Chapter 31 Unknowingly Drawn into a Deep Vortex
Blinding rays pierced in, accompanied by a fierce-looking face...
It was that scarred man!
Their eyes met.
Scarface froze, clearly not expecting anyone to actually crawl into the trash can.
Fang Che was also stunned, his mind went blank.
Time stood still for three seconds.
Then, Fang Che made the most astute reaction of his life.
He forced an innocent smile and said in his crisp, Northeastern-accented Cantonese:
"Hey bro, need your trash collected? We're a dockside sanitation service, door-to-door service, fair prices!"
As he spoke, he pulled out a crumpled, hand-drawn "Chefeng Express Garbage Collection Service Promotional Leaflet" from his pocket and handed it over with trembling hands.
Scarface's expression shifted from fierce to bewildered, and then to a blank stare, as if to say, "Have I met an idiot?"
He glanced at Fang Che's dusty yet excessively handsome face, then at the ridiculous flyer, and finally sniffed the mixed smells inside the bucket, his brows furrowing.
"You're crazy!" he cursed in disgust, shoving the paper aside and turning to yell, "It's not here! Look somewhere else!"
He probably felt that a "sanitation worker" who would crawl into a trash can to expand his business didn't seem like the kind of person who came to eavesdrop on secrets.
After all, which spy goes to such lengths? And with such dedication?
Fang Che watched as Scarface and his men walked away, cursing and swearing. Only when the footsteps disappeared did he finally climb out of the bucket, exhausted, and slump to the ground, panting heavily.
My clothes were dirty, my hair was messy, and I smelled terrible.
But he grinned and smiled.
Not just because they escaped a disaster.
Furthermore, the moment the bucket lid was lifted, he caught a glimpse of... an inconspicuous mark on the grip of the Black Star pistol tucked into Scarface's waistband: a variant of the character "horse".
That was the insignia of the core members under the command of the Horse King.
Ah Gui once mentioned it briefly.
—The clues match up!
...
Half an hour later, near the east gate of the dock.
Fang Che and Cheng Tieniu reunited.
Tie Niu also experienced a chase, but thanks to his physique and appearance, he escaped unharmed.
"Che! Are you alright? You smell like that..." Cheng Tieniu pinched his nose.
"It's alright, I've gained a lot!" Fang Che lowered his voice and recounted the conversation he had overheard, the scarred man's features, and the gun handle markings.
Cheng Tieniu clenched his fists as he listened: "That bastard Ma Wang! Is he really colluding with the Dong Sheng Society? And he even harmed Uncle Long?"
"It's almost certain!" Fang Che said solemnly. "But we have no evidence right now. We can't bring down a hall master just based on what we overheard and the markings we saw."
"What should we do then?"
"Let's go back first and tell Brother Li what's going on, so he can make a decision." Fang Che calmed down. "We've already alerted him today. Ma Wang will soon find out that someone is investigating him. We need to prepare Brother Li."
The two dared not linger any longer and hurriedly left the dock.
Unbeknownst to them, on the second floor of the dockside warehouse, the man in the baseball cap was watching them disappear around the street corner through binoculars.
He put down his binoculars, picked up his mobile phone, and dialed a number.
“Uncle Ma, it’s me. Two unfamiliar faces came to the dock today. They eavesdropped on Ah Ba and Lao Gao’s conversation behind the warehouse… Yes, very suspicious. One of them is very young, quite handsome, and speaks with a northern accent. The other is a big guy, a Northeasterner.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Ma Wang's voice came through: "...Fang Che from Heyi Hall?"
"It looked very similar. They claimed to be garbage collectors and even handed out flyers. Ah Ba was fooled."
“Collecting garbage…” Ma Wang chewed on these three words, his voice filled with sarcasm and tension, “Li Hanzhou shoved him into my territory, he really… went to great lengths.”
"Uncle Ma, would you like to..." The man in the baseball cap made a throat-slitting gesture.
“No rush,” Ma Wang interrupted him. “Li Hanzhou is watching me closely. This kid is someone he’s openly protecting. If I touch him, it’s like directly breaking ties with Li Hanzhou. Now is not the time.”
He paused, his tone growing colder: "But keep a close eye on him. Also, tell Scarface and Old Gao to keep quiet for now. Clean up the mess left by that batch of 'sand'."
"Yes, Uncle Ma."
After hanging up the phone, Ma Wang sat in his dimly lit study, his expression shifting.
Fang Che... this kid who suddenly appeared and was treated differently by Li Hanzhou.
Setting fire to the funeral parlor, performing shamanistic rituals on Portland Street, and now going to his pier to "collect garbage"?
Is he genuinely stupid, or is he pretending to be weak while actually being strong?
If it's the latter... then Li Hanzhou has really sharpened this "knife" in a very subtle way.
Horse King felt a chill.
He needs to speed things up.
Before Li Hanzhou finds out more, he needs to obtain enough benefits from Jiang Tianqi...
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
...
When Fang Che and Cheng Tieniu returned to the stronghold, it was already dark.
Both of them were in a sorry state, especially Fang Che, whose stench made the henchman who opened the door take three steps back.
Li Hanzhou was talking to Uncle Chen in the inner room when he heard the commotion and came out.
Seeing Fang Che's expression, he frowned slightly.
"Where did you go?"
Fang Che didn't have time to explain and said urgently, "Brother Li, it's important! It's about King Ma!"
Li Hanzhou's eyes narrowed, and he gestured for Uncle Chen to wait a moment before leading Fang Che into the inner room.
Fang Che recounted everything he had seen and heard at the dock, including the conversation he overheard about "sand," the "Dong Sheng Society's interception," the markings on Scarface's gun handle, and how he was discovered.
Of course, he omitted the details of crawling into the trash can, only saying that he hid in the pile of junk.
After listening, Li Hanzhou silently tapped his fingers on the table, his eyes unfathomable.
"Are you sure there's a 'horse' symbol on the gun handle?"
"Absolutely true! Although I only caught a glimpse, the writing style was very distinctive, just like the logo of the core members of the Horse King organization that Brother Ghost described before!"
“Horse King…” Li Hanzhou murmured, his aura suddenly turning cold.
The mole was indeed him.
"Brother Li, what do we do now? Should we just arrest him?" Fang Che asked eagerly.
Li Hanzhou glanced at him: "Where's the evidence? Based on your own words? Ma Wang can turn around and accuse you of framing him, or even say that the Dong Sheng Society deliberately sent people to sow discord."
Fang Che choked: "Then... then we'll just leave it at that?"
"Forget it?" Li Hanzhou's lips curled into a cold smile. "Now that he's shown his tail, he can't hide it back down."
He looked at Fang Che: "You alerted him today. Ma Wang will soon know you're investigating him. He'll do two things: either clean up the traces or test you, or... get rid of you."
Fang Che felt a chill on his neck.
“However,” Li Hanzhou changed the subject, “he is wary of me and doesn’t dare to openly make a move against you for the time being. But during this period, you should not act alone, and have Tie Niu accompany you when you go out. As for ‘Chefeng Express’, have Xi Rong be careful as well, and temporarily suspend the direct investigation of Ma Wang.”
“Yes, Brother Li!” Fang Che nodded, then couldn’t help but ask, “So what’s next…”
“Wait.” Li Hanzhou looked out the window at the deepening night. “Wait until he thinks he’s safe, wait until he hides his tail, wait for his next contact with the Dongsheng Society.”
He withdrew his gaze and landed on Fang Che's dirty but bright-eyed face.
“You did a good job.” Li Hanzhou’s voice was not loud, but it carried weight. “But this is dangerous. Next time, tell me first.”
Fang Che felt a surge of warmth in his heart; all the fear and exhaustion seemed to have been worth it.
"Got it, Brother Li! I'll definitely do it next time!" He grinned, then remembered something and added, "By the way, Brother Li, Tie Niu and I went to the dock today under the guise of 'inspecting the garbage collection business,' and I even brought some flyers!"
He pulled the crumpled, stained flyer from his pocket and unfolded it.
Li Hanzhou looked at the poorly made flyer with a crooked cartoon trash can and the slogan "Chefeng Express, Mission Accomplished" on it, and then looked at Fang Che's face, which seemed to say "Praise my cleverness."
He remained silent for a full five seconds.
Then, he raised his hand and rubbed his temples.
"Go take a shower." Li Hanzhou's voice was tinged with helplessness. "You... smell terrible."
Fang Che: "..." His smile froze on his face.
He looked down and sniffed himself, then his face fell.
Oh no, my image is completely ruined!
He walked out dejectedly, head drooping, but turned back reluctantly at the door: "Brother Li, about that garbage collection business expansion plan, I'll write a detailed proposal for you to look at later? There's definitely room for improvement in garbage disposal at the dock; I think it can generate revenue..."
"go out."
"……oh."
Fang Che slipped away.
Silence returned to the room.
Uncle Chen stepped out from behind the screen with a smile on his face: "Hanzhou, A'che, although he acts impulsively, his temperament and resourcefulness are rare."
Li Hanzhou hummed in agreement, his gaze falling on the doorway where Fang Che had left.
That's rare.
He's reckless, but he always manages to stumble upon the key issues at crucial moments.
Naïve, yet possessing a peculiar resilience capable of defying convention.
Like a wild grass sprouting from a crack in the rocks, it looks fragile, yet it possesses an undeniable vitality.
Perhaps, keeping him was the right decision.
only……
Li Hanzhou's gaze darkened.
Horse King has already noticed him.
Jiang Tianqi's side will probably not let this target go either.
This piece of wood from Northeast China has unknowingly been drawn into the center of a vortex.
Can he protect them?
Li Hanzhou's fingers tightened unconsciously.
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