Chapter 188 - 123: I Like to Clear the Field Before a Fight

Chapter 188: Chapter 123: I Like to Clear the Field Before a Fight

"Secure the docks. I’ll take care of the people in the city."

The call ended. A soft CLICK was especially clear in the silent study.

"Someone used the fog to get into the city." Lu Jing’an’s tone was declarative.

Lu Huaiqian nodded. As he grabbed the coat draped over the back of his chair and quickly put it on, he issued an order to those outside:

"Notify the Public Security Bureau patrols in the city, and Huaisan. Begin the search immediately. Use lethal force!"

Lu Huaiqian fastened his buttons and looked at Lu Jing’an, his expression complicated. "I’m going to the docks to oversee things."

He paused, then placed a hand on Lu Jing’an’s shoulder, his grip heavy.

"Jing’an, remember, if things go south... leave immediately through the secret passage. Don’t look back."

This time, Lu Jing’an didn’t hesitate in the slightest, answering crisply, "Alright."

’His decisiveness now would allow his father to focus without distraction.’

Lu Huaiqian gave his son one last, deep look, then turned and strode into the thick fog.

His figure was quickly swallowed by the white.

Lu Jing’an stood silently by the window for a moment before also turning to leave.

His destination, however, was not the secret passage, but the Water Patrol Bureau.

In the small plaza outside the Water Patrol Office, nearly a hundred Water Patrol Officers had already assembled, utterly silent.

The lantern light reflected off their tense yet determined faces as the fog swirled around them.

Lu Jing’an’s figure appeared in the halo of light, the hem of his woolen overcoat fluttering, his expression cold and stern.

"Zhao Laosuan."

"Here!" A lean, old soldier stepped forward, head held high.

"Take your men to the docks to reinforce the Public Security Bureau. You’ll be under Director Sun’s command."

"Yes, sir!"

"The rest of you, Director Liu, with me."

"Yes, sir!"

There were no unnecessary questions. The orders were absolute.

Zhao Laosuan took half the men and quickly disappeared into the fog, running toward the faint sound of the river’s waves.

With a wave of his hand, Director Liu led the remaining fifty-some elite Water Patrol Officers after Lu Jing’an.

They moved toward the other side of the county seat.

The fog was still impenetrably thick, but the lead Water Patrol Officer held an old-fashioned lantern high.

Wherever the orange light reached, the fog seemed to retreat, barely illuminating the path ahead.

The group moved swiftly in silence, their footsteps making a uniform, suppressed rustling sound on the stone-paved road.

Finally, the unit stopped in front of a three-story wooden building.

A sign with gold lettering on a black background was faintly visible in the fog.

"Yuelai Inn."

"Surround it." Lu Jing’an’s voice was not loud, but it carried clearly.

Director Liu barked in a low voice, "Spread out! Secure all exits, street corners, and rooftops!"

Figures immediately scattered, taking up key positions with practiced discipline.

The soft clicks of rifle bolts being drawn echoed in the fog as countless dark muzzles pointed at the inn’s doors and windows.

The Shopkeeper came tumbling out, his face as white as a sheet, bowing incessantly.

"Officers! Sirs! What is all this?

My humble establishment... we’ve always been honest, law-abiding taxpayers..."

Lu Jing’an beckoned with his hand.

The Shopkeeper shuffled closer, trembling, and breathed a small sigh of relief as he made out the man’s face in the lantern light.

It wasn’t the fierce and intimidating Public Security Bureau, but the young, reputedly reasonable director of the Water Patrol Bureau.

"Di-Director Lu? What... what’s the meaning of this?"

"This doesn’t concern you," Lu Jing’an said flatly.

"Take your staff and wake up all the guests.

Everyone except the occupant of Room No. 3 of the Celestial Building is to leave the inn immediately.

Anyone who refuses will be responsible for their own life or death."

Lu Jing’an glanced at the Shopkeeper’s face, which was on the verge of tears.

"Keep a record of your losses. Come find me at the Water Patrol Bureau afterward."

The Shopkeeper didn’t dare say another word and scrambled back into the inn.

Immediately, a chaotic mix of crying, shouting, and panicked footsteps erupted.

In less than fifteen minutes, every living soul had fled the inn.

Only the empty building remained, squatting in the fog.

With such a commotion, the guest in Room No. 3 of the Celestial Building had naturally long since been alerted.

Only after the inn fell completely silent did that room’s door CREAK open.

Mr. Xu walked out slowly and stood under the eaves of the second-floor corridor.

He wore a green long-robe with a thick, fleece-lined vest over it.

He was even holding a small hand-warmer, his expression unhurried.

It was as if the countless muzzles and grim-faced Water Patrol Officers surrounding him didn’t exist.

Mr. Xu’s gaze fell on Lu Jing’an in the courtyard, and he smiled faintly. "Young Master Lu, what is the meaning of this grand mobilization?"

Lu Jing’an looked up at him, his voice sounding especially cold in the fog.

"I have a rule: when two armies are about to clash, first clear the field.

I don’t allow spectators to hide on the sidelines, waiting to pick up scraps."

Mr. Xu’s smile deepened. "So, Young Master Lu believes that I am one of those spectators and has come to clear me out?"

Mr. Xu gently rubbed the warm bronze hand-warmer.

"But has Young Master Lu considered how he will answer to the Hu Family? I was sent by them, after all."

"The battlefield is chaotic. Stray bullets have no eyes. If someone happens to die, who is there to answer to?" Lu Jing’an’s tone was unchanged.

"Besides, the Bai Family’s men have already snuck in from the old street entrance.

It would be perfectly reasonable for Mr. Xu to be unfortunately killed by Bai Family spies."

Mr. Xu raised an eyebrow. "Why is Young Master Lu so intent on killing me?

Since I arrived in Yin Mountain County, I have kept to myself, stayed out of trouble, and met with no outside guests.

Young Master Lu... you don’t seem to have a reason to kill me."

Lu Jing’an let out a soft breath, the white vapor briefly parting before him. "That’s right. You’re too quiet."

Lu Jing’an stared into Mr. Xu’s eyes and said, word by word, "Why would you do nothing at all?"

Hearing this, Mr. Xu was startled for a moment, then actually chuckled and shook his head.

His laughter carried through the silent, foggy night, tinged with a hint of self-mockery and understanding.

"So that’s how it is... It was my being too ’well-behaved’ that exposed my flaw."

Mr. Xu stopped laughing, and his gaze turned profound.

"It seems I should have done something to divert suspicion."

The instant his voice fell,

An extremely intense premonition, like a cold needle, stabbed sharply into Lu Jing’an’s mind!

[Danger Perception] was blaring a frantic warning, far more intense than any time before.

The sense of pressure was dozens of times stronger than what he’d felt from the Demon Snake beneath the Canglan River!

Lu Jing’an’s expression remained impassive, but his back had already secretly tensed.

The True Qi in his body began to circulate silently.

This scholar before him, who had always been so gentle, elegant, and utterly non-threatening,

Now seemed to have shed an invisible outer layer, revealing an abyssal nature.

BOOM—!!!

Just then, a colossal roar like muffled thunder

rolled in faintly from the direction of the distant Muddy Dragon Beach, making the very ground beneath their feet seem to tremble slightly.

That was the first "grand gift" the Hu Family had prepared for Bai Ting.

Immediately after, clearer and more concentrated cannon fire erupted from the direction of the docks!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Public Security Bureau’s two Mountain Cannons had finally opened fire.

Flashes of light flickered briefly even in the thick fog, their roar tearing through the silence of the night.

Mr. Xu seemed drawn by the sound of the cannons. He listened for a moment, then sighed faintly.

"They even have cannons... I’m afraid the Canglan River will truly become the Bai Family Army’s graveyard today."

Lu Jing’an’s hand slowly came to rest on the cold grip of the gun at his waist. "And so, Mr. Xu can also depart in peace."

Mr. Xu withdrew his gaze and looked back at Lu Jing’an.

This time, there was no longer any concealment in Mr. Xu’s eyes.

It was a condescending scrutiny, tinged with faint appreciation.

And a deeper, ice-like coldness.

"Young Master Lu."

Mr. Xu spoke slowly, his voice not loud, yet it strangely pierced through the lingering echoes of the cannon fire.

"Having seen this side of you, I must say I genuinely admire you.

I am willing to offer you a future, Young Master Lu—a truly great, boundless future.

Would you like it?"

Lu Jing’an felt the rough texture of the gun’s grip with his fingertips and slowly shook his head. "Not interested."

Lu Jing’an paused, then added, "I have no intention of being the Bai Family’s dog."

In the dim yellow light of the lantern, Mr. Xu’s pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

The gentle smile on Mr. Xu’s face receded like the tide, though his voice remained steady.

But it now held a sharp, playful edge. "You know... that I’m with the Bai Family?"

Lu Jing’an met his gaze and took a step forward.

The fog swirled around him, the lantern light stretching his shadow long and thin

across the damp stone slabs.

He stared into Mr. Xu’s bottomless eyes and stated, syllable by syllable, with absolute clarity:

"I don’t just know you’re with the Bai Family."

"I also know..."

Lu Jing’an’s voice suddenly dropped low, but it was like the edge of a quenched blade, cutting through the thick fog and nailing itself into the silence.

"That you are Commander Bai."

The air froze in that instant.

Every Water Patrol Officer held their breath, fingers on their triggers, cold sweat drenching their palms.

Mr. Xu!

Or rather, Bai Ting!

He stood silently under the corridor, the last wisp of heat from the hand-warmer in his grasp

seeming to dissipate into the cold night fog.

There was no panic on Mr. Xu’s face at being exposed.

Instead, he slowly, very slowly, curled his lips into a smile that truly belonged to "Commander Bai."

Grim, majestic, and brimming with killing intent.

In the distance, the cannon fire continued unabated, and the river’s waves seemed to sob.

But in the small courtyard of the Yuelai Inn, a far more lethal confrontation had just begun.