Finish them off together

Chen Fan had Long Si and Ma Xiaotian hold the front entrance with their men, then whispered a few instructions into Long Si's ear.

A flicker of surprise crossed Long Si's face, but he did not refuse. He nodded.

Chen Fan took Brother Bao and escorted Chang Jiu to the back entrance.

Chang Jiu had already thrown caution to the wind. He knew that if he refused to cooperate now, the men behind him would kill him on the spot.

Obedience offered a slim chance of survival. Disobedience meant that seven days later, they would be marking the seventh day after his death.

Everyone lightened their footsteps as they approached the back entrance. Chang Jiu went up and knocked.

"Who is it?" a wary voice called from inside.

"It's me, Chang Jiu. Master Rong sent me to see Master Yue."

The men inside suspected nothing. There was a scraping of bolts, then someone poked his head out. "Brother Jiu, why are you here so late?"

Before he had finished speaking, Chen Fan kicked him, sending him flying more than ten meters backward.

Brother Bao let out a roar and charged inside, his six-foot-three frame looming like an iron tower.

The men inside had no time to shut the door.

The men behind Brother Bao raised their rifles and shouted, "Don't move! Squat down with your hands on your heads!"

Seven or eight men guarded the back entrance. Three or four carried guns, while several had knives and axes tucked into their waistbands.

Seeing the guns in the intruders' hands, those carrying firearms did not dare draw them.

Chen Fan waved a hand. Several men stepped forward, disarmed them, and herded them aside.

"Where's the entrance to the main warehouse?" Chen Fan asked grimly.

Chang Jiu led the way and opened the door to a large room in the rear courtyard. It was a storeroom piled with goods.

Then Chang Jiu opened the entrance and took the lead, going in first.

The men sitting inside the main warehouse were already drowsy. When Chang Jiu burst in with the others, they had no time even to react.

According to their previous drills, the guards in the rear courtyard had an alarm bell. If anything happened, the men below would be forewarned.

But one of their own had led the group, leaving them no time to raise the alarm.

"Where's Yue Zheng? Talk!" Chang Jiu grabbed a thug by the collar, practically roaring.

Chang Jiu was more anxious than anyone now. If Yue Zheng escaped, he could forget about leaving Shanghai alive.

"Inside." The thug trembled as he pointed toward the room farther in.

Chang Jiu rushed over recklessly, but when he opened the door, the room was empty.

The bookshelf holding the account books had been pushed aside, revealing a pitch-black hole.

He really had run. Though Chang Jiu had prepared himself for it, he still could not accept it.

He scrambled back to Chen Fan. "Boss Chen, Yue Zheng's escaped."

"Your men guarding the perimeter have to stop him..."

"Why would I stop him?" Chen Fan asked with a chuckle.

"Boss Chen, I've done so much for you. I've cooperated with everything. You can't do this to me." Chang Jiu was on the verge of tears.

Chen Fan patted Chang Jiu's shoulder. "Don't worry. If Yue Zheng doesn't run, how am I supposed to find Old Fire Crow?"

"Stay here. Unless something unexpected happens, you'll be able to go home soon."

Then Chen Fan told Brother Bao, "Keep an eye on everyone. If you notice anything wrong, shoot."

Brother Bao grinned viciously. "Sure, Boss Chen."

There was no denying it-with that grin, Brother Bao really did look like a villain...

Luban Road, the French Concession.

A dark figure ran through the night, gasping for breath.

He was smart enough to avoid the main roads, weaving through the French Concession's alleys instead.

It had taken him a full hour to get from Foch Road to Luban Road.

It was not that he was slow, but that he was cautious. He knew today's attack had not been a spur-of-the-moment decision. The intruders had entered the main warehouse without triggering the alarm bell. Clearly, they had used a method only an insider would know.

So as he ran, he kept watching for anyone following him.

What he did not know was that the man tailing him was a professional surveillance expert. Ma Xiaotian needed only the sound of his footsteps to pinpoint his position.

Of course, even if Ma Xiaotian failed to keep up, there was still Chen Fan.

Chen Fan's interface clearly displayed Yue Zheng's movements.

At the intersection on Luban Road stood the Fushengji Tobacco and Exchange Shop.

Shops like this were the equivalent of the tobacco and liquor stores of later years.

In this era, people from Ningbo in Zhejiang Province who came to seek their fortunes in Shanghai most commonly opened tobacco and exchange shops like this one.

They required little capital and also offered small-change exchange services, exchanging one silver dollar for ninety-seven cents and charging a three-mill fee.

Exchanging twenty or thirty dollars a day could earn a silver dollar. With the profits from tobacco and liquor added in, the shop could clear around a hundred silver dollars a year after rent and expenses.

Yue Zheng reached Fushengji and pounded desperately on the door.

Before long, a light came on upstairs, followed by a voice from inside. "Who is it?"

"Little sister, it's me. Is Master here? Something's happened."

Hearing that something had happened, Yue Jialing hurriedly opened the door. Yue Zheng had no time to explain and scrambled up to the second floor.

"Master! Master!"

Rui Qingrong seemed to have just finished his business and was smoking a postcoital cigarette in bed.

At the sight of Yue Zheng, a flicker of foreboding crossed his eyes. "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to guard the warehouse?"

"The warehouse... someone raided the warehouse."

"What?" Rui Qingrong sprang out of bed with an agility utterly at odds with his appearance.

"What happened? Who did it?"

Yue Zheng caught his breath. "I didn't get a clear look at them. It must have been our own people. The main warehouse's alarm bell never rang. No outsider would know about it."

Rui Qingrong's expression changed. He pulled a gun from beneath his pillow and grabbed the clothes beside him. "Let's go."

"Well, now, where are you off to, Fourth Master?" Several rifles poked through the doorway curtain, and a young figure strode brazenly inside.

Though they had not met for several years, Rui Qingrong still recognized Chen Fan. After all, the fellow had left a very deep impression on him.

"Chen Fan, you dared to raid my warehouse?" Though Rui Qingrong did not dare resist, his mouth remained defiant.

Chen Fan indulged him not at all. He stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

Rui Qingrong spat out a tooth mixed with blood.

"I did."

Rui Qingrong clutched his cheek. "You dare lay a hand on me?"

Smack! Smack! Chen Fan slapped him forehand and backhand, knocking out two more teeth.

"And I did it again." Chen Fan chuckled. "Shall we continue, Fourth Master?"

"I wonder how many more teeth you have left to spit out."

"No, no, stop hitting me." Rui Qingrong had visibly wilted.

Chen Fan picked up the clothes beside him and wiped the blood from his hands.

"Fourth Master, I rather liked that arrogant, overbearing look you had just now. Why don't you bring it back?"

"Chen Fan, even killing a man takes no more than a nod. What exactly do you want?" Rui Qingrong's speech was slurred from the beating.

"Fourth Master, have you forgotten? We still have an old score to settle."

Then Chen Fan shouted, "Bring her in!"

Several subordinates shoved Yue Jialing inside. More than half her clothing had been torn open, exposing the red dudou beneath and a broad expanse of pale, smooth skin.

"Where are the valuables?"

Yue Jialing fumbled through a cabinet and brought out valuables, property deeds, and other assets.

At the sight, Rui Qingrong actually sighed with relief. "Boss Chen, if you want money, just say the word. I don't have much money, but I love making friends. There are three shops here, a sand yard, a restaurant, and two theaters besides."

"If you like them, Boss Chen, take them all."

Chen Fan smiled. "Since you're being so generous, Fourth Master, it would be rude to refuse."

Rui Qingrong knew he was at their mercy. He cooperated fully, signing all the documents and handing the deeds over to Chen Fan as well.

Chen Fan looked over the signatures, seals, and fingerprints, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Fourth Master, repaying debts is only right and proper. Now that the money is settled, let's settle the debt of blood."

"If you understand that debts must be repaid, surely you also understand that a life must be paid for with a life?"

Rui Qingrong's expression changed drastically. "Chen Fan, you're playing me?"

"Playing you? Why can't I play you? Do I lack the standing, or do I lack the strength?"

Chen Fan waved a hand. "Fourth Master, I'll never forget the taste of your water torture as long as I live."

"Since you like water so much, I'll send you into the Huangpu River to be its river god."

"Men, send Fourth Master on his way..."

Several subordinates stepped forward at his words and bound Rui Qingrong tightly in a flurry of hands.

Long Si came over and pointed at Yue Jialing and Yue Zheng, who were kneeling to one side. "What about these two?"

Chen Fan glanced at them and smiled. "I've roamed the jianghu since I was young, and I know a little physiognomy. Judging by our Fourth Master's face, his is a mandarin-duck-and-butterfly fate. If he dies, he dies as one of a pair."

"Brother Si, finish them off together..."