Chapter 72: The Man on the Wanted Poster

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Man on the Wanted Poster

Ruan Qingshuang returned from the pharmacy quickly. Guoguo, pretending nothing had happened, hurriedly deleted the photos from her phone. With a beaming face, she skipped over to Ruan Qingshuang. "Mom, you forgot your phone when you went out."

"Thank you, Guoguo." Ruan Qingshuang took the phone and slipped it into her pocket, utterly unaware that this little one had just betrayed her.

Xu Yun felt a chill in his heart. He suspected that Guoguo had probably betrayed him in the same way before. Such a cunning little demon! She would sell someone out and then make them help her count the money.

...

Qiu Yan said she was going out for a walk and left the medicinal cuisine restaurant. Now that Red Scorpion had appeared, she needed to be even more careful. Qiu Yan nearly circled all of Hedong and found the most noticeable change: wanted posters for Red Scorpion were plastered everywhere. No wonder Qin Wan'er had come to Xu Yun and her for help with the wanted notice.

Since the police had put in so much effort, Qiu Yan directly summoned the Three Tigers of South City, mobilizing all the street thugs. If anyone spotted Red Scorpion, they were to notify her immediately. Using Qin Wan'er's name, she guaranteed that anyone whose information proved accurate would receive a fifty-thousand reward.

The mention of such an amount made many eyes greedy. Dan Hongning timidly asked, "Sister Yan, what if we catch this person ourselves? How much would we be rewarded?"

Qiu Yan's gaze was icy as she glanced at Dan Hongning. "I'm afraid you wouldn't live long enough to spend it. The police only offer an intelligence reward, not a bounty. If you're after a bounty, I can tell you—the price on this person's head is eight figures."

Eight figures? My god, that's tens of millions!

Of course, the bounty Qiu Yan mentioned wasn't issued by the police—they didn't have that kind of money. She referred to the Soul Reaper List, recognized in the underworld as a bounty and wanted list. Only those who'd made a name for themselves in the underground world could hope to be listed.

Who established the list? On what criteria was the value of the wanted determined? Qiu Yan didn't know. What she did know was that her own head was once valued at thirteen million, and plenty had tried for it.

"Don't stir up trouble if you don't want to die," Qiu Yan said coldly. "This is not someone you can handle."

The Three Tigers of South City swallowed hard. If Qiu Yan said the man was this terrifying, it really made your hair stand on end. Even with Xu Yun and Qiu Yan supporting them, the three couldn't help but feel nervous.

...

Qin Wan'er received a call from headquarters. Director Chen Wei temporarily assigned her to the special task force, asking her to assist the criminal investigation team. This only piled more pressure on Qin Wan'er. Chen Wei partly thought Qin Wan'er had powerful backing, but she hadn't told him that her benefactor had refused to get involved.

Xu Yun had never agreed to help her for a reason: he knew police affairs were complicated and messy, full of troublesome bureaucrats. The moment he said yes, Qin Wan'er's superiors would bombard him with demands, and he'd be the one suffering in the end.

Now Xu Yun didn't agree, but if he encountered that dangerous man, he wouldn't sit idly by. After all, that bastard's purpose in coming to Hedong was his goddaughter Guoguo. He was more anxious than the police.

Guoguo also understood that things might not be peaceful lately, but she couldn't fully grasp the adult world. As for how dangerous it was, she had little concept. Still, Guoguo had lived through the downfall of the Feng family, so her psychological resilience was much stronger than most children.

...

Unaware of everything, Ruan Qingshuang devoted herself entirely to the medicinal cuisine restaurant. Today, Hedong TV was airing the program recorded yesterday about the restaurant. She eagerly turned on the television.

With this publicity, she believed business would improve. Now, in addition to the main restaurant, six branches had opened. Medicinal cuisine had appeared on menus at many hotels and restaurants—some promoted by the Three Tigers of South City through connections, others pirated by those seeking profit. For a time, medicinal cuisine swept Hedong City like a storm, making the name famous.

Xu Yun was ready to deal with those pirates. Joining was fine, but they had to pay franchise fees. They couldn't use the Ruan family medicinal cuisine name without paying—that would be disrespectful to their ancestors.

After watching the interview, Ruan Qingshuang was quite happy. Many guests discussed the broadcast in the afternoon, lavishly praising the restaurant.

Qiu Yan returned after instructing the Three Tigers, while Qin Wan'er, caught up with the S-class wanted criminal, had to attend an emergency meeting and wouldn't be back for a while.

Hearing that Qin Wan'er was involved in such a dangerous task, Ruan Qingshuang felt some worry. But it was Wan'er's job; she couldn't not support her, so she could only pray Wan'er wouldn't encounter danger.

...

This time, the police struck hard, quickly forming a special task force. The wanted posters plastered everywhere made the public more tense.

But some people seemed born without the concept of nervousness—like the man on the wanted poster himself.

Red Scorpion, his face bristling with whiskers, looked with amusement at the wanted poster handed to him by Ma Pinghai, sighing helplessly. These police were like stubborn glue, still chasing him after so long. One flight and he was marked—what bad luck.

"Boss Kai, maybe you should... lay low for a while?" Ma Pinghai's forehead was covered in sweat. He was nervous!

The mighty North Boss of Hedong City, known as Secretary Ma, had never stooped so low. But before Hao Kai, he was like a grandson.

Hao Kai, nicknamed Red Scorpion, was the top fighter under Qing Ghost's faction. His reputation in the underworld was well-earned. First-rate fighters were treasures to the powerful and nightmares to the weak.

Any big boss who made a name for himself in the underworld had at least one top fighter at his side. Back in the day, the violent Fox Lord Qiu Yan held the fort for the great overlord Feng Qiansui of Suhang.

The same logic applies today. For example, Wei Yishan, the mighty overlord of Jianghuai, called Maitreya Buddha, has the first-rate fighter Crazy Bear Xiong Feng at his side.

The ruler known as the Son of Heaven, Wang Longhuang of southern Shandong, boasts executioners like Miao Dao and Black Tiger Luo Xing among his first-rate fighters.

All these men are as formidable as the violent Fox Lord. And those who can command such unruly fighters must be extraordinary themselves; their charisma is unmatched, or they'd never tame such wild talent.

"Secretary Ma, what I hate most is hiding," Red Scorpion Hao Kai said impatiently. "Looks like you're afraid of getting implicated. Or... do you want to earn that fifty thousand?"

The wanted poster stated clearly: "Anyone who withholds information, harbors, or shelters the suspect will be prosecuted according to the law!"

Ma Pinghai's face changed color at those words. "No, no, Boss Kai, I'd never think that way. I'm just worried you might get discovered by the police. I'm really thinking of your safety."

"The number of police who've died at my hands isn't small," Red Scorpion Hao Kai's eyes flashed coldly. "I don't mind killing a few more. If Hedong's police want to die, I'll oblige them. Wouldn't you agree?"

Ma Pinghai broke out in a cold sweat. He was a ruthless man himself; back when the city was clearing out stubborn residents for demolition, he volunteered. Countless holdouts were crippled or ruined by him; he was no stranger to knives and guns.

But even he wouldn't casually kill police. No matter how wicked, he was just a villain. Hao Kai, Red Scorpion, was a genuine demon.

"Yes, yes, yes..." Ma Pinghai sucked in a breath. He couldn't fathom why such a ruthless man had chosen him.

A few days ago, Red Scorpion Hao Kai showed up at Ma Pinghai's villa. Ma Pinghai wasn't home, but Hao Kai acted as if he owned the place—he slept with Ma Pinghai's two kept mistresses, soaked in his private massage tub, ate and drank at will, even opened a prized bottle of vintage liquor from Ma Pinghai's collection.

Ma Pinghai was stunned that anyone would dare trespass so brazenly. He was furious and immediately wanted to kill the intruder.

The result was predictable: all his best fighters ended up hospitalized, the mighty North Boss nearly wiped out. Ma Pinghai admitted defeat and began hosting this ancestor in his home.

Red Scorpion Hao Kai's demand was simple. He gave Ma Pinghai two photos. If he could find the people in the photos, Hao Kai would leave.

Ma Pinghai dared not complain. Hedong City wasn't huge, but with millions of people, finding two faces in the crowd was no easy task—especially with most of his men in the hospital. He couldn't search alone.

Eventually, Ma Pinghai accepted his fate. This ancestor wasn't in a hurry, so he took his time, providing food, drink, and women. Hao Kai didn't seem overly demanding.

But today, when Ma Pinghai went out, he was stunned. Wanted posters for this ancestor were everywhere. Only then did he realize the man in his home was nationwide S-class wanted fugitive Hao Kai. That terrified him.

Harboring such a criminal was a thousand times worse than hiding a thousand thieves. That alone was enough to keep him anxious for days. Now, he couldn't send this ancestor away; if the police showed up and were killed, Ma Pinghai wouldn't be able to clear his name even by jumping into the Yellow River.

All he could do was swallow his fear and pray no one discovered this dangerous man was in his home. Ma Pinghai even spent a fortune tracking down the taxi driver who had brought Hao Kai to his villa, threatening his family and tossing him two hundred thousand in hush money.

But those were only temporary measures. Ma Pinghai knew that to truly be safe, he had to get this ancestor out of his house. There was only one way: find the people in the photos!

Reluctant to owe favors to the Eastern Boss Jin Biao or Western Boss Wu Lei, Ma Pinghai finally decided to call them for help.