C21 His Wife

"Yeah, I'm not ready to die yet, so here I am," Chen Fan said, lowering his head to play with his fingers. With a sense of resignation, he added, "But I didn't come here to work with you. Instead, there's something else I need to discuss."

Something else?

If Chen Fan wasn't going to cooperate, they wouldn't receive any reward, and they'd face humiliation upon their return. What could possibly be more pressing than that?

Just as Zhou Qianlong was about to respond, Chen Fan raised his hand to stop him and continued, "Faang Liude is dead. His death is shrouded in mystery. For now, we can only tentatively conclude that a woman killed him, but we can't pinpoint who it was."

"Weren't you given any additional tasks?"

Of course, there were additional tasks. Otherwise, why would Zhou Qianlong have visited Faang Liude's house, only to be turned away by Lu Xuanxin?

What did this imply?

Zhou Qianlong gave Chen Fan an impatient look.

Observing Zhou Qianlong's cluelessness, Chen Fan pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression one of utter helplessness.

He had never encountered someone so foolish, someone who couldn't even grasp what was at stake.

Chen Fan decided to cut to the chase, "I'm not here to discuss that. Even if we were to collaborate now, all previous tasks have been completed. We just need to wait for Feng Yuxiu's evidence to be confirmed. You might not even get a reward. Instead of that, why not focus on resolving Faang Liude's case? That way, you might actually earn a bigger reward. What do you say?"

Resolve Faang Liude's case directly?

At the moment, all he knew was that Faang Liude was dead. Beyond that, he was clueless.

How could he possibly know more?

Lu Xuanxin didn't trust him one bit. Under these circumstances, investigating Faang Liude's death seemed an insurmountable task, harder than reaching the heavens. How could he possibly manage it?

Chen Fan was granted access, which left Zhou Qianlong feeling a bit resentful.

Why was he denied entry while Chen Fan was allowed? It seemed so unfair!

Chen Fan, perceptive of Zhou Qianlong's discontent, preempted him, "I can offer my assistance. If we don't collaborate, you can keep all the rewards. But if we do, you'll have to share a portion with me. Are you okay with that?"

Not at all!

Zhou Qianlong's face took on a grave expression. He was reluctant to acknowledge it, but Chen Fan's point was valid.

They were still uncertain about their share of the previous mission's rewards. If they teamed up with Chen Fan now, they'd have to split this mission's rewards with him too. Why should they?

That was exactly his concern.

But then...

Zhou Qianlong's brow furrowed in thought, and after a moment, he looked up at Chen Fan, "You're right, but how can I be sure you're not deceiving me? If you're lying, I'd be at a significant disadvantage."

This wasn't Chen Fan's own mission. If he was merely helping them, he might not be fully committed. So why should Zhou Qianlong cooperate with him?

It might be wiser to conduct his own investigation. How could he trust the veracity of Chen Fan's information? If it turned out to be false, they would be the ones to suffer.

When did this guy start to wise up? Especially now, of all times.

Chen Fan sighed, looking at Zhou Qianlong with a hint of resignation. "My life is in your hands. You could take it at any moment. How could I possibly risk deceiving you? Think about it, does that make sense?"

Indeed, no matter how formidable Chen Fan was, he was still just one man. Even Chi Feng had managed to capture him. If Chi Feng could do that, what could Chen Fan possibly do?

Besides, if Chen Fan were to betray him, Zhou Qianlong would never let it slide, even after the mission was over. Chen Fan must realize this.

With that in mind, Zhou Qianlong stopped dawdling and simply continued to observe Chen Fan.

"Alright, Shadow, I'll trust you this one time. But if you dare deceive me, I'll hunt you down no matter where you hide!"

Zhou Qianlong's face was etched with severity.

He paused briefly, then waved his hand dismissively and said, "Enough, enough. Let's not waste time with idle threats. I'm not interested in hearing them. What I really want to know is what happened with Faang Liude."

Chen Fan recounted everything he knew to Zhou Qianlong.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qianlong's brow furrowed, and he turned to look at Chen Fan.

"Are you suggesting it was Faang Liude's wife?"

After all, Faang Liude's home wasn't just open to anyone. Perfume is mostly a woman's fancy, and then there's the matter of weight. All signs pointed to a woman, and if so, Faang Liude's wife was the prime suspect.

Truth be told, Chen Fan had his suspicions before, but he had very little information about Faang Liude's wife, making the situation rather complicated.

Moreover, Faang Liude's wife hardly made an appearance in the film Lone Warrior.

Now that he had the chance to pass this on to Zhou Qianlong, he was eager to make use of the free investigative work.

Even though they weren't collaborating, his objective was still to resolve this issue. Whoever ended up solving it didn't matter; as long as Chen Fan contributed, he would receive the appropriate reward. His statement wasn't without its subtleties.

For instance, Chen Fan was aware that he had assigned this task to Zhou Qianlong and his team.

But Zhou Qianlong hadn't picked up on it himself. Was that really Chen Fan's fault?

Chen Fan shook his head and sighed in resignation, "I can't confirm whether it's Faang Liude's wife. All I know is what I've shared, and my knowledge about her is quite limited. If you could dig up some information on her, perhaps you could make a more accurate assessment."

Zhou Qianlong nodded at these words and readily agreed.

Given his status, gathering information on someone was a simple task.

Besides, he had Chi Feng and the others to assist him.

Still, he would have to see for himself; otherwise, how could he verify the truth of Chen Fan's claims?

Zhou Qianlong's expression was grave as he addressed Chen Fan, "I'll take care of this matter, but I need a favor in return. Allow me to examine Faang Liude's body. If you can make that happen, I'll consider all your past actions null and void. If not, we'll keep at this standoff. Worst case scenario, you end up dead. What's your take?"

Upon hearing those words, Chen Fan's expression soured slightly.

"Just tell me what you need me to do. Resorting to threats like this—do you really think that's appropriate?"