Chapter 1115 — He Brought It on Himself
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"This... I haven't yet gotten to the bottom of it. Let me inquire in detail..." A layer of cold sweat broke out on An Mingyue's forehead. The Fire Wolf Gang was formidable, to be sure, but an external-school expert at the peak of the mid-Profound rank was no small figure either — he could not simply be allowed to die like that. They would never let the matter rest. So An Mingyue intended to first get to the bottom of the incident, then see whether there was any room to maneuver.
"Give me the phone. I'll speak with An Liwen myself and ask what happened!" The deputy helm waved a hand and took the phone directly from An Mingyue. After all, an external-school expert at the peak of the mid-Profound rank was very important to the Fire Wolf Gang's northern branch. He could not simply die without an explanation.
"Very well..." An Mingyue had no choice. He could not disobey the deputy helm's words. Though he feared An Liwen would be punished, he could not go against the deputy helm's wishes at this moment. He rather regretted coming to this dinner today — if he had briefed his son beforehand, perhaps there might have been room to turn things around.
"Hello? An Liwen? What exactly happened? Master Li was one of our northern branch's finest. How is it that he came to you and ended up beaten to death? How did such a serious mishap occur?" The deputy helm took the phone and launched straight into his interrogation.
"Hello, is this the deputy helm?" An Liwen felt a surge of nervousness. This was the first time he had spoken directly with a high-ranking member of the Fire Wolf Gang, but outwardly he kept his composure and asked with humble deference.
"It is. Tell me in detail how Master Li died!" the deputy helm said.
"Deputy Helm, I've finally found a leader I can pour my heart out to!" An Liwen put on the air of one nursing a bellyful of grievances. "Deputy Helm, that Master Li never listened to my orders at all — arrogant and domineering, stirring up trouble wherever he went. And now look what's happened! Someone came looking for him and beat him to death! You must stand up for me — it's hurt the fight ring's business!"
"Oh?" The deputy helm was taken aback. Why did An Liwen sound as though he were the wronged party in Master Li's death? The deputy helm had expected An Liwen to admit fault outright, but instead he had come to lodge a complaint. Frowning, somewhat displeased, he said, "An Liwen, Master Li is beaten to death and you sound rather pleased? Do you not realize that when a fighter of the Fire Wolf Gang comes to grief under your watch, you bear responsibility?"
"I bear responsibility? Surely not?" At this, An Liwen sounded rather aggrieved. "Deputy Helm, he brought it on himself — what does that have to do with me? He went out on his own to harass a decent woman, and her man came looking for him and blasted him dead with one punch. Was I supposed to stop that? Thank goodness the man was reasonable enough to know that a debt has its debtor — he didn't tear down my fight ring, or I'd have suffered a huge loss!"
"What? So that's how it was?" The deputy helm was startled. He had not expected the matter to have been stirred up by Master Li himself, with no connection to An Liwen whatsoever — on the contrary, An Liwen had nearly been dragged into it! Given the circumstances, he could hardly criticize An Liwen further. He only said, "Then when he harassed a decent woman, why didn't you stop him? We run an underground fight ring — an illegal business through and through. We must keep a low profile!"