My Wife, The Ice Queen President

Chapter 254: Chapter 254: A New Task_1
 

Two shadows intertwined at breakneck speed, and in the blink of an eye, they had exchanged several dozen moves.

At first, Long Zaitian was holding back, using only seventy percent strength, then eighty, ninety, until he finally went all out without any reservation.

Under the onslaught of attacks reminiscent of a tempest, Ye Xiong nearly lost several times, but his miraculous footwork turned peril into safety, and then he gripped his dagger to launch a new round of assault.

The more Long Zaitian fought, the more alarmed he became, and upon taking a closer look at the footsteps, he had an epiphany.

“So you’ve learned the Nine Palaces Mystic Step, enough of this. Even if I defeat you, it would cost me quite an effort,” he said.

With that, Long Zaitian leaped out of the fight.

“As the Yangtze River’s waves push forward those that came before, I must admit defeat. It hasn’t been that long, and I truly didn’t expect you to have improved to this extent,” Long Zaitian mused, feeling suddenly aged.

“I just took advantage of the weapon and footwork. In a real fight, I definitely couldn’t last five minutes,” Ye Xiong said.

“Don’t be too modest. I’ve never seen someone of your age with this level of skill,” Long Zaitian didn’t skimp on his praise for Ye Xiong.

After a series of probing exchanges, Ye Xiong was one hundred percent certain that Long Zaitian was definitely not Ghost.

Ghost had been seriously injured by his transformation, likely confined to a hospital bed, and not as vigorous as Long Zaitian.

Now it could be almost confirmed that Long Tianya was Ghost.

Thinking this, Ye Xiong sighed.

The Reaper Squad was founded single-handedly by Long Tianya, and now he had also single-handedly destroyed it, this complex emotion made Ye Xiong’s heart ache terribly.

Long Zaitian, with his keen eyesight, immediately discerned his thoughts.

“A couple of days ago, Long Tianya had a car accident, suffering multiple fractures and severe injuries. He’s now in the State Security Military Medical Department receiving treatment,” Long Zaitian inquired.

“What a car accident. I thought he would use the excuse of going abroad for treatment to hide it, but unexpectedly, he told us directly and openly that he was injured. This is tantamount to clearly telling us that he is Ghost,” Ye Xiong said coldly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“He had no choice but to expose himself; his body was severely damaged, with serious internal and external injuries. Even if he went abroad, they wouldn’t be able to treat him. Within all of Huaxia, only the number one healer of the Military Medical Department, Gu Cangshan, could heal the injuries on his body. And since Gu Cangshan is a State Security Military doctor, treating each patient requires reporting and understanding the source of the patient’s injuries before treatment. He had to stage a car accident to cover up the real cause of his injuries,” Long Zaitian explained.

“No wonder that old fox would rather expose himself; it’s for this reason,” Ye Xiong finally understood the rationale.

“Minister Jiang has reported to me about the Miaojiang Rocky Mountain incident, and I am very satisfied. I am thinking of going back on the promise of freedom I made to you. I am not afraid of people saying I am untrustworthy; as long as I can have you, I don’t care what they call me. Reaper, I invite you again to join the Dragon Group. I hope you will accept,” Long Zaitian said earnestly.

“The Dragon Group has countless elites; they won’t miss just one person. Besides, I have grown accustomed to a life of freedom; I don’t want to be restrained.”

“Although there are many talents in the Dragon Group, you are still the one I trust the most.”

Long Zaitian sighed and said, “This year, the Dragon Group has gone all out to catch Skeleton, but we haven’t even managed to touch his shadow. We’ve also failed to locate the base of the Beast Organization. I never expected that you, someone who isn’t with the State Security, would solve our most challenging problem, which is quite a loss of face for our entire Dragon Group. I won’t lie to you; in this morning’s meeting, I chewed out all those helpers and called them useless wastes.”

Ye Xiong hadn’t expected Long Zaitian to hold him in such high regard, but he now absolutely wouldn’t rejoin the Dragon Group because he already had attachments. He couldn’t leave his family and friends in Jiangnan behind.

“Although Skeleton is dead and the Beast Organization’s base is destroyed, we have no idea how many bases like that exist, and we know nothing about them. Ghost has been severely wounded by you, but he isn’t dead and will eventually return. Reaper, I hope you can help us and completely eradicate the Beast Organization.”

“Long Tianya is Ghost, but we have no evidence to prove it, so we can’t arrest him. He’s the former leader of the Dragon Group, a senior official of the country. Without solid evidence, the higher-ups will not agree to his capture,” Long Zaitian continued.

“Ghost is extremely cunning. I’ve had encounters with him twice, and both times he led me by the nose. Finding evidence against him won’t be easy,” Ye Xiong said.

“In this world, there are no impenetrable walls. As long as he is Ghost, he will eventually be exposed.”

The two walked toward the office and returned to it.

“I thought you could find a clue to Ghost through Ruan Jingyang, but I didn’t expect Ghost to be so crafty. Even Skeleton, who held such a high position in the Beast Organization, knew nothing about him, which just proves how cunning he is.”

“If he hadn’t disguised himself as you and met me, trying to make me believe he was you, I might still not know who Ghost really is,” Ye Xiong said.

“That’s where being too clever leads to one’s own undoing. To tell you the truth, the higher-ups have become suspicious of him too, which is why they parachuted me down to take over his position. Since I took office, I’ve been ceaselessly investigating him. He wanted to distract me by engaging you, hence that move. Little did he know it would be his undoing.”

As Long Zaitian spoke, he pulled a document from the safe and handed it over.

“Now, our only option is to find the four missing agents from before. Among them is a man named Li Chunpeng, who is very close to Long Zaitian. Long Zaitian’s daughter, Long Lan, is Li Chunpeng’s girlfriend. Considering that Ruan Jingyang is still alive, it’s very likely that Li Chunpeng is alive too. If we find him, we might find evidence against Long Tianya. Reaper, I want you to infiltrate the Li Family Clan in disguise to ascertain Li Chunpeng’s whereabouts.”

“Why me? Can’t you just send someone else to investigate?”

“You are the person I trust most, and this matter involves the annihilation of the Reaper Squad from back then. I believe you will try harder than anyone else to discover the truth.” Long Zaitian passed the document to him.

Ye Xiong took it, glancing through casually. The document contained dozens of pages, with a detailed introduction of a person on every two or three pages, adding up to more than twenty people.

“The Li Family is a large, four-generation household and a well-known martial arts lineage in Huaxia. The relationships within the family are incredibly complex and fraught with intense infighting. Each character here is not simple, and I hope you can memorize all of their details. Only then will your infiltration be successful.”

“A family like this will be wary of outsiders, and it won’t be easy to get in. What identity should I use to enter?” Ye Xiong asked.

“Your identity has already been arranged. You’ll go as a mute servant close to the Fourth Miss Li, someone inconspicuous, who won’t risk exposure through speech. It’s the easiest role to assume. I’ll have someone assist you with a transformation to resemble that mute servant, so you can sneak in to investigate,” Long Zaitian explained.

Ye Xiong finally agreed to his request, to unearth the true reasons behind the failed Demon-hunting operation years ago.

“There’s something I want to ask for your help with,” Ye Xiong suddenly said.

“What is it?”

“I would like to meet Long Tianya.”