Mad Dragon gets out of prison and marries a beautiful CEO.

Chapter 105

Chen Li did not answer.

He got out of the car and walked to the iron gate. The people inside had already opened the gate, and half of their bodies were sticking out through a crack.

Chen Li put his hand on his shoulder without using any force, simply pulling him a step to the side before slipping through the crack in the door and walking in sideways.

"Mr. Chen! The former chairman has already retired for the night..."

"Wake him up."

Chen Li walked up the asphalt road from the foot of the mountain. The streetlights stretched his shadow long and thin from his feet, making it look like a dark tail following behind him.

As you turn the corner after the first slope, the outer wall of the main courtyard of Mingyuan comes into view.

Gray bricks and blue tiles, lamps on the courtyard wall glowing warmly, and climbing vines on the wall swaying gently in the night breeze.

The main gate of the courtyard was closed.

The guards on both sides of the gate had seen him on the monitors before they heard the footsteps. They were already standing inside the gate, confronting him through the wrought iron fence.

Two men, dressed in dark uniforms, with batons and stun guns strapped to their waists, one of them already had his hand on a walkie-talkie.

"Mr. Chen, please wait a moment. The former chairman is not receiving guests tonight."

Chen Li did not stop.

As he reached the iron gate, he drew a short blade from behind his waist with his right hand, the blade flashing briefly under the streetlight.

Instead of using the blade to cut the lock, he inserted the front of the scabbard into the gap between the crossbar and the lock on the iron gate, and then flipped his wrist upwards.

The cast iron latch creaked, and the rivet popped out of the iron frame, rolling and bouncing twice on the bluestone ground.

A crack was pried open in the iron gate.

The two guards moved at the same time; one lunged forward to try and block the door gap, while the other took a step back and pressed the intercom button.

Chen Li kicked the door, bumping into the first guard's shoulder, and stumbled into the doorpost next to him.

The second person had just connected on the walkie-talkie and called out the word "old" when Chen Li had already walked past him.

The hilt of the short blade tapped lightly on the back of his neck, silencing the man, whose body slumped against the wall by the door and slid down.

Suddenly, all the lights in the main courtyard came on.

Footsteps surged from the direction of the main hall, and three or four figures ran out from under the porch and scattered in the open space of the front courtyard.

When Chen Li passed through the screen wall and entered the front courtyard, those people had already taken their positions, blocking the only path to the main hall.

The door to the main hall was half-open, and soft light shone from inside, where someone was sitting.

Chen Li stopped in the center of the courtyard and looked in the direction of the main hall entrance.

Those people didn't move, and neither did he.

The wind rustled through the bamboo grove in the front yard.

"Let him in."

A voice came from inside the main hall, old, steady, and without any inflection.

The four people blocking the way parted to the left and right, making way for each other.

Chen Li walked up the steps of the porch, pushed open the half-open wooden door, and entered the main hall.

The tea table inside was still in the same spot where he had sat last time, with a pot of tea on the rosewood tabletop, and steam still rising from the cups.

Lu Changgeng sat in a round-backed chair behind the tea table, wearing a dark gray casual jacket. He no longer held the walnuts in his hand; his hands were folded and placed on his knees. His gaze was calmly fixed on Chen Li, as if he were looking at an acquaintance who had come to visit late at night.

"Xiao Chen," Lu Changgeng said, his tone exactly the same as during their last meal, as warm and gentle as an elder speaking to a younger person, "What brings you up the mountain so late at night?"

Chen Li stopped in front of the tea table but did not sit down.

He looked down at Lu Changgeng's face, a perfectly balanced look of confusion on his well-maintained face, as if he genuinely didn't know why someone would rush into his yard with a knife in the early hours of the morning.

"You killed one of my people tonight."

Chen Li said.

Lu Changgeng's gaze shifted slightly, and a thin layer of understanding appeared on his puzzled face.

He untied one of his clasped hands, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said softly:

"You're probably referring to that incident in the back alley of the medicinal herb market."

"Xiao Chen, I only just heard about your people spying around on my turf."

"Young people act impulsively, and their subordinates are careless and reckless. Regarding this matter, I..."

"Lu Changgeng".

Chen Li interrupted him:

"Listen carefully, I'm not here to negotiate with you."

"You bribed Ye Zong's men and killed my men. You did it. I didn't come here tonight to give you a choice."

He took the entire handle of the short blade from behind his waist and placed it in the center of the tea table.

The blade remained unsheathed, and the scabbard struck the sandalwood surface with a dull thud.

I'm giving you two choices.

"First, hand over the assassin tonight in front of me."

"Make him kneel down in front of my dead man, and then you pull your hand back from the East Market."

"The debts of the Vermilion Bird Hall, Ye Zong's injuries, and this life tonight are all wiped clean. You can continue being your old chairman, and I will continue to wait for my time in Yun City."

"Secondly, you don't need to hand over anything. I came here tonight and saw your face one last time. Next time we meet, I'll get rid of you and your security company."

In the quiet main hall, one could hear the faint bubbling of the remaining boiling water in the kettle on the tea table.

Lu Changgeng's expression remained unchanged, still that of a kind and gentle elder. However, the fingertips of his right hand, which was resting on his knee, clenched slightly, gripping the fabric of his knee, before releasing it in the next instant.

"Xiao Chen, you're being too harsh with your words."

He spoke, his voice still calm:

"My people have indeed overstepped their bounds, and I can give you an explanation. But for you to ask me to hand over my men to you is tantamount to taking their lives. As an elder, I also have my pride in the underworld."

"You have absolutely no self-respect!"

Chen Li picked up the short blade from the tea table, drew it from its sheath, and stabbed it into the table.

"That's the second one."

He turned and walked towards the door, but stopped at the threshold, turning half his face to the side.

"Lu Changgeng, you have one night left."

After the wooden door closed behind him, the figures in the front yard had already gathered again, but no one stopped him.

The butler stepped forward and bowed, saying:

"Master, should we let him leave?"

Lu Changgeng waved.

The butler handed over the pipe, knowing that the master would take a couple of puffs whenever he was troubled. He bent down, filled it with tobacco, tampd it down, and lit it.

Lu Changgeng took two puffs and slowly exhaled the smoke:

"I'll test his guts. He actually dared to come in all by himself. He's got guts."

"The fact that he dared to come in alone means he has the confidence to leave alive."

He glanced at the knife stuck in the table, a lingering fear creeping into his heart, and slowly exhaled smoke, saying:

"Hasn't he arrived yet?"

The butler quickly replied:

"Sir, even the shrimp soldiers and crab generals are useless. This one is arrogant and slow, but he's effective."

Lu Changgeng nodded, deciding to tolerate him for now.

Chen Li walked through the front courtyard, past the screen wall, and out of the iron gate, leaving the gate slightly ajar.

The streetlights at the foot of the mountain were still on. He walked back along the same path, his footsteps echoing on the empty asphalt road, swallowed and exhaled by the shadows of the trees on both sides.

When he got back to the car, he glanced at his phone and saw a message from Ye Qinglian:

"Uncle Wang is missing. He didn't return home after finishing his meeting here tonight, and I can't reach him by phone."

Chen Li placed his phone on the center console and started the car.

The deep hum of the engine spread out in the empty night. He turned the car around, stopped at the intersection of the road down the mountain, and glanced in the rearview mirror at the direction of Mingyuan.

He stepped on the gas and drove the car into the city.

Starting tomorrow, he will no longer need to wait for anyone to make a move.