Chapter 118: Murdered

One week after the incident at the Royal Palace Bathhouse, the massive commotion and the sheer number of onlookers not only drew media attention but also invited intense scrutiny from the fire department. This reflected poorly on Hu Yinghe, leading relevant authorities to conduct investigations into all of his companies. With no other choice, Hu Yinghe was forced to shut down all of his illicit establishments.

At the Huayong headquarters in Yunhai City, a conversation took place between Elder Hu and Butler Jin:

"Sir, Liu Sheng has finally shown his hand this time. He is openly opposing Young Master Hu Yinghe. The young master has suffered a major blow, and many of his businesses have had to close."

"Yinghe has met his match. With his primary revenue-generating businesses shuttered, he is now on the same level as Hu Ying. This is becoming quite interesting."

"Liu Sheng is also clever; he only targeted the illicit establishments, as they are neither recognized by Huayong nor protected under the peace treaty. However, if it is ever discovered that he was behind the shipyard incident, Liu Sheng will become an enemy of Huayong."

"But is there no evidence? Throughout history, in the struggles for succession, if there isn't a little turbulence, we aren't unreasonable people. Must everything be settled by evidence?"

Elder Hu knew that the shipyard explosion was likely linked to Liu Sheng, but he held Liu Sheng in high regard and wanted to protect him for once. Furthermore, there was no concrete evidence to prove Liu Sheng had bombed the shipyard.

Hu Yinghe had not made an appearance for several days. After closing his illicit venues, he quietly began pulling strings to manage his connections. Although Huayong managed half of the world's businesses, it still had to abide by the law; anything forbidden by national statutes was strictly prohibited. Usually, the authorities might turn a blind eye, but this time, with so many witnesses, they had to take action to appease the public.

In the suburbs of Zhong City, a black car sat idling. Inside were four men wearing black suits and sunglasses—assassins sent by Hu Yinghe to eliminate Liu Sheng.

"Let’s find something to do after class; this is getting pretty boring," Ren Xiadong said to Liu Sheng, who was playing on his phone.

Liu Sheng also felt it was dull. Hu Yinghe’s influence was waning, and Liu Sheng had already communicated with Secretary Zhao to take advantage of this moment to expand their own power, suggesting that he start poaching people from Hu Yinghe’s inner circle.

Over the past week, Secretary Zhao had successfully recruited several of Hu Yinghe’s former subordinates for Hu Ying, but Liu Sheng still felt uneasy and wanted to find another opportunity to dismantle Hu Yinghe completely.

However, Hu Ying’s attitude frustrated Liu Sheng. Thanks to Liu Sheng’s efforts, Hu Ying had inexplicably surpassed Hu Yinghe, yet she failed to acknowledge Liu Sheng’s help, believing that the current situation was solely due to her own capabilities.

Liu Sheng didn't dwell on this, as in his eyes, Hu Ying was merely a chess piece.

After class, Liu Sheng followed Ren Xiadong to an arcade. Ren Xiadong was having a great time playing various arcade games, but Liu Sheng had no interest, sitting to the side and watching a couple on a dance machine.

Just then, Liu Sheng noticed three men in black suits on the other side of the machines, staring at him. When he looked back, they quickly averted their gaze, which made Liu Sheng sense that something was wrong.

Liu Sheng stood up and walked toward the restroom. The three men followed him to the entrance. Liu Sheng knew they were waiting for him, and when he stepped out, the three men began to chat intentionally.

Liu Sheng realized they were targeting him but hadn't made a move yet, merely tailing him. Though he didn't know why, he felt a sense of impending trouble.

Liu Sheng went to Ren Xiadong and said, "Stop playing, we're leaving."

Ren Xiadong didn't stop, playing as he said, "It’s getting good, let me finish this round."

Without a word, Liu Sheng grabbed Ren Xiadong and pulled him toward the exit.

"Don't pull me! What’s the rush? I’m not done!"

"Don't speak, we’re being followed!"

Ren Xiadong instinctively started to turn around, but Liu Sheng whispered urgently, "Don't look back. Let's find a secluded place and deal with them."

Liu Sheng knew that whoever was following him must be acting on Hu Yinghe's behalf; he had no other enemies who wanted him dead. Hu Yinghe was smart—he didn't even consider Hu Ying a threat, knowing everything was Liu Sheng’s doing. If Liu Sheng died, Hu Ying would be powerless.

The three assassins followed them to a bridge near the school. It was close to the mountains, so there was almost no traffic. Liu Sheng stopped on the bridge, looked at the three men following him, and said, "You guys are really unprofessional."

One of the assassins reached into his jacket, but another stopped him, saying, "Young Master Hu Yinghe ordered us to make it look like an accident. Drown him in the river."

The three of them charged at Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong.

"I’ll take them, you rest," Ren Xiadong said, loosening his wrists.

Ren Xiadong charged toward the three, leaping into the air for a flying kick to intimidate them, but they scattered instantly, causing him to miss.

Ignoring Ren Xiadong entirely, the three continued toward Liu Sheng.

"Damn! You’re not taking me seriously?" Ren Xiadong cursed, chasing after them and landing a spinning back kick on one. The assassin stood up, ready to fight to the death, engaging Ren Xiadong.

The other two reached Liu Sheng and, without a word, went for the kill. Liu Sheng started to laugh, dodging their attacks while thinking, *Experts. These are completely different from the ones I’ve faced before.*

His interest piqued, Liu Sheng had long wanted to test his skills against strong opponents. He chose not to activate any of his abilities, relying solely on the techniques taught by Old Nine and his own exceptional physical fitness.

Ren Xiadong was struggling but holding his own. Since his punches and kicks weren't working, he resorted to the "four ounces of force to deflect a thousand pounds" technique from Tai Chi.

One assassin seized an opening and landed a heavy punch, knocking Ren Xiadong to the ground. The assassin stood over him, looking toward Liu Sheng.

One of the two assassins aimed a high kick at Liu Sheng’s face. Liu Sheng grabbed the ankle, and the other assassin raised his leg to strike as well.

Liu Sheng squeezed the ankle in his hand; a loud *crack* echoed, followed by a scream. Liu Sheng then kicked out, meeting the other assassin’s incoming leg with his own.

Liu Sheng stood like a mountain, while the force of the blow sent the other assassin flying off the bridge and into the river.

The assassin near Ren Xiadong saw this and prepared to help, but Ren Xiadong, still on the ground, grabbed his leg and shouted, "I can still fight!"

Ren Xiadong pulled the assassin down, stood up, grabbed the man’s leg with both hands, and twisted hard. Another *crack*—Ren Xiadong had snapped the assassin’s leg.

Not far away, in a black car, the fourth assassin sat expressionless, watching it all while smoking.

Liu Sheng looked at the two assassins with broken legs on the ground and asked, "Did Hu Yinghe send you?"

Just then, the assassin who had fallen off the bridge climbed back up and launched a fierce assault. Not wanting to drag this out, Liu Sheng struck back with lethal intent, pinning the assassin to the ground.

The assassin in the distance flicked away his cigarette, started the car, and sped toward the bridge.

As Liu Sheng was about to deliver the final blow, he heard the engine. Thinking it was just a passing vehicle, he paid no attention.

Only when the car was nearly upon him did Liu Sheng turn around. Because he hadn't used any of his powers, he didn't have time to activate his enhanced vision.

"Liu Sheng!" Ren Xiadong ran toward where Liu Sheng had fallen. The car slammed into both Liu Sheng and the assassin he was holding, knocking them off the bridge. The driver then shot the two assassins with broken legs before speeding away, brushing past Ren Xiadong.

"Liu Sheng! Liu Sheng!"

Ren Xiadong watched Liu Sheng drifting in the water. No matter how much he shouted, there was no response, and soon, Liu Sheng began to sink.

Ignoring everything else, Ren Xiadong jumped off the bridge. Finding Liu Sheng at the bottom, he struggled to drag him to the surface. Swimming toward the bank, he kept shouting, "Liu Sheng, wake up! Come on, wake up!"

Once on the shore, Ren Xiadong watched Liu Sheng, who was convulsing, and felt helpless. He knew Liu Sheng was still alive but didn't dare touch him for fear of causing further injury.

In a panic, he pulled out his phone to call an ambulance, but it was waterlogged and wouldn't turn on. He tried Liu Sheng’s phone, but it was dead as well. As he stood in despair, he heard voices in the nearby bushes.

"Brother-in-law, is anyone here?" a woman whispered shyly.

"Don't worry, no one comes here. Besides, the grass is so tall."

"What if my sister finds out?"

"It’s fine. She won't know we’re here. Be good, listen to me, and take off your clothes."

Ren Xiadong couldn't care less; his only focus was saving Liu Sheng. He ran toward the voices.

As he parted the bushes, the man and woman inside clung to each other in shock.

The woman panicked, "Did my sister send you?"

"Give me your phone!" Ren Xiadong demanded frantically.

The man realized Ren Xiadong wasn't there to catch them in the act and growled, "Get lost! Don't ruin this for me!"

"The phone!!! Or I’ll kill you both!!!" Ren Xiadong yelled, his face twisted in rage.

The man, intimidated, pointed to his clothes. Ren Xiadong grabbed the man's pants, fished out the phone, and barked, "Password!"

"121212."

After unlocking it, Ren Xiadong wanted to call Zhou Jin to handle the situation, as calling an ambulance would expose the bodies on the bridge. But he couldn't remember anyone’s number except his own, Tian Yun’s, and Liu Sheng’s.

With no other choice, he dialed emergency services. He threw the phone on the ground and yelled at the couple, "It’s cold, stay warm!"

He then ran back to the bridge to throw the two corpses into the river, but he couldn't clean the bloodstains. He returned to Liu Sheng’s side, only to find that Liu Sheng seemed to have stopped breathing.

Ren Xiadong panicked, shaking Liu Sheng and screaming his name.

Just then, the ambulance arrived. In their haste to save him, the medical staff didn't notice the blood on the bridge.

"Here! Over here!" Ren Xiadong waved frantically.

Five medics jumped out with medical kits and a stretcher, performing a quick check on Liu Sheng.

"How is he? How is he?" Ren Xiadong asked repeatedly.

The female doctor shouted, "If you want him to live, shut your mouth!"

She then turned to the stretcher bearers, "Multiple fractures. Move him to the ambulance carefully. We can't delay; his life is in danger."