Although Gong Xinhao believed that no one would be able to find his hiding place for the time being, he still took extra precautions. He instructed Gong Jia to immediately arrange for people to go to the international airport and monitor Xu Zhengyang's movements after he arrived.
Gong Xinhao was uncertain. This Xu Zhengyang was too mysterious. It was not surprising that he was able to find Chu Shousheng in such a short time and know that Gong Xinhao was the mastermind. But it was too surprising that he knew that Gong Xinhao was doing this under Wan Yun's arrangement.
Therefore, Gong Xinhao couldn't be sure that Xu Zhengyang wouldn't be able to find him.
Gong Xinhao instructed his son, "Once you spot that Xu Zhengyang heading towards my place, kill him immediately."
Now that things have come to this, Gong Xinhao has decided to go all out. As a powerful underworld figure in Minggang for decades, he has enough guts. He can no longer humbly hide in a corner and wait for the Wan family and the Li family to compete; now the Li family is going to make an example of him.
As for the consequences...
If I, Gong Xinhao, don't go all out, I'll die. If I kill Xu Zhengyang, the Li family will definitely not suspect me, Gong Xinhao, first, but Wan Yun's men.
While they were fighting amongst themselves, he immediately took his entire family and fled abroad.
Gong Xinhao sighed deeply. If he had known this would happen, why had he lingered in Minggang, wasting so many days? But… let alone leaving now, even if his whole family had tried to leave Minggang a few days ago, could they have actually done so? Sigh…
...
On the busy highway.
As the silver-gray Toyota minivan was driving, a black Buick sedan suddenly overtook it from the side and then forcibly changed lanes.
The Toyota minivan was unable to brake in time and crashed into the Buick sedan.
And so a traffic accident occurred.
In the black Mercedes ahead, the driver said softly, "It's resolved."
Xu Zhengyang squinted, leaned back in his seat, and remained silent. Zhu Jun frowned and said, "It can't be that simple, can it?"
“There will be police checkpoints ahead, checking passing vehicles. They suspect a murder suspect might be passing through here, so... their vehicles will be stopped,” Li Chengzong said with a smile.
At this moment, Xu Zhengyang was thinking about which car was arranged by Gong Xinhao and which was arranged by Wan Yun. How many people were there in total?
Because of the ghost messengers in Minggang, only Guo Li was keeping an eye on Gong Xinhao before, and the specific arrangements were made by Gong Jia.
Currently, the city's resources are still slowly gathering relevant information, and before the City God's Palace can be established, it's quite difficult for Xu Zhengyang to collect specific intelligence. Therefore, Xu Zhengyang remained silent for a moment before saying, "Let's not go to the Victoria Hotel. Let's choose another one, one further away from Victoria."
The driver had no questions and readily agreed.
Suddenly, dark clouds appeared on the horizon, quickly engulfing the once clear sky.
Thunder rumbled...
Volume 5, Spirit Official, Chapter 293: A Reluctant Promotion
Large raindrops pounded against the windowpane. After twenty or thirty seconds, the raindrops became denser, weaving a curtain of rain outside the car, splashing water, and the scattered pattering sound turned into the rushing sound of running water.
The windshield wipers couldn't clear the rain, leaving the windshield fogged up with streaks of water flowing and sliding down the glass. With visibility less than twenty meters, the driver had to slow down and turn on the hazard lights.
All the vehicles on the highway slowed down, moving as slowly as turtles crawling on the shore.
Xu Zhengyang let out a long sigh of relief. Damn it, he'd really become too sensitive after being struck by lightning. As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. Now, the sound of thunder made him tense. The real reason was that he was out handling very important business. If he were struck by the heavenly tribulation, the damage to his divine power would be a minor matter; his physical body would be unable to function properly for a while, and what if something unexpected happened?
After the Mercedes-Benz slowly entered the city center, the driver turned right and carefully drove the car to the underground parking lot of the Longgang Hotel.
Zhu Jun got out of the car and opened the door. Xu Zhengyang stepped out of the car and laughed, "God has really done us a favor."
The three smiled but remained silent.
In such weather conditions, visibility on the road was less than twenty meters, so anyone tracking or monitoring them would likely lose sight of their target. After all, no one had ever gotten so close to Xu Zhengyang, who was personally protected by two professional bodyguards.
As they walked out, Xu Zhengyang said, "Since that's the case, let's not delay any longer. Let's take a taxi and go find Gong Xinhao."
"The hotel can arrange a car," the driver reminded them.
"Hmm?" Xu Zhengyang turned his head to look at the driver.
The driver, who looked to be in his early thirties, smiled and explained when he saw Xu Zhengyang's confusion: "General Manager Li Changwu instructed me to do so."
"This hotel belongs to Li Changwu?" Xu Zhengyang's face darkened. Because of the heavy rain, he hadn't paid attention to the fact that this was the Longgang Hotel when he entered the underground parking lot.
Before he came, Li Ruiqing had told him that Li Changwu would handle everything upon arriving in Minggang. Li Changwu was naturally a member of the Li family, a middle-aged man in his forties. He had attended Xu Zhengyang and Li Bingjie's wedding banquet in Beijing, making him an elder brother in the family. While Li Changwu appeared to be the general manager of the four-star hotel in Minggang, he was secretly also responsible for contacting and supporting figures from certain special departments. This was common knowledge within Beijing's upper echelons of society.
The driver immediately understood why Xu Zhengyang looked unwell and hurriedly said, "President Li said that we need to pay special attention to your safety. We have arranged for people to go to the Victoria Hotel, but you just said you don't want to go there anymore, so we'll take you here for now. After all, your safety is the top priority."
"Damn!" Xu Zhengyang cursed under his breath, then patted the driver on the shoulder and said, "You really know how to get things done."
After saying that, Xu Zhengyang turned around and walked back to the Mercedes-Benz.
Li Ruiyu and Zhu Jun hurriedly followed, while the driver hesitated for a long time before rushing after them.
If he had known this would happen, he would have just gone to the Victoria Hotel directly. Why go through all that trouble? Xu Zhengyang shook his head helplessly, but he couldn't entirely blame them. It seemed that the Li family and the Wan family's clandestine forces in Minggang were already monitoring each other.
If this were in mainland China, everything would be much easier to handle. The problem is, this is Hong Kong, sigh.
To avoid negative repercussions, certain things need to be done here, and one really can't act recklessly. The Wan and Li families share this mentality. In this respect, government officials are actually less decisive and direct than organized crime in handling such matters.
Now that things have come to this, there's no need to try to hide it by taking a taxi anymore.
Sitting in the car, Xu Zhengyang didn't speak. He just squinted, thinking about some things.
He remained silent, and the arranged driver/bodyguard, unable to drive, simply waited quietly for Xu Zhengyang's instructions.
After a while, Xu Zhengyang said, "Notify President Li and have him arrange for someone to confront them face-to-face. Don't resort to these messy schemes. Once you've dealt with them, I can handle Gong Xinhao's situation myself."
"Yes." The driver nodded with a puzzled look, then took out his phone and dialed Li Changwu's number, relaying Xu Zhengyang's words verbatim.
After finishing the call, the driver turned around and said, "Mr. Li said he needs to contact the people in Beijing."
Xu Zhengyang nodded. He knew Li Ruiqing would definitely agree. Since things had come to this point, was there any need to think about roundabout ways to ease the tension? This was something Xu Zhengyang disliked quite a bit. What were originally simple matters were always made extremely complicated. Since everyone knew each other, why hide in the shadows? Sigh... It seems that people in positions like theirs are burdened by their status and reputation, doing everything with extreme caution, afraid of giving others any leverage.
Just then, a flash of light appeared in my mind, and I received news.
Xu Zhengyang smiled slightly, closed his eyes, and focused his consciousness into his mind. He picked up the city scroll.
Xu Zhengyang had assumed that the city scrolls had gathered all the information about Minggang, and that the nominal City God's Palace had been established. He thought this would make everything he did in Minggang infinitely safer. With the nominal City God's Palace, he could immediately summon dozens of ghost messengers. With these snarling, menacing ghost messengers wielding their soul-slaying rulers, what did he have to fear?
Unexpectedly, the city scroll's notification was: Minggang information collection failed, and the City God's Mansion could not be established.
Xu Zhengyang's expression turned cold, then he roared in anger, "Why?"
Cheng Juan replied: "The divine power is insufficient."
"Bullshit!" Xu Zhengyang glared and retorted, "Where did my divine power go?"
Xu Zhengyang was indeed annoyed. Although he didn't know the exact measurement of divine power, he had a general idea. The amount of divine power required to establish a nominal institution like a City God's Palace varied from city to city. For example, establishing a City God's Palace in Anping City and Fuhe City would require far less divine power than establishing one in a municipality like the capital or Zhonghai City. Perhaps even more divine power would be needed to establish a City God's Palace in a special administrative region like Minggang?
But... that can't possibly not be enough.
The scroll, shimmering with light, replied: Each City God's Office requires divine power to maintain its operation, and the ghost messengers also need divine support. While the remaining divine power can barely establish a City God's Office in Minggang, the primary concern must be ensuring the normal operation of the existing City God's Office institutions. If the divine power is exhausted and there is insufficient faith to sustain it, the other City God's Office institutions will be destroyed. Furthermore, since the City God's Office institutions have reached the territory under the actual jurisdiction of the State God, they need to accumulate existing divine power to fulfill the duties of the State God.
What?
Xu Zhengyang was stunned for a while before saying, "You mean, I've been promoted again?"
Cheng Juan replied: Yes.
Why didn't you tell me beforehand?
Cheng Juan replied: Strictly speaking, the divine power is insufficient; moreover, the various city god offices are not located within the same province of the Nine Provinces.
"Then don't promote me!"
The city official replied: The territory and cities are now a fact, as ordained by Heaven. You are already the God of the Province; however, due to insufficient divine power, I originally intended to inform you when your divine power was sufficient.
"Could we try to negotiate with the Heavenly Law authorities first? I don't want a promotion for the time being..."
Cheng Juan responded to Xu Zhengyang with silence.
"Fuck your mother..." Xu Zhengyang suddenly opened his eyes and slapped the seat in front of him.
The driver was startled and quickly turned around to look at Xu Zhengyang in surprise, saying, "Mr. Xu, w-what's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Xu Zhengyang waved his hand, leaned back in his seat, squinted, took out a cigarette, lit it, took a couple of deep drags, and then took out his phone, turned it on, and dialed Li Ruiqing's number, saying, "Second Uncle, Li Changwu told you, right?"
"Yeah, I just hung up." Li Ruiqing said, "Your phone was off just now, and I was about to call Chengzhong when you called me... Zhengyang, let's just forget about this. The higher-ups have already made their stance clear during the meeting. I think you should come back first, and we can discuss this further."
Xu Zhengyang pushed open the car door and got out. He walked to the side and said in a low, ruthless voice, "Let's plan this over a long period of time? It's uncertain whether Wan Yun will even live to retirement. Should I wait until he dies and then dig up his grave to vent my anger? Or should I grab his ghost and whip him for hundreds of years?"
"Cough cough..." Li Ruiqing choked on Xu Zhengyang's words and couldn't help but cough lightly twice, saying, "We can't stand against everyone. The overall situation is more important."
Xu Zhengyang thought for a moment with a gloomy face, and said, "Second Uncle, if they don't allow it, then I will go back, but... I will have to resort to extreme measures."
Li Ruiqing was startled and hurriedly said, "Zhengyang..."
"Second Uncle, I admit I'm petty," Xu Zhengyang said, not giving Li Ruiqing a chance to continue his persuasion. "Once I get back to the capital, I'll explain to them myself!"
After saying this, Xu Zhengyang hung up the phone, then stepped into the car and said, "Drive, to Meiya Apartment."
The driver nodded, started the car, and turned to drive out of the underground parking garage.
Back in Beijing, Li Ruiqing sat at his desk, frowning, thinking for about a minute before slamming his hand on the table, gritting his teeth, and picking up the phone to make a call. If Xu Zhengyang wanted to make a big fuss, then so be it. After all, his son-in-law was a god; what was there to be afraid of—standing against all factions?
As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Perhaps this is a rare opportunity for the Li family and for Li Ruiqing!
In fact, Xu Zhengyang was not petty, nor did he necessarily want to take such a righteous path to bring down Wan Yun. He also knew the serious consequences that might come from standing against all the high-ranking figures.
However, Xu Zhengyang had to do it!
The notification about his promotion reminded him of something... After this incident, he decided to reveal his identity to those people!
Volume Five, Spirit Official (complete)
Volume Six, Chapter 294: The Affairs of the World Are Unpredictable
The rain poured down, and the sky was as dark as night.
In this special administrative region known as the Pearl of the Orient, the usual flow of traffic on highways and city roads seems to have decreased significantly. This bustling city has suddenly become much quieter, with only the incessant sound of torrential rain washing over the streets, obscuring this beautiful and prosperous city.
The sweltering summer temperature was lowered several degrees by the rain. The trees and grass did not seem to complain or suffer from the ravages of the rain and wind. Instead, they swayed happily, enjoying the coolness brought by the rain.
The black Mercedes-Benz moved slowly through the thick rain, completely oblivious to the people secretly watching them, some even aiming guns at them.
It was already 4:30 pm.
The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping or lessening; it continued to pour down relentlessly. Only the gale had ceased its rampage, seemingly exhausted from blowing away the dense, thick curtain of rain.
The streetlights came on early, and in the shimmering rain, the red car lights blinked.
A black Mercedes-Benz drove past on the road in front of the Mei Ya Apartments...
In the darkness, some of the people monitoring the black Mercedes-Benz were still intently watching its departure; others breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Xu Zhengyang and his group didn't seem to know that Brother Hao lived in the Meiya Apartments. However, what puzzled Gong Xinhao's men was why Xu Zhengyang dared to come with four people.
Wan Xianzhuo was in an exceptionally bad mood today. Listening to the constant stream of news from his subordinates, he frowned and pondered quietly.
He didn't understand what Xu Zhengyang was up to. What was the Li family planning? What was Wan Yun in Beijing thinking? It was truly full of twists and turns! First, they had to keep an eye on Xu Zhengyang, and if forced to, eliminate him and Gong Xinhao, leaving them in Minggang. Then they received a call saying things might have calmed down, but less than half an hour later, they called again to proceed as planned, but to remember not to leave any future troubles. Of course, it would be best if a conflict could break out between Xu Zhengyang and Gong Xinhao.