodded and said: "I know."

"Did I say too much?"

Zhou Wang Yamei looked at the somewhat confused Gu Ning and asked softly.

"No."

Gu Ning shook her head and said: "He discussed it with me. When he brought me here, he said you were someone who could be trusted."

"Is that so?"

Zhou Wang Yamei smiled and said: "My first impression of him wasn't good—overbearing, sinister, tricky."

It wasn't the first time Gu Ning had heard others say this about Li Xuewu, but it was the first time she had seen someone say it about him with a smile.

"At the time, he was catching Fu Haibo and broke in by force."

Zhou Wang Yamei explained: "I thought he would do something excessive, but he didn't."

"Hmm."

Gu Ning nodded very firmly and said: "He wouldn't."

"Hehe."

Zhou Wang Yamei nodded and said: "He just has that cynical look, which looks scary, but he dared to accept my psychological treatment."

As she spoke, Zhou Wang Yamei leaned closer to Gu Ning and asked: "Do you know about his past?"

Gu Ning glanced at Zhou Wang Yamei, knowing she was teasing her, but still shook her head.

Zhou Wang Yamei smiled and said: "He has done many absurd things, has his own understanding of this world, and has unique insights into some matters."

"It's the first time I've met a man with such complex thoughts, and also the first time I've met a man with such rich experiences."

Gu Ning shook her head and said: "He hasn't told me. We don't communicate much, but he is indeed quite talkative."

"Hahahaha."

Zhou Wang Yamei thought of the garrulous, eloquent Li Xuewu, and the silent Gu Ning sitting beside him; the thought of this picture was interesting.

"How interesting!"

Li Xuewu stood on the embankment, looking at the ice surface reflecting the moonlight below, and then looked at the compound built on the river embankment, muttering a sentence.

After coming out of the Steel Mill, Li Xuewu didn't return to 17 Guancun Street, but drove out of the city to the southwest.

After driving for over twenty miles, he got onto the river embankment.

Tonight's moon was very bright; he could see the road without turning on the headlights.

After getting onto this embankment, Li Xuewu saw the target he was looking for.

"How many guilty things must one have done to prepare this so secretly?"

Li Xuewu took out the M1911 from his bosom, disengaged the safety, put the flashlight into his pocket, and walked down the slope with heavy and light steps.

This courtyard was dilapidated; the wall looked fine, but it seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

Li Xuewu tried to push the wall; it felt ice-cold to the touch.

Feeling that the earth wall wouldn't collapse in the middle of winter, Li Xuewu climbed the wall and looked inside.

Thanks to the moon and no clouds tonight, the moonlight illuminated the courtyard very clearly.

But what was eerie was that there were several coffins parked in the courtyard.

"Clatter."

The cold wind whipped the window frames of the earth house, and the dilapidated window sashes swayed left and right with the wind.

"Damn, let alone in the middle of the night, no one would dare to come even at noon, right?"

Li Xuewu found the mark on the wall and jumped into the courtyard along the wall.

After landing, he looked back at the iron nails inserted along the base of the wall and wanted to curse at the old fox.

Li Xuewu crouched down slightly and shone the flashlight from his bosom into the darkness of the courtyard.

Apart from dilapidated rotten wood, there was nothing valuable.

The most valuable things were probably the four large red coffins parked on benches in the courtyard.

Even someone like Li Xuewu, who was accustomed to life and death, was made damp on the back by this eerie arrangement in the courtyard.

Li Xuewu turned off the flashlight, walked to the vicinity of the four coffins, looked, and then raised his hand to call them out one by one, collecting the coffins into his fingertips.

"Damn."

After doing this, Li Xuewu finally relaxed his expression.

Don't say Li Xuewu was superstitious, but this thing—if you believe it, it exists; if you don't, damn it, it still exists!

Although that old fox said he had arranged this deliberately, who knew if any ghosts from the river had seen the good scenery and good houses here and come to borrow a place to stay.

Now it was fine. Even if there were ghosts in those coffins, they were now ghosts in a jar.

As for how to deal with them later, Li Xuewu wasn't worried. This year was an auspicious year, and all the monsters and demons... hehe.

Li Xuewu walked around the earth house and found his target in the direction facing the river.

He knocked on the body of the firewood shed with his gun butt and stomped on the ground; a "thump-thump" sound came.

Li Xuewu stood back and sized it up carefully; it really was "the boat has arrived."

That's right, this damn thing was a boat, and a boat that could go out to sea at that.

This was the escape route Fu Haibo told Li Xuewu about, his own escape route.

Now the escape route had been raided by Li Xuewu.

The hull of this boat was below ground level; there was a hidden ditch under this dilapidated courtyard, and river water could be channeled in.

When the river water wasn't frozen, as long as the drainage valve of the hidden ditch was opened, this firewood boat could sail into the river along the hidden ditch.

If anyone who entered the courtyard luckily wasn't hurt by the things at the gate, they would be scared by the coffins in the courtyard.

Even if they weren't scared, the earth house was the most conspicuous target in the courtyard; who would care about the wooden firewood shed on this side?

Li Xuewu had to admire Fu Haibo's ability to dig holes like a rat; just for this preparation, Li Xuewu had to give him a like.

According to Fu Haibo, this boat actually had a motorized propeller that had just emerged in this era, and it was a gasoline version.

There were quite a few of these in Jinmen and Dalian now, but they were rare in this inland river.

Fortunately, Fu Haibo was caught in winter; if it had been summer, he definitely would have run away.

Fu Haibo also admitted to Li Xuewu that he had a gambling element; all year round, he gambled that he wouldn't have any trouble in winter.

Facts proved that he had become a smart aleck.

This river was called the Daliu River. Why it had such a hard-to-fathom name wouldn't be detailed here; just talk about the width and direction of this river.

The water from the flood control canal gathered from the Steel Mill and gathered into the Daliu River at this river mouth, a large river wider than ten willow trees laid horizontally.

The Daliu River gathered downward into the Crown Prince River, and the Crown Prince River gathered into the Daliao River.

The Daliao River led directly to the estuary. Damn, if Fu Haibo had gotten on the boat when the river water wasn't frozen, he really would have been Fu Haibo.

Li Xuewu stomped his feet while measuring the length and width of this boat with his steps.

It was okay, about ten meters long; it could fit.

"Pretend! You're still pretending!"

Zhou Wang Yamei pointed at Gu Ning with her finger and smiled: "Just now you said you didn't know if you liked him, but now that I've said something bad about him, you're defending him."

Gu Ning perhaps had chatted too much this time, and there was a smile on her face.

Regarding Zhou Wang Yamei's teasing, she didn't feel she was deliberately favoring and protecting Li Xuewu.

Because Li Xuewu's image in her heart had always been like this.

The two sat on the sofa, roasting by the fire in the fireplace, drinking green tea, and chatting about their respective views on Li Xuewu.

When men gather together, sometimes the topic will unconsciously run to women.

And the fastest way for women to get closer is to talk about men, talk about the same man.

Compared to Zhou Wang Yamei, Gu Ning had met Li Xuewu more often and experienced more with him.

And compared to Gu Ning, Zhou Wang Yamei knew more about Li Xuewu's affairs.

So the two had different impressions and feelings about the same person.

Gu Ning listened to Zhou Wang Yamei's narration, sometimes shaking her head, sometimes nodding.

And when Zhou Wang Yamei listened to Gu Ning speaking, she would smile and ask about Gu Ning's feelings at the time.

"What are you talking about? It's so late and you're not asleep yet?"

Just as the two were laughing and talking, they suddenly heard the door open; it was Li Xuewu coming in from outside.

"Talking about someone's heroic deeds."

"Oh?"

Li Xuewu smiled and glanced at Zhou Wang Yamei, saying: "Tell me about it later; I also want to learn from advanced role models."

"Hahahaha."

Zhou Wang Yamei covered her mouth and smiled: "Just now we were talking about you!"

"Hehehe."

Li Xuewu looked at Gu Ning and asked: "Did you reveal my eloquent and thick-skinned nature? I have always maintained an image of being deep and small-faced in the Northeast."

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu with a smile and didn't speak, picked up the teapot on the coffee table, and poured a cup of tea for Li Xuewu.

Zhou Wang Yamei jumped off the sofa, put on her slippers, walked over, took Li Xuewu's coat, hung it on the wall, and said with a smile: "Yes, I have always felt your face is quite small."

Li Xuewu walked to the sofa and sat down, took a sip of the teacup, and then smiled and said: "So don't speak ill of me; if I'm made to cry, I'm not easy to coax."

"Who would coax you? Let Gu Ning coax you."

Laughing and talking, she went to the bathroom to run hot water for Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu looked at Gu Ning and asked: "Were you scared today?"

"No."

Gu Ning shook her head and said: "I knew it would be fine."

Li Xuewu nodded; this girl indeed had the confidence to say this.

If it were someone else, for Li Xuewu to handle it this way, that would be a huge favor; wouldn't they be grateful and offer themselves in return?

But for Gu Ning, it was just giving Li Xuewu a chance to perform.

Because even without Li Xuewu, Gu Ning would have been fine today.

Looking at the dust on Li Xuewu's trousers, Gu Ning asked: "Did you... eat dinner?"

"Hmm, ate at the unit."

Li Xuewu took another sip of tea, smiled and replied to Gu Ning, then asked: "Is the hairtail fish delicious?"

"It's okay."

"Hehehe."

Li Xuewu knew Gu Ning would reply to him like this, but he still wanted to ask.

"How about the hashima? Is it delicious?"

"Hmm, it's alright."

Perhaps seeing the smile in Li Xuewu's eyes, knowing he was laughing at her answer, she changed her vocabulary when replying to the second sentence.

"Then let's buy more when we go back, and let Mom have a taste." ===== CHAPTER 337 =====