The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

A puff sound.

The bearded man froze.

With his legs clamping and his hands covering his crotch, he then stiffly fell backwards.

The others, seeing this, grew even more furious.

Three of them charged at once.

They rushed at Chen Fang with daggers in hand.

Although Chen Fang's hand-to-hand skills were exceptional, he couldn't withstand the assault of three daggers. In the exchange of attacks, his arm was sliced open.

Even so.

He still stood in front of Qi Kexin, not allowing them to come any closer.

He held his own against three, not falling behind.

It looked like the fight was going to be at a stalemate.

Niu Yongjie fumbled around his waist.

He pulled out a crude homemade gun, loaded it, and aimed it at Chen Fang, bellowing, "Everybody, stop your damn fighting!"

At that command.

Everyone stopped.

Chen Fang did the same.

"Shoot then, you're so tough, aren't you? Come on, shoot again, let me see!"

Niu Yongjie, his face full of murderous intent, shouted at Chen Fang.

Seeing Chen Fang stripped of his earlier bravado, a smug look spread across Niu Yongjie's face.

He said, "Clever kid, quite the smooth talker. You had me completely fooled. I forgot to tell you, what I hate the most is being lied to. Today you're not getting away no matter what. If you have any last words, you better spill them now."

"Don't go around harming others next time. It's not nice."

Chen Fang said.

Niu Yongjie thought he had misheard.

Frowning, he asked, "What did you say?"

"I said, you're an idiot!"

Chen Fang stated, looking behind Niu Yongjie.

Niu Yongjie was taken aback.

His finger curled on the trigger, he roared, "Die then!"

As life and death hung by a thread, in the blink of an eye, Niu Yongjie only felt a fierce kick to his back, sending him flying askew. At the same time, the gun went off.

But, because he lost his balance, the shot went astray.

The steel ball bullet rolled on the ground near the bearded man's thigh, missing by mere inches.

He was just short of meeting the King of Hell.

"Who the hell has the guts..."

As Niu Yongjie steadied himself, about to curse, the words never left his mouth, and he froze in shock.

Standing before him was none other than Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng, with a stern face.

Though he looked lean and small, the ruthless look on his face always made those around him shiver.

"Get them!"

He simply uttered softly.

His followers swarmed in.

Niu Yongjie's gang didn't dare to resist, each being seized by the shoulders, kneeling on the ground.

Fang Mei and Fang Gui were there as well.

They were not in the mood to greet Chen Fang.

Fang Mei helped Qi Kexin up.

Fang Gui took off her jacket to cover Xiao Yu's body.

"I'll thank you later; right now, I have some business to attend to."

Zhang Cheng nodded slightly to Chen Fang and spoke.

Then he squatted down and asked Niu Yongjie, "Who sent you?"

Niu Yongjie remained silent, but it was clear that he was afraid of Zhang Cheng.

"I'll ask you again, who sent you?"

Niu Yongjie snorted coldly, turned his head, and said, "Winners rule and losers suffer. I do business, but I never betray my employer. Even if you kill me, I won't say."

Zhang Cheng's expression remained impassive.

He picked up a dagger from the ground, toying with it in his hand.

He spoke indifferently, "One, two, but not three, I'm asking you one last time, who sent you?"

"I won't tell."

Niu Yongjie remained stubborn.

No sooner had he finished speaking.

Zhang Cheng's hand moved, he reversed his grip on the dagger and plunged it into the back of Niu Yongjie's hand.

With a muffled thud.

The dagger completely pierced through the palm in an instant, and blood gushed out profusely as Niu Yongjie cried out in excruciating pain.

Qi Kexin and Xiaoyu, too, were so frightened that they covered their eyes.

You think that was it?

It wasn't!

Zhang Cheng directly pulled the dagger out.

Then stabbed down again.

This time, Niu Yongjie's complexion turned pale, and his body convulsed in pain.

He gasped for air with his mouth wide open, still howling like a ghost or a wolf.

With a muffled thud.

It was the third time.

The entire back of the hand was a blur of blood and flesh, no longer recognizable.

Zhang Cheng's intention was clear, as long as you don't speak, I am going to keep stabbing until you do.

Watching as Zhang Cheng pulled the dagger out for the third time.

Niu Yongjie finally couldn't hold on any longer.

Crying out, he yelled, "Stop stabbing, I'll talk, I'll talk, it was Hong Qian, Boss Hong who sent me."

Hong Qian?

Hearing this name sent a jolt through Chen Fang's heart.

"It really was him."

Zhang Cheng seemed unsurprised by this outcome.

He let out a long sigh.

Then he stabbed with the dagger again, the fourth time by now.

Niu Yongjie finally couldn't withstand it any longer and fainted.

Zhang Cheng slowly stood up.

Approached Qi Kexin and said, "Miss Qi Kexin, I am truly sorry about today's incident, I failed to ensure your safety, I will pay you double the appearance fee we agreed on, is that okay?"

After witnessing Zhang Cheng's ruthlessness.

How could Qi Kexin dare to say it was not okay?

She could only nod her head.

Zhang Cheng waved his hand and said, "Escort Miss Qi back to the hotel, you and Fang Gui personally stand guard."

"Alright, Brother Cheng."

Fang Mei nodded her head and glanced at Chen Fang before leaving with Qi Kexin and Fang Gui.

Zhang Cheng swept his eyes around the people in the room and ordered, "Cut the tendons in the hands and feet of everyone else, and dump them at the entrance of Hongze Group."

"Yes!"

His underlings responded.

Zhang Cheng then said to Chen Fang, "Shall we step outside for a walk?"

As Chen Fang followed Zhang Cheng into the yard, cries of agony that were more heroic than the last started to echo through the night sky.

Chen Fang took a sharp breath in.

Today was the first time he had truly witnessed Zhang Cheng's ruthlessness.

"Thanks, this is the second time you've helped me today,"

Zhang Cheng said.

Chen Fang replied, "It wasn't on purpose, I just happened to be there, I couldn't just watch a big star get hurt in Changming County, after all, I'm an official of Changming County."

Zhang Cheng nodded.

"By the time my men arrived at the hotel, the people were gone. After checking the surveillance, they found out you left with them. Then I rallied all the people I could command in the entire county to find this place. It's a good thing you were here, otherwise, the outcome would have been unimaginable."

Indeed.

Chen Fang had delayed the time.

If it weren't for him.

Not to mention anything else, the agent Xiaoyu would certainly have been violated.

In that situation, if word got out, it would have a huge negative impact on Tiancheng Garden.

"Why would Hong Qian do this?"

Chen Fang asked.

Zhang Cheng smiled slightly and said, "Business warfare is sometimes straightforward. Hongze Group went through great lengths to enter our market in Changming County. Changxi Lanting, a residential project, has already been approved and is a property under Hongze Group, aiming for a high-end market. If Qi Kexin helped me draw crowds but ended up being kidnapped, that news would make Tiancheng Garden unsellable, and Changxi Lanting would rise smoothly. That way, Hongze Group would have established a strong foothold in Changming County."

This made Chen Fang somewhat fearful.

The saying 'business is like a battlefield' was indeed true.

"What are you planning to do next?"

Chen Fang inquired.