Chapter 261: Courtesy Before Force

Chapter 261: Chapter 261: Courtesy Before Force

As Mou Shan pushed himself up to his feet, an intense internal struggle was already raging in his mind.

He had just fought a grueling battle. Had it not been for that extra person, he felt he would have taken out Zhang Yun long ago. Once they hit the water, it was over—Zhang Yun had absolutely leveraged his home-field advantage. Now, inside this small wooden cabin, Zhang Yun was alone and had even returned the knife to him. If Mou Shan were to mount a sudden counterattack, there was still a chance to complete his mission.

He wondered if the guy could really be that stupid. If Zhang Yun didn’t have absolute certainty, would he have let him off so easily? Not to mention the woman! She might be standing guard right outside the door. The moment he made a move, she would probably ambush him instantly.

After a few seconds of agonizing deliberation, he gave up.

For an assassin like him, failing a mission and sustaining injuries was usually a death sentence. Yet, the target had bandaged his wounds and allowed him to leave. He had just been given a second lease on life. The memory of his belt being sliced open, the blade gliding over his body and flashing before his eyes, sent shivers down his spine.

Once on his feet, Mou Shan immediately sheathed his knife and bowed to Zhang Yun. "Thank you." With that, he turned and walked outside.

Stepping out the door, he was a little surprised. The woman was nowhere to be seen, nor could he sense any ambush. It was as if she had already left. However, his courage to risk it all had evaporated the moment he stood up. Once he let it go, he couldn’t muster it again. Now, he only felt the sheer exhaustion of severe blood loss. Having stepped outside, gathering the nerve for an attack was completely impossible.

After a brief hesitation, Mou Shan stopped and turned back around.

"Zhang Yun. I lost this time, but I’m just an assassin. I don’t even count as a pawn. The power of the Liu Family goes far beyond anything you can imagine!"

"And your point is?" Zhang Yun asked lazily.

"Liu Wanqi suspects that Liu Yandao died at your hands. For people like them, evidence isn’t necessary. My failure won’t serve as a warning to him; it’ll only make him more certain that you did it. The next person he hires to kill you will only be deadlier!"

Mou Shan considered this a repayment for sparing his life. Without waiting for Zhang Yun to thank him, he immediately stumbled and limped off into the distance.

Zhang Yun watched him disappear into the darkness, completely unconcerned about the assassin dying halfway. Mou Shan had definitely entered the village right around nightfall, which meant he must have a car parked nearby. Even with both legs injured, he wouldn’t need to run to a hospital; his vehicle likely had medical supplies.

Right now, only one name echoed in his mind—Liu Wanqi!

Zhang Yun didn’t have a deep understanding of the Liu Family. He only knew that Ouyang Qilin’s wife was a member, and her brother, Liu Yandao, was his accomplice. After taking out Liu Yandao and his crew, he had let Ouyang Kunpeng handle the fallout, and Ouyang Kunpeng had promised to take care of it. Mou Shan had specifically said that Liu Wanqi *suspected* him. This proved that Ouyang Kunpeng hadn’t sold him out!

It seemed that the Ouyang Family and the Liu Family had clashed over the past few days, or perhaps they had reached some sort of equilibrium through mutual concessions and wariness. Without concrete evidence, the Liu Family couldn’t retaliate against the Ouyang Family directly, but through certain channels, they had learned of Zhang Yun’s existence. Just as Mou Shan had pointed out, when it came to dealing with Zhang Yun, Liu Wanqi didn’t need proof. Mere suspicion was enough to warrant a hit.

Zhang Yun weighed his options for a moment, then dialed Ouyang Kunpeng’s number.

He had done this for the Ouyang Family, so if there were problems, Ouyang Kunpeng should be the one to clean up the mess. Otherwise, the Liu Family’s retaliation would never stop. Was he supposed to go and take out Liu Wanqi next? Wipe out the entire Liu Family? That simply wasn’t realistic.

Ouyang Kunpeng quickly answered the voice call. "Zhang Yun, my friend! How are you doing? I was actually just talking about you." His tone was relaxed, lacking the heaviness it had carried a few days prior. It sounded like he had finished dealing with the Ouyang Qilin affair and moved on from it.

Zhang Yun didn’t bother with small talk and cut straight to the chase. "Mr. Ouyang, I need to ask you about something. This Liu Wanqi..."

Ouyang Kunpeng’s tone immediately turned serious. "Liu Wanqi is the current patriarch of the Liu Family. He is Liu Yandao’s father and an in-law to our family. For you to ask about him so suddenly..." He lowered his voice slightly. From the sound of it, he had moved to a different room to take the call.

"An assassin came to kill me tonight. Liu Wanqi sent him," Zhang Yun said bluntly.

Ouyang Kunpeng wasn’t overly surprised, but his expression grew noticeably graver. "Are you hurt? How did you handle the assassin?"

"I’m fine. I let the assassin go."

"You... you let him go?" Ouyang Kunpeng was stunned. He had assumed Zhang Yun had killed the guy and was calling for someone to dispose of the body, which was already giving him a slight headache. But he had actually just let him go?

"What else was I supposed to do? Keep him around as a pet?"

"Well... based on what I know, assassins usually hunt down their targets until one of them is dead. Since you let him go, he’ll just come looking for you again." Ouyang Kunpeng felt a bit helpless. Since the killer was already released, they could only play defense now.

"Oh! He won’t dare. Even assassins are afraid of dying."

Listening to Zhang Yun’s casual attitude, Ouyang Kunpeng couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Was this just the naive fearlessness of youth, or did he truly have the absolute confidence to back it up?

"Liu Wanqi must have found out something. He’s got his eyes on you now..." Ouyang Kunpeng was instinctively analyzing the situation logically, but halfway through his sentence, he realized how that sounded and hurriedly clarified. "Don’t misunderstand, my side absolutely did not sell you out! You are a great benefactor who helped us tremendously. I am deeply grateful and would never shoot myself in the foot like that. But the Liu Family has deep roots, and Liu Wanqi has far more seniority than I do. He has extensive connections across the board and even has informants within our own ranks..."

Zhang Yun chuckled. "I understand. Walls have ears. I wasn’t questioning you, Mr. Ouyang. I actually wanted to ask you for a favor."

"What do you mean, a favor? Whatever you need, I won’t hesitate to help! We really are in the same boat." Hearing the slight distance in Zhang Yun’s tone, Ouyang Kunpeng quickly dialed up his enthusiasm.

"Give me Liu Wanqi’s phone number."

"Ah? You want Liu Wanqi’s phone number?" Ouyang Kunpeng had thought Zhang Yun wanted him to mediate, never expecting he simply wanted a number.

"I’m planning to give him a call and ask if he’s going to back off, or if he intends to keep coming after me."

Ouyang Kunpeng laughed bitterly to himself. He wondered how a big shot like Liu Wanqi could ever back down just because of a single phone call from a kid. If anyone were to make this call, it had to be him for it to carry any weight. "Let me be the one to ask him."

"There’s no need to trouble yourself, Mr. Ouyang. He’s the one looking for trouble with me, so I’ll let this first wave slide. Now, I’m going to try the diplomatic approach first. If he doesn’t back off, I’ll head out tonight. Hehe, I’ve got nothing to lose but me and my old man. I’d like to see just how many people the Liu Family has for me to kill..."

Ouyang Kunpeng was absolutely terrified.

Was this really the same little farmer he had met at the hospital? Even after saving a member of the Ouyang Family, he had only asked for a mere hundred thousand in reward—a sum the doctor had confirmed was more than justified. And now, he was casually threatening to slaughter the entire Liu Family? The Liu Family had pushed a simple, rustic young farmer to the brink. This was the mindset of someone ready to take his enemies down with him!

"Zhang Yun! Calm down! Don’t say things out of anger! Don’t leave your house either. Stay right where you are and don’t go anywhere. I will handle this. I’ll contact Liu Wanqi and give you a satisfactory answer, alright?" Ouyang Kunpeng frantically tried to pacify him.

He had witnessed Zhang Yun’s extraordinary abilities last time, but he never expected the young man’s murderous intent to escalate so quickly. Then again, if a person was just minding his own business at home when an assassin literally dropped in, he had every right to be furious. If Zhang Yun hadn’t been strong enough, he might already be dead. How could he not be enraged?