Chapter 32 - 31: The Fight Begins_l

Translator: 549690339

Upon hearing these words, a flicker of admiration flashed through Nie

Zhenbang’s eyes. Not all military men are merely acquainted with warfare. Right now, it seemed that Luo Pingan’s emotional intelligence wasn’t bad either. Although Nie Zhenbang wasn’t a bad man, he definitely wasn’t a good one either. If Luo Pingan chose to compromise with Wei Wenhai, Nie Zhenbang wouldn’t be so easily dismissed.

From the looks of it now, Luo Pingan had his own considerations.

Subsequently, Nie Zhenbang looked at Wei Wenhai, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Brother Hai, I’m sorry. Since General Luo has spoken, if I were to give in to you. Wouldn’t that embarrass him?”

As he spoke, Nie Zhenbang picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of food, tasted it, and said to Brother Hai on his side, “The food tastes pretty good indeed. Why

don’t you sit down and have some too, Brother Hai?”

Wei Wenhai was no ordinary man. When had he ever been treated with such indifference in the South China Sea Special Zone? The Special Zone is indeed special in certain respects. Since the establishment of the South China Sea Special Zone, it was considered a city of vice-ministerial level. As an official in the South China Sea, he had quite a bit of autonomy.

In addition, the leaders of various regions under the South China Sea enjoyed quite a bit of power. Usually, relying on their brotherly connections, wasn’t everyone treated like a god? When had Wei Wenhai ever encountered such disrespect?

His face darkened, Wei Wenhai looked at Luo Pingan and said, “Well done, General Luo. There’s a saying, ‘The mountains don’t move, but the rivers move.’

There will be plenty of opportunities, plenty of time to deal with this matter.”

As he spoke, Brother Hai looked at Nie Zhenbang on his side and remarked, “Young man, it seems that no great feats can be accomplished without crossing the river.”

Upon hearing these words, Nie Zhenbang started to laugh. He had seen far too many such ploys. Back in his previous life, right after the old master’s death, and in the few years when the Nie family’s influence was still present, any rich young man from Jingcheng who wished to bully him needed to find a reason. As they say, ‘righteousness will move heaven and earth, but unreasonableness can hardly advance a single step.’ Back then, although the Nie family was in decline, it wasn’t there for anyone to bully. But later, when the Nie Guodong brothers officially parted ways, and the Nie family fell from grace, having the last of its dignity torn away, anyone could bully Nie Zhenbang without needing any excuse. The absolute difference in conditions described a situation of having no scruples.

At this moment, seeing Brother Hai’s attitude, Nie Zhenbang feared that he was to be taken for a pushover. Just as the sound of Brother Hail s voice fell, a few henchmen immediately stood up. One of them pointed and shouted, “You bastard, who do you think you are, daring to fight over territory with Brother

Hai? Are you tired of living? Let us teach you a lesson about who not to offend.”

Nie Zhenbang’s face darkened, and for the first time, he got to his feet. Abandoning his previous aloofness, a grave expression on his face, he pointed to the henchman who had just insulted him and ordered, “You, slap yourself twenty times. Don’t stop until you vomit blood.”

If there was anything that Nie Zhenbang held sacrosanct, then his mother was certainly at the top of the list. Nie Zhenbang had been dependent on his mother since he was a child. Moreover, his experiences in his previous life made him abhor two things in this one – being called a bastard, and insults towards his mother.

The youngster before him had no idea that he had enraged the one man he should never have angered with just a single sentence he often used casually.

“Ha ha! Ha ha ha!” At Nie Zhenbang’s words, Brother Hai was the first to burst into laughter. In the South China Sea, Brother Hai simply could not believe that anyone would have the audacity to stand against him, let alone a northerner. Even the son of the provincial party secretary had never dared to cross him this was the Special Zone.

Only Luo Pingan tightened up. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang had already sprung into action. With a swift move, faster than the blink of an eye, Nie Zhenbang had moved in front of the henchman. Wham! Wham! Two slaps came crashing down.

The slap was infused with all the power in Nie Zhenbang’s body. Over time, Nie Zhenbang’s practice of Shape-Intent Fist wasn’t for nothing. He was fully aware of the strength it contained.

All one could see was the henchman flying up, landing on the ground with a bang and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, mixed with a few teeth. This was Nie Zhenbang’s response.

Brother Hai’s face darkened as he stared at Nie Zhenbang, trying to figure out something from this young man. Who was this person who dared to be so reckless? This was the first time Brother Hai had encountered such audacity. This person was from the North; his Mandarin was good – but with a distinct

Tang City, Jibei accent. Could he not be from Jingcheng*? With that thought, Brother Hai said in a chilly voice, “Very well, you dare to fight. Brothers, gang up, arrest him and send him to the police station. It’s a major crackdown. We’re doing a big service.”

Ever since the national crackdown began three years ago, wrongful cases sprung up in many parts of the country. Although the central government emphasized discerning innocence during the crackdown, local authorities, being far from the emperor’s reach, exploited loopholes. People like Brother Hai, who indiscriminately labeled the commoners under the campaign of severe crackdown, were not few.

Seeing the chaos, Luo Pingan became anxious. This was the nephew of the old leader, the direct descendant of the Nie family. If anything were to happen to him here in the South China Sea, due to the Nie family’s power, it would undoubtedly doom the entire South China Sea’s officials.

Looking at Wei Wenhai on the side, Luo Pingan anxiously said, “Wei Wenhai, you dare. Today, if you dare to harm a hair on him, not even your brother, nor Deputy Secretary Li can save you. Try it if you don’t believe.”

By now, the scene had calmed. These followers were just ordinary adults – they were no match for Nie Zhenbang. Upon seeing a group of men flopping on the ground, Brother Hai froze. Shaking with fear, he pointed at Nie Zhenbang and said, “You, you, wait for me. If you dare, don’t leave.” With that, he ran out, leaving the followers behind.

At this point, Luo Pingan came over, his face somewhat worried. He knew what kind of person Brother Hai was. In the South China Sea, Brother Hai had a terrible reputation. He was known for taking bribes and creating problems in the construction industry. Suddenly organizing inspections or obstructing construction sites, there was a group of people who relied on him for their livelihood. He had monopolized sand and building materials on South China Sea construction sites. Many defiant contractors had ended up in jail because of him. This time, Brother Hai would undoubtedly not let the matter drop with what Nie Zhenbang had done.

“Zhenbang, let’s leave. I’ll negotiate the compensation with the boss here later. If we don’t go now, we’ll be too late when Wei Wenhai comes.” Luo Ping’an began to softly persuade. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seeing Nie Zhenbang’s unhappy face, Luo Pingan added, “Zhenbang, I know

you are not afraid of him, with your family’s power. You can go anywhere in

the country without fear. However, the problem is, there’s no one here in South

China Sea right now.”

Nie Zhenbang sneered. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang didn’t want to leave. Such a person surely wasn’t good, and that so-called Secretary Wei, seemingly condoning his younger brother’s actions, must be no better. Nie Zhenbang seemed to have thought of a good way to establish authority for his old man.

After Nie Guowei took office, although the work was going smoothly, there were still many different voices in Yuehai City. This had a lot to do with Nie Guowei’s personality. His political experience was mainly in the central ministries. He was somewhat naive about the harsh, or even cruel, struggles on the local level. Nie Zhenbang had been worrying about this recently, but now someone had delivered themselves to his doorstep. Nie Zhenbang naturally wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.

Consequently, Nie Zhenbang not only didn’t leave but sat down. He looked at Luo Pingan and said, “Uncle Luo, I’m not leaving. Why don’t you call my uncle for me? I want to see what Wei Wenhai can do to me.

At this moment, suddenly a voice rang out from behind, “Young Master Third, what are you doing here?”