Peerless Martial Expert in the City-Chapter 236 - 239 Cooperation

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Because, generally speaking, no matter which library it is, aside from storing vast quantities of books from various disciplines and knowledge, they definitely also keep some information about the library itself or the institution it belongs to.

Xiao Yi had wanted to invite Zeng Xiaoxiao to join him, but for some reason, Zeng Xiaoxiao seemed particularly indifferent to libraries. As soon as she heard Xiao Yi was going to the library, she immediately gave up the idea of following him and went home instead.

Xiao Yi didn’t think too much of it. Given Zeng Xiaoxiao’s personality, he felt that she probably wouldn’t be too interested in libraries anyway. She wasn’t exactly the type to be a docile and studious student, and the library was a place that was relatively serious.

After entering the library, Xiao Yi went directly to the shelves that held books on the school’s history and began to slowly peruse them.

......

The library of Z University, as the largest in G City and the one with the richest collection of books, was also built on a grand scale. Besides a somewhat old-fashioned classical old building, there were two additional enormous edifices erected on either side, flanking the original library like two colossal guardian deities, protecting the classical architecture in their midst.

Upon entering the library, Li Ziming headed straight for the protective building on the right wing. On the second floor, in a corner, an unremarkable-looking middle-aged man stood beside a pile of history materials, holding an old book and reading in quiet concentration, as if he was deeply engrossed in every sentence.

Li Ziming hurriedly ascended the staircase to the second floor, glanced around, and then went straight to the middle-aged man, stopping about five steps away with utmost respect and solemnity as he bowed, "Mr. Fei."

"You’ve arrived."

Upon hearing Li Ziming’s voice, Mr. Fei slowly put down his book and turned his gaze toward Li Ziming who stood before him.

"Yes. I have just arrived. My apologies for keeping Mr. Fei waiting."

As Mr. Fei’s gaze swept over him, Li Ziming’s heart suddenly shuddered, an intangible pressure rising spontaneously. His tone of speech became even more humble. Coming from an extraordinary background, he had met many influential figures throughout his life and had developed a great capacity to withstand all kinds of pressure. Ordinary people could hardly impose such pressure on him. However, every time he faced this middle-aged man, he felt an intrinsic sense of fear.

The ordinary-looking middle-aged man before him – if he didn’t look at you, you might not feel anything special when observing him. But as soon as his gaze fell upon you, it was as if you were targeted by a venomous snake, creating immense pressure.

"It’s not about waiting. I was reading a book," Mr. Fei said indifferently, his casual tone belied a condescending air, seemingly informing Li Ziming that he wasn’t significant enough to warrant waiting for. As he spoke, his gaze had already moved back to the bookshelf. Except for that one glance which sent shivers down Li Ziming’s spine, he never looked directly at Li Ziming again, as if standing before him was not a scion of the Li Family but an ordinary person, or rather, a servant.

This was an extremely impolite attitude, yet Li Ziming seemed to not feel it at all, standing even more respectfully beside Mr. Fei and very respectfully asked, "Mr. Fei, may I know if there are any instructions for me on this visit?"

Although he was unclear about the origins of this Mr. Fei, from the respect that the other man had shown him last time, he knew that in front of this man, aside from respect and collaboration, he definitely couldn’t choose any other approach. Before, when he had not yet agreed to cooperate with that person, he might have had some confidence. But now, at this moment, having boarded their ship, he knew he absolutely couldn’t offend Mr. Fei.

"It’s been nearly a month since the last incident, hasn’t it?"

Mr. Fei slowly took out another book, lightly tapping its somewhat yellowed cover, his voice hauntingly saying.

"What does Mr. Fei mean?"

Upon hearing Mr. Fei’s words, Li Ziming’s face suddenly changed, and he became tense.

"What do you think?"

Mr. Fei didn’t answer directly but looked at Li Ziming with a half-smiling gaze, once again throwing the question back to him.

"Mr. Fei... Although a month has passed since the last incident, the repercussions have not yet fully subsided. Wouldn’t it be ill-advised for us to take any rash actions now?"

Li Ziming and Mr. Fei’s gazes met, and his heart trembled violently, but thinking of the terrible consequences that incident might bring, he did not simply yield and go along with Mr. Fei’s words. Instead, a bitter expression appeared on his face as he spoke.

From that one sentence Mr. Fei had said earlier, he now fully understood the purpose of Mr. Fei’s summons—it was to urge him to take action!

But...

Did he truly dare to take action again so easily now?

He was filled with an immense sense of regret for agreeing to that person’s collaboration. He had thought that the collaboration would not incur any loss to the Li Family. After all, with the Li Family’s foundation, it was just a matter of trafficking a few children from ordinary and impoverished families. If it wasn’t found out, it would eventually be forgotten.

The Li Family might reap enormous benefits from it, of course, and not just from the huge profits of trafficking children. Although the profit from this was not insignificant, it wasn’t so important in the eyes of the Li Family. What he valued more was the identity behind the collaborator.

At first, everything was progressing as he had scripted. Initially, everything went very smoothly. With the influence in the hands of the Li Family, or rather, with the resources under Li Ziming’s control, every operation was very successful. He discreetly secured several batches of children, fulfilling the cooperation between both parties, and the police’s reaction was just as he had anticipated. After some investigation with no leads found, they simply gave up.

But he never expected that a well-fed journalist with nothing better to do would accidentally report on this incident, and that she, inadvertently, managed to get the story published. That’s when things spiraled out of control.

The police and various leaders began to take notice, especially that little female cop from the Zeng family, who personally took over the case. Suddenly, he became panicked. He could dismiss others, but he couldn’t dismiss someone surnamed Zeng.

Indeed, once that Zeng got involved, trouble arose. She directly destroyed one of his important bases and captured one of his right-hand men, as well as some underlings.

At that moment, he almost broke out in a cold sweat. When he got the news, he was sweating so profusely it was as if he’d been drenched in rain.

This one careless move could cost Li Ziming his life—no, it could cost the whole Li Family!

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and had taken precautions in advance. In the end, the situation was narrowly averted. All the responsibility fell onto that subordinate, and it just cost him a million or two to compensate the man.

But after this, he no longer dared to act recklessly and strictly ordered all his subordinates to keep a low profile and behave.

They also supported his decision. For one, because the originally responsible person, Third Young Master, was injured and likely busy with his injury, no one had taken over yet. Secondly, they knew it wasn’t appropriate to act rashly under such scrutiny.

However, he did not expect them to send someone to take over so quickly, and the person taking over was this Mr. Fei, whom he had met a few times before. Mr. Fei began pressuring him into action as soon as they met.

"Young Master Li, it’s not that I want to pressure you, but they are urging very insistently. We’ve had enough rest, and actually, the storm has already passed. As long as you order your people to act discreetly, there shouldn’t be any problems now. Rest assured, we will not leave you in the lurch. My coming here is to assist Young Master Li with all I have. If there is any troublesome matter, Young Master Li can simply give the order," Mr. Fei stated, locking eyes with Li Ziming, observing the bitter smile on his face. He no longer pressed as urgently and put away his smile, gently patting the book in his hand, speaking earnestly.

"Well... Since Mr. Fei has put it that way, let’s move forward cautiously then," Li Ziming replied as he observed Mr. Fei’s demeanor, knowing full well that evading this time would be impossible. He gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Mm, proceed with caution and don’t rush. Young Master Li, rest assured, our cooperation has been so pleasant, we would not wish to lose such a good partner like Young Master Li," Mr. Fei nodded, a satisfied look on his face, offering Li Ziming a comforting assurance.

"Then let me take this opportunity to thank Mr. Fei," Li Ziming replied, his heart somewhat steadied by Mr. Fei’s words. He responded politely and respectfully, and seeing Mr. Fei turning the pages of his book, he prepared to take his leave. But as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered something and hesitated. Nevertheless, he continued to address Mr. Fei, "Mr. Fei, I just encountered Xiao Yi."

Upon hearing Li Ziming’s words, Mr. Fei’s expression momentarily shifted. He of course knew who Xiao Yi was—the person responsible for crippling the Third Young Master. The Third Young Master was still confined to his bed, with the Divine Doctor working hard to aid his recovery, but the situation remained quite pessimistic.

But he quickly regained composure, responding with an air of nonchalance, "Young Master Li, let’s not provoke him for now. Let’s wait until the Third Young Master returns. For now, our operations are the most important." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)