Chapter 167 - 117: Director Bai, Please Be On Your Way

Chapter 167: Chapter 117: Director Bai, Please Be On Your Way

Bai Lang stared at the seal, then suddenly broke into a savage laugh.

His laughter echoed in front of the empty city gate archway, sounding exceptionally grating.

"And if... I say no?"

’I have to take Lu Huaisan today.’

’He’s the only thing I have left to hold onto, my last, pitiful shred of dignity.’

The inspector’s expression remained unchanged. He simply raised his right hand slowly.

CLICK! CLICK!

The uniform, cold sound of rifles being chambered rang out, and all the muzzles instantly lowered.

The eyes behind the scopes were cold and merciless.

"If Director Bai refuses to cooperate."

The inspector’s voice was completely flat.

"We will have no choice but to use force in accordance with the law."

The atmosphere instantly grew taut to the breaking point. The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the howling of the cold wind.

Bai Lang glanced at the gun barrels surrounding him, and the savage grin on his face only widened.

’Fine!’

’The more the merrier!’

’If I drag all these people down with me, at least I won’t be lonely on the Path to the Underworld.’

However, just as Bai Lang was completely focused on the standoff before him...

...a sudden incident occurred on the truck holding Lu Huaisan at the rear!

A black figure swooped down from a nearby roof ridge like a phantom, so fast it left only an afterimage on the retina.

The Wolf Camp soldier guarding the truck only felt a gust of wind hit his face, and before he could even react...

...his neck was struck hard, and he collapsed with a muffled grunt.

Chen Xuan’s hand had already reached into the truck, gripping Lu Huaisan’s shoulder.

"Who’s there!"

"Enemy attack!"

The Wolf Camp soldiers on the adjacent truck, shocked and furious, raised their guns.

But Chen Xuan was faster. Lifting Lu Huaisan, he lightly tapped the edge of the truck with the tip of his foot.

BANG!

The fully loaded truck sank violently. The bluestone slabs beneath it couldn’t withstand the immense force.

A dozen or so of them shattered with a CRACK, sending rubble flying!

And Chen Xuan, using that single push, lifted Lu Huaisan...

...and shot backward like a great bird, covering a dozen meters in an instant and landing steadily behind the line of public security officers.

The entire sequence was over in the blink of an eye.

By the time Bai Lang spun around, all he could see was Chen Xuan standing behind the crowd, holding Lu Huaisan, his face a mask of calm.

Lu Huaisan looked a little disheveled, but he was clearly unharmed.

Bai Lang’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Chen Xuan.

He was like a lone wolf, thoroughly enraged and on the verge of madness.

His Inner Breath surged uncontrollably, stirring the dust at his feet.

Yet Chen Xuan simply met his gaze, his eyes as deep and still as an ancient well.

To him, Bai Lang’s killing intent and aura were like a light breeze blowing over a mountain pass.

Seeing that the man had been secured, the inspector in front delayed no longer and pressed his raised hand downward.

All the gun barrels rose in unison, no longer aiming.

"Clear the barricade, open the city gate!" the inspector commanded.

The public security officers moved quickly, clearing away the heavy wooden barricades and sandbags.

With a long CREAK, the city gate slowly swung open, revealing the vast official road outside.

The inspector turned to the side and made an inviting gesture. His tone was still polite, but it carried an undeniable finality.

"Director Bai, please be on your way."

Bai Lang’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked, and the veins on his arms bulged.

A violent killing intent surged through his chest. He fought the urge to lash out and tear these grunts, along with Chen Xuan, to shreds!

But the last thread of his sanity held him back.

’Never mind whether I could survive against so many guns; just getting past Chen Xuan... is something I can’t do.’

’At this point, to keep struggling is meaningless. It would only bring more humiliation.’

Bai Lang took a deep breath of the biting cold air, suppressing the roiling rage within him.

Without looking at anyone, he spun around, strode back to his sedan, and pulled the door open.

"Go."

The convoy started up again and passed through the open city gate.

They drove onto the official road leading to the Provincial City and soon vanished over the horizon into the twilight-shrouded wilderness.

Only when the last vehicle had disappeared from sight did the people at the city gate finally breathe a sigh of relief.

It would be a lie to say they hadn’t been nervous facing Bai Lang’s final, savage aura, like that of a cornered beast.

Especially since Commander Bai was the one backing him.

The inspector wiped a nonexistent cold sweat from his brow and looked to his side.

A tall, imposing figure in a dark gray overcoat stepped slowly out of the shadows beside the gate.

It was Lu Jing’an.

He walked over to Lu Huaisan, took off his own warm overcoat, and gently draped it over his third uncle’s shoulders. "Third Uncle," he said in a low voice, "you’ve suffered."

Lu Huaisan trembled, feeling the weight and warmth of his nephew’s coat on his shoulders.

Looking at Lu Jing’an’s calm, handsome face, he was overcome with a flood of emotions.

A lump formed in his throat, and he found himself unable to speak.

In the sunless cells of the Water Patrol Bureau, he had truly believed his life was over.

When he was roughly dragged out and thrown onto the truck...

...his heart had turned to ice. He thought he would never return to Yin Mountain or see his wife and children again.

He never imagined that things would take such a turn, that he would be snatched from the jaws of death.

It was Jing’an who had pulled him back from the Ghost Gate.

"Jing’an..." Lu Huaisan’s voice was hoarse, with an almost imperceptible tremor. In the end, all he could manage were two heavy words: "Thank you!"

Lu Jing’an shook his head and said gently,

"Third Uncle, we’re family. There’s no need for formalities.

Let’s go home first. Third Aunt, Jinglin, and Jinhao are all waiting for you.

While you were gone, Third Aunt cried every day, and the two children could hardly eat or sleep."

"Yes... yes, let’s go home!"

Lu Huaisan nodded emphatically. The relief of surviving his ordeal and his longing for his family swelled in his heart, and he was suddenly desperate to get home.

Back at the Lu Family’s small courtyard, the gate had been left slightly ajar.

When Lu Huaisan’s figure appeared at the entrance to the alley, Third Aunt, who had been waiting anxiously in the courtyard, instantly covered her mouth as tears streamed from her eyes.

She threw the gate open and stumbled out to meet him.