Chapter Eighty-Two: Old Wu, the Eldest

At that moment, not only Old Stick, but Qin Feng also realized what was going on.

The beating Gongsun Tiedan had taken earlier was clearly part of a setup. Someone had been looking for trouble, which was why Yang Jiekai could bring Old Stick along with him this time.

They followed the woman all the way to the end of the alley, only to find it was a dead end. The woman suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Old Stick and Qin Feng with a smile that was not quite a smile.

And behind them, without anyone noticing when, several burly men had also slipped in.

The men said nothing. Without warning, they hefted their weapons and rushed at Old Stick and Qin Feng.

Qin Feng was no expert fighter, but he struck with ruthless force, swinging a leather belt studded with iron nodules until it whistled through the air.

Old Stick, needless to say, looked listless enough, yet none of his punches or kicks missed their mark. Everyone he hit stayed down.

When it was done, Old Stick advanced step by step toward the woman. Just as she took out her phone to make a call, he snatched it from her hand. Blinking groggily, he said weakly, "Please come with us. Otherwise, your end will be a very ugly one."

Yang Jiekai was sitting in his office smoking a cigarette, thinking over a few things.

Before long, Old Stick and Qin Feng returned with a woman in tow.

"Call your people," Yang Jiekai said, glancing at the trembling woman. "You have ten minutes. If I still don't see anyone in ten minutes, you'll wish you were dead."

Old Stick handed the phone back to her, and only then did the woman shakily dial a number.

Not long after, dozens of people stormed into the office, led by the man in the suit.

"Speak. What did I do to offend you? Why have you come looking for trouble?"

Actually, ever since Gongsun Tiedan had come back, Yang Jiekai had already guessed a rough outline of what was happening. With Gongsun Tiedan's skills, spying on someone would not be easy to detect. Then the man in the suit had shown up to cause trouble. Thinking it through slowly, the whole matter became clear.

Yang Jiekai sat in his chair, lit another cigarette, and looked at the man in the suit. "Tell me what kind of grudge this is."

The man in the suit gave a cold snort. "Brother, you probably don't even know the rules of this trade."

"Oh? Rules?" Yang Jiekai gave a mocking smile. "Then tell me, what rules are those?"

The man in the suit lifted his chin. "This area belongs to Boss Wu. You didn't even pay respects at the dock, yet you want to set up shop here. Of course Boss Wu won't tolerate that. If you're sensible, shut up shop and get lost. Otherwise—"

Smack!

Before he could finish, Yang Jiekai suddenly sprang up and slapped him hard across the face, then drove a fist into his stomach. The others nearby tried to move, but Old Stick and Qin Feng quickly beat them to the ground.

Yang Jiekai grabbed the man in the suit by his swollen face and hair, and said in a cold voice, "I don't know any Boss Wu, and I don't understand your rules. But I'll tell you this: never speak to me in a threatening tone, because that can be very dangerous. Remember, I never joke with people who are not my friends!"

With that, Yang Jiekai yanked the man's hair and hurled him away with all his strength. Then he said sharply, "Go back and tell your Boss Wu this: I, Yang Jiekai, know nothing about your rules. He's welcome to come find me anytime!"

The man in the suit had been hit several times by Yang Jiekai, and sweat of pain was pouring down his face. Yet a vicious glint flashed in his eyes. "Kid, just wait!"

After that, he left in disgrace with several of his underlings.

Once the suit-wearing man and the others were gone, Yang Jiekai asked, "Do you know what kind of background this Boss Wu has?"

Qin Feng had occasionally dealt with people from the underworld before, and he had also heard of Boss Wu's name. "He's a notorious local thug. He has over a hundred men under him and acts with extreme brutality. The private detective firms in this area are all monopolized by him, and every month they have to hand over thirty percent of their profits."

Yang Jiekai frowned. "Stay here and keep watch. I'm stepping out. Call me if anything comes up."

After leaving the company, Yang Jiekai immediately drove to Dragon Palace Bar.

As soon as he went in, he saw chaos everywhere. Two groups of people were brawling fiercely, each armed with steel rods and machetes.

At a glance, Yang Jiekai spotted Long Xiaoman. She was wearing a bright red dress and swinging two mountain-cutting sabers as she fought.

What a headache.

After sighing inwardly, Yang Jiekai rubbed his hands together, casually picked up a steel pipe from the ground, and joined the fray.

With his arrival, the battle quickly turned one-sided, and before long the other side fled in panic.

Long Xiaoman wiped the blood from her face and looked at Yang Jiekai. "You came just in time."

Yang Jiekai shrugged helplessly. "My lady, why is it that every time I come looking for you, you're fighting?"

"No help for it." Long Xiaoman let out a soft sigh, ordered her people to clean up the mess, and then led Yang Jiekai into a private room.

"For people like us, fighting is as common as eating. Do you think I like it?"

She poured herself a glass of liquor and downed it in one gulp.

For some reason, Yang Jiekai felt a little bitter hearing that. At Long Xiaoman's age, she ought to have been living a carefree life at university. Yet fate had forced a girl like her to live a life soaked in blood every day.

"So, what brings you here?" Long Xiaoman knew that if Yang Jiekai came to her, it was never without reason.

Yang Jiekai gave an awkward laugh before asking, "Do you know a man called Boss Wu?"

"I do." Long Xiaoman said, "He's a famous local thug in this area. He started out in the underworld when he was fifteen or sixteen and has made quite a name for himself by now. Several nearby places are under his protection. Why are you asking about him?"

Yang Jiekai took a small sip of his drink and said, "I opened a private detective agency, and that bastard came looking for trouble right away."

"Nonsense." Long Xiaoman rolled her eyes at him. "You set up shop on someone else's turf. If they didn't come looking for trouble, that would be strange."

Yang Jiekai shrugged. "Usually, how do you deal with this kind of thing?"

Long Xiaoman said, "First, you obediently follow the other side's rules, go pay respects at the dock, and hand over thirty percent of your monthly protection money."

"I'd give him that? Not a chance." Yang Jiekai was not soft clay; he would never do that.

"Second," Long Xiaoman went on, "you stand up to them head-on, fight them blow for blow, and beat them until they submit completely!"

"All right, got it."

Yang Jiekai set down his glass and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Long Xiaoman hurriedly asked.

"To beat those bastards into submission. Am I really supposed to pay protection money every month?"

Long Xiaoman nearly spat out her drink when she heard that. "How many people do you have?"

"Four," Yang Jiekai answered honestly.

Long Xiaoman was laughing so hard tears almost came to her eyes. "I know you're good at fighting, but Boss Wu has been in this area for more than ten years. Do you really think just four of you can fight him?"

"That doesn't concern you."

After tossing out that line, Yang Jiekai swaggered out of Dragon Palace Bar. He paid no heed to what Long Xiaoman had said. To be honest, he had come through gunfire and storms; a mere gang leader did not scare him at all.

But soon, Yang Jiekai discovered he had been wrong, and very wrong indeed. Just as Long Xiaoman had said, a veteran thug who had spent more than ten years building his name in the area could not be dealt with by force alone.

In the world of the Chinese underworld, Yang Jiekai was nothing more than a novice.

Boss Wu was not originally from Anhai. He had simply come here early on to seek his fortune and had clawed his way up step by step through cruelty and cunning.

His greatest trait was viciousness, not only toward others, but toward himself as well.

Rumor had it that when he was first starting out, in order to wrest a place away from a rival, he had, in full view of everyone, used a dagger to gouge out one of his own eyes. It had scared the other side so badly they wet themselves on the spot.

From then on, Boss Wu became famous in one battle. By relying on his merciless resolve, he slowly monopolized the private detective market in a certain district. Beyond that, he also controlled several entertainment venues, and there were even rumors that he was secretly involved in drug trafficking. Under him were more than a hundred underlings, each one a hardened brute.

The man in the suit was one of Boss Wu's mid-level lieutenants. Seeing his own people get hurt, Boss Wu flew into a rage.

That very night, he directly brought several carloads of men to settle the score. Unfortunately, by then Yang Jiekai and the others were off work and nowhere to be found, so they smashed Yang Jiekai's company to pieces instead.

The next day, when Yang Jiekai and the others saw the office in ruins, they were instantly furious.

"Boss Wu, what the hell do you mean by this?"

Yang Jiekai got Boss Wu's phone number from Long Xiaoman and called him directly.

"This is only a warning. You have one day. Pack up and get the hell out of here immediately!"

Boss Wu was extremely arrogant on the other end of the line, showing no regard at all for the still-unknown Yang Jiekai.

"If you're a real man, then tell me where you are right now!" Yang Jiekai was truly angry this time. Their company had only just opened, and it had already been smashed to rubble. Anyone would be enraged.

"Thirty-Nine Riverside Road, Imperial Club. You're welcome anytime."

"Damn it, just you wait!"

After hanging up, Yang Jiekai immediately called Old Stick and Qin Feng to come with him. Only Gongsun Tiedan was left behind. Although he had once been a legendary thief, his talents lay in petty larceny. If they really came to blows, he would only be a burden. So he was told to stay and help Chen Shishi tidy up the wrecked office.

After returning to the country, Yang Jiekai was not a stranger to fighting, but it had always been the sort of small-scale scuffle that meant little. So naturally, he did not take Boss Wu seriously and thought bringing Old Stick and Qin Feng over would be enough to teach him a lesson.

But later events proved that things were nowhere near as simple as he had imagined.

Yang Jiekai was indeed very good at fighting, and Old Stick was a hidden master, but neither of them was a superhuman.

Riverside Road lay in the northern district of Anhai City. It was a paradise for those who loved the night life, lined with clubs, bathhouses, and similar venues as far as the eye could see.

Imperial Club was the largest establishment on that street.

"Sir, how many are you?"

As soon as Yang Jiekai and the others got out of the car, a waiter hurried over to greet them warmly.

"I'm looking for Boss Wu," Yang Jiekai said, glancing inside.

The waiter froze. "You must be Mr. Yang Jiekai. Boss Wu has been waiting for you for quite some time."