Chapter 281 - 281 280 Exposed

Words : 1954 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

281: Chapter 280: Exposed 281: Chapter 280: Exposed Qiao Guangbi suddenly stood up and furrowed his brow as he asked his underling, “When did this happen?” “Just... just early this morning,” the underling replied with a terrified step back. “Liu Hun is trying to pull a fast one on me by playing the ol’ switcheroo!” Qiao Guangbi narrowed his eyes and thought hard about the situation, wondering why Liu Hun changed his crew, what use the disciples of the Lin Family troupe could serve, and where they could be. “You can run away from the monk, but not from the temple. Go check out the Lin Family troupe’s background for me! Find everyone who knows anything about them, round them all up and question them, one by one! Even if I have to pull teeth to do it, I want answers!” Qiao Guangbi said fiercely to his underling. He couldn’t understand Liu Hun’s move at all, and the less he understood, the more it unnerved him. “Yes, yes, I’ll handle it immediately!” The underling hastily nodded and retreated to gather people and made a beeline for the Lin Family troupe in East Town. After returning to Wanbao Village, the first thing that Liu Hun thought of was Zhong Xiao and the others training up on Jun Mountain. What used to be a gloomy primeval forest was transformed into a camp by Zhong Xiao and his men in a short amount of time. And the Lin Family troupe’s disciples had begun to shed their theatrical habits, revealing the bearing of special forces soldiers. Liu Hun was very satisfied with the results of Zhong Xiao’s training. With these men, whether defending several villages or serving as security and expanding into more areas, they were sure to have an impressive impact. “Zhong Xiao! Well done! To achieve such significant results in such a short time is truly more impressive than ginseng and lingzhi,” Liu Hun said cheerfully to Zhong Xiao, patting his shoulder admiringly. He really hadn’t misjudged him—Zhong Xiao was a rare talent. Zhong Xiao still had an expressionless face, showing no particular emotion as he said to Liu Hun, “Boss Liu, this is all thanks to Leader Li’s help, he played a big part in this.” Leader Li, standing on the side, quickly stepped forward and waved his hands, modestly giving credit to Zhong Xiao. Watching his two capable subordinates being so humble, Liu Hun felt very comforted. Eventually, Zhong Xiao couldn’t evade the praise any further, then he said to Liu Hun, “Boss Liu, I have a suggestion.” “Oh? Let’s hear it,” said Liu Hun to Zhong Xiao. Frankly speaking, he was an old hand at acting tough and bluffing on his own, but when it came to training and nurturing people, he really had no experience or ideas. Zhong Xiao spoke straight to the point, “During this time, even though it appeared that I was the trainer, I’ve been putting Leader Li at the forefront because I wanted him to take command and manage.” If someone else had heard this, they might have taken it the wrong way, but Leader Li was not one for scheming. He was aware that Zhong Xiao had been putting him in the lead to help build his authority these days. “What’s your plan?” Liu Hun asked, frowning, genuinely concerned that Zhong Xiao might say he wanted to quit. Zhong Xiao spoke very directly to Liu Hun, “Boss Liu, I still have a bunch of brothers out there. Although they’re all from the underworld, not as disciplined as the brothers up in the mountains here, without rules and having done lots of unsavory deeds, they’ve all been through life and death with me, licking blood off their knives. Even when Qiao Guangbi sent people to threaten and tempt them, they didn’t betray me. So... I can’t forsake my brothers.” When Liu Hun heard this, he sighed deeply, realizing that Zhong Xiao ultimately was set on leaving. Although he was very reluctant to let him go, he knew Zhong Xiao was a man of loyalty, and he said, “If you’re driven by loyalty and want to leave, I won’t stop you. Whatever you need, money or anything else, just ask.” Zhong Xiao was taken aback and quickly clarified, “Boss Liu, you’ve misunderstood me. I’m not leaving. I have another idea instead.” With that explanation, Liu Hun deflated like a punctured balloon, releasing his tension. He sat Zhong Xiao and Leader Li down and said, “As long as you don’t leave, everything’s negotiable.” “Boss Liu, I mean that since Leader Li is the Lin Family troupe’s eldest senior brother and already commands respect, and he has his way with people, it’s best to leave things to him. As for me, once things settle down up here, I still need to organize my brothers who’ve suffered a lot in my absence. What’s more, though they may have been ruffians mostly, some things only happen in dark corners, and only they can get ahold of information from those places.” Zhong Xiao shared with Liu Hun the plan he had been contemplating over the past few days. He felt this was beneficial for himself, the Lin Family troupe, Liu Hun, and their brothers in the night industry. “Bang!” Liu Hun slapped his thigh, unable to contain his excitement as he grasped Zhong Xiao’s shoulder and said, “Well done, Zhong Xiao! Every word you speak is right after my own heart! Hahahaha!” Before, Liu Hun could only get a lot of information through Zhao Mingjie and had to tail people himself, which meant he could take care of one end but couldn’t manage the other. Moreover, many pieces of information were impossible to obtain. Now, with Zhong Xiao as a new channel, he had smooth access to both the underworld and lawful paths. It was going to be much easier to get a clear picture of anything in the future. “Liu dad, Zhong Xiao. I have another question, after our Lin Family Troupe’s disciples are trained, under what identity should they appear?” Lai head asked the two men. It wasn’t that he was keen to throw cold water on things, but the Lin Family Troupe’s show had long stopped, and basically everyone was circling around Liu Hun now, naturally earning several hundred times more than before. But once they went out, would they still be considered a theatre troupe? Liu Hun hadn’t really thought about this question, and Lai head’s inquiry really stumped him. Unexpectedly, Zhong Xiao already had a plan and said to Lai head and Liu Hun, “Liu dad, Lai head. There’s a kind of security company in modern society that provides security services for private individuals or large corporations. We simply need to register such a company, and then, without taking any external orders, we are legitimately set up.” This was truly horses for courses—each had its own way, and Liu Hun really felt like finding Zhong Xiao was like stumbling upon a treasure, making it much easier to integrate the well-trained disciples of the Lin Family Troupe into society. “Liu dad, I have a request,” Zhong Xiao suddenly said to Liu Hun. Not to mention one request—if it were ten, Liu Hun would agree to them all at once. He smiled at Zhong Xiao and said, “Go ahead.” Zhong Xiao pointed to a tent behind him and said to Liu Hun, “Liu dad, those four guys you captured are essentially on our side now. These four have some skills, and with me keeping an eye on them, plus a few incentives, it’s no problem to get them fully on board with us. Moreover, the most crucial point is their deep respect for you.” “Ha ha ha ha! Great!” Liu Hun was truly happy today. He hadn’t expected these four to actually surrender. Although they lacked combat strength, their abilities in reconnaissance and information gathering were top-notch. If used properly, they might be even more effective than the spy satellites of the American Empire. Liu Hun talked with Zhong Xiao and Lai head for a while longer before he made clear his main purpose for this visit—he wanted to make use of the people from the Night Color Night Club. Zhong Xiao immediately used Liu Hun’s phone to make a call, then he said to Liu Hun, “Liu dad, I’ve made contact. His name is Skinny Monkey. He’s clever and flexible in handling matters. You can trust him with anything.” Liu Hun nodded with satisfaction. His trip up Jun Mountain had truly been fruitful. As he was about to descend the mountain, Lai head held onto him, looking somewhat hesitant, and said to Liu Hun, “Liu dad, if you have time, please visit my master and send him my regards. Letting the troupe’s disciples follow you is to repay your kindness and also to find a better path for them. Nowadays, every family has a television, and many young people in Wanbao Village have started using computers. The future of the theatre troupe can only see decreasing returns. Following you, they’ll surely have much better days than in the theatre troupe. But...” Liu Hun patted Lai head’s shoulder firmly and said, “This kind of kindness can’t be bought with money. I understand. Rest assured, I will deliver your regards to the master and do what should be done for you and the brothers of the Lin Family Troupe.” With Liu Hun’s words, Lai head couldn’t help but grin broadly, nodding vigorously. Liu Hun descended the mountain and drove directly to East Town. Before, a round trip on a tractor would take a whole day, but now it was just a matter of minutes by car. However, the development of East Town was far behind the rocketing growth of Taiping Town, not to mention that at first glance, it looked like it had reverted to the 70s or 80s. When the car arrived in town, he couldn’t drive up to the big courtyard of the Lin Family Troupe, so Liu Hun had to park some distance away, then he walked towards the courtyard of the Lin Family Troupe. As Liu Hun approached the gate of the Lin Family Troupe’s courtyard, he saw a crowd blocking the entrance, all pointing and speculating about something, and as he drew closer, he could even hear a woman’s weeping. “Isn’t that Lin Shanhu, the master of the Lin Family Troupe? What happened, why is he lying on the ground?” “Ah! This morning, I went to buy vegetables with the daughter of the Lin Family and strolled through the market. Just as we came back, we saw master Lin lying at the doorway, which devastated the girl. I really don’t know what happened.” “I saw what happened. Just a short while after the Lin family’s daughter left, a motorcycle stopped at the door and two men went inside. After that, I don’t know what happened inside, but the two men left in a panic. Master Lin chased after them and collapsed right outside the door, just as you two were returning.” “...” Hearing the discussion around him, Liu Hun was instantly alarmed and didn’t care about anything else; he pushed through the crowd and rushed in. Sure enough, it was Lin Mengmei crying like a weeping figure, holding Lin Shanhu on the ground. “Mengmei, let me take a look!” Liu Hun hurriedly squatted down, quickly checking for breath. There was none, and then he felt for a pulse, but there was no beat.

Chapter 281 - 281 280 Exposed

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