Chapter Ninety-Three: I Set the Trap, You Walk Right Into It

"Brother Li, someone just phoned for you a moment ago. I didn’t recognize him, so I answered it myself and didn’t bother you," Hua Tianjiao said after steadying his mood. "Who would have thought that fellow said he saw Sister Su and that Qin kid go up General Mountain. Brother Li, I think there’s a very good chance..."

"A chance? Stop making wild guesses." Li Shihai cut him off. "That kid can’t have succeeded so quickly. Going to General Mountain means he has other business."

Li Shihai rose from the pool, slipped an arm around the demure beauty, and led her to a chair nearby.

Watching the beauty’s swaying hips and fair skin, Hua Tianjiao could not help swallowing. "Then Brother Li, are we just going to leave this alone?"

"What do you mean, leave it alone? You go handle it?"

Li Shihai took a sip of red wine, but in his mind he was thinking of the two ninjas. Hadn’t he told them to kill Qin Xuan? Could they really have failed?

"Give me the phone."

Li Shihai held out his hand.

Hua Tianjiao handed it over, then stood quietly to the side, staring at the demure beauty. She was not at all shy; leaning against Li Shihai, she lifted her chest proudly, as if deliberately tempting Hua Tianjiao and making his blood run hot. It was a pity the beauty belonged to Li Shihai, so Hua Tianjiao could only feast his eyes.

"What happened? Did the operation fail?"

Li Shihai dialed a number and asked calmly.

"Hmph. Don’t come questioning me. Mr. Li, the one you want to deal with is no ordinary man. My two students were no match for him; they’ve already been crippled..."

A gloomy voice came through.

"Heh. So the Sun Country’s ninjas amount to nothing after all. Who was it that said it would be a piece of cake?"

Li Shihai took another sip of red wine, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Mr. Li, do not push things too far. Though I do have need of the Li family’s assistance, for matters beyond my ability, please seek another expert."

The gloomy voice was clearly displeased.

"So you’re saying you can’t deal with that kid?"

Li Shihai asked.

"If I make the move, of course it would be effortless. Unfortunately, that youngster is no ordinary person. If I were to act personally, I fear it would stir up unnecessary complications, and that would be bad for both of us."

"I understand."

Li Shihai ended the call with complete composure.

"Brother Li, what do we do now?" Hua Tianjiao asked from the side.

"That kid is a little strange. Leave him alone for now." Li Shihai was not a fool. Whether he sent in the Black Wolf Gang or the Sun Country ninjas, none of them could deal with Qin Xuan. Clearly, Qin Xuan’s strength was beyond his expectations.

If he wanted to deal with Qin Xuan, ordinary methods would no longer work.

"Then what do we do?"

"Shift the focus to Su Muqing." A ruthless look flashed in Li Shihai’s eyes. "As long as we get her under control, everything else will be easy."

"Brother Li, you’ve finally come around?" Hua Tianjiao looked delighted.

"It’s her forcing my hand. I wasn’t planning to use any methods at first..." Li Shihai said coldly.

The demure beauty beside him heard him discussing Su Muqing. Though displeased, she knew exactly what sort of position she held and did not dare utter a word.

"Good. Brother Li, should I arrange it for you? Same old routine: I drug her, you do the rest?"

Hua Tianjiao’s eyes lit up. This was his specialty.

"Find a good opportunity before making a move. Don’t expose yourself too soon."

"Brother Li, with me handling things, what is there for you to worry about?"

Hua Tianjiao grinned, cast one last glance at the beauty’s proud chest, then left contentedly. He was utterly devoted to following Li Shihai. If Li Shihai truly took Su Muqing down, then the day of Hua family’s rise would not be far off.

...

On the way back, Qin Xuan was still driving, with Su Muqing in the passenger seat.

"Qin Xuan, how are we arranging things after military training this afternoon?"

"Go home, of course. What else is there to arrange?"

Qin Xuan smiled.

"I mean, should I come with you, or wait until after dinner before I go..." Su Muqing asked with a bright smile.

"Well, why don’t we eat out together before heading back?" Qin Xuan replied.

He thought of how Lotus had been injured last night and had specifically told her to rest well today. There probably wouldn’t be any food at the villa when they returned. Since it wasn’t going to get dark too early anyway, eating out first and then going back would be just the same.

"All right, no problem."

Su Muqing agreed with a smile. Just then, the two of them had already arrived at Jinling First Hospital.

After parking the car, they walked toward the hospital’s inpatient building.

"Didn’t expect you to have learned parking too. You’re a real ace," Su Muqing praised.

She had thought that as a beginner, Qin Xuan would be able to drive at best, and probably wouldn’t know how to park properly. Yet he had parked with complete ease, showing no trace of a novice.

"Strictly speaking, driving is just a matter of controlling force." Qin Xuan smiled. "Everything in motion in this world moves because of force. Once you master force, driving and parking are no problem."

"That’s too profound. You could be a physicist."

Su Muqing covered her mouth and laughed softly.

At that moment, two somewhat familiar figures entered the hospital’s inpatient building.

"Hey, look at those two—aren’t they..."

Su Muqing said in surprise.

One of them was the girl rescued by Instructor Liu, and the other was Wang Xiang. They were carrying some fruit and talking to each other as they entered the building. The girl’s face carried a trace of worry, as though she were fretting over something.

"That Wang Xiang is no good. Let’s go up and take a look."

Qin Xuan narrowed his eyes and followed them. Soon he discovered the two were heading toward Instructor Liu’s ward.

"Are they here to visit Instructor Liu too?" Su Muqing said in surprise.

"Probably. Though Wang Xiang actually dares to come?" Qin Xuan frowned.

"Besides Battalion Commander Zhao and you and me, nobody else knows he was behind the sabotage. Coming to visit Instructor Liu, he probably wants to win some favor. Or maybe Battalion Commander Zhao asked him to come."

Su Muqing guessed, and her analysis was indeed quite reasonable.

"We’ll know once we go in."

With that, Qin Xuan stepped into the ward.

Su Muqing followed him in and saw that there weren’t many people inside: only Instructor Liu resting in bed, along with the girl who had just entered and Wang Xiang.

At that moment, Wang Xiang was boasting, "This special-grade ward ordinarily wouldn’t be assigned to just anyone, but my mother is the director here. One word from me, and it was settled."

Pfft.

Su Muqing laughed out loud.

This special-grade ward had obviously been arranged by Zhao Jun. Yet Wang Xiang was bragging that it had something to do with him; anyone who knew the truth would laugh their head off. Only the girl who knew nothing of it had stars of admiration shining in her eyes.

Hearing Su Muqing’s laughter, everyone in the ward turned toward the doorway.

"Teacher Su, Qin... Qin Xuan, it’s you two," the girl said, pleasantly surprised.

Wang Xiang, on the other hand, had no reaction. In his estimation, the only person who knew about the scheme between him and his mother to set up Instructor Liu was Zhao Jun. He never imagined that even Zhao Jun had been informed by Qin Xuan...

"Thank you for coming to see me. You’ve really gone to the trouble," said Instructor Liu.

Though his body was somewhat weak, his voice remained thunderous, perhaps the bearing of a soldier.

"No trouble at all. Instructor, you saved Xiaowen. If anything, I’m the one who should be saying thank you," Wang Xiang replied very politely.

In front of others, Wang Xiang always carried the image of a refined, handsome, and wealthy young man. The girl beside him, Xiaowen, nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. "That’s right, Instructor. You were hit by a car trying to save me, so it’s only right that I come to visit you. It should be me thanking you."

Standing behind them, Qin Xuan suddenly sent a message to Su Muqing. "Teacher Su, I think this girl Xiaowen seems to have some good feelings toward Wang Xiang. Should we expose him?"

A mischievous smile appeared on Su Muqing’s face. "Of course."

As a teacher, she certainly would not stand by and watch a young girl in the bloom of youth fall into Wang Xiang’s clutches.