Urban Martial Saint

Hong Tianxiang sat in his office while his secretary was reporting the situation at the police station.

Yuan Xiaozheng had been released by Deputy Director Pan Hongliang, while Zhou Hongbin, who was kidnapped by Ye Qing, had still not been found. The only news was that the police car Ye Qing had hijacked had already left Jiuchuan County, heading straight for Dengyang City. The county bureau had dispatched two teams to chase the vehicle along the route, preparing to intercept Ye Qing.

Meanwhile, Director Wang Yuanbo had also contacted the police forces of the neighboring counties, asking them to set up roadblocks to assist in intercepting Ye Qing’s car.

After listening to his secretary’s report, Hong Tianxiang couldn’t help but frown. The release of Yuan Xiaozheng wasn’t really a major issue. After all, it was just kids fighting, and Hong Tianxiang, however lacking, would not go looking for trouble with a high school student over this matter.

This was really just a decision made privately by the school and Zhou Hongbin to curry favor with him, something Hong Tianxiang himself had not interfered with.

However, his non-interference did not mean Pan Hongliang should have released Yuan Xiaozheng. Since the person had been arrested by Zhou Hongbin, the case should have been handled by Zhou Hongbin. Pan Hongliang’s act of releasing the detainee not only seemed like an overreach but also, knowing it involved Hong Tianxiang and still releasing Yuan Xiaozheng, seemed like a challenge to Hong Tianxiang.

As for Pan Hongliang, Hong Tianxiang honestly did not care much, as Pan Hongliang was a minor figure to him. What he was most concerned about now was Zhou Hongbin, whom Ye Qing had kidnapped.

From Hong Tianxiang’s years of experience, a normal person, as long as they are not psychologically flawed, generally wouldn’t kidnap a police officer. Especially someone who had kidnapped a deputy director of a police station and driven a police car boldly toward the city center—the likelihood of such events was practically zero, at least he had never heard of such a case over the years.

And now, Ye Qing had actually kidnapped Zhou Hongbin and was heading to the city in a police car. Hong Tianxiang had no choice but to start considering what exactly Ye Qing intended to do. Clearly, Ye Qing was no fool. Moreover, the information he received had indicated that Ye Qing was a well-trained Special Forces operative and a highly regarded commander by his superiors.

Such a person, undertaking any action, would not likely do so without a plan. Therefore, Hong Tianxiang had reason to suspect that Ye Qing’s kidnapping of Zhou Hongbin definitely had a purpose — he was plotting something!

Hong Tianxiang reviewed the relationship between Ye Qing and Zhou Hongbin, and there wasn’t any significant enmity between them. If there was any grievance, it was Zhou Hongbin’s arrest of Yuan Xiaozheng this time. But then, it was just children fighting — was it necessary to escalate to this extent? Thinking it over, Hong Tianxiang couldn’t figure out the reason behind it.

While he was troubled by this, the secretary who had just exited the office suddenly came back in, ”Boss, I just received news. That Ye Qing was actually a student of Gu Xianping. Back in the day, Gu Xianping took great care of him, and Ye Qing was able to finish his studies entirely thanks to Gu Xianping’s help!”

”Gu Xianping?” Hong Tianxiang frowned. Of course, he remembered the name — a high school teacher who was later dismissed from the school due to some conflicts with the director of the education bureau. Indeed, the school’s actions were wrong, but it had nothing to do with him.

The only connection he had was with the incident where Gu Xianping’s daughter jumped from a building — a situation involving Hong Tianxiang’s brother-in-law, which Hong Tianxiang had personally resolved.

Hearing this news, Hong Tianxiang suddenly had a realization. It seemed that Ye Qing was escalating this situation all because of the incident with Gu Xianping!

However, Hong Tianxiang didn’t know that when Ye Qing kidnapped Zhou Hongbin, he had no knowledge that the girl who jumped was the daughter of his mentor, Gu Xianping. He had only decided to act against Hong Tianxiang after a student named Lin Peng told him what Vice Principal Wang had done.

Learning later that Gu Yaqing was Gu Xianping’s daughter only strengthened Ye Qing’s determination to bring down Hong Tianxiang!

Zhou Hongbin was Hong Tianxiang’s man, a subordinate he had personally promoted. Knowing many of Hong Tianxiang’s dealings, Hong Tianxiang had a reason to suspect that by kidnapping Zhou Hongbin and taking him to Dengyang City, Ye Qing intended to use Zhou Hongbin to target him.

After a long silence, Hong Tianxiang stood up and said in a deep voice, ”Help me contact Wang Yuanbo; I’m heading to the station now.”

”Yes!” The secretary nodded and hurried out to take care of it.

Hong Tianxiang went downstairs and got into his car, his expression grave and cold. After driving for a while, he suddenly said in a deep voice, ”Xiao Xu, go see Zhou Hongbin’s wife later, see if there are any key items hidden in Zhou Hongbin’s house!”

The driver, Xiao Xu, had been with Hong Tianxiang for many years and naturally knew what Hong Tianxiang referred to as key items. Additionally, he knew that by speaking in such a manner, Hong Tianxiang was preparing to abandon Zhou Hongbin.

”Yes!” Xiao Xu nodded in response.

Hong Tianxiang slowly nodded, closed his eyes, and leaned against the back of the chair, his expression growing colder and colder. He really couldn’t understand why Ye Qing had taken Zhou Hongbin to Dengyang City. As long as Zhou Hongbin kept his mouth shut, taking him to the Ends of the Earth would be futile. However, thinking about Zhou Hongbin as a person, Hong Tianxiang felt uneasy again.

Zhou Hongbin was not the type to withstand pressure; if Ye Qing tortured him, he might indeed reveal everything!

At this thought, Hong Tianxiang abruptly opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, ”Xiao Xu, take Zhou Hongbin’s wife and children to stay in the north of the city for a few days. Once Zhou Hongbin returns, send them back!”

”Yes!” Xiao Xu nodded as usual, but his heart started racing. He knew that by saying this, Hong Tianxiang was planning to act against Zhou Hongbin, using Zhou’s wife and children to threaten him. He didn’t understand why Hong Tianxiang’s thoughts had changed so drastically within just a few minutes, but he knew that this case was really not simple.

After Xiao Xu drove Hong Tianxiang to the county bureau, he left directly to carry out Hong’s orders. Hong Tianxiang walked straight into the county bureau and headed directly to the office of Chief Wang Yuanbo.

Although Wang Yuanbo was nominally Hong Tianxiang’s subordinate, their relationship was not that of superior and subordinate. In fact, Chief Wang had more autonomy and did not need to show too much deference to Hong Tianxiang. Upon meeting, Wang merely exchanged a few polite words and invited Hong Tianxiang to sit in his office.

Wang Yuanbo asked, ”Secretary Hong, what brings you to the station this time?”

”It’s not exactly an instruction, but I just heard that a major incident occurred in the county. Our deputy chief was kidnapped, an unprecedented event in our country over the years!” Hong Tianxiang looked at Wang Yuanbo and said in a serious tone, ”With such a major incident, it won’t be long before the whole country knows about it.

Therefore, this case essentially puts our Jiuchuan County Police Department in the spotlight. If we don’t handle this case well, it might tarnish the reputation of our police department.”

Wang Yuanbo nodded and said, ”This incident is indeed too significant, a situation we’ve never encountered before. But rest assured, Secretary Hong, I have already made arrangements and communicated with neighboring jurisdictions for support. We are confident that we can solve this case within twenty-four hours!”

”It’s good that you have this confidence,” Hong Tianxiang nodded, adding, ”However, solving the case aside, I’m primarily here to ask about your stance on handling such a case?”

Wang Yuanbo looked at Hong Tianxiang and asked, ”What does Secretary Hong suggest?”

”It’s simple!” Hong Tianxiang said, ”This case is a challenge to the dignity of our police department and affects the prestige of our police force. Therefore, we must show our strength and not make compromises to anyone. If the suspect does not cooperate with the investigation, at critical moments, we can execute on sight!”

Wang Yuanbo frowned slightly; the words ’execute on sight’ coming from Hong Tianxiang’s mouth seemed quite out of place. However, he understood that Hong was hinting that he should eliminate Ye Qing. But why would he suggest such a thing?

Hong Tianxiang looked at Wang Yuanbo and, seeing him remain silent, said softly, ”I heard Chen Guoxin is leading this operation. The young man is not bad, very motivated, but lacks some resolve. If he can win a significant victory and showcase the authority of our Jiuchuan County police, it’ll be a good thing for him!”

Wang Yuanbo’s eyes lit up. Chen Guoxin was his protégé, his most trusted subordinate. Recently, Chen had been competing with one of Hong Tianxiang’s close associates for the position of Chengguan Town station chief—a very strategic position. Chengguan Town was essentially the jurisdiction of the county seat, right under the county bureau’s nose.

If Hong Tianxiang’s people controlled this station, Wang Yuanbo’s influence over the county bureau would significantly decrease. Thus, Wang genuinely wanted Chen Guoxin to become the station chief.

Now, with Hong Tianxiang’s words, it was a concession and also a deal. The prerequisite was for Chen Guoxin to demonstrate the authority of the Jiuchuan County police. Undoubtedly, this meant that Ye Qing had to be killed to uphold their authority!

After a long silence, Wang Yuanbo slowly nodded and said, ”Secretary Hong is right. This time, we must uphold the dignity of our Jiuchuan County Police Department.”

Hong Tianxiang smiled slightly; he knew Wang Yuanbo had agreed to his proposal. With the police net closing in, Ye Qing would definitely not escape their capture. Once Wang Yuanbo eliminated Ye Qing, the matter would be completely resolved!

Of course, Hong Tianxiang was not going to put all his chips on Wang Yuanbo. Thus, he had also sent Xiao Xu to capture Zhou Hongbin’s wife and children. If Wang Yuanbo couldn’t handle Ye Qing, then he would use Zhou Hongbin’s wife and children to threaten Zhou Hongbin!