The commotion outside the Jinshui Pavilion was considerable. In Wu City, drinking until late at night was commonplace. Despite the late hour, a large circle of people had gathered.
Zhang Tong froze, realizing the situation had calmed down. His eyes were red. Out of the five of them, three had gotten involved, Xiao Zhuang was directing the retrieval of the vehicle, leaving him and the idiot to watch until the very end.
Without a word, he walked straight towards Du Jiu, who was surrounded by the crowd. Only one thought filled his mind: either he would kill the other man, or he would be killed by the other man. Su Ping Nan pulled him back, gave a faint smile, and turned to look at the unusually ferocious assailant in front of him.
“Is this necessary?”
Su Ping Nan calmly pointed to the crowd surrounding him, most of whom were from the Jinshui Group, tightly encircling Du Jiu with fierce gazes.
Du Jiu looked around, realizing the situation was hopeless. He shook his head, a resigned look on his face.
Su Ping Nan glared at Yang Qianli and softly reprimanded him, “There are too many people, take everything away.”
Yang Qianli nodded, staring intently at Du Jiu for a few seconds before leading away several men with weapons.
“Want your life back?” Su Ping Nan asked.
Du Jiu replied obediently, “My arm, the right one.”
Su Ping Nan chuckled and said, “Chen Liu of the Four Seas?”
Du Jiu remained silent, but his quiet demeanor confirmed everything.
“You can’t leave.”
“I have to go.”
Su Ping Nan’s gaze was steady, his tone even calmer, “I said you can’t leave.”
Du Jiu looked at the people surrounding him, their strength exceeding his expectations. He shook his head bitterly, “I admit defeat. My arm is yours.”
True to his word, the man was ruthless. He grabbed his own left wrist with his right hand and twisted it forcefully, a bone-chilling snap resonating through the air.
Du Jiu’s face turned pale. Cold sweat from the pain rolled down his cheeks, landing on the ground, quickly melting into the snowflakes and disappearing.
“Can I go now?”
Su Ping Nan took out a cigarette and tossed it into his mouth, fumbled for his lighter, but couldn’t find it. He waved his hand, and one of his subordinates, quick on his feet, immediately approached and lit Su Ping Nan’s cigarette.
“Huff.”
Exhaling a long plume of pale blue smoke, Su Ping Nan said in a deep voice, “When you came to find me, you probably knew what kind of person I was. I said you can’t leave. You can’t leave.”
Examining Du Jiu’s attire carefully, Su Ping Nan said, “You’re a lone wolf from the Northwest who lives off the land, you should have made a fair amount of money. This outfit of yours doesn’t look like a facade.”
“You don’t have any money, and your eagerness to leave means you have someone you care about. Sadly, you can’t leave.”
Du Jiu’s eyes were red, he said, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll go crazy?”
Su Ping Nan looked at Li Chang Hai, whose eyes glinted like those of a venomous snake amidst the crowd, and chuckled softly, “I understand one principle, if something is beyond redemption, then you must be decisive in your actions.” He nodded towards Guo Guang Yao, who was gasping for breath, and turned to leave, “Send him to the Six Doors. We’ll talk when he gets out.”
Du Jiu’s roar and Su Wen Wen’s indignant shouts rang out. Su Ping Nan remained calm, greeting Li Chang Hai, “Li, it’s a sight to see. Nowadays, these criminals are truly lawless.”
Li Chang Hai almost vomited his dinner in disgust. He nodded insincerely, cursing in his heart, “Criminals? You’re the biggest criminal in Wu City, damn you!”
When Su Wen Wen returned to report, he had some bruises on his face. Du Jiu’s martial prowess was indeed formidable. Even with one arm broken, he managed to knock down over a dozen people before being subdued.
“Brother Nan, what should we do with Du Jiu?”
Su Ping Nan said, “You know why I sent him in?”
“I know, too many onlookers. We are different from him.”
Su Ping Nan nodded in satisfaction, then seemed a little disillusioned, “There will be no more jiānghú in the future. People like him live in a fantasy of the jiānghú, they’re destined to be eliminated.”
Su Ping Nan felt a certain kinship with the man, he was filled with a sense of reflection.
“Brother Nan, should we...?”
Su Wen Wen’s eyes were filled with murderous intent. Su Ping Nan shook his head.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We don’t need to hurry with the Four Seas matter, but I’m very interested in this fellow, find out everything you can about him.”
“Yes.”
Since entering the detention center, Du Jiu remained silent, no matter how the Six Doors interrogated him. His only concern was his younger sister.
The guards at the detention center were a group of jī huāng zéi. At first, they tried to intimidate him, the leader, Brother Long, cleared his throat a few times. Seeing Du Jiu didn’t even bat an eyelid, he felt a little embarrassed. He was about to have his men give Du Jiu a lesson, but the warden’s cold words sent chills down his spine.
“This guy’s tough, he’s a seven-in-and-seven-out killer in front of Xiao Hong Pao. You guys should keep a low profile.”
The group of gambling addicts immediately backed down. It was best to avoid someone who even dared to provoke “the most ruthless in Wu City.” In the following days, Du Jiu unexpectedly enjoyed a few days of being the boss.
Half a month later, on the eve of New Year’s Eve, the day before New Year’s Day, Du Jiu was released.
He stepped out of the detention center, walked for ten minutes, and saw a dozen black SUVs parked in a neat row at a crossroad, along with dozens of men in identical black suits standing silently.
Su Ping Nan, in a bright cyan suit, was standing in front of the lead car, a cigarette dangling from his lips, smiling mischievously at him.
Du Jiu’s entire body immediately tensed up, his eyes darting around, searching for any possible opportunity.
“I need a driver. Are you in?”
Su Ping Nan ignored Du Jiu’s nervousness and spoke out.
“You want to hire me?”
“Yes.”
“I’m expensive, you can’t afford me.”
Su Ping Nan nodded towards Yang Qianli, who tossed a bag over without any expression.
Du Jiu, confused, opened the bag with his one hand. There were a few items inside.
A key, a blank student record, and a kidney donor contract from Tiandu Hospital.
Du Jiu’s eyes immediately changed, he stared at Su Ping Nan and said word by word, “What does this mean?”
Su Ping Nan dropped his cigarette butt and said, “The price of hiring you.”
“Where is she?”
Su Ping Nan pointed his lips in an effort to gesture, “She’s in the house with that key, waiting for you to return.”
Du Jiu stood there for a long time without saying anything, Yang Qianli patted his shoulder, “You’re going to die on the streets eventually. The boss said you’re the purest jiānghú person, so he’s treating you with the utmost sincerity, why bother?”
“What if I don’t agree?”
Su Ping Nan smiled, his expression calm and unruffled, “Let’s pretend we never met.”
He waited patiently, knowing that once this kind of man agreed, he’d be giving his life to him, so he wasn’t in a hurry.
“Alright, your life is mine.”
As soon as the words left his lips, Su Ping Nan and Yang Qianli erupted in laughter. Du Jiu also slowly revealed a genuine smile he hadn’t seen in a long time.