Chapter 17 The Dragon City Rises

The Dragon City, Yu Mingyuan's villa.

Yu Mingyuan sat on the second-floor balcony, enjoying the breeze and smoking a cigarette.

His gaze was deep as he looked into the distance. Rain fell outside, sliding down the glass canopy above and into the courtyard below.

The balcony door behind him suddenly opened, and Zhou Tonghui strode in.

"Mingyuan, you wanted to see me?"

Zhou Tonghui sat directly in the chair opposite Yu Mingyuan, then patted the raindrops off his coat. "This rain came out of nowhere."

"Xiao Yu contacted me," Yu Mingyuan said, withdrawing his gaze. He picked up his cigarette case, took out a cigarette, and offered it to Zhou Tonghui. "It's confirmed. That Zhao Yan is with the Central Bureau."

Zhou Tonghui reached out and took the cigarette. "So Huo Dongsheng is secretly meeting with people from the Central Bureau. Does he have ideas?"

Yu Mingyuan frowned. "He definitely has ideas… but the specifics are only known to them… I think there's a lot of room for maneuvering here."

"How so?" Zhou Tonghui asked, lighting his cigarette and looking at Yu Mingyuan.

Yu Mingyuan didn't answer immediately. He slowly stood up, cigarette in his mouth, and paced back and forth on the balcony, thinking as he spoke. "Look, why did he only bring his direct subordinates to meet with Zhao Yan? And Zhao Yan is dead, but the police didn't release any information about him? Huo Dongsheng must have found a way to cover it up; he doesn't want anyone to know about this meeting. So, who is he trying to hide it from?"

"The Wang family faction?" Zhou Tonghui asked, frowning.

"Exactly!" Yu Mingyuan nodded, turned around, and said to Zhou Tonghui, "Huo Dongsheng's actions are giving us a lot of information. Bringing his direct subordinates, hiding Zhao Yan's death, deliberately suppressing the matter—these instinctive reactions all show a clear sense of factionalism. I think that invisible, intangible wall within the Huagong Society is starting to show cracks."

Zhou Tonghui stubbed out his cigarette. "That makes sense."

Yu Mingyuan lowered his head and pondered for a while.

About five or six minutes later, he looked up and instructed Zhou Tonghui, "Here's what I want you to do. Find a way for Zhiyang to meet with someone from the prison."

"Hmm…" Zhou Tonghui thought for a moment, then asked, "Wouldn't it be better to have the Quan Tong Bureau handle this? After all, their channels in that area are much stronger than ours."

"No!" Yu Mingyuan waved his hand. "Don't let Xiao Yu handle this… if he finds out… he definitely won't agree."

Zhou Tonghui looked at Yu Mingyuan. The two men were silent for a moment, then Zhou Tonghui nodded. "Okay, I'll take care of it."

Zhou Tonghui was about to get up and leave when Yu Mingyuan suddenly seemed to remember something and called out, "Hey, wait a minute, Tonghui."

Yu Mingyuan added, "Have Zhiyang figure out his own way… no, forget it. Have him use his old Qing Yi Bureau connections to meet with the prison people. Absolutely don't use our connections, and try not to use any social connections either, understand?"

"I understand what you mean," Zhou Tonghui nodded. "I'll go find him."

"Okay, thanks for your trouble."

Zhou Tonghui left, and Yu Mingyuan stood up again, slowly walking to the edge of the balcony, a fleeting hesitation rising in his heart.

…

St. Paul, a high-end private hospital.

In a double room, Huang Peishan and Dong Ke, dressed in a hospital gown, sat at a small table next to the bed. On the table was a small bottle of baijiu (white liquor) and four plates of seafood. Huang Peishan was chewing on salt and pepper mantis shrimp. Dong Ke sat opposite him, gently holding his swollen cheek, looking worried.

Behind them on the other bed, Liu Tao lay in a daze, his crotch wrapped in thick bandages. He couldn't even put on pants and had to cover his hairy legs with a small blanket. He was on a drip, mumbling, clearly still uncomfortable.

"Lao Huang… do you think… I should… go to a temple and pray…?"

Dong Ke said indistinctly, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth with a towel. Half his teeth were gone, and Lao Dong's lips and gums were swollen as if they were stuffed with sausages.

Lao Huang said, chewing on the mantis shrimp, "You still believe in that stuff?"

"I just… want to get rid of bad luck…" Dong Ke's old face looked a little silly. "I've been… a bit… jinxed lately."

"Alright," Huang Peishan spat the shrimp shell on the ground. "In a few days, I'll introduce you to a master who charges 50,000 a visit."

"I heard that person is… from the Qing Yi Bureau…" Dong Ke wiped away another mouthful of saliva. "Is that… confirmed?"

"What? Speak clearly." It was difficult for Dong Ke to speak now, and it was difficult for Huang Peishan to hear.

"I… said… the person is from the Qing Yi Bureau… is that confirmed?" Dong Ke had to lengthen each syllable to try and make himself clearer.

"Confirmed," Huang Peishan finally understood and nodded. "But he was fired a year ago, though we don't know why. That kind of information is confidential within the Qing Yi Bureau, and my people can't access it…"

Huang Peishan put down the mantis shrimp, couldn't help frowning, and whispered, "Lao Dong, you asked me to investigate this… where am I supposed to start? I'm more stressed than anyone, so I can only come here to vent with you guys."

Dong Ke nodded, covering his cheek, and didn't say anything. Liu Tao, lying next to him, also groaned a couple of times, as if agreeing with Huang Peishan.

Huang Peishan sighed and picked up another mantis shrimp. "We can't find this person now, but if we can find him, we'll understand why the Qing Yi Bureau is trying to kill us…"

A hint of bewilderment showed in Huang Peishan's eyes. "But I don't understand why the Qing Yi Bureau wants to kill us? We haven't even taken a clear stance yet; shouldn't they be trying to win us over?"

"Something is strange," Dong Ke drawled. "Anyway… hurry up and investigate, I'll… also find people to help you investigate. I have… some hidden contacts in the First District."

"Okay, let's get the three musketeers of the Huagong Society working together to figure this out," Huang Peishan picked up his wine glass and casually suggested, "Want some?! It's fiery!"

Dong Ke, drooling, hurriedly shouted, "I—can't—handle it, it's already too fiery!"

"Come on, give me some," Lao Liu opened his eyes from the side. "I'm actually a little hungry."

"It's very spicy, can your downstairs handle it?" Huang Peishan asked with concern.

"I'm not fucking eating it with my crotch… what's there to handle?" Lao Liu sat up, holding the edge of the bed. "Move the table closer."

"Here, have some caviar to nourish yourself!" Huang Peishan moved the table over.

"??!"

Lao Liu lay on the bed with his legs splayed, squinting at Lao Huang as he replied, "Is that the same thing? Just blindly nourishing me, don't get me pregnant!"