Chapter 91: What Is Going On?

Hearing Duan Bowen’s praise, Hu Erleng laughed. “Secretary Duan, I don’t like what you’re saying there. Isn’t that a bit much, putting people down like that? A sage, my ass. To put it plainly, isn’t it just accepting reality and living like an old man? Besides, sure, I say I don’t indulge in fantasies, but I still hope our barbecue shop will thrive and make a fortune in the end. Who wouldn’t want a better life for themselves and their families?”

Long Teng and Bai Ze came over at that moment. Both looked miserable. Each was holding an egg and rolling it across his face, and both of their faces were so swollen they hardly looked human anymore.

“Brother Yang,” they said, looking a little embarrassed. They had thought they would do far better than this, and had never expected such a result.

Yang Meng smiled. “No need to feel embarrassed. You both did well enough. You’re both very gifted. Don’t underestimate talent. Edison once said genius is one percent talent and ninety-nine percent sweat, but that one percent of talent is often the very thing that decides whether you succeed. You two are gifted. You’ve trained for so long that those rules are already carved into your bones, and being able to make changes in such a short time is not something just anyone can do. I watched the final match. You both stopped clinging to your old patterns, and that was good. Bai Ze was a little regrettable, but no jade is without flaw. There’s still plenty of room for you to improve.”

Standing off to the side, Hu Erleng put on an inscrutable expression and said, “Exactly. You’re both gifted people. Only those who’ve worked hard know how important talent is.”

Though he had no idea what had happened, it still felt pretty good to show off in front of a boxing champion.

Yang Meng went on, “Remember this: in a fight, there are three words, fast, accurate, ruthless. End the battle as quickly as possible. If you can beat an opponent with one move, never use two. You both ran into serious stamina problems by the end, but if you really could have ended things with your fastest moves, would the physical drain have been so severe? And this fighting philosophy is useless if you only talk about it. You have to feel it with your body. So this kind of sparring training must continue. When you can win twenty matches in a row, then come talk to me about apprenticeship!”

Long Teng and Bai Ze nodded together. “Thank you, Brother Yang. We’ve learned a great deal.”

Yang Meng smiled. “All right. Look at the state you’re in. Since this happened because of me, I’ll treat you all to a meal.”

“How can that be?” Long Teng’s eyes widened. “I’ll make the arrangements for dinner!”

Secretary Duan nodded. “Long Teng, you and Bai Ze go change clothes. I’ll take care of the arrangements.”

After Hu Erleng and Secretary Duan left, he still felt rather lost and asked quietly, “Tell me, Mengmeng, what kind of sleeping potion did you give them? Why are they listening to you so well?”

Yang Meng shrugged. “You saw it yourself. They insisted on taking me as their master. No need for me to tell you the old story about how hardship shapes greatness, right?”

Hu Erleng said, “They want to take you as their master? We’ve known each other since we were kids, so how come I’m seeing less and less clearly what you’re about? First it’s warriors, then mystics, and you never mentioned any of this nonsense before.”

Yang Meng did not know how to explain it to Hu Erleng, so in the end he could only say, “Erleng, I don’t want to make up lies to fool you. Just tell me this: would I ever harm you?”

“Well, no,” Hu Erleng said.

“Then isn’t that enough? Why make everything so clear-cut?”

Hu Erleng thought it over and finally nodded. “All right, you’re right! But you were awfully convincing just now. Where did you learn all that?”

Yang Meng curled his lip. “You think I just made all that up? Pah. I was just putting Bruce Lee’s ideas into different words.”

“Damn, you smooth-talking swindler!” Hu Erleng exclaimed.

“Lobster went off to eat with that fat guy. Should we call that crazy bastard and have him come too?” Yang Meng suggested.

Hu Erleng said, “Not a bad idea. I’m just afraid you won’t be able to reach him.”

Yang Meng did not understand what he meant, but he still called Ling Feng. The phone was switched off.

“What’s wrong with this guy? Didn’t he just make the transition to regular status? Why does it feel like he’s even busier now?”

Hu Erleng shrugged. “That poor bastard? He did become a regular officer, but he’s still in the intelligence unit of his old police station.”

Yang Meng sighed. “So he still couldn’t escape that miserable fate. Let’s observe a moment of silence for him.”

When Ling Feng had been a community police assistant, he had already been in the precinct’s intelligence unit. Back then, he had been cooperating with the regular police in their operations. Now that he had been officially absorbed into the force, he still had not left the intelligence unit.

The precinct intelligence unit’s duties were not as simple as gathering information. They had to analyze and assess cases, and when specific cases came up, they were responsible for investigation and arrests. They stood somewhere between ordinary patrol officers and criminal investigators, handling special cases in their jurisdiction that required long-term tracking. Undercover arrests, surveillance, stakeouts, and the like were all their responsibility. That was also why Ling Feng had been injured the last time he went to arrest drug dealers.

The intelligence unit sounded impressive, but it was also one of the busiest and most dangerous groups in the precinct. They often had to work with the sub-bureau’s criminal investigation team, and when things got busy, there was no distinction between day and night.

What’s more, Ling Feng had told Yang Meng and the others that their unit chief was named Kou Yunzheng, a senior investigator at the deputy county level. Though already in his fifties, he still had the energy of a man in his early thirties. He was a complete workaholic, known by the nickname Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils—though more people called him the Old Madman behind his back.

At that, Hu Erleng burst out laughing. “I heard the Old Madman took the Little Madman as his disciple. Ling Feng is in for it now. Lobster said the crazy bastard hasn’t come home in days! But I don’t think we should be holding a memorial for the crazy bastard. We should be lighting a candle for his mysterious girlfriend. Getting stuck with a boyfriend like the crazy bastard can only mean she’s unlucky. I bet that girlfriend is a phony. What, she doesn’t even have time to keep him company?”

“Eh, I don’t think that’s very likely. If someone can date the crazy bastard, just how tough must their psyche be? That was always his style, wasn’t it?” Yang Meng argued.

Just as he finished speaking, Hu Erleng’s phone rang. He checked the number. “Lobster? Did he finish eating already?”

Yang Meng shrugged. “How should I know? Answer it and find out.”

Hu Erleng picked up. The moment he did, Qi Kun’s voice came through. “Erleng! Get Mengmeng and come over here! Things have gone down!”

“Gone down? With who? Where?” Hu Erleng asked urgently.

But Qi Kun had already hung up.

Yang Meng and Hu Erleng looked at each other in confusion. What was going on?

Long Teng had just finished changing and came over, his face still wrapped in bandages from the beating he had taken. “Brother Yang, why do you both look like that?”

Hu Erleng held up the phone. “Lobster got into a fight with someone and called us to come over!”

“A fight? What happened? Where?” Long Teng hurriedly asked.

Hu Erleng gave a wry smile. “He didn’t say anything clearly before hanging up.”

Yang Meng said, “Didn’t they say they were going to Crane Auspice House for the old-style roast duck?”

“Yes, yes! Crane Auspice House!” Hu Erleng nodded. “He’s with that Zhang Cuijian guy too. With those two bodies on the scale, I don’t think three or five people would make Lobster that tense.”

Bai Ze, hearing the commotion, also ran over. “Who’s fighting? I’ve got a bellyful of anger and nowhere to vent it!”

Long Teng said, “A bunch of people? What’s to fear? Think I can’t match them for numbers? I’ll bring all our people over and bury them!”

Yang Meng covered his face. “Look at the two of you. With your heads wrapped up like that, and you still want to go brawl? Anyone would think you’d crawled out of a hospital!”

Long Teng and Bai Ze exchanged glances. Well, in their current state, they really did not look particularly impressive.

Yang Meng waved a hand. “Besides, why take so many people? To bully them? The few of us can go take a look. Let me put it this way: if I hadn’t promised to treat you to a meal, I wouldn’t even want to bring the two of you.”

Long Teng hurriedly nodded. “Fine. I’ll have someone arrange the cars.”

Soon after, two cars carrying six people arrived at Crane Auspice House. The Bai brothers had followed along as well.

Hu Erleng could not wait and charged straight through the entrance. “Which son of a bitch dared lay a hand on my brother?”

A man wearing a traditional jacket saw Hu Erleng come in and hurried over. “You’ve finally come. Come with me, come with me. If you’d come any later, I wouldn’t have known what to do either.”

Yang Meng blinked. “And who are you?”

The man in the jacket gave a bitter smile. “I’m the manager here. My surname is Mu. It’s a long story, really. You’ll understand once you go in and see for yourselves.”

Still in the dark, Yang Meng and the others followed Manager Mu to the second floor of the hotel.

“When exactly are the people you called coming?” Before they even got close, they heard Zhang Cuijian’s voice coming from a room, apparently speaking to Qi Kun.

Could they already have been boxed in by the other side?

Manager Mu pushed open the door of a private room. It was already packed with people, all of them in black suits with cropped hair. Hearing the door open, every one of them turned at once to look at Yang Meng and the others.

Long Teng and the rest had just rolled up their sleeves and were about to start fighting when Zhang Cuijian’s voice came again. “They’re here? Let them in!”

Yang Meng frowned. What was this? Why did it sound as if these people were brought here by Zhang Cuijian?

The men in black suits split into two rows, leaving a passageway for Yang Meng and the others to enter.

Yang Meng and Hu Erleng walked in front, while Long Teng and Bai Ze, with bandages still wrapped around their faces, followed behind. Duan Bowen and Bai Chao brought up the rear.

“This looks like the real deal, huh? Put on a black suit and shave a little crew cut and suddenly you think you’re the underworld? Let me tell you, the vice squad cracks down on people exactly like you!” Hu Erleng shoved past the men in black and strode in with swagger. “Lobster, these are the ones who cornered you? Shut the door. Don’t worry, none of them are getting away!”

But when Yang Meng walked in and saw what was actually happening inside, he could not help but ask in surprise, “What in the world are you all doing?”