"Chonglou!"
Lin Ying and Ning Lang cried out at the same time.
The next second, Jiang Yuxin rushed out of the room, her beautiful eyes bloodshot, tears glistening as she looked at her husband, who was covered in injuries.
She wanted to speak but found her throat blocked as if by something, only able to sob silently.
Li Chonglou managed a smile. "I'm fine. The people outside have all been dealt with."
Only then did Grandpa Zhou's pupils contract sharply, revealing an expression of disbelief. "What did you say?"
"I said that all the lackeys you brought are gone. Now it's just you. What are you being so arrogant for?" Li Chonglou strode towards him. "But don't worry, none of them are dead. I don't kill soldiers who protect the country!"
His every movement disregarded the blood dripping from his body.
This scene caused those present to feel as if their hearts were being twisted.
Lin Ying and Jiang Yuxin rushed forward, wanting to help him bandage his wounds.
Li Chonglou did not dodge, allowing them to tear at the tattered cloth on his body and tend to his wounds.
He looked quietly at Grandpa Zhou, their eyes meeting, and invisible sparks flew.
It was like an unseen war.
"You are Li Chonglou?" Grandpa Zhou finally asked in a cold voice.
Before coming, the intelligence system had thoroughly investigated all the events.
Including Li Chonglou's instigation of Tu Hong, leading him to kill his father.
Naturally, he knew Li Chonglou's appearance, characteristics, and family background like the back of his hand.
On the way, he had been wondering how a mere third-rate family's live-in son-in-law, a native of Qin Province, who came from abject poverty, had managed to rise through the ranks by understanding antique appraisal.
He had even come to Yong'an and killed the overlord, Old Ghost, who had dominated the city for over a decade.
If his subordinates hadn't investigated so thoroughly, he would have thought he was watching some kind of absurd heroic film.
The real world was even more bizarre than movies.
Now, seeing Li Chonglou in person, he finally understood that this was indeed possible.
From his thin frame emanated a killing intent and fierceness no weaker than his own.
The twelve bodyguards he had brought had been silently dealt with, all by himself.
He knew that those were soldiers who had undergone brutal professional training and had been on the battlefield.
Even he himself might not have been able to do as well as Li Chonglou.
"You ask what you already know. You investigated me thoroughly before you came." Li Chonglou, after the two women finished bandaging him, sat down in Lin Ying's previous seat, opposite Grandpa Zhou.
He then continued, "Old Ghost was killed by me, and he had to be killed."
"If I hadn't killed him, my family and I would have been doomed. Heaven's calamities can be forgiven, but self-inflicted ones cannot."
"After killing him, I was waiting for you. I didn't expect you to be so late."
"Speak. What do you want as an explanation? Other than my life, you can ask for anything else."
" I have always believed that not everything in this world is black and white."
The wisdom of the ancients was called the Doctrine of the Mean.
This Mean, some fools misunderstood it as mediocrity and incompetence.
A grave mistake.
The Mean refers to acting with proportion, being neither biased nor extreme, and grasping the degree of everything.
Live when you should live, kill when you should kill!
Antiques are the same, so everything he did had its own proper measure.
With a clear conscience, he feared no one.
Li Chonglou's demeanor and courage greatly surprised Grandpa Zhou.
Such a person, if placed on the battlefield, might become a general deeply hated by enemy nations.
He was too similar to his elder when he was young.
Unfortunately, they were adversaries.
He could not be allowed to live, or he would surely become a scourge in the future.
Grandpa Zhou's killing intent surged in his eyes, thick as substance. He suddenly reached for his waist.
"If you want my life, you'll die first, believe it or not?" Li Chonglou suddenly stood up, hunched over. The moment Grandpa Zhou reached for his pistol, his head was already in front of Grandpa Zhou.
A three-edged bayonet, stained with blood, emerged from his palm, pressed against Grandpa Zhou's throat.
"Chonglou..." Jiang Yuxin called out softly.
But she was immediately stopped by Lin Ying.
Ning Lang was already dumbfounded, unable to utter a sound.
He finally saw how formidable the brother he admired truly was.
Facing Grandpa Zhou, he was calm and composed, and every word he spoke was irrefutable.
He even threatened Grandpa Zhou in return.
Audacious to the extreme!
But it made people feel exhilarating from head to toe.
He did what I wanted to do but dared not do. Brother... you're awesome!
Ning Lang shouted in his heart.
"If you kill me, not a single member of your family will survive." Grandpa Zhou showed no signs of tension; instead, his smile widened.
He did not believe Li Chonglou would dare to act.
"I'm not sick, nor am I a mad killer. You and I have no enmity. Why would I kill you?" Li Chonglou smiled charmingly. "However, if you continue to pester me, seeking justice for that scumbag Old Ghost."
"Then I really wouldn't mind sending you on your way."
"After killing you, I will become a fugitive and then find a way to take revenge on the person behind you."
"You know the saying that it's easier to dodge an open spear than a hidden arrow. As long as I'm alive, I will find a way to make his entire family pay."
"Do you believe I can do it?"
His tone was as if he were joking with a friend, and the smile on his face was genuine.
But these words, falling into Grandpa Zhou's ears, were like a basin of ice water poured over him, completely extinguishing his killing intent.
He believed it, of course, he believed it. How could he not?
Looking at Li Chonglou's journey so far, fraught with thorns, he knew that this person was not just a man of words.
And those few words just now were a perfect reflection of the elder's youth.
Hadn't he come this way himself?
With his own strength, he had destroyed his powerful adversaries and eventually ascended to power, becoming a miracle.
He had already witnessed the birth of one miracle and did not wish to witness another.
Because that process would inevitably involve rivers of blood and fields littered with corpses.
In this peaceful era, such events could no longer be allowed to happen.
"I will relay your words to him, word for word," Grandpa Zhou's tone softened slightly. "As for whether you live or die, that will be decided by him.
"Today, you have won."
"In my life, Zhou Changyu, I have encountered countless enemies, and I am willing to call you a worthy opponent."
"Take care of yourself!"
"I hope you live to see us meet again."
With that, he stood up and left, ignoring the tip of the knife pressed against his throat.
Outside Ning's residence, Zhang Dongxu was dragging the unconscious plainclothes guards, piling them up, sweat beading on his forehead.
Seeing Zhou Changyu emerge, he let out a yelp and jumped several meters away.
"It seems I need to increase the training intensity when I get back. A bunch of useless sheep!" Zhou Changyu looked at his subordinates with disappointment and shook his head.
He walked up to one of them and kicked him heavily, waking him up in pain.
"Commander... Zhou..."
"What commander? Wake them up and let's go back!" Zhou Changyu kicked him again.
The motorcade drove away.
Inside the courtyard, Li Chonglou collapsed onto the ground, like a puddle of mud.
Jiang Yuxin, hugging him, couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Don't cry. Don't let my mother see, or her heart won't be able to take it." Li Chonglou raised his hand with difficulty, wiping away his wife's tears, and said softly.
Lin Ying remained silent, looking at her junior disciple.
With her eyesight, how could she not see that he had been forcing himself to hold on?
The twelve plainclothes guards outside the door were all skilled, and they were armed.
Even she couldn't imagine how Li Chonglou had silently dealt with these twelve people without killing them.
Exhaustion was the best outcome.
That he was still alive was a great fortune.
And he had even managed to scare away Zhou Changyu. This junior disciple of hers seemed to have undergone a transformation, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, reaching a level that even she marveled at.
"Sister-in-law, let me," Ning Lang bent down, picked up Li Chonglou, and carried him into his room.
Jiang Yuxin wanted to follow but was gently stopped by Lin Ying. "They probably have a lot to say now. Let's tidy up the courtyard."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuxin nodded obediently.
From the bottom of her heart, she admired her senior sister. If she hadn't been there, Li Chonglou might not have had a chance to return.
The two women cleaned up the broken teacups and the tabletop.
Inside the room, Li Chonglou lay on the bed, and Ning Lang brought the medical kit to help him bandage his wounds.
He also replaced the gauze on his leg.
"Chonglou, what are your plans next?" Ning Lang asked as he changed the bandages.
"Take it one step at a time. Sometimes, looking too far ahead isn't wisdom; it can lead to unnecessary worry," Li Chonglou said with a relaxed tone.
It's better to be prepared for a thief who steals than for one who keeps an eye on you.
Before Grandpa Zhou arrived, he had indeed been somewhat anxious.
After all, the unknown was the most terrifying.
But since his return, after meeting Grandpa Zhou, his fear had vanished.
The stubbornness accumulated over decades surged in his mind. To hell with it, whatever happens, happens.
"Grandpa Zhou is just a subordinate of that person. You must have realized that even if he wanted to flatten me here, it would be easy," Ning Lang said, his tone heavy. "Now that he has retreated in defeat, he will not just let it go."
"I can't imagine what that important figure will decide."
"But I know your personality won't allow you to evade."
"I am alone, so I really don't have much to fear."
"However, it's better to be prepared early."
Li Chonglou nodded at his words. "You're right. One must have value. Only by demonstrating irreplaceable value can one be taken seriously."
"What was Old Ghost's relationship with them? Tell me."
Li Chonglou hadn't returned when Zhou Changyu spoke to Lin Ying.
So he didn't know their relationship.
Ning Lang explained it all, and Li Chonglou finally understood.
So, he was a benefactor. The most correct thing Old Ghost, such a scumbag, had done in his life was to attach himself to this powerful figure.
Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to enjoy it.
"If it were something else, I could find a way, but when it comes to grudges and loyalty, it depends on the magnanimity of that important figure," Li Chonglou said after listening. "The current plan is for you, Brother Ning, to unify the underground forces of Yong'an as soon as possible. On one hand, this will prevent those ruffians from causing trouble during the chaos."
"Secondly, it will show that important figure your capabilities and value, giving us at least an extra bargaining chip."
"For the rest, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."
"Thinking too much about other things is useless."
Ning Lang agreed wholeheartedly. Li Chonglou's words were precisely what he wanted to say.
They were not gods; they could not predict what would happen next. Their only recourse was to be prepared.
They hoped that the important figure would give them a chance to negotiate.
As for Li Chonglou, he felt no burden in his heart. Instead, he was thinking about how he had failed to disguise himself today and had to meet Li Hanlong tomorrow.
What should he do?