"Naturally, that young fellow Chang Wei can't boss an old man like me around."
Lin Gerui gave a faint smile. "So, are you planning to put up a last-ditch struggle?"
Lin Gerui knew what the other party intended to do just by looking at his movements, but he didn't panic. Instead, he calmly put away his fishing rod and began to wind the line. At this moment, Cheng Kun, standing not far away, recalled various rumors he had heard in Lungmen, and a sudden realization struck him. He looked at Lin Gerui and snorted coldly.
"I originally thought the underground emperor of Lungmen was some majestic figure, but it turns out you're just a dog kept by Wei Yenwu."
To his surprise, Lin Gerui wasn't angry at all. He didn't even raise an eyebrow, focused intently on winding his fishing line. "I've worked with Wei Yenwu for decades. What kind of insults haven't I heard? Yours is too weak. Got anything sharper? Say something that can actually make me angry. At least if I'm angry, you'll die a bit more quickly."
Cheng Kun had already shifted several steps, his feet stepping into a nearby pile of sand and gravel. He suddenly exerted force, preparing to flee. But in an instant, he felt something wrong beneath his feet. The pile of sand and gravel clung to his legs like mud, and he was slowly being pulled down.
"Help! Help! Old man, Chief Lin, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Help..."
Lin Gerui ignored him, continuing to wind his line. By the time he finished, the other man's head had just submerged into the ground, followed by a spray of blood from the earth.
"I already know who's behind this, so what do I need you for? So stupid!" With a wave of Lin Gerui's hand, a surge of sand and gravel flew over, completely burying the spot. Having finished, he picked up his fishing gear and sauntered away.
Outside a cave thirty miles from the city, a man was hanging upside down from a tree. His body was covered in bloody whip marks, with not a single patch of healthy skin visible. Not far from him, several people dressed in black with black straw raincoats sat by a fire eating roasted meat. One of them picked up a glowing red piece of wood and walked over.
"We admire you. You're a real man for refusing to name your employer even now. But we're out here on a mission, so we have to bring something back. Sorry about this. I heard there's a type of barbecue in Higashi called Yakitori. I wonder if it refers to this..."
Watching the wood get closer and closer, the man finally broke down. "Don't come any closer!!! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything... Sob, I'll say everything..."
Seeing him give in, the man pulled back the stick, and the people nearby immediately took out paper and pens to record his words.
Meanwhile, in Lungmen, little Flandre had spent two days and finally gathered information on Chang Wei. Taking advantage of the Pink Sausage Dragon's work hours, she prepared to go meet the guy. Not long after, she arrived downstairs at the building where Chang Wei lived. It was a very ordinary residential building. Those living here were mostly old-timers who had come to Lungmen to start businesses long ago. Little Flandre recalled the room number and started walking up.
"Little girl, could you wait for me?" Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, a voice called out.
Flandre turned around and was nearly startled. "Whoa, what a big rat spirit!"
...Lin Gerui noted that this was the first time anyone had ever described him that way. Usually, he was described as handsome, elegant, and wealthy. Why did it become "rat spirit" with this little girl? Lin Gerui felt that once this job was done, he needed to seriously rework his image.
"Ahem. Little one, are you also going to Room 503?" The moment he saw Flandre, her information appeared in Lin Gerui's mind.
"Yeah! I didn't expect you guys to find him so fast. I was planning to kill him myself and then claim credit from Big Sister Ch'en!"
Little Flandre naturally recalled who this was from her memories. The underground emperor of Lungmen, Wei Yenwu's white glove, Lin Yuxia's father, the "Great Sage of Yellow Sands"—Lin Gerui.
"Go together, then?" Lin Gerui pointed toward the stairs.
"Sure, let's go! I hope that uncle upstairs respects the elderly and loves the young, and doesn't cause us any trouble!" Little Flandre spread her hands and followed Lin Gerui. The old and the young walked up the stairs together.
When they reached the second floor, Flandre spoke up. "That uncle has spotted us!"
Lin Gerui looked up and saw a surveillance camera with a flashing red light in the middle of the hallway. "He even installed surveillance here?"
"No matter. He can't run. Let's keep going up." Even though they were spotted, Lin Gerui figured it didn't matter. The area was surrounded by his people; unless the man had a flight vehicle on the roof, escaping was pure fantasy.
The two continued upward and soon reached the fourth floor. "That uncle's heart is beating so fast, I feel like he's going to explode!" Flandre pointed upstairs.
"Oh? You can hear it from this far away?" Lin Gerui's interest in Chang Wei was far less than his interest in the child before him. Specifically, how did she find this place? And why did she come here?
"Mhm. It's still working hours, so there aren't many people around. But there are two people in his room. Are they waiting for us?" Flandre asked curiously.
"Two people... He shouldn't have let her stay." Lin Gerui sighed and continued walking.
Meanwhile, inside Room 503.
"Old Chang, what's wrong with you today? Your expression has been off the whole time." A somewhat elegant-looking woman looked at him with concern.
"I..." Before he could finish, there was a knock at the door. His face turned deathly pale instantly.
Seeing him like this, the woman's anger flared up. She stomped toward the door. "You're the second-in-command of the Guard Department! I'd like to see who in Lungmen dares to trouble you. What on earth are you afraid of!"
Opening the door, the angry woman's pupils suddenly constricted, and her momentum vanished instantly. "Un... Uncle Lin, what are you doing here? Did Old Chang do something wrong? If it's his fault, I apologize to you. Old Chang, come here and admit your mistake quickly..."
The woman spoke in a panic, stammering. She hadn't expected the visitor to be Lin Gerui, the true elder and underground emperor of Lungmen.
"Little Zeng, you haven't been back to your parents' house in a long time. Go stay there," Lin Gerui said calmly, looking at the woman. After he spoke, her legs gave way, and she knelt directly on the floor.
"Uncle Lin, I beg of you. Old Chang is a child you watched grow up... please spare his life, okay? I beg you!"
The woman no longer looked elegant. She knelt before Lin Gerui, clutching his shoes and pleading through tears for mercy. Her voice even startled many neighbors, who poked their heads out to see what was happening. Upon seeing Lin Gerui, those who recognized him paled and quickly ushered their families inside, slamming their doors shut for fear of being involved.
Lin Gerui didn't look down. Instead, he looked into the quiet room. "You know, I gave you a day. I thought you'd settle your affairs, but you still held onto a glimmer of hope. You even kept Little Zeng here, thinking that would make me spare you? But since I've come personally, the outcome is set."
"Will he be okay jumping from the fifth floor?" Flandre suddenly spoke.
"He's trying to run?" Lin Gerui didn't intend to give chase, instead looking down at Flandre.
"Mhm. He already jumped out the back." Flandre wasn't panicked at all, seeing that Lin Gerui remained calm.
Lin Gerui looked down at the woman still clutching his shoes. "Is this your choice? You know full well he can't escape."
The woman continued to sob. "He is my husband, after all!"
"Go resign. Take the child and leave Lungmen. This is the last thing I can do for you." Lin Gerui shook his head, pulled his leg free, and led Flandre into the room.
Only then did the woman see clearly who was with Lin Gerui. It was the Blood Demon named Flandre. Her arrival chilled Mrs. Zeng's heart even more than Lin Gerui's, for it meant the Governor's Mansion knew exactly what her husband had done. What kind of thing could her husband, the second-in-command of the Guard Department, have done to make Governor Wei arrange for these two to come together?
Flandre and Lin Gerui went to where the man had jumped and looked down. A man was below, surrounded by a dozen guys who clearly didn't look like good people... Flandre looked at Lin Gerui. "Are those bad guys your subordinates?"
"...Little girl, don't judge people by their looks. Although we call ourselves the underworld, we usually just plant flags and collect protection fees. We haven't done anything truly atrocious." Lin Gerui maintained that although they fought, smoked, and were part of the underworld, they were essentially good lads.
"Is that so?" Flandre expressed that she hadn't seen much of the world, so he shouldn't lie to her.
Then, the old and the young jumped down. However, their landing styles were completely different. As Lin Gerui neared the ground, swirls of sand and dust rose from below, catching him gently. He landed with ease, as if he had just taken an ordinary step.