"Me? In Jiangdong." Li Yang blinked and said.
"Then come to my house, I have something to talk to you about," Ye Qing said.
"Okay, no problem." Li Yang frowned and thought for a moment, not understanding what Ye Qing meant. Was it about that matter? But the only recent events involved were those of Zuo Tengfei or the National Security Bureau? Li Yang wasn't sure. However, he would know once he arrived. Li Yang went downstairs, drove, and went to Ye Qing's apartment alone.
Upon arriving at the apartment, Ye Qing poured Li Yang a cup of tea, and then poured one for herself. Sitting on the sofa, she quietly looked at Li Yang and said, "I have something important to tell you. Let's go to the study." Ye Qing suggested.
Li Yang glanced at Ye Qing, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. The tea was of excellent quality and tasted very good. He nodded and said, "Alright. Let's go to the study." He then led the servant into the study.
After the two were seated, Ye Qing got straight to the point: "We're all on the same side, and I know about your relationship with Qingmei and the others. I won't beat around the bush. Although directness is the worst thing in officialdom, let's treat this as a conversation between family members today, so I won't beat around the bush. I'll get straight to the point. Have you been doing anything lately?"
Li Yang was also completely confused, not knowing what Ye Qing knew or what he wanted to talk to him about. He said, "I don't know what you mean by that?"
"Anything is fine. As long as it's something that has a big and bad impact~" Ye Qing said, staring at Li Yang.
"I didn't do such a thing," Li Yang immediately shook his head and said. He wouldn't be stupid enough to admit anything without evidence.
"You really didn't do anything?" Ye Qing pressed.
"No," Li Yang shook his head.
"Alright, let's put Zuo Tengfei's matter aside for now. Although Longteng Group has a lot of influence in China, it's not that difficult to deal with. I also know that this whole mess wasn't caused by this incident. You must be hiding something else. Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused such a bad impact." Ye Qing shook his head, not believing Li Yang's words.
"What kind of serious impact?" Li Yang was startled. Damn, could it be that the killing of those National Security Bureau personnel has been exposed? That doesn't make sense. He killed everyone involved, leaving no one alive. There's no way it could have been exposed!
"A big shot above has ordered you to be dealt with. He said you're not doing things properly," Ye Qing said in a deep voice.
Li Yang cursed under his breath, "Damn it! No wonder those people up there haven't made a move. I thought the National Security Bureau was dispensable now that the Dragon Group was in charge. Didn't I wipe out the National Security Bureau and the Dragon Group? They're all dead. If they don't rely on me, are they planning to ask those big sects for help again?"
"What did I do? Why are they treating me like this?" Li Yang said, feeling wronged.
"I don't know either. That's a top-secret matter; I don't have the authority," Ye Qing said, shaking his head slightly. There was something else he didn't say: his father, Ye Lao, had spoken to him once, saying that Li Yang was too ruthless and vicious, and that he should distance himself from Li Yang. But how could he say such a thing? He knew that those involved in politics or cultivation were often ruthless. As a politician himself, he understood this. They were allies now, a community of shared interests, and there was no need to fall out. Moreover, his entanglement with Li Yang's forces was too deep to be easily severed. He knew it was impossible. And he couldn't predict the consequences. Therefore, he decided not to distance himself from Li Yang, but to investigate the reasons behind Ye Lao's words.
"What could I have done to become a top state secret?" Li Yang frowned, sipped his tea, and muttered to himself. He was already guessing it was something that happened in Xishan, Jiangbei City. He couldn't think of anything else that could have led to such dire consequences.
Ye Qing's expression darkened further, her brows furrowing as she said, "Li Yang, I'm speaking to you like this because I consider you one of my own. How can you treat me like this? You're hiding such a big thing from me; how am I supposed to help you?"
Li Yang immediately stood up, somewhat agitated, and said, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that some things are really hard to say. I don't really understand what happened either, so how can I tell you?" Li Yang truly didn't understand how the incident at the top of West Mountain had been exposed. He could clearly sense that there was no one around at the time.
He suddenly remembered the violent shaking of the mountain when he had killed the man, and the terrifying scene he had seen inside the mountain through his X-ray vision: a blood-red ocean, with a fierce and cruel power looming within, extremely terrifying. He had only glanced at it, and his entire consciousness had almost been sucked in. Terrified, Li Yang broke out in a cold sweat and immediately turned tail and fled, not daring to linger.
Chapter 942: Nobody Can Do Anything to Me
"Could it be related to that thing at the bottom of the mountain? But what exactly is that thing inside the mountain?" Li Yang racked his brains, unable to find anything that matched what he was looking for. He had never seen anything like it before.
Impossible. There was no sign of life at all. It was a dead sea, a dead sea formed by the convergence of blood-red blood. Moreover, it was unknown how many evil spirits and wronged souls were hidden in it, which is why it could condense such a fierce and terrifying evil aura. I almost fled in panic just by looking at it.
"What do you mean you're not sure or don't know? Do you really not know what you've done?" Ye Qing also lost her composure and looked at Li Yang anxiously.
Li Yang looked at Ye Qing with a complex and flickering gaze, contemplating whether to reveal that he had once slaughtered the National Security Bureau and the remaining members of the Dragon Group. However, after careful consideration, he decided against it. After all, the reason he killed them was because they had witnessed his strength, his trump cards, and the fact that he practiced strange magic. People like them couldn't exist. Faced with such a situation, not only him, but even Ye Qing would have done the same to save his own life. Therefore, Li Yang decided not to tell Ye Qing. This was a capital offense. Although he no longer cared about such things, now...
"Of course I know what I've done. But I don't know if I've done what you want to know. Besides, I've done a lot of shady things, and you know about quite a few. Any one of these things, with solid evidence, can lead to a lawsuit against me, and I could be sentenced to life imprisonment or executed. But I'm still alive and well, aren't I? I think those people above are dissatisfied with me because I unified the underworld of Jiangdong City and then Jiangnan City, right? But since I've already unified Jiangdong City and Jiangnan City, there's still Jiangbei City I haven't dealt with yet. I still want to unify Jiangbei City. I suspect that these things are what made them wary; they don't want to see me unify these places." Li Yang sat down and analyzed softly.
Ye Qing frowned and sat down, looking at Li Yang and saying, "What you did will certainly make some people overreact. But they shouldn't be so sensitive, their reaction shouldn't be so strong. I think there's something else, do you know about it?"
"I don't know," Li Yang said firmly, shaking his head.
"That's strange. Even if the Zuo family mobilized all its resources, they wouldn't have achieved this result with Zuo Tengfei. I'm very clear about that. Since you're unwilling to reveal what you did, don't blame me for not warning you. Your current situation is extremely dangerous. Be careful and take heed," Ye Qing solemnly warned Li Yang.
"Thanks for the reminder, I'll be careful," Li Yang nodded and said.
"As for Zuo Tengfei's matter, someone above has spoken to him, so it'll probably be quite difficult to handle. You should be prepared for that," Ye Qing said with a hint of helplessness.
"What do you mean?" Li Yang asked, frowning.
"There was interference from someone, and I've investigated through my connections. It wasn't driven by the Zuo family, though they did play a role. But the root cause is that someone higher up is dissatisfied with you and wants to take you down. That's why the Zuo family is taking this opportunity to retaliate against you. I estimate that the Ministry of Public Security will send a special commissioner to your case, which involves seriously injuring Zuo Tengfei. They might set up a special task force, drawing police officers from all over the country to specifically investigate your case and Zuo Tengfei's case. At that point, neither I nor any other force in Jiangdong City will be able to interfere. I suspect the final outcome will be very unfavorable to you. After all, you're the one who injured him. Even if they take action, given your strength, after defending yourself, you shouldn't have attacked and almost crippled someone. You've gone from victim to perpetrator. Things will become very serious and extremely detrimental to you." Ye Qing explained to Li Yang with a rather unpleasant expression.
"Holy crap, such a big commotion? I hadn't heard anything yet, but it seems like the problem is quite serious. Thanks for reminding me. I understand now, and I'll make preparations. Don't worry, they can't do anything to me~" Li Yang looked at Ye Qing reassuringly, feeling very grateful to him. After all, given the current situation and the extremely unfavorable circumstances, it was truly commendable that Ye Qing could still say such things to him.
"I hope you can get through this difficult time safely. As for your matter with Xie Siya, the Cai family has already intervened. However, with Zhao Yunlong and I involved, Lin Feng will make it an ironclad case. After all, the evidence of Xie Siya's intentional homicide is conclusive, and no one can change it. Not even the Cai Lan father and son." Ye Qing said with a cold snort, displaying his imposing presence and power as the top leader.
"Thank you so much. I know you don't like those clichéd things, so I won't stand on ceremony. If you need anything, just let me know," Li Yang immediately reciprocated. After all, Ye Qing had done so much for him; it was only right to repay him. According to the Shadowless Group's intelligence, Ye Qing was a truly incorruptible official, neither embezzling nor accepting bribes, nor indulging in womanizing. He was upright and honest, holding himself to high standards. Moreover, his political skills were exceptionally shrewd. Therefore, the methods used against ordinary officials were useless against Ye Qing. However, their relationship was one of comrades-in-arms. Ye Qing was also a very principled person; he hadn't discarded Li Yang, his comrade-in-arms, after using him. Li Yang still held him in high esteem. After all, in this society, it was extremely rare to find such an official—a true public servant.
"Stop with the nonsense. What I'm most worried about right now isn't these things. Xie Siya's situation is completely worry-free. Zuo Tengfei's is a bit tricky, but it's still manageable and can be handled; we're not completely on the defensive. But the real problem is that you've offended someone higher up. You can imagine how powerful and influential that person is. Even my father, a respected elder statesman, treats them with extreme caution. Tell me, what kind of status do you think they have? How much impact will this have on you?" Ye Qing couldn't help but feel a little nervous. As a legitimate second-generation official, he was well aware of the terrifying power these people possessed.
Li Yang's brow furrowed even more deeply. Damn it, only killing members of the National Security Bureau's Dragon Group could have caused such a terrible reaction; nothing else was worthy of such attention. Therefore, the person targeting him must be a general, most likely the direct superior of both the National Security Bureau and the Dragon Group, the Minister of the General Staff, General Shang Yunxiang. This founding father was renowned for his military exploits and was even said to have saved the life of the top leader. He was a master martial artist, his skills reaching a divine level back then; taking the head of a general from among thousands of soldiers was as easy as taking candy from a baby! After the founding of the nation, he personally cultivated some of the army's elite personnel. Later, when the National Security Bureau, a special national department, was established, he was its main person in charge. Due to his temperament and personal preferences, he disliked holding positions like vice-chairman, as those positions involved political and factional issues. He didn't want to get involved, and his position was already secure enough that he didn't need to form factions to remain unshaken. He remained neutral, a pillar of strength, upright and incorruptible, with immense prestige. Regardless of who became the top leader, and despite several changes in leadership, General Venus remained steadfast, commanding countless elite troops.
The Dragon Group was later established at his suggestion. It's said that after his martial arts skills became ineffective, his special status naturally led him to encounter demons, monsters, and cultivators. Through these interactions, he learned about cultivation and began to experiment with it himself. Only he knows the results and his achievements. It was only after gaining a deeper understanding of cultivation practices that he proposed the Dragon Group, with Kunlun's chief disciple, Fei Ling, as its leader. Subsequently, various cultivation sects sent elite disciples as deputies and members.
However, shortly after the mission began, the entire army was wiped out. He was naturally furious. But he couldn't find the reason until a mysterious letter from someone revealed the truth. He was so angry he almost vomited blood. He deeply understood the saying, "Inviting a wolf into the house," and "Failure always begins from within." Shang Yunxiang was extremely enraged after learning that Li Yang had killed key figures from the Dragon Group and the National Security Bureau. He immediately launched an investigation and began collecting evidence. However, he found nothing; he obtained no evidence whatsoever. He admired Li Yang's meticulousness and lack of overt evidence. As a veteran general who had fought his entire life, he was a shrewd strategist. He immediately decided to retaliate against Li Yang from other angles, and intervening in the Zuo Tengfei case was his first step.
"What are you thinking about?" Ye Qing noticed Li Yang staring blankly, his eyes unfocused, as if he had thought of something. He sighed inwardly. No one willingly exposes their flaws and mistakes; everyone tries their best to conceal them. Li Yang was no exception. He was certain that Li Yang was hiding something from him. And what he was hiding was directly related to this upheaval.
"It's nothing. Just some small matter. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now." Li Yang said casually as he regained his senses and got up to leave. He needed to go back and properly arrange things for his family and women, preparing for the big storm that was about to break.
"You'd better take care of yourself," Ye Qing sighed again and advised Li Yang.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Nobody can do anything to me." Li Yang said and walked away without looking back.
Chapter 943: Crisis
Li Yang left Ye Qing's apartment, which was Building No. 2 in the municipal party committee compound. Although he was now the top official in Jiangdong City, wielding absolute authority, he didn't actually switch apartments with Cai Lan and remained in Building No. 2. However, anyone with common sense would know which was the real Building No. 1.
After Li Yang came out, he frowned. He really couldn't figure out what went wrong, that his superiors would find out about him killing members of the National Security Bureau and the Dragon Group.
"Where exactly did things go wrong?" Li Yang frowned, completely baffled.
"Damn it. You dare to lay a hand on me? Go ahead and do it, I'll take it. As long as you don't harm my family, you'll have your fill of dealing with me. I'm not afraid of you." Li Yang curled his lip in disdain. He really didn't take the big shot who wanted to deal with him seriously. Let's see what kind of army he can send to deal with him. If he dares to send his army, then this matter will really escalate.