When everyone saw that flash of ferocity on Zhang Yanzheng’s face and the faint nod he gave to the guards outside, their hearts turned cold. They secretly thought, “Could Zhang Yanzheng really dare take advantage of this moment…”
Before that thought had even passed, a gunshot rang out beside their ears.
“Bang…” Xu Ze, who stood in the middle of the hall smiling with his arms open, suddenly jolted. Then a trace of bright red blood slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
In that instant, before anyone could react, Sun Lingfei, standing by the staircase, let out a shrill scream. She pushed aside the Zhang grandfather and grandsons beside her and rushed over madly.
In her pink dress, like a red cloud, she ran along the red carpet in the middle until she reached Xu Ze. Looking at that handsome face, slightly frowning with a hint of pain, yet still full of warm smiles in his eyes… she finally threw herself into his arms, holding him tightly, and began to cry sorrowfully.
At the same time, the crowd nearby burst into an uproar. They had not expected Zhang Yanzheng to actually strike like this. When Li Yue heard the gunshot and saw Xu Ze’s body jolt violently, he let out a terrified shout. He dashed out from the side and blocked Xu Ze’s back. Glaring red-eyed at the guard outside holding the gun, he screamed hoarsely, “Who… who dares shoot… I’ll destroy your whole family…”
“Ah…” Just as Li Yue was cursing angrily, the guard holding the gun was suddenly thrown down from behind. A man in torn, tattered clothes rushed in from outside. With both arms, he locked the necks of two guards, brought them to the ground, and then became locked in a desperate struggle with them… swinging his fists and knees wildly, smashing down with all his strength.
As for Old Master Li, he had only just reacted to the gunshot. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he shot up from the sofa, his eyes full of despair. He looked at Xu Ze, tightly held by Sun Lingfei, for a long moment.
Then he slowly walked out, reached the middle, and with trembling hands raised his cane, pointing at the Zhang grandfather and grandsons in front. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Fine… fine… Zhang, you people are ruthless… you really dare do something this vicious… If anything happens to Xiao Ze this time… I will risk this old life of mine and destroy your Zhang family… It will not end until one side is dead…”
Hearing Old Master Li, in the center of the hall, grind his teeth and say these words, the entire hall fell silent. Only Sun Lingfei’s shrill crying continued. Everyone else felt a chill in their hearts.
Who was Old Master Li? In the Chinese military, no one could be found with more seniority than him. Add to that the status the Li family’s descendants had gained in China over the past few years, and it could be said that even the Chairman had to give him a great deal of respect.
Now Old Master Li stood here, grinding his teeth and saying these words. If Xu Ze really died today, then the entire Chinese political and military world would fall into chaos. It would be a disaster that truly threatened the safety of the nation.
The faces of the Zhang grandfather and grandsons in front also turned pale. None of the three had expected Old Master Li to say such things for Xu Ze, who at most could only be considered half a member of the Li family.
If Xu Ze really died, then given Old Master Li’s fiery temperament in both words and actions, if he truly went all out, the Zhang family would likely face a great disaster.
Zhang Yanzheng’s expression was extremely ugly at this moment. He had originally known things were bad when he saw Xu Ze run in from outside. He knew that once this kid appeared, especially with Old Master Li present in person, the marriage alliance with the Sun family would be finished.
But when he thought of how, if his family could not quickly grasp control of Sun Rui, a minister in such an important position, it would be difficult for the family to advance further.
So he had taken advantage of the moment when Xu Ze barged in without revealing his identity. Pretending not to know who he was, he signaled the personal guards outside who were blocking the way to directly kill Xu Ze. That way, even if Old Master Li flew into a rage afterward, there would still be an excuse… and it would kill two birds with one stone, weakening the Li family’s strength.
Who would have thought Old Master Li valued this adopted grandson so much that he would even say such words? Once those words were spoken, there truly was no room for turning back. If Xu Ze died, then next it would either be the Zhang family’s downfall or the Li family’s destruction.
So at this moment, the Zhang grandfather and grandsons were also greatly frightened. Although their Zhang family’s power was not below the Li family’s, if they really fought, it was impossible to say who would win or lose… Besides, no one knew exactly how much hidden strength that old man Li had behind him.
And no matter who won or lost, it would be like killing three thousand enemies while suffering at least two thousand losses. Even if they won, their strength would definitely be greatly reduced… They would never again enjoy today’s prosperity… The Zhang family had always been accumulating strength, so naturally they were unwilling to break completely with the Li family and fight to the death at this time.
Therefore, at this moment, everyone in the hall, including the Zhang grandfather and grandsons, quickly looked toward the young man in the middle being held by today’s heroine… Originally, this young man had merely been an emerging rising star in the military, but now he had become the key figure affecting the entire recent situation of China.
“Don’t die… A Ze… don’t die…” Sun Lingfei held Xu Ze in the hall, letting her tears wash the powder on her face into streaks and lines. She paid no attention at all to the concerned gazes of the political dignitaries nearby, only sobbing hoarsely in grief, “I thought you were dead… I originally planned to go accompany you tomorrow, but now you’ve come back… how can you die… I don’t want you to die… I don’t want you to die…”
Xu Ze gently held the beloved girl in his arms, who was crying herself half to death. His mood at this moment was extremely good. The originally gloomy mood had long since vanished, and he was smiling so much that even his tears were about to dry up. Finally, he could not help saying, “Don’t cry. If you keep crying, then I really will die.”
Sun Lingfei, who was crying so hard, only reacted after a while when she heard Xu Ze’s relaxed and happy voice by her ear. She raised herself from Xu Ze’s arms in astonishment and looked at him. Although there was some blood at the corner of his mouth, he did not seem badly injured. She could not help but cry out in wild joy, “A Ze… you’re okay? You’re okay?”
“I’m fine… I’m a cat with nine lives. I can’t be killed…” Xu Ze looked at Sun Lingfei, whose face was now patched yellow and red from tears, and finally could not help feeling heartache. He reached out gently and wiped away the tears on her face.
The people nearby saw that Xu Ze seemed to be fine, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Someone was already calling for an ambulance.
But at this moment, another gunshot came from outside the door.
With that gunshot came a person’s pained groan.
Hearing that sound, Xu Ze’s heart tightened. He released Sun Lingfei and quickly walked toward the door. When he saw the scene outside, his pupils suddenly contracted.
At this time, Qingniao was lying on the ground clutching his right chest, while two guard soldiers were getting up from the ground nearby. One of them held a gun and was looking viciously at Qingniao on the ground, as if intending to finish him off with another shot.
These two guard soldiers were Zhang Yanzheng’s personal guards. They were used to acting tyrannically at Zhang Yanzheng’s side. With a general’s signal, they naturally dared to be ruthless when someone came to cause trouble.
But today the two had met their match. Others might fear Zhang Yanzheng, but Xu Ze would not. Moreover, Zhang Yanzheng had just tried to kill Xu Ze while he had not yet revealed his identity, letting the two guards put a bullet in him.
Xu Ze reached down and drew a gun from his right thigh. He raised his hand and fired.
The guard gave a miserable grunt. The hand holding the gun shook, and a bloody hole appeared at his wrist. The gun fell to the ground with a clatter.
The other guard nearby saw that things were bad and was about to draw his gun. But Xu Ze’s eyes turned cold. “Bang, bang, bang,” several more shots rang out. Both guards died without even a grunt, falling to the ground.
Xu Ze quickly walked over and crouched down nervously, checking Qingniao’s wound. Seeing that blood was seeping from the wound but not much, he finally relaxed slightly. He quickly took out a silver needle tube from his clothes, drew out the last two needles, and quickly inserted them into two acupoints on the chest. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Looking at Qingniao, he sighed, “You just escaped back from Japan. If anything happened to you, how could I ever be at ease?”
“Cough cough…” Qingniao coughed blood, then smiled as he looked at Xu Ze and said, “I… at the time… cough cough… I already thought I wouldn’t be able to come back. Who knew you really… saved me. Then this life of mine counts as owed to you. Even if I give it back to you today, I won’t regret it.”
Looking at Qingniao smiling while coughing blood, Xu Ze could only smile helplessly. “Forget it, forget it… Anyway, with me here, even if you want to die, you won’t be able to. If you died, I’m afraid Minister Yang would want to tear out my heart. Wait a bit. You still have to go back and see your parents.”
Having said that, Xu Ze sighed and said to Li Yue nearby, “Help me keep an eye on him, and call an ambulance by the way.”
Then he turned and walked back into the hall. Seeing Xu Ze walk in calmly with a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth and that gun in his hand, everyone’s eyes were both happy and afraid.
They were happy because it seemed this kid really was not in serious trouble. They were afraid because this kid had just shot Zhang General’s two personal guards without even blinking. Now that he had come in with a gun, surely he would not do anything reckless.
Old Master Li finally turned around tremblingly. Seeing Xu Ze looking completely fine, he quickly threw aside even his cane and reached out to grab Xu Ze. Then he looked at his back and saw there seemed to be no obvious bullet marks. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief… He was just about to speak when he saw Xu Ze suddenly raise the gun in his hand. His heart tightened. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Xu Ze’s gun go “bang, bang, bang…” in a series of shots.
The living room was filled with panicked cries and screams. Everyone looked in terror at the smoking gun in Xu Ze’s hand, then quickly looked at the Zhang grandfather and grandsons opposite.
At this moment, the Zhang grandfather and grandsons looked at the row of bullet holes on the marble floor beneath their feet, their expressions each different.
The most obvious was naturally Zhang Libao. He did not have the calm of his grandfather and father. Although his grandfather and father looked somewhat pale, they were still relatively calm.
But Zhang Libao, standing behind them, had plopped down onto the ground in fright when the gunshots rang out. His face was deathly pale, and it even seemed his pants were somewhat wet.
Zhang Yanzheng had just been about to reach for his waist, only to discover that he was not carrying a sidearm today. When he saw Xu Ze’s cold, chilling gaze and raised gun, his legs had gone weak with fear.
Now, seeing that Xu Ze had only shot a row of bullet holes into the floor, his expression improved somewhat and was no longer as pale as before. But he did relax. He understood that although Xu Ze had killed his personal guards, he still had not been reckless enough to dare shoot at them in front of everyone. It seemed he still understood the consequences.
Moreover, seeing that Xu Ze seemed to have emptied his gun, and that Old Master Li was already holding tightly onto Xu Ze’s hand, Zhang Yanzheng finally dared to curse angrily. In the capital, apart from a handful of families who dared not give his Zhang family face, he had truly never been intimidated like this. At once he wanted to win back some face. He shouted angrily at Xu Ze, “You dare use a gun here? You even killed my personal guards. If you have the ability, shoot me… if you have the ability, shoot…”
Zhang Yanzheng was also asking for trouble. Xu Ze did not dare kill him, a senior general guarding an important region, in front of so many people. But there were other things Xu Ze still dared to do.
Originally, after Xu Ze fired that string of shots and saw the frightened looks of the three grandfather and grandsons, the anger in his heart had eased a little. But who would have thought Zhang Yanzheng would still dare to act arrogantly and provoke him in front. Xu Ze’s brows rose sharply. With a sudden wave of his hand, he threw the gun in his hand straight at Zhang Yanzheng.
“Ouch…” Zhang Yanzheng had not expected that Xu Ze would still dare to make a move, and even without bullets, could still launch a long-distance sneak attack. Caught off guard, and given that Xu Ze’s strength was far beyond ordinary people, Zhang Yanzheng only felt his vision blur, and then there was a dull “thud” on his forehead.
Blood splattered everywhere. Xu Ze had smashed a large gash into his forehead.
Zhang Yanzheng was dizzy from the blow, but he quickly came back to his senses. In terror, he reached up and touched his forehead, only to find his hand covered in blood. He was so furious that he pointed at Xu Ze with a trembling hand. “You… you… dare hit me…”
“So what if I hit you? You little beast… If my Xiao Ze hadn’t been lucky, he would have almost been killed by you just now. Now he’s only hit you once, so what?” Old Master Li saw that Xu Ze had not really shot the three grandfather and grandsons, and finally felt reassured. Watching from the side, he found it satisfying. Seeing Zhang Yanzheng still dared talk back, he immediately cursed loudly.
At this time, Old Master Zhang nearby had also recovered from the previous scene. Seeing his son beaten like this, how could he swallow this anger? He opened his mouth and was about to curse, “You old bastard…”
“Shut up… you old fool!” But he had only cursed half a sentence when he heard the Xu kid opposite give a cold shout, his face turning icy as he pointed at him and roared. The shout made him tremble again, and he swallowed the second half of the sentence back into his mouth, unable to curse it out.
