Chapter 304: Entering the Tiger’s Den
Translator: Pika
Zu An’s nose filled with the scent of a familiar fragrance. It was at that moment, he knew he’d fucked up.
If he could recognize her through her smell, there was no way she would fail to recognize him, since he only had on some Plum Blossom Sect attire as a disguise.
However, he was just a step too slow. His acupoints had already been sealed by the other party, and he couldn’t move a muscle.
Plum Blossom Four was alarmed. He got to his feet in a panic. “What is the gang boss doing?” he demanded.
That young lady scoffed. With a flick of her finger, her nail guard shot straight through his forehead.
Plum Blossom Four’s entire body shook, and he fell limply onto the table, a flattering smile frozen on his face.
Seeing this, the other Plum Blossom Sect members turned and tried to run.
They had no idea what had just happened, but since the young lady had suddenly made a move, they knew that something had gone terribly awry.
If Plum Blossom Four hadn’t been killed, they might have found the courage to put up a fight.
However, Plum Blossom Four had met his demise in an instant! All of them were quaking in fear, rushing to be the first one out of the room.
They didn’t believe they could outrun the Whale Gang’s boss. However, as long as they were faster than their companions, and the Whale Gang was stalled while dealing with the stragglers, then they would still have a sliver of a chance at survival.
Unfortunately, the young lady gestured with a finger. As if controlled by some mysterious force, the water on the table—which had been spilled while tea had been made earlier—flowed together to form a dozen or so droplets.
With a flick of the young lady’s finger, the droplets flew outward with tremendous force, impacting on the backs of the fleeing Plum Blossom Sect members.
In the blink of an eye, their backs were torn to bloody shreds. Their screams came to a sudden, shuddering halt.
“Boss, what happened?” Alarmed by the sudden disturbance, the men from the Whale Gang, who had been stationed outside, rushed in.
The young lady was already lounging leisurely in her chair. She took out a new nail guard and put it on. “It’s nothing. Clean up the mess.”
Her subordinates made no further comment. For the Whale Gang, casually killing a few people was an exceedingly common occurrence.
“Ya Xiao, examine the things he brought.” The young lady pointed at Plum Blossom Four.
“Understood!” A large man walked over, his beard tied in knots. He ruffled through Plum Blossom Four’s pockets and fished out a stack of paper. “This piece of shit... apart from some genuine banknotes, everything else is fake! I’m going to kill all of these Plum Blossom bastards!”
He walked over to Zu An, cracking his knuckles menacingly.
“I still have a use for this person. You all may leave,” the young lady said in a disinterested manner.
Even though her tone was nonchalant, the Whale Gang members remained completely serious. They cleaned up the room and left quickly.
Ya Xiao—who, just a moment ago was acting tough—left as well, taking Plum Blossom Four’s with him.
Zu An sighed deeply when the door closed behind them. “Who would have expected you, who always seem so weak and delicate, to actually have such an awe-inspiring side?”
That young woman removed her veil, revealing a familiar face underneath. Who else could it be but Zheng Dan? “I guess we can only say that you don’t understand women at all. The prettier the woman, the better they are at lying.”
Zu An snorted. “I really don’t understand you. You usually seem as though you wouldn’t even harm a fly, and yet you’ve taken four lives without even batting an eyelid.”
“Were you talking about Plum Blossom Four’s men?” Zheng Dan laughed softly. “These fellows have relied on Plum Blossom Sect for survival over the years, and have committed every crime imaginable. They ought to have died a long time ago. They should be grateful that I didn’t torture them.”
“Should I be thanking you in their place?” Zu An said mockingly.
“They don’t need to thank me. If they are to thank someone, then they should be thanking you. If I hadn’t been busy thinking about how to deal with you, they wouldn’t have had the pleasure of such a quick death.” Zheng Dan stood up and walked over to his side.
Zheng Dan’s faint fragrance lingered around him. Zu An laughed. “So, have you figured out how you are going to deal with me?”
“Not really. I honestly didn’t expect to meet you under these circumstances.” Zheng Dan rubbed her temples. She could feel a headache forming.
Zu An sighed. “Everyone is wondering who the boss of the Whale Gang is. To some extent, you are even more mysterious than Chen Xuan. Who would have expected the boss of the legendary criminal organization who carries out such ruthless killings to be the upright and proper young miss of the Zheng clan?” He stared at the beautiful woman in front of him. “Just which side is your true self?”
“Which side do you like better?” Zheng Dan moved to his side. The tip of her fingernail slid gently across his face, eventually coming to rest on his neck.
Zu An’s throat grew dry. He hadn’t forgotten that Plum Blossom Four had died with just a flick of her nail guard. “Of course I prefer that bashful young lady that I had pressed up against that wall.”
Zheng Dan’s face reddened, but she quickly covered it up. “Hmph! You better stop that nonsense. I’m not the same me from before. If you make me upset, you might just find yourself missing a tongue.”
Zu An laughed. “Would you be able to bear seeing me lose my tongue?”
Zheng Dan narrowed her eyes. The killing intent that erupted from her made Zu An jump in fright.
The tip of her nail curled just beneath his chin. A dangerous smile appeared on her face. “Stick out your tongue then. Shall we see if I can bear to see you lose it?”
“Mmmmmm!” Zu An shook his head frantically. He dared not stick his tongue out. If he really lost his tongue because of this, It would really be too tragic a tale.
Having sensed her true killing intent, Zu An didn’t dare provoke her further.
He really couldn’t associate this dangerous beauty with that refined and gentle daughter of a noble clan.
He began to wonder if this woman was bipolar.
There was a rapid knocking on the door.
Zheng Dan frowned. “What is it?” she said coldly.
Ya Xiao’s voice came from beyond the door. “Gang boss, news from the island. There are important matters to be discussed. Please head back.”
Zheng Dan put on her veil again. She opened the door. “What kind of information is it?”
Ya Xiao shook his head. He handed her a sheet of paper. “It doesn’t say, it merely respectfully requests for you to return.”
“I’ll head back and see what’s going on,” Zheng Dan said grimly. She usually had to play the role of the Zheng clan’s first miss, so she wouldn’t head to the island unless there was an important matter.
However, she wasn’t too worried just yet. Despite the urgency in the coded message, it clearly wasn’t a catastrophic situation yet. She knew that the island itself wasn’t in any danger.
It was probably some sort of business-related or other important decision that needed her to be present. These things happened from time to time.
Zheng Dan pointed at Zu An. “Bring him along.”
Zu An was extremely gloomy. He’d set out to obtain intelligence about the Whale Gang’s boss and their hideout, and managed to do so, but the way he obtained it... He really couldn’t bring himself to feel at all happy about it.
Ya Xiao frowned and gestured toward Zu An with his hand. “It won’t be easy for us to move through the city while dragging someone along with us. How about we just find some place to get rid of this Plum Blossom scoundrel?”
Zheng Dan glared at him. “Are you telling me how to do things?”
Ya Xiao broke out into cold sweat at once. “This humble one doesn’t dare!” he said in a panic.
Zu An gave her a mental thumbs-up. This was what a gang boss should be like!
However, this side of her really was too different from that gentle and reserved girl that he was already used to.
A black sack was thrown over Zu An’s head, after which he vaguely felt his body being thrown into a carriage. It felt like he was bundled in and out of four or five different carriages in quick succession, before things started to settle down.
From the gentle rising and falling that he was experiencing, he figured that he had been transferred to a boat.
At first, he thought that Zheng Dan would come and free him, but it seemed like she had no intention of doing so. He was thrown into the hold of the cabin as if forgotten.
What the heck! Are they worried that I’ll remember the way to Whale Gang’s base?
After that sudden angry thought, Zu An quickly calmed down. The way they were treating him surely meant that they had no intentions of killing him. If they had instead let him observe the way to their secret base, they would really have no choice but to silence him.
Just then, he remembered that he now knew Zheng Dan’s identity. Would she really let him go just like that? His mind wrestled with the two options.
In the same boat, Zheng Dan was conflicted as well.
The cool breeze didn’t dispel her unease. She couldn’t figure out how to deal with Zu An either.
She hadn’t expected to encounter Zu An in that restaurant either. She could tell from how he’d wrinkled his brow that he’d already recognized her, and she had to make a snap decision.
It was all that fellow’s fault for messing with her so much, that she had even forgotten to change her fragrance when she changed her outfit. If she’d been clear-headed, she would never have made such a simple mistake.
She really had no idea how she was going to deal with him. There was no way she could let him go, since he’d already discovered her identity. Once she was exposed, not just herself and the Whale Gang, but the entire Zheng clan, would face a disaster.
However, killing him seemed like a bit of a waste.
Forget it. I’ll try and see if I can still get those promissory notes off him.
It wasn’t only Plum Blossom Sect’s seven-and-a-half million taels of silver. The casino that was discreetly supported by the Zheng clan also owed him five hundred thousand taels!
Not only had she failed to obtain any information from the attempts to honey trap him, she’d instead suffered severe losses herself!
It was time for her to change tactics. If soft methods wouldn’t work, she had to resort to harder methods.
That fellow could just break under torture...
While the two of them were wrapped up in their thoughts, the boat arrived at Whale Island.
Zu An was brought out. The black sack over his head was removed and he could finally see light again.
He examined his surroundings. They were on a small island. A faint mist covered everything, and there was no other land in sight. He was impressed by the size of Brightmoon Lake—it was even large enough to hide such a place! It truly was vast and mysterious.
“Gang boss, should we throw this guy into the prison?” Ya Xiao asked.
After a slight hesitation, Zheng Dan said, “Bring him along with me.”
She was worried that something might happen if she let this fellow out of her sight. The Whale Gang was full of ruffians. A single misstep and this guy might just wind up dead.
Besides, it wouldn’t take long to settle whatever important matter had brought her here. She could slowly settle things with him once she was done.
The group thus headed straight into the meeting hall. Just as they were about to reach the hall, a playful voice drifted over to them. “Hm? Just trying to find a way to get rid of him was starting to give me a headache, but it seems like all that effort wasn’t necessary! Isn’t this the Chu clan’s young master, Zu An? Didn’t you have many experts protecting you? How did you end up here?”