Chapter 60: Meeting Hu Qing Again

He couldn't help thinking of Hu Qing, the woman who had tried to recruit him last time, an offer he had politely declined. Before leaving, she had handed him a business card, telling him to look her up if he ever ran into trouble.

"Should I go find her?"
"People probably just say things like that out of courtesy."
"I've made such a huge mess; can she really help me fix it?"
"Even if she could, why on earth would she help me?"
"Just because I'm skilled in combat, is she going to offend both the Hunan and Henan gangs for my sake?"

Cao Yang figured it was unlikely. Besides, what he feared wasn't the two gangs—it was the police.

Still, since he had already walked this far, perhaps there was some mysterious orchestration at work. He might as well go find her and give it a try.

He strode into the Lushan International Spa. At the entrance, just like last time, sixteen long-legged beauties in cheongsams stood waiting.

"Welcome." The girls were pretty with long legs, bowing warmly and politely. This kind of treatment would normally leave a worldly-inexpensive bumpkin flattered.

"Welcome, how many guests in your party?" A staff member stepped forward to receive him warmly.

"I'm here to see someone."
"Who are you looking for?"
"Hu Qing."
"Do you know President Hu?"
"Yes, I've been here before."
"Then please wait a moment while I make a call."

The staff member led Cao Yang to a sofa to rest, serving tea and snacks accordingly.

...

On the rooftop of the seventh floor, in the penthouse suite.

Tang Shaojie and Hu Qing sat in lounge chairs, enjoying the pleasant breeze and sipping tea.

"The underworld has been quite chaotic lately," Tang Shaojie remarked casually as he gazed at the bright moon and took a small sip of tea.

"You mean the conflict between the Hunan and Henan gangs a few days ago?" Hu Qing also sipped her tea while looking at the moon. The couple matched each other perfectly in both appearance and personality.

"No," Tang Shaojie shook his head. "I just received news that Liu Zhenhu, the leader of the Henan gang, was done in."

Hu Qing's eyes widened. "Was it the Hunan gang?"

"No, supposedly it was some reckless hothead. Quite formidable—he took out ten men all by himself."

"That is impressive indeed." As Hu Qing finished speaking, her phone rang.

"President Hu, someone downstairs is looking for you. He says his name is Cao Yang. You know who he is."

"Alright, I know."

Hu Qing hung up the phone and told A-le, who was standing nearby, to go downstairs and bring Cao Yang up to her office.

"I'm going down to see someone; I'll be right back up," Hu Qing said, planting a light kiss on Tang Shaojie's cheek.

"Who is it?" Tang Shaojie asked curiously.

"That kid I told you about last time. He's got great hands—beat A-le and ten of his men all by himself."

Tang Shaojie smiled and nodded.

Last time, Hu Qing had mentioned discovering a young man with exceptional combat skills and wanting to recruit him as a bodyguard. Tang Shaojie hadn't liked the idea; he believed that no matter how good someone's skills were, they were useless if they weren't one of your own. He preferred using people he was familiar with.

However, not wanting to shoot down his wife's good intentions, he hadn't objected—only for the guy to turn him down anyway.

...

After waiting for a short while, Cao Yang saw a crew-cut man walk up to him.

It was the very same guy he had beaten up last time, the one whose name seemed to be A-le.

"Big Sister invites you up," A-le said, stepping into the elevator first, with Cao Yang following close behind.

Inside the elevator, A-le cast sideways glances at Cao Yang. This fellow was in a pathetic state this time; his clothes were tiny and didn't fit him at all—definitely not his own.

His face was also terribly pale, presumably from injury and excessive blood loss. The most comical thing was his hair, which was obviously scorched by fire. Getting even a little closer, one could smell a burnt odor.

"What are you looking at?" Cao Yang asked, tilting his head to look back at him.

"Looking at you, what about it?" A-le replied with a provocative tone.

"Want another beating?" Cao Yang didn't flinch at all.

"Don't you look at where you are right now. Just try touching me."

Cao Yang raised his hand...

Seeing this, A-le hurriedly shielded his head.

To his surprise, Cao Yang merely scratched his hair.

"What are you dodging for? Scared?"

Played for a fool, A-le's face turned livid, and he stopped paying attention to him.

Entering the office, Cao Yang saw Hu Qing once again. She was just as beautiful and possessed just as much poise as before.

"Sister Hu." With a favor to ask, Cao Yang proactively addressed her as "Sister," putting his attitude in a very low posture.

Hu Qing chuckled. "I still prefer your unyielding and rebellious look."

Cao Yang wore an awkward expression, thinking to himself that he hadn't been unyielding last time, had he?

"Hahaha... Just joking. Tell me, what kind of trouble did you run into?"

Hu Qing laughed heartily, possessing a bold spirit rarely seen in women.

Seeing Cao Yang's battered appearance, she knew instantly that he must have run into trouble and had come asking her for help.

"I killed someone."
"Oh, beat him to death by accident?"
"No, on purpose."

Hu Qing nodded. A human life wasn't a major matter to her.

When the time came, adequate compensation could be paid to the family, some connections could be pulled, and big issues could be reduced to small ones, and small ones to nothing at all. As long as the citizens didn't press charges, the officials wouldn't prosecute, and naturally, nothing would come of it.

She picked up her teacup and took a small sip. "Who was the person, and why did you kill him? Tell me the details."

"His name is Liu Zhenhu, the boss of the Henan gang. He was the one who started..."

"Pfft!"

Before Cao Yang could finish, Hu Qing spat out a mouthful of tea.

Just moments ago, she had been talking to her husband about that reckless hothead, and in the next second, that very same hothead appeared right before her eyes.

Cao Yang stopped talking and looked at her.

Hu Qing wiped the corner of her mouth, her expression turning serious.

"Tell me in detail, what on earth is going on?"

Without hiding anything, Cao Yang recounted the whole story: Tie Xiong forcing him to fight, him killing Liu Yilong in the ring, then killing Tie Xiong, which led to the two major gangs hunting him down, and finally his retaliatory strike.

After listening, Hu Qing fell silent for a long time.

At last, she shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, I can't help you with this."

The Yiyi Association had always maintained a policy of non-interference with local street gangs. Moreover, the Henan and Hunan gangs were both major factions, and their combined strength was not to be underestimated.

Offending these two powerful gangs for the sake of a mere Cao Yang simply wasn't worth it.

Hearing this, Cao Yang felt a minor pang of disappointment, though it was well within his expectations.

He had wanted to say that he wasn't afraid of the two gangs and didn't need her help dealing with them—what he feared was the police.

Since she had already refused, however, it wouldn't be proper for him to press further. He stood up, nodded, and took his leave.

Watching his retreating figure, Hu Qing noticed his slightly strange walking posture and guessed that he was injured.

She sighed, shook her head, and headed back upstairs.

...

"Settled already?"
"No," Hu Qing shook her head, sitting down beside Tang Shaojie.
"That kid shouldn't be named Cao Yang; he should be called Cao Cao."
"What do you mean?"
"Because just like the saying—speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives. That reckless hothead we were just talking about is him."
"He's the one who killed Liu Zhenhu?" Tang Shaojie was greatly surprised. It was an incredible coincidence.
"Yes." Hu Qing nodded.
"Where is he?"
"I wasn't planning on helping him, so naturally I let him leave."

Tang Shaojie thought for a moment, then told A-le, who was nearby, "Go see if he's gone far. If he hasn't, call him back."

"Are you out of your mind? Why call him back?"
"I suddenly got a bit interested in him. Let's call him back and see if we click."
"I introduced him to you last time and you didn't want him, so why are you suddenly interested now?"
"Don't you think he's quite capable of causing trouble? Generally speaking, someone who can cause trouble is also someone who can get things done."
"Pah! You bring a trouble-magnet like this in, and he'll bring a mountain of trouble right onto your doorstep!"
"Haha... Wasn't I quite good at causing trouble when I was young? Why didn't you find me troublesome back then?"
"How can you compare yourself to him? He can fight way better than you ever could."
"Being able to fight is a plus, but it's not the key to success. At the very least, I have more brains than he does."
"If I ran into those kinds of situations, I'd have numerous ways to handle them. Even the worst method wouldn't leave me in the pathetic state he's in. He simply has no brains!"