Chapter 228 — You Dare Hit Me

At this point, Zhong Yongliang put on a show of being afraid.

"If there's something to say, say it quickly. Spare me the useless talk. If it has nothing to do with you, I naturally won't make trouble for you." Wei Zhao frowned.

"All right, all right. At the time I just said it offhand—that Tang Zhi had gone off with that brat Wei Zhao, that you had no chance left, that you might as well have just forced yourself on her back then. When I said that, I saw Wei Zhao's expression hadn't changed, so I went on: 'What I never expected was that those words actually put an idea in that brat Zou Ruoming's head. He actually said it wasn't too late to force the issue now—that as long as he had Tang Zhi, he wouldn't have to worry about her not following him.' At the time I was afraid of Zou Ruoming's power, so I just kept nodding along. But after I went back, the more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt. This was shielding a crime. If I knew and didn't report it, Chief Wei Zhao, once you found out the truth, you'd never let me off. So I—"

"When is he planning to carry out this plan?" Wei Zhao cut Zhong Yongliang off and grabbed him by the collar. Wei Zhao had long since guessed that Zhong Yongliang was up to no good, but he hadn't expected him to be this vicious—egging Zou Ruoming on to go after Tang Zhi.

Wei Zhao didn't believe the matter was as simple as Zhong Yongliang made it out to be. Nine times out of ten, this plan was the brainchild of that little bastard Zhong Yongliang. And now he had come looking for Wei Zhao to talk about it... treating him to a meal, stalling for time...

Something was wrong. Wei Zhao's heart tightened, and a sense of foreboding rose in him. If what Zhong Yongliang said was true, then Zou Ruoming's move against Tang Zhi could well be tonight.

"He... he..." Zhong Yongliang hadn't expected Wei Zhao to grab him by the neck the moment something sounded off.

"Is it tonight?" Wei Zhao's hand clamped around Zhong Yongliang's throat.

"Cough, cough... Chief Wei Zhao, let go first..." Zhong Yongliang was struggling for breath. He coughed twice, his face turning red.

"Where are they?" Wei Zhao gave a cold laugh, but his grip only tightened. If he hadn't still needed to find out where Tang Zhi was, he might well have crushed Zhong Yongliang's throat right then and there. "Zhong Yongliang, I'd advise you to drop the act. Did you really think I'd believe that clumsy performance of yours?"

"Damn it!" Zhong Yongliang gasped sharply. "Wei Zhao, you playing me?"

Since Wei Zhao had seen through him, Zhong Yongliang simply stopped pretending. There was no need for it now—he only regretted having wasted all that time playing the loyal underling for nothing.

"Where is Tang Zhi?" Wei Zhao loosened his grip a little. He knew that if he kept squeezing, Zhong Yongliang would pass out from lack of air even if he didn't die.

"Ha, probably already screwed by Zou Ruoming, isn't she?" Zhong Yongliang sneered. Now that all pretense had been torn away, there was no need to keep up the act. "What? You want to hit me? Think carefully, though—hit me, and you'll never see Tang Zhi again. Heh heh... Go on, hit me. What are you waiting for?"

Zhong Yongliang looked as though he had Wei Zhao completely figured out, certain that Wei Zhao wouldn't dare do anything to him right now.

"Bang—"

"Ow—" Zhong Yongliang let out a wail and clutched his nose. Wei Zhao had bloodied it with a punch. "You—you—you dare hit me? Believe me, I won't tell you where Tang Zhi is!"

"Bang—"

"Ah—" Zhong Yongliang stared at Wei Zhao in disbelief. "You... you don't want to know where Tang Zhi is anymore?"

"Bang—"

If Wei Zhao had wanted to kill Zhong Yongliang, he would already be dead. Wei Zhao was merely teaching him a lesson. He said flatly, "You will tell me. Otherwise, there would have been no need for you to come looking for me of your own accord."

"If I've guessed right, you and Zou Ruoming joined forces to deal with me, didn't you? You found someone and had him lie in wait at the place where Zou Ruoming plans to commit his crime, then came to me pretending to be sincere, tipping me off—when in truth you mean to lure me there and take your revenge on me. That's right, isn't it?"

"And the man lying in wait for me—let me think—must be Black Panther, right? Otherwise it's too much of a coincidence: he escaped yesterday, and today you're already scheming against me. Only a fool like Black Panther would help you take revenge on me. He must hate me for sending him to prison, right?"

"Hmph, so what if you guessed right?" Zhong Yongliang sneered. "Go on, waste your breath here, waste your time. By then Tang Zhi will have been screwed to death. Haha, hit me, then—if you've got time to hit me, go ahead, hit me all you like. It's your time you're wasting, after all."

"Bang—" Another punch.

"Have you... have you lost your mind?" Zhong Yongliang stared at Wei Zhao in disbelief. "You... you still have time to hit me?"

"You kept checking your phone, which proves there is a secret signal between you and Black Panther. Once he settles things on his end, he will notify you by text or some other means." Wei Zhao curled his lip and looked at Zhong Yongliang with pity. "But you still have not received a text, which means Black Panther has not succeeded yet, so you need not go around making alarmist threats."

"..." Zhong Yongliang drew a deep breath and clenched his fists. He felt utterly pathetic, toyed with by Wei Zhao like this. Wei Zhao had actually guessed every one of his thoughts and plans, and that gave Zhong Yongliang an urge to fly into a rage.

He wished Wei Zhao would drop dead right then and there, but in the end Zhong Yongliang still unclenched his fists. He who cannot bear a small grievance ruins the grand plan; in any case, all he had to do was lure Wei Zhao to Brother Black Panther's place, and Brother Black Panther would finish Wei Zhao off. Then his revenge would be complete.

At that thought, Zhong Yongliang swallowed his humiliation and said, "Fine, even if you guessed right, I will not waste words with you. Come with me—Brother Black Panther is waiting for you at the unfinished building on Honghua Road in the North District."

"Had you been this obedient sooner, you would have saved yourself a beating." Wei Zhao patted the back of Zhong Yongliang's head. "Do less of this foolishness from now on."

"Hoo..." Zhong Yongliang gritted his teeth. Endure. Keep enduring. This old man will turn into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle first and let you strut for a while; soon enough you will learn what tragedy means. You still think Brother Black Panther is the Brother Black Panther of old?

Hahaha—at the thought of Wei Zhao's stunned expression upon seeing Brother Black Panther, whose strength had soared, a wave of comfort washed through Zhong Yongliang's heart, and his earlier displeasure and the pain on his face were cast to the back of his mind.

In the corridor of the Liangbai Grand Hotel, the waiters looked at Zhong Yongliang, his face like a pig's head and covered in blood, with a mixture of curiosity and fear. None dared step forward to ask, but each of them wondered privately what had happened to Young Master Zhong today.

"Young Master Zhong, what happened to you...?" The lobby manager on the first floor, one of Zhong Fabai's trusted men, hurried forward to inquire at the sight of Zhong Yongliang.

"None of your business." Zhong Yongliang waved his hand, signaling him not to stick his nose in.