Xia Tian grabbed Ma Yunfei and said, "Brother Ma, I don't want you to take this risk. That thug is extremely vicious. He's going all in. I think if we can't meet his demands, he might set fire to the teahouse. Guan Xiangyang is already on the verge of death. I can't let you go and lose your life too."

“Tianmei, I’m not a fool. I won’t take any action blindly. I will act according to circumstances.”

Ma Yunfei hailed a taxi and quickly arrived at Yipinxiang Teahouse.

More than a dozen police cars were parked near the teahouse, indicating that the problem had not yet been resolved.

The roads near the teahouse have been blocked off, and pedestrians are not allowed to enter or exit.

Ma Yunfei turned into a small alley and went to the back door of the restaurant opposite the teahouse.

He knocked hard on the door, and a waiter opened it, saying impatiently, "The restaurant is closed."

Ma Yunfei pleaded, "My wife works as a waitress at Yipinxiang Teahouse. Now she's been taken hostage by these criminals. I'm worried about her. Please let me in so I can observe the situation from a closer look."

The waiter was kind-hearted and asked, "Does your wife really work as a waitress in a teahouse?"

"Yes, we've only been married for three years and have a one-year-old son. If something happens to my wife, I can't live. Sister, please let me in."

The waiter whispered, "Our boss said we can't be open tonight, and the doors are already closed. The boss went home, so it's just a few of us waiters here watching the door. If you come in, please don't make a sound."

"Girl, I'm just observing from nearby."

The waiter let Ma Yunfei into the restaurant.

The restaurant has two floors, and the waiters are all on the second floor.

Ma Yunfei ran ahead and could clearly see the commotion at Yipinxiang Teahouse through the window.

Several police officers were discussing in front of the restaurant: "It seems that a direct assault won't work. The criminals have handguns and will kill the hostages."

"The thugs insisted that the teahouse owner give them 10,000 yuan, but the teahouse owner has not yet been found."

Where did the boss go?

"I heard it's his son's birthday today, and we don't know which restaurant they booked for the banquet. We're looking for them one by one."

Upon hearing the thugs' shouts, Ma Yunfei said, "I'll give you one more hour. If the boss doesn't come, I'll kill one hostage every hour."

Looking out the window, Ma Yunfei was surprised to see that the thugs were hiding behind Guan Xiangyang in the teahouse across the street.

It seems that Xia Tian escaped, and the criminals actually used Guan Xiangyang as a human shield.

Perhaps the criminals blamed Guan Xiangyang for Xia Tian's escape, which is why they used him as a human shield.

Ma Yunfei noticed that Guan Xiangyang had blood streaming down his forehead, suggesting that he had been beaten by thugs.

Ma Yunfei clenched his fists, thinking to himself: Guan Xiangyang saved Xia Tian. He is a very loyal person. I am Xia Tian's sworn brother. I have to rescue Guan Xiangyang.

If anything were to happen to Guan Xiangyang, Xia Tian would feel guilty and might regret it for the rest of her life.

Ma Yunfei would not allow this to happen.

Suddenly, a policeman shouted, "We've found the owner of Yipinxiang Teahouse!"

A short while later, the owner of Yipinxiang Teahouse was escorted by two policemen to a police car.

The boss was an obese man, who looked to weigh at least 200 pounds.

The boss, sweating and panting, said, "This...this guy surnamed Li did work in my teahouse for two years. Once, when he was serving tea to a customer, he accidentally knocked over a cup, spilling tea all over the customer's pants. The customer got angry and slapped him across the face. If he hadn't said anything, the matter would have been over. But he actually slapped the customer across the face, so I...I fired him and deducted three months' salary from his pay."

The policeman asked, "Don't you pay wages on time at your teahouse?"

"My teahouse business is not doing well, and I only get paid once every three months."

The police officer said, "Since you owe this man surnamed Li three months' wages, and now he's demanding the return of those wages, asking you to give him 10,000 yuan, we think his request is reasonable. You should quickly take 10,000 yuan to him, apologize to him, and settle this matter."

The boss pulled out 10,000 yuan from his pocket and said fearfully, "Officer, this guy surnamed Li has a grudge against me. If I go to deliver the money, he will definitely shoot me dead. You should deliver the money yourselves."

The police shouted through a loudspeaker: "Mr. Li, the owner of Yipinxiang Tea House has brought 10,000 yuan. We will deliver it to you right away."

"I want the boss to deliver the money to me personally; I won't accept any money from anyone else."

Clearly, this thug not only wanted to get his 10,000 yuan back, but also wanted to take revenge on his boss.

It seems he's determined to kill someone today.

The shop owner collapsed to the ground in terror, pleading, "I...I can't go deliver the money, he...he'll definitely kill me..."

After discussing it, the police officers said to the owner of Yipinxiang Teahouse, "Give him more compensation, let's give him 20,000 yuan."

"Okay, no problem. I have no objection to 20,000 yuan, or even 50,000 or 100,000 yuan."

The police used a loudspeaker to tell the criminals: "The owner of Yipinxiang Teahouse agrees to give you 20,000 yuan in compensation in exchange for your release of the hostage."

"The boss has to personally deliver the money to me, otherwise, even if you give me a million, I won't want it!"

The police advised, "Boss, go deliver the money. We'll protect your safety. Look, we have quite a few snipers aiming at him. As soon as he shows his face, we'll shoot him dead."

The boss said fearfully, "You...you want me to be the bait, but...but as soon as I walk into the teahouse, he will kill me and never show his face. In the end, I will die too, and he will escape the net."

Seeing that the criminals and the police were deadlocked, Ma Yunfei opened the window and said, "Officer, I have an idea."

The policeman was startled and turned around to ask, "Who are you? What can you do?"

“I have a friend who has been taken hostage in a teahouse, and I’m going to rescue him. My plan is to carry the owner into the teahouse.”

The police officer asked, "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm in business."

Do you know martial arts?

“I…I am a scholar.”

One of the policemen reprimanded, "This is none of your business to interrupt."

Ma Yunfei pleaded, "The thugs insist that the boss deliver the money. It's only an hour away, and the thugs will kill the hostage soon. This is the only way. I'll carry the boss inside and wait for my chance to act."

One of the policemen scoffed, "You don't know any martial arts, what use are you in there?"

"Just give me a packet of lime powder, that will be enough."

Do you want lime powder?

"Yes, the criminals will definitely search me. Bringing any weapons in will only make things worse. But I have a bag of lime powder in my hand. The criminals won't notice that."