Chapter 1910 — Intricate and Tangled

"Oh? What is it?" Wei Zhao was a little disappointed, but news of the drug trafficking ring was good enough. It was news of his enemies, and if he ever got the chance, Wei Zhao would not mind tearing them out root and branch.

"While we were dealing with some of the Yu family's illegal businesses, we found a contact list—and in it, a shocking secret!" Yang Huaijun said, his expression grave.

"What secret?" Wei Zhao asked.

"The man in charge of the Red Conch's contacts with the other traffickers is actually named An Jiande..." Yang Huaijun said.

"An Jiande?" Wei Zhao's gaze sharpened. "An Jiande of the An family? An Jianwen's elder brother?"

"The very same!" Yang Huaijun nodded. "From this contact list we can see that several of the Red Conch's leaders are more or less tangled up with the Fire Wolf Gang. There's no direct evidence that the Fire Wolf Gang and the Red Conch are one and the same organization, but at the very least, they're working together..."

"An Jiande..." Wei Zhao frowned. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have killed him..."

"You already killed An Jiande?" Yang Huaijun was stunned. The whole reason he had come to see Wei Zhao this time was to find out whether Wei Zhao could quietly wring some evidence out of An Jiande. With nothing but a contact list, moving against the An family or the Fire Wolf Gang was unrealistic. Since Yang Huaijun could not investigate the An family and An Jiande through normal channels, his only hope had rested on Wei Zhao—yet it had never occurred to him that An Jiande was already dead.

Wei Zhao paused a moment, then realized the An family affair had never spread. The An family had most likely swallowed the loss quietly and said nothing about it. So he told Yang Huaijun the whole story: how the An family had schemed to ruin Gu Pengzhan and staged the car accident.

"Dead... then let it go." Yang Huaijun sighed. "I had thought we might find some leads through him..."

"Does anyone else in the An family know about this?" Wei Zhao asked.

"That I can't say. But even if they do, I doubt they know the details. Truth be told... I was only grasping at straws. The Red Conch and the Fire Wolf Gang have always fallen under the Mysterious Investigation Bureau's purview." Yang Huaijun said.

"Knowing this much is already enough. With this direction to investigate, I can keep an eye on things as well," Wei Zhao said. "But the Fire Wolf Gang has no shortage of experts, and their standing... seems to be no lower than that of the hidden families—perhaps higher..."

"That powerful?" Yang Huaijun blurted out. He had had little contact with the Fire Wolf Gang; it was a highly mysterious gang, and the business it conducted was nothing like the loud, ostentatious dealings of ordinary underworld groups. But Yang Huaijun had never had much to do with them before, and so he had no idea of the power behind them.

"Truly powerful. I didn't understand it before either, but now it seems they can casually send out experts at the peak of the late Earth Rank—their strength must be considerable!" Wei Zhao shook his head and sighed. Elder Qing had told him before that the Fire Wolf Gang was formidable, but seeing their strength with his own eyes had still shaken him.

"If that's the case, then I'd advise you not to take the risk now. The enemy is too strong..." Yang Huaijun paused there, then went on: "Chief, I know you're strong—you wiped out three Earth Rank fighters in a single move—but if the Fire Wolf Gang is as powerful as you say, they very likely have Heaven Rank experts!"

"Indeed. That's also why I haven't done anything more to An Jianwen." Wei Zhao nodded. He was protective of his own and overbearing when he chose to be, but he was by no means a fool who risked his life at every turn. He only fought for his life when he had no other choice; when there was no need, he would let the other side off for now—settling the score later was never too late.

"By the way, I've already filed a report recommending Qiu Lingshan be transferred over. She'd be a criminal investigation captain as well, though her rank would be raised accordingly—after all, she cracked several major cases in succession in Songshan City. And the previous criminal investigation captain here in Donghai City won merit in that case I was involved in, so he's been promoted and transferred to another city. The position is vacant now, and as the standing deputy director in charge of criminal investigation, I still have a good deal of say in the choice of candidate." Yang Huaijun said.

"Qiu Lingshan?" Wei Zhao smiled wryly. He hadn't expected that no sooner had he left than that girl Song would follow right on his heels. "This is probably her own idea too, isn't it?"

"Haha, I knew I couldn't hide it from you. But a woman chasing a man is hardly anything unusual these days. If you think she's a good sort, Chief, there's no harm in giving her a chance." Yang Huaijun suggested.

"I think we'd better forget it. As it is, she has me solving cases for her all day long. If we actually got involved, I'd end up being her assistant morning, noon, and night." Wei Zhao shook his head.

"Then let fate take its course." Yang Huaijun said no more. "In that case, I'll be going. Call me anytime if anything comes up. Once I get through this busy stretch, let's get together properly!"

"Wait—since you're here, let's take care of business first. Last time I said I could raise your strength to the early Mystic Rank, but at the time your meridians had only just been repaired, and I was afraid my method would be more than they could bear. Now there's no problem—I can raise you straight to the peak of the late Mystic Rank." Wei Zhao was an Earth Rank expert now, so he could naturally elevate Yang Huaijun's strength in one go, without having to compress his true qi to push him from the peak of the late Yellow Rank through to the early Mystic Rank.

Compared with Qiu Lingshan and Wu Chengtian and the others, Yang Huaijun would be spared one round of agony.

"You can do it now?" Yang Huaijun drew a deep breath. To be honest, he had been deeply envious when Qiu Lingshan, Chen Yutian, and Wu Chengtian had stormed the family assembly with the strength of peak late Mystic Rank. So they had already become experts at the peak of the late Mystic Rank!

That was a height countless cultivators could never reach in a lifetime, and yet they had attained it with ease! If anyone told him they had cultivated it themselves, Yang Huaijun wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death. Remembering how quickly Wei Zhao had repaired his meridians and upgraded him last time, he knew it was all Wei Zhao's doing.

It was just that after coming back, Wei Zhao had not brought it up himself, and Yang Huaijun could hardly ask for power outright. What if Wei Zhao needed to rest for a while after elevating those few? Being turned down would have been terribly awkward.

But now that Wei Zhao had raised it himself, there was no reason for Yang Huaijun to refuse.

"If you have no other business, let's do it now!" Wei Zhao nodded.

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