Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"I—I—" Zheng Shaopeng felt as though he had died once over, and worse than death by far. It was the first time he had ever seen such a method of torment, and his fear of Yang Juehuan grew even greater.

"Talk or not? Or would you like to enjoy yourself a while longer?" Yang Mo said with some impatience.

"N—no need!" Zheng Shaopeng was frightened half out of his wits and nearly fainted dead away. "I—I'll talk, all right?"

Faced with honor on one side and agony on the other, Zheng Shaopeng chose to betray honor and be rid of the pain. For he truly did not want to experience that feeling again; it was simply not something a human being could endure, and he never wanted it again in his life. Even the memory of it left him trembling with dread.

"Talk, then." Yang Ce sat back down in the chair and said with some regret, "I had meant to let you enjoy yourself even more. It seems that won't be necessary for now. But never mind—if you're not honest later, we can always try again."

Enjoy himself even more? Zheng Shaopeng nearly wet his pants. That had not been enough—there was more? He had nearly died just now; what would "more" be like? Zheng Shaopeng did not dare imagine. Fearing Yang Ce might change his mind and give him a taste of "more," he said at once, "I'll talk. My gambling skills were taught to me by an expert."

"What expert? Who? What was his name?" Yang Lanxu said. So someone really had taught him gambling skills.

"Who he was, what his name was—he never said. He only told me to call him Boss," Zheng Shaopeng said. "Nothing else did he tell me."

To be continued

866. Interrogating Zheng Shaopeng (Part Two)

866. Interrogating Zheng Shaopeng (Part Two). Seeing Yang Wenru's brows knit, Zheng Shaopeng was terrified. "Everything I've said is true—I wouldn't dare lie now!"

"Go on. What did that man look like?" Yang Ce continued.

"That boss had makeup on his face, and he was wearing a pair of very large sunglasses. I couldn't make out his features at all," Zheng Shaopeng said cautiously.

"Makeup?" Yang Juehuan's frown deepened. Zheng Shaopeng, meanwhile, was frightened half to death, nearly on the verge of tears.

"Boss, I'm telling the truth, I swear—I wouldn't dare lie to you!" Zheng Shaopeng hurriedly added.

Yang Jiyan waved a hand, signaling Zheng Shaopeng to calm himself. He no longer doubted the man's words, for under Fang Tian's acupoint attack, no one had ever managed to speak a lie. Yang Wenru furrowed his brow because a certain person had come to mind.

Back then, Liu Minggui had said something similar, and Liu Minggui's boss had seemed to look the same way.

Could it be that these two men were one and the same? Yang Ce naturally arrived at this thought. But if that were true, then the whole affair became even more bewildering.

Judging from the Zheng Shaopeng business, no matter how you analyzed it, whether it was the boss behind the scenes or Zheng Shaopeng himself, the person they were targeting was Wang Yanqiu, not him. He had been involved, yes, but only under his present, different identity—it had nothing to do with "Yang Ce" himself.

The Liu Minggui affair, on the other hand, had been aimed squarely at him. Liu Minggui himself had admitted as much—the man behind the scenes had been targeting Yang Ce, and Zhang Bin had merely been an accidental casualty.

So from this vantage, if the same boss stood behind both affairs, was that not rather strange? Two matters that had nothing to do with each other—how could they possibly be connected?

If both had been aimed at him, that would be strange indeed. His relationship with Wang Yanqiu amounted to nothing more than an acquaintance; even if the man behind the scenes killed Wang Yanqiu, it would have no effect on him. Conversely, if both had been aimed at Wang Yanqiu, then killing him would have no effect on Wang Yanqiu either.

At this point, Yang Yongjin could not help shaking his head. He was overthinking things. Even if both bosses wore makeup and sunglasses, that did not necessarily make them the same person. After all, did not anyone hiding behind the scenes, not wanting others to know their face, dress in exactly this way?

Yang Ce breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps he had made it too complicated. He waved a hand and continued to Zheng Shaopeng: "Then tell me, what was your purpose in coming to the Huawei Casino?"

"I truly had no purpose in coming to the Huawei Casino. The boss taught me gambling skills, but only so that I would have a trade to make a living—he never told me to use them for anything," Zheng Shaopeng explained. "Back then the boss only took pity on me and taught me the skills, asking nothing in return. It was I who offered to repay him, and only then did the boss say that someday he might have use for me, though perhaps not, and he hoped I would not refuse when the time came.

At the time I agreed without a second thought—and in truth, that is how I felt. If not for the boss, there would be no me today."

"Then this business with Wang Yanqiu—was it your idea, or your boss's?" Yang Ce did not think Zheng Shaopeng was lying, so for the moment he chose to believe him. "You know who Wang Yanqiu is, I take it?"

"I know it was the boss's idea." Since he had already told part of it, Zheng Shaopeng did not mind telling the whole: "Otherwise, I don't even know any Wang Yanqiu—why would I harm her?"

Yang Yuting nodded. He had guessed as much. If Zheng Shaopeng had wanted to harm Wang Yanqiu, he would never have used himself so ostentatiously as bait; this could only mean that Zheng Shaopeng was himself nothing but a pawn.

"All right, then tell me—what exactly did your boss teach you?" By now Yang Ce had all but given up hope of learning anything useful from Zheng Shaopeng. If the man was merely a pawn, then in all likelihood he knew nothing.

Zheng Shaopeng recounted in full detail everything the boss had taught him, all of it having to do with training methods for hand speed and the like. Yang Xutang nodded afterward.

What Yang Ce now had to consider was how to deal with Zheng Shaopeng—kill him, spare him, or let him continue on at the casino?

Yang Ce was not worried that after he left, Zheng Shaopeng would go around telling people about their meeting. Zheng Shaopeng was not stupid; he knew that spreading such a thing would do him no good whatsoever.

What Yang Ce was weighing now was whether killing Zheng Shaopeng would provoke the boss behind the scenes. That boss's target was Wang Yanqiu; if he himself killed Zheng Shaopeng, the boss would surely assume it was Wang Yanqiu or someone in Wang Yanqiu's camp who had done it. Would that not drive the man to retaliate against Wang Yanqiu even more savagely?

Right now Yang Ce still needed Wang Yanqiu to investigate the Black Widow organization, and he would not allow anyone to harm her. Having reasoned this through, Yang Ce decided to spare Zheng Shaopeng's life for the time being.

Spare his life, yes—but to leave it at that would not be Yang Juehuan's style.

"All right, I'm giving you two paths to walk." Yang Ce looked at Zheng Shaopeng. "First, you die right now. Second, you scrape by with your life. Which do you choose?"

Zheng Shaopeng was stunned. He had not expected Yang Ce to give him a chance to live. He had assumed that once Yang Ce got the answers he wanted, he would kill him. By now Zheng Shaopeng had given up any hope of surviving; he only wished that when he died, Yang Ce would grant him a swift end and not torment him again with that strange technique from before.

"I—of course I don't want to die!" What nonsense—better a wretched life than a good death; who willingly dies if there's no need? Zheng Shaopeng was no fool, and he naturally chose the second path.

"Good. You may live—but you'll have to pay a price," Yang Ce said, looking at Zheng Shaopeng.