Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

"Young Master Gao, you..."

"Bang!"

Before Fu Jingang could finish speaking, Gao Zhao made his move.

He suddenly sprang up and kicked the burly man in the crotch. Caught off guard, the man let out a piercing scream and immediately clutched his groin, hunching over.

Gao Zhao then punched him in the chin with a dull thud. The man immediately lost consciousness without uttering a sound.

Having landed a successful blow, Gao Zhao didn't hesitate and turned to run away before Fu Jin and his gang could even react!

I gave them instructions beforehand: don't hurt him, just scare him.

Who knew that the other party would be so uncivilized and launch a sneak attack first!

This sudden turn of events left everyone bewildered. It wasn't until Gao Zhao had gone quite a distance that Fu Jin came to his senses and roared, "Chase after him!"

Upon receiving the order, the group of men took off in pursuit.

This is when Gao Zhao's abilities became apparent. He ran wildly, and the alleyways were filled with all sorts of odds and ends—baskets, bundles of firewood, and discarded wooden frames—but they seemed to disappear in his presence.

He moved with incredible agility, leaping and bounding across the debris as if it were nothing to him. He would either leap over it in mid-air or use his toes to push off and dodge to the side.

In the Imperial Guard camp, the results of Zhou Ang's training were fully displayed on him at this moment!

He could easily handle even specially set up trenches and low walls, let alone the little obstacle in the alley. It was too easy for him, just like walking on flat ground!

He wasn't alone at that moment!

Gao Qiu, Zhou Ang... cough...

However, those men were not easy to deal with. Having spent years navigating the streets, they were quite strong on their feet. Although they were outpaced, they kept up the chase.

The alleyways branched off in a maze of paths. Gao Zhao quickly scanned the path before him, then suddenly leaped over the wall, using its shadow to conceal himself.

Instead of jumping off the wall and escaping from the other side, he stared intently at the alley entrance.

The group of men ran aggressively past the alley entrance and continued their pursuit, but they did not find Gao Zhao.

After leading his men over, Gao Zhao didn't move; he waited there.

Fu Jin caught up, panting heavily, shouting, "Catch him...catch him...don't let him...get away..."

As soon as the person appeared, Gao Zhao, like a cheetah that had been lying in wait, suddenly unleashed his full strength, leaped down, and pounced.

"who!"

A gust of wind howled behind him, and Fu Jin turned around abruptly. His pupils contracted sharply as he saw a dark shadow rushing towards him. He instinctively tried to dodge, but it was too late.

"Bang!"

Gao Zhao descended from the air, his large hand gripping Fu Jin's neck tightly. Using the momentum of his dive, he slammed Fu Jin down onto the cold bluestone slab.

The enormous impact slammed the back of Fu Jin's head against the ground, causing him to feel dizzy and see stars before his eyes, his head buzzing.

Before Fu Jin could react and raise his hand to fight back, Gao Zhao's fists rained down on him like raindrops.

bang bang-

The wind howled as punches rained down on Fu Jin's face.

He was beaten until his nose was crooked, his eyes were slanted, and blood was flowing from his mouth and nose. Fu Jin felt his ears ringing, as if a Buddhist ritual had been performed, and his vision went black and the world spun around him.

Oh no, if this continues, we'll die!

Fu Jin quickly realized this and immediately curled up into a ball, bending his legs to protect his chest and abdomen, covering his head with his hands, and protecting his waist and ribs with his arms.

Their reactions were quick, and their movements were so practiced it was almost heartbreaking!

Even though Gao Zhao was very knowledgeable, he was stunned for a moment. Then, he turned his palm into a leg and kicked fiercely!

"You son of a bitch, daring to send people to ambush me! Let me tell you, no one in this world can bully Gao Zhao!"

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me... I'll die if you keep hitting me..." Fu Jin wailed weakly, pleading repeatedly, "I didn't come here to ambush the young master..."

"So that's how you threaten me!" Gao Zhao was even more enraged and continued to kick Fu Jin until he was on the verge of death, barely breathing.

"stop!"

"Release Manager Fu immediately!"

……

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar, and the burly men realized they had been tricked and turned back.

Upon arriving, they saw Gao Zhao paying the fine, and they all shouted angrily and surrounded him.

Gao Zhao grabbed Fu Jin, grabbed him by the neck, and pushed him back against the wall, shouting, "Come on, let's see who dies first!"

The group of men, hesitant to act rashly, immediately stopped in their tracks, still staring at him menacingly.

Gao Zhao glanced at the group and said coldly, "Get out of the way, or I'll kill him!"

The crowd exchanged glances, took a step back, but then stopped. Given Gao Ya's ruthless nature, if he were allowed to leave, he would definitely kill Fu Jin first.

Not only will the person escape, but Fu Jin will also be dead, and all of them will have completely lost face!

On the contrary, if they don't let him go, the money will become his shield, and he won't dare to do anything reckless!

"If you dare to kill him, we'll all rush forward and hack you to death to avenge Manager Fu."

The group of men drew their short sticks and daggers from their waists and quickly surrounded them, the cold glint of their weapons flashing in the dim light of the alley.

Gao Zhao remained unfazed and sneered, "Try cutting one down yourself."

The men glared menacingly, refusing to budge an inch. "Try killing one of them!" they shouted.

Gao Zhao naturally wouldn't dare kill Fu Jin right now, but the other party's reaction made him feel ashamed and unable to bring himself to do it. So he patted Fu Jin's face and sneered, "Old Fu, you're no good either! These people want me to kill you so they can take over!"

Fu Jin weakly raised his head, opened his swollen eyes slightly, and said with a bitter smile, "Young master, I'm not stupid..."

Seeing that his attempt to sow discord had failed, Gao Zhao snorted coldly and then ignored him.

For a moment, the two sides were locked in a stalemate in the alley, neither daring to make a move.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. The shouts and cries of the fight had all vanished. Only the heavy breathing echoed in the narrow alley, and the blood that kept seeping from Fu Jin's mouth and nose, dripping onto the bluestone slabs with a soft, pattering sound.

Gao Zhao was getting anxious. This couldn't go on. Fu Jin was in such a state that he probably wouldn't last much longer. If Fu Jin died, Gao Zhao would also be doomed.

The men were also anxious. They saw that Fu Jin was barely breathing and that if the stalemate continued, were they just going to watch him die in front of them?

Just as both sides were caught in a dilemma, a light footstep sounded, approaching unhurriedly.

Hearing the voice, everyone looked over, and the group of burly men quickly bowed and greeted him: "Mr. Feng!"

Gao Zhao followed and saw a middle-aged scholar walking slowly towards them. He had a refined demeanor and a smile on his face, showing no trace of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).

Mr. Feng approached, cupped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "This must be Gao Yanei. Indeed, he is exceptionally handsome and dashing. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Gao Zhao narrowed his eyes and looked the man up and down, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He hated people who were pretentious, especially those who were pretentious in front of him!

"Young master, you've misunderstood today. My sending Fu Jin to see you wasn't meant to offend you, but rather to show goodwill!"

Seeing that he did not answer, Mr. Feng continued, "If you ever need money in the future, just say the word, and Wuyou Cave will gladly provide it without hesitation. Why resort to fighting and killing, and ruin our harmony?"

Gao Zhao was furious upon hearing this; this was an accusation that he was robbing a den of thieves. He immediately rebuked, "Hey, don't make baseless accusations without evidence! I'll sue you for defamation!"

Mr. Feng smiled without saying a word, waved his hand to signal everyone to make way, and said with a slight smile, "I have finished speaking, young master, please proceed."

Gao Zhao watched him warily, carefully leading Fu Jin through the crowd until they reached the alley entrance, and no one chased after them.

This only made Gao Zhao's face darken further.

The other party made no mention of payment in their previous words, and did not stop him even after he had gone this far, which clearly indicated that payment was not important to him.

If he wanted Gao Zhao's life, he wouldn't care about Fu Jin's life or death; he could take action at any time!

This isn't a gesture of goodwill, it's a demonstration!