Hard to Swallow

In the small square at the entrance of the dojo.

Cheers erupted as "Duan Feihong" made his appearance.

"He's here! Duan Feihong is here!"

"Duan Feihong has entered the arena! Where's Chen Xiaodao? Why hasn't he shown up yet?"

"Tsk tsk, could it be that Chen Xiaodao is getting cold feet?"

"Come, come! Place your bets!"

"…"

The place was boisterous with shouts, laughter, squabbling, and other noises.

As Su Jingxing took the stage, the cheering reached its peak.

Curiously, Chen Xiaodao was nowhere to be seen, even though it was past the appointed time.

On that note, not a single member from the Dagger Gang was present.

It almost seemed like Chen Xiaodao really chickened out.

"What's going on?"

In the spectator stands, Wu Shouhan frowned and said, "What is Chen Xiaodao up to? Is he really so scared of Duan Feihong that he refuses to show up?"

Huang Boyi also frowned and said huskily, "I'll phone him to see what's going on."

Although Chen Xiaodao was not one of his men, the Dagger Gang served the Black Tiger Gang and paid tribute to it monthly.

If Chen Xiaodao really chickened out, the Black Tiger Gang's reputation would be affected as well.

Even though it wouldn't have a huge direct impact on their reputation, the Flying Cloud Sect—Black Tiger Gang's sworn enemy—would definitely publicize the news to embarrass the Black Tiger Gang.

Therefore, Huang Boyi did not allow Chen Xiaodao to back out. He had to show up in the arena, even if that meant getting killed!

If Chen Xiaodao died during the fight, they could easily replace the president of the Dagger Gang with someone else.

Beep… beep…

The call went through, but no one answered.

"What on earth is Chen Xiaodao doing?" Huang Boyi creased his eyebrows. He hung up and phoned another number.

That was when Wu Shouhan's phone rang, followed by the phones of Qi Zhaochen, the long-bearded old man, and a few others.

Before Huang Boyi's second call went through, he received an incoming call.

Wu Shouhan and the others exchanged a look, then answered their phones.

The next moment—

"What?"

"Are you sure this intel can be trusted?"

"All of them died? Not a single survivor?"

Huang Boyi, Wu Shouhan, and the long-bearded old man sprung up to their feet, their expressions changing.

Qi Zhaochen was even more extreme; right after answering the call, he leaped down the spectator stand and dashed into the distance, treading on the heads of other spectators.

Huang Boyi followed suit after ending his call.

The long-bearded old man, Wu Shouhan, and the others did the same.

This sudden turn of events caused the spectators to exclaim in alarm.

"What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Beats me. Why are all the big shots taking off all of a sudden?"

"Seems like they were talking on the phone just now."

"…"

The confused crowd gathered together to exchange opinions.

Wei Jiajia, who had just picked up the megaphone and was about to address the crowd, was equally dumbfounded. She glanced at the empty spectator stand, not knowing what to do.

"What's going on, Sis?" asked Wei Jiaping, confused. He had just come out of the dojo

"I… I don't know," said Wei Jiajia blankly. "Why did Commissioner Qi and the rest take off? It's strange enough that Chen Xiaodao did not show up."

"Because Chen Xiaodao is dead," said Su Jingxing. He too had treaded over the heads of others as he exited the arena to meet up with the Wei siblings. "We'd find out what's going on if we drop by the headquarters of Dagger Gang."

"Huh?" murmured Wei Jiajia, stunned.

"What? Chen Xiaodao is dead? No kidding?" exclaimed Wei Jiaping.

"Only one way to find out." Su Jingxing frowned. "Let's put everything else aside. Do you guys own a car?"

"Yes, we do," replied Wei Jiaping, nodding. He turned around and made for the dojo to get the car keys.

Wei Jiajia stood rooted to the ground blank-faced, not knowing what to make of the whole situation.

Chen Xiaodao died?

Why must he die at this point in time?

In order to deal with him, she even sacrificed the Eight Steps Rising Dragon.

And now, he just went ahead and dropped dead right as the match was about to start?

If Chen Xiaodao had died, then wouldn't all her recent suffering, depression, helplessness, grievance, scheming, and tears have all been for nothing?!

She found it hard to swallow.

This turn of events was too much for Wei Jiajia to take in

Su Jingxing saw her reaction, but made no attempt at consoling her.

Wei Jiajia didn't need his consolation either.

Besides, Wei Jiajia wasn't the only one that was shocked by the news—Su Jingxing himself was equally caught by surprise.

The crowd around the arena could not have heard what Huang Boyi, Wu Shouhan, and the others were saying on the phone, but Su Jingxing could!

The calls they received carried the same message.

The Dagger Gang had been wiped out!

All of its members—including Chen Xiaodao—were found dead in its headquarters.

This was a major case.

A case that was enough to shake the entire Western District!

No one knows who committed the massacre.

Out of curiosity, Su Jingxing couldn't help but take a few more glances at Wei Jiajia.

Once Wei Jiaping pulled up, the two of them got into the car and headed straight for the headquarters of Dagger Gang.

Noticing that Wei Jiajia had come back to her senses, Su Jingxing asked, "Was it your doing?"

"What? What are you talking about?" asked Wei Jiajia, confused.

"Chen Xiaodao. The Dagger Gang," said Su Jingxing succinctly. "Did you hire people other than me?"

"Wha-you think I hired someone to wipe out the Dagger Gang?" asked Wei Jiajia, having comprehended the question. She smiled helplessly. "If I had that much influence, why would I have given up the Eight Steps Rising Dragon?"

"But it's undeniable that the Dagger Gang got annihilated," commented Wei Jiaping from the driver's seat.

"It really wasn't my doing," said Wei Jiajia irritably. She wrapped her hands around her head. "I couldn't have employed anyone. Not with the limited ability and resources at my disposal. Just this morning, I contacted Chen Xiaodao and asked him to arrive on time. Who would have expected…"

Wei Jiaping kept quiet.

Su Jingxing also frowned and remained silent.

In the morning, Chen Xiaodao was still alive.

Yet he was dead by late noon.

This meant that Chen Xiaodao and his subordinates were killed at around noon.

A huge group of people were killed within their headquarters, and no one even heard a sound. It wasn't until a few minutes ago that their bodies were discovered.

The murderer could not have been anyone ordinary!

Su Jingxing pondered.

Wei Jiaping stepped on the gas as the trio traveled in silence. Before long, they were at the Dagger Gang headquarters.

It was a five-story building.

The entrance to the building and the roads on its sides had been cordoned off by the Public Security Team.

Wei Jiaping saw the barricades and pulled up at one end of the road.

After getting out of the car, they made a beeline for the building.

Just as an officer was about to stop the trio from entering the cordoned area, Qi Zhaochen walked out of the building. When he saw them, he immediately asked the security team officer to let them through.

"Good timing. Follow me inside and have a look around. Maybe you can find a clue or two," said Qi Zhaochen coolly.

Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and led the way.

"What kind of clue does he expect us amateurs to find?"

whispered Wei Jiaping uncomprehendingly.

Su Jingxing ignored him.

Wei Jiaping might have missed Qi Zhaochen's unspoken message, but not Su Jingxing.

They were marked as suspects!