Chapter 292: Twelve Hours in the Japanese District (3)

Chapter 292: Twelve Hours in the Japanese Zone (III)

Li Jun did not rush to take on the heavy burden but asked in return, "Do you trust me so completely?"

"You know how hard Yan Laoqian has worked to recruit people under his command. What is there to question?" Gui Wang Da laughed heartily.

Li Jun shook his head. "That was Chongqing Prefecture. This is the Japanese Zone."

"Could drive a legitimate imperial prince to death, and yet struggle with a few minor hawks?"

Gui Wang Da patted Li Jun's shoulder solemnly. "To be honest, when we were at Jin Lou, you dared to risk the wrath of collective punishment to avenge Yan Laoqian. Though no one speaks of it openly, no one in the Jinyiwei fails to admire you."

He prodded the sprawled-out Fan Wuji with his toes. "Don't think that since you took office, Xiao Hei has obeyed your every word out of fear of your strength. This kid's pride is sky-high. Try someone else, and see if he still respects them."

"Old ghost, I warn you not to stir up brotherly bonds between me and Jun Ge, ah."

Gui Wang Da smiled and twisted his ankle, crushing Fan Wuji's screams back into his belly.

"And Xiao Bai, if you had chosen to spare the King of Qin at Jin Lou, even if you're now Wu Xu 6, he could slowly trap you within Quanshan City's jurisdiction."

Gui Wang Da's gaze burned like fire. "Deal with the matter, not the person. Help kin, not justice—this is our Hu Su's rule. I believe you are the same kind of man."

Li Jun fell silent for a long time before speaking in a low voice, "I only know how to kill."

"That's all we need as Jinyiwei."

Gui Wang Da laughed loudly, turned toward the Hu Su gate, and in a thick Nan Guo accent, shouted without looking back, "Damn his mother, I'm going to meet those bastards at Qian Husu!"

Soon after, the roar of an engine echoed outside, racing northward.

At that moment, the first floor of Xijiao Hu Su was left with only Li Jun and the Black and White Dual Evil.

"That Gong Qinghong must have already hidden. Whether he's still in Quanshan City is uncertain. Where can we dig him out in twelve hours? Those bastards at Qian Husu!"

Fan Wuji sat on the ground, clutching his disheveled hair, his face troubled.

No one responded. Both Li Jun and Xie Bi'an gazed downward in contemplation.

Fan Wuji was right—they all knew the mastermind behind the 'Jinyiwei Massacre of Civilians' was Li Jun's old acquaintance, Gong Qinghong.

Because before the incident erupted, only he and Hengshi Qiuhe had contact!

Yet knowing who pulled the strings did nothing to help.

After all, though the population of the entire Japanese Zone had plummeted to two or three tenths of its former size after the Longwu Expansion, nearly four hundred thousand sinners still lived in Quanshan City.

To extract the most elusive hawk from such a vast sea of people within a mere twelve hours was no easier than finding a needle in the ocean!

"I still have a high-ranking official from Hengshi Group's Quanshan branch in my grasp. Perhaps I can pry some useful information from him."

"Unlikely."

Fan Wuji shook his head. "As long as Hengshi Qiuhe has any brains, he wouldn't let his underlings know about his alliance with the hawk."

"No matter if it works or not, we have to try now."

Xie Bi'an said firmly, "There's also the firearms left at the scene and the fragments of that Huangliang mainframe..."

"All useless!"

Fan Wuji suddenly leaped up from the ground, his face twisted in rage. "I say, why not just grab that Hengshi Qiuhe brat and toss him into the imperial prison? I don't believe he won't spill the beans!"

"Did you forget to swap your brain when you changed bodies? Why was Old Ghost summoned to Qian Husu? Didn't you see the military dispatch?"

Fan Wuji rasped, "I don't give a damn..."

"Get lost! The military dispatch clearly states: 'Prevent further escalation and swiftly eliminate the adverse effects!'"

Xie Bi'an snapped angrily. "If you forcefully arrest someone now, you'll only invite displeasure from above. And even if we caught Hengshi Qiuhe, what if he claims we tortured him into confessing? Then Old Ghost's situation would only get worse!"

"Then what do you suggest? Just watch Old Ghost take the fall?!"

"I..."

Xie Bi'an's voice caught, and the light in his eyes dimmed. He didn't know where to break through.

The key figure to resolve the crisis stood right before him, yet he was bound hand and foot, unable to draw his blade, forced to watch the other party act with impunity.

This frustration burned through his lungs like flames, consuming all oxygen, while his mouth and nose were sealed shut by unseen hands.

It was a feeling Xie Bi'an had never experienced since becoming a Jinyiwei officer in Quanshan City.

Suddenly, the entire first floor of Xijiao Hu Su fell into deathly silence.

"It seems the only way to move against Hengshi Qiuhe with legitimacy is..."

Taking the Baihu identity token from Gui Wang Da's hand, Li Jun finally spoke.

"Not bad, Jun Ge."

Xie Bi'an kicked over Fan Wuji eagerly. "What way?"

"Smuggling firearms!" Li Jun enunciated each word.

"Your meaning is to use Hengshi Group's arms smuggling charges to go after Hengshi Qiuhe?"

Xie Bi'an's eyes brightened instantly. "This is indeed a solution. As long as we can pin the arms smuggling charges on Hengshi Qiuhe, we can act without hesitation!"

"But, Jun Ge."

After a moment's thought, Xie Bi'an wore a worried expression. "When we arrested Bai Longyin, he forcibly deleted all evidence from his mind. If it weren't for Fan Wuji's quick decapitation, we wouldn't even have the purchase list."

"At this point, they've surely erased all traces and can shift all blame onto Bai Longyin. With the dead unable to speak, we can't act either."

"Your concern, Xie Zongqi, I can help you resolve."

A clear voice suddenly came from outside the door.

The three looked up in unison and saw a thin figure wrapped in moonlight and wind, emerging from the night.

"Yang Bai Ze?"

Seeing that same face, now less childish and more composed, Li Jun couldn't help but exclaim.

In a long blue robe, Yang Bai Ze bowed before Li Jun, then bowed deeply. "It's been a long time."

Fan Wuji's eyes flickered between the two, recognizing friend from foe, and the embroidered spring blade at his side slid back into its sheath.

Xie Bi'an, however, abandoned his usual aloofness, stepping forward quickly, anxious to ask, "Brother, did you say you have a solution?"

"Exactly. The arms smuggling business of Hengshi Group involves someone in the Xuan'ai Office. He must know the details!"

Yang Bai Ze said to Li Jun, "As long as Jun Ge helps me secure my position in the Xuan'ai Office, I'll deliver the person to you!"

Upon hearing this, both Xie Bi'an and Fan Wuji turned to look at Li Jun.

Li Jun gazed at Yang Bai Ze, whose face was haggard yet eyes bright as stars, and asked calmly, "From Chongqing Prefecture?"

"Wind and rain in haste."

"How's your studies?"

"Not enough, Yang Bai Ze smiled with narrowed eyes. "I've only grasped the word 'benevolence.'"

Li Jun smiled too. "Need to catch your breath?"

Yang Bai Ze shook his head. "Like sitting on needles."

"Then I'll send you this official to take office under the stars tonight!"

Two silhouettes, one tall and one short, moved in unison into the moonlight.

This hour, the hour of the Tiger, had arrived.

The night was departing, and the pale dawn was approaching.