Chapter 197 - 1195: Friends in High Places

"Who dares to mess with Zheng Changgong’s brother-in-law? Get the hell out here right now!"

Baring his teeth, the fat pig took a fierce drag of his cigar and shouted at Ye Xuan and the others with a thoroughly punchable attitude.

"Brother-in-law, it’s..."

"It’s me. What about it?"

The Ferrari driver originally intended to tattle to Zheng Changgong first. To his surprise, Ye Xuan stepped forward on his own. He stared blankly at Zheng Changgong and his brother-in-law, completely unfazed.

Zheng Changgong shifted his gaze to Ye Xuan and narrowed his eyes. Staring at Ye Xuan, he flashed a sinister smirk. "You’ve got some balls, kid."

Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow, maintaining his unruffled demeanor. "I hear you’re a Security Chief of the Ministry of State Security?"

"That’s right. I’m the Security Chief of the Logistics Department within the Ministry of State Security." Zheng Changgong smiled smugly. "Since you know who I am, I won’t waste any more breath on you. Get on your knees, kowtow to my brother-in-law, and apologize. Do that, and we can drop this matter. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life behind bars!"

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes. "Make me spend the rest of my life behind bars? Zheng Anchang, what a massive boast!"

"Heh, what can you do about it? In Jingcheng, who doesn’t have to show Zheng Changgong a little respect?" Zheng Changgong gave a cold, superficial smile. "I have people backing me from above. I highly advise you to be a good boy and obey."

He finished his sentence with a burst of unbridled, arrogant laughter. Meanwhile, the Ferrari driver wore a smug expression, looking at Ye Xuan with haughty arrogance. Ye Xuan could clearly feel the Ferrari driver’s contempt and disdain.

He noted that for a mere logistics security chief to speak with such arrogance, his backer must hold a rather high position within the Ministry of State Security. During the five years he was missing, the monkeys had truly crowned themselves kings in the tiger’s absence.

"Zheng Anchang, as a member of the Ministry of State Security, shouldn’t you enforce the law impartially? Aren’t you afraid someone will report you to the Ministry for abusing your power like this?" Ye Xuan asked evenly. "Besides, your brother-in-law is entirely at fault here. Does making arbitrary decisions like this, without distinguishing right from wrong, do justice to your duties as a security chief?"

He was still willing to give this Zheng Changgong a chance to repent. If the man was willing to thoroughly investigate the matter and enforce the law fairly, Ye Xuan could find it in himself to let him be. But if Zheng Changgong continued to be this insufferably arrogant, then as the Cyan Dragon Chief, he would have to clean house for the Ministry of State Security.

"Haha, report me? That’s hilarious." Upon hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Zheng Changgong acted as if he had just heard the joke of the century.

"Even if you gave these broke losers ten times the courage, they wouldn’t dare report me to the Ministry of State Security. And even if they did, so what? I work for the Qilin Chief. The Qilin Chief would never punish me over such a trivial matter." He stepped forward and patted Ye Xuan lightly on the shoulder, looking exceptionally smug. "Kid, do you finally realize who you’ve offended?"

Ye Xuan turned his head slightly to glance at Zheng Changgong, then let out a sigh. It seemed Zheng Changgong was a lost cause.

SMACK!

Ye Xuan raised his arm and clamped his hand around Zheng Changgong’s wrist. "Zheng Anchang, if you walk by the river often enough, your shoes are bound to get wet."

Zheng Changgong tried to yank his hand back, but despite his strenuous efforts, he couldn’t break free from Ye Xuan’s iron grip. Panic began to creep into his heart. Although Zheng Changgong wasn’t a professional martial artist, he had learned some self-defense. An ordinary person wouldn’t be a match for him at all. Yet this skinny young man in front of him had completely subdued him with a single hand.

He wondered just what kind of background this guy had.

"You’re quite arrogant, kid! Having a backbone is a good thing, but you need to know when to show it.

"I admit you have some skills, but you’re still no match for me! In this world, brute strength alone isn’t enough to rule the roost," Zheng Changgong said, feigning composure.

"Brother-in-law, stop wasting your breath on him! This punk is way too arrogant. Hurry up and get the people from Qilin Hall to arrest him!" Unaware of the shift in dynamics, the Ferrari driver urged Zheng Changgong anxiously. "We have to teach this out-of-towner a lesson and show him exactly who he can’t afford to offend in Jingcheng!"

Among the wealthy playboys of Jingcheng, the Ferrari driver actually carried a fair bit of clout. Whenever people heard that his brother-in-law was a security chief in the Ministry of State Security, they would inevitably give him some face. Over time, this fostered a massive superiority complex in the Ferrari driver, making his temperament increasingly unruly.

This wasn’t his first time drinking and driving. Years ago, right after he first got his driver’s license, he had struck a pedestrian and left them paralyzed. It had caused a huge uproar at the time, but ultimately, the matter had simply faded away unresolved. Aside from being grounded at home for half a month and paying the victim two million yuan in compensation, he hadn’t faced any real punishment. Since then, he had grown ever more arrogant, treating the legal system with utter contempt.

Ye Xuan gently shook his head before viciously slapping Zheng Changgong across the face. Before Zheng Changgong could even recover his senses, Ye Xuan immediately spun around and buried a fist into the Ferrari driver’s lower abdomen.

BAM!

The Ferrari driver flew backward like a cannonball, crashing heavily into his bright red sports car.

The expressions of the men standing behind Zheng Changgong immediately changed. Without a word, they charged straight at Ye Xuan. But in less than three minutes, Ye Xuan had laid every single one of those bodyguards out on the ground. They writhed on the floor, clutching their arms and stomachs as they groaned in agony.

Zheng Changgong was utterly dumbfounded.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. How was this possible? These bodyguards of his were candidates for Qilin Hall. While their strength couldn’t compare to official members of Qilin Hall, they were still formidable fighters capable of taking on five ordinary men at once. Why were these experts so completely defenseless in front of this man, crumbling as easily as toddlers who hadn’t even learned how to walk?

"W-who exactly are you? You dare touch me? Are you really not afraid I’ll have you thrown in prison?" Watching Ye Xuan take deliberate steps toward him, Zheng Changgong backed away in sheer terror. His eyes were bulging wide in absolute, shell-shocked terror.

"You said you work for the Qilin Chief, right? As a logistics security chief, I imagine you’ve skimmed quite a bit off the top over the years.

"Tell you what. Confess to all the ’good deeds’ you’ve done on behalf of the Qilin Chief over these past few years, and I’ll let you off the hook today. How about it?" Ye Xuan stared at Zheng Changgong coldly, speaking at a slow, unhurried pace.

Hearing this, Zheng Changgong’s expression drastically changed. A hint of wariness crept into his eyes. Why did this man want to know about that? Could he be an enemy of Qilin Hall? No, he absolutely could not utter a word about those matters. If the Qilin Chief found out he had leaked secrets, he wouldn’t live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.

Zheng Changgong’s eyes darted shiftily. Then, stealthily drawing a knife, he lunged to stab Ye Xuan in the thigh while the man was supposedly off guard.

SMACK!

Just as the tip of the blade was centimeters away from his thigh, Ye Xuan clamped down on Zheng Changgong’s wrist. The next second, a crisp SNAP rang out.

Ye Xuan had forcibly snapped Zheng Changgong’s wrist.