Chapter 176 Want to expose the person behind Su Qiang as well.

Ning Jinli knew that Su Qiang was the kind of person who, after gaining power, couldn't help but act recklessly and arrogantly without considering the consequences.

So don't expect to reason with or persuade him when he's in a bad mood.

If a person had that kind of brain, they wouldn't do such a thing.

The simplest way, of course, is to take him down directly.

"You've arrived." Ning Jinli approached calmly and said indifferently, "It's been a while since I've seen you. I didn't expect you to have fallen on such a state."

Su Qiang looked smug. "Fortune's wheel keeps turning. I'm on a roll, and my rise to prominence is unstoppable."

Ning Jinli chuckled, "Oh? It seems you've met your patron?"

She didn't believe Su Qiang had any ability to make a name for himself in the underworld, especially in such a short time. There was only one possibility: this guy was doing dirty work for someone else.

In other words, he has someone backing him.

And that person was the one who truly wanted to target Master Wu.

"Enough nonsense, kneel down." Su Qiang removed the gun from Wu Sanye's forehead and waved it triumphantly at Ning Jinli.

Ning Jinli had been waiting for this opportunity.

The gun was too close to Master Wu just now; even if she wanted to make a move, she was afraid the gun would go off accidentally.

Just as the pistol was waving in front of her, she grabbed Su Qiang's wrist.

Su Qiang was taken aback for a moment, but didn't take Ning Jinli seriously.

"You fucking dare to steal my gun? Find it—"

Before she could even utter the word "death," Ning Jinli instantly exerted force with her five fingers.

Su Qiang's wrist felt like it had been suddenly clamped by a pair of pliers. He opened his palm in pain, and before he could react, Ning Jinli snatched the homemade pistol away.

"This kind of thing can't be used carelessly."

As Ning Jinli spoke, she pointed the gun at Su Qiang.

The group of thugs panicked, but dared not step forward, all staring nervously at Ning Jinli.

Su Qiang grimaced and rubbed his wrist, his eyes wide with shock. "How the hell... how can you be so strong?"

Seeing this, Uncle Wu, who was standing nearby, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The feeling of having a gun pointed at him was terrifying; even someone like him, who used to be involved in the underworld, was quite frightened.

"Third Master, step back," Ning Jinli said softly.

Wu Sanye decisively stood up and retreated to Old Yang's side.

Ning Jinli asked, "Su Qiang, who instructed you to cause trouble?"

Su Qiang snapped out of his shock and sneered, "Ordered? I already have a grudge against you, why would I need anyone to order me around? Come on, if you have the guts, shoot me."

So what if the gun gets stolen?

She's a woman, does she really dare to fire a gun?

Bang!

Gunshots rang out without warning!

The group of thugs were so frightened that they fell backward.

Su Qiang's hair stood on end, a sharp pain shot through his left ear, and his head was buzzing.

The muzzle of the gun was pressed against the left side of his head, and a wisp of smoke was coming out of the muzzle.

"You...you're insane?!" Su Qiang roared, his eyes wide.

Ning Jinli pressed the scorching hot barrel of the gun against his left ear and said with a smile, "Sorry, I've never used this kind of thing before. I missed even at this close range. This time I'll aim better and see if I can blow off one of your ears."

Su Qiang winced as he was burned, his eyes darkening, and he suddenly reached out to snatch the gun.

Even if Ning Jinli did fire one shot, he didn't think she would dare to aim at someone and fire another.

Besides, if a woman can snatch a gun when no one is looking, why can't I snatch it back?

But just as Su Qiang raised his hand...

Ning Jinli raised her right hand, which was holding the gun, and slapped Su Qiang's face twice with her left hand. "You still dare to try and steal my gun?"

Su Qiang not only failed to succeed, but also received two slaps, leaving him somewhat dazed.

What happened? I was quick enough, but I still couldn't grab it?

No! Try again!

He immediately reached out as fast as he could.

Clap clap clap clap!

Ning Jinli swung her left hand and slapped him across the face four times!

Su Qiang felt dizzy and lightheaded, his face hurt, and he was furious!

The thugs around had never seen anything like this before, and not one of them dared to move or make a sound.

Ning Jinli was also somewhat helpless. After a moment's thought, she quickly walked up to Third Master Wu and said, "Third Master, take this and protect Old Yang."

Master Wu took the pistol and scratched his head. "Miss Ning... I've been involved in all sorts of things in the underworld before, but... I've never actually touched one of these before."

"Give it to me." Old Yang held out his hand.

Master Wu quickly gave it to him.

Old Yang glanced at it, then deftly removed the magazine and even disassembled the gun into parts in just a few seconds. He then muttered casually, "The workmanship is passable, but the design is a bit odd and it's easy to misfire. It's better to disassemble it for safety."

This casual display of skill filled Master Wu with awe. "Brother Yang, you're amazing!"

Old Yang waved his hand, "It's nothing, nothing."

Ning Jinli leaned close to Old Yang's ear and whispered, "I want to find out who's behind Su Qiang too, what do you think..."

Old Yang smiled easily and said, "I'm just an ordinary person now. You can do whatever you want with me. But if we encounter any uncontrollable danger, you'll have to take me with you when we run away."

His words were tantamount to tacitly allowing Ning Jinli to handle the matter on her own.

Ning Jinli nodded and returned to Su Qiang's side.

Su Qiang was slapped six times in a row, and his ears were also shaken by the gunshot at close range. His head was getting more and more dizzy. He sat on the sofa with his head tilted back and his mouth open, looking dazed.

"You, get out." Ning Jinli coldly glanced at the thugs around her.

The thugs exchanged glances, hesitated for two seconds, and then chose to retreat.

They were just hired by Su Qiang with money. Now that Su Qiang has been taken care of, there's no need for them to put in any more effort.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ning Jinli waved her hand in front of Su Qiang's eyes. "Wake up!"

Su Qiang instinctively covered his face as if he had been electrocuted, "No... stop hitting me!"

Ning Jinli smiled and said, "It's fine if we don't fight. Since no one instructed you, you will take full responsibility for what happened today. How much do you think you should pay for the shop's losses, as well as the medical expenses and emotional distress compensation for Master Wu's injuries?"

Su Qiang's face was very ugly, and he pursed his lips without saying a word.

His men had all fled, and he had no guns left. He no longer dared to be as arrogant as before.

Ning Jinli continued, "I won't even mention the shop renovations. Let's just talk about the things your people damaged. You'll probably have to pay one or two million in compensation."

"One...one or two million?!" Su Qiang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Are you fucking robbing me?!"

Ning Jinli said, "Please look carefully. This is arguably the best antique shop in Xinghan City. Your people smashed antiques. I'm even underestimating the price by saying one or two million."

Su Qiang's expression turned even uglier.

Ning Jinli added, "Not only will you have to pay a huge amount of compensation, but your actions have also violated the law. In our country, the illegal possession of firearms is punishable by up to three years in prison. However, you used a gun to smash up shops and make threats and intimidation, which is considered a serious offense. The sentence starts at three years and can reach up to seven years."

"Seven...seven years?" Su Qiang felt as if his soul had been ripped out, and he slumped onto the sofa.

Ning Jinli smiled and looked at him quietly.

A few seconds later, Su Qiang squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Can you not call the police? Let's settle this privately... okay? Let me raise the money, I'll pay, I'll pay everything!"

Ning Jinli deliberately set a trap, pretending to be difficult: "I also wanted to give you a chance to raise the money, but your character is really untrustworthy. If I don't see the compensation within an hour, I have no choice but to hand you over to the police."

Su Qiang was almost in tears, "One hour? Where am I going to get the money!"

“Can’t get it? Fine,” Ning Jinli took her phone out of his pocket, “I’ll call the police right now.”

"Wait!" Su Qiang gripped his phone tightly with both hands, as if he had made up his mind. "Let me try first. I'll ask a friend."

"Okay." Ning Jinli smiled slightly, let go of his hand, walked to the door and closed the shop door.

Su Qiang's expression was complicated as he held his phone and made a call.

The call connected quickly.

He curled up on the sofa and said in a low voice, "Dude, I'm in a bit of trouble... I'm locked up in Master Wu's antique shop now. Could you... bring some money to ransom me?"

After a few minutes of negotiation, the person on the other end of the phone agreed.

Su Qiang breathed a sigh of relief and told Ning Jinli that his friend would be there soon.

About half an hour later.

A rapid knocking sounded at the door.

Ning Jinli opened the shop door a crack and looked at the three anxious-looking men outside. "Who are you looking for?"

The leader pulled down the brim of his baseball cap. "I'm here to redeem Su Qiang. Let me in."

Ning Jinli then let the three of them in.

Upon seeing the baseball cap, Su Qiang exclaimed in a tearful voice, "Dude, you've finally arrived!"

The man in the baseball cap looked speechless and ignored him, forcing a smile as he said to Master Wu, "Oh dear, Master Wu! I'm so sorry, my friend's brain's gone mad, he's offended you—"

"Don't try to get close to her," Wu Sanye interrupted coldly. "If you have something to say, talk to Miss Ning."

"Miss Ning?" The man in the baseball cap turned his gaze toward Ning Jinli.

I've never seen her before, I don't know her, but she's the only woman here.

The man in the baseball cap frowned. "Miss Ning, right? One price, I'll compensate you 500,000. How about it?"

Ning Jinli crossed her arms. "Five hundred thousand? That's outrageous!"

“Don’t be ungrateful,” the man in the baseball cap warned. “If I bring my boss over, you won’t even get half a million.”

Ning Jinli asked casually, "Who is your boss?"

The person in the baseball cap said their name.

Ning Jinli had seen him in the news; he seemed to be a very wealthy boss.

But as far as she knew, this person had almost no connection with Master Wu, nor did he have any business dealings with Bao Yuntang Company.

She glanced at Master Wu.

Uncle Wu spread his hands blankly.

Ning Jinli frowned slightly.

Could it be... that I'm overthinking it?

Is there really no one behind Su Qiang?

However, Ning Jinli had a vague feeling that things were not so simple, because the man in the baseball cap seemed very impatient when he came to redeem Su Qiang, and even brought up his own boss.

Perhaps we should probe further.

Just like before in Hewan County, by following the clues from the Hewan County Magistrate, he not only dealt with the Longyuan Prefect, but also rooted out the root of the problem at the top.

Besides, there's no harm in giving it a try.

“Five hundred thousand is too little, I can consider five million,” Ning Jinli said arrogantly. “If you can’t negotiate, just call your boss.”

The woman in the baseball cap was surprised when the boss mentioned the price; she even demanded a higher price, saying with a stern face, "Ms. Ning, aren't you being too greedy?"

Ning Jinli smiled. "Greedy? I was going to say eight million, or how about—ten million?"

"Do I look like a sucker to you?" the man in the baseball cap said irritably.

Ning Jinli showed an indifferent expression, "Since you're unwilling to pay compensation to ransom him, then don't waste your time. You can leave now, I'll call the police to handle this. I'll give the police a special reminder that Su Qiang has a friend like you."

The man in the baseball cap's face darkened. "What do you mean? Are you threatening me?"

"Huh? What did I threaten you about?" Ning Jinli blinked her big eyes, looking like she didn't understand.

The baseball cap made my chest feel a little stuffy.

He really couldn't tell whether the woman was just saying it casually or doing it on purpose.

All he knew was that Su Qiang's situation was very troublesome. Once he was sent to the police station, the police would definitely interrogate him in detail. If the woman also mentioned that she was friends with Su Qiang, they would definitely investigate further.

In the underworld, who doesn't have some shady dealings?

Who knows, some of my own dirty secrets might get caught up in the investigation.

That would be troublesome.

The man in the baseball cap turned and glared at Su Qiang, now truly regretting helping him back then.

“Well then…” the man in the baseball cap almost ground his teeth to powder as he spat out a few words, “One million, that’s already a lot.”

Ning Jinli's attitude was firm: "Don't even think about taking him away if it's less than five million."

"Damn it!" The man in the baseball cap couldn't hold back any longer, pointing at Ning Jinli's nose and cursing, "You don't want the face I'm giving you? You can forget about getting the 500,000!"

After uttering that curse, he looked up and around, then shouted to his two men, "Remove the security cameras in this store!"

The two men immediately sprang into action, heading straight for the computer counter.

The man in the baseball cap pulled Su Qiang out of the sofa, intending to take the man away directly.

Ning Jinli kicked the sofa chair next to her.

The heavy sofa slid past, like a bowling ball, and knocked over the two people who had run to the counter.

The man in the baseball cap looked incredulous.

Ning Jinli seized the opportunity to say, "You won't pay compensation, and you still want to take people away? You might as well not leave either."

"You're really arrogant!" The man in the baseball cap shoved Su Qiang aside, rolled up his sleeves, and headed straight for Ning Jinli. "Little girl, you asked for this beating!"

Thump—thump thump—

After a few muffled thuds.

He lay on the ground, clutching his stomach, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, his face filled with disbelief.

Since he started his gang, he has never lost a fight.

He even participated in training for combat sports and other similar activities.

As a result, he didn't even touch the girl's clothes before he got punched several times!

It doesn't look like it requires any skill and doesn't seem very powerful.

He didn't try to avoid it...

Who knew he'd beat him so badly he'd question his existence?

"Are you planning to go to jail with Su Qiang, or are you going to find someone to pay compensation and bail you out?" Ning Jinli asked with a smile.

The man in the baseball cap was both surprised and angry. He seemed to have been careless this time and had run into a tough opponent who was not as tough as he appeared.

Not only did he fail to take Su Qiang away, he also got himself involved.

What kind of nonsense is this!

Right now, the only solution is to ask the boss to smooth things over.

"You...you want me...to make a phone call to my boss." The man in the baseball cap clutched his stomach and staggered to his feet.

Ning Jinli was more than happy to oblige and gestured for them to proceed, "No problem, go ahead and do it."

The man in the baseball cap made a phone call, and in less than half an hour, a luxury van and several high-end cars arrived in front of the antique shop…