Chapter 177: The Map Unrolls, the Dagger is Revealed; Every Step a Murderous Trap

Changheng Street, Chen Residence.

Chen Yujing put down the phone, his gaze gloomy as he looked at a letter lying on the table.

This letter was sent by the Tiger Blade Gang; before Gu Zhenhui had even called him, this letter had already been placed before him.

The content of the letter also involved Chen Yujing's own younger brother, Chen Yuliang, but unlike the benefits Gu Zhenhui promised, the content of this letter was about a scandal involving Chen Yuliang:

Chen Yujing had been sleeping with the wife of a subordinate in the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Chief Clerk's Office. The letter not only contained the detailed times and locations of their several trysts, but even photos of the two walking arm-in-arm in and out of a private residence.

The crucial point was that the rank of this cuckolded subordinate was only one level lower than Chen Yuliang's, and he was also an official of the imperial court! Once such a matter was exposed, Chen Yuliang's reputation in the official circles of Dacheng Prefecture would be ruined. From then on, let alone being promoted to Department Head, even his position as Deputy Department Head might not be secure.

The moment Chen Yujing saw this letter, he fell into a fit of rage, because even he had not known about this matter. He had not expected that his own younger brother, in whom the entire Chen family placed high hopes, would actually do such a thing.

With so many women outside, why did he have to go after the wife of an imperial official?

And having done it, why was he so careless as to be discovered by someone?

This matter was definitely premeditated by the Tiger Blade Gang. Chen Yujing even suspected that his brother getting involved with that woman had been carefully arranged by the Tiger Blade Gang; otherwise, why would the Tiger Blade Gang happen to discover this?

The most recent photo was from over three months ago, and Chen Yujing felt that this matter was inevitably the handiwork of the now-deceased Zhang Mingze.

Even though that Private Secretary of the Tiger Blade Gang was already dead, the arrangements he left behind were enough for Yu Hu to possess many bargaining chips!

"Zhang Mingze, you really died well!"

Chen Yujing sat in his seat, gnashing his teeth.

Gu Zhenhui's promises were merely castles in the air; whether they could be fulfilled in the end, and whether Chen Yuliang could be promoted, were both unknowns.

But the threat from the Tiger Blade Gang was a sharp blade pressed against his body, ready to draw blood at any moment!

Chen Yujing sighed.

Yu Hu had only sent someone to deliver this letter and said nothing more, which was very shrewd.

"I don't intend to use this leverage to make your Chen family take orders from me, just to ensure you don't act rashly."

This was Yu Hu's meaning.

And Chen Yujing found it hard to refuse.

Because he could also see Yu Hu's confidence in it:

Even without the Chen family's help, the Tiger Blade Gang could still win this round!

Green Origin Fist Stronghold.

Shangguan Xiao first received the news that the 'Green-Faced Ghost' had abducted Li Fei and was just feeling astonished, then she received news that the East City Gate had fallen, followed by Gu Zhenhui sending someone to contact her, hoping the Green Origin Fist Stronghold would intervene.

While sending people out to check the situation outside, Shangguan Xiao pondered a countermeasure.

Before she could make a decision, Xiang Du found her with a letter.

"What is this?"

Shangguan Xiao looked at the letter in Xiang Du's hand.

"Someone shot a letter in with an arrow. It says 'To be opened by the Great Leader personally.' The people below didn't dare to open it, so they sent it up."

Xiang Du said.

"A letter for me?"

Shangguan Xiao took the letter from Xiang Du's hand and opened it directly.

After reading it for a few moments, a cold sneer appeared on her face: "Heh!"

"Great Leader?"

Xiang Du, who was to the side, asked.

"See for yourself."

Shangguan Xiao handed the letter in her hand to Xiang Du.

Xiang Du took the letter and began to read:

"Your martial nephew Li Fei is in my hands. From now on, if even one expert from the Green Origin Fist Stronghold leaves the stronghold, I will cut off one of Li Fei's limbs! If the Great Leader dares to leave the stronghold, I will immediately send over Li Fei's corpse!"

Xiang Du frowned, immediately feeling that it was very thorny.

He already knew that Shangguan Xiao was Hao Yi's junior sister, and also knew that during that previous period, Li Fei would come to Shangguan Xiao's place every night to cultivate; Shangguan Xiao valued this martial nephew very much.

"It seems Yu Hu is confident he can kill both me and my senior brother this time."

Shangguan Xiao sneered.

Xiang Du was shocked, not understanding how the Great Leader had reached this conclusion.

"He dared to send people to kidnap Li Fei, which means he has completely torn off the mask with me and my senior brother. Given the temperaments of my senior brother and me, it is inevitable that the two sides will not be able to end this peacefully. Now that the East City Gate has fallen, it looks like someone is rebelling. This is Yu Hu taking the opportunity to cause a massive scene, first eliminating the City Guard troops of the Chief's faction, then coming to deal with the Green Origin Fist Stronghold, and finally, waiting for my senior brother to return to the city to deal with him as well."

Shangguan Xiao's eyes turned cold, "In this way, this Xingcheng will be whatever he, Yu Hu, says it is!"

"But if Yu Hu dares to rebel, how will he clean up the aftermath?"

Xiang Du asked, puzzled.

Even if he achieved victory for a moment, the Dacheng Prefecture or even the provincial capital would send people over later; wouldn't it still be a dead end in the end?

"It might not necessarily be his Tiger Blade Gang rebelling; perhaps someone else will take the blame for him."

Shangguan Xiao said softly.

Inspectorate.

After the gunfight broke out at the East City Gate, the Inspectorate soon received many reports and learned of the matter there.

Li Lei was currently anxious and agitated over Li Fei being captured by the Green-Faced Ghost. He had already sent people to look, but had not found any clues yet.

If he were not currently the Deputy Inspector General, having to sit in the rear to handle many matters, Li Lei would have already personally led people to look for Li Fei.

When the gunfight at the East City Gate broke out, Li Lei received a call from the Chief's office; it was Gu Zhenhui's secretary calling him:

"Deputy Inspector General Li, the Tiger Blade Gang is rebelling, plotting to take the entire Xingcheng. It is now a matter of extreme urgency. The Chief needs you to immediately take the men of the First Battalion and rush to the East City Gate to provide reinforcements. If you go late, I fear Xingcheng will be finished!"

The Tiger Blade Gang has rebelled?

Li Lei's head buzzed, feeling it was somewhat unbelievable.

But the gunfight at the East City Gate was real, and the City Guards stationed there had truly been killed. The Chief's secretary would not speak nonsense about such things.

After pondering for a while, Li Lei decided to lead his team to the East City Gate.

Regardless of whether the Tiger Blade Gang was rebelling, any criminals entering the city had to be stopped. Moreover, if the Tiger Blade Gang had truly decided to rebel, once they succeeded, regardless of what Yu Hu's final outcome would be, Li Lei felt that he and his family would likely be retaliated against by the Tiger Blade Gang; not one would escape!

However, just as he called his subordinates and ordered the entire First Battalion to assemble, the phone in his office rang again.

"Hello, I am Li Lei."

"Deputy Inspector General Li, your son Li Fei is in my hands now."

"..."

Li Lei gripped the receiver in his hand tightly.

The East City Gate falling, the Tiger Blade Gang rebelling, Li Fei being kidnapped—this series of events was immediately connected in his mind.

"How can you prove it?"

"Believe it or not, if you don't want to see your son's corpse, you had best not act rashly from now on and obediently stay inside the Inspectorate to take orders."

After speaking, without waiting for Li Lei to say anything more, the other side hung up the phone.

Li Lei put down the receiver heavily, his eyes burning with rage.

The other party said 'take orders' at the end—take orders from whom? Naturally, only from Wu Yihua.

So this matter was indeed done by the Tiger Blade Gang!

Just at this moment, someone walked into Li Lei's office:

"Deputy Inspector General Li, Inspector General Wu wants you to go to his office."

Li Lei stood up in a flash and walked quickly out of the office.

Soon, Li Lei walked into Wu Yihua's office and found that the other Deputy Inspector General and two Battalion Commanders were also there.

Adding Li Lei and Wu Yihua, all the high-level officials of the Inspectorate were present.

"Everyone is here."

Seeing that Li Lei had arrived, Wu Yihua spoke:

"A gunfight occurred at the East City Gate, and currently the City Guards are exchanging fire with a group of bandits. Since the other side has occupied the East City Gate, there must be accomplices entering the city, so I have called everyone here to discuss countermeasures."

Li Lei looked at Wu Yihua coldly.

At this time, sending people from the Inspectorate to provide support would be the logical course of action. He wanted to see what excuse Wu Yihua would use to keep the Inspectorate's people pinned down and immobile.

"Encountering such a matter, our Inspectorate has the responsibility and the obligation to resolve it, so I intend to send people to the East City Gate."

Wu Yihua said unhurriedly.

Just as he finished speaking, intense gunfire suddenly erupted outside the Inspectorate!

Wu Yihua's expression changed, and he immediately stood up and walked to the window.

Li Lei also walked over quickly and saw a group of people outside armed with guns rushing into the Inspectorate, currently exchanging fire with the inspectors inside the compound!

"Bandits are attacking the Inspectorate!"

Wu Yihua immediately turned around and said sternly to the others: "Quickly have all combat personnel put on their equipment and prepare for battle immediately!"

"Yes!"

One Deputy Inspector General and two Battalion Commanders all received the order and left.

"Li Lei."

Wu Yihua suddenly called out to Li Lei, who was the last to leave the room.

Li Lei turned to look at him.

Wu Yihua: "Bandits are attacking the Inspectorate; their goal might be the weapons, equipment, and ammunition inside the compound. These things absolutely cannot be lost! Your First Battalion is the battalion with the highest combat power in the Inspectorate; you must guard the Inspectorate for me. Do you understand?"

Li Lei met Wu Yihua's gaze and could see a trace of mockery in the other's eyes.

It seemed that the other party was also aware of Li Fei being kidnapped.

He clenched his fists and said in a deep voice, "Understood!"

Then he turned and left the office.

"Heh."

After Li Lei left, Wu Yihua sneered, "Let's see how I slowly play you to death next!"

East City Gate.

Over a dozen bandits had already been exchanging fire with two arriving squads of the City Guard for several minutes.

Both squads of the City Guard knew the gravity of the situation; the two squad leaders in charge were both Body-Breaking Realm martial artists, so relying on the explosive power of their implants, they charged forward, attempting to break the stalemate through individual martial prowess.

However, there were also martial artists among the bandits here, and not just one or two!

As a result, the two squad leaders who charged forward soon fell into a pool of blood.

With their own squad leaders gone, the morale of the two City Guard squads plummeted, making it even harder to control the situation.

After another few minutes, the ground began to tremble slightly.

"Oh no!"

An experienced City Guard pressed his ear to the ground to listen, his expression changing drastically:

"A large force is arriving, at least a hundred horses!"

As his voice fell, someone on horseback charged into the East City Gate.

Then, dozens of riders entered the city one after another, charging toward the two City Guard squads!

Immediately following, Zhao Yu was protected by a group of people as he passed through the city gate.

He looked at the scene inside Xingcheng ahead, took a deep breath, and revealed an excited expression.

The Anshen Sect enters the city!

(End of chapter)