Super Soldier

Xiao Bing sat up straight and looked into Yu Wenhua’s eyes. There was neither arrogance nor humility in his eyes, but some respect.

Yu Wenhua seemed to be very satisfied with Xiao Bing’s behavior. He stopped knocking on the table and said in a soft voice, “You don’t need to be so courteous. I heard that you and my son are good friends. You can just call me Uncle Yu.”

Xiao Bing did what this man wished. “Uncle Yu.”

“Okay.” Yu Wenhua took a look at the dishes on the table and said, “I won’t pay for this meal with public funds. But we should be as frugal as possible. This is enough for us. So I didn’t order more. I hope you don’t mind.”

Xiao Bing smiled. “Uncle Yu, you’re being generous. And to be honest, I believe that most of the high-positioned men would die for the opportunity to dine with you.”

Yu Wenhua didn’t deny it. He merely grinned and said, “You’re an interesting young man who knows the way of speaking. In fact, you are better than my son.”

“I’m flattered. Truth be told, Yu Miao is quite a decent man among those kids of a rich family, which proves that you are a very successful educator.”

Yu Wenhua said sternly, “What matters to a man most is not his talents. It’s his morality. If one is morally evil, sooner or later he will step on a false path, no matter how talented he is. So I think the focus of education is morality.”

Yu Wenhua’s words aroused Xiao Bing’s respect. “Parents today either merely focus on satisfying the physical needs of their children or their studies. One way or another, they will carry it to an extreme. There are few fathers who are as enlightened as Uncle Yu now. You truly deserve my admiration.”

“As a government official, I have to be aware of these things. But sadly, few of my colleagues know that. Many of them get impetuous and greedy, ignoring the importance of morality. Just like you said, modern parents only want to improve their children’s studies. Isn’t it a phenomenon of profit-seeking? Most of the parents are miserable in terms of that.”

Xiao Bing nodded in agreement. “We share the same idea. The branches and trunk are the survival skills of a giant tree, but morality is the soil beneath it. Only good soil can provide enough nutrition for the growth of the tree.”

The two exchanged a look. The moguls of the government and the gangs strangely shared the same feeling.

“Let’s just drink.”

Xiao Bing rose up and filled Yu Wenhua’s cup. He needed to do it himself because of his identity and status. Then he filled his own.

Yu Wenhua didn’t seem restrained. The two clinked glasses and drank half a cup of Chinese sprits. Yu Wenhua pointed at the dishes on the table and said, “Please help yourself and enjoy the food.”

Xiao Bing moved his chopsticks after Yu Wenhua moved his. Xiao Bing knew it was a common rule in the official circles. After they had tasted their food, Yu Wenhua said, “Xiao Bing, I heard about your stories, which are really legendary. I was told that you are a veteran. But I don’t even know which army you were in. Then you went to Jiang City and worked as a cook in the noodle house in the beginning. Then you became a shareholder of the noodle house, which made you an owner of the noodle house. Then you had a conflict with the Peony Fairy, the North Heaven Queen, who worked for Jiang Zihou. Later, you killed her, but Jiang Zihou did not seek vengeance from you, am I right?”

Xiao Bing nodded. “Yes.”

Yu Wenhua said Jiang Zihou instead of Master Hou. It was reasonable, considering how high his status was. In Hei Province, no one dared to offended Jiang Zihou, except for this man. Because no matter how much power he held, he dared not defy Yu Wenhua.

“Then you offended the Long family, who wants to conquer the underground world of Hei Province. One’s enemy’s enemy is his friend. You chose to stand beside Jiang Zihou, who then died. Before he died, he handed over his forces to you. That is the whole story, am I right?”

Xiao Bing nodded and said, “You’re right.”

Yu Wenhua asked, “Do you know what will people think of you if they know your story?”

Xiao Bing rubbed his nose and didn’t answer.

Yu Wenhua said, “Most of them will think that you are just a lucky guy. The Su family like you and made you one of the owners. Then, Jiang Zihou didn’t kill you because he admired you and he even passed his forces to you after he died. Doesn’t it sound like you became what you are now simply because of luck? You were easily given the things that other people have to work their whole life for.”

Xiao Bing rubbed his nose and smiled. “It seems to be so.”

“But the true wise men know that luck won’t just favor a guy for no reason because luck is just one of the factors that contribute to a man’s success. You earned what you have now at such a young age, which proves that you are a very capable man. You might be even more powerful than that Lord Long.”

Xiao Bing looked at this man and said, “Uncle Yu seems to be very concerned about the underground world.”

“I’m in charge of the public security in all of Hei Province? How can it not be a concern of mine?”

Xiao Bing took a deep breath and asked, “So what is the purpose of this invitation, Uncle Yu?”

“The purpose…” Yu Wenhua suddenly stared at Xiao Bing and asked, “Is there an upcoming war between you and the Long family?”

Xiao Bing’s heart began pumping. He was startled because he had not expected that Yu Wenhua would suddenly ask this question. It was not strange that he paid a great amount of attention to him and the Long family. But he even predicted that there was an upcoming war between Xiao Bing and the Long family, which greatly surprised him.

Indeed, Xiao Bing recently had done many things, but in a discreet way. On the surface, he was fighting for the leadership of the underground world in Jidong Province, but these activities were aimed at Lord Long. The war between them was imminent, and Lord Long did not even know Xiao Bing’s true intention. But according to Yu Wenhua’s tone of speaking, Xiao Bing felt like this man had sensed something, otherwise he would not have been invited to this city so abruptly to talk about this.

Since Yu Wenhua didn’t say it directly, Xiao Bing would not give him a clear answer. “It depends on the Long family’s decisions. Uncle Yu, you know that Master Hou’s forces are barely enough to protect themselves. If the Long family are willing to live in harmony with us, it would be a blessing.”

“Is that so?”

Xiao Bing noticed a hint of laughter in Yu Wenhua’s eyes and instantly realized that this man must have known something. As he had expected, Yu Wenhua said, “Let’s just be honest with each other. You think that I don’t know you have sent many orders to your men in Jidong Province?”

Xiao Bing sounded like he was misunderstood. “Uncle Yu, you must have mistaken me. The government has been very much against gangs, which forces us to behave ourselves. So it’s impossible for us to cause unnecessary troubles. It’s because they couldn’t bear to live under Lord Long’s tyranny that they rebelled. I’m totally innocent of that.”

Yu Wenhua grunted. “Don’t you pretend to be unaware of it. You think I’m easy to fool because I’m an old man? I’m not even 50. I’m at the prime of my career, and I’m not as stupid as you think.”

Xiao Bing laughed awkwardly. “Uncle Yu. That’s not what I meant.”

“Since you didn’t mean it, why not speak the truth? You want to cause a rebellion in the underground world of Jidong Province ostensibly, but actually your goal is to dethrone Lord Long, am I right?”

Xiao Bing was completely shocked. He intended to deny it but found Yu Wenhua staring in his eyes. He found it hard to lie when being gazed at by such penetrating eyes.

Xiao Bing suddenly thought of something. He nodded and managed a wry smile. “How did you come to know it?”

It was not because Xiao Bing had to say it or that he was afraid of Yu Wenhua. He just suddenly understood that since Yu Wenhua had invited him to dinner, he must have been certain about something, which left no room for him to lie. And if he kept lying, he would offend this man, creating a gap between them. Instead, if he admitted it, Yu Wenhua might be impressed.

In additional, Xiao Bing believed that Yu Wenhua wouldn’t mean him any harm, because Lu Zhe said that Yu Wenhua seemingly appreciated him. Other people’s words might be false, but Xiao Bing believed that the driver of a leader wouldn’t lie to him because in most cases, a driver knew the leader he was serving the best.

Xiao Bing didn’t intend to lie after he thought it through.

Yu Wenhua sighed. “I’m right about what you will do next. You suddenly started your deployment in Jidong Province because the campaign against the underground world was about to end. From what I know about Lord Long, he won’t bear to let you stand in his way. Besides, you just turned him against his adviser, Zhuge Jiangnan. I believe that this war will be the only chance for you to win before Lord Long knows that you dare to overthrow him.”

Xiao Bing asked, “That’s the reason why you know all my plans?”

“There’s more. Don’t forget that you’re in Hei Province. I know almost everyone’s comings and goings. I have sent my man to watch over the underground world in Hei Province and I found that you have summoned many top masters who once worked for Master Hou. According to my assumption, you plan to assassinate the leader of your enemy because you know that the gap between you and the Long family is huge, am I right?”

Then, Yu Wenhua cast Xiao Bing a calm glance, waiting for his answer.