About forty minutes later, the car drove into a luxury residential area in T City.
Pei Kuang and several others came out from the underground parking garage and took the elevator directly upstairs.
This residential area had one household per floor. The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor. After getting out of the elevator, Luo Yi opened the door and the three of them walked in.
As soon as Pei Kuang came to the living room, he saw a familiar middle-aged man.
"Uncle Li," he called out.
Uncle Li's full name was Li Cheng. He was the current chief of the local police station in eastern T City.
More than ten years ago, after Pei Kuang reported his father for drug trafficking, the police officer who took the case was Li Cheng.
He had come back this time because his father's former drug lord had appeared again recently, and seemed to be inquiring about Pei Kuang's whereabouts.
This was also the reason why Pei Kuang had rushed back so urgently this time.
Li stood up from the sofa and came over to greet him, "Little Pei, was the trip smooth?"
Pei Kuang smiled and replied, "Very smooth, don't worry Uncle Li."
Li nodded and sighed, "I called you to be careful. I didn't expect you to rush back so quickly."
"Did it affect your work?"
Pei Kuang laughed lightly, "No effect. I'm resting at home recently, Uncle Li."
After that, he didn't beat around the bush anymore and directly asked about his biggest concern: "What's the situation with Lao Ba? Tell me the details."
Lao Ba was his father's drug lord back then.
When he was a child, Pei Kuang had seen him accidentally once. The man looked very fierce with a scar that ran from the corner of his right eye to behind his ear, so everyone called him Lao Ba.
Because of his report to the police back then, his father and the drug trafficking gang behind him were caught off guard and were basically wiped out. Only this man named Lao Ba was still at large and hadn't been caught.
Over the years, the police had been trying every means to catch this man. They also monitored Lao Ba's family members, but there was still no news of him and no one knew where he had escaped to. He was hiding very securely.
But just a few days ago, Lao Ba's whereabouts were suddenly discovered. For some reason, he had returned from out of town and had gone around Pei Kuang's hometown to inquire about him.
This was also the urgent reason why Pei Kuang had rushed back this time.
Li nodded and said, "According to our investigation, Lao Ba is a very vengeful person. Back then after you reported it, we took down the entire drug trafficking line in one go based on the clues. He probably blamed it all on you."
As for why Lao Ba had suddenly reappeared, everyone present knew it was related to Zhang Man's incident some time ago.
Back then when Lao Ba escaped in a hurry, plus the internet wasn't as advanced at that time, he probably didn't even know that it was Pei Kuang who reported it. If Zhang Man hadn't publicly smeared Pei Kuang and falsely accused him of drug use, the old affairs wouldn't have been dug up and caused such a big commotion online, which drew Lao Ba out.
"Lao Ba is very cunning. It may be related to his years on the run. Yesterday we had tracked him to where he was staying, but when we rushed over, he had already escaped."
This was also why Li Cheng had called Pei Kuang today. Having lost Lao Ba's trail, he was really worried that Lao Ba would go looking for trouble with Pei Kuang.
"What did he ask those old neighbors about me and my family?" Pei Kuang asked.
Li replied, "Nothing much. Just confirmed some things about when your dad got arrested back then. He also asked about the death anniversaries of your grandparents and your dad."
Pei Kuang raised his eyebrows. He asked about his family's death anniversaries?
"Uncle Li, you said Lao Ba's whereabouts were captured on surveillance cameras near the Xie family. Can you confirm if he contacted anyone from the Xie family?" he asked.
Li replied, "Shouldn't have. The Xie family lives in a villa area with very good security everywhere and surveillance cameras. He was probably being cautious and just circled around before leaving."
Pei Kuang nodded lightly.
Li knew what he was worried about, and comforted him, "A tiger doesn't eat its cubs. After all, she's still your mother. She shouldn't have given your address in B City to Lao Ba."
Pei Kuang smiled but didn't argue further.
The saying about a tiger not eating its cubs probably didn't apply to Zhang Man.
Just as they were talking, Li Cheng's phone suddenly rang. It was a colleague from the bureau saying Lao Ba had been spotted in eastern city.
"Eastern city?" Luo Yi said. "Isn't that where the graveyard is? What was Lao Ba doing there?"
After saying this, he suddenly realized something. Pei Kuang's father and grandparents were all buried there.
Pei Kuang was silent for a moment, subconsciously tapping his knees with his fingers. "The day after tomorrow is the anniversary of my dad's death. He was probably scouting the location."
Due to work, he only occasionally came back to visit the graves. Usually when he couldn't make it back for his grandparents' death anniversaries, Luo Yi would go for him.
As for the anniversary of his dad's death, Pei Kuang had never cared for it, let alone make a special trip back on that day to sweep his grave. But Lao Ba obviously didn't know this, and actually thought there was deep father-son affection between them.
You could say, Lao Ba had underestimated his ruthlessness. Pei Kuang thought.
"I guess he plans to ambush me that day. This is perfect, let's take advantage of it and lure him out," he said.
Hearing this, Li immediately stood up to object, "No, it's too dangerous."
"You may not know Lao Ba well. He is extremely cautious and also very capable. Plus he has taken lives before. A desperate man will do anything when he has nowhere to go. We police will handle this. You don't need to risk yourself."
"It's precisely because of this that if I don't show up, he definitely won't appear either. At that time, no matter how well you've set up security, I'm afraid it'll just be a futile effort." Pei Kuang looked at Li calmly and said, "Uncle Li, I can't have a time bomb by my side."
He then added, "I'm a public figure. Many of my schedules are public. If Lao Ba wants to ambush me, he will always find an opportunity to succeed. What do you think?"
Li was rendered speechless by his words.
Pei Kuang had always been like this. No matter who he wanted to persuade, whether by appealing to their emotions or reasoning with them, he would always make the other person waver in the end.
The matter was decided this way. Pei Kuang would act as bait to lure the snake out of its hole.
Time was tight. Li hurried back to the bureau to make arrangements. He didn't stay any longer. He had to ensure Pei Kuang's safety to the greatest extent possible, and also capture Lao Ba in one go.
After all, they were all very clear that if Lao Ba escaped again this time, that would be truly dangerous for Pei Kuang.
After Li left, only Pei Kuang and Luo Yi remained in the house. Liu Hao had been sent away.
"Putting yourself at risk isn't your style, Pei Kuang." Luo Yi looked at him quietly and said.
They had known each other since school. Of all people, Luo Yi understood Pei Kuang's personality the best.
In everything he did, stability came first.
Li might not know, but Luo Yi was very clear. Whether attending events or filming, Pei Kuang always had bodyguards with him.
In this matter, although it seemed Lao Ba was hidden and Pei Kuang was exposed, Lao Ba was already being watched by the police. No matter how you analyzed it, the one who could afford to stalemate was definitely Pei Kuang.
The only explanation was Song An'an.
Pei Kuang glanced at him, "No risk, no reward. Do you think Uncle Li and the others eat for free?"
Luo Yi clicked his tongue twice. "Stop pretending in front of me. Tell the truth, it's because of auntie right?"
Pei Kuang lowered his head, staring at the tips of his shoes, and didn't refute anymore.
What Luo Yi said was right. He had many ways to ensure his own safety. No matter how cunning Lao Ba was, in the end he was just a lone man with empty hands.
A wanted fugitive without proper identity, hiding here and there, how long could he keep escaping?
Things were different now compared to ten years ago. There were surveillance cameras everywhere. Once the police had Lao Ba targeted, with a nationwide manhunt, he could run for a while but not for a lifetime. It was only a matter of time before he got caught.
Besides, he had more than one property in B City. Even if Zhang Man really leaked his home address, at worst he could just move. There was indeed no need to risk himself.
Pei Kuang had been thinking deeply. In the past period of time, he and Song An'an had made headlines multiple times. He was afraid that Lao Ba, unable to find him, would take desperate measures and target Song An'an instead.
Pei Kuang could not take that risk. This was also why he had rushed back so urgently.
The time bomb that was Lao Ba could not be left ticking for another moment!
Before Pei Kuang left, Song An'an had still asked him for the address of the pet hospital that Ball Ball frequented. She still wanted to follow through with her original plan to take Ball Ball for a visit that afternoon.
The pet hospital that Ball Ball usually went to was near the residential area. Song An'an didn't even take a car and just walked over with it. However, as she had not made an appointment beforehand, Ball Ball did not get its vaccinations. They just gave the little guy a bath and made an appointment for its vaccinations.
The three day holiday was not actually very long - you could even say it passed in the blink of an eye. Other than the first day when she took Ball Ball to the pet hospital, Song An'an basically just spent the time at home.
During the day, she stayed in Pei Kuang's home, reading books, playing with the cat, and even helping to take care of the plants on his balcony.
Not long ago, seeing that Pei Kuang was free and idle at home everyday, Li Dong had somehow gotten two pots of flowers from somewhere - you couldn't even tell what species they were - and just left them for Pei Kuang to casually take care of. Unexpectedly, he had taken pretty good care of them.
On the third day in the morning, Song An'an took advantage of the last day of the holiday to take Ball Ball to get its vaccinations.
The little guy was clearly much more listless after getting its shots, letting out piteous 'meows' at Song An'an - it looked absolutely heartbreaking.
Song An'an stroked its head sympathetically, "There there, I'll get you a can of food to make you feel better right away, don't feel wronged."
After saying this, she hurriedly got up to get canned food for the child.
But the cat food cans in the cupboard were all gone. Song An'an searched all around but could not find any. She had just bought cat food online a few days ago - they shouldn't have been finished so quickly.
Pei Kuang must have put them somewhere.
Ball Ball was still looking at her pitifully. Song An'an didn't have time to think about anything else. She picked up her phone and called Pei Kuang.
The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up.
"Pei Kuang, where did you put Ball Ball's cat food cans?" Song An'an asked.
After a long pause, the person on the other end of the phone finally responded, "Hello, I'm Pei Kuang's friend. He can't take calls right now."
Song An'an couldn't help but be startled. This voice was clearly not Pei Kuang's assistant Liu Hao, nor was it Li Dong.
"Oh, may I ask what he's doing?" she tentatively asked.
The person on the other end clearly hesitated before responding after a long pause, "He's in surgery."
-
At a hospital in T City, outside the operating room.
After hanging up the phone, Liu Hao moved closer to Luo Yi and said, "Before Brother Pei entered the operating room, he told us that if his auntie called, we shouldn't say anything. This..."
"It's fine, I was the one who said to refer anything happening to me," Luo Yi's expression was also not great. Just thinking about Pei Kuang's previous actions made him furious.
To dare to directly take on armed and dangerous thugs empty-handed, he really did not care about his own safety at all!
Luo Yi gritted his teeth and said, "Anyway, I can't control him anymore. I have to find someone who can rein him in, otherwise he won't learn!"
Liu Hao awkwardly stroked his nose. Recalling Pei Kuang's bloody appearance just now also made him feel chilled to the bone.
Just then, the operating room lights finally went off. Not long after, the doctor walked out from inside.
"The surgery went very smoothly. The patient will now be moved to a ward. Family can visit in half an hour."
