Chapter 133: Death Threat

Liu Jingye watched Chen Shuanghe get into a black sedan parked at the entrance and prepare to drive away. Hurriedly dropping his bowl and chopsticks, he gave chase.

Tang Shiya's mother happened to step out of the kitchen. Seeing his retreating figure, she called out, "Hey, young man, you haven't paid yet!"

Peeling a scallion inside the kitchen, Tang Shiya poked her head out to look at the empty table and said to her mother, "Forget it, don't worry about the money. I spent the night at his place a few days ago, and he didn't charge me anything either!"

Hearing this, her mother froze as if struck by lightning. Glaring fiercely at her, she said, "I know the entertainment industry is a mess, but I never believed my own daughter would sink so low. What, you sleep with a man for a night now, and you still have to pay out of your own pocket to do it?"

Meanwhile, Liu Jingye was straddling his motorcycle, tailing Chen Shuanghe's private car at a leisurely pace as it wound through the streets.

He followed him to a mid-range restaurant for lunch, where Chen simply signed the bill at the front desk before leaving. In the afternoon, they went to a proper bathhouse for a soak and a sauna, followed by a massage and pedicures on the way out—completely at ease—and once again, he signed the bill at the front desk.

"It seems these recreational expenses are just part of his daily routine," Liu Jingye thought to himself as he trailed along. "No wonder people say that wanting to marry a Japanese wife, keep a Korean mistress, drive a German luxury car, hire a British butler, and eat French haute cuisine—all those grand dreams—can easily be fulfilled if one simply becomes an official in the Heavenly Empire. It turns out to be entirely true."

After the bath, Chen visited a teahouse to sample some tea, then dropped by a small theater to watch a performance, naturally signing the bills for those as well.

"Is this what the hell they call keeping a low profile?" Liu Jingye couldn't help cursing inwardly.

"The big boss has finally gone home. If he went out for more spending and I couldn't sign any bills to cover it, I probably couldn't have held out much longer." Once night had completely fallen and Liu Jingye had escorted him all the way to his doorstep, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Not long after, Chen's wife returned driving a rather high-end sedan. Hiding in the shadows, Liu Jingye watched as the couple, now dressed in casual home wear and walking a dog, emerged for a stroll, looking very much like a devoted, loving pair.

"Now *that* is what you call a life!" Liu Jingye sighed.

Before long, the two returned from their walk. Although they were an old married couple, the sparks of romance had not entirely been extinguished. Talking and laughing, they embraced the moment they stepped into the hallway, suggesting there would likely be some official "grain-tax delivery" activities later that night.

"This bastard feels not a shred of guilt about accidentally beating someone to death," Liu Jingye narrowed his eyes like a venomous serpent, staring at their window, which now had the curtains drawn. "His wife acts even more like a wealthy lady of leisure. The two of them are clearly enjoying a blissful life. It seems there really is something fishy going on."

Liu Jingye waited downstairs and did not leave, staying put for the entire night. He was waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity to sow discord, set them against each other, and start an internal dog-eat-dog fight.

At a little past five in the morning, just as the sky was beginning to grow light, Chen Shuanghe suddenly appeared. Dressed in sportswear with a towel draped around his neck, he looked ready to go out for a morning run.

Though he had not slept all night, Liu Jingye remained full of energy. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he muttered to himself, "The opportunity has come."

Pulling a gleaming machete from the back of his waist and putting on a helmet, he sprinted toward Chen Shuanghe.

He made no effort to control his movements, so the sound of his running footsteps was loud, and Chen discovered him just as he was closing in.

Without a second word, Liu Jingye brought the machete down in a fierce, head-splitting arc. Startled, Chen Shuanghe proved to be an elite combat expert from the police force nonetheless; possessed of exceptional physical conditioning and rich experience, he did not lose his cool despite the shock. With a violent side-step, he dodged the lightning-fast blow.

Liu Jingye did not miss a beat. Seeing his first strike parried, he immediately swung his arm horizontally, bringing the blade around toward Chen Shuanghe's neck.

Crouching to evade the slash, Chen Shuanghe simultaneously threw a ferocious punch aimed at Liu Jingye's wrist, shouting, "Who are you?"

Without answering, Liu Jingye pulled his blade back to dodge the counterattack and seamlessly lashed out with a kick straight at Chen's shin.

Caught off guard, Chen was kicked off balance and stumbled. Liu Jingye immediately closed in, sweeping his arm upward with the blade from bottom to top as if intending to disembowel him.

Chen frantically threw his upper body backward, but Liu Jingye's blade moved at blinding speed, ripping open the front of Chen's shirt. Horrified, Chen—also a combat specialist—could easily tell that Liu's martial skills were extraordinary; the sheer speed of his attacks was leagues beyond ordinary.

"Who on earth are you? Why are you attacking me?" Lying flat on the ground, Chen rolled hastily to the side. Liu Jingye pursued him relentlessly, hacking downward while bent over, the edge of the blade sending a shower of sparks flying as it struck the pavement.

Just as it looked like Liu Jingye was about to slice into Chen's waist, he deliberately feigned a misstep, stumbling slightly to let Chen escape by the skin of his teeth.

Leaping back to his feet with bloodshot eyes, Chen lunged at Liu Jingye to fight for his life, launching an unreserved, all-out offensive.

Though he was a combat champion within the police force and knew a few grappling techniques, to Liu Jingye, it all amounted to nothing more than flashy, superficial moves.

Liu Jingye effortlessly evaded Chen's onslaught, occasionally retaliating with a controlled strike. His technique was calibrated to absolute perfection: enough to land hits without inflicting catastrophic injuries, leaving mostly superficial cuts and scrapes.

Yet, after a vicious bout of fighting, Chen's clothes were shredded into fluttering strips of cloth, and his body was covered in cuts and bleeding freely, though none of the wounds were fatal.

Naturally, this was the result of Liu Jingye showing mercy. To Chen Shuanghe, however, he entirely attributed this to his own prowess, believing that his skills as a combat champion were what had kept him from sustaining fatal injuries under the onslaught of such a formidable master.

Realizing that continuing this way would lead straight to a dead end, Chen relied on a flash of quick thinking at a critical moment and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Help! Murder! Help!"

His piercing, miserable shrieks instantly startled the neighboring residents and the patrolling residential security guards, some of whom began running toward the scene while others shouted about calling the police.

Feigning panic, Liu Jingye hacked wildly at Chen a couple more times to force him back, then turned and bolted. He leaped onto his motorcycle, which had been left idling nearby, and sped away rapidly.

Watching Liu Jingye retreat into the distance, Chen Shuanghe let out a breath as if cheating death, collapsing heavily onto the ground. Covered in blood with wounds covering both arms, he was utterly exhausted.

At that moment, the security guards, neighbors, and his wife all rushed over. Seeing his horrifying state, the crowd was struck dumb with terror, and his wife nearly burst into tears.

"Old Chen, are you alright?" his wife asked anxiously.

Chen shook his head weakly. His wife pressed on, "What on earth happened?"

Lifting his head to see that many curious neighbors were watching, Chen forced a wry smile and said, "I'm a police officer. Fighting crime and arresting criminals is bound to offend evil forces. This was probably some revenge from a case I investigated in the past. It's nothing, everyone can disperse."

"Old Chen, you're hurt pretty badly. Let me call an ambulance for you," a kind-hearted neighbor offered.

Chen immediately shook his head vigorously like a rattle-drum and said, "No, no need. I'll take our own car to our police-exclusive hospital; it'll be faster, and we can handle the injury appraisal and file a report all at once."

Understanding the situation, the crowd dispersed. Supported by his wife, Chen got into the car, covered in blood though his injuries were merely superficial.

"Old Chen, what on earth is going on? Why aren't we going to the hospital?" Chen's wife asked in bewilderment as she got behind the wheel, realizing they were driving toward a familiar, out-of-the-way small clinic instead.

Chen's face was pale, his earlier composure entirely gone, replaced by trembling fear. "Go to the hospital? I'm afraid they'll track us to the ward and finish me off."

"Someone is really trying to kill you?" his wife gasped in shock.

Nodding grimly, Chen gritted his teeth. "The guy's skills were terrifyingly high. I had to risk everything just to barely preserve my life. Ordinary thugs and hoodlums would never have such martial prowess—if he wasn't a professional assassin, he's certainly a notorious hitman from the underworld."

"Then who on earth did you offend? To launch an attack of this scale?"

Chen thought for a moment and said, "Not only have I not offended anyone lately, but I've been risking my neck working my fingers to the bone for someone else's benefit."

"You mean... someone is pulling up the ladder after crossing the bridge, slaughtering the donkey the moment it's done pulling the millstone?" His wife was struck with horror.

"The exact situation isn't clear yet, but the possibility is very high. This matter is of grave importance to them, and they cannot afford the slightest slip-up. After all, the only people who can truly keep a secret are dead ones." Chen was no fool; he instantly grasped the crucial crux of the matter.

"Then what do we do?" his wife panicked. "We just signed the contract! All the doors and windows for ten real estate developments—worth tens of millions! The down payment is already in my account... They wouldn't do this, would they? If this were the case, would they still give us money and do business with us?"

"I'm not sure right now. Maybe it wasn't them, and it really was someone from an old case coming back for revenge." Chen's heart was entirely unsettled. "Will you hurry up and drive? All these cuts are killing me with pain; I'm going to suffer from blood loss at this rate."

Terrified and plagued by anxiety, the couple sped toward the small clinic. They failed to notice that a motorcycle had appeared not far behind them. This time, Liu Jingye was not wearing a helmet. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he looked like an ordinary passerby, save for the chilling, mocking sneer frozen on his face.

The clinic was located in a very remote, shady alleyway—a black-market facility that secretly treated underworld thugs for injuries.

The couple parked the car and walked inside. Liu Jingye silently followed close behind, deftly pried open the fuel tank lid, unscrewed the inner cap to expose the refueling port, and then slipped away to hide patiently in the opposing dark alley.

Chen Shuanghe's wounds were not severe; at most, two cuts required stitches, while the rest simply needed bandaging and hemostasis. Consequently, the two emerged shortly afterward.

Chen looked somewhat frail, and his wife remained jittery and nervous. Standing at the entrance, she pulled out the car's remote control and pressed the unlock button; the vehicle gave a soft chirp in response.

Simultaneously, Liu Jingye drew a handgun from his chest, raised his arm, and fired a single shot. The bullet pierced the fuel tank with absolute precision.

*BOOM...* A tremendous explosion rang out, sending flames soaring into the sky. The roof of the car was blown clean off, and every window shattered instantly.

Scared out of their wits, Chen Shuanghe and his wife tumbled backward onto the ground as flying shards of glass sprayed across their bodies and faces, instantly soaking them in blood...