Chapter 97 Winning Hearts and Minds: A Two-Way Showdown
After a long while, Su Wantang leaned against the cold wall and slowly opened her eyes.
She stood up and walked to the mirror. The woman in the mirror was pale, with a hint of bloodshot in her eyes, but deep within those peach blossom eyes, the coldness and composure that "Bai Shu" should have returned.
A chaotic mind solves nothing. Only absolute calm can save her life.
After composing herself and getting dressed, she opened the heavy door.
Outside the door, Li Hu, Du Kangnian, Zheng Kai, and others paced anxiously. Upon hearing the door open, they all turned around and focused their attention on her.
“Boss Bai, our boss…”
Li Hu's bloodshot eyes were filled with tension.
"He won't die." Bai Shu's voice was devoid of emotion.
"The bullet has been removed; it didn't hit any vital organs. Let him sleep; don't disturb him."
A few casually uttered words, yet they made Li Hu's heart, which had been hanging in his throat, fall back down heavily.
He let out a long sigh of relief, his whole body relaxed, and he almost lost his balance.
"Thank you... thank you, Boss Bai! You are our boss's savior!" Li Hu was so excited that he was almost incoherent.
Bai Shu ignored his gratitude, looked past him and landed on Zheng Kai, his tone suddenly turning cold: "Where is that guy called 'Ghost'?"
Zheng Kai immediately stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Don't worry, boss, the person is still alive. As you instructed, they have been locked in the storage room in the hotel's basement. They are absolutely safe."
Beneath the Peace Hotel lies a secret unknown to most. It is a place run by the Du Kangnian family for generations, specifically used to handle "inconvenient" people and matters.
"Take me there." Bai Shu didn't waste any words and turned to leave.
"Boss, you just had surgery, aren't you going to rest for a bit?" Du Kangnian asked worriedly.
Bai Shu's steps did not falter at all, leaving behind only a cold statement: "The enemy will not give people time to rest."
...
The basement was dark and damp, filled with the smell of rust and mildew.
"Splash!"
A basin of ice-cold water was poured over his head.
The "ghost," firmly bound to the iron chair, jolted awake and suddenly opened its eyes.
The sharp pain in his neck instantly brought back the scene before he lost consciousness: the woman's ghostly movements and Lu Jingyan's desperate lunge.
He looked around: cement walls, a single light bulb casting a dim yellow light, and... Bai Shu standing in front of him, watching him with a leisurely air.
A hint of embarrassment flashed in "Ghost's" eyes, but it was quickly replaced by the cold-bloodedness of a professional assassin.
He twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a contemptuous smile tinged with the stench of blood.
"Ha, I never expected to fall for a woman."
"Kill me or torture me, just give me a quick death. You're dreaming if you think you can get anything out of me."
Bai Shu smiled, a smile that was both sweet and alluring, yet it sent chills down You Ling's spine.
She didn't use any torture devices; she simply took a brown paper bag from Zheng Kai's hand and casually tossed it onto Ghost's lap.
"I never waste my breath talking to dead people."
The contents of the paper bag spilled out; they were several photographs.
At first, Ghost didn't think much of it, but when his eyes fell on the contents of the photo, his whole demeanor changed.
In the photo, an elegant blonde woman with blue eyes is strolling along the lake with her beautiful twin daughters, who look like porcelain dolls. The sun is shining brightly, and the scene is serene and peaceful.
Those are his wife and daughter!
"You..." The ghost's voice trembled.
Bai Shu seemed oblivious to his drastic change in expression, and pulled another sheet of paper from the paper bag, slowly unfolding it in front of him.
“The security system at St. Angela Girls’ School, where your daughter studies, is top-notch. However, getting a cleaner or gardener to bring something in wouldn’t be difficult for me.”
She paused, then gently tapped a red-marked area on the drawing with her fingertip—that was the school's ventilation duct.
"For example, some colorless and odorless nerve gases."
"You dare!"
The ghost seemed to be going mad, struggling to stand up, the chains rattling as he did so, his eyes bloodshot.
Atractylodes macrocephala remained unmoved.
"Don't rush."
She took another document from Zheng Kai and slowly opened it.
“Every year you transfer 70% of your income to a trust fund through an offshore company, with your wife and daughters as the beneficiaries. That amount must be quite substantial by now, right? Tsk tsk, what a good family man.”
At this moment, the ghost's pupils shrank to the most dangerous pinpoints!
This is his biggest secret! Even his wife doesn't know! Who exactly is this woman?!
Bai Shu admired the look of utter disbelief on his face, and the corners of his mouth curved into a deeper smile.
"What a pity, the 'gentleman' behind you seems to be more interested in your money than your life."
"You...you're talking nonsense!" The ghost's voice was filled with a panic that he himself was unaware of.
"Am I talking nonsense?"
"You think you're working for 'Master' and getting paid to do things? How naive. You're nothing more than a useful knife in his hands, a knife used to eliminate dissidents and incidentally 'guard' your assets."
She leaned down and whispered in the ghost's ear.
"Guess what 'sir' will do when the news of your 'arrest' gets back after your mission fails? He'll be very kind and take over your mess, including your huge fund and your two beautiful, helpless daughters."
"After all, we shouldn't let the good stuff go to outsiders."
At this moment, the ghost's psychological defenses were completely destroyed.
It wasn't that he wasn't afraid of death; he just thought that his death could bring wealth and security to his family.
But now, this devilish woman tells him that his death will only plunge his wife and daughters into an even more terrible abyss!
"No...it's impossible..."
The ghost muttered to itself, utterly dejected, its face drained of all color.
Nothing is impossible.
Bai Shu straightened up and looked down at him, her eyes showing no sympathy whatsoever.
"Now, tell me, who is 'sir'? My patience is limited."
Utter terror devoured the ghost.
He looked at Bai Shu as if he were looking at a devil who could see into people's hearts. He knew he had lost, lost utterly and completely.
"It was...it was Huo San Niang who hired me."
He finally spoke, his voice hoarse, "But the real employer is 'sir'."
"who is he?"
"I don't know!" The ghost shook its head in anguish.
“We only communicate through a single line of communication. All I know is that he is extremely powerful and has connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds. I have never met him in person; I only receive instructions through encrypted telegrams.”
Bai Zhu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"So what's his next target?"
Ghost hesitated for a moment, but under Bai Shu's cold gaze, he told her everything: "Hong Kong! His next target is the Bai family's ancestral property in Hong Kong! Huo San Niang came to Shanghai this time to make contact with 'Master's' people for this matter!"
Hong Kong Island, the ancestral property of the Bai family.
Just as I expected.
Having obtained the information he wanted, Bai Shu turned and left without looking at the ghost again.
"I already said it! You promised to spare my family!" the ghost roared behind her.
Bai Zhu stopped walking, without turning back.
"I only promised not to kill them. As for what kind of life they will lead in the future, that depends on whether your 'husband' is still in the mood to care about them."
After saying that, she left without looking back.
...
In another room.
In the bedroom of the top-tier suite, it was so quiet that you could hear the rustling of leaves in the breeze outside the window.
On the bed, Lu Jingyan's eyelashes trembled slightly.
He slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view was an unfamiliar, ornate ceiling.
The wound on my back was still throbbing, but a warm current flowed through my body, dispelling the weakness and coldness caused by excessive blood loss.
This feeling...
He remembers.
Before his consciousness completely disappeared into darkness, he felt as if he had been taken to a certain place.
A warm, humid place brimming with vibrant life.
He could even "see" that woman, his Wan Tang, with an anxiety and panic he had never seen before on her face, cleaning his wounds and performing surgery on him in a way he couldn't understand.
Her hands were steady, but her mind was in turmoil.
At this moment, all the fragments pieced together to form a complete, yet unbelievable picture.
Her skills far surpass those of ordinary people.
Her medical skills were superb.
Also, there's that identical red mole next to her collarbone.
And, when she held him, there was that undisguised, soft, sobbing voice belonging to Su Wantang, reminiscent of the gentle water towns of Jiangnan.
Bai Zhu is Su Wantang.
Su Wantang did not die.
Lu Jingyan is now 200% certain that Bai Shu, the ruthless Hong Kong businessman who makes decisive decisions outside, is his wife, Su Wantang, who has come back from the dead.
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