The hospital ward was brightly lit as night fell over Xinhe Bone and Joint Hospital.
Wu Laizi lay on the hospital bed, his arms encased in plaster casts, feeling helpless. Two young men kept him company.
With both arms broken, he needed to be fed, which made Wu Laizi extremely irritable.
“Shuangshuang, how did Brother Gui’s talks with Yu Feng go?”
“I heard they fell apart. Yu Feng doesn’t want to give up any of her family’s projects.”
Although Shuangshuang was a brother brought from the lake district by Old Gui, he didn’t know the specifics.
“Then let her pay! At least five hundred thousand. Otherwise, I won’t sign the letter of understanding for Yang Jian. I’ve never suffered such a loss in my life. I must get revenge. I don’t believe Yang Jian, no matter how capable, can protect his family?”
Wu Laizi had developed a phobia of Yang Jian’s martial arts, considering himself no match for him, yet he was unwilling to be bullied like this.
“Fifth Brother, Yang Jian’s sister’s convenience store was rammed by a car last night and almost killed her entire family of four. We don’t know who did it.”
“Really? Could it be that Brother Gui arranged for someone to do it?”
“No, Brother Gui even asked me this morning. He thought you sent people to do it. After knowing it wasn’t you, he suspected someone was stirring up trouble, deliberately escalating the conflict between us and Yang Jian.”
“That makes sense. We are negotiating with Yu Feng, and to increase our leverage, it would seem reasonable for me to take action against Yang Jian’s family. Regardless of whether the negotiation is successful, Yang Jian will definitely seek revenge when he gets out. Someone is plotting against us. Did Brother Gui suspect anyone?”
Wu Laizi, though rough, quickly grasped the essence of the situation.
Shuangshuang shook his head, “We’ve offended too many people. I can’t guess who did this.”
As they were talking, they heard a knock on the door.
Another young man got up, pulled back the curtain of the glass window, took a look outside, and saw a doctor wearing a white cap, mask, and white coat. He then opened the door.
The doctor was also wearing glasses. Since his mask covered his entire face, Shuangshuang didn’t recognize him, but it was clearly not Wu Laizi’s attending physician.
“Doctor, coming for rounds so late?”
Shuangshuang felt something was off. The doctor shouldn’t be coming at this hour.
The doctor remained silent. Suddenly, he threw the medical record card in his hand at Shuangshuang’s face, then kicked him in the stomach. Before the young man beside him could react, an elbow strike landed on his face, sending him falling backward.
Wu Laizi knew this was aimed at him. Ignoring the pain in his arms, he rolled off the bed towards the inside of the ward and shouted loudly, “Help! Murder!”
However, there was no escape route in the room. The killer in the white coat had already pulled out a cleaver from his embrace and charged forward, swinging it.
Unable to use his hands effectively, Wu Laizi could only try to kick the attacker. But a single slash landed on his leg, and he immediately collapsed to the ground.
The killer then slashed his buttocks and thighs twice before turning to leave.
By this time, Shuangshuang and the other young man had also drawn their pre-prepared cleavers. But seeing the killer’s murderous aura and fierce eyes, they dared not intervene, watching him leave calmly.
Outside the hospital, Lu Feng, who had shed his white coat, jumped onto a black scooter that had been waiting for him. Liangliang, wearing a helmet, was driving. With a roar, they quickly disappeared into the night.
“Brother Feng, how did it go?”
At the entrance of Teacher’s Village, Lu Feng sat in the Volkswagen car driven by Biao Biao. Seeing that he was unharmed, Biao Biao inquired about the success of the operation.
“I cut him three times. That should keep him in the hospital for another two to three months.”
“You didn’t kill him, did you?”
Lu Feng chuckled, “Don’t worry, I have plenty of experience in cutting people. I’ve ensured he’s injured but not fatally. Wu Laizi probably won’t be so arrogant anymore.”
Biao Biao gave him a thumbs-up, “Brother Feng, you’re just like Brother Jian. Bold and meticulous, ruthless in your actions. With the two of you joining forces, no one in the city can stop you.”
“I’m far inferior to my master. He dared to touch Liu Ming, but I wouldn’t. This operation today is my pledge of allegiance to my master. I’ll follow him from now on.”
“We’ve also decided to follow him wholeheartedly. But today’s incident will anger Old Gui. He’ll definitely suspect us. What should we do?”
Liangliang voiced his concern.
Lu Feng thought for a moment and said, “It’s fine. I’m much taller than you guys, so they won’t suspect you. For the time being, stay at Sister Hui’s place and don’t go anywhere. Take turns on guard duty at night to prevent further attacks.”
Glancing at the time, it was almost eight o’clock. Lu Feng gave a few instructions and then got out of the car to go home.
News of Wu Laizi being attacked again in the hospital spread throughout the underworld of the city the next day. Such retaliatory measures were common in the city’s criminal circles.
One scenario was when the injured person had offended too many people, and those with grudges took advantage of his weakened state to retaliate, reducing the risk.
Another scenario was when the attacker followed up with another strike, aiming to break the victim’s will. This was considered psychological warfare. Such a follow-up attack would extinguish any desire for revenge, conveying the message that no matter where you are, your life can be taken at any moment.
Upon hearing this news, Yu Feng immediately rushed to the repair shop and called Biao Biao outside separately.
“Biao Biao, tell me the truth. Did you guys attack Wu Laizi again?”
“Yes, Brother Feng did it. We were on standby outside.”
Biao Biao did not hide anything from Yu Feng. They were on the same boat. Telling her the truth had an advantage: if anything went wrong, she could provide timely assistance.
“Who is Brother Feng?”
“He’s the disciple Yang Jian took in while he was in the detention center. He just got out yesterday. When he heard Sister Hui’s house was hit, he came to us to plan and carry out this attack. He’s very capable. He went in alone, even though Wu Laizi had protection. I think he’s similar to Brother Jian. Although he’s a bit shorter than Brother Jian, he’s more robust, clearly trained.”
Yu Feng was a bit surprised, “Really? Yang Jian actually took a disciple? Where is he now?”
“He’s gone home. He said he’ll wait for Brother Jian to get out. Oh, and he also said that Brother Jian promised to introduce him to a job at your company after he gets out.”
“Is that true? That’s great! Can you arrange for me to meet him? Tell him I want to interview him.”
With her company coveted by Old Gui, Yu Feng desperately needed ruthless individuals like Yang Jian to join her. This Lu Feng, who dared to break into the hospital alone to attack Wu Laizi, was also a ruthless person, and the fact that he recognized Yang Jian as his master made him even easier to recruit.
“Let’s go to his residential complex. He promised his parents he wouldn’t leave the house during this period and would completely cut ties with his former associates. He’ll follow Brother Jian when he gets out. Attacking Wu Laizi was his pledge of allegiance to Brother Jian.”
Biao Biao felt a bit envious of Lu Feng’s importance to Yu Feng. His future development would be much better than theirs.