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墨書 Inktalez
After spending some time with Fang Ying, I returned to find Zheng Yu once again under my command, and I had received the latest news. Zheng Yu informed me that after I was framed by Hongmen, the police became aware of the shady dealings within Hongmen. They severed ties with Hongmen and regarded it as a criminal organization akin to Qing Gang. However, due to a lack of evidence, the police could not take any significant action against Hongmen.
As the police intensified their investigation during this period, they uncovered more about Hongmen's illicit activities. It turned out that my suspicions were correct; Hongmen was divided into Southern and Northern factions. The faction that had previously tried to curry favor with the police was North Hongmen, which is backed by Du Tao.
There was also another organization known as Nan Hongmen, which operated even more covertly than North Hongmen. While members of North Hongmen were gradually returning, the police had yet to encounter anyone from Nan Hongmen; they only knew of its existence.
According to police investigations and analyses, several conclusions were drawn regarding the relationship between Qing Gang and Hongmen. The police suspected that the initial desire to go to war with Hongmen stemmed solely from Qu Youyang. Now that Qu Youyang was dead, there would likely be no further friction between Qing Gang and Hongmen.
The most significant suspicion was that Lu Ding Tian was actually a supporter of Hongmen within Qing Gang, but not from North Hongmen—rather, from the mysterious Nan Hongmen.
Zheng Yu told me this was all the information they currently had. After hearing this, I began to contemplate my next steps. To do so, I needed to understand what these people wanted.
Lu Ding Tian likely did not wish for war; he understood the power of Hongmen and recognized his own age—he didn’t have many years left. If war broke out, he would have to worry about it and might meet his end sooner.
But did Lu Ding Tian know that his two sons were colluding with Hongmen behind his back? I speculated that he must be aware; after all, no one knows their children better than their parents. If he were unaware of such matters, he wouldn’t deserve to be the leader of Qing Gang.
However, why would Lu Ding Tian choose to ignore it? He understood that this situation wouldn’t last long; once war broke out, Southern and Northern Hongmen would join forces to eliminate Qing Gang before clashing with each other. After all, both factions were named Hongmen.
What could prevent such a conclusion? That would be through constraints! Ensuring neither side could go to war! The means of constraint lay in him—he could be both an enemy from within and a weight on others' scales. Currently, with Lu Xian aligned with North Hongmen and Lu Fei with Nan Hongmen, Lu Ding Tian had yet to establish who would succeed him. As long as Southern and Northern Hongmen remained uncertain about Qing Gang's stance, they wouldn’t easily go to war; at least not until they clarified Qing Gang's position.
If they rashly declared war, they would first have to eliminate Qing Gang; otherwise, determining who would win or lose would depend on Qing Gang’s alliances—whoever Qing Gang sided with would emerge victorious!
If both factions of Hongmen joined forces to wipe out Qing Gang along with its affiliate Tian Ye Group, there would be considerable losses on both sides. They were unwilling to accept such losses; thus, they waited for Qing Gang to clarify its position while simultaneously trying to sway it to their side.
If Qing Gang chose Nan Hongmen, then Nan Hongmen would unify the underworld; if it chose North Hongmen, then North Hongmen would dominate. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if Qing Gang sided with Nan Hongmen, North Hongmen might not even resist and could surrender immediately. Conversely, the same applied in reverse—achieving dominance without bloodshed was undoubtedly what any leader desired.
What about Lu Ying? After asking about her situation, Zheng Yu’s face turned grim as he sighed deeply. I took a deep breath to steady myself before asking: “So how is she? Don’t tell me she’s dead?”
“She’s not dead,” Zheng Yu stammered. “But you should have guessed it—your incident hit her hard. She has been feeling immense guilt; psychologically, she’s been struggling ever since you got into trouble.”
“What?” I was taken aback by Zheng Yu's words.
Lu Ying had gone mad? Was it because she thought she was responsible for my predicament? But I knew she would never harm me; even if I died, I wouldn’t blame her. Didn’t she understand that? Why did she still blame herself?
“What did the doctor say? Is there no hope?” I asked Zheng Yu anxiously.
“I’ve said it before—Lu Ying isn’t suited for these kinds of situations,” he replied bitterly. “But that stubborn girl insisted on getting involved! Now look where we are! A beautiful girl has turned into a madwoman!”
I felt a deep pain in my heart.
The doctor said she had given up the fight herself. Unless she could forgive herself, there was no hope for her.
"Dong Ge, you're back! I'm not just happy for you; I know only you can save Lu Ying," Zheng Yu said to me.
I sighed in relief. "So that means Lu Ying still has a chance to get better?"
"That's wonderful news!"
Without wasting any time, I wanted to see Lu Ying immediately. However, visiting her openly was impossible; every move I made would be watched. If I did anything that Lu Yan shouldn't do, it could raise suspicions.
So, I put on some makeup and had Zheng Yu go out to buy me a fake mustache. I changed into a suit and shoes that Lu Yan had never worn before, locked my office door, and climbed down from the back window to leave with Zheng Yu to see Lu Ying.
When we arrived at the entrance of the mental hospital, I felt an indescribable discomfort in my heart, but it only worsened once I stepped inside.
Lu Ying's living conditions were surprisingly good. Zheng Yu had plenty of money as an undercover agent to spend on her, and she had a single room. But in this beautiful room, Zheng Yu and I found Lu Ying under the bed, alone, picking up crumbs of bread to eat. Though she was dressed relatively cleanly, it was clear her hair hadn't been washed in days.
Is this the place you found for your sister? My anger boiled over. Although this place seemed upscale, there wasn't even a receptionist when I entered. Zheng Yu must have spent a lot of money, but why was there no nurse accompanying Lu Ying?
"Nurse! Where are you? Where the hell is everyone?"
Zheng Yu was furious too; how could he not be when he saw Lu Ying scavenging for bread crumbs under the bed?
He shouted while I crouched down beside the bed. To avoid startling Lu Ying, I forced a strained smile and waved at her. "Come out, Lu Ying."
"No! I'm not coming out! Where's Xiang Dong? Where's Xiang Dong? I'm not going out!"
With her messy hair and crumbs all over her mouth, Lu Ying shook her head at me with wide eyes, refusing to come out. She looked nothing like the beautiful girl she once was; seeing the moldy bread broke my heart.
How could you treat people like this? I'm paying you twenty thousand a month! You let my sister eat crumbs under the bed?
A nurse finally arrived, and Zheng Yu exploded with anger. I expected her to apologize, but instead...
"Sir, didn’t you give us a heads-up before coming? Look, I understand that seeing your sister in this condition is upsetting for you, but you have to realize that your sister is mentally ill. For someone like her to live this way is already quite good. Have you seen others? They make messes everywhere! This is as good as it gets."
"What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean? Yes! I know taking care of patients is troublesome; twenty thousand a month isn’t enough, right? Fine! I'll give you forty thousand! But if I find my sister in this state again..."
"Sir!"
Before Zheng Yu could finish his sentence, the nurse interrupted him. I took a deep breath; I knew these people didn't understand who Zheng Yu really was. He could be ruthless with underworld figures but was always respectful toward ordinary people.
"I want you to know! We have dignity! We all graduated from reputable universities! Don’t think just because you have some money that you're superior! This is how mentally ill people live; if you're not satisfied with it, there's nothing we can do."
After the nurse finished speaking, I couldn't hold back any longer.
I stood up and slapped her hard across the face!
The nurse froze in shock.
I never hit women; that was my bottom line. But why did I cross it? Because there was an even greater line that couldn't be crossed: protecting my friends!
If they suffered even a little injustice, I would make sure it was repaid—no matter who they were!
"What are you doing?! Are you crazy?! You hit me? I'm calling the police!"
The little nurse was furious on the spot. I let out a cold laugh and swung my hand again, delivering another hard slap!
Smack!
The force of the slap drew blood from the corner of her mouth, and she immediately burst into tears.
"Repeat what you just said to me!" I demanded, struggling to suppress the anger boiling inside me.
But the little nurse ignored me, continuing to cry, which attracted quite a few onlookers to our room.
But what did it matter? What were they looking at?
Smack!
I delivered another slap, even harder than the last two!
"I told you to repeat what you just said!" I shouted.
Damn it! This was infuriating.
Dignity? Do you have dignity? What about Lu Ying? Did she have dignity?
Before Lu Ying went mad, she had such dignity! She risked everything to fulfill her mission, even infiltrating a criminal organization—no one could dissuade her!
But now?
Lu Ying was insane, but does that mean mad people have no dignity? I paid good money to have you watch over Lu Ying, and you can't do your job yet still talk to me about dignity?
Who gave you the courage?
Just then, a group of people burst in from outside. A man in a suit led the way and rushed into the room. Upon seeing the little nurse I had slapped, he quickly asked, "Daughter! What happened? Who the hell hit you?"
So that’s it! No wonder—two thousand dollars a month for nursing should be decent enough. Yet this nurse still wanted to talk about dignity? Turns out she was the daughter of some minor leader here. She thought she could earn good money while still holding onto her dignity, huh?
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