Fu Yanzhi Fakes His Death; Enters a New Trap

Jiang Dong glanced at Fu Yanzhi, who had been beaten black and blue, and said to Sun Bei with a smile, "Second Brother, take this kid back first. I still have a use for him."

Sun Bei nodded and had his men take Fu Yanzhi to the car.

Two of his men hoisted the barely breathing Fu Yanzhi up and stuffed him into the back seat of the SUV as though dragging a heavy load.

Jiang Xi stood to one side, watching Fu Yanzhi, who was covered in blood. His Adam's apple bobbed, but in the end, he said nothing.

The car left the abandoned pier and sped toward the Jiang Dong brothers' core territory—a secluded, abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

Deep inside the warehouse, a windowless iron cell had been cleared out. Fu Yanzhi was thrown onto the cold cement floor, his hands and feet still bound with coarse hemp rope.

Jiang Dong crouched down and stared at his pale face. "Stay here until you tell the truth," he said coldly. Then he turned and left, locking the iron door with a clang.

Fu Yanzhi was completely cut off from the outside world. Only a dim yellow bulb swayed overhead, illuminating the wounds covering his body.

Meanwhile, Jiang Dong spread word that Liu Little Six's body had been thrown into the sea. The news quickly spread through the underworld, and no one suspected it was false.

Elsewhere, Li Ao had just returned to his temporary base after wrapping things up at the ambush site when he received a message from one of his men. His expression changed drastically, and he immediately pulled out his phone and dialed the encrypted number.

The moment the call connected, Li Ao lowered his voice, speaking urgently and gravely. "Boss, something's happened! Fu Yanzhi's undercover mission failed, and he... he's dead. Jiang Dong's men threw his body into the sea!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by a deep voice. "Are you sure?"

"That's the information we have for now. Jiang Dong's side has also suppressed the news, so there's no way to verify the details!"

Li Ao gripped his phone, his knuckles turning white. "Boss, what do we do now? Should we send someone to investigate?"

Ji Jinming sighed. "It seems I overestimated him. Forget it. Stay in Harbor City and keep watch. I'll send people over now. Once they arrive, launch a direct assault."

"All right, boss," Li Ao said. After hanging up, he sent more people to continue investigating.

In Luo City, Bo Qing was watching television with his younger brothers. Their eldest brother had been out of contact for almost a month, and the younger boys asked several times every day when he would return.

Bo Qing wanted very much to answer them, but he didn't know when their eldest brother would return either. He could only hope his eldest brother was safe and sound.

The door suddenly opened, and a man in a suit walked in first, with two rows of bodyguards standing beside him.

As soon as Bo Qing saw them enter, he shielded his younger brothers behind him and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Zheng Long heard the voices and came out as well. Seeing what was happening in the room, he immediately took a fighting stance.

Seeing them like this, Ji Jinming didn't know how to begin. He could only say, "Hello, my name is Ji Jinming."

At the sound of Ji Jinming's name, Zheng Long lowered his hands. "So it's Boss Ji. I've heard a great deal about you. What brings you here today?"

Ji Jinming didn't know how to broach the subject. In the end, he could only tell them the truth. "Fu Yanzhi's undercover mission failed. He's dead."

Bo Qing was stunned when he heard that Fu Yanzhi had died. Wen Shiming, meanwhile, strode forward, seized Ji Jinming by the collar, and said, "Impossible! My eldest brother is so capable. How could he die? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Seeing Wen Shiming act like that, the bodyguards on both sides immediately started forward, but Ji Jinming stopped them.

Kong Fanxing stood to one side, crying loudly. "Impossible! Eldest Brother wouldn't die!"

Feng Yunxiao was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe it. How could his eldest brother, who was so capable, have died?

Kong Fanyue was frozen in place. He was still waiting for his eldest brother to come back and praise his piano playing. He hadn't even played the new piece he'd learned for him yet.

Li Huanhuan pointed at Ji Jinming and cried, "Get out! I won't let you say Eldest Brother is dead. Get out!"

Bo Qing fought back his tears, refusing to let them spill from his eyes. Choking back a sob, he said, "Third Brother, Huanhuan, come back first."

Wen Shiming and Li Huanhuan walked over to Bo Qing. Bo Qing asked, "You're the one who sent my eldest brother to Harbor City, right?"

Ji Jinming nodded. "Yes, I sent him there, but I didn't expect him to die."

Bo Qing's hands were trembling uncontrollably by now, but he kept his voice calm. "My eldest brother usually doesn't listen to other people. You threatened him with us, didn't you?"

Ji Jinming hadn't expected Bo Qing to figure that out, but he was right. I threatened him into going. I bear a great deal of responsibility for his death.

When Ji Jinming said nothing, Bo Qing walked straight over and punched him in the face. Tears gushed from his eyes like a fountain. No one had expected Bo Qing to punch Ji Jinming.

Bo Qing broke down. "Why? Why did you make him go somewhere so dangerous? We finally had a home, and you destroyed it all!"

Ji Jinming took the punch without dodging or getting angry. He simply stood there quietly, letting the blood run from his nose. He knew the punch was an outpouring of Bo Qing's anger toward him and his grief at losing his eldest brother.

"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice, full of guilt. "I'm the one who caused his death, but I'll avenge him."

Bo Qing's body trembled slightly at those words, and tears blurred his eyes once more. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Revenge. Yes, of course we have to get revenge. I want everyone who hurt my eldest brother dead."

Ji Jinming nodded firmly. "I will. I'll make Jiang Dong and his people pay their blood debt in blood."

After Ji Jinming left, the house fell quiet. No one spoke again; they simply returned to their rooms.

Bo Qing sat on his bed and opened his phone. Its wallpaper was a group photo taken when their eldest brother had gone to the amusement park with them.

Looking at his eldest brother's happy smile in the photo, tears suddenly streamed from the corners of his eyes. "Eldest Brother, you lied. You said you'd be with us forever. Why didn't you keep your promise? I miss you so much. Can you come back and see me?"

Wen Shiming returned to his room and sat in a chair. Looking at the skateboard leaning against the wall, he smiled. His eldest brother had given it to him. As he smiled, tears fell onto his hands.

"Eldest Brother, I said I wouldn't let you leave me, but I couldn't do it. I'm useless. I'm a good-for-nothing. Eldest Brother, I miss you. Where am I supposed to go to catch you?" Wen Shiming cried, breaking down.

After Kong Fanxing and Kong Fanyue returned to their room, Kong Fanxing lay on the bed, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes. Meteor ran over and licked Kong Fanxing's face. Kong Fanxing held Meteor, who squirmed about in his arms, trying to cheer his owner up.

Kong Fanyue sat in a chair, his fingers sliding gently over the keys of the electronic keyboard, his mind filled with images of his eldest brother. Tears ran from the corners of his eyes as he murmured, "Eldest Brother, I really wanted to play this new piece I learned for you. Why aren't you coming back? Come back and listen to Yueyue play. Tell me if it sounds good, okay?"

Li Huanhuan returned to his room and crawled into bed, hugging the little rabbit doll his eldest brother had given him. He pulled the covers over his head and sobbed quietly. How he wished this were only a nightmare, and that when he woke up, his eldest brother would smile and say, "Huanhuan, get up and eat."

Feng Yunxiao stared blankly out the window, but his thoughts were on the park in the dark of night, and his eldest brother holding him and saying, "I'm here to take my precious Fourth Brother home." "Eldest Brother, I don't have a home again. I miss you so much. Can you come see me in my dreams tonight?"

After Ji Jinming returned, he immediately arranged for men to set out in three days to attack Jiang Dong. Leaning back in his chair, he looked at the photograph on his desk. It showed a woman with a sweet smile on her face.

Ji Jinming picked up the photograph and stroked it. "Yueyue, I saw our son today. He even pointed at me while he was talking. He looks a lot like you, but I don't think he'll acknowledge me as his father now. I made him lose the eldest brother who loved him. How am I supposed to face him from now on?"

Fu Yanzhi gradually regained consciousness on the cold cement floor. His whole body was in unbearable pain, but he struggled to keep his mind clear.

He knew he was in danger and had to find a way to escape. He tried to move his bound hands and feet, but found the hemp rope tied so tightly that he couldn't break free for the moment.

Just then, a commotion came from outside the warehouse. Someone seemed to be arguing. Fu Yanzhi pricked up his ears and listened closely, faintly hearing Sun Bei and Jiang Xi arguing about him.

Taking advantage of their argument, Fu Yanzhi rubbed himself hard against the floor, trying to wear through the rope. Sweat soaked his clothes, and the skin on his hands was rubbed raw, but he gritted his teeth and kept at it. At last, the rope showed signs of loosening.

Just then, the iron door suddenly opened, and a figure walked in. Fu Yanzhi snapped his eyes up, his back tensing warily. The door was pushed open a crack, and two men in black walked in against the light, their movements brisk but not hostile—they were Jiang Xi's trusted aides.

"Little Six, Brother Jiang sent us to save you," the man in the lead said in a low voice. He stepped forward and swiftly cut the rope around Fu Yanzhi's wrists. The other man pulled out a water bottle and handed it to Fu Yanzhi. "Little Six, have some water first."

Fu Yanzhi took the water and gulped down a large mouthful. After thanking them, he quickly followed the two men out of the warehouse. Along the way, they skillfully avoided Jiang Dong's men and made it to an inconspicuous car outside the warehouse.

Once they got in, the car sped away like an arrow loosed from its bow. Fu Yanzhi leaned back in his seat, breathing heavily, a jumble of emotions in his heart. Could Jiang Xi really be kind enough to send people to let me go?

Meanwhile, Jiang Dong was still arguing with Jiang Xi. Jiang Dong's ears ached from listening to them argue when one of his men ran over and said, "Boss, Liu Little Six is gone."

Sun Bei flew into a rage. "What are you standing around for? Go catch him and bring him back!"

The man immediately prepared to take others to look for them, but Jiang Dong spoke up with a smile. "There's no hurry. Let them run a little longer."

Sun Bei asked in confusion, "Eldest Brother, why aren't we chasing them now?"

Jiang Dong raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I let him go on purpose. I planted a tracker on him, then set him free in Third Brother's name. If he has any accomplices, we can catch them all in one net."

"Hahaha, Eldest Brother, that's a truly devious move," Sun Bei said.

Jiang Xi nodded beside them. "That's a good move, Eldest Brother. If he's a traitor, we'll kill him outright. If he isn't, I'll train him to become my best subordinate."

Fu Yanzhi had no idea a tracker had been planted on him. As the car drove through the night, he planned to shake the two men off first, then return to the courtyard house to pick up Mianmian and take her out of Harbor City immediately. Once his injuries had healed, he would come back to settle accounts.

As the car continued along the road, Fu Yanzhi suddenly spoke. "Brother, I need to use the toilet first. Could you pull over?"

The driver frowned but still pulled over to the side of the road. As soon as Fu Yanzhi got out, he used the cover of darkness to slip quickly into the woods beside the road.

Once the two men in black reacted, they immediately chased after him. Fu Yanzhi used the darkness to get behind them and drove his elbow hard into one man's neck. The man grunted and fell.

Seeing this, the other man immediately drew a dagger from his waist and stabbed at Fu Yanzhi. Fu Yanzhi dodged nimbly, grabbed the man's wrist, and twisted it hard, making the dagger fall to the ground. He followed up with a kick to the man's abdomen, sending him to the ground.

After dealing with the two men, Fu Yanzhi quickly searched them. Then he returned to the road and drove straight back to the courtyard house to pick up Mianmian.

Meanwhile, Jiang Dong watched the tracker showing Fu Yanzhi moving rapidly and smiled. "Run, go on and run. You won't escape the palm of my hand."