Chapter 226: Chapter 226: 226: The King's Return (23)

“Someone’s dead…”

“I saw it, so much blood.”

“Who died?”

Whispers spread through the corridor, the women looking terrified while the men curiously asked about the deceased.

People stretched their necks trying to see through the open door.

But the crowd at the entrance was too thick; except for the vague sight of people’s heads, nothing else was visible.

There were quite a few people standing in the room.

A man lay on the floor, face down, his shirt soaked with blood, leaving the entire carpet stained with dark traces.

There were three groups of people in the room.

One group was examining the dead man.

Another group stood not far away, talking, apparently discussing something.

The last group included the big shots like Sheng Ting and Qi Feng.

“Master Liu, the fatal wound is this gunshot in the back.”

“Master Liu, I found this.”

Someone held a gun with both hands, presenting it to a tall man about six-feet-two.

The man had a beard, looked to be around forty, and seemed somewhat rough, but his facial features and sharp eyes betrayed his shrewd nature.

This was Hei Jin’s boss, Master Liu.

Master Liu took the gun with his gloved hand.

“Master Liu, this is…”

Master Liu tossed the gun back and glanced at the man.

The person who had spoken lowered his head and stepped aside.

Master Liu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

This was the gun he had given Jiang Ye.

How could he not recognize it?

The group discussing on the side sent someone over to speak, “Master Liu, we regret such an incident, but it seems you might already know who did this.”

Master Liu didn’t say a word and silently drew a cigar.

A subordinate tried to light it for him, but Master Liu waved him off without letting him approach.

“Master Liu, while this might be an internal matter for you, we have rules here, and bringing a gun violates them. May I ask, Master Liu, who the killer is?”

Master Liu snorted, “Hu Jiancheng, my man is dead here, and you’re asking me who the killer is? Don’t you think that’s putting the cart before the horse?”

Hu Jiancheng confronted Master Liu, “Master Liu knows who it is, doesn’t he? Does Master Liu intend to protect this killer?”

The atmosphere in the room became strange.

Sheng Ting’s group all watched with cold eyes and showed no intention of getting involved.

“A gun doesn’t prove anything,” Master Liu finally spoke to break the silence, “Framing and entrapment are both possibilities.”

Hu Jiancheng replied firmly and respectfully, “Master Liu, for people like us, something as special as this, wouldn’t leave our side unless we were dead.”

Master Liu stared at Hu Jiancheng with a hostile gaze.

Hu Jiancheng’s polite manner concealed an aggressive aura.

“Master Liu, Hu Jiancheng represents the host family for this banquet; it’s their territory. We should not be too forceful,” whispered a subordinate, stepping forward to remind him.

What was most important was that they’d been required to leave their weapons behind when boarding the ship.

Although each family had managed to bring some, on someone else’s turf, they definitely didn’t have the advantage in terms of weapons if a fight were to ensue.

Master Liu fell silent.

After waiting a moment, the subordinate raised his voice, “This gun belongs to Second Master Jiang, Jiang Ye.”

“Where is Second Master Jiang?” Hu Jiancheng asked.

Everyone on the scene looked around, but no one saw Jiang Ye.

“Over here.”

The crowd parted, and Jiang Ye walked in from outside.

The young man was dressed in white with black pants and a coat draped casually over his shoulders. As he walked through the crowd and his coat flipped up, it revealed his slender figure.

The stunningly handsome young man instantly became the center of attention as soon as he appeared.

The youth’s lips parted slightly as his clear voice settled into everyone’s heart: “What’s going on here, Master Liu?”

The youth nodded to Master Liu.

Master Liu looked at him, showing no particular reaction.

The youth’s gaze shifted, landing on the corpse, and he paused for a moment.

“Second Master Jiang, is this your gun?” Hu Jiancheng took the gun and presented it to Jiang Ye to see.

Jiang Ye barely glanced at it before readily admitting, “Yes.”

Hu Jiancheng, “Could Second Master Jiang explain why your gun would be left here?”

Jiang Ye smiled nonchalantly, “Wasn’t my gun in your custody? Mr. Hu, when I came up, I personally handed it over; your people can testify. Why are you asking me now?”

Hu Jiancheng: “…”

Hu Jiancheng sent someone to inquire.

Jiang Ye had indeed handed over the gun when it was checked.

There were no weapons on the cruise ship, so Hu Jiancheng had someone check whether the gun was still there.

In the end, the gun was not found there.

“Now it seems someone wants to frame me, eh?” The youth chuckled lightly, his eyes slowly sweeping over the crowd: “Just don’t know who it could be.”

Hu Jiancheng: “…”

Hu Jiancheng frowned.

The gun in his hand suddenly felt hot, and he remained silent for a while.

“So it means someone stole Second Master Jiang’s gun to kill one of Master Liu’s men.” Someone spoke up: “Master Liu, both the accused and the victim are your people. What do you have to say?”

A man stepped forward from behind Master Liu: “Master Liu, Jiang Ye had a conflict with Qiangzi earlier. It’s not difficult for Jiang Ye to retrieve the gun after handing it over, given his skills.”

Within the Hei Jin organization, apart from Master Liu and Jiang Ye, the one with the most authority to speak was this man called Liu Saner.

Before Jiang Ye came to prominence, he had always been Master Liu’s most trusted right-hand man.

After Jiang Ye rose to power, Liu Saner’s authority was diminished.

Master Liu also entrusted him with fewer matters, so Liu Saner held a grudge against this upstart, Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye had a traitor by his side. He came here to meet with Master Liu.

However, instead of meeting the man, one of Master Liu’s close associates ended up dead.

As for Master Liu’s current attitude, Jiang Ye was unable to grasp what he was really thinking.

But judging by Master Liu’s level of suspicion, Jiang Ye also felt his situation was not good.

“Jiang Ye, speak up,” Master Liu gestured towards Jiang Ye with a nod of his chin.

Jiang Ye shrugged: “I did have a conflict with Qiangzi, but I’ve had conflicts with most people here. If I were to kill for that, I don’t know how many I would have to kill.”

Liu Saner sneered, “Maybe Qiangzi discovered your secret!”

“What secret could I have?”

“You…”

Master Liu stopped Liu Saner with a look, warning him with his eyes.

In front of so many people, internal matters did not need to be aired.

Liu Saner glared at Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye knew what Liu Saner was about to say, regarding the goods that had been embezzled and supposedly at his command.

“Qiangzi’s gun was fired three times, two bullets hit the wall, and one was found on the floor with blood on it. Judging from the room’s setting, the blood on this bullet couldn’t possibly belong to Qiangzi.”

Liu Saner smirked at Jiang Ye.

“Jiang Ye, you have an injury, right?”

Jiang Ye’s gaze suddenly turned sharp as it collided with Liu Saner’s in the air.

Liu Saner, looking confident with his winning hand, said: “Jiang Ye, let’s check to see if you have any injuries.”

An injury received just a little while ago would be easy to distinguish.

If Jiang Ye had a fresh wound, especially one caused by a bullet, he would have almost no chance to explain it away.

Master Liu’s silence was clearly an agreement to Liu Saner’s suggestion.

*

[Update schedule: Two chapters at 00:00, additional updates at 12:00 noon and 20:00 in the evening. I can’t guarantee how much will be updated at the last two times, so stay tuned~]