Chapter 90: Fang Shao

That you still want to do what?” Yang Jiekai lit a cigarette and looked at Fang Shaojie with raised eyebrows.

Fang Shaojie snorted coldly, took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth. Immediately, someone lit it for him.

He exhaled a long plume of smoke and said, “I mentioned earlier that I owe you a favor. Now that you’ve injured my man, I won’t touch you. This matter is considered settled. You may go.”

“Brother Fang...” The earring youth had just begun to speak when he was cut off by Fang Shaojie. “I will not interfere. I, Fang Shaojie, have never broken a promise.”

After speaking, he glanced at Yang Jiekai. “You are ruthless indeed, yet you are ignorant of your own limits.”

With that, he signaled a group of non-mainstream youths to drive away in their car.

“Brother-in-law, you were truly amazing just now—utterly cool!” Han Wei’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at Yang Jiekai. “If you continue acting like this, before long you will probably end up in my sister’s bed.”

“Little devil, if you don’t speak, no one will take you for a mute!” Han Ning was utterly speechless at her infatuated sister.

After the commotion subsided, the three drove down the mountain. But after only a short while, the Porsche 911 appeared coming toward them head-on.

Yang Jiekai steered his car to the side, allowing the Porsche to speed past.

Han Wei froze. “Why did he come back again?”

In the meantime, a black sedan approached from the opposite direction, seemingly in pursuit of the earlier Fang Shaojie, while the non-mainstream youths’ car had vanished without a trace.

“It seems they are after that Fang Shaojie,” Han Ning frowned, immediately grasping the situation.

“To hell with that. Let’s head home. My stomach is already growling.”

Yang Jiekai was no righteous hero. In the past, assisting in police pursuits of fugitives had always been for the sake of reward money. He held no fondness for the green-haired Fang Shaojie and had no desire to meddle in others’ affairs.

Yang Jiekai said this and prepared to continue driving forward.

“Wait!”

Han Ning frowned in thought for a moment. “No matter the reason, we cannot simply stand by!”

“Then tell me—what do you propose?” Yang Jiekai pulled over to the side and lit a cigarette, smoking leisurely.

“Like this: we should go back and investigate. If anything is amiss, we will call the police.” After deliberating, Han Ning made her decision.

By now, Yang Jiekai’s stomach was rumbling with hunger. He had originally intended to ignore the matter, but upon reflection, those two black sedans were clearly heading toward Fang Shaojie. Who knew what they might do? If he apprehended them, he might secure another bounty.

Thinking thus, Yang Jiekai turned the car around and chased after them in the direction they had come from.

Slap slap!

After driving for a short while, two gunshots suddenly rang out ahead. Yang Jiekai slammed on the brakes and turned to Han Ning. “Darling, you two go back first. I’ll be right back. Remember—do not call the police under any circumstances.”

Hearing the gunshots, the two Han sisters immediately tensed. “Why not call the police?”

“You need not worry about that. Just listen to me. Go back first. Rest assured, I will handle this matter.”

With that, Yang Jiekai opened the door and leaped out, then sprinted toward the source of the shots.

When he had earlier instructed the Han sisters not to call the police, he had deliberately sounded grave, but the true reason was that summoning the authorities would mean losing his bounty.

On the Pan Mountain Road, a Porsche 911 raced swiftly. Fang Shaojie’s forehead was drenched in sweat. His car tires had been punctured, and it fishtailed with a screech. Had he not braked in time, he would have plunged over the cliff to certain death.

A black sedan had stopped nearby. Several men disembarked and surrounded the Porsche.

“Who are you people? Do you know who I am!” Fang Shaojie struggled to remain calm, yet his voice still trembled.

A black-clad man leveled a black barrel of a gun at Fang Shaojie’s head and said coldly, “It is precisely because we know who you are that I want your life. Do not blame me. Blame your father for offending too many people!”

“Wait!”

Fang Shaojie had never faced such a situation before. Cold sweat poured down his back. “Who sent you? I can pay double—no, ten times the price. Just let me go!”

The black-clad man sneered. “I am not a fool. If I let you go today, tomorrow I will have no life left.”

He prepared to pull the trigger.

“Hey, I find this transaction worthwhile. Ten times the price? If it were me, I would undoubtedly accept it with joy.”

At that moment, a languid voice came from behind.

“Who!”

The black-clad man whirled around and saw a somewhat lean young man who had somehow appeared behind them. The man held a cigarette lazily in his mouth, his expression half-smile, half-smirk.

Yang Jiekai exhaled smoke and addressed the black-clad man. “Like this: you agree to his demands. Once the payment is received, split half with me.”

“Looking for death!”

The black-clad man’s lips curled into a frigid smile. What he did was already perilous, and he knew exactly with whom he was dealing today. The slightest leak would spell ruin.

The sudden appearance of an outsider meant no witnesses could be left alive.

Just as he prepared to fire, a brilliant flash shot toward him, striking his eye with deadly accuracy. He cried out in agony.

It was the cigarette butt Yang Jiekai had flicked out. He was no Superman. With a gun pressed to his head at such close range, he had to strike first.

Seizing the moment of his opponent’s pain, Yang Jiekai arched his body, lunged forward, and drove a savage punch into the man’s jaw. He then seized the gun and fired several shots. The remaining black-clad men had not yet reacted before holes appeared in their heads. They collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

And all of this transpired in the blink of an eye.

Fang Shaojie remained seated in the car, mouth agape, utterly stunned. He was profoundly shaken by the scene, having failed to discern how the other party had moved.

“Hey, green hair, let me tell you something. You offered ten times the price earlier. Why not offer me five times?”

Yang Jiekai re-lit a cigarette and regarded Fang Shaojie with a half-smile.

Fang Shaojie finally emerged from his shock. He recognized Yang Jiekai at once. “It’s you?”

Yang Jiekai smiled. “What were those men doing? Why did they wish to kill you?”

Fang Shaojie had cheated death and exhaled a long breath. He lit a cigarette and said, “Thank you for saving me. I will remember this debt.”

Yang Jiekai was left speechless. So saving his life was repaid with this method.

In truth, Yang Jiekai had no idea that Fang Shaojie’s words were beyond monetary measure. The Fang family’s influence and background in a certain province of southern China far exceeded what a newcomer to Huaxia like Yang Jiekai could fathom.

Within Fang Shaojie’s circle, the saying went that a promise from Fang Shaojie was worth more than ten thousand ounces of gold.

“Ask you for a favor.” Fang Shaojie opened the car door and stepped out.

“Speak.” Yang Jiekai smoked.

Fang Shaojie glanced at the black-clad man still breathing faintly on the ground, picked up the gun, and fired with a bang, ending the man’s life.

“What the devil are you doing!”

Yang Jiekai felt a pang of distress. It was not the man’s life that concerned him, but the bounty he had anticipated from alerting the authorities.

Fang Shaojie casually tossed the gun down the mountainside and exhaled smoke. “Please do not report this.”

“Impossible.” Yang Jiekai shook his head vigorously. “There is a regulation in China: any discovered crime must be reported to the police without delay. Besides, I am a law-abiding citizen. When I encounter such a matter, I would naturally…”

“I will give you one million!”

“Oh, actually, it is fine not to report. The main thing is that I see you are safe and I am relieved.”

Yang Jiekai’s eyes gleamed with stars at the mention of one million. A bounty from police involvement would be mere tens of thousands—vastly inferior to one million.

Fang Shaojie wrote a check and handed it to Yang Jiekai. “I hope you will not speak of what happened today. Some matters are indeed beyond the understanding of your class.”

Yang Jiekai accepted the check and turned to leave.

“Wait!”

Fang Shaojie suddenly called out. “Remember my phone number, 138####. If anything occurs in Northern Jiangsu, call this number. My name is Fang Shaojie.”

“Wait a moment!” Yang Jiekai happily tucked the check away and prepared to go.

“Wait!” Fang Shaojie called again.

“Please, can you finish the sentence in one go!” Yang Jiekai’s face darkened. He loathed unnecessary chatter above all.

“So you intend to simply drive down the mountain like this?”

“This...”

Fang Shaojie escorted Yang Jiekai back to the city. As they parted, he suddenly said, “Be cautious during this period. Though I owe you a favor, I cannot break the rules of our circle. He Zhi lost face today and will not let this go. I cannot intervene, or it would violate the rules. But should you truly reach the end of your rope one day, come to Northern Jiangsu to seek me out. I guarantee you will be safe.”

Yang Jiekai was startled. “Who is He Zhi?”

Fang Shaojie sighed softly, uncertain whether the man was truly foolish or feigning. “He is the one you struck today. He has a cousin named He Yuan who is prominent on the streets of your Anhai City. He Zhi is vengeful by nature, and this matter will not end peacefully.”

He Yuan?

Yang Jiekai found the name vaguely familiar. After reflection, he recalled the opponent he had negotiated with Han Ning against earlier, who seemed to be named He Yuan. Could it possibly be the same person?

Yet Yang Jiekai dismissed the matter entirely. He hailed a car and headed home, most eager to reach his destination and enjoy a satisfying meal. His stomach had been rumbling for some time.

However, he had no inkling of the trouble this incident would bring him. It was also this event that indirectly altered his notion of simply living as an ordinary citizen in China in peace.