Chapter 214 — A Midnight Conspiracy

By rights, given Zhong Fabai's network of connections in the city, he should have been able to find a few influential figures to speak a word on his behalf, yet none came! So Qiu Lingshan concluded that Zhong Fabai, fearing he and his son might be dragged into it, had given up on Black Panther.

Naturally, she did not know that Zhong Fabai had already struck a private agreement with Black Panther through his lawyer, which meant Black Panther could not possibly seek revenge against the Zhong family.

"Oh? Is that so?" Zhong Fabai said flatly after hearing her out. "Captain Song, I am not particularly close to Black Panther. He was merely the captain of the security team I hired. Now that you have arrested him, I have, out of sheer humanitarianism, helped him retain a lawyer. As of now, he has no connection whatsoever to my company..."

Qiu Lingshan was rather annoyed at Zhong Fabai's words. You have washed your hands of the whole affair cleanly enough, she thought — but will Black Panther see it that way? Will he come after you for revenge?

"Mr. Zhong, I must warn you, however — Black Panther may well come looking for revenge against you," Qiu Lingshan said coolly, holding back her anger.

"Revenge? What would he want revenge on me for? I pay him a salary every month, plus bonuses," Zhong Fabai laughed. "Captain Song, aren't you overthinking this? But thank you all the same for the warning. I will be careful."

"You know very well why. I needn't spell it out," Qiu Lingshan sneered. "You had best hire bodyguards to protect your son around the clock. If you need the police's help, contact me at any time!"

Qiu Lingshan disliked Zhong Fabai, but as a police officer she still had to warn him to take precautions.

"Oh, I will. Rest assured," Zhong Fabai said. "If I hear anything about Black Panther, I will contact you at once."

After hanging up on Qiu Lingshan, Zhong Fabai's expression turned dark and grave. "Pinliang, how did you know Black Panther had escaped?"

The police had only just called him, yet his son Zhong Yongliang already knew that Black Panther was on the loose. That meant his son's information channel...

"Dad, I saw Brother Panther. He came by just now!" Zhong Yongliang said.

"He came? What did he come for? Did he threaten you?" Zhong Fabai's face grew even more frightening. Earlier he had merely been humouring Qiu Lingshan and distancing himself from the matter, but her words had lodged in his mind all the same... Black Panther really might come after his son.

"Dad, rest easy — Brother Panther is not that kind of man!" Zhong Yongliang said. "He will not move against us. Every wrong has its source, and every debt its debtor. The one he wants is Wei Zhao, not me!"

"Oh? How do you know that? Did he tell you so?" Zhong Fabai asked, slightly taken aback. "Pinliang, tell me — what exactly happened?"

"Dad, it was like this!" Zhong Yongliang explained. "I was in my room watching a movie just now, when suddenly a dark figure leapt up onto the windowsill and gave me a fright..."

"Leapt up onto the windowsill? What kind of joke is that? Your room is on the second floor — that is nearly ten metres up..." Zhong Fabai stared at his son in disbelief.

"Dad, I have no idea either, but he said that in his early years he joined a sect, and that sect had a technique for rapidly boosting one's personal strength. At the cost of five years of one's lifespan, it could raise one's power to the peak of the late Yellow Rank within a month..." Zhong Yongliang said.

"What? The peak of the late Yellow Rank?" Zhong Yongliang might not understand what that rank meant, but there was no way Zhong Fabai could not! Having moved in jianghu circles for so long, he naturally understood what such a level signified!

Never mind the late Yellow Rank — among his own friends there was but one skilled man who had only just reached the early Yellow Rank. Even he merely dealt with Zhong Fabai as an equal, was not at his disposal, and could only be called upon when trouble arose...

And that man alone could already be called invincible across the city. So what kind of formidable existence was the peak of the late Yellow Rank? Black Panther had actually reached such a level? Even if it lasted only a month, that was no small feat!

"Yes, that is what he said." Zhong Yongliang nodded. "Dad, is this peak of the late Yellow Rank very formidable?"

"Very formidable! Formidable beyond imagining! What else did he say to you?" Zhong Fabai drew a sharp breath. Thank heavens he had already extended an olive branch to Black Panther through the lawyer and reached an agreement. Otherwise, once Black Panther was out, the first he would likely come for would be Zhong Fabai himself and his son Zhong Yongliang!

"He said he wants to take revenge on Wei Zhao, and that after the vengeance he will need money to make his getaway. I already agreed!" Zhong Yongliang said. "Dad, I told him the first payment could be one million — you won't blame me for acting on my own, will you?"

"You did very well!" Zhong Fabai said. "A million means nothing to our family — give it to him. If he needs to flee, two million is fine as well! As for his revenge on this Wei Zhao, you stay out of it..."

"Dad, I hate that Wei Zhao too! You have no idea how cocky that brat is. I was in class, sitting beside Gu Mengyao at noon and talking with her, and Wei Zhao decided I was blocking his way in the aisle, so he kicked me head over heels. I'm still sore from the fall!" Zhong Yongliang laid it on thick. "That brat is a stumbling block in my pursuit of Gu Mengyao. He has to be eliminated."

"Oh? In that case, don't get involved openly. Just drop a few hints to Black Panther in private." Zhong Fabai nodded. "Pinliang, you've grown up too. Judging by what you did just now, your father won't lecture you further. If you think it's right, then go and do it!"

"Thank you, Dad!" Zhong Yongliang nodded. "By the way, Dad, I've already given Zhang Naipao the seven hundred thousand..."

"Mm. That man can serve you from now on as well. Seven hundred thousand to buy a loyal subordinate is worth it!" Zhong Fabai said without the slightest pang of regret.

That evening, Zhong Yongliang began pondering how to deal with Wei Zhao. Originally, he had wanted nothing more than to be rid of Wei Zhao at once; he would have been glad to see Wei Zhao run over by a car the moment he got up in the morning.

But now, having witnessed Black Panther's peerless martial arts, and above all having heard his father extol the peak experts of the late Yellow Rank, his mind began to race with new schemes.

The original notion of a quick death for Wei Zhao began to twist into something far more savage! Wei Zhao could not be allowed to die so easily; he had to suffer every agony before he died! Otherwise, the hatred in his heart would never be appeased! This wretch had made such a fool of him, had sent his prestige at school plummeting. The third of the Four Young Devils of the campus had once been so magnificent, and now he had sunk to being mocked behind his back...

If this grudge went unavenged, he would be less than a man! Wei Zhao had to die in agony! Zhong Yongliang clenched his fists...