Way of the Devil

Panda Novel

“Aah!”

The uncle fell heavily onto the floor. He wailed as he rolled backward.

“This is against the law!” Beside him, veins popped on his son’s forehead. He seemed ready to charge in.

However, he was immediately hit with a punch to his belly. He immediately doubled over, and could not say anything else. Several other guards walked up to him and pinned him down.

“Although the master didn’t say anything, we, as his subordinates, know what we should or shouldn’t do.” The big and tall man glanced at the two suppressed people on the ground with disdain.

“A bunch of idiots who don’t know the immensity of the heavens. Ai Li, let’s go.”

“Shall we kill them?”

“Just remove one hand from each of them. We shouldn’t overdo it.”

“No! You can’t! Department chief Gao is my sworn brother! You can’t— ah!”

Blood splattered on the ground. The fat man’s arm was forcibly raised.

At the sight of this, Lin Shengya and the others were terrified. They felt cold all over. They had been looking down on Lu Sheng before this. However, they did not expect him to be able to summon this many men here.

Zhuo Xinxin’s mother was ghastly pale. She grasped her niece’s hand tightly, and softly asked, “Little Ya… What’s the meaning of this?”

“I… I don’t know…” Ling Shengya felt her brain go numb. Her heart raced, but she was filled with puzzlement.

Then, they suddenly remembered someone who had to know about the details behind this.

Everyone’s gaze was immediately focused on Zhuo Siqing, who was lying on the bed.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t even know what got into Little Yu.” Zhuo Siqing was still in a daze. He had yet to process the recent happenings.

One second he was in dire straits and helpless, and the next instant he completely turned the tides on the situation. He felt as if he was dreaming. He was still in a daze.

“Alright.” Between the two people who walked in, the leading man suddenly clapped his hands with a smile.

“There’s no need to make wild guesses. Ordinary people have no right to know the master’s identity. As for the master’s father, it’s not our place to meddle in your affairs. If the master wanted to tell you all the insider information, he wouldn’t have kept it from you for so long.”

Zhuo Siqing nodded slightly with a bitter smile.

“However, you’re dealing with the most troublesome Zhao Family in the city… Little Yu shouldn’t act too rashly. I hear that the Zhao Family has strong ties with the military. We can’t—”

“Zhao Family?” The man suddenly snorted. “The Zhao Family is nothing.”

Zhuo Siqing and the others were shocked. Lin Shengya’s gaze flickered. She carefully studied the outfits of these people. She seemed to have thought of something, and her beautiful eyes bulged.

….

Lu Sheng was studying an information sheet downstairs. He was fidgety.

This matter had been caused by his own carelessness. He’d initially thought that his father would be fine even though he was not a person who knew how to navigate society’s circles, since he was now the decision maker for the Zhuo Family. However, he did not expect someone else to make a move against him behind the scenes.

After a dozen minutes or so, the Zhao Family members nearest to this area were already brought here by the troops of black guards.

Everyone was gathered in the small plaza of the neighborhood.

The other residents hid away in their own homes. They shut their curtains, and were too afraid to watch.

There were some who wanted to record the happenings with their phones, but they were immediately dragged out into the streets and clobbered up by the black guards. They were all heavily injured, unconscious, and thrown back into their houses.

Since then, none of the others dared to make video recordings anymore.

Lu Sheng waited for a while before the building. The anger he felt within had subsided somewhat.

The leader of the guards, Hong Shenlu, walked up to him and whispered in his ear. “These are all the people we were able to capture. They’re all from the branch family. The main family is located near the central government building. If we make a direct move, the impact will be too huge…”

“Imbecile!” Lu Sheng smacked Hong Shenlu on the head. “If you can’t do it, can’t you send someone else who can? The police, the army, special forces, anyone of them would’ve done the job!”

“Understood!” Hong Shenlu was suddenly enlightened. He hastily went away.

Lu Sheng glanced at the Zhuo Family members gathered below.

There were male and female members of all ages. Most of them wore nice clothes. When they gathered here, they appeared to be having some sort of party on the plaza.

“How many more?”

“The main family is further away. There was some delay in our deployment…” Hong Shenlu started with slight hesitation. “Also, we’ve found out who acted against your father.”

“Who was it?”

“The city’s real estate tycoon, Zhao Hanfeng’s younger brother, Zhao Longkui.”

“Forget it, I’ll head over myself.” A killing intent flashed across Lu Sheng’s eyes.

“Also, move my father to the intensive care unit of the best hospital in the area. Pick one of the family members who has some sense to help me differentiate these people, otherwise I won’t know who’s who with the assortment of rubbish from the main family,” Lu Sheng added in a cold tone.

“Understood!”

*****************

The Zhuo Family.

Deputy mayor Hols savored the black tea in his hand. He narrowed his eyes as he listened to the Zhuo Family’s second master recount the recent troubles affecting the family.

“So, you’re telling me that you don’t know who’s making this move against you? Did the Zhao Family give you a heads-up before this?” Hols had made a name for himself from nothing. He was an average public servant who climbed up the ranks all the way to become the central city’s deputy mayor who hold great power. The Zhuo Family had supported him all the way.

They were linked in countless ways. It was impossible for them to be separated.

Zhuo Xincheng stroked his white beard.

“An hour ago, the branch family has been cleaned up. They did not seem to be friendly. Hols, I’ll need you to put more effort into the city’s police. The Zhuo Family’s annual contributions can’t mean nothing.”

“That’s only natural. This is a public breach of federal law. For the case at the branch family, I’ll have the department chief Gao Yan look into this!” Hols nodded.

“If you can provide us with more clues, it’ll be greatly helpful in the investigations.” He displayed an official smile.

As for what he meant by clues, the two of them clearly knew that he meant donations—more money.

Zhuo Xincheng muttered to himself for a while. “50,000,000. I speak on behalf of the Zhuoyue Tiancheng parent company that we’ll donate 50,000,000 as incentives to the police department.”

“Thank you, Elder Zhuo.” Hols’s smile immediately grew warmer.

*****************

Zhao Family. Molin Road, Mansion #11.

A soothing music played by a small band reverberated in the background.

The mansion was having an afternoon music party.

Young men and women with close relations with the Zhao Family were having idle conversations in the hall as they enjoyed the snacks and tea provided. The atmosphere was casual and comfortable.

With a click, the door was suddenly opened. Young men with burly physiques marched in.

Zhao Longkui was sitting with his legs crossed. He wielded a shining silver dagger in his hands while he spoke with another person. When he saw the sudden intrusion of the newcomers, he was stunned.

“Who’s Zhao Longkui?” demanded one of the men in a cold voice.

“Who are you!?”

“Bam!”

Lu Sheng walked up to him and kicked.

“Bam!”

Zhao Longkui reeled and crashed onto the wall under the window. His bones gave crisp cracking sounds. It was unsure how many of them had been broken. Then, he lay limply on the floor, and could no longer move.

He did not even have the time to cry out. He was still terrified and puzzled with the development.

“Take him away.”

Lu Sheng did not even look at the lords and ladies in the room.

“Nobody’s allowed to enter or exit this place in half an hour.” Lu Sheng turned around and went out the door without looking back.

“Understood!” Two men in black barred the door with their bodies as they responded with their heads lowered.

Two other men went in and carried Zhao Longkui out.

The others were flabbergasted. They did not expect there to be anyone bold enough to strike Zhao Longkui in broad daylight here in Kunming City, where the Zhao Family’s hold was the strongest.

When Zhao Longkui was carried away, a few young men intended to stop them. However, two men in black came up and gave them a slap each, which landed them on the floor.

The others then became too terrified to even speak.

“You dare hit me!? You dare hit me in Kunming City!?” Zhao Longkui’s face was swollen on one side. He was still seething through his eyes as he glared at Lu Sheng before himself.

“Don’t you know that I have the power to stop every one of you from leaving Kunming City in half an hour!?” he threatened in a hardened tone.

Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes and glanced at the man.

“You’re not the only who’s laid a finger on Zhuo Siqing, am I right?”

“Zhuo Siqing? You mean that hothead?” Zhao Longkui sneered scornfully. “So, you’re from the Zhuo Family. You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. Looks like the resource agreement before this isn’t enough to teach you guys a lesson.

“I’ll advise you to let me go right now. At most, my brother will demand a compensation from you. This matter can be settled by some money and benefits. Otherwise… Heheh. You’ve tarnished the Zhao Family’s face, don’t even think about patching up this quarrel. You, you, and you!” He pointed at the men in black.

“You might not be afraid of dying, but you have close friends and people that you cherish. If you really lay hands on me, they’re all going to die!”

All of a sudden, Zhao Longkui wore a fierce expression, and his tone became sinister and ruthless.

Lu Sheng looked at him with a calm expression. He suddenly smiled and clapped his hands.

Hong Shenlu brought someone familiar up to him.

“Master, she’s the most cooperative one.”

Shen Honglu shifted to the left to allow the girl behind him to step forward.

“Zhenyu, what’re you trying to do!? You’ll jeopardize the Zhuo Family and your father! Even if you’re influential outside, the main Zhuo Family is still in the federation. We can’t run!” Lin Shengya recognized Zhao Longkui with a single glance even though his face was swollen. She immediately felt terrified, and quickly asked Lu Sheng to stop.

Zhao Longkui looked at Lin Shengya and suddenly sneered sinisterly. “Lin Shengya? You’ve done it this time. Your entire Zhuo Family has done it this time!”

“What’re you smiling about?”

“Bam!”

Lu Sheng smacked Zhao Longkui across the face. The latter somersaulted in the air from the impact before crashing heavily into a vase at the side. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. He was now seriously injured, and was about to die.

Lin Shengya wanted to scream, but her mouth and nose were immediately covered by a woman in black from behind.

She struggled desperately, but the woman was too strong. Her palm did not even budge.

“I can’t determine if he’s alive or dead.” Shen Honglu glanced at Zhao Longkui who was dying, and shook his head helplessly.

He swiftly walked up to Lu Sheng and whispered in his ear.

“What?” With a few words, Lu Sheng started to laugh from extreme anger.

“He’s kneeling outside,” Hong Shenlu spoke softly.

“Ignore him. Lin Shengya, bring me to the main Zhuo Family.” Lu Sheng pointed at Lin Shengya. His way of doing things had always been despotic rather than benevolent.

It was true that he would be able to gather and unite everyone’s strength together if he ruled benevolently. However, that would take too much time.

A despotic rule was much faster. Nothing would be a problem as long as he was strong enough.

“I won’t go!” Lin Shengya was released. However, her first words were not cooperative.

“I can’t look on as you drag the entire Zhuo Family into the abyss!” She panted heavily as she glared at Lu Sheng.