Ye Feng was still sitting in the wheelchair, his expression utterly indifferent.
He did not move, and Seventeen behind him made no move either.
Hong Zhenguo approached Ye Feng and smiled, "It's getting late, Mr.Ye has been busy all day. Would you like to go back to the attic in the backyard to rest?"
His words made it clear he didn't take the several powerful families outside seriously.
Hong Tianming snorted, "Father, that waste surnamed Ye can't leave. If he leaves now, how are we supposed to explain to the several powerful families?"
Hong Yuting also said, "Grandfather, things have already come to this point. Do you still intend to protect and indulge this disabled son-in-law? Aren't you afraid of bringing disaster upon our Hong Family?"
Ye Feng spoke up, "Old Man Hong, could you step outside for a moment? Those flies outside are too noisy—how can one sleep well with that racket?"
"Yes, Mr.Ye is right. I will go and deal with them now!"
Hong Zhenguo laughed and immediately turned around, striding out with the majesty of a dragon and the ferocity of a tiger.
Hong Yuting rolled her eyes, thinking to herself: "Flies? Comparing the powerful families of Jiangdu to flies, you really are bloated with arrogance. Wait until later to see how you die!"
At this moment, the Hong Family's main gate was besieged so tightly that water couldn't leak through, with dozens of bodyguards from the Chu Family and other powerful families surrounding it.
If it weren't for the power of the Hong Family, they would probably have already rushed in to seize the person.
Of course, the Hong Family was no weakling either, with more than a dozen bodyguards standing at the main gate.
Seeing Hong Zhenguo coming out, the Head of the Chu Family roared, "Hong, you finally show up."
Hong Zhenguo chuckled, "Old Chu, it's just the loss of a grandson. Your Chu Family hasn't lost its line of succession, so why the fierce anger?"
"You..."
The Head of the Chu Family, enraged, stomped his foot and gritted his teeth, "I don't want to waste words with you. Hand over your useless son-in-law to me!"
Hong Zhenguo kept chuckling, "My son-in-law said, you flies are too noisy, disturbing his rest. Scram!"
"What did you say?" The Head of the Chu Family and the other three heads of the powerful families were furious.
"Hong, let's set things straight here. If you don't hand over your disabled son-in-law, tonight, we will flatten your Hong Mansion!"
"Flatten my Hong Mansion? Big talk!"
Hong Zhenguo also grew angry, and with a wave of his hand declared, "My men, listen up—if anyone dares to step half a foot through the gate, they will be killed without mercy. I want to see who has the guts!"
Old Man Hong was ready to go all out; after all, he had the backing of a king, a king who dyed rivers and mountains with blood—what was there for him to fear!
The gaze of the Head of the Chu Family sharpened, nearly ready to burst forth, but after seeing the dozen bodyguards of the Hong Family, each robust and bristling with a threatening aura, he had no choice but to suppress his fury.
It was common knowledge among Jiangdu's upper society that Hong Zhenguo had served in the military, and at no low rank. After returning, he had gathered many highly skilled warriors to serve as bodyguards.
"Good, very good, you've done well, Hong Zhenguo!"
The Head of the Chu Family sneered repeatedly and without further ado, made a phone call.
"I've contacted the Chief Supervisor of Jiangdu. Let's see if you dare obstruct when he arrives!"
The Chief Supervisor of Jiangdu, in charge of the city's law enforcement, wielded immense power. Even these powerful families of Jiangdu had to show him some respect.
Hong Zhenguo remained calm, showing no fear whatsoever. What was the Chief Supervisor to him? In the face of that 'Plane', he probably wasn't even qualified to carry his shoes.
As the standoff continued, more than a dozen cars illuminated the entrance of the Hong Mansion brightly, and soon another car drove straight in.
The Chief Supervisor of Jiangdu, known as the Iron Face Judge, had arrived.
"You guys are not young anymore. Can't you sit down and discuss the issue instead of kicking up such a fuss?"
Chief Supervisor Yan Xu wore a somber expression; after all, everyone here was well acquainted on this 'Plane'.
Chu Min, the Head of the Chu Family, stepped forward and briefly explained the whole affair.
Yan Xu furrowed his brow and said, "Old Hong, now that a murder is involved, I'm afraid this won't be easy to settle."
The Iron Face Judge pondered for a moment before continuing, "We're old friends, and I don't want to put you on the spot. Ask the concerned party to come out. Don't worry, with me here, I won't favor any side. Everything will be handled according to the law and fairly!"
Hong Zhenguo said, "Chief Supervisor Yan, I'm afraid you really can't handle this one."
"What do you mean by that?"
The Iron Face Judge raised his eyebrows and said, "Bring him out immediately, I'm giving face to Hong Zhenguo by not storming in to capture him, so I hope you won't make things difficult for me."
Hong Zhenguo considered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I can go in and call for him, but whether he's willing to come out or not is beyond my control."
Having said that, he wasted no more words and turned, walking straight into the courtyard.
Hong Zhenguo entered the hall and approached Ye Feng, but he did not speak because he knew that the man in the wheelchair already knew.
Of course, he also did not suggest Ye Feng go out because to utter such words would be a sacrilege to the man in the wheelchair.
The mighty Northern Border King, guardian of mountains and rivers, a ruler of his generation, going out to meet a mere city Chief Supervisor? Ridiculous!
Hong Yuting and the others kept silent, their faces alight with schadenfreude.
"A Chief Supervisor? Asking me to go out and see him? What audacity!"
Ye Feng, with a sweep of his Great Hand, tossed an ancient bronze Token to Hong Zhenguo, "Take this and tell him to come in and see me!"
Hong Zhenguo took the Token without so much as glancing at it and turned to leave.
Ye Feng spoke sternly, "Tell him, if he doesn't recognize this thing, he should call his superiors. If even the higher-ups don't recognize it, they might as well not bother with their jobs anymore!"
Hong Zhenguo was exhilarated, his heart pounding; as a former trusted aide of the military, he certainly knew what the Token represented.
Hong Zhenguo went out and relayed the message word for word to Yan Xu.
Inspector Yan frowned, silent, his expression grave.
"Old Hong, give it to me straight, what is this thing?"
Yan Xu, holding the Token, looked at the simple ancient bronze, on which a Golden Dragon was engraved, with a character for "north" on the back.
"To be honest, I don't know either," Hong Zhenguo replied with a chuckle.
"You..."
Yan Xu, gritting his teeth, said, "You can't expect me just to make a call to the higher-ups with this kind of trinket, can you?"
"Then you might choose not to make the call. You could also storm in there and take him now, but I can tell you, the consequences are something you absolutely cannot afford!"
After some thought, Yan Xu nodded, "Alright, I'll make the call!"
He walked to a corner and then made a call.
The call connected quickly, and after briefly explaining the situation, the person on the other end fell silent, then said, "Wait a moment, remember not to act rashly. I can't make heads or tails of this thing; I need to report it to higher-ups."
Yan Xu was dumbfounded, he could tell from the tone of the person on the line that the situation was very serious.
It didn't take long for the person to call back, and Inspector Yan immediately asked, "Well, did you find out? What does the Token represent, and what is the identity of the owner?"
The voice on the other end replied gravely, "As for what the Token represents, the ones above me also don't know; they don't have the authority."
"What do you mean 'no authority'?"
"No authority means just that, not enough clearance to find out!" the voice on the line exclaimed.
Yan Xu, stunned, said, "Even the people above you don't have enough clearance?"
As he spoke these words, his heart pounded incessantly, knowing the matter was severe.
The person on the phone said, "Although we can't find out, the higher-ups have sent down instructions for me to tell you to back off from this matter, and of course, it's not something you can interfere with."
Inspector Yan became anxious, "But, it involves a death."
The person on the line chuckled, "I recall you saying that it was the Chu Family who first plotted to kill the other party, right?"
Without waiting for Yan Xu to respond, the voice continued, "The higher-ups instructed me to tell you that even if the owner of the Token only killed the Chu Family's eldest son, even if he annihilated the entire Chu Family, it would be their own fault."
"To ensure you understand, that person from above also wanted me to tell you to go in and greet that man right away, remember to be polite and respectful!"
"Anyway, I've passed the message. Do as you see fit. Oh, and don't call me about this again. I don't want to get involved in this mess. It's like gods fighting, and you, Little Luoluo, why meddle? I want to keep my job for a few more years!"
With that, the line went dead with a click, leaving the Iron Face Judge to face the chaos in the wind.