Chapter 49

Lip went upstairs to his room, picked up his phone, and saw an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

"Lip, are you okay?" Jessica's voice came through, full of worry and anxiety.

"How do you know if I'm okay?"

"I heard about it from an insider placed in the Bamboo Alliance Gang."

"What's going on?"

Lip's voice had an unusual edge of anger.

"Akun, the guy you saw in the parking lot, is dead. He was an official member of the Qing Gang's 40th generation and led the 20th and 30th subgroups."

"So how many times did the Qing Gang come to my house, and why didn't they just kill everyone?"

"The ones who came were from the Bamboo Alliance Gang."

"I see. The waters are muddied. The Bamboo Union can fish in troubled waters, right?"

"I think this move by the Bamboo Alliance Gang is to use you to provoke a conflict between Hongmen and the Qing Gang, letting the Bamboo Union benefit from the chaos."

"Jessica, do you think the Bamboo Union Gang is stupid? Or am I the one who's stupid?"

Lip's words were blunt, and there was obvious disgust in his tone.

"Ah… what do you mean, Lip? I don't understand."

"Do you really not understand, or are you pretending?"

"I… of course, I don't understand!"

"If you review the information you gave me carefully, you'll notice at least five basic logical inconsistencies and holes."

"You said it was a message from your insider in the Bamboo Union. Let me ask you: when did I become a member of your Hongmen? Do you really need an insider to give you info about me?"

"Also, your insider in the Bamboo Union has a powerful position. He didn't know about this operation in advance but managed to report it to you right after? Doesn't add up."

"Besides, I didn't kill Akun. I believe Qing Gang, one of the three big forces, wouldn't miss something this big."

"Or, let's assume the Qing Gang, who has a direct interest, didn't do anything, but the Bamboo Union was able to track me, find my house, and carry out an attack in less than ten hours? If the Bamboo Union were really that powerful, you and the Qing Gang would be living in fear."

"Finally, if it was really the Bamboo Union, they wouldn't just shoot but not kill. That's like pulling down your pants and farting."

On the other end of the phone, Jessica was calming down. She realized Lip's analysis made sense.

"Lip, I didn't lie. I just got a call from my cousin Wang Teng, and maybe I was too anxious!"

"Wang Teng?" The name reminded Lip of a character from a novel he'd read before time-traveling.

"Jessica, what's Wang Teng's position in your Hongmen?"

"Ah? Why are you asking this suddenly?"

"Tell me now!"

"In our generation, he's second only to me. Lip, why do you ask?"

"Yes, everything tonight was probably Wang Teng's plan to kill two birds with one stone."

"Now that you mention it, I remember Wang Teng was supposed to visit me but didn't show up until after you left."

"It seems Akun's sudden appearance in your territory that day was probably related to Wang Teng."

"Lip, are you sure? Could we be wrong? Wang Teng seems so honest!"

Jessica still couldn't fully believe it.

"Silly girl, you almost got killed, and you're still defending him?"

"Please tell me more!" Jessica urged.

Lip started explaining further.

"Silly girl, first of all, if Akun is dead, it has nothing to do with me. I didn't kill him, and it's not your Hongmen's fault."

"I'm not involved with you three! But now someone is pushing me into the situation, trying to make me the scapegoat. Why?"

"Because that person could have been at the Sichuan restaurant or had people there who knew what happened between us on the second floor that day."

"They knew we were building an important relationship."

"Lip, I get it, they're trying to drag me down through you!"

"It seems you're not completely stupid!" Lip said, continuing.

"You're stupid!" Jessica retorted playfully.

"This person then tracked down my home address, and that's when the shooting happened," Lip explained patiently. "One reason they didn't kill me was due to the risks involved. A family wipeout would draw too much attention, both legally and morally."

"The second reason is that person's ego—they enjoy playing with others and think they can kill me anytime."

"Such people like to drag things out, like a cat playing with a mouse, not killing it immediately."

Lip took a sip of water and went on, "So they let me live, hoping I'd drag you in, and you'd drag me in. They think I'm just a martial artist with a simple mind."

"That's why Wang Teng gave me misleading information, hoping I'd make wrong moves and pit Hongmen against the Qing Gang and the Bamboo Union. He'd just sit back and watch."

"If I lose, he gets to replace me."

"Silly girl, you're overestimating him. Wang Teng's greed is far worse than you think."

"He'll try to seize the three gangs if you lose."

"If you win, he might act loyal, but he'll eventually use everything for his own benefit."

"Eventually, you'll realize keeping tigers is dangerous."

"Now, with Akun dead, conflict between your three forces is inevitable."

"Lip, are you saying the game began the moment Akun entered my territory?"

"Silly girl, seems like you're starting to get it."

"Lip, how did you figure all this out?"

"It's because Wang Teng was too eager to push things forward. He thought this was a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity and rushed in. He forced me, an outsider, into the game, thinking I'd die."

"Wang Teng's strategy is good, but his patience is terrible. He doesn't realize taking big risks requires control."

"Screw you!" Jessica finally smiled. "So, how do we break this?"

"Simple. As soon as I take charge, he has to surrender," Lip said confidently. "But since he's brought me into this, I'll play his game—after all, he disturbed my family, so it's only fair I return the favor."

Jessica felt a shiver from Lip's words. For some reason, she also sensed that her cousin Wang Teng would meet a tragic end this time.

When she looked at Lip, she saw something beast-like in his eyes—someone who could tear another to pieces in an instant.

Jessica recalled her grandfather's family motto: "He who humiliates others will always be humiliated. Those who play with others will always be played with."

"I'll contact you tomorrow with a plan."

"Yeah."

"Good night."

"Good night. Don't forget about me..."

Before Jessica could finish, the phone clicked off.

"Humph, he hung up on me! I must…" Jessica seethed, about to slam the cordless phone down, but she stopped, thinking about what Lip had said.

"Why is he so powerful? I'm getting more and more obsessed with him!"

Jessica pressed the phone to her chest, her expression one of infatuation.

On the other side, Lip was about to go downstairs but didn't know how to explain everything to his family.

He couldn't exactly say, "A big sister is chasing me, and now I'm caught in Hongmen's turbulent currents!"

Who would believe it?