Chapter 40 Dog Jumps Over the Wall in Desperation, Sacrificing a Rook to Save the King
It was ten o'clock at night. A massive dark cloud stretched across the sky, blocking out the moonlight and starlight. A fierce wind howled, carrying with it raindrops, and a storm seemed imminent.
Under the cover of darkness, Guo Lu, carrying Qin Xiaozhi in one hand, arrived at Villa Number 9 in the affluent district, not far from Su Jiang Ancient City.
Over a dozen burly men in black, armed with guns, were scattered around the villa like scattered beans. They were all subordinates of Wu Guang, the overlord of Su Jiang's underworld.
In addition to these dozen men, there were three martial artists in the courtyard, with strengths ranging from five-star to six-star. They had all been brought from Jinling by Qiao Lin.
“Master Guo.”
The three martial artists bowed in a martial arts greeting to Guo Lu as they saw him appear in the courtyard with Qin Xiaozhi in his grasp.
Qiao Tianba, the overlord of the Jiangnan underworld, had recruited a total of six martial artists, with Guo Lu ranking second in strength. He was highly respected within Qiao Tianba's forces.
Guo Lu merely nodded, then, carrying Qin Xiaozhi, he walked into the villa's main building.
In the villa's living room, only Qiao Lin and Wu Guang were present. The former was grimly smoking a cigar, while the latter was pacing like an ant on a hot pan.
“Young Master Qiao, I’ve brought Qin Xiaozhi back!”
Guo Lu entered the villa’s living room and, as if discarding trash, threw Qin Xiaozhi onto the ground.
Qin Xiaozhi’s head struck the floor with a muffled thud, sending a sharp pain through him and waking him from his unconsciousness. However, he kept his eyes closed, continuing to feign unconsciousness.
“Whoosh…”
On the sofa, Qiao Lin heard Guo Lu’s words. He glanced at Qin Xiaozhi, confirmed that Guo Lu had not brought the wrong person, and let out a sigh of relief. He then said, “Uncle Guo, thank you for your hard work.”
“Young Master Qiao, has that woman named Su Shiyun been caught?”
Guo Lu asked with some unease.
Because of the existence of Su Shiyun, the witness, Qin Xiaozhi was like a hot potato, difficult to handle.
“Uncle Guo, we have dispatched people to apprehend her!”
Qiao Lin first answered Guo Lu, then cursed, “That bitch is cunning. She actually chose to abandon the vehicle and flee. But I’ve had someone track her mobile phone; she can’t escape my grasp!”
“Ding—”
As soon as Qiao Lin finished speaking, his phone rang.
“It must be that bitch that’s been caught.”
Qiao Lin smiled confidently at the sound and then picked up his phone, pressing the answer button. He said, “Bring that bitch to the villa!”
“Qiao… Young Master Qiao, we haven’t caught the person…”
On the other end of the phone, several fierce-looking men had the taxi that Su Shiyun had been in surrounded. The taxi driver was paralyzed with fear, and the leading man, holding Su Shiyun’s phone, wore a look of terror.
“What… What did you say?”
Startled by the words of Wu Guang’s subordinate, Qiao Lin exclaimed in surprise.
“Young Master Qiao, we found the located phone in a taxi. We confirmed it was Su Shiyun’s, but Su Shiyun wasn’t in the car…”
The man said with a look of utter disbelief.
“Damn it, you bunch of useless fools!”
Qiao Lin recovered from his shock, his face turning grim.
“Young Master Qiao, this shouldn’t be an accident. According to the taxi driver, that woman wasn’t panicked at all when she got off the car. She should have strong counter-surveillance awareness and deliberately left her phone in the taxi to mislead us…”
“Shut up!!”
Qiao Lin was furious.
Just moments ago, he had boasted to Guo Lu that Su Shiyun could not escape his grasp, and now he had received news that Su Shiyun had not been caught.
This was like a silent slap in his face, leaving him nowhere to hide his shame!
“Young Master Qiao, what do we do next?” the leading man on the phone asked, fearfully.
Although he knew that not catching Su Shiyun was not his fault or his subordinates’ fault, he was worried that Qiao Lin would vent his anger on him, hence his attempt to salvage the situation.
“Await my orders!”
Qiao Lin’s thoughts were in disarray. He didn’t know where to find Su Shiyun, so he said in a low voice and hung up the phone directly.
“Young Master Qiao, that woman wasn’t caught. How should we deal with him?”
As a seven-star martial artist, Guo Lu’s hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people. He had heard every word of Qiao Lin’s conversation with Wu Guang’s subordinate. He pointed at Qin Xiaozhi with unease and asked.
Yes!
At this moment, his heart was filled with anxiety!
He and the other five martial artists were recruited by Qiao Tianba. Although it seemed like a subordinate relationship, it was bound by mutual benefit—Qiao Tianba provided them with cultivation resources for martial artists, and they worked and risked their lives for Qiao Tianba.
Therefore, even if he had failed to abduct Su Shiyun, he was not worried that Qiao Tianba would do anything to him. However, he was worried that Su Shiyun would inform the Qin family about his actions against Qin Xiaozhi.
If that happened, he would have to face the wrath of the Qin family!
“I’ll ask my father.”
Qiao Lin said, taking his phone upstairs.
Although he knew why Qiao Tianba had agreed to let him retaliate against Su Shiyun after knowing that Qin Xiaozhi had helped Su Shiyun, Qiao Tianba had not instructed him to take action against Qin Xiaozhi!
Five minutes later, Qiao Lin returned downstairs with his phone.
“What did Master Qiao say?”
Guo Lu, seeing Qiao Lin return to the living room, asked impatiently.
“Kill him!”
Qiao Lin pointed at Qin Xiaozhi with a sinister expression.
“Ah—”
Perhaps not expecting Qiao Tianba to issue such an order, Guo Lu and Wu Guang were both stunned. Then Guo Lu asked with disbelief, “Did Master Qiao really say that? You know, he is a descendant of the Qin family. What if the Qin family retaliates against us if we kill him?”
“He is a deserter and a wanted criminal of the Dragon Country Martial Department. Even if you kill him, the Qin family won’t do anything to you. Otherwise, it would be using public office for private gain and taking the lead in violating the regulations of the Martial Department, which would allow their hostile forces to find fault. The Qin family will not take such a big risk for a discarded pawn!”
Qiao Lin relayed Qiao Tianba’s words to Guo Lu verbatim.
This time, Guo Lu remained silent, his expression shifting between confidence and doubt.
“The Qin family may not openly violate the Martial Department’s regulations to deal with you for my sake, but the hatred of a parent for their slain child is irreconcilable. My father will definitely take action to kill you in secret!”
As Guo Lu remained silent, Qin Xiaozhi, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes and said in a deep voice.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Startled by Qin Xiaozhi’s words and seeing him wake up, Qiao Lin, Wu Guang, and Guo Lu all changed their expressions.
Among them, Qiao Lin and Wu Guang were surprised that Qin Xiaozhi had woken up so suddenly, while Guo Lu was concerned by Qin Xiaozhi’s words—he was also worried about this!
“Your father is sacrificing a rook to save the king. You are the discarded rook. And you are a seven-star martial artist; where can’t you survive? Why risk your life to kill someone with whom you have no enmity?”
Qin Xiaozhi, seeing the change in Guo Lu’s expression, spoke again.
Whoosh!
Upon hearing this, Guo Lu’s expression grew even uglier, and he began to hesitate.
“Uncle Guo, don’t listen to his nonsense. My father would never abandon you! If you are not at ease, you can leave the Dragon Country. My father has overseas businesses, and you can go there to be in charge. You won’t lack cultivation resources—these are my father’s exact words. You can call him yourself.”
Qiao Lin saw Guo Lu’s hesitation and said, “But if we don’t kill him, he will definitely seek revenge on all of us!”
Hearing Qiao Lin’s words, the hesitation on Guo Lu’s face vanished instantly.
Because he also believed that if Qin Xiaozhi were allowed to leave, Qin Xiaozhi would definitely seek revenge.
He was now like an arrow drawn on a bowstring, with no choice but to shoot.
“Young Master Qiao, I will subdue him, and you can kill him.”
After regaining his composure, Guo Lu said to Qiao Lin, not making a move against Qin Xiaozhi immediately.
“Uncle Guo, you don’t trust me? Or you don’t trust my father?”
Qiao Lin’s expression changed.
Just as Qin Xiaozhi had said, Qiao Tianba had instructed Guo Lu to kill Qin Xiaozhi, making the worst-case scenario plan. Once exposed, he would sacrifice the rook to save the king, making Guo Lu the scapegoat!
“It’s not that I don’t trust Master Qiao, but I want to be sure that we are in this together,” Guo Lu replied sternly, his expression firm.
“Alright!”
Seeing Guo Lu’s firm expression, Qiao Lin knew Guo Lu had made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and decided to kill Qin Xiaozhi himself.
Whoosh!
Upon hearing this, Guo Lu stopped talking nonsense. His body flashed, and he instantly appeared in front of Qin Xiaozhi, stepping on his back to prevent him from moving.
Qiao Lin drew a dagger from his waist and walked towards Qin Xiaozhi.
At this moment, Qin Xiaozhi was like a fish on a chopping board, at Qiao Lin’s mercy!