Tomb Raiding: My Family's Last Clan Chief is Little Brother

Chapter 299 Taking Action to Settle the Situation
(Happy New Year! Updates have resumed.)
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After emerging from the lake, Zhang Wuxun and his three companions hid in the woods for the night, and then evaded the patrol teams and descended the mountain early the next morning.

Anyway, they've already got their hands on what's at the bottom of the lake. If Jude Kao wants to mess around with it, let him mess around with it himself.

With Agui and Yun Cai not around, Zhang Wuxun and his group of four didn't linger in Banna for too long and left directly by car.

Fatty was preoccupied with Yun Cai, and neglected his shop in Liulichang, returning to Hangzhou with Zhang Wuxun and the other two.

Ah Gui refused to live in the "In the Water" house, but for the safety of his family, he also did not plan to return to Panay.

Yunxiu's apprenticeship was now stable, and Agui wanted Yuncai to learn some skills from her sister as well. So he paid to rent a small courtyard next to the bakery. With Wu Xiaoxie's connections and Fatty's contribution, Agui's family officially settled in Hangzhou.

Fatty and Wu Xiaoxie continued to investigate written materials about Xiao Ge and the archaeological team from back then. This time, they started with the official sources, namely an old research institute in Xingcheng that was about to be demolished.

Zhang Wuxun then took Xiao Ge to Master Wu's gambling den in Xingcheng to keep order.

According to Jiaozi, recently, the underlings of Third Master's gang, who were known for their shady dealings, heard that Third Master might have run into trouble in the desert. These opportunists, thinking they were no longer restrained, started causing trouble and jumping around everywhere.

To prevent Chen Pi A Si's henchmen from coming to their door, Zhang Wu Xun got Xiao Ge a silver mask to cover his face.

Actually, Zhang Wuxun could go by himself, but he couldn't bear to leave Xiao Ge all alone in the house, so he had no choice but to take him along.

Zhang Wuxun first took the young man to the shop where he had consigned antiques, but when they arrived, they found that it was already closed.

The blue brick and tile corridor at the entrance was smashed to pieces, the red lacquered wooden door was tightly closed, and a heavy black padlock hung on the animal-shaped door knocker. The place was deserted and desolate.

Zhang Wuxun took out his phone and called Pan Zi, but the phone rang for a long time without anyone answering.

There was nothing he could do; he didn't know where Master Wu's main hall was, as he'd never been there. He could only call Jiaozi and ask if he knew where Panzi was most likely to be.

Dumpling had worked with Panzi for quite some time and knew much more about the business than Zhang Wuxun. She quickly sent Zhang Wuxun a list of locations.

“Uncle Yu, you were all in Banna back then, and those bastards were making quite a fuss. These places were considered important by Third Master when he was in charge. You can try looking in these places. If you really can’t find them, go to the ancestral hall where they hold their meetings,” Dumpling said.

Zhang Wuxun lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the coldness in his eyes. "Thanks, Dumpling. Keep an eye on the house. If there's anything you can't handle, just call me."

Dumpling readily agreed, "Okay, Mr. Yu, don't worry."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Wuxun slung the ebony box he was carrying over his shoulder, turned to look at the young man carrying the black gold ancient sword, and whispered, "Let's go, let's look for them one by one."

The young man didn't say anything, just nodded.

The two took a taxi and circled around the addresses that Dumpling had posted, but unfortunately all the shops were closed and no one answered when they knocked on the doors.

The last place is the closest to the ancestral hall where Dumpling mentioned holding discussions.

The gang was located in a deep alley, and the driver probably heard that there had been a fight there before, so he refused to drive the car in.

Two scruffy-looking guys, wearing slippers, were guarding the alley entrance.

Zhang Wuxun paid the fare and told the driver to get out of the car.

Fearing unnecessary trouble, the driver stepped on the gas and sped away.

Zhang Wuxun crossed his arms and stood with the young man at the alley entrance, staring at the two thugs for a few seconds before saying, "This should be it."

Those two thugs were really busy; they had cigarettes in their mouths and were stuffing sunflower seeds into their mouths.

They glanced at Zhang Wuxun and his companion a few times, took the cigarettes from their mouths, spat on the ground, and grumbled smugly, "Hey, you two idiots, what are you standing there for? Don't you know this place is reserved by our boss today?"

"Don't go looking for trouble, get lost." Another voice was equally arrogant.

Zhang Wuxun narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "Your master? Which master? Tell me about him."

One of them was extremely arrogant. Upon hearing this, he cursed in a local Xingcheng slang, "Who do you think you are, kid? You don't even know our name. Look at the valuables you two are carrying. Hand them over now, or don't blame me for not warning you beforehand if you end up with broken arms or legs."

Zhang Wuxun clicked his tongue in annoyance. "His mouth is really dirty. He needs to be disciplined."

He tilted his head at the masked guy next to him and said, "I'll go left, you go right, three seconds."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a dark figure darted out from the side. The thug didn't even have time to scream before he crashed straight into the wall, his head lolling to the side, and he passed out.

The young man withdrew his right hand and silently glanced at Zhang Wuxun.

“Alright, you win.” Zhang Wuxun shook his head helplessly, took out a pair of tactical gloves from his pocket and put them on. He shook his wrist and punched another thug who was stunned and frozen in place right in the eye socket. Then he pressed down on his jaw and twisted it. There was a very soft cracking sound. The guy immediately turned into a crooked-mouthed war god.

The moment Zhang Wuxun's finger touched his carotid artery, the guy's pupils snapped open, then his eyes rolled back, and he leaned against Zhang Wuxun's legs and collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Wuxun was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "I haven't even made a move yet, and this guy has already scared himself into fainting."

A series of loud banging and shouting came from deep within the alley.

Zhang Wuxun grabbed the guy who had fainted from fright by the back of his neck with one hand, tilted his head at the young man, and said, "Let's go in and take a look."

The young man nodded and picked up the guy who had fallen at his feet.

The two walked deep into the alley before they could see the battle situation clearly.

At the end of the alley, there was only one shop with a red-lacquered wooden door. It wasn't locked and was tightly shut from the inside. A large puddle of dog blood had been deliberately splattered on the door, a glaring red. A dozen or so men, similar in appearance to the two outside, were carrying iron bars, machetes, and the like. They were pointing at the door, cursing and yelling at Panzi not to be a coward and to get out of the door.

The wording was utterly offensive, even more foul than a dung beetle moving into a new house.

After Wu Sansheng disappeared, people in the underworld couldn't sit still anymore, seeing that he hadn't shown his face for a long time. Those who had been suppressed by him and dared not show their faces before couldn't sit still anymore.

At first, they tested the waters by shortchanging customers. After a while, they discovered that there was no real punishment from the main branch for delivering less goods, so they gradually became bolder and bolder.

Pan Zi was busy dealing with the mess left by Third Master and didn't have time to pay attention to them.

As a result, these people became increasingly arrogant, eventually refusing to deliver goods and no longer restraining their underlings.

These thugs were used to burning, killing, and looting. With the sudden relaxation of control, their ingrained bad habits are hard to change.

With the overt and covert approval of their superiors, they began to openly seize territory and business, even going so far as to vandalize Third Master's gang.

These opportunistic fellows swarmed in. Without Third Master's authority, Panzi was merely Third Master's subordinate, not the heir he had verbally agreed upon. His authority was illegitimate, which is why these people acted so recklessly.

Pan Zi firmly believed that Third Master would return, so he couldn't afford to break ties with these scoundrels and could only choose to back down. As a result, these shameless guys took advantage of his kindness and pushed him too far.

Having reached this point, with no soldiers or generals under his command, it was too late for Pan Zi to use force to suppress the rebellion. He could only cower in the betting market and wait for the storm to pass before making any further moves.

The traitors were so focused on the gate that they didn't notice Zhang Wuxun and his companion arriving behind them.

Zhang Wuxun casually tossed the man to the ground, took out a sheathed skull knife from the ebony box behind him, and shouted at the other side, "Hey, you bunch of idiots over there, if you want to see Third Master and Master Pan, you'll have to get past me first."

Before the words were even finished, and before those traitors could react, Zhang Wuxun had already charged forward with his knife.

The ancient sword, weighing over 100 jin (approximately 50 kg) even with its sheath still, wielded in his hands like an iron rod. Although Zhang Wuxun had already reduced his strength by 70%, the weight of the sword still knocked the person in the first place down with a single blow to the waist.

It doesn't require fancy moves; it's all about striking the vital points to kill instantly and render the victim unable to move.

The young man stood silently by the side, watching Zhang Wuxun disappear into the crowd and vent his anger by beating people up.

One of the guys whose legs had been broken by Zhang Wuxun with the hilt of his knife was quite resilient. Taking advantage of Zhang Wuxun turning his back to dislocate the arms of others, he actually endured the pain, got up, grabbed a machete, and slashed at Zhang Wuxun's leg.

Unfortunately, before he could even raise his arm, a black knife flew straight at him and smashed into his wrist, causing the machete in his hand to fall to the ground.

Before he could even see who had attacked him, Zhang Wuxun turned around and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying. He crashed into a wooden door painted with blood-red paint, vomited blood, and then passed out.

In less than a minute, the ground was covered with people lying haphazardly.

It's either a broken arm or a limp; in more serious cases, it might involve a few broken ribs and some internal injuries.

Zhang Wuxun didn't intend to kill these people. He was very measured in his actions, only giving them a small lesson. He is a law-abiding citizen, after all.

The young man picked up the knife that had been thrown at someone and kicked all the machetes on the ground into a pile to prevent any dying person from picking them up again.

Zhang Wuxun placed the knife face down on the ground, supported himself with one hand on the handle, glanced around casually, sneered, and said coolly, "With such mediocre skills, you dare to come and see Third Master with such audacity? You're really disgracing your master."

"To tell you the truth, the reason why Third Master hasn't been out lately is because he injured his lung in the desert when he was catching lamas last time, which triggered a pre-existing condition. That's why he had to be hospitalized for a minor surgery."

"Third Master originally thought that this minor ailment didn't need to be reported to his subordinates, and that he would recover after a few days of rest." Zhang Wuxun sighed, "I didn't expect that after only two days of not showing his face, so many troublemakers would jump out and deliberately ruin the long-standing harmony among us."

"Third Master was furious when he heard that his betting operations had run into some trouble, but the doctor said he was not easily angered, so he sent someone as insignificant as me to handle the matter."

Zhang Wuxun lazily lifted his eyelids, pointed at the leader among the group of scoundrels, and snorted coldly, "Tell your master who's stirring up trouble behind our backs to shut up and tuck their tails in. If they dare to cause trouble again, don't blame me for chopping off their heads and presenting them to Third Master to beg for forgiveness."

The squad leader shuddered at the murderous intent in his voice. Seeing his men lying on the ground, he could only suppress his anger and say, "Who do you think you are? You say Third Master is sick, so he's sick? I don't believe you no matter how much you talk, as long as Third Master shows up in person."

"What am I?" Zhang Wuxun raised an eyebrow and asked, straightening up and drawing his skull knife in a flash, the sharp, cold blade pressed against the leader's neck.

The henchman was terrified that the man actually dared to draw his knife. His eyes widened in shock, and he dared not breathe, fearing that if he uttered any anger, the blade would slice through his fragile neck.

Zhang Wuxun chuckled, "I'm just a nobody under Third Master, not worth mentioning. I can take your life with a mere flick of my wrist. Want to try? My blade hasn't tasted blood in a long time. With so many people here today, it'll be perfect for a good drink."

As he spoke, Zhang Wuxun nervously licked his lips, tilted his head, and looked the small leader over a few times, seemingly very seriously looking for a place to bleed him.

"No...no, please don't..." The leader was trembling uncontrollably. He couldn't see a trace of human warmth in the eyes of the monster in front of him. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: this monster would really kill him.

Zhang Wuxun looked at him with suspicion, as if to say, "Do you have any last words? Hurry up and say them."

The underling's body stiffened and felt cold, his blood running backward. A forced, ugly smile appeared on his lips. "Sir, I understand what you mean. Please be merciful and let me go. I'll go back and tell Master Zhou right away..."

Zhang Wuxun frowned in displeasure. "Who does he think he is, daring to call himself 'Master'?"

The underling immediately spat and said, "Yes, yes, sir, you're right. I will definitely relay what you said to you. Why don't you be merciful and let us go like we're nothing?"

Zhang Wuxun curled the corners of his lips, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes. "Do you know who I am? When you go back and tell him, remember to include my name so that your master doesn't mistake me for someone else."

The junior leader looked bewildered. If he had known that Third Master had such a formidable general under his command, he would have definitely turned down this damn job that would leave him with nothing but mud.

A person nearby, whose injuries weren't serious, had recovered from the pain and stared at Zhang Wuxun's face for a long time before suddenly gasping for breath and stammering, "You...you are...Master Yu!"

Thank you so much to the generous donors [逆乱之人], [墓中小禁婆], [聂莫忘情长], and [秋露白v]! I'm incredibly grateful for your unwavering support. Sending you a huge heart! (^o^)
Updates will resume starting this month. Happy New Year's Eve!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!
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(End of this chapter)