"Hmm—"
"You mean one of the parties involved was your man?" Qin Jianguo asked.
Qin Fengwu nodded with a grim expression.
He had originally thought this stratagem would sow discord between Li Tianze and Chen Jin Zhao. To his surprise, two unknown parties had suddenly appeared. Not only had Chen Jin Zhao not been seriously injured, but he had almost gotten himself killed. This infuriated Qin Fengwu.
"Li Tianze must have known I was planning to create a rift, so he decided to play along. I was outmaneuvered in this confrontation," Qin Fengwu said, shaking his head.
Qin Jianguo mused, "Li Tianze is no simple man. I see many fine qualities in him. Coupled with his strong will and cunning, he is definitely your formidable enemy. This time, it was your carelessness that allowed him to exploit your weakness."
"However, this also indicates there is a traitor within your inner circle. You need to investigate yourself."
"Once you find the culprit, deal with them directly."
Qin Jianguo instructed Qin Fengwu hand-in-hand, and the latter nodded in agreement from time to time.
"Grandfather, who do you think that third party was?" Qin Fengwu asked, completely bewildered, still having no clue.
Qin Jianguo hesitated, "Could it be Chen Jin Zhao?"
"Only he would know that you were hosting a banquet here. If Chen Jin Zhao decided to play along with your scheme, it's not impossible."
"This..." Qin Fengwu faltered.
"I always felt that Chen Jin Zhao wasn't that kind of person. He always upholds his so-called justice, seemingly disdainful of such actions."
Qin Jianguo narrowed his eyes, exuding a chilling aura. "Fengwu, you might have been deceived by this Chen Jin Zhao. I have a feeling this person is hiding his true intentions and might be the most ambitious of all. When you and Li Tianze are locked in a death struggle, perhaps Chen Jin Zhao will strike and defeat you both."
"Hiss..."
Qin Fengwu gasped.
He had initially intended to defend Chen Jin Zhao, but upon careful consideration, it wasn't impossible.
If that were the case, Chen Jin Zhao would indeed be a dangerous individual.
"Everyone assumes only Li Tianze and I are vying for the throne, forgetting about Chen Jin Zhao, who is equally capable. If this move was indeed Chen Jin Zhao's doing..." Qin Fengwu's pupils constricted.
This meant Chen Jin Zhao was also a grave threat.
Qin Jianguo said to Qin Fengwu, "You focus on recovering from your injuries. I will investigate this matter and find the mole within your ranks."
"Thank you, Grandfather!"
At the same time.
Li Tianze was leisurely sipping tea in his courtyard. Opposite him sat Cang Long Li Tiannan, the captain of the elite special forces unit of the Capital Garrison. Li Tiannan's phone vibrated a few times, and he then said to Li Tianze, "The operation failed as expected."
"What a shame, we were so close to shooting Qin Fengwu in the heart."
Li Tianze seemed to have anticipated this outcome, calmly stating, "Wasn't this the expected result?"
From the beginning of the operation, neither of them had expected success.
The main reason was the presence of Qin Yi, an ultimate master, by Qin Fengwu's side, which drastically increased the cost of assassinating Qin Fengwu and sharply decreased the probability of success.
Li Tiannan knew this would be the outcome, yet he still felt a tinge of regret. "We could have killed him. It's still a pity, no matter how you look at it."
"By the way, what's Chen Jin Zhao's condition?" Li Tianze asked.
Li Tiannan replied, "He's unharmed. You know his strength."
Li Tianze nodded.
"Regardless, our objective in this operation has been achieved. Qin Fengwu tried to frame me first, but ended up losing both the chicken and the rice. Chen Jin Zhao definitely won't form an alliance with Qin Fengwu. I think we can relax now," he said, his voice trailing off.
However, Li Tiannan added, "Brother, this operation encountered a snag. Besides our forces and Qin Fengwu's men, there was also a third party. They were well-trained and no less capable than our own men. The shot that hit Qin Fengwu was fired by this third party."
"Huh?"
Li Tianze frowned.
There was a third party involved in this confrontation with Qin Fengwu?
Who could it be?
"Do you know their origin?" he asked.
Li Tiannan shook his head. "Not yet. Who else would want Qin Fengwu dead?"
Li Tianze pondered for a moment, then cast a meaningful glance at Li Tiannan. "Tell me, could it be Chen Jin Zhao?"
"It's impossible," Li Tiannan said, shaking his head directly.
As soon as he spoke, Li Tiannan's expression suddenly froze. He had clearly thought of something. "Big brother, are you suggesting Chen Jin Zhao also wants a piece of the pie?"
Li Tianze smiled without answering, but his smile had turned cold.
Li Tiannan also fell into thought.
...
Five kilometers away from Jingyuan, in the city, a middle-aged man made a phone call and got straight to the point, "The operation failed. We didn't hit Qin Fengwu in the heart."
"A pity," came a hoarse voice from the other end of the line.
"What should I do next?" the middle-aged man asked.
The elder thought for a moment and then said, "Return for now. There will be other opportunities. Don't rush."
"Understood!"
...
Chen Jin Zhao left Jingyuan.
He was unaware at this moment that he was being suspected by both Qin Fengwu and Li Tianze.
If he knew, he would certainly protest loudly.
Because he had no idea about any of this, nor would he employ such tactics against others. He would simply kill his opponent head-on.
This was not Chen Jin Zhao's style.
Returning home, Yu Meng Zhi had already prepared dinner. Chen Jin Zhao glanced around and asked, "Did someone visit this afternoon?"
"Yes, Yao Yao came over. We went to the temple," Yu Meng Zhi replied.
"Oh, right."
"This is a Buddha pendant we got from the temple. Remember to wear it. The Buddha will bring you good luck."
Saying that, Yu Meng Zhi took out a box and handed it to Chen Jin Zhao.
When the box was opened, a Buddha pendant carved from fine jade lay inside. Chen Jin Zhao took it and played with it for a moment, smiling, "What kind of jade is this Buddha pendant carved from? I feel a peculiar sensation."
"Do you?" Yu Meng Zhi looked dubious.
She took the jade, examined it for a moment, and returned it to Chen Jin Zhao. "Perhaps it's your imagination. I don't feel anything. But this is a Buddhist blessing obtained from the temple. I hope it will protect you and keep you safe, so you must wear it."
At Yu Meng Zhi's strong insistence, Chen Jin Zhao had no choice but to put on the Buddha pendant on the spot, otherwise Yu Meng Zhi would surely not let him off.
After wearing it for a while, Chen Jin Zhao felt another unusual sensation.
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt warm all over after wearing the Buddha pendant, making him feel refreshed and invigorated.
When he carefully observed, he found nothing out of the ordinary.
Finally, he attributed it to his own imagination.
What Chen Jin Zhao did not know was that as soon as he put on the Buddha pendant, a fleeting look of confusion flickered in Yu Meng Zhi's eyes as she sat opposite him.
A moment later.
They both acted as if nothing had happened.