Volume 1: The Starting Chapter 9: Severance

  The young man's face still wore a faint smile, slowly bending down to pick up the travel bag brought by Jin Er, and said lazily: "Our transaction is over, Brother Jin Er. Next, Fan Ge will take care of you."

  "Damn you!" Jin Er was furious, stretching out his hand to grab the young man's neck. However, the young man reacted extremely quickly and agilely, like a leopard cat, jumping sideways over a meter away, avoiding Jin Er's big hand.

  Jin Er still wanted to continue chasing that young man, but Zhang Fan's burly men had already rushed up and surrounded him.

  Looking at the fierce and menacing men around him, who were glaring at him with anger, Jin Er felt a chill run down his spine. He involuntarily took a few steps back, his aggressive expression disappearing without a trace, replaced by panic and confusion. He looked at Zhang Fan, shaking his head and saying: "Fan brother, Fan brother, I was wrong, I know I was wrong, please...please spare me this time..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Fan had already cheerfully dispersed the people around him and walked up to him, still smiling as he patted his shoulder and said: "Brother Jin Er, what are you afraid of? I'm not blaming you, instead I should be thanking you."

  "Ah?" Jin Er was stunned, staring at Zhang Fan with his mouth agape.

  "Women, no big deal, I've been looking at her with disapproval for a long time, and I've been wanting to get rid of her. It's just that I couldn't find the right opportunity all along. This time, thanks to you, I was able to accomplish it."

  "Brother Fang, Brother Fang, it's a misunderstanding, I really didn't know she was your sister-in-law at first, I really didn't know..."

  "Shh! Don't be afraid, I've already said I won't blame you." Zhang Fan first raised his index finger, then gently patted Jin Er's shoulder and said: "Not only do I not blame you, but I also plan to help you two succeed. How about that? Brother Fan is being very generous to you two, right?"

  "Brother Fan." Jin Er could no longer stand, and with a thud, he knelt to the ground, raised his palms, and slapped himself in the face, saying with a sob: "Brother Fan, please spare Little Brother this one time."

  "What? You and my wife are just playing around, not sincere?" In an instant, Zhang Fan's expression turned cold, his two small eyes shooting out two vicious glints.

  Jin Er was so scared that he almost wet his pants, waving his hands repeatedly and shouting in a shrill voice: "It's true, it's true..."

  "That's right." Zhang Fan laughed again, patted Jin Er's face and said: "I've done my best to help you two, I can say that I have fulfilled my duty."

  After finishing speaking, he took two steps back, looked up and took a deep breath, wiped his eyes with both hands, and suddenly shouted: "Mountain artillery, take action."

  As he shouted, a big man swung his head to the left and right of his companions, and then two men rushed up to Jin Er, one of whom raised his fist and hit Jin Er's belly heavily.

  Jin Er let out a low growl, his body curled up into a ball, and fell to the ground. The two men, one holding his head and the other holding his feet, lifted Jin Er horizontally and strode towards the edge of the rooftop.

  Realizing what was about to happen next, Jin Er struggled desperately, twisting his body while shouting towards Zhang Fan: "Fan Ge, didn't you say you'd spare Xiao Di..."

  "I said I'd help you, now I'll send you to reunite with that cheap person! Reunite... in... hell!" The last few words were squeezed out from between Zhang Fan's teeth, his facial fat jumping up and down.

  "You... you killed her?"

  "You are much luckier than that cheap person, she was torn to pieces, you at most would be smashed to pieces but still keep your whole body intact."

  "Save me! Come quick and save me......"

  "Don't call out anymore, those few little brothers you brought will never come up to save you."

  "Ah..."

  Jin Er's nose and eyes flowed out at the same time, and he let out a loud wail, but unfortunately, his cries couldn't stop the big men from advancing.

  Two big men carried Jin Er to the edge of the rooftop and pressed him against the railing with a loud thud. Zhang Fan walked over, cigarette in mouth, looked at Jin Er who was covered in cold sweat, tears and snot on his face, and revealed an ambiguous smile. He slowly took out the cigarette from his mouth, blew off the ash, and without warning, inserted the lit end into Jin Er's eyes. With a ferocious tone, he said: "You messed with my wife, made me wear a green hat, killing you is letting you off easy."

  "Ah......" Jin Er let out an inhuman scream of pain and fell straight to the ground.

  "Damn you!" Zhang Fan suddenly lifted his leg and kicked out, hitting Jin Er's ribs. Jin Er was already at the edge of the rooftop, and with Zhang Fan's kick, he flew out horizontally.

  "Ah......" His dying cry echoed outside the stairs, his voice growing fainter and fainter until it was abruptly cut off by a dull thud of something heavy hitting the ground.

  Zhang Fan leaned out from the edge of the rooftop, stretched his neck and looked down, only to see Jin Er's body on the ground below had been deformed by the fall, with bright red blood slowly spreading out.

  "Hmph! He spat out a mouthful of saliva in anger and gritted his teeth, saying: 'You got off easy.'"

  This is Zhang Fan, a black society boss who is more ruthless and powerful than Jin Er.

  He looked around for a while, then withdrew his head, turned around and looked at the young man not far away. The corners of his mouth curved up, the ferocity on his face disappeared, and he chuckled, saying: "Little brother, are you still satisfied?"

  This handsome young man is none other than Xia Wenjie.

  It was he who brought Jin Er to this place, and it was also he who secretly found Zhang Fan. From start to finish, he just sat down with Jin Er for a deal, and Jin Er's death, he didn't lift a finger, at most, he just witnessed a murder case.

  It can be said that in this matter he has cleared himself of all suspicion, and even if the police investigate the case later, they will not find any evidence on him. This is his 'driving out the tiger and swallowing the wolf' plan.

  Jin Er's death was indeed at the hands of Zhang Fan, but in reality, he was the real mastermind behind the scenes. He just used a method that didn't involve bloodshed.

  Witnessing the whole process of Jin Er's death, Xia Wenjie couldn't describe what kind of taste it was in his heart. Of course, there was joy, Xue Song's revenge had been avenged, and Jin Er had received the punishment he deserved. But there was also pity, no matter how evil or hateful Jin Er was, he was still a human being after all, not a beast.

  No matter what he felt in his heart, Xia Wenjie suddenly felt relieved, the huge stone that had been pressing on his head for more than two years was finally removed, and he seemed to be freed from a cage.

  The sky was still pitch black, but in his eyes, it seemed as if day had already broken.

  He let out a long sigh of turbid air, looked at Zhang Fan and nodded deeply, saying: "Thank you, Brother Fan."

  "No need to thank me, I should be thanking you instead." Zhang Fan walked closer to Xia Wenjie and took another good look at him, liking what he saw more and more.

  He had all sorts of people under him, including ruthless fugitives who could kill without batting an eye and fierce thugs who could take on ten men at once, but the one thing he lacked was someone with brains.

  And this young man in front of him is not yet an adult, not even eighteen years old, but already has such a ruthless mind and mature appearance. What will happen when he grows up? This is exactly the kind of talent that is urgently needed.

  "Little brother, Fan Ge has another request that's hard to refuse."

  "Please speak up, Brother Fang." Zhang Fan's sudden politeness made Xia Wenjie feel a bit out of place.

  "From now on, follow me and I won't delay your studies. You want to go to university? Brother Fan will give you the money. As long as you come help me after graduation, whatever you want, I can give it to you."

  Zhang Fan sincerely invited Xia Wenjie, and he also genuinely liked this young man.

  He didn't know that Xia Wenjie was hiding from him and couldn't wait for the two of them to never see each other again, let alone help him with things or follow him around.

  Xia Wenjie smiled and said: "I'd like to thank Fan Ge first, but I've never thought of going into the underworld, so I can only appreciate Fan Ge's kindness in my heart."

  This was the first time Zhang Fan had ever been so sincere in inviting someone, only to be rejected outright. His face couldn't help but fall, and his complexion sank as he asked in a low voice: "Little brother, do you look down on me, Zhang Fan?"

  "No, no, how dare I look down on Fang Ge, I'm just an ordinary student, and in the future, I only want to live an ordinary life..."

  "But what you did today is not ordinary at all."

  "Life is always full of unexpected events, after all." Xia Wenjie's tone changed as he smiled and said: "Van Ge, the police should be arriving soon, we need to leave."

  It's clear that Xia Wenjie's refusal wasn't just a polite gesture. Zhang Fan sighed inwardly, thinking it was a pity. He nodded and said, "Alright, little brother, we'll meet again sometime."

  It's over! Xia Wenjie had a smile on his face, but in his heart, he muttered to himself.

  Xia Wenjie and Zhang Fan came down from the rooftop, arrived at the bottom of the building, Xia Wenjie deliberately turned to the back of the building where Jin Er was thrown to death, Zhang Fan's face full of confusion, but didn't ask, just silently watching what he wanted to do.

  Xia Wenjie walked up to Jin Er's body and circled around it twice before stretching out his hand to carefully move the corpse.

  "Van Ge, he... what is he doing?"

  Zhang Fan's underling brother asked inexplicably. Zhang Fan sighed and said: "Who knows."

  After a while, Xia Wenjie was seen pinching out a blood-stained mobile phone from under Jin Er's body. He lifted the phone up and took a closer look, confirming that it was indeed his own phone, before walking back.

  Zhang Fan and the others finally understood, it turned out that he was looking for his mobile phone. Not only Zhang Fan, but also his subordinates were secretly nodding in agreement, this young man's thoughts were meticulous, not even neglecting such a small detail.

  When Xia Wenjie walked back, Zhang Fan took a look at the phone that was being pinched by him and asked: "Is your phone broken?"

  "What a pity." This mobile phone was a gift from his brother on his 16th birthday, he had always treasured it, but now it's been smashed to pieces, precisely speaking, it was crushed by Jin Er.

  "It's just a mobile phone, I'll buy one and give it to you."

  "It's okay, Van."

  "I'll send you home."

  "I'll head back myself, see you later, Zhang Fan." Xia Wenjie finished speaking and didn't wait for Zhang Fan's response. He turned around and walked in the opposite direction.