Tang Guo initially felt that he was playing very smoothly. Although Zhang Lei was not injured, he was completely suppressed by him, which swept away the depression of the past two days.
He had never met Tian Xiao, let alone liked him, but it was a disgrace for a man to be stood up. Although the Tian family apologized later, it seemed that it was best to put the blind date on hold, as if the Tang family was eager to arrange a marriage with them.
What's even more infuriating is that her family actually accepted this view, which made Tang Guo even more resentful.
Tang Guo didn't even call to ask her elders for permission before Li Yang arrived today, largely because she heard that Zhang Lei was the one pursuing him. Otherwise, given the past relationship between the Tang family and the Li family, it's uncertain whether they would have let Li Yang in.
Li Yang probably hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. He was just taking a chance, because he knew that once Zhang Lei got serious, these people definitely wouldn't be able to stop him. Sometimes, influence is useless.
"You, you stay away!" Tang Guo realized her embarrassment as soon as the words left her mouth. These were clearly the words of a frightened little girl. She quickly tried to make amends, "Do you know whose yard this is? The Tang family is not someone you can offend!"
"Kid, I thought you had some talent, and I took pity on you and wanted to keep you around. In ten or twenty years, you might be a good opponent. But you actually said such a thing. I'm really disappointed in you!" Zhang Lei's hand was already on his throat, and it seemed that with just one more force, he would end the life of this little genius.
"You... don't be arrogant. If you touch me, the Tang family will not let you off the hook, and you will have no place in China!" Tang Guo's face turned slightly pale. He realized that his proud strength was nothing in front of Zhang Lei.
“What you said may be true, but have you considered that since I dare to hunt down Li Yang, I may not have intended to stay in China at all?” Zhang Lei paused, then waved his bodyguards away. Since Zhang Lei only intended to scare him and drag them here, there was no need to kill him and make enemies.
Zhang Lei knew he had been a bit reckless; if the bodyguards had swarmed him, he might have already started a killing spree if he wasn't careful.
"Kid, as you're dying, I'll teach you a lesson: money and power will eventually leave you. The only thing that will always be with you is your own strength. And when that strength reaches a certain level, you can ignore all those useless things others have!" Zhang Lei was also suffering. Why wasn't Li Yang going to finish this quickly? He still had to come up with some seemingly plausible but ultimately flawed reasoning.
Just as Zhang Lei was about to explain the international forms of prostitution, several people rushed out of the room. Before they had taken more than a few steps, they shouted, "Second Young Master, something terrible has happened! The Eldest Miss has been harmed by that beast Li Yang!"
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Teeth for a Fist - Chapter 79: Don't Let Strangers Stay Overnight (Part 2)
"What?" Tang Guo was stunned for a moment, and Zhang Lei considerately released his neck, letting him slide to the ground.
"What did you say? Say it again!" Tang Guo was stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up, grabbed the servant who ran to his side by the collar, and asked in the most vicious tone he had ever used.
"No need to ask anymore, he said it very clearly, and you heard it clearly too." Seeing that the maid was too frightened to speak, Zhang Lei kindly interjected. Actually, he was worried that too much time would be wasted and Li Yang would run too far.
"Shut up, I didn't ask you!" Tang Guo shouted.
Zhang Lei wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. This kid's mental state wasn't quite normal anymore, and Zhang Lei could guess why. It wasn't necessarily because he had a close relationship with that young lady, or a deep sibling bond. It was just that Li Yang was someone he had secretly let in. If it had been with the approval of the family elders, he wouldn't have to take the blame. But in this situation, if he didn't take the blame, who would?
Seeing the sudden glint of ferocity in Tang Guo's eyes, Zhang Lei laughed, "Young man, even if you want to silence me, you'd better consider your own strength first. Do you think you can kill all these people in front of me? Or do you think you can take me down, or poison me and make me mute, and then frame me for what Li Yang did? Do you think that's possible? What kind of superpower do I have? What kind of superpower does Li Yang have? Surely your family members aren't all idiots!"
As Zhang Lei spoke, Tang Guo's gaze softened. He didn't notice that, following Zhang Lei's words, his bodyguards also began to look at him with wariness. They were just working for money; risking their lives was one thing, but if their superiors used them as a cover to silence them, it wouldn't be worth it.
"You can't hide this from me anymore. The only thing you can do now is get rid of Li Yang. That way you can still give your family an explanation!" Zhang Lei was getting more and more smug because he suddenly realized that maybe he didn't need to tear Li Yang apart so quickly. He could use some slower methods.
Before this incident, even if Zhang Lei wanted to torture Li Yang, he would have had to choose a quick method to resolve the matter swiftly. There was no other way, since it was difficult for Zhang Lei to find a completely safe place. If he took Li Yang out to sea, the intensity of the pursuit would be far greater than if he escaped empty-handed.
Now, the Tang family's influence is truly considerable. If we lend them a small place, we can help them settle their scores. I believe they would be willing to do so.
"Don't hesitate any longer. I understand that you don't have much time left. Your position will be affected after this, but you need to think about what I just told you!"
Tang Guo's mind was completely blank. Zhang Lei had talked to him far too much just to stall for time, and he had no idea what Zhang Lei was referring to. Could it be that international form of prostitution?
"Idiot!" Zhang Lei flicked him on the head lightly.
He didn't know how many memories this touch stirred in Tang Guo's fragile state. "My older brother used to flick me like this too. Back then, we were true brothers. But later, everything changed, and it's been so long since anyone's flicked me like that!"
Zhang Lei was startled by Tang Guo's suddenly burning gaze. He had heard of girls who liked being masochistic, and he was trying to train Liu Ning to be a girl who liked being spanked. But he had never heard of someone suddenly acting like this after being flicked on the head. Zhang Lei suddenly had the urge to wash his hands.
"Ahem!" Zhang Lei coughed twice. "As I just said, only one's own strength is the most important thing. Your superpower is very strong, your internal strength is also good, plus your talent, as long as you can achieve far more than others, are you still afraid of not getting the respect you deserve?"
Zhang Lei didn't know the specifics of their family situation because he hadn't researched it beforehand; the Tang family wasn't the kind of family Li Yang expected to be able to avoid.
But aren't these large families always embroiled in power struggles? Even small families might fight tooth and nail over a small inheritance, let alone these large families. Their positions as patriarchs must be worth at least several billion.
"Have your men prepare a vehicle, and give me a walkie-talkie. I'll keep in touch with you!" Zhang Lei couldn't suppress his smug smile. In his heart, he couldn't help but cheer: "Great! Li Yang actually made the best choice for me!"
When the plan was initially formulated, the possibility of Li Yang's escape was not overlooked, and therefore, research was conducted on the families that Li Yang might seek refuge with.
More importantly, the study investigated Li Yang's possible reactions, including the possibility of him being injured.
Zhang Lei had already investigated Li Yang's supernatural abilities quite thoroughly through other channels. After Li Yang was injured and forced to use his abilities continuously by Zhang Lei, causing damage to his body, although he could slowly recover on his own, it was far too slow for Li Yang.
Li Yang's superpower would provide him with a channel, a rapid channel for recovery, which, needless to say, is to replenish his energy by raping and murdering women. Of course, it would be best if the woman possessed superpowers; in the current environment, almost all young women have them, giving Li Yang a very wide range of options.
Especially in this situation, the place where Li Yang sought refuge was not well-defended. Zhang Lei could easily break in if he really wanted to. Although he might be delayed at the entrance for a while, Li Yang knew that Zhang Lei was definitely capable of making up his mind, even though he wasn't quite sure about Zhang Lei's personality when he was sober.
For someone like Li Yang, wouldn't he prioritize himself at this point? Actually, all of this was already predetermined when Tang Guo let him into this courtyard.
"Let's go!" Zhang Lei took the walkie-talkie from Tang Guo, who was still a little confused. It was quite advanced, probably the best one they had here. The call radius was more than three kilometers, and if there was a converter in the area, even the suburbs would be covered.
"You guys hurry up, I'll try my best to keep my head to get by, sigh!" Zhang Lei patted Tang Guo's head, and surprisingly Tang Guo didn't show any displeasure.
Why not take advantage of the opportunity? Zhang Lei ran in the direction Li Yang had fled. Naturally, it would be best to catch him before he reached the next family that could protect him. Of course, that would be difficult. Li Yang had almost recovered, and with only one hand missing, the burden would probably be lighter.
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Blade for a Teeth - Chapter 80: An Unexpected Intervention (Part 1)
Zhang Lei wasn't sure if he wanted Li Yang to find another refuge.
Zhang Lei's search for Li Yang wasn't entirely due to personal grudges, nor was it driven by any selfless public-spiritedness.
The changes over the past eight years have been enormous, and Zhang Lei needed an outlet for his emotions. Unfortunately, Li Yang, who had some grudges against Zhang Lei, became the perfect candidate for this outlet.
However, not only was Li Yang unaware of this, but even Zhang Lei himself was actually unaware of it.
That's why he couldn't figure out his own feelings, and he didn't understand why he still had a sliver of hope that Li Yang would find a new safe haven and thus pursue him. Unconsciously, he didn't go all out, perhaps because he hoped to find more outlets for his frustrations through Li Yang.
Knowing yourself and your enemy is a phrase that everyone talks about, but how easy is it to actually do it? Even the legendary strategist Zhuge Liang did not fully achieve the first part, "knowing yourself."
"Young man, you should be lenient with him when you can. He's already in this state, why are you pushing him so hard?" A strong voice suddenly rang in Zhang Lei's ears.
Zhang Lei's heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly stopped, the gust of wind still rushing forward creating a small vortex in front of him.
During the pursuit, Zhang Lei not only used his internal energy to lock on, but he also kept his internal energy circle open the whole time. The fact that this person could remain undetected in this position made Zhang Lei feel a sense of vigilance. If he had attacked instead of speaking just now, Zhang Lei would have had no choice but to admit it, and he would probably be in great danger.