Elder Lai, why are you running?

"Elder Lai, you're finally here! Please, have a seat!"

Du Rui pulled out his office chair for Lai Feipeng. Once he was seated, Du Rui eagerly scurried off to fetch two tins of fine tea.

"Elder Lai, I had someone buy this Maojian Tea for me. These two little tins only hold two hundred grams between them, but they cost me forty thousand!"

"Try it, Elder Lai. See if it's worth the price."

Lai Feipeng said nothing. He waited until Du Rui had brewed the tea, then took a sip.

"Mm, it's decent enough. Still a little worse than what I used to drink."

"If you can't appreciate it, stop wasting money on it."

The corner of Du Rui's mouth twitched, but he kept smiling.

"You're absolutely right, Elder Lai. I really can't appreciate it. How about this? Once you're finished here, take both tins with you. Giving me tea like this is casting pearls before swine."

"Oh? Very well. I've just run out of tea anyway, so this will do for now... But you still owe me every bit of what we agreed on!"

As he spoke, Lai Feipeng tucked both tins into his pockets right in front of Du Rui.

"Of course. Once the job is done, you'll receive every last cent!"

Du Rui's eye kept twitching.

But when he remembered the expert at Tianmen Funeral Home whom Zhong Fa had told him about, that little pang of regret became insignificant.

He could always earn more money. Once his life was gone, it was gone for good.

Even Zhong Fa was dead. If that unknown expert at Tianmen Funeral Home discovered that Du Rui had been backing him, wouldn't Du Rui be finished too?

"Tell me exactly what happened."

The fine tea had put Lai Feipeng in a much better mood.

"Well, it started when I hired someone to deal with..."

Du Rui concealed nothing, laying out his entire arrangement with Zhong Fa.

It wasn't that he didn't want to hide anything. He was afraid that withholding details would lead Lai Feipeng to misjudge the situation and fail to eliminate the other party.

Then he would be the one to suffer!

His plan was simple: this time, he would have Lai Feipeng kill both the unknown expert at Tianmen Funeral Home and Chen Weiyi outright!

As for the nephew whom Chen Weiyi had recently appointed Director, he was nothing to worry about.

After listening to Du Rui's explanation, Lai Feipeng laughed.

"Of all the people you could have hired, you chose Zhong Fa?"

"Uh, you knew Zhong Fa, Elder Lai?"

Du Rui was stunned.

"I met him once. His master, though, I did know."

"His master was quite a figure back in the day. Unfortunately, he was far too rigid. Before dying, he actually destroyed his lineage's core secret art instead of passing it down to his two disciples."

"Without that core secret art, his two disciples naturally amounted to nothing but half-trained amateurs."

"I met Zhong Fa a few years ago, as I recall. I've forgotten exactly when."

"He wanted a wealthy patron to support him, but that patron was already supporting me. So I taught him a little lesson."

"That brat had nothing going for him except a few talismans, yet he dared seek patronage like the other members of the Yin Gate?"

"If not for his master's sake, I would have killed him right then."

After Lai Feipeng said that, all the mystique Zhong Fa had held for Du Rui vanished.

Still, Du Rui remembered that when Zhong Fa had demonstrated his abilities, he seemed to have used more than just talismans.

He didn't dwell on it. Presumably, Zhong Fa's abilities weren't even worth mentioning in Elder Lai's eyes.

"Then I'll leave this matter to you, Elder Lai."

"How long will you need to settle it? I'll arrange somewhere for you to stay."

Lai Feipeng glanced at Du Rui.

"If you can give me everyone's information today, I can act tonight. You'll have the results you want within three days."

"Three days..."

Du Rui frowned slightly.

"What, is that too long? Why don't you hire someone else, then?"

Du Rui hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, you misunderstand, Elder Lai. I'm afraid the people at Tianmen Funeral Home might come after me during those three days."

Lai Feipeng waved a hand.

"Don't worry. Once I act, he'll barely be able to protect himself, much less come after you. If you're still worried, just stay with me."

Hearing Lai Feipeng say that filled Du Rui with an inexplicable sense of security.

"Thank you, Elder Lai."

As he spoke, Du Rui took out his phone and sent Lai Feipeng the information he had already compiled on everyone at Tianmen Funeral Home.

"Elder Lai, that's everyone at Tianmen Funeral Home. I've even included all the recent personnel changes."

"Chen Weiyi is confirmed, but I don't know who the other hidden expert is. I'll have to ask you to find him."

Lai Feipeng looked through the information on his phone. There were only twenty-odd people. Once he excluded those under thirty, fewer than ten remained.

However, Lai Feipeng had no intention of finding his fellow practitioner that way.

"Since the funeral home belongs to Chen Weiyi, I'll simply target him."

Du Rui asked curiously, "To lure the snake out of its hole? What if that fellow just hides like a turtle in its shell?"

Lai Feipeng waved a hand.

"He won't, unless he no longer wants a patron. If my fellow practitioner fails to protect the person supporting him, word will get out, and he can forget about finding anyone else to support him."

Du Rui nodded. He didn't understand the rules of their profession, so he said nothing more.

"All right, I'll go find Chen Weiyi now. Call me if anything comes up."

Lai Feipeng finished his tea, rose, and walked out with his hands behind his back.

Du Rui followed close behind, all smiles.

"Take care, Elder Lai!"

The moment he said that, Lai Feipeng stopped.

Huh?

Du Rui froze.

He'd said "take care," not "stop," hadn't he?

While he was puzzling over it, he noticed two people standing outside the office.

"Who are you? If you need something, go to the service hall. This is the office area!"

Du Rui straightened up and walked over, addressing the two men outside with a frown.

But after giving him a glance, they turned their attention to the man behind him.

"Lai Feipeng?"

Chen Guokun looked at Lai Feipeng, then took out his identification.

Du Rui paused, looking at the name on the identification.

[Emergency Affairs Administration]

What department was that?

But they seemed to know Elder Lai?

Just as Du Rui turned to ask, he suddenly heard a voice.

"That's me. What can I do for you two?"

Stunned, Du Rui turned to find a friendly smile on that previously stern face.

Was this really the same Elder Lai from a moment ago?

"Why did you leave Shannan City without reporting it?"

Lai Feipeng's eye twitched.

"Uh, I came to see a friend. I'm leaving this afternoon, not staying overnight. Surely I don't need to report that?"

The moment Lai Feipeng finished speaking, the man beside Chen Guokun said, "False."

Lai Feipeng's expression stiffened.

"What do you mean, false? Young man, I really did come to see a friend. This is Du Rui, Boss Du. He's my friend."

"False."

The same reply made Lai Feipeng's expression turn ugly.

But when he saw Chen Guokun put away his identification, his expression changed. He immediately stood straight and said, "I'll go back to Shannan City right now!"

"True."

Tong Yu spoke.

Chen Guokun made no further move after putting away his identification, letting his empty hand fall to his side.

"Then go. Remember to report your arrival when you reach Shannan City, or I'll assume you have something else in mind."

"Understood. I'm leaving now, right now!"

Watching Lai Feipeng leave, Du Rui was dumbfounded.

"Elder Lai! Elder Lai, what's going on? Why are you running?"

Lai Feipeng didn't even glance at Du Rui, inwardly cursing his rotten luck.

He had previously acted in Shannan City without authorization, violating the Administration's rules and landing himself on the yellow list.

Although he had officially been told to report any departure from Shannan City, enforcement wasn't particularly strict.

He had visited the counties around Shannan City before. As long as he didn't cause trouble, no one ever bothered him.

Who would have thought he'd get caught this time, when he really intended to cause trouble?

Could they have planted a listening device on him?

No. If they had, there would have been no need to question him just now.

Suddenly, Lai Feipeng sensed something was off. He stopped and looked back.

Neither of those two Investigators from the Administration had followed him!

After a moment's surprise, he recalled what Du Rui had told him and slapped his forehead.

At this point, how could Lai Feipeng fail to understand?

The Administration hadn't come for him at all. They had come for Du Rui!

Thank goodness. Thank goodness I haven't done anything yet. Otherwise, they probably would have arrested me the moment I made my move.

Shaken by the close call, Lai Feipeng inwardly cursed his own stupidity.

It's only a million. Why risk my life for that?

He spat, clutched the tea in his pocket, and hurried away.

Next time, I'm not coming out to stir up trouble for anything less than two million!