Chapter 97: The Sound of Drums and Horns Is Cold, Who Dares to Draw a Blade

Early the next morning, Li Fei came to the Martial Arts Hall as usual, hesitating whether to go find Hao Yi.

He certainly wouldn't blame the other party or be awkward with them just because Hao Yi's philosophy didn't match his own, and stop training.

If he were really a 17-year-old youth, he might have done such a thing, but Li Fei, who had lived two lives, had already passed this psychological stage.

He might have had a dispute with Hao Yi out of temporary anger, but he would definitely not let this emotion last too long.

What's more, he had already figured it out: since he didn't intend to be a hero for the country and the people, there was no need to ask for that recognition and praise.

Li Fei was hesitating now just because he didn't know if Hao Yi's anger had subsided.

Having spent more than two months together, Li Fei knew very well that Hao Yi was a person who valued rules. Although the other party never said it, Li Fei knew Hao Yi was very satisfied with his politeness and respect all along.

However, he had contradicted the other party to their face yesterday, which might not be something that could easily subside for Hao Yi, who always valued rules.

"How should I apologize?"

Li Fei wandered under the building of the lecturer's office for a long time.

If Hao Yi were his leader in his previous life, he would have countless ways to smile and apologize to make the other party calm down.

But precisely because he regarded Hao Yi as his closest teacher, he was somewhat at a loss.

"Li Fei."

At this moment, a voice came from behind.

Li Fei turned his head and saw Yuan Dao walking toward him with a few people.

"Something up?"

Li Fei looked at Yuan Dao calmly.

The Tiger Blade Gang had controlled the Martial Arts Hall for many years, and every year they would select one or two people to get a quota for university, and then send them to university for 'further study.'

After completing their studies, they would come back to strengthen the Tiger Blade Gang's strength.

Now the Tiger Blade Gang only had four Qi-Transformation Martial Masters and Yu Hu, a strength-practicing Martial Master, on the surface, but in reality, the Martial Masters of the Zhige Academy, the official Martial Masters, and the special lecturers of the Martial Arts Hall all had Tiger Blade Gang members!

As long as they were selected and sent to university for 'further study,' they would become the backbone of the Tiger Blade Gang upon their return, holding important positions in various places.

Yuan Dao was the person selected by the Tiger Blade Gang to go to university for 'further study' next year, and he had always felt that this quota was in his pocket, until Li Fei appeared, and he began to feel some crisis.

"You have been very prominent in the last two monthly exams. I am very surprised."

Yuan Dao walked to Li Fei and said.

Li Fei looked at the other party calmly: "I'll get used to it slowly in the future."

"Heh!"

Yuan Dao was amused by Li Fei, "Do you think that if you keep this up, you will definitely be able to get the quota for university?"

"I came to tell you an unfortunate piece of news: the quota for Xingcheng Martial Arts Hall to go to university next year has been confirmed to be only one, and this quota will only be mine. Even if you get an A+ evaluation in every monthly exam from now on, it's useless!"

Yuan Dao looked at Li Fei with a playful gaze.

Li Fei could get an A+, and he could also get an A+. The person who made the final assessment was arranged by the Tiger Blade Gang. What did Li Fei have to compete with him?

So he hoped to see emotions like sadness, indignation, and unwillingness on Li Fei's face.

But he only saw a pair of eyes that were calm and without the slightest ripple.

"Oh, then you work hard."

Li Fei patted Yuan Dao on the shoulder, using the tone of an elder encouraging a junior, very kindly.

Then he turned and prepared to go upstairs to find Hao Yi.

"Do you think that just because a Green-Faced Ghost jumped out recently, he can scare our Tiger Blade Gang?"

Yuan Dao was so angry that his face turned blue. Thinking of the recent events, he thought Li Fei was so fearless because of this, so he said:

"I tell you, our Tiger Blade Gang's Private Secretary Zhang will be released without charge tomorrow! That Green-Faced Ghost can't do anything to him, and even if the Duchayuan strikes, they can't convict him!"

Before Zhang Mingze was taken away by the Supervisory Office, Yuan Dao once felt somewhat panicked, thinking the Tiger Blade Gang was going to change.

But later, after understanding the legal battle between Zhang Mingze and Gu Zhenhui, he realized this was Zhang Mingze's means of self-protection.

He was telling Li Fei now that Zhang Mingze was about to be released without charge, just to let Li Fei know that no one could do anything to the Tiger Blade Gang, and the sky of Xingcheng hadn't changed!

Li Fei was startled upon hearing this, turned around, and looked at Yuan Dao seriously for the first time:

"Zhang Mingze is going to be released without charge tomorrow?"

Yuan Dao felt proud and smiled: "Yes!"

Li Fei nodded: "Got it, thanks."

After speaking, he turned and went upstairs, leaving Yuan Dao in a mess in place.

Yuan Dao looked at his followers in confusion:

"What did he thank me for?"

The followers were equally confused and shook their heads:

"Don't know, maybe he was scared stupid."

"Teacher."

Li Fei walked into Hao Yi's office with his head lowered.

Hao Yi was sitting on the sofa in the office, brewing tea and waiting for him as usual.

"I..."

Just as Li Fei intended to apologize, Hao Yi had already stood up and said calmly:

"Let's go, let's train."

Li Fei was startled, looking up at Hao Yi.

Hao Yi's expression was as usual, and as always, he walked out of the office first.

Li Fei was silent for a moment, bowing deeply to Hao Yi's back:

"Yes, Teacher!"

Next, the teacher and student walked into the training room together and began 'perception training' and 'strength-holding training.'

One taught with heart, and one learned seriously.

Just like before.

Main Administration Hall building, Chief's office.

"Is there really no way?"

Gu Zhenhui looked at Cheng Bi and asked.

Cheng Bi lowered his head: "The Tiger Blade Gang had people examine the wounds on Zhang Mingze, and the wounds on him are exactly the same as the wounds on the guards who died beside the seven Judicial Academy officials. This can directly prove that the Green-Faced Ghost who appeared later is the real one, and the previous one was a fake. So, we really have no way."

The captured Green-Faced Ghost was a fake, so the words of Jiang Mingsen, who hid the Green-Faced Ghost and claimed to have colluded with the Tiger Blade Gang's Private Secretary Zhang Mingze, were naturally proven false.

Without a key witness, the Supervisory Office could not determine that Zhang Mingze had secretly bought a killer to kill Feng Zhenshan of the Judicial Academy.

"Unless that real Green-Faced Ghost can be captured by us, and then have the other party testify against Zhang Mingze."

Cheng Bi said.

"Hmph."

Gu Zhenhui snorted coldly.

Now, mentioning the name 'Green-Faced Ghost' made him angry!

The other party killed everywhere, disrupting too many of his arrangements.

"How is the big search operation?"

Gu Zhenhui asked.

"There are no suspicious points found yet."

Cheng Bi said.

The second big search operation of the joint three academies officially began early this morning.

This time it was no longer 'stopping at the surface,' but searching all areas of the whole city, including the homes of many officials and dignitaries!

The Chief's faction and the Tiger Blade Gang faction joined forces for the first time, showing power that was absolutely overwhelming, at least in Xingcheng.

No one could stop it, and no one dared to stop it!

As long as the Green-Faced Ghost was still in the city, the probability of being searched out would be very high.

"After catching this lunatic, I want to slice him to death!"

Gu Zhenhui said with cold eyes.

The secretary and Cheng Bi on the side lowered their heads and dared not speak.

September 10th, in the prison of the Duchayuan.

With the help of a maid, Zhang Mingze washed his face, shaved, put on makeup, and changed clothes.

Today was the day he was released from prison, and he had to dress up well to make himself look energetic.

The Duchayuan couldn't convict him, and his status as a 'criminal suspect' in the Duchayuan was naturally wiped away very quickly.

Having recovered from his injuries on the hospital bed for more than ten days, he could now barely walk on the ground, so he planned to walk out of the Duchayuan with great fanfare!

"Private Secretary, according to your instructions, everything has been arranged."

Tiger Blade Gang Martial Master Yang Xuan walked to Zhang Mingze's side and said in a low voice.

"Hmm."

Zhang Mingze walked to a mirror that had been specially moved in, looked at his image, tidied up the hair on his head, and asked leisurely:

"What about Gu Zhenhui's people?"

"They have also been communicated with in advance, and they are still very cooperative."

Yang Xuan said. 【100】 Zhang Mingze smiled: "Gu Zhenhui must be wishing he could tear the Green-Faced Ghost into pieces now, so naturally he will cooperate." 【101】 "Private Secretary, will the Green-Faced Ghost really come today?" 【102】 Yang Xuan asked, "Knowing it's a trap, he still wants to step into it?" 【103】 Zhang Mingze turned to look at him and smiled: 【104】 "I don't know, but I'm looking forward to it." 【105】 After speaking, he walked out of the cell with the help of others. 【106】 Outside the gate of the Supervisory Office, many people had already gathered. Dozens of strong men wearing black coats, black trousers, and black cloth shoes stood in two rows outside the gate. 【107】 These people were all from the Tiger Blade Gang. 【108】 Besides that, a motorcade was parked on the side of the road, each one a luxury car priced at over 5,000 yuan, and among them was even a 'Qilin' brand car. 【109】 This was a bulletproof car that had been specially treated, with the body tissues of exotic beasts laid inside! 【110】 It was like putting protective armor inside the car. Like protective armor, 'Qilin' brand bulletproof cars were usually priceless, and only real big shots could get them. 【111】 In Xingcheng, only Chief Gu Zhenhui had a 'Qilin,' but he certainly wouldn't send his special car to pick up the Tiger Blade Gang's Private Secretary. 【112】 So this brand-new 'Qilin' parked on the side of the road was also the Tiger Blade Gang's! 【113】 The black-clad strong men with murderous expressions, the luxury motorcade, and the rare 'Qilin'—this formation made many uninformed commoners think they were welcoming some great figure, so they stood not far away to watch the excitement. 【114】 Today's events were all instructed by Zhang Mingze and arranged by Yu Hu, with the purpose of building momentum. 【115】 The Green-Faced Ghost first seriously injured Zhang Mingze, then killed many officials of the Tiger Blade Gang faction, and even scared several officials into surrendering voluntarily. The blow to the Tiger Blade Gang's prestige was huge! 【116】 This inevitably made people feel that the Tiger Blade Gang couldn't even deal with a martial arts expert, and couldn't even protect its own people. 【117】 If this impression couldn't be reversed in time and prestige couldn't be rebuilt, the officials of the Tiger Blade Gang faction would inevitably become more and more panicked. 【118】 And if they lost the support of these people, the Tiger Blade Gang would be like a tiger without claws and teeth. 【119】 So Zhang Mingze wanted to walk out of prison with great fanfare today, to let everyone see the power of the Tiger Blade Gang! 【120】 Besides that, he was also deliberately luring the Green-Faced Ghost out. 【121】 "I am walking out of prison with great fanfare and am about to return to the Tiger Blade Gang's lair, heavily protected by a large number of experts. If you want to kill me, today might be the only chance. Do you want to strike?" 【122】 This was the 'multiple-choice question' Zhang Mingze gave the Green-Faced Ghost. 【123】 "Coming! Coming!" 【124】 "Coming out!" 【125】 "Who is it?" 【126】 When Zhang Mingze's party came out, the crowd waiting outside was in a commotion. 【127】 *Clap! * 【128】 The black-clad strong men standing in two rows stood at attention in unison, then bowed at ninety degrees and shouted loudly: 【129】 "Respectfully welcome Private Secretary Zhang!!!" 【130】 This movement startled the onlookers. 【131】 "Who is Private Secretary Zhang?" 【132】 "It's that Private Secretary of the Tiger Blade Gang!" 【133】 "So it's the Tiger Blade Gang." 【134】 Now the onlookers knew who the big shot to be welcomed was, and they all fell silent very quickly. 【135】 The Tiger Blade Gang had a terrible reputation among the people, and everyone feared them like tigers, avoiding them like snakes and scorpions. Although people didn't know why this Private Secretary Zhang was caught in the Supervisory Office, now seeing the other party walk out of the Supervisory Office gate so gloriously, it was obvious that he was already fine. 【136】 Sure enough, even the Supervisory Office couldn't control the Tiger Blade Gang. 【137】 This made the onlookers look dim, not wanting to watch the excitement anymore, and they turned and left one after another. 【138】 *Woo—* 【139】 Just as the crowd was about to disperse, a low horn sound suddenly rang out. 【140】 People turned around in surprise, only to see two black-clad strong men holding horns and blowing with all their might. 【141】 The horn sound spread throughout the entire Supervisory Office and also spread throughout this street! 【142】 As the horn sound rang out, the luxury motorcade parked on the side of the road moved. 【143】 That 'Qilin' stopped in front of Zhang Mingze, who was surrounded by stars and the moon, and someone opened the car door for him. 【144】 This scene made the onlookers around feel even colder. 【145】 "Fuck!" 【146】 Li Lei, who had been watching the scene outside the gate through the window in the office upstairs, cursed angrily, his face gloomy as he turned away and stopped watching. 【147】 The Tiger Blade Gang making such a flashy show in front of the entire Supervisory Office was just to proclaim one thing to everyone: 【148】 From now on, the Supervisory Office is run by the Tiger Blade Gang! 【149】 Such behavior made Li Lei burn with anger, but he was helpless. 【150】 After being promoted to the captain of the first brigade, he was originally ambitious and wanted to achieve something. But after all, he was not Lu Sheng; he was transferred directly from the second brigade and had no foundation in the first brigade. 【151】 That was fine, but there was also the Supervisory Office Chief Wu Yihua above him who kept suppressing Li Lei. 【152】 Without any foundation, Li Lei simply couldn't fight a Supervisory Office Chief. In just one month, this captain had already been hollowed out by Wu Yihua, and it could be said that he was struggling in the Supervisory Office. 【153】 So no matter how ambitious Li Lei was, no matter how righteous he was, no matter how much he couldn't stand the various behaviors of the Supervisory Office now, he was helpless. 【154】 There were quite a few people in the Supervisory Office who felt the same way as him. 【155】 These horn sounds ringing in their ears chilled their hearts! 【156】 Inside the 'Qilin' car, the color of the car windows was light red, and looking out from the inside, the scenes seen were also light red. 【157】 These car windows were bulletproof glass mixed with the body tissues of exotic beasts, so they couldn't be made fully transparent. 【158】 Zhang Mingze sat alone in the back seat, Yang Xuan sat in the passenger seat, and two battle axes were placed on his thighs. 【159】 "Let's go, proceed according to the established route." 【160】 Zhang Mingze said to the driver. 【161】 "Yes." 【162】 The driver started the car and gradually drove away from the Supervisory Office. 【163】 "Private Secretary." 【164】 Yang Xuan, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly said, "I don't understand why you deliberately let the motorcade take a detour?" 【165】 This time, returning to the Yu residence from the Supervisory Office, the motorcade could clearly have taken the shortest route, with a large number of experts guarding along the way to avoid accidents. 【166】 But Zhang Mingze deliberately designed a longer, more winding route, and deliberately didn't arrange manpower at some of the passing points. 【167】 Zhang Mingze smiled: 【168】 "Because I want to create an opportunity for the Green-Faced Ghost, to let him see the possibility of success, so that he might strike." 【169】 "I just want to see if he still dares to draw his blade against me this time?" 【170】 (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 98 =====

Zhang Mingze smiled: "Gu Zhenhui must be itching to tear the Green-Faced Ghost into a thousand pieces right now; he will naturally cooperate."

"Secretary, will the Green-Faced Ghost really come today?"

Yang Xuan asked, "Knowing it's a trap, will he still step into it?"

Zhang Mingze turned to look at him and smiled:

"I don't know either, but I'm looking forward to it."

Having said that, he walked out of the prison cell with the help of others.

Outside the main gate of the Inspectorate, a large crowd had already gathered, and dozens of burly men in black tunics, black trousers, and black cloth shoes stood in two rows outside the gate.

These people were all from the Tiger Blade Gang.

Besides them, a motorcade was parked on the side of the road, each vehicle a luxury car worth over 5,000 yuan, and among them was even a 'Qilin' brand car.

This was a bulletproof car that had undergone special treatment, with the internal lining paved with the body tissues of exotic beasts!

It was like having protective gear worn inside the car; just like the protective gear, 'Qilin' brand bulletproof cars were usually priceless and unavailable, and only true big shots could get their hands on one.

In Xingcheng, only Chief Gu Zhenhui owned a 'Qilin', but he certainly wouldn't send his own official car to pick up the Tiger Blade Gang's secretary.

So this brand-new 'Qilin' parked on the side of the road also belonged to the Tiger Blade Gang!

The stern-faced men in black, the luxury motorcade, and the rarely seen 'Qilin'—this display made many uninformed citizens think they were welcoming some monumental figure, so they stood not far away to watch the excitement.

Everything today was authorized by Zhang Mingze and arranged by Yu Hu, with the sole purpose of boosting their prestige.

The Green-Faced Ghost had first seriously injured Zhang Mingze, then killed multiple officials of the Tiger Blade Gang faction in succession, and even scared several officials into voluntarily turning themselves in; the blow to the Tiger Blade Gang's reputation was enormous!

This inevitably made people feel that the Tiger Blade Gang couldn't even handle a single martial arts expert from the underworld, nor could they protect their own people.

If they couldn't reverse this impression in time and restore their prestige, the officials of the Tiger Blade Gang faction would inevitably become increasingly panicked.

And if they lost the support of these people, the Tiger Blade Gang would be like a tiger without claws or fangs.

Therefore, Zhang Mingze was going to leave prison with great fanfare today, to let everyone see the power of the Tiger Blade Gang!

Besides that, he was also deliberately luring the Green-Faced Ghost out.

"I am leaving prison with great fanfare and am about to return to the Tiger Blade Gang's lair, heavily protected by a large number of experts. If you want to kill me, today might be your only chance. Will you make your move?"

This was the 'multiple-choice question' Zhang Mingze had posed to the Green-Faced Ghost.

"They're here! They're here!"

"They're coming out!"

"Who is it?"

When Zhang Mingze and his party emerged, the crowd waiting outside stirred.

Snap!

The burly men in black standing in two rows stood at attention in perfect unison, then bowed ninety degrees and shouted loudly:

"Respectfully welcoming Secretary Zhang!!!"

This commotion startled the onlookers.

"Who is Secretary Zhang?"

"It's that secretary from the Tiger Blade Gang!"

"So it's the Tiger Blade Gang."

Now that the onlookers knew who the big shot being welcomed was, they quickly fell silent.

The Tiger Blade Gang had a terrible reputation among the people; everyone feared them like tigers and avoided them like snakes and scorpions. Although people didn't know why this Secretary Zhang had been arrested and taken into the Inspectorate, seeing him walk out of the Inspectorate's main gate so gloriously now, it was clear he was already fine.

Sure enough, even the Inspectorate couldn't control the Tiger Blade Gang.

This made the onlookers' expressions dim; not wanting to watch the excitement anymore, they turned and left one after another.

Woo—

Just as the crowd was about to disperse, a low sound of a horn suddenly rang out.

People turned around in surprise to see two burly men in black holding horns and blowing them with all their might.

The sound of the horns spread throughout the entire Inspectorate and across this main street!

Following the sound of the horns, the luxury motorcade parked on the side of the road moved.

That 'Qilin' stopped in front of Zhang Mingze, who was surrounded like stars around the moon, and someone opened the car door for him.

This scene made the surrounding onlookers feel even colder.

"Damn it!"

Li Lei, who had been watching this scene outside the gate through the window of his office upstairs, cursed angrily and turned away with a gloomy face, refusing to look any longer.

The Tiger Blade Gang putting on such a flashy display in front of the entire Inspectorate was just to proclaim one thing to everyone:

From now on, the Tiger Blade Gang calls the shots at the Inspectorate!

Such behavior made Li Lei burn with anger, yet he was helpless.

After being promoted to Captain of the First Brigade, he had originally been ambitious and wanted to achieve something. But he was not Lu Sheng after all; he had been transferred directly from the Second Brigade and had no foundation whatsoever in the First Brigade.

That would have been one thing, but there was also the Inspector General Wu Yihua above him, constantly suppressing Li Lei.

Without any foundation, Li Lei simply couldn't fight an Inspector General. In just one month, he, the Captain, had already been largely sidelined by Wu Yihua, and his situation within the Inspectorate could be described as precarious.

So even if Li Lei had great ambitions, even if he was filled with righteousness, and even if he couldn't stand the various behaviors of the Inspectorate today, he was helpless.

There were quite a few people within the Inspectorate who felt the same way as he did.

These sounds of the horns ringing in their ears chilled their hearts!

Inside the 'Qilin' car, the color of the windows was light red; looking out from inside, the scenery seen was also light red.

These car windows were all made of bulletproof glass mixed with the body tissues of exotic beasts, so they couldn't be made completely transparent.

Zhang Mingze sat alone in the back seat, while Yang Xuan sat in the front passenger seat with two battle axes resting on his thighs.

"Let's go, proceed along the established route."

Zhang Mingze said to the driver.

"Yes."

The driver started the car and gradually drove away from the Inspectorate.

"Secretary."

Yang Xuan, sitting in the front passenger seat, suddenly spoke, "I don't understand why you deliberately had the motorcade take a detour?"

This time, returning to the Yu residence from the Inspectorate, the motorcade could clearly have taken the shortest route and arranged for a large number of experts to guard the route to avoid accidents.

But Zhang Mingze deliberately designed a longer, more winding route, and deliberately didn't arrange for any personnel at some of the points along the way.

Zhang Mingze smiled:

"Because I want to create an opportunity for the Green-Faced Ghost, to let him see the possibility of success, so that he might make a move."

"I just want to see if he dares to draw his blade against me this time."

(End of chapter)