Chapter 4: The Poisonous Oath for Northeasterners
Li Hanzhou's heart sank.
Jiang Tianqi's words struck right at the spot in his mind.
Yes... what a coincidence.
I met him in the morning, and then the big incident of the gang leader and Uncle Long being murdered happened in the afternoon!
He subconsciously turned his head to look at Fang Che.
Fang Che gritted his teeth: "Can't you be a little more discreet with your words? How am I of unknown origin? I'm Brother Li's man! I just joined Heyitang!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Jiang Tianqi's smile deepened, and his gaze returned to Li Hanzhou. "Boss Li, you trust him that much?"
"Stop spouting nonsense!" Fang Che pressed on. "My relationship with Brother Li is fate! It's like two peas in a pod... ugh! It's like heroes admiring heroes! What do you know, you backstabbing bastard!"
Li Hanzhou/A Gui/Everyone: "..." What is all this about?
Jiang Tianqi finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, his mockery undisguised: "Hero? Cherish heroes? Li Hanzhou, it seems you have a very unique eye."
Li Hanzhou's face darkened instantly. Without another word, he pointed his short sword at Jiang Tianqi and said, "Enough with the nonsense! We'll settle this score today!"
"I'm afraid you don't have the ability!" Jiang Tianqi's smile vanished, his eyes turning sinister. He waved his hand, "Take them down!"
Two bodyguards in black rushed out in response and headed straight for Li Hanzhou.
The two were extremely skilled and worked together seamlessly, forcing him into a defensive position.
At the same time, Mad Dog Qiang also led his men in a fierce attack.
The mourning hall was completely turned into a battlefield, filled with the glint of swords, the clash of blood, and the constant shouts of battle.
Ah Gui was covered in blood, desperately protecting Li Hanzhou's flank, but he himself had also been stabbed several times, and his movements gradually slowed down.
Fang Che panicked.
This part wasn't in the original story! If this continues, Li Hanzhou will lose his life! And A Gui will be finished too!
He looked around; almost everything that could be thrown away had been thrown away in the mourning hall.
what to do?
Suddenly, his gaze fell on the white candles and the draped white cloth...
A bold idea popped into my head.
"Brother Li! Cover me!" he shouted, and without waiting for Li Hanzhou to hear him, he ducked under the offering table.
"What are you trying to do now?!" Ah Gui roared, forcing the enemy back with a single strike.
Li Hanzhou also glanced over and saw Fang Che fiddling with something under the altar. A surge of anger and suspicion rose within him—this kid, he always messes up at crucial moments, or...
The answer was revealed the next second.
Fang Che suddenly ripped off the white cloth next to the offering table, wrapped it around himself, grabbed two candles, and threw them at the pile of paper offerings.
"Go!" he shouted.
The paper figures and horses ignited upon contact with fire, and the flames spread with the wind, instantly setting the curtain ablaze.
"Fire!" someone shouted.
Thick smoke billowed and flames leaped up, throwing the fighting crowd into chaos.
The old tenement building was enclosed, and the fire quickly became uncontrollable.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Mad Dog shouted, covering his mouth and nose.
Jiang Tianqi coughed repeatedly from the smoke, his eyes fixed on Fang Che, who was wrapped in a white cloth in the firelight and looked like a fake Sadako. His expression was gloomy.
"Brother Li! Let's go!" Ah Gui reacted quickly and grabbed the stunned Li Hanzhou.
Li Hanzhou glanced deeply at Fang Che, who had crawled out from under the table and was frantically trying to extinguish the sparks, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
Arson? He actually used this method to create chaos?
Was it a sudden flash of inspiration, or... was there another motive, a desire to take advantage of the chaos to do something?
I don't have time to think about it in detail.
Li Hanzhou suppressed his doubts and growled, "Let's go!"
He grabbed Fang Che's wrist with a frighteningly strong grip and dragged him toward the side window.
Ah Gui and several brothers covered the rear.
"Jump!" Li Hanzhou kicked open the window, jumped out, and grabbed Fang Che.
"Oh my god!" Fang Che felt like a little chick experiencing a flying maneuver (although it was only one floor high). When he landed, he twisted his ankle and grimaced in pain.
Behind them, the funeral hall was ablaze with flames, amidst shouts of battle and cries for help to put out the fire.
"This way!" Ah Gui, familiar with the terrain, led the group into a narrow alley.
In the darkness, the group ran desperately.
Fang Che felt excruciating pain in his ankle, as if his lungs were about to explode, and was half-dragged and half-pulled forward by Li Hanzhou.
They ran for an unknown amount of time until the noise subsided, and then they collapsed into a corner piled with garbage.
After surviving the ordeal, everyone was in a sorry state, covered in blood and dust.
Ah Gui leaned against the wall, panting, checking his wounds, and looked at Li Hanzhou: "Brother Li, we can't go back to the gang, what do we do now?"
Li Hanzhou didn't speak, leaning against the wall, his gaze sharp as a knife, shooting at Fang Che, who was clutching his ankle and gasping for breath.
The scattered moonlight illuminated the dark gray and aggrieved look on the boy's face.
Li Hanzhou's eyes immediately darkened.
Fang Che noticed his gaze, shuffled over, and coughed softly, "Brother Li, I... I just thought that with so many people around, things would get heated, and I could take the opportunity to run away... I didn't expect things to get so heated... I really didn't mean to!"
Li Hanzhou remained silent, staring intently at him with a chillingly deep gaze.
Fang Che shuddered at the stare, and before he could even defend himself, the other man flicked his wrist, and the dagger that had just been stained with blood was placed against his neck.
The blade was icy cold, making his hair stand on end.
Fang Che was stunned, completely stunned.
Those beautiful peach blossom eyes widened in disbelief, filled with a bewildered expression: "Who am I? Where am I? What's wrong with this guy again?"
"Brother Li?" Fang Che's voice trembled. The knife was pressed tightly against the carotid artery, even more frightening than when he was facing Dong Shengzi. "This...you can't use this thing to threaten your own people's necks!"
"One of our own?" Li Hanzhou's voice was low and scrutinizing. "Fang Che, who exactly are you? Why does Jiang Tianqi of the Dongsheng Society know you? Why did your godfather and Uncle Long get into trouble as soon as you arrived? And you 'coincidentally' foresaw the ambush at the funeral hall tonight?"
With each question he asked, the blade drew closer, his gaze so sharp it seemed he wanted to peel back his beautiful exterior to see what lay beneath.
"Speak! Are you a member of the Dong Sheng Society, or an undercover agent sent by Jiang Tianqi?!"
An undercover agent?!
Fang Che's mind went blank.
I swear to God!
Wang Tiezhu was an upright and honest man. Before transmigrating, he was a model young man from Northeast China with impeccable revolutionary credentials. After transmigrating, he was determined to curry favor with a powerful figure and become his brother. How did he end up as an undercover agent?!
Ah Gui spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and glared at him fiercely: "Brother Li! I told you long ago that this pretty boy's background is unknown! Look at him, so delicate and frail, yet he's abnormally bold! He can even foresee an ambush? I think he's just putting on a show with Jiang Tianqi! He probably set the fire just now to create chaos and kill us! Let's just get rid of him!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Fang Che was so anxious that he blurted out his Northeastern accent. "I harmed you? If I hadn't had the quick thinking to set that fire, would you all be able to escape unscathed?"
"You want me to put on a show with Jiang Tianqi? Me and him? Bah! That pretty boy of his has even a fraction of my Brother Li's brilliant, heroic, and extraordinary charisma! What's wrong with your eyes?!"
Li Hanzhou: "..."
Ah Gui was stunned by his unusual angle of explanation and sudden flattery, then became even angrier: "You fucking..."
"Shut up!" Li Hanzhou hissed, his gaze still fixed on Fang Che's face, but he loosened his grip slightly.
"Let him speak."
Fang Che knew this was the key. He took a deep breath, tried to appear sincere, and looked at Li Hanzhou with his charming eyes: "Brother Li! I admit my background is a bit unclear. But I swear!" He held up three fingers, "If I'm an undercover agent, may I eat boiled chicken every day until I'm sick of it! May I never drink Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) in my entire life!"
For a man from Northeast China, this is practically a deadly oath!
"I came from the north, with no relatives or friends, and ended up here. I know you're destined for great things, Brother Li, so I wanted to follow you, be your brother, and be loyal!" He paused, then forced himself to explain, "That premonition... I... I learned a few tricks from a shaman back in my hometown when I was a kid, and I can occasionally get a little inspired!"
Seriously! The moment I entered the mourning hall today, my eyelids started twitching and my heart was pounding, so that's why... As for that bastard Jiang Tianqi, he's clearly just jealous of your imposing presence, Brother Li! He's deliberately trying to sow discord! Can you believe a word he says? Pigs can fly!
His words were a mix of truth and falsehood, and his logic was touching, but when combined with his highly deceptive face, his reddened eyes, and his distinctive Northeastern Cantonese accent, they somehow possessed a strange persuasiveness.
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