Chapter 217 The mantis stalks the cicada
Noon, Yingchuan government office.

"Hehe... Lord He, please be kind and give that little beauty to me?" In the side hall, Long Si begged He Shan with a playful smile.

After coming out of Yinghua College, Long Si never stopped talking. All he talked about was Pan Yuyin.

"Get lost!" He Shan waved his hands impatiently and cursed, "Long Si, you are so bold! The Pan family is in the spotlight right now, and you actually want to take advantage of Miss Pan."

Long Si's expression froze, and he said jokingly, "When I robbed the Pan family before, all I could see were the gold, silver and jewelry, and I didn't notice that this Miss Pan was so pretty. Isn't there a saying that goes, 'Men all like slim and pretty girls'? Now I am rich and powerful after all, I can't hang out with a bunch of prostitutes all day long, I'm not a prostitute. I'm thinking, it's time to find a proper lady to marry. Hehe..."

"Bah!" He Shan sneered with contempt in his eyes, "You are powerful? Long Si, don't take yourself too seriously. You are at most a bully. You have your share of bullying men and women, but don't even think about being serious. Also, there is a saying that goes 'A gentleman dreams of marrying a beautiful lady'. If you haven't read books, don't pretend to be so as not to make a fool of yourself."

"Yes, yes, yes." Long Si was not angry. He shamelessly picked up a cup of hot tea, took the initiative to approach He Shan, and said with an apologetic smile, "I have never been to school, but that is not my fault. It's just that my family was too poor when I was a child. Hehe... But I heard that Miss Pan is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, so it's a good opportunity to let her teach me. How about it?"

He Shan's eyes widened, and he slammed the table and said, "Long Si, instead of talking so hard, you might as well go get me the 'Qingchuan Landscape Painting'. Don't forget, we agreed with Xu Ren to hand him over to the woods outside the city this evening. I think we should leave Yingchuan tomorrow to avoid any more trouble. But I want to take the 'Qingchuan Landscape Painting' with me, so go get it for me."

Long Si begged for a long time, but He Shan still refused to give in. Seeing this, Long Si couldn't help but frown and snorted, "During this period of time, we have been through life and death, offending this and that. But Xu Ren stayed away, just waiting to get the benefits. He is clearly using you and me. How dare you still think about him?"

"We have already tied up Liu Xunyi and the others, so the Xianwang Mansion has definitely been offended. If we turn against Xu Ren now, won't we offend one more person?" He Shan said in a deep voice, "Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. You are stupid, but I am not. Stop talking nonsense and go get the map quickly. I'll wait for you here."

"If you want the map, exchange it for Miss Pan!" Long Si bargained.

"You..." He Shan hesitated to speak, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "Well! You can get the picture first. At worst... Miss Pan will give it to you."

"Is this true?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" He Shan said with a wicked smile.

"Okay then! I'll go get the picture now, and I'll have my wedding night with Miss Pan tonight. Hehe..." Long Si was overjoyed, and ran out of the hall, repeatedly reminding her as he ran, "Keep your word, don't lie to me, or I'll never let you go!"

He Shan looked at Long Si's smug back, but the smile on his face gradually froze. At the same time, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

“He An, take two officers with you and go with him to get the map, to prevent this kid from playing tricks!”

He Shan gave an order and He An, who was waiting on the side, hurried away.

As soon as Long Si led his men back to the dock, He An arrived with two policemen.

But before He An could ask Long Si for the map, the excited Long Si suddenly changed his attitude. He ordered his men to capture He An and the other two on the spot, put them into sacks, tied them with stones, and sank them into the Taotao River.

Looking at He An and the other two who were gradually sinking to the bottom, Long Si suddenly raised a sly grin on his face and muttered to himself, "He Shan, He Shan, you still dare to say I'm stupid? I don't know how many times smarter I am than you! You want to take the map to Mongolia to get promoted and make a fortune, and leave me in Yingchuan to fend for myself? Dream on! You have the leisure to play with Xu Ren to the end, but I'm not interested. Of the thirty-six strategies, running away is the best strategy. Do you really think I've never been to school? Humph! You're alone tonight, take Liu Xunyi and the others to find Xu Ren! I won't play with you, I'm leaving first!"

Long Si's words startled Ma Tuzi who was standing beside him. He asked in astonishment, "Fourth Master, the young lady of the Pan family..."

"Are you a pig?" Long Si slapped Ma Tuzi on the back of his head and yelled, "How much is a woman worth? Pan Chuba and He Shan both treasure the 'Qingchuan Landscape Painting'. This painting must be priceless. With money, what kind of woman can't I want? As long as I'm happy, let alone a lady from a wealthy family, how difficult is it to find a princess? You can't even calculate this. You've been with me for so long in vain!"

"Yes, yes, yes! The Fourth Master is right!" Baldy Ma covered his head with his hands, nodding and flattering.

"We should leave now without delay to avoid He Shan chasing us. Go! Disperse the brothers." Long Si pulled Ma Tuzi to his side and whispered in his ear, "Only take a few trusted people with you, and the rest... leave them alone."

"Don't want any of them?" Ma Tuzi almost cried out, but under the threat of Long Si's fist, he quickly lowered his voice and asked, "Everyone disperses? Wouldn't that be... too disloyal?"

"Husband and wife are birds of a feather. When disaster strikes, they fly away separately." Long Si explained, "If even husband and wife are like this, what about our subordinates? Don't you see how big our ship is? Can it take away so many people? Not to mention..."

Having said that, Long Si subconsciously looked around and whispered, "Besides, we only got so much money from the Pan family. If you bring one more person with you, won't you get a bigger share in the future? You're talking about loyalty to me at this time? Are you stupid from sleeping?"

"Fourth Master is wise, I'll do it right away!"

After a cup of tea, Touzi Ma returned to the dock with only four or five men. Long Si had been waiting there impatiently.

As soon as they met, neither side had time to say much. Long Si quickly took Ma Tuzi and a few others and walked quickly towards his own dock.

"Hahaha... I'm rich! I'm rich!"

At this moment, Long Si was very satisfied, his eyebrows were flying with joy, and his ecstasy was beyond words. His excited look of dancing with joy attracted Ma Tuzi and others, who couldn't help but follow Long Si in excitement.

"You guys, quickly untie the ropes and pull out the anchor, and get into the water first."

While they were talking, Long Si, who was overjoyed, took Ma Tuzi and walked into the dock first. However, at this time, there was already an immortal guest in the dock, waiting for a long time.

At this moment, Xunzhen, dressed like a young man, was sitting leisurely on Long Si's throne, drinking tea with great interest. When she saw Long Si, who had arrived late, she politely raised her teacup and saluted him from a distance.

Long Siwan did not expect that an outsider would enter his shipyard uninvited. The excitement on his face suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by an indescribable confusion and shock.

"Fourth Master, I have seen this person before. He came here with Liu Xunyi..."

"No! Let's go!" "Where to go?"

Before Long Si could flee in panic, two steel knives were already placed on his and Ma Tuzi's necks.

Xiao Yang and Su Hu, one on the left and one on the right, forced Long Si and the other man to Xun Zhen's front.

"Master Long Si, you are so careless." Xunzhen put down the teacup and smiled sympathetically, "You took all your men to Yinghua Academy to help out today, leaving only a dozen people to guard the dock. Isn't that giving us the opportunity to take advantage of you?"

Long Si felt the chill on the blade, and the blood in his body suddenly ran cold. He tried to control his nervousness and said in a trembling voice: "Are you and Liu Xunyi... in the same group?"

"Could he be in the same group with you?" Xunzhen asked with a half-smile.

"You...what do you want to do?" Long Si asked casually, his eyes darting around.

Xunzhen raised his eyebrows upon seeing this and chuckled, "Don't look for them anymore. Your men have all run away. I have also re-boxed the things you stole from the Pan family and will return them to their original owners later."

Upon hearing this, Long Si’s face turned pale, with a complicated expression that made it hard to tell whether it was regret, anger, or sadness.

"Who ordered you to rob the Pan family?" Xunzhen asked straight to the point.

"Yes..." Long Si rolled his eyes and evaded the question, "It was He Shan! He also arrested Liu Xunyi and the Pan family today..."

Hearing this, Xunzhen's expression changed, and he turned to look at Abaolu, both of them with a hint of suspicion in their eyes.

Xunzhen frowned slightly and asked, "Then who instructed He Shan?"

"I... I don't know..." Long Si answered hesitantly.

Xunzhen shook his head in a helpless manner and sighed, "I never knew you were so loyal. Come on! Put him in a sack and sink him into the river!"

"Don't...don't, don't..." Long Si was shocked and explained hurriedly, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you! It was Xu Ren, it was Xu Ren who ordered us. I didn't want to go back to Yingchuan at first, but Xu Ren instigated me to come back. He asked me to secretly contact He Shan and rob the Pan family together..."

"Xu Ren?" Xunzhen pondered, "Who is Xu Ren?"

"He should be from the Hexi Qin Clan..." Long Si was now telling everything he knew, not daring to hide anything. "Actually, I don't know either. He Shan guessed that he was from the Hexi Qin Clan. Everything was done by Xu Ren behind the scenes, and it has nothing to do with me... Oh, and there's Pan Chu... Mr. Pan Ba, Mr. Pan Ba ​​was also killed by Xu Ren!"

Xunzhen's eyes moved, and he asked in a serious tone, "Are you sure?"

"Xu Ren admitted that when he killed Mr. Pan Ba, he also stole the 'Qingchuan Landscape Painting'." After saying that, Long Si pointed to a cabinet beside him and said, "The painting is inside. If you don't believe me, you can see it for yourself."

Abaolu suddenly asked, "Is the picture from the Pan family?"

"Yes! Liu Xunyi pretended to present this painting to He Shan, but later he sent someone to replace it..." Long Si told Xunzhen everything he knew.

After hearing this, Xunzhen's eyes were filled with thought, and she murmured to herself thoughtfully: "So there are such twists and turns in this..." Suddenly, a gleam of sudden enlightenment flashed in her eyes, and she snorted coldly: "You are so good, Liu Xunyi, you even dare to deceive me this time!"

"What's the matter? Liu Xunyi is hiding something from you?" Abaolu asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." Xunzhen evaded the question, then turned her beautiful eyes to Long Si and asked, "When does He Shan plan to hand the person over to Xu Ren? Where do you plan to hand him over?"

"It happened at sunset today, in the woods outside the city." Long Si said hurriedly, "I've told you everything, I dare not hide anything, can you let me go?"

Xunzhen's beautiful eyes turned and she said jokingly, "Since you like to drown people in the river so much, why don't you also have a taste of this, how about it?"

Long Si was so frightened that his face turned pale. He shook his head repeatedly and said, "I have told you everything I know. You can't kill me..."

"That……"

"Miss, someone is coming."

Before Xunzhen could speak, Xun Budao's voice suddenly rang out outside the dock: "The man claimed to be Shen Gui from Dongshan Trading Company, and said he was here to take over Pan's dock. He also said that this dock now belongs to him."

Xunzhen snorted and said quietly, "It seems that Luo Tianjin helped the Pan family find a good buyer because of his relationship with Pan Chuba. He said before that he would leave the Yingchuan matter to me and Liu Xunyi, but in fact, he secretly contacted Shen Dongshan and arranged everything privately. Luo Tianjin's move clearly shows that he doesn't trust me. Humph!"

"Then let's..."

"Get off the boat and return the dock to them."

After saying that, Xunzhen walked out quickly. When she passed by Long Si and Ma Tuzi, she said with deep meaning, "Tell Shen Gui that there are Pan's things in the dock. Ask him to convert them into silver notes and send them to Pan Wen. As for these two people, give them to Shen Gui as well. It's my gift to Dongshan Company for its opening in Yingchuan."

……

(End of this chapter)