Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 69: Chapter 67: Hearing of Guandong Again, This is Murder

”Miss Ling is missing!”

Wan Ze froze, then asked reflexively, ”Could she have gone on a trip? A lot has happened lately. Maybe she just went to clear her head?”

”No. She contacted me yesterday and said we were going to get together at Lingyun Manor this afternoon. I meant to tell you last night but forgot. When I was about to call you today, Old Zhao—that’s Zhao Qilong—suddenly contacted me and said Miss Ling was missing... I went looking for her later. She’s gone!”

Lei Ming took a deep breath. ”And the strangest part is, the bedding was still warm, which means she disappeared not long ago! But the scene was completely undisturbed...”

Wan Ze frowned slightly. ”So what’s your theory?”

”I’m worried it might be that crew from Guandong, here for revenge!” Lei Ming said grimly.

”Guandong?” Wan Ze paused.

If he remembered correctly, Tie Qingyang was from Guandong. It was a bit strange to hear Lei Ming suddenly bring them up.

Lei Ming explained, ”The woman we caught in the West Suburb last time was from Guandong. She doesn’t have any special background, just part of a gang of bandits who run around Guandong. For some reason, she decided to strike out on her own... After knocking around for a bit, she heard about the Rain Bell from the Song Family in An City, and that’s when she got ideas. There aren’t many people who would target Miss Ling, but she’s definitely one... If this is really connected to the Song Family, it’s possible... the Song Family has made its move.”

”The Song Family wants it too?” Wan Ze walked to a deserted area, communicator in hand, and continued, ”Isn’t Brother Zhai familiar with the Song Family? Ask him to investigate.”

”Okay, I’ll contact him now.” Lei Ming’s voice was tinged with worry. ”You need to be careful. At the first sign of trouble, you have to contact me immediately... I hope it’s not that gang from Guandong. Fucking hell!”

Wan Ze suddenly asked, ”What’s the woman’s name?”

”Huo Wen. She’s from the western district of Guandong. The man she followed back in the day went by the codename ’Divine Spear Horse’...”

”Got it.”

The call ended.

Wan Ze looked back. Father Wan was walking toward the eye-catching boxy Mercedes, while his mother and sister followed, talking. His sister was pulling on Mrs. Wan’s arm, wheedling, probably afraid Wan Ze wouldn’t buy her a little gift after all.

SCREECH!

Just then, a concrete mixer came speeding out of an intersection, careening toward them like a runaway horse.

In that instant, Wan Ze felt blood rush to his head. His nerves snapped taut as adrenaline surged through him.

Without a second thought, he lunged forward.

He scooped up his sister, then shot his hands out, grabbing one parent with each and yanking them to the side.

BOOM!

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

The sound of the car being pulverized was like an ancient beast opening its gaping maw behind them, mercilessly devouring everything in its path.

Thick dust and smoke filled the air.

Father Wan coughed violently as he scrambled up from the ground. He stared at the flattened Mercedes, completely dumbfounded.

The concrete mixer had smashed through the sales office’s main doors, its front half embedded in the wall.

His sister, Xiaoyu, was crying in terror, staring blankly at the scene before her.

Even the normally unflappable Mrs. Wan hadn’t recovered from their narrow escape, her fingers trembling.

Wan Ze’s face was a grim mask. He quickly scanned his surroundings, and after confirming there was no further danger, he rushed straight to the concrete mixer.

The cab was mangled. He kicked the door open, but to his surprise... the driver inside was already dead, his head covered in blood.

For a moment, Wan Ze froze.

...

The police arrived quickly.

The family gave their statements. Father Wan looked grim, anxiously worrying about compensation for the Mercedes. His expression only eased after Wan Ze assured him it wasn’t a major issue.

「Not long after.」

Tie Qingyang arrived in person. ”You alright, brother?”

”I’m fine,” Wan Ze said, shaking his head.

The two of them moved to a deserted area. Tie Qingyang asked, ”Was this... an accident, or...?”

Wan Ze’s face was grim. ”Hard to say. By the way, do you know a Huo Wen? I hear she’s one of the Gandong Divine Spear Horse’s people.”

”The Divine Spear Horse?” Tie Qingyang’s expression faltered.

”You know him?” Wan Ze asked.

”I don’t know Huo Wen, but I know of the Divine Spear Horse,” Tie Qingyang said, reminiscing. ”There are a lot of ruthless bandits in Guandong, each generation tougher than the last. By the time I left Guandong, this Divine Spear Horse had already made a name for himself and had over a hundred men under him. But he was being targeted by a few of the major gangs, so I don’t know if he made it through... Why are you asking about him? Don’t tell me this incident...?”

Tie Qingyang suddenly stiffened, the realization dawning on him.

Wan Ze shook his head. ”It’s still under investigation... Anyway, forget about that. About the car, just name your price, and I’ll pay you.”

”What’s to pay for? It’s just a car. All that matters is that you’re safe.”

Tie Qingyang couldn’t care less about the car.

After exchanging a few words with Wan Ze’s parents, he left with his men.

Father Wan was still curious. He lowered his voice and asked, ”Xiaozhe, is that a senior brother from your martial arts school? He looks pretty old.”

Wan Ze then realized that while ”Master Tie” was a famous name, very few people actually knew what Tie Qingyang looked like.

He fobbed him off with a vague answer, then took his family and left. As soon as he had a free moment, he called Lei Ming.

「Less than ten minutes later.」

Lei Ming sped over in his car with Zhai Jia, who looked frantic, as if he were ready to fight someone to the death at a moment’s notice.

They both asked with concern, ”Are you okay?”

”I’m fine. Luckily, I dodged in time.” A warmth spread through Wan Ze’s chest. He pulled open the car door, got in, and said in a low voice, ”Something about this just feels off.”

”I agree... First Miss Ling, and now you... Don’t tell me that gang from Guandong is really here?” Lei Ming wondered aloud.

Zhai Jia mused, ”My brother, Zhai Yu, has already gone to interrogate the woman. We should have something soon.”

”She’s still alive?” Wan Ze asked, surprised.

Zhai Jia smiled. ”We couldn’t let her off that easy. At the very least, we have to squeeze every bit of value out of her... If it really is that bunch of bandits from Guandong, it means she’s still holding out. She hasn’t told us everything.”

Wan Ze didn’t understand what other value the woman could possibly have.

But Zhai Jia handed him a black notebook. ”These are the results of the interrogation so far... Fewer than six people know the contents. You’re the sixth, Junior Brother.”

Surprised, Wan Ze didn’t hesitate. He took the notebook and began to read, his eyes widening moments later. ”They suspect Miss Ling is related by blood to Master Zhang of the Celestial Harmony Palace?”

”Which is why they kidnapped Miss Ling. They want to use her blood to activate the Rain Bell...” Zhai Jia whispered.

”Claiming ownership with a drop of blood?” Wan Ze was stunned. ’This is sounding more and more like a fantasy novel,’ he thought.

But Zhai Jia nodded. ”I was thinking the same thing. The whole thing is surreal. We only just learned about this, and then Miss Ling vanished in the blink of an eye... You have to admit it’s suspicious.”

Wan Ze looked up at that. ”She disappeared right after you got the intel?”

Zhai Jia shook his head. ”There are no leaks on our end. The only people who know are our master, my brother and I, Xiaoming, and you... plus a high-ranking official at the Police Headquarters, who’s an old friend of our master. Besides, he would have no reason to act alone... if they just got Miss Ling to give some blood, the secrets of the Rain Bell could be shared by everyone.”

Wan Ze nodded, lost in thought.

Just then, Zhai Jia’s communicator buzzed. His expression changed as he answered. He quickly hung up and said, ”That was the coroner’s office... The actual time of death for the driver of the truck that hit you was two hours before the crash... So it wasn’t an accident! It was murder! Or rather... a warning!”

Hearing this, a murderous rage exploded in Wan Ze’s heart.

’They tried to kill my whole family. Grinding the mastermind’s bones to dust wouldn’t even begin to satisfy my hatred!’

”Brother, please help me!”

He bit out the four words through gritted teeth, each one laced with murderous intent.

...

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PS: It’s the end of the month, and I’m on my knees begging for monthly tickets (they’re the most important metric for a new book!). Please throw some recommendation tickets this way too to help build some hype. My deepest thanks to all my patrons!!!! I’m adding an extra Chapter today!!!! I’ll post it after I wake up and give it a once-over~~