HBWMA -Chapter 387 A Pact of Three

At the same time, by the corridor bridge.

A man lurking in the shadows wiped the rain off his face and said, “Boss, the rain’s too heavy. We can’t hit anything.”

“You useless piece of trash. What excuse are you making now?” the so-called boss snapped.

As he spoke, the man raised his sniper rifle and aimed at Shen Qingyu in the pouring rain.

“Bang—”

A gunshot rang out. The bullet pierced through the rain curtain and, with absolutely no accuracy, struck a stone pier tens of thousands of miles away.

“……”

“Damn it! What kind of garbage gun is this?!” the man cursed, pulling his hood tighter, his gaze vicious. “What are you all looking at? Move! Chase him! If we let that fat sheep get away, we’ll have worked this whole year for nothing.”

“Yes.”

The subordinates didn’t dare disobey. They all pulled on their masks in unison, chambered their weapons, and rushed toward the corridor bridge.

Shen Qingyu glanced back, his expression steady as he accelerated his sprint.

“Catch him!”

The bridge corridor was built on a stone bridge, with a wooden pavilion above it and bluish-gray eaves exposed on all sides.

Bullets tore through the rain without discrimination. To intimidate Shen Qingyu, the sea bandits ran while firing continuously.

Shen Qingyu didn’t take the threat behind him seriously, because everything was already part of their plan.

He had deliberately gone to warn Zhou Yanheng in order to lure these sea bandits out. According to the plan, Shen Guling should have already persuaded Zhou Yanheng’s men to defect, and they were now lying in ambush on the other side of the stone bridge. As long as he successfully led them over, these sea bandits would be trapped like fish in a jar.

Their plan was tightly interlocked, allowing no room for error, because tonight’s real target was not the sea bandits—but the traitor within the Shen family.

They had to eliminate both the sea bandits and Zhou Yanheng’s forces as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if all three sides fell into chaos, they would have no chance of victory with their current manpower.

“Boss, he’s about to go down the bridge!”

“Don’t let him escape!”

The chase grew increasingly intense. Bullets flew chaotically through the air, and a stray shot grazed Shen Qingyu’s cheek. In that instant, his heart tightened sharply.

But in a life-or-death situation, there was no room for hesitation. Shen Qingyu paused for only a second before continuing his desperate sprint forward with unwavering determination.

Finally, he broke through the rain and gunfire and reached the designated ambush point.

“Shen Guling!”

Shen Qingyu shouted, using it as a signal.

“Boom—”

Only the rumbling thunder answered him.

Shen Qingyu froze for a moment and looked around. The stone bridge’s underside was completely empty.

How could this be?

“Bang—bang—”

The gunfire behind him grew closer and closer. Shen Qingyu’s expression darkened, his emotions unreadable.

In that single second, he considered all possibilities. But in the end, he told himself he could not be captured. His personal life and death didn’t matter—he could not implicate anyone else.

Shen Qingyu took one last look at the stone pier behind him, then quickly made his decision. He turned and ran toward the gymnasium.

Meanwhile, at the Pear Garden.

Shen Lanxi sat in his room, watching the rain outside.

“Crash—”

Suddenly, a violent gust of wind slammed the wooden window facing the courtyard open.

Gao Zhi quickly stepped into the room. “Young Master, they’re here.”

Shen Lanxi remained calm and unruffled as he slowly stood up. “Have Jiang Huashan and Shen Mianzhi been arranged properly?”

Gao Zhi nodded. “Don’t worry, Young Master.”

At this life-and-death moment, in order not to distract Shen Lanxi, Gao Zhi deliberately skipped mentioning the unpleasant incident in the secret chamber.

Shen Lanxi no longer had any lingering concerns. “Then proceed according to plan.”

“Sir.” After a brief hesitation, Gao Zhi stepped forward and blocked Shen Lanxi’s path. “Do you really trust Young Master A-Ling and Young Master Qingyu that much?”

Two years ago, Shen Lanxi personally went to Nanwan and set up a trap, making Shen Guiling realize that he was investigating the assassination case of Xiang Ying. Later, someone attacked the hotel where Shen Lanxi was staying and killed the only hostage. From that incident, Shen Guiling deduced Shen Lanxi’s plan, and the two of them ended up meeting for a drink under the guise of their respective bodyguards.

That night at Nanwan Pier, they both arrived as promised.

Shen Lanxi wanted to catch the mole who had been trying to assassinate him for years. Shen Guiling wanted to drag that hypocritical man off his pedestal. Since their goals aligned, they quickly formed an alliance.

Over the past two years, Shen Lanxi had survived nearly a hundred assassination attempts. As he grew stronger, he developed a deep hatred for being manipulated and countered. Coincidentally, Shen Guiling had passed on intelligence again—someone had learned that the Gu family was inviting a group of younger members to a vacation at a mountain villa in the northern district, and couldn’t resist making a move again. The same assassins from Xiang Ying were sent once more, planning to repeat their old tactics.

Shen Lanxi originally intended to report this to the old master, but these accusations were only rumors without any evidence—there was nothing concrete to act on.

After much thought, he decided to set a trap and lure the enemy in. Once they were caught red-handed, there would be no room for denial.

Considering the opponents were professional assassins, even the slightest mistake could be disastrous. To be safe, the day before departure, Shen Lanxi specifically asked Shen Guiling and Shen Qingyu to visit Lanyuan and laid out his entire plan.

As soon as Shen Qingyu heard it was about catching a traitor, he temporarily set aside personal grudges and, unusually cooperative, agreed without conditions.

As for Shen Guiling, there was no need to mention him—if it meant causing trouble for Shen Qian, he was more than willing.

They predicted the assassins would strike at night for secrecy. To avoid alerting them, Shen Lanxi arranged for backup forces to split into two routes.

However, plans never kept up with reality. There were also pirates hiding in the villa, and Zhou Yanheng—still resentful and ready to interfere at any moment—was another wildcard. But the most troublesome factor was the rare torrential rain.

The storm destroyed all of Shen Lanxi’s pre-arranged plans. Communication signals were lost, and backup teams might not arrive as scheduled.

With no choice, the three of them had to revise the plan.

Shen Lanxi would first stabilize everyone and safely evacuate them. Then Shen Qingyu would act as bait to draw fire, while Shen Guiling and he coordinated from inside and outside to eliminate the pirates. Afterward, once they secured the pirates’ weapons, they would return to support Shen Lanxi.

With communications down, the hidden teams would definitely sense something wrong. Even with the storm blocking their path, they would still try everything to enter the mountains. As long as they held out for the night, there would still be a chance for a reversal.

This was the promise the three of them had made—Shen Lanxi, Shen Guiling, and Shen Qingyu. At this moment, Gao Zhi’s objection, even though Shen Lanxi knew it came from loyalty, was difficult to accept.

He frowned slightly. “Gao Zhi, this has already been discussed.”

Gao Zhi glanced at him and muttered, “It’s discussed by you three. I didn’t agree.”

“…” Shen Lanxi looked at him. “Do you need to agree?”

Gao Zhi stiffened his neck. “Why wouldn’t I? If something happens to you, I lose my job.”

Where else would he find such a good position?

Shen Lanxi: “…”

“Sir, you’re usually quite smart—why are you confused about this? Shen Guiling and Shen Qingyu are from the second branch. And what kind of people are in that branch? Have you forgotten? If they hadn’t bribed the doctor back then, you wouldn’t have spent eight years at Qingxu Temple.”

Shen Lanxi remained expressionless.

Gao Zhi took a deep breath. “Sir, one must always be cautious. The assassins are already here, but the promised reinforcements still haven’t shown up. We can’t just stick to this one plan.”

Shen Lanxi still said nothing, quietly watching him.

Since the age of eight, Gao Zhi had been by his side.

He didn’t talk much. Worried that Shen Lanxi might become depressed or mute, Gao Zhi once caught a monkey every day just to argue with it in front of him. After a year of this, realizing Shen Lanxi still didn’t speak much, Gao Zhi changed strategy—he began acting mysterious and reserved, transforming from a chatterbox into a man of few words.

Tonight, however, was the most he had spoken since returning to the Shen family.

After a long silence, Shen Lanxi finally asked, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

With a thud, Gao Zhi pulled out a small black box from his inner pocket.

“What I’m saying is—we should leave ourselves a backup plan. If they don’t arrive within half an hour, you can’t keep taking risks. This is the Northern District. As long as you press this black box, even without a signal, the military satellites in the Northern garrison can receive the distress signal. They are the former subordinates of the master; they will come at all costs. Compared to the two young masters from the second branch, they are far more trustworthy.”

This military black box was a life-saving token left behind by Shen Xi before his death. Back when Fu Sui’er was critically injured by a gunshot, Shen Lanxi used this box to contact Shen Zhuang.

Shen Lanxi hadn’t brought the box with him when he left, so its appearance now clearly meant Gao Zhi had gone against his wishes.

However, Shen Lanxi did not scold him at this critical moment. Instead, he asked, “Do you know what will happen if the military is alerted?”

As the son of a martyr, if his father’s former subordinates learned that he was being targeted by the Shen family’s own relatives, they would surely escalate the matter to the military command. By then, the entire Shen family would be in trouble.

That was precisely why Shen Lanxi had never made any noise, even after uncovering things over the years.

To him, family shame should not be made public. No matter how vicious Shen Qian was, he was still family. Tonight’s operation was an internal matter among the younger generation of the Shen family—even if it was exposed, it was still a family affair. But once outsiders intervened, everything changed.

“I know.” Gao Zhi lowered his head, not daring to meet his eyes. “But sir, you are the master’s only bloodline. Your life matters more than anything.”

“…”

Shen Lanxi turned to look at the thunderstorm outside the window, his expression calm. “Give it to me.”

“I won’t.” Gao Zhi clutched the black box tightly.

Shen Lanxi: “Wait one hour.”