Zhang Shun’s mind exploded like a sky full of fireworks, and for a moment he didn’t know how to react—he just stared blankly at Zhou Hui.
Zhou Hui stepped closer, eyes sharp and impatient: “I’m asking you—do you know what a ‘threesome’ is?”
“…” Zhang Shun stammered, “I-I know… it means three people sleeping together…”
The room fell silent. Zhou Hui looked down on him, then suddenly smiled warmly: “Good you know. I’m just helping your brother care about your basic knowledge of physiology and hygiene. Don’t overthink it—today we’re not doing any threesomes.”
Zhang Shun almost got slammed to the floor by a heavy pat on the shoulder. When he came to, he was furious and immediately lunged to punch him hard. But the girl Xiao Xi quickly jumped in to block him, despairing, “Don’t hit him, Second Young Master Zhang! Big Boss Zhou is just like this—you’ll get used to it!”
At that moment, she suddenly spoke with a deep male voice, startling Zhang Shun: “What’s wrong with you?”
“Can’t you tell?” Xiao Xi blinked at him. “We used to smoke together in H City. You forgot after a few days apart?”
Zhou Hui was ready to jump in and provoke Zhang Shun to start a fight, but Xiao Xi quickly stopped him. He sighed and said, “Boring humans… Fang Pian is one of my subordinates, the agent who escorted that little beauty Yan to Beijing. You even gave him two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes to get information on Yan. Remember now?”
“…Fang Pian?” Zhang Shun’s expression instantly collapsed. “You’re Fang Pian? How did you turn into a woman?!”
Xiao Xi helplessly rubbed her forehead: “It’s a long story… That woman was originally my lover, but she was bribed to kill me. Luckily, Big Boss Zhou arrived just in time and locked my soul into that woman. Since then, I’ve been working on her behalf in the mortal world, secretly exchanging info with Zhou Hui a few times… Oh, I even accompanied Team Leader Feng Si today, but sadly, I’m not really a woman.”
Zhang Shun recalled the capable young agent in H City and then looked at the delicate girl in the white dress before him. His face could only express “=口=” (utter disbelief).
“At first, I wanted to die too—I didn’t even know what to do going to the bathroom. But I gradually got used to it. After all, it’s only temporary, and you have to love what you do. Just think of it as a life experience,” Xiao Xi flicked her pinky and said, “I’m doing great now. Just yesterday, people even fought over who gets to entertain me—felt really accomplished.”
“…” Zhang Shun was dumbfounded. He thought, just a month ago you were a rough guy who smoked, scratched himself, and cursed openly! What on earth happened to you in that month?
He involuntarily glanced at Zhou Hui, noticing his expression was a bit stunned too—apparently, he hadn’t expected such a wild twist in his subordinate’s story.
“…Why… why would someone want to kill you?” Zhang Shun stammered. “When did this happen? After you left H City?”
Xiao Xi sighed again, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the bedside table, took one out, lit it, and inhaled deeply. For a moment, she looked more like her original gender.
“That’s an even longer story… Big Boss Zhou and I analyzed it and think the assassin was sent by Deputy Director Yu.”
·
Zhang Shun’s brain was a mess, filled with question marks. He looked to Zhou Hui for answers.
Zhou Hui sat down on the bed, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. A drunk man who just took off his jacket and reeks of alcohol, and a spirit inhabiting a mortal woman, sitting smoking together on a hotel bed—no matter how you looked at it, it felt like a scene before a transaction, where both sides haggle over the price. For a few seconds, Zhang Shun even had the illusion that Zhou Hui would suddenly pull out a wad of cash and say, “Two thousand, final offer!”
“The question is why would Yu Jingzhong want to kill you?” Zhou Hui pondered. “Even though I and Deputy Yu don’t exactly get along perfectly, at least we don’t stab each other in the back. Could it be that when you escorted Yan Lanyu to Beijing, you made a move on that little beauty? If that’s the case, the logic holds up…”
Xiao Xi grumbled, “That little beauty can control corpses to kill people, alright? The only one who got have pressed down and ra-ped would’ve been me!”
“Hm, fair enough.” Zhou Hui thought a moment and asked, “Did you make any mistakes on the way?”
Xiao Xi shook her head.
“When was the last time you saw Deputy Yu?”
Xiao Xi flicked the ash onto the table, took off her high heels, and scratched her foot through her stockings. This casual move revealed her rough nature, which Zhou Hui caught with a sideways glance, feeling reassured—his subordinate still had hope.
“On the day Yan Lanyu arrived in Beijing, Deputy Yu personally came to the airport to meet us,” Xiao Xi said, frowning. “Yan Lanyu wasn’t in great health but still lucid. We heard Deputy Yu came himself and was quite happy about it. Then we met Deputy Yu at the airport. I’d never seen him so emotional before. When he saw Yan Lanyu, he immediately rushed up and said, ‘You’re finally back. I’ve been waiting a long time.’ Then he told us to work hard and said he’d treat us to a meal…”
“Oh, old Yu was pretty hype, huh?” Zhou Hui asked. “Then what happened?”
“We all laughed. Boss, you know Deputy Yu has no airs with us. I joked that he’s like an old man in love—like a burning old house, can’t wait for a moment longer.”
“What was old Yu’s reaction?” Zhou Hui asked.
“He was smiling and didn’t get upset at all, even grabbed Yan Lanyu’s hand,” Xiao Xi said, frustrated. “It can’t be that he killed me just because of that joke, right? After all, after returning from Japan, Deputy Yu wrote two sour poems everyone in national security knew about—you guys always joked about him chasing young girls. What’s wrong with me making a joke?”
A sudden sharp light flashed in Zhou Hui’s eyes. “Wait, you just said Deputy Yu what?”
“…Old bull eating young grass?” Xiao Xi asked, confused.
“No, the previous line?”
“Deputy Yu… Deputy Yu wrote sour poems,” Xiao Xi said. “That little beauty Yan Lanyu rescued Deputy Yu in Japan. After he came back, he wrote that poem about ‘once having seen the ocean, no other water will do,’ and kept it in his diary. Last time Team Leader Hu Liu sneakily read it aloud in the cafeteria—hilarious, we all died laughing…”
Zhou Hui didn’t laugh. His eyes gleamed dangerously. “How did Yan Lanyu react?”
“Ah?”
“When you all joked like that, how did Yan Lanyu respond?”
Xiao Xi blinked confused, struggling to recall. Only when the cigarette burned her hand did she snap back: “N-no… not much, I guess. What reaction? He seemed pretty unhappy—maybe just shy.”
“…” Zhou Hui said nothing, didn’t move, just took a slow drag of his cigarette. Zhang Shun and Xiao Xi watched him. After several minutes, he finally whispered, “I know what happened.”
—What happened? Xiao Xi was puzzled and about to ask, but Zhou Hui cut her off: “Did Yan Lanyu say anything else? Did he avoid Deputy Yu and seek you out alone?”
“…I… I don’t know if he did. We just got in the car. I don’t think he said anything. When we were moving the luggage, I stood behind him. He asked if I had your contact info…”
“Looking for me?”
“Yeah. He wanted to thank you for rescuing him from the Japanese and asked when you’d be back in Beijing so he could thank you in person.” Xiao Xi waved her hand. “There was no way I’d give out your contact info, so I didn’t. That was the last time we met. Later, I heard he collapsed because his body couldn’t hold up anymore. He never woke up again.”
Zhou Hui suddenly crushed out his cigarette and jumped up, startling Xiao Xi: “Boss? What’s wrong?”
Zhou Hui’s eyes lowered, face cold as still water. In that moment, all the frivolity and slickness vanished from the man, revealing a sharp and ruthless face like a jagged reef exposed by the tide.
“He wasn’t trying to thank me. He saw something crucial and tried to pass me the information at the last moment, but failed.”
Xiao Xi panicked and stood up: “Boss?”
Zhou Hui waved his hand, signaling it wasn’t the time to talk. “Who else was with you at that time?”
“…Deputy leader Yang Jinping from Team 5 and member Bagna. We escorted Yan Lanyu off the plane together. We separated at the airport. They probably went to report to Team 5 leader afterward…”
“I got it.” Zhou Hui interrupted. “You go back to the nightclub first. Zhang Shun and I have some business to attend to.”
Xiao Xi asked curiously, “Where to?”
Zhang Shun asked, “Am I coming?”
“Your brother entrusted you to me. Seeing you is like seeing Feng Si—I can’t just let you go,” Zhou Hui said casually. “Fang Pian can take a cab home. Just say Shun-zi couldn’t make it tonight, so the time was short, no overnight.”
Zhang Shun angrily said, “What did you say? Hey!”
Xiao Xi felt no pressure and nimbly started packing. Zhou Hui dragged Zhang Shun out the door and dashed to the elevator, making a quick phone call: “Hey, Xiao Liu, check where Deputy Yang Jinping lives. We’re heading there now!”
“What’s going on?” Zhang Shun stumbled into the elevator, urgently asking, “What did you figure out?”
“Yan Lanyu.”
“Huh?”
“Yan Lanyu’s reaction was off,” Zhou Hui paused, then asked, “If you were that little beauty, waiting two years for a man while shedding tears in the wind and vomiting blood to the moon, ready to give up your life for him, finally seeing him before dying, but someone joked that the man you waited for loved you like an old house on fire—how would you react?”
Zhang Shun stammered, “I… I don’t know. I only like young girls. I don’t like men.”
“You’d better remember that—only like young girls your whole life,” Zhou Hui rolled his eyes and said, “If it were me, I’d be thrilled, definitely not upset. Yan Lanyu’s reaction shows there’s a deadly problem hidden in that joke.”
“A problem?”
“The little beauty became deeply suspicious, but made a slight mistake and didn’t hide it well, so the other side noticed. Maybe it was an emergency move to cover up the truth, or maybe they originally intended to kill Yan Lanyu. After leaving the airport, Yan Lanyu was immediately targeted by assassins…”
With a ding, the elevator door opened. Zhou Hui strode out and headed toward the silver Lexus parked by the hotel entrance. Zhang Shun hurried after him, unable to help but guess, “What kind of problem can a joke have? Could it be that he didn’t like Yu Jingzhong? That he found him not handsome enough and fell for someone else, and in his last moments wanted to reach out to you?”
“Brother-in-law!” Zhou Hui snapped angrily, “Your brother and I already have two kids! I only love him!”
Zhang Shun was stunned by the scolding. Seeing Zhou Hui get into the car, he hurried to follow and ask more, but heard Zhou Hui say to the driver Xiao Liu, “Go to Yang Jinping’s place immediately. We must arrive within half an hour.”
“No problem. He lives in Dongcheng too—why so urgent?”
Zhou Hui said, “If we don’t hurry, he won’t survive the night.”
Xiao Liu and Zhang Shun’s faces both changed drastically, but Zhou Hui stared coldly out the window, ignoring their questioning looks.
·
In less than half an hour, Xiao Liu parked outside Yang Jinping’s home—this deputy team leader from Team 5 lived in a brand-new residential complex in Dongcheng District, a duplex two-story apartment worth millions.
Zhou Hui slipped two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes to the security guard and successfully got inside. His steps were long and fast. Zhang Shun jogged behind him, panting and asking, “Why won’t he survive the night? Is it because Yu Jingzhong will also send assassins to silence him?”
“Yan Lanyu’s strange reaction was noticed not only by Fang Pian but also by two other agents from Team 5. As deputy team leader, Yang Jinping’s identity and perspective are far above regular members. He might have already discovered something unusual but, constrained by Yu Jingzhong’s identity and his powerful backing, didn’t tell anyone.”
“But that faction won’t let him live,” Zhou Hui continued. “They know their mistake has been exposed. The best way to cover it up is to kill everyone present. They’d rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip away. Even rough agents like Fang Pian didn’t escape. Deputy Yang Jinping is definitely on the hit list.”
“What about that team member Bagna?” Zhang Shun asked.
“He was sent on a business trip by Old Five a few days ago. Too late to save him. If he’s dead, he’s already dead.”
The community was well landscaped. By day, the trees and grass were lush and beautiful, but at night it felt dark and chilling. They found Yang Jinping’s building and pressed the intercom—no answer. Zhou Hui kicked open the sturdy carved iron gate and walked in, pressing the elevator button for the 23rd floor.
This was Zhang Shun’s first time breaking in like this at night, and he felt a bit scared. “Is it just the two of us? Should we tell the Team 5 leader and call the Nine-Tailed Fox too? What if the guards call the cops and charge us with attempted murder?”
“—Do you know where the enemy’s mistake lies?” Zhou Hui suddenly asked.
Zhang Shun shook his head blankly.
Zhou Hui smiled—a very sarcastic, somewhat helpless smile.
“Many people believe that Yu Jingzhong being saved at the risk of his life by Yan Lanyu in Japan means there was a personal relationship between them,” he said slowly, “But that’s not the case.”
“Yu Jingzhong once drunkenly told me they had nothing going on. Those sour poems he wrote were just for himself and never shown to Yan Lanyu.”
“So you can imagine, when Yan Lanyu saw Yu Jingzhong’s attitude towards him at the airport, and the reactions of others, he immediately realized something…” Zhou Hui paused meaningfully, “This terrified him deeply, just like me now. He realized there were very deep waters behind this matter, but didn’t know whom to trust or who was a deceiver wearing a mask…”
Looking at his expression, Zhang Shun suddenly understood the terrifying implication behind those words.
Cold sweat poured down his face.
“He doubted everyone but placed his last trust in me, but unfortunately the message was intercepted,” Zhou Hui said. “Luckily, now I still have two people I can trust: you and your brother.”
The elevator doors opened. Zhou Hui strode to Yang Jinping’s door, knocked twice with no response, then kicked the door open with a heavy “bang!”
The solid wooden door slammed against the wall and bounced back, but Zhou Hui caught it.
Zhang Shun leaned forward from behind him and instantly turned pale.
—Under the big chandelier, Yang Jinping’s corpse hung midair, emitting a terrible stench. His neck bones were broken by the weight, bent into a strange arc. His tongue stuck out long, and his dull gray-blue eyes stared fixedly at them.
Zhou Hui entered the living room, closed the door behind him, pulled out his phone, found “Wife” in his contacts, and dialed.
Three seconds later, Chu He’s voice came through: “Hello?”
“Dear, what we suspected has basically been confirmed. Come back quickly and stop the surveillance. Your man is in trouble. Deputy Yang Jinping from Team 5 has become a cursed corpse and must be exorcised within thirty minutes or else…”
Chu He interrupted, “I’m in trouble too. Did you know Team 5 has mutinied en masse?”
“—What?!”
Chu He gave an internal military hospital address and said, “I’m here in the ICU now. Finish exorcising the cursed corpse quickly and come over, or get ready to find a stepmother for the kids.”
Zhou Hui immediately panicked, “What happened? Where are you? What’s going on?!”
“…”
Chu He sighed, “The mutinous Team 5… is right in front of me now.”
·
Chu He hung up and gently put his phone back in his pocket.
He looked up to see everyone in the ICU wearing Tibetan robes, watching him with various expressions.
Leading them was a man in his forties, clearly of a minority ethnic group. He held twin swords linked by an iron chain, his expression showing the unique weariness, cunning, and ferocity of a mountain man. His eyes never blinked as he stared at Chu He, until Chu He finished his call, then snorted and said, “Team Leader Feng Si, do you really think you can hold out until Big Boss Zhou arrives? With all the brothers from Team 5 coming at once, how many minutes do you think you have left?”
Chu He smiled wryly, “Comrade Bagna, you really underestimate me.”
“Whether you underestimate or respect me, don’t take it personally. Everyone knows you have a background; otherwise you wouldn’t be Team 4 leader. But everyone also knows you’re seriously injured and vulnerable now. Even if you’re still a master, isn’t our deputy leader Yang Jinping too? Didn’t he just get turned into a cursed corpse by the brothers?”
Bagna twirled his twin swords, the blades flashing cold, dazzling light: “Team Leader Feng Si, we have no old grudges or recent conflicts. If we blame anyone, blame our opposing stances. Yet tonight you happened to appear here—now, with 60 men from Team 5 assembled here, we’ve come to take your life!”
With a swoosh, all weapons drew simultaneously. Led by Bagna, surrounded by fierce killing intent, they shouted and charged!
Countless blades’ cold glints reflected deep in Chu He’s pupils, but he did not retreat, nor even show a sign of dodging.
He closed his eyes and sighed almost silently. The next second, a gale rose from his feet, a towering vortex spiraled upward like an ancient divine beast unleashing a cataclysmic roar, sending everyone flying away at once!
—Boom!
Everyone screamed and fell, the earth trembling violently as the Phoenix Ming Wang’s divine form manifested!
Chu He stepped forward, revealing a half-profile amid the smoke and dust.
His waist sash embroidered with nine heavens phoenix patterns was tied tight; long hair fell freely, white robes billowed, and glazed Buddhist prayer beads fell from the air. He caught them lightly, instantly turning them into a pure azure hair ribbon.
He casually tied his flowing hair with the ribbon, grabbed his long spear, and pointed at the surrounding crowd.
“You seriously underestimate me,” he laughed, “—Go, call your living Buddha team leader out here to face me.”
