Chapter 10

In a split second, the entire Public Security Bureau fell dead silent. Even Chen Ming stared in disbelief, scarcely trusting the scene playing out before his eyes!

Lin Feng—he... he had actually gone down on his knees!

Shocking, utterly shocking!

The personnel at the Public Security Bureau had never witnessed such a spectacle in all their lives. Some even doubted their own eyes, stuttering, "C... Commander Lin, you... what is the meaning of this..."

"Shut your traps, every last one of you!"

Lin Feng barked an order that shook the room from floor to ceiling!

These people at the Public Security Bureau might not know Chu Tianhe’s identity, but Lin Feng did. Right now, Lin Feng’s heart was hammering wildly with panic. He knew all too well that if Chu Tianhe wanted to wipe him out, it would take no more than a flick of a finger!

And even if Chu Tianhe were to execute him in broad daylight under the gaze of the public, the top brass of the War Department wouldn't dare let out so much as a fart!

Yet the world only knew of Chu Tianhe’s ruthless reputation, viewing him as a hellish Yama, bloodthirsty and fond of slaughter, never realizing that in this lifetime, Chu Tianhe only killed those who deserved to die, leaving not a single wronged soul beneath his blade!

"Gulp..."

Sweat drenched Lin Feng as he knelt on the floor, swallowing nervously. Everyone in the Public Security Bureau, including Lin Feng himself, could only stand there trading blank stares as Chu Tianhe went to work on Chen Ming, not daring to utter even half a word!

"Clack!"

Twenty minutes later, Chu Tianhe finally set the instruments of torture down. By this point, every single device in the interrogation room had been used on Chen Ming at least once!

"Chen Ming, how does it feel?"

Standing over Chen Ming, Chu Tianhe looked down at him with an icy gaze. In Chen Ming's eyes, Chu Tianhe was no longer human; he was a rakshasa evil ghost crawled straight up from the underworld!

"D... D... Don't... don't come any closer..."

Chen Ming was already at his last gasp. The fact that he was still breathing after enduring such a barrage of torture wasn't a matter of luck—it was because Chu Tianhe knew precisely how far to go.

"I'll give you two choices. First, confess every single crime you've committed, start to finish, without leaving anything out. Second, I'll run through every single one of these instruments on you all over again!"

With those words, Chu Tianhe pulled up a chair, sat down right beside Chen Ming, and said, "I have plenty of time on my hands here in Jiangzhou. I have all the patience in the world."

Chen Ming's face was completely drained of color. Long since terrified out of his wits by Chu Tianhe—so badly that he had lost control of his bowels—he no longer dared to hesitate, immediately spilling everything he had ever done.

"That... that small supermarket owner just now... I was the one who killed him."

"And... that burglar from before who broke into a house—that family was wiped out by me too. I just wanted to turn a petty thief into a home-invasion murderer so I could crack a major case and get promoted."

"Also... during the robbery at Hualian Bank, those bank employees... I was the one who took them out."

"And... my two executive officers... they... they were in on it too."

"I'm begging you, anyone, please, just let me out of here! Let me out, I'm begging you!"

Chen Ming wailed in a voice choked with tears, looking utterly wretched to the extreme. Yet the executive officers standing outside the interrogation room froze in their tracks the moment they heard his words, every single one of their faces stamped with shock!

Who would ever believe that this decorated Captain Chen was actually an animal in human skin, responsible for such a mountain of bloody crimes?

And to think, next month Chen Ming was slated to be promoted to Deputy Chief of the Public Security Bureau!

When a scandal of this magnitude broke, the gathered executive officers were completely dumbfounded, staring at Chen Ming in sheer disbelief.

"Snap!"

At that exact moment, Chu Tianhe gave the locked door of the interrogation room a gentle push, and it swung wide open under his effortless shove.

"You've all heard it loud and clear. I haven't killed anyone in the street. As for this Chen Ming here, I'm sure your Public Security Bureau and the War Department Yamen will handle this according to the law. Am I right?"

As his voice trailed off, Chu Tianhe’s gaze shifted to Lin Feng. In an instant, Lin Feng’s burly frame shuddered. He remained on his knees and nodded frantically. "Yes, we will handle this with the utmost severity. A blight like Chen Ming must be tried swiftly to give Mr. Chu a proper account."

"As of right now, I am nothing more than a commoner, holding no official post or rank. You don't owe me any account." Chu Tianhe waved a hand and said, "Get up!"

The Pantheon stood entirely independent of any nation. Though Chu Tianhe was the Hall Master of the Pantheon, he indeed held not a shred of official rank within Great Xia Country—he was genuinely a commoner!

Yet these words once again shattered the worldview of everyone in the Public Security Bureau!

A commoner? Holding no official post or rank?

Who could possibly believe such a thing?

A commoner who could force a high-ranking figure like Lin Feng to kneel beside him for nearly half an hour?

If that was a commoner, then commoners were terrifying beyond imagination!

"C... Commander Lin, just... just who in the world is this Chu Tianhe?"

Recovering their wits as they watched Chu Tianhe’s retreating figure, the staff of the Public Security Bureau couldn't help pressing for answers.

"Don't ask what isn't your business!"

Lin Feng snapped a harsh reprimand, then swept his gaze over the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Listen to me and listen well: tell Chief Liu that he'd better never go out of his way to provoke Chu Tianhe, or he can bear the consequences himself!"

Chief Liu was out attending a meeting today and wasn't at the bureau; had he been here, a vicious tongue-lashing would have been unavoidable.

"And another thing..." Lin Feng turned to leave, but as if recalling something else, he added, "Tell Chief Liu that if he really manages to piss off Chu Tianhe, he needn't bother dumping the mess on our War Department Yamen. I don't have time to wipe his ass!"

With that, Lin Feng cast an icy glare straight at the battered, half-dead Chen Ming and barked, "Drag this beast away! Breaking the law while sworn to uphold it, and daring to cross Mr. Chu on top of that—I'll skin him alive with my own hands!"

Meanwhile, at Fengshun Residential Area!

Qin Xiaomeng was pacing anxiously in circles. "My brother-in-law just got back to Jiangzhou, he doesn't know the lay of the land, and now that he's been dragged off by the Public Security Bureau, things are definitely not going to end well!"

"What's worse, Chen Ming is the one who arrested him. Everyone knows he has a grudge against my brother-in-law. I happen to know what a rotten character Chen Ming has—he plays dirty. Most people who fall into his hands end up locked away. Once my brother-in-law is in his clutches, they're bound to torture him!"

Yang Huijuan had already been beside herself with worry over Chu Tianhe, and hearing this only piled on a fresh layer of panic and dread. She hurriedly urged, "Xiaomeng, think of something quickly! I remember that classmate of yours—doesn't he know the Chief of the Public Security Bureau?"

"Why don't you go ask him for help?"

"Mom, are you talking about Wu Peng?"

Qin Xiaomeng bit down hard on her lower lip, her expression a picture of hesitation and distress!

Wu Peng wasn't just her college classmate; he was also one of her suitors, though her heart had long since belonged to someone else, and she had consistently turned him down.

Unless she was driven to the absolute wall, Xiaomeng would never have wanted to seek out Wu Peng. Yet right now, apart from this single path, she had no other options left!

"The only one who can help my brother-in-law right now is him." Wearing a grim expression, Xiaomeng let out a heavy sigh. She glanced back at Yang Huijuan and said, "Mom, take good care of Yaoyao at home. I'm going over to Wu Peng's company right now to find him."

***

Over at the Wu Corporation, in the executive office!

Li Ruofei, the glamorous secretary, was practically glued to Wu Peng. Her alluring body sat right on his lap, her delicate arms looped loosely around his neck as she murmured, "Young Master Wu, Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I've got my eye on a new designer bag. Will you buy it for me?"

Her voice, dripping with sugar and honey, sounded like a trilling oriole right next to Wu Peng's ear, accompanied by warm puffs of breath designed to be utterly bewitching.

"That depends on how well you perform!" A wicked grin spread across Wu Peng's face as his right hand made free with Li Ruofei's thigh, sliding all the way up.

"You're bad. When have I ever failed to serve you to your absolute satisfaction?" Li Ruofei let out an instant burst of coy laughter, clearly long accustomed to this routine, and planted a kiss squarely on Wu Peng's cheek.

"Young master, the front desk is on the phone. Says someone's here to see you."

Everyone inside the Wu Corporation knew very well that whenever Li Ruofei and Wu Peng were locked away together behind closed doors, it was best not to disturb them. Hence, the staff member hadn't pushed open the door to Wu Peng's office, choosing instead to remain outside in the hallway to deliver the message.

"Dammit, who's got so little sense to pick right now of all times to show up?"

Before Wu Peng could speak, Li Ruofei grumbled in displeasure, then threw her arms back around his neck, pressing in for a kiss. "Young Master Wu, pay them no mind."

Frowning, Wu Peng showed a trace of annoyance. While returning Li Ruofei's kiss, he offhandedly asked, "Who is it?"

"A woman named Qin Xiaomeng. She says she's your classmate."

Swish!

At the mention of the name Qin Xiaomeng, Wu Peng's expression underwent a dramatic shift, and he abruptly shoved Li Ruofei off his lap!

"Send her to the VIP room to wait for me!"

Standing up immediately, Wu Peng strode over to the dressing mirror and hurriedly straightened his tie.

Seeing this, Li Ruofei knitted her brows in deep displeasure, her voice sour with jealousy. "Young Master Wu, just who is this Qin Xiaomeng anyway?"Li Ruofei had been flirting with Wu Peng for more than two years. By day she was his secretary, and by night she was his mistress, with her heart set entirely on soaring up the branches to become a phoenix and marrying into a wealthy family! Seeing their relationship steadily heating up and just one final step away from the goal, how on earth did Qin Xiaomeng pop out of nowhere? The crucial point was that her appearance instantly made Wu Peng lose interest in Li Ruofei, which filled Li Ruofei with burning rage! "This has nothing to do with you. Go do what you're supposed to do, print out the details for tomorrow's project meeting, and leave them on my desk!" Wu Peng glanced indifferently at Li Ruofei, his eyes completely devoid of the tender affection they had held just a moment before! "Oh, right, I'll go print them right away." This reaction from Wu Peng made Li Ruofei's teeth itch with hatred, but seeing his attitude, she had no choice but to endure it! Yet at that moment, despite having never met her before, Li Ruofei already hated Qin Xiaomeng to the core in her heart! After carefully adjusting her suit and tie, Wu Peng turned and walked toward the VIP room. "Wu Peng, long time no see." Qin Xiaomeng had been waiting in the VIP room for quite some time. Seeing Wu Peng enter, she hurriedly stood up with a smile to welcome him, extending a slender finger to shake his hand. "What a rare visitor! Xiaomeng, it's been a good six months since graduation, hasn't it?" Wu Peng held Qin Xiaomeng's hand, staring straight at her without the slightest intention of letting go. "It... it has been over half a year." Qin Xiaomeng awkwardly pulled her hand back from Wu Peng's grasp and managed to squeeze out a smile. "Xiaomeng, what suddenly made you think of coming to see me?" Wu Peng's eyes were full of anticipation. Back in college, Qin Xiaomeng was a famously stunning beauty, and the men pursuing her were like crossing a river in a swarm, yet not a single one had ever caught her eye! Add to that the fact that Qin Xiaomeng was a fiercely determined woman at heart, carrying a somewhat aloof and cold temperament, and before long, she had earned the nickname of the Iceberg Beauty! Yet the more she was like this, the more men flocked to her. Her suitors not only didn't decrease, but actually multiplied, and Wu Peng was naturally one of them! "How is it? Have you finally figured it out? Ready to be my girlfriend?" "I've said it long ago: in school you can talk about ideals, but once you enter society, you still have to talk about money!" "Our Wu Family is considered a prominent family in Jiangzhou. If you marry me, you certainly won't get a bad deal!" Qin Xiaomeng's sudden appearance at his company made Wu Peng overjoyed. He instinctively felt that Qin Xiaomeng was feeling nostalgic, had remembered his good qualities, and had come to extend an olive branch to him. He simply had to seize such an opportunity! Every single word of this was heard loud and clear by Li Ruofei, who was standing outside the door, and she was on the verge of exploding with anger!! She had painstakingly managed things for two years and had never once received such treatment, yet the moment this Qin Xiaomeng appeared, she was about to snatch away the fruits of victory! "Vixen!!" Outside the VIP room, Li Ruofei gritted her teeth with hatred and cursed in a low voice! "Qin Xiaomeng, is it? You just wait for me! Daring to ruin my good thing, let's see how I deal with you!" A venomous expression filled Li Ruofei's face as she continued to press herself against the door to eavesdrop. Meanwhile, Qin Xiaomeng furrowed her brows tightly, her lovely eyes fixed on Wu Peng as she spoke, "Wu Peng, you... you've misunderstood. I came here today... because I have something I need to ask for your help with." Seeing that Wu Peng had misunderstood, Qin Xiaomeng hurriedly tried to explain, yet she didn't dare to outright reject him for fear he wouldn't help, so her tone had to remain somewhat tactful. As Qin Xiaomeng's words fell, Wu Peng realized he had jumped to the wrong conclusion, and his expression turned gloomy as he asked, "Xiaomeng, what is it you want my help with?" "My brother-in-law was arrested by the Public Security Bureau!" Qin Xiaomeng blurted out anxiously. "Wu Peng, I know your father has a very good relationship with the Director of the Public Security Bureau. So can you ask your father to put in a good word with the Director, show some leniency, and not..." "Your brother-in-law?" A flash of anger instantly swept across Wu Peng's face as he said coldly, "Could it be that Chu Tianhe fellow you always used to talk about back in school?!" Wu Peng wasn't an idiot. Every time Qin Xiaomeng mentioned the name Chu Tianhe back in school, there was a bright gleam in her eyes! Anyone with eyes could see she had feelings for that man! It was just that Wu Peng was furious inside. Throughout Jiangzhou City, who didn't know that the two Qin sisters were peerless beauties, known as the twin beauties of Jiangzhou City who outshone all others? Yet these two sisters happened to have both fallen for the exact same man!! "I'd like to know what's so great about this Chu Tianhe!" Wu Peng stood up angrily and snapped, "You want me to use our Wu Family's connections to save him?!!" Wu Peng stared wide-eyed, glaring furiously at Qin Xiaomeng. At that moment, he was grinding his teeth to dust, his liver and lungs burning with rage! In his heart, Chu Tianhe was public enemy number one! Yet right now, the normally proud and aloof Qin Xiaomeng was lowering her head before him because of Chu Tianhe's affairs, begging him to use his connections to help Chu Tianhe—how ironic was that! "Wu Peng, I'm begging you. Right now in the whole of Jiangzhou City, only you can help my brother-in-law!" Qin Xiaomeng raised her head with a pitiful expression, looking at Wu Peng. That appearance was truly heart-wrenching! Seeing Qin Xiaomeng looking like this, the anger in Wu Peng's heart subsided by more than half, though he still had no intention of helping! "Ohoho, if it isn't the Second Young Miss of the Qin Family?" "What? Coming crawling over to our Young Master Wu with a shameless face? You say you want help, so you want help, but what do you take Young Master Wu for? Why on earth should Young Master Wu help you?" At that very moment, Li Ruofei pushed open the door to the VIP room and strode right in, scanning Qin Xiaomeng with a gaze full of disdain and contempt as she said, "They always say the two Qin sisters are absolute sluts. I didn't believe it before, but now I've truly seen it for myself!" "What's this? Your sister stole a man, gave birth to a bastard child, and got driven out of the Qin family—everyone knows about that. And now you still want to come here and use honeyed charms to seduce our Young Master Wu?" "Pui! Why are the women of your Qin family all so shameless!" Li Ruofei had long since reached her limit. Hearing their conversation and realizing that Qin Xiaomeng had angered Wu Peng, she pushed the door open to come in, speaking sarcastic remarks and adding fuel to the fire! Qin Xiaomeng's expression also darkened. She furrowed her brows, swept her lovely eyes directly onto Li Ruofei, and said coldly, "Who did you say stole a man, and who is a bastard!" "Your sister stole a man, and the child your sister gave birth to is a bastard!" Facing Qin Xiaomeng's reprimand, Li Ruofei didn't cower in the slightest, immediately snapping right back, and followed up by adding, "You're no good yourself either! Not learning anything proper, just learning from your sister how to steal men!" In Li Ruofei's eyes, Qin Xiaomeng coming to find Wu Peng was nothing less than stealing a man—stealing her man! "Slap!" Yet the instant Li Ruofei's words fell, Wu Peng raised his hand and delivered a resounding slap straight across Li Ruofei's face! "Is there any place for you to speak here?" This slap left Li Ruofei completely dazed, freezing her right on the spot! She truly never expected that Wu Peng would actually slap her across the face for the sake of Qin Xiaomeng! In a split second, Li Ruofei's eyes reddened, and in her heart, she hated Qin Xiaomeng even more! "Xiaomeng, you can have me help you, but!" Wu Peng furrowed his brow, his expression gloomy as his gaze unscrupulously sized up Qin Xiaomeng, and he spoke. "Like this: there's a charity banquet tonight starting in two hours. My father will be going, and Director Liu of the Public Security Bureau will be going too!" "Do you understand what I mean?" Qin Xiaomeng's expression sank as she asked, "You want me to be your female companion and attend this banquet?" Swish! Hearing their conversation, Li Ruofei's venomous glare, which looked almost ready to spit fire, instantly locked onto Qin Xiaomeng! This banquet was a gathering of bigwigs and a rare social opportunity. Wu Peng had originally promised to take her along, but now the opportunity had been snatched away by Qin Xiaomeng! Right now, Li Ruofei felt like committing murder!! "Of course, you can also choose not to go!" Wu Peng gave a faint smile, then shifted his gaze to the side toward Li Ruofei, and said, "It's not like I, Wu Peng, can't find a female companion to attend with me!" "It's just that your brother-in-law might spend the rest of his life in prison!" With those words, Wu Peng raised his brow slightly, turned his gaze back to Qin Xiaomeng, and said, "You should know the capabilities of our Wu Family. With a single phone call, I can help your brother-in-law out of trouble, and of course, I can also make him rot in a prison cell until the day he dies!" "As for how to choose, I think you should know what you're doing!" Wu Peng had made his meaning crystal clear. Qin Xiaomeng's expression instantly turned icy, and the look she directed at Wu Peng grew filled with contempt. She truly hadn't expected that Wu Peng could be so despicable, seizing this opportunity to kick a man when he was down and threaten her! "Wu Peng, you truly make me sick!" "Is that so?" Wu Peng gave a cold laugh. "Doesn't matter. I have no intention of forcing you!" "Ruofei, show our guest out!" Wu Peng waved his hand decisively, ready to send Qin Xiaomeng on her way! Now that the harsh ultimatum had been laid out, Wu Peng knew that as long as Qin Xiaomeng still cared about Chu Tianhe's safety, she certainly wouldn't leave! This play-hard-to-get tactic was a trick he had used on countless women before, and it never failed! "Fine!"