Chapter 121: An Equal Split

"Liu Sheng, I knew you would be fine!" Ren Xiadong, seeing Liu Sheng beside him, felt no surprise at all. Having witnessed so many incredible things from Liu Sheng, one more didn't seem to matter. After saying this, Ren Xiadong sank directly to the floor.

Hu Yinghe and his four bodyguards stared at Liu Sheng with wide eyes, filled with astonishment, but even more so with fear. They wondered if Liu Sheng was even human; he seemed more like a ghost.

The four bodyguards reacted, simultaneously drawing their guns, ready to fire at any moment.

Liu Sheng froze time once more, disarmed all four bodyguards, took the guns into his own hands, and stepped back beside Ren Xiadong.

Time resumed. The bodyguards watched as their pistols vanished into thin air, only to see them all in Liu Sheng's hands. Terrified, they retreated repeatedly, not daring to take a single step forward.

"I intended to spare your life, but you brought this upon yourself!" Liu Sheng threw the guns to the ground, his eyes locked onto Hu Yinghe. Hu Yinghe’s legs were trembling uncontrollably; he had not yet emerged from the fear Liu Sheng had instilled in him.

Hu Yinghe secretly took out his phone, intending to call Elder Hu to come and save him. This time, Liu Sheng did not freeze time; instead, he used rapid movement to appear instantly before Hu Yinghe and snatched the phone away.

Hu Yinghe was completely stunned and scrambled backward. Liu Sheng looked at him with icy eyes and said, "My master is Hu Yingqi."

Expecting Hu Yinghe to be shocked into silence, Liu Sheng was surprised when Hu Yinghe suddenly began to laugh. "I spent every day guarding against Hu Ying and Hu Jie, yet I never expected Hu Yingqi to be the dark horse. Truly, even heroes struggle to overcome the charms of a beauty."

Liu Sheng returned to Ren Xiadong’s side in a flash, pulled Ren Xiadong’s gun from his holster, and began loading the bullets one by one. "I wanted you to live the life of an ordinary person, but I’ve changed my mind. This incident taught me a lesson: if we leave you alive, it is likely that we will be the ones who die. Thank you for teaching me a principle: from now on, one must be ruthless."

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Liu Sheng fired five shots in succession, every one hitting its mark—directly between the brows of the five men.

"From this day forward, Huayong belongs to Hu Yingqi."

Ren Xiadong, enduring severe pain, asked with difficulty, "What about Elder Hu? How will we explain this?"

"There is no evidence. Everyone who knew we were coming is dead, and I’ve taken care of the surveillance footage. As for how they interpret it, that’s their business—there’s no proof anyway!" After saying this, Liu Sheng helped Ren Xiadong up, preparing to leave.

Just then, the door to the private room opened again, and Hu Yinghe’s strategist walked in. Ren Xiadong panicked, thinking, "It’s over, the matter is exposed!" He reached for his gun, ready to kill the strategist.

The strategist said, "If you leave like this, do you think Huayong will let you go? As long as Elder Hu wants to investigate, you won't be able to run. Hu Yinghe was the successor he valued most."

Liu Sheng quickly stopped Ren Xiadong from firing and replied, "Then I will kill everyone in Huayong!"

The strategist had arrived late and did not know of Liu Sheng’s abilities, so he laughed. "Haha, Huayong’s wealth is equal to half the world’s nations; you cannot destroy it with your own strength. However, the fact that you managed to kill Hu Yinghe is already quite shocking."

"Your master is dead; why aren't you sad?" Liu Sheng found the strategist suspicious. If he were truly loyal, he should be seeking revenge. Even if he had ulterior motives, he shouldn't have appeared under these circumstances; he should have run to save his own life.

"Why should I be sad? The world is vast; where can I not find a place to stay? You should go. I will handle what comes after."

Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong were both stunned by the strategist’s words, unable to believe what they were hearing—their opponent was helping them, even after they had killed his master.

"Kill him, he’s just lying to us to save his own skin!" Ren Xiadong said weakly, preparing to raise his gun again.

Liu Sheng smiled and asked, "What are the conditions?"

The strategist waved his hand and said, "No conditions. You are important to me, and while I do want you dead, I don't want you to die so soon."

"Fine." Liu Sheng said, and he carried Ren Xiadong out of the room. Once outside, Liu Sheng froze time, put Ren Xiadong on his back, and ran to where Ren Xiadong’s car was parked at a hundred times his normal speed.

Along the way, Ren Xiadong remained frozen in time; his wounds were stilled, and his bleeding stopped.

Upon returning to the Zhongshi Hospital, Liu Sheng carried Ren Xiadong out of the car. Seeing that no one was around and there were no cameras, he resumed time, ran toward the emergency room, and shouted, "Doctor! Doctor! Save him!"

"Where are we?" Ren Xiadong asked softly from Liu Sheng’s back.

Liu Sheng watched as the doctors pushed a gurney toward them and replied, "Zhongshi Hospital. In a moment, I’ll have the doctor add a bed next to mine so I can be hospitalized with you."

Because of the extensive burns on his chest and the gunshot wound on his shoulder, Ren Xiadong received special attention from the doctors and was successfully placed on the operating table. This time, it was Liu Sheng’s turn to wait for Ren Xiadong.

And so, a scene unfolded: in front of the operating room, a patient wearing hospital clothes waited for another patient.

Worried that Ren Xiadong might be in danger, Liu Sheng would occasionally freeze time and sneak in to check on his condition.

Liu Sheng spent the whole night in turmoil, as did the doctors. Early the next morning, a doctor walked out, looking exhausted. Liu Sheng rushed forward to ask, but the doctor was too tired to pay him any mind and went straight to rest.

This sent a chill down Liu Sheng’s spine. "Ren Xiadong didn’t pass away, did he?" He rushed toward the operating room.

"What’s the rush? Wait a while before going in; there are still some check-ups to finish," a nurse said to the frantic Liu Sheng as she walked out.

Liu Sheng asked directly, "How is he?"

"How is he? If you had arrived any later, he would have been gone. And you’d better figure out how to explain the gunshot wound. Our hospital is connected to the public security system; the police will be here soon to find you. Possessing guns is a crime!" The nurse walked away without listening to another word from Liu Sheng.

In the hospital room, Tian Yun sat by Ren Xiadong’s bedside, silently waiting for him to wake up. She looked at Ren Xiadong with concern and asked Liu Sheng, "Where did you find him?"

"At a roadside stall. He got drunk and got into a fight. If I had arrived any later, he would have been beaten to death."

Liu Sheng said this because he couldn't let them know he had found Ren Xiadong in Yunhai City; otherwise, it would be impossible for him to have made the round trip in such a short time, even by plane.

"Guan Xin, go back to work. Learn well from Zhou Jin."

After Liu Sheng said this, Guan Xin still looked worried and was about to speak, but Liu Sheng interrupted, "Go on back. I'm fine; I’ll look after Ren Xiadong."

After Guan Xin left, two police officers walked in, both carrying guns. Liu Sheng quickly froze time, retrieved the gun and bullets from Ren Xiadong’s clothes, ran home to hide them, and then raced back to the hospital.

Sitting back in his original spot, Liu Sheng resumed time.

"We are here to investigate the gunshot wound. How did your friend get injured?" one of the officers asked.

Liu Sheng replied directly, "He was burned. What gunshot wound?"

The police were clearly dissatisfied with this answer. They searched the ward and later had Liu Sheng take them to search Ren Xiadong’s car. Finding nothing, the officer said to Liu Sheng, "Possessing firearms is illegal. Since you don't have any, the person who hurt you does. There is a reward for reporting it."

Liu Sheng knew the police were hinting for him to reveal who had shot Ren Xiadong. Of course, he couldn't say. If he told them that Hu Yinghe was the one who fired the shot, and that he had already killed Hu Yinghe, it would surely scare the life out of these two officers.

"We won't pursue this matter. I’m sorry to trouble you both on such a cold day." As Liu Sheng said this, he distributed twenty thousand in cash he had retrieved from the car between the two of them.

The officers took the money and suddenly smiled. "We are here to serve the people, after all. Since you don't want to pursue it, we won't go through the trouble. We have things to do, so we'll be going. I wish your friend a speedy recovery."

The police left without lingering. Liu Sheng understood that their visit was just a formality; whether they found anything or not didn't matter, especially when there was money to be made.

When Liu Sheng returned to the room and saw Ren Xiadong sleeping on the bed, alongside Tian Yun, who was caring for him so attentively, he couldn't help but feel a little lost. Ren Xiadong had found someone to spend his life with, while he remained all alone.

After half a month in the hospital, under Tian Yun’s meticulous care, Ren Xiadong began to improve.

The weather in mid-December was bitter. Walking to the hospital after class, Liu Sheng received a call from Hu Ying himself.

The gist of it was: Hu Yinghe was dead. Because all of his illicit businesses had been sealed off and relevant departments had traced the activities to him, he realized he couldn't escape his fate and committed suicide to avoid punishment.

He also said that Elder Hu had been heartbroken for half a month and had finally decided to divide Hu Yinghe’s legitimate businesses among the remaining three: Hu Ying, Hu Jie, and Hu Yinghe (the caller). The division would take place at the end of the month.

"Liu Sheng, you were instrumental in the matter of Hu Yinghe. Without you, he wouldn't have been investigated, and he wouldn't have met such an end. With Hu Yinghe dead, I no longer have any rivals. In the future, when I control all of Huayong, you will be a founding hero, and I will certainly make you a king."

Finally, Hu Ying invited Liu Sheng to attend the division meeting at the end of the month.

Hanging up the phone, Liu Sheng thought, "I don't want to be a king of one territory; I want to be under one person and above ten thousand! It’s time for Hu Yingqi to take the stage. The most formidable opponent has already been dealt with."

"Ren Xiadong, how are you feeling? At the end of the month, Elder Hu is inviting us to dinner. I hope you won't miss it due to your health; it will be very helpful for our future development."

Ren Xiadong was quite excited when he heard this.

"Don't worry, I'm an iron man." As he said this, Ren Xiadong began to cough.

"Enough, why are you two so busy every day? There won't be any danger this time, will there? I get scared every time you leave the house now; you never let anyone have peace of mind," Tian Yun complained, then turned to Liu Sheng and added, "And you too. You live a life of blades and fire every single day, and now guns have entered the mix! How are you ever going to find a girlfriend?"

Liu Sheng didn't know what to say. He felt that Ren Xiadong’s life was basically over; Tian Yun was already keeping such a tight rein on him that Liu Sheng realized he wouldn't even be able to save Ren Xiadong if they fought in the future.