Li Feng and He Zhiwu turned toward the voice, seeing Fo Zhu walk in from the doorway with two subordinates. The moment He Zhiwu saw Fo Zhu, his face darkened, and he said coldly, “This is the criminal police team’s matter. You don’t need to interfere.”
“You can’t handle this,” Fo Zhu said calmly, her gaze falling on the combat marks in the room, a glint flashing deep in her eyes.
“Hmph, what gives you the right to look down on our criminal police team?” He Zhiwu snorted coldly. The Tianhai City criminal police team was his pride, built by his own hands, and he wouldn’t allow anyone to belittle it.
“Can your criminal police team cause this kind of destruction in a room?” Fo Zhu pointed at the sharp blade marks and asked He Zhiwu.
“I…” He Zhiwu was speechless. From these combat marks, he had only thought of Li Feng’s impressive skills, not the sheer destructive power they represented. As Fo Zhu said, neither he nor anyone on his team could cause such damage.
If this weren’t Central City Hospital, a place constantly guarded by his men, he would have doubted whether these marks were real. Could a human cause such destruction?
In that moment, He Zhiwu recalled his days fresh out of the police academy, when his instructor told him about unknown forces in the world. He had thought it was nonsense, but now he couldn’t help but wonder if Li Feng and those assassins possessed such mysterious powers.
Faced with something he didn’t understand, He Zhiwu felt lost. Was his persistence meaningful? Handing the case to the National Security Bureau would rid him of this trouble, but a voice in his heart told him this was his chance.
“Captain He, this is an order from above.” Fo Zhu handed him a directive.
He Zhiwu’s expression shifted as he read it.
“Captain He, it’s not that I look down on your team, but this matter is beyond your control. Facing these assassins, you lack even the ability to protect yourselves, so how can you solve the case?” Fo Zhu’s tone was less harsh than at the police station, but her expression betrayed her smugness.
He Zhiwu was silent for a moment before saying, “I can hand over the case, but I must participate in the entire investigation. I need to avenge our fallen brothers.”
Fo Zhu gave him a deep look and said, “Fine.”
Li Feng stood silently to the side. The National Security Bureau taking over was within his expectations. After all, this involved martial artists. Even centuries later, cases involving martial artists were handled by the National Security Bureau, which was why it later gained such fearsome notoriety, making martial artists tremble at its name.
“Li Feng, can we talk?” Fo Zhu approached him.
“Can I refuse?” Li Feng countered.
“No.”
“Then why waste time with nonsense?” Li Feng sneered. He had no fondness for Fo Zhu, just as he had none for He Zhiwu, and he wouldn’t be polite.
Fo Zhu didn’t mind Li Feng’s words, as his reaction was expected. She needed to understand the details of his fight with the assassins. The combat marks suggested that the assassins, and possibly Li Feng, were ancient martial artists, escalating the situation.
The National Security Bureau’s duty was to maintain national security, not allowing uncontrolled forces to exist.
Whether it was the assassins or Li Feng, they had to submit to the state’s arrangements or face destruction, even if Li Feng was the Li family’s heir. In fact, because he was the Li family’s heir, the state might pay extra attention to him. The eight major families in China maintained a delicate balance, and a sudden powerhouse in the Li family could disrupt it, potentially causing a domestic storm—something the state would never allow.
Of course, Fo Zhu knew nothing was absolute. Some ancient martial artists in China operated beyond the state’s control, elusive and untouchable. But Li Feng was different as the Li family’s primary heir. Unless he was expelled from the Li family, the state wouldn’t tolerate his existence.
So, Fo Zhu’s priority was to understand Li Feng and find a way to make him leave the Li family. Only then could the state recruit him for service. This was politics.
Fo Zhu wasn’t worried. While it might be hard to make others abandon a top family, Li Feng was different.
Li Feng had no idea what Fo Zhu was thinking. If he did, he’d tell her she was delusional. In this era ruled by aristocratic families, such thoughts were naive.
Following Fo Zhu to a lounge, Li Feng said, “Ask what you want. I don’t have time to waste with you.”
“Li Feng, I want to know if you’re an ancient martial artist,” Fo Zhu got straight to the point.
“So what if I am, and so what if I’m not?” Li Feng countered.
“If you are, I invite you to join the National Security Bureau. Though you’re the Li family’s young master, you’re not valued there. Only by joining us can you fully utilize your strengths. At the very least, we can handle the assassins targeting you,” Fo Zhu said directly, believing that Li Feng, mocked as useless for years and neglected by his family, must resent them. A little incentive would easily sway him.
“Join the National Security Bureau?” Li Feng was stunned. He hadn’t expected Fo Zhu to skip the fight details and offer this. He shook his head firmly, “Not interested.”
“Li Feng, think carefully. Joining us only benefits you. As an ancient martial artist, you need vast resources to cultivate. Join us, and you won’t have to worry about that,” Fo Zhu said.
Vast resources? No need to worry about cultivation?
If Li Feng weren’t from centuries in the future and unaware of the National Security Bureau’s inner workings, he might have been swayed.
Even in the future, that was impossible, let alone now.
“Li Feng, this is a chance to serve the country. Joining us will bring unexpected benefits,” Fo Zhu pressed, thinking Li Feng was wavering.
Li Feng’s lips curved into a faint smile, “I’m not interested.”
“Uh…” Fo Zhu hadn’t expected such a blunt refusal. She said gravely, “Li Feng, consider carefully. As an ancient martial artist, you need many resources. Finding them yourself is time-consuming and uncertain, but we can use the state’s power to help you.”
Li Feng scoffed, “I want a Golden Cicada Fruit. Do you have it?”
“Golden Cicada Fruit?” Fo Zhu paused, unfamiliar with it, but unwilling to admit it in front of Li Feng. She smiled, “We don’t have it now, but we can find it for you.”
“No need. I can handle it myself. I don’t need your help. As for joining the National Security Bureau, let me be clear—it’s impossible,” Li Feng said flatly. In his eyes, the current National Security Bureau was inferior to even Wenjun Pavilion’s pharmacy. What was the point of joining such an organization? Besides, he knew their restrictive rules and had no desire to be bound by them.
In his past life, despite being a warlord of the special forces, his life was far from good—less free than an ordinary person’s. In this life, why would he join a state agency again?
“Li Feng, won’t you reconsider? This is an opportunity,” Fo Zhu said, unwilling to give up.
“No need. I’ll never join the National Security Bureau in this lifetime,” Li Feng said, turning to leave without further ado.
“You…” Fo Zhu’s face darkened. Though others had refused the National Security Bureau, none had done so as decisively as Li Feng.
“Boss, what now?” the young man behind Fo Zhu asked.
“Li Feng doesn’t want to join, likely because he’s the Li family’s primary heir. He looks down on us,” Fo Zhu said grimly. She thought she understood aristocratic heirs like Li Feng, who were always haughty. His reaction was expected.
“Then what? Just give up?” the young man asked.
“Give up?” Fo Zhu’s lips curled into a cold smile, “There’s nothing I, Fo Zhu, ever give up on. If Li Feng won’t join willingly, we’ll make him.”
“Make him join?” The young man was puzzled.
Fo Zhu glanced at him, saying lightly, “Li Feng’s refusal is likely because of his status as a Li family heir, with Li Chuanwei as his father and Mu Chunfeng as his mother. But what if he lost that status?”
“Lose that status? How’s that possible?” The young man was confused.
“Nothing’s impossible. The Li family isn’t a monolith,” Fo Zhu said meaningfully.
“Boss, you’re not planning to…” The young man was shocked, realizing Fo Zhu’s audacious plan to target the Li family.
“Why not? Li Feng is undervalued in the Li family. This is a golden opportunity for us,” Fo Zhu said with a sinister smile. “If Li Feng can’t stay in the Li family, the National Security Bureau will be his best option.”
“What if he finds out afterward?” the young man asked worriedly.
“So what if he does?” Fo Zhu sneered, a cold glint in her eyes. “Once he’s in the National Security Bureau, dragon or tiger, he’ll bend to us. Without the Li family backing him, his fate is in our hands.”
