Chapter 452: The Waters Grow Murkier

Hu Wencheng was the first to struggle to his feet. He pulled Wu Linhan up from the floor, then helped the heavily injured Zhang Guoping onto the sofa.

Then he opened the door and called for the bodyguards outside.

But to his surprise, no one answered, even after he called out several times.

He poked his head out and saw all the bodyguards sprawled on the floor. It looked like they had just been through a brutal fight; every single one of them was down. ℯ𝕝.

The sight scared Hu Wencheng half to death. He quickly called for backup.

After hearing Hu Wencheng’s report, Wu Linhan fought through the searing pain, using the wall for support as he went into the hallway to see for himself.

When he saw the scene outside, his expression changed drastically once more.

“We’ve been set up again!” Wu Linhan’s face was ashen as he slammed the door shut. He grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it violently on the floor. “Son of a bitch! When I find out who’s behind this, I swear I won’t let them get away with it!”

Bruised and swollen, Zhang Guoping and Hu Wencheng sank dejectedly onto the sofa. Zhang Guoping snatched up a teacup, took a hard swallow of tea, and slammed it back down on the table. “It has to be Zhao Xiaojun! Only he would have people this skilled!”

“Let’s bring those guys in from outside and question them first,” Hu Wencheng said, a little calmer than Zhang Guoping. He immediately got up and called in a few of the bodyguards who were in slightly better shape.

“Who took you down?” Wu Linhan had calmed down as well. “Did you get a clear look at who attacked you?”

“It started with one person, but then I don’t know how many there were!” one of the bodyguards stammered. His head was bleeding, but his injuries weren’t as severe as the others. “The man was masked, very tall, with fierce eyes and a murderous aura. I think he had a miniature communication device on him. I heard him talking to his partners!”

Another man quickly added, “There must have been several of them. They were all incredibly skilled. We couldn’t fight them off!”

Another, more heavily injured man next to him chimed in, “I think there were three of them, all about the same height. They fought like special forces—vicious, with killing intent!”

‘Zhao Xiaojun!’ Wu Linhan, Zhang Guoping, and Hu Wencheng all thought of Zhao Xiao’an’s rarely seen brother at the same time.

Wu Linhan pulled out an old photo of Zhao Xiaojun and asked the bodyguards if he was the one.

Two of the bodyguards said the eyes looked similar, but the third said he didn’t get a clear look.

After all, their attackers were masked, with only their eyes and mouths showing, so it was impossible to get a good look at their faces.

Wu Linhan didn’t ask the bodyguards any more questions, simply waving a hand to dismiss them.

“If it really was Zhao Xiaojun, what’s his motive?” Wu Linhan asked Zhang Guoping with a frown. “Is he unhappy about you going after Zhao Xiao’an?”

“I have no idea!” Zhang Guoping threw up his hands. “I haven’t seen Zhao Xiaojun in at least five years, and I’ve already given up on chasing Zhao Xiao’an. She’s all tangled up with that Wang fellow now. Who knows where they stand.”

Just then, Zhang Guoping’s phone rang.

He frowned when he saw it was a call from Bai Qianxun.

“It’s Bai Qianxun!” Zhang Guoping said, pointing to the name on his caller ID. “What could he want from me?”

Wu Linhan raised an eyebrow and motioned for Zhang Guoping to answer. “Don’t tell me he ran into trouble too.”

The moment Zhang Guoping answered the phone, Bai Qianxun’s furious voice burst from the earpiece. “Zhang Guoping, give me your coordinates, now!”

“Qianxun, what’s wrong?” Zhang Guoping replied calmly. “Don’t tell me you got ambushed too, just like us?”

There was a pause on the other end, then Bai Qianxun’s realization came through. “So you guys got hit too!”

His voice was no longer as frantic as before.

Zhang Guoping quickly summarized what had happened to them, but left out their suspicions about who was responsible. He then asked, “Qianxun, what happened on your end?”

“The same old trick. A few women disguised as prostitutes got into the club we were at and beat the shit out of us!” Bai Qianxun’s voice turned icy. “Who do you think did it? And don’t you dare say it was Wang Chenning. I don’t believe he’s got the muscle for it!”

“I don’t know either,” Zhang Guoping said, still not voicing his suspicions about Zhao Xiaojun. He answered vaguely, “I’ve seen Wang Chenning fight. If only one person had attacked us tonight, I’d definitely suspect him. But given the current situation and everything that’s happened while he was gone, it just doesn’t feel like him. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head with this kind of skill and such a well-laid plan. I don’t even think you could pull this off, Qianxun.”

“Then I’ll see if my own men are capable of something like this,” Bai Qianxun said, and promptly hung up.

“That lunatic!” Bai Qianxun hung up before Zhang Guoping could finish. Zhang Guoping let out a cold laugh and muttered a curse before taking another sip of tea. “Bai Qianxun and Chen Yijing went out looking for some fun today, and they got beaten up by a few women. Sounds like it was pretty bad. They’re at the hospital now.”

“This isn’t as simple as we thought,” Wu Linhan said with a frown after hearing the news. “In fact, I’m starting to suspect Bai Qianxun is the one behind this.”

His words took both Zhang Guoping and Hu Wencheng completely by surprise.