295: Chapter 295 Image Issues, Confessing Secrets

"The sound of rushing water echoed in the empty bathroom, and the steam was thick and misty."

Fang Cheng's inquiring voice was calm and low, and it was mostly covered by the sound of water; only by getting extremely close could one hear it clearly.

Xu Hao was scrubbing his back with grunts, and upon hearing this, his movements paused for a moment before he replied in a very low voice:

"I've found out some things."

"What do you mean?"

Fang Cheng asked while rubbing his hair.

Although—there wasn't really any hair to rub.

Hot water rushed down his bald head, and the soapy body wash slid across his skin, outlining his lean and muscular lines.

"Boss, those investigators from Noah Organization really have quite the skills."

As if they were underground party members meeting up, Xu Hao lowered his voice even further and changed his form of address for Fang Cheng, making them seem closer to each other.

"They've practically dug up your ancestors for eighteen generations. Your family background and social relationships, from elementary school to university, and then your work experience after graduation, are all crystal clear—they probably understand it better than you do yourself."

"And... also..."

Xu Hao's throat bobbed, carrying obvious hesitation and misgivings:

"Whatever you've found out, just spit it out."

Fang Cheng's tone remained calm, having long been mentally prepared for any shocking news.

"They found out that among the ancestors of the Fang family, it seems there have been a few... ahem... well, characters with rather poor reputations."

Xu Hao seemed to be choked by the water, coughed twice, raised a hand to wipe his face, and continued speaking:

"Not to mention the distant past, let's talk about the turbulent times of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Your Fang family produced a general known as the "Butcher". Historical records state that he once buried one hundred thousand surrendered soldiers alive, making rivers of blood flow where the weeping of wronged souls could be heard at night."

"I'm telling you, Boss, the history of your family's ancestors is really... tsk tsk, magnificent!"

At the height of his excitement, Xu Hao smacked his lips, seeming to forget that they were currently engaged in a secret meeting.

His words carried a hint of enjoying the spectacle without fearing things getting too big, and he began his "storytelling" time.

"Pushing back a few centuries further, there was also a man-eating highwayman who also shared the Fang surname, specifically targeting women with tender skin, claiming they were great tonic medicine and that using this method could cultivate a peerless Demonic Technique..."

"As for modern times, needless to say, serial killers, perverted maniacs—you can find the shadows of your Fang family members right there in the archives."

"And... and... that... honorable father of yours..."

Speaking up to this point, Xu Hao paused again, struggling to weigh his words for a good while before squeezing out a literary term.

"Enough."

Fang Cheng's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a hint of chill, interrupting Xu Hao's increasingly enthusiastic "storytelling session."

Xu Hao immediately shut his mouth with an awkward expression, knowing he had gone too far.

"What do they plan to do next?"

Fang Cheng was silent for a moment, then asked.

He didn't seem to care about the "dark history" Xu Hao had just told.

"Hey, you might not believe it when I say this."

Xu Hao, whose heart had been fluttering with anxiety, breathed a sigh of relief, and then, sharing a common hatred for the enemy, continued to report the intelligence he had gathered:

"Those bastards from Noah Organization recently had their backyard catch fire; they've encountered some troublesome matters, their manpower is a bit tight, and they temporarily don't have time to keep an eye on you."

He paused, and then deliberately explained a bit further:

"Mainly because the martial prowess you displayed last time when you single-handedly beat up dozens of Red Tiger Gang members was too glaring."

"To deal with a combat expert like you, they also know that sending small fries and street punks over is purely delivering food, and it's easy to alert the enemy and mess things up."

"However, they haven't been idle either; they are applying to their superiors, wanting to transfer more skilled experts to Dongdu."

"So, at least for the past few days, you can breathe a slight sigh of relief. I reckon it will take at least a week or so before they might make a new move over there."

Hearing this, Fang Cheng's eyes flickered slightly:

"Can you apply to be in charge of this mission? When the time comes, you can be the one to "investigate" me."

Xu Hao instantly understood Fang Cheng's meaning, a knowing smile appearing on his face.

But then it immediately slumped down, and he said with some difficulty:

"If possible, I will definitely try my best to fight for it."

"However... the boss I followed before suddenly disappeared before New Year's Eve last year while executing a certain mission, and the newly parachuted one right now doesn't quite get along with me."

Fang Cheng understood in his heart that the "missing boss" in Xu Hao's mouth was most likely one of the two experts he had killed at the garbage disposal plant.

Xu Hao seemed to get angrier the more he spoke, continuing to complain:

"Damn it, that guy isn't from my faction; he finds me an eyesore everywhere, picks bones out of eggs, and wanting to snatch a job from his hands is probably a bit difficult."

His tone was filled with obvious displeasure and helplessness.

Sure enough, wherever there are people, there is Jianghu.

Even in a massive transnational organization like Noah Organization, factionalism and scheming are unavoidable.

Fang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief inwardly; at least for now, he still had some buffer room and preparation time.

He turned off the faucet, picked up a towel to wipe the water droplets off his body, and casually asked another question:

"You said they ran into trouble and transferred a lot of manpower—what specifically is the matter?"

"This... hehe..."

Xu Hao was a bit embarrassed, scratched his trademarked tuft of yellow hair, and explained:

"I was too busy asking about news related to you, and I really didn't look into this one too carefully."

"I just vaguely heard that it seems a pretty powerful character popped out of nowhere in Dongdu, specifically going against Noah Organization, making them suffer many losses and lose some manpower."

"Find out about this matter as soon as possible."

Fang Cheng's tone allowed no room for doubt.

After all, knowing yourself and knowing your enemy guarantees victory in a hundred battles; understanding a bit more information about the enemy never hurts.

"Alright, leave it to me!"

Xu Hao also turned off the faucet and quickly patted his chest in assurance.

Through this period of "cooperation", he no longer held the same restraint and fear toward the unfathomable man before him as he did at the beginning.

Instead, there was a trace of... a subtle feeling of being in the same boat.

The two quickly rinsed clean and put on their clothes.

Fang Cheng stood in front of the mirror, looking at his bald head, which was shiny under the bathroom lights.

Upon careful observation, the pores on his scalp were slightly raised, but the roots of his hair still had not broken through the restraints of the epidermis.

Touching it with his fingers, there was a slight frictional sensation similar to fine sandpaper.

According to common sense, it had been nearly a week since he shaved his head; an ordinary person's hair should have already grown a layer of stubble.

Moreover, with his current inhuman physical recovery ability, this growth rate was obviously extremely abnormal.

Fang Cheng couldn't figure out the reason for this, and didn't have the mind to think about it much.

Then he took a black wig out of his bag, skillfully put it on, and tidied it up in front of the mirror.

The slightly fierce and cold temperament caused by his bald head instantly softened a lot.

He looked just like an ordinary big boy next door, except that his gaze remained deep and luminous.

If he wore those gold-rimmed glasses again, it would be even harder for people to notice anything.

Fang Cheng admired his new image and secretly calculated his next plan in his heart.

Since the intelligence indicated that Noah Organization temporarily couldn't spare attention to him these few days,

then he could just take advantage of this period to step up his training, striving to raise the skills of "Running", "Sanda", and "Meditation" that were close to breaking their Bottleneck up by another Rank.

In this world, only absolute power can bring true safety.

And only by continuously growing stronger can one better cope with troubles coming one after another, protecting oneself and the people around them.

As for the afternoon, Fang Cheng prepared to take a trip to Wanghu Town.

Hearing from Mom, Uncle Li Dingjian had already returned from his "business trip" last night.

It was time to go over and have a good talk with him.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng abruptly turned around.

Only to see Xu Hao, while pulling up his pants, staring curiously at his actions of putting on the wig.

So he casually explained:

"Maintaining a good image makes it easier to do things."

Xu Hao nodded knowingly and grinned:

"Don't say, Boss, when you wear this thing, it really looks the part, much more handsome than being bald!"

After completing their secret meeting in the bathroom, the two briefly said goodbye and left separately.

With the soles of his feet greased, Xu Hao rolled his eyes rapidly, afraid of Running into anyone he shouldn't see, and quickly sneaked out with his back hunched.

Watching his thief-like appearance, Fang Cheng speechlessly shook his head, then walked toward the locker room, preparing to leave the club.

Inside the luxury suite of Yuehu Hotel,

sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the soft carpet.

It was the weekend, and tourists were weaving like a shuttle by the lake; the children's laughter and vendors' shouts, like cheerful musical notes, drifted faintly into the ears.

Fang Cheng put down his backpack, stood quietly in front of the window, his gaze chasing the ripples of the pleasure boats on the lake.

This fleeting peace and ease couldn't help but stir a ripple in his heart.

When would he also be able to truly put down his heavy burdens?

Like these carefree ordinary people, enjoying life under the sun to the fullest?

"Dong dong dong."

A knock on the door sounded, suddenly interrupting his thoughts.

Fang Cheng took a deep breath, then suppressed this brief yearning, and turned around to open the door.

The person standing at the door was none other than his uncle, Li Dingjian.

He was still wearing that familiar pilot jacket, with his usual lazy smile hanging on his face.

Yet deep within those somewhat cynical eyes, there seemed to be hidden some indescribable complex emotions at this moment.

"Uncle."

Fang Cheng sidestepped to let him in.

"A-Cheng, how have you been recently? I heard your mom rambling that you're quite busy with work, often seeing your head but not your tail."

Li Dingjian walked into the room and familiarly sat down on the soft sofa.

His gaze seemingly casually scanned the room once, finally falling on Fang Cheng with a hint of probing.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries about family matters, chatting from Grandpa's physical condition to the progress of the house renovation.

Yet the atmosphere gradually grew subtle, as if an invisible gauze separated uncle and nephew, making both of them somewhat uncomfortable.

The thrilling treasure-snatching operation that took place over a week ago at Lu Family Manor on Miwu Mountain

seemed like an inescapable shared secret hovering in both of their hearts.

Both sides harbored doubts in their hearts, yet didn't know where to pierce through this layer of window paper.

In the end, it was Fang Cheng who first broke the slightly stagnant silence.

Looking calmly at Li Dingjian, his tone was direct and frank:

"Uncle, that night, the person in the professor's team called "Raven" was you, right?"

The smile on Li Dingjian's face froze slightly, which then turned into a soft sigh.

He didn't deny it, nodded, and rubbed his brow:

"Sigh, yeah, I knew I couldn't hide it from your crafty little brat's eyes."

Then he raised his head, his gaze abruptly becoming sharp as he stared closely at Fang Cheng:

"That "White Ghost" who wore a ghost-face mask, shattered the golden bumpa bottle with one punch, and saved all our lives by the way, should be you, right, A-Cheng?"

"It's me."

Fang Cheng didn't deny it either, acting very open and frank.

"You brat..."

Li Dingjian didn't know what to say for a moment.

His heart was filled with both shock and lingering fear, alongside an indescribable sense of relief and pride.

A mixture of emotions flashed across his face alternately, finally turning into a deep sense of worry.

"A-Cheng, why did you have to get mixed up in that kind of dangerous business?"

"And mingle together with Black Wolf's crowd? Honestly tell Uncle, did someone force you? Or did they threaten you with something?"

He eagerly pursued the questioning.

Fang Cheng shook his head, his tone firm:

"No one forced me; it was all my own idea."

Then he countered with a question:

"On the contrary, Uncle, why would you join the professor's team and take such a huge risk with them?"

The lazy expression on Li Dingjian's face instantly faded, replaced by tightly knit wrinkles on his forehead.

He sighed and began to speak:

"If I hadn't taken desperate measures following the professor and the others, where would I get so much money to scrape together the surgery fee for your grandpa and buy him a house for his retirement? That is not a small sum."

"As for the money matters, Mom and I are both thinking of ways..."

"A-Cheng, you don't need to say anymore."

Li Dingjian immediately interrupted Fang Cheng's words, smiling bitterly and waving his hand:

"After all, I am the eldest son of the Li family; certain responsibilities must be borne by me, rather than letting you or your mom bear them."

"If I really were a complete and utter good-for-nothing, I might choose to evade and shirk, but your Uncle here still has a bit of ability..."

Saying this, the tense expression on his face eased up a lot:

"Fortunately, everything went smoothly; the money has been raised, your grandpa's surgery was also very successful, and he has now recovered."

"Since Grandpa is fine, you should pull out and stop associating with those people anymore; it's too dangerous."

Fang Cheng continued to persuade, his tone carrying genuine worry.

Li Dingjian shook his head once more, a flash of complex and obscure light crossing his eyes:

"No, A-Cheng, the matter isn't over yet."

"I still have very important things left unfinished. Speaking of which, this can be considered one of the few ideals of my life, and it's also related to you..."

His words changed direction, and he didn't continue, just chuckled with a hint of feigned casual longing in his tone:

"Once this matter is handled splendidly, I'll completely wash my hands of the underworld, buy a big yacht, go out to sea to fish and bask in the sun every day, and never care about these bloody, murderous troubles again!"

"By then, whatever fish you want to eat, A-Cheng, Uncle will catch them all for you..."

Li Dingjian portrayed a leisurely and affluent retirement life, as if such days were within easy reach.

For the first time, Fang Cheng saw his lazy and casual uncle reveal such a persistent and even somewhat fanatical expression.

A trace of doubt inevitably rose in his heart.

Could that scholarly-looking professor be a pyramid scheme leader? Did he brainwash Uncle to some extent?

Li Dingjian seemed to perceive the worry in Fang Cheng's heart.

He then avoided the topic, staring intently at him with burning eyes, and his tone also became serious:

"Alright, don't just talk about me, let's talk about you."

"A-Cheng, what is going on with this extraordinary ability of yours? Tell Uncle the truth, don't hide anything!"

End of Chapter