My Co-renting Lady Boss
Chapter 355 - 0355: The Zhou Family’s Calculations

Chapter 355: Chapter 0355: The Zhou Family’s Calculations

"Where is that young police officer?" Qin Haitao asked weakly.

"Even a martial master wouldn’t easily offend the Lin Family, so stop thinking about that young police officer."

Qin Aotian glared fiercely at Qin Haitao, then lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and rested. Calculated against in such a way, he couldn’t swallow his anger no matter what.

The following days passed uneventfully. Tang Ming didn’t face any assassination attempts from the Flying Wolf Organization and was continually cautious in protecting Liu Mengting. However, as days of calm persisted, he found himself at a loss.

Fortunately, Tang Ming was always adaptable and didn’t bother worrying about such things; he spent his days attending classes, sleeping, and relieving himself after classes, leading a rather leisurely life.

However, since Zhou Haotian had colluded with Qin Haitao to ambush Tang Ming, he lived every day in fear and unease.

Especially after hearing that three nine-star martial artists from the Qin Family had been assassinated by those secretly protecting Tang Ming, his fear intensified. Even staying at home, he was nervous and paranoid, constantly fearing an assassination.

Since that collaboration had been carried out secretly behind the Zhou Family’s back, he dared not tell his family. Additionally, those three nine-star martial artists, having lost their honor, were equally hesitant to make it known and were as jumpy as Zhou Haotian, living in constant fear every day.

Over time, Zhou Xianren finally noticed Zhou Haotian’s peculiar behavior and called him to the study to ask what had happened.

Facing Zhou Xianren’s inquiry, Zhou Haotian, with dark circles under his eyes, immediately knelt down and burst into tears, crying out:

"Dad, you must save me!"

"Exactly what happened?" Zhou Xianren looked at his son with a deeply furrowed brow.

"I—I disobeyed the family’s orders and sought to avenge myself on Tang Ming," Zhou Haotian wiped away his tears and recounted the events. He then screamed in terror,

"Three nine-star martial artists were just killed like that. I’m really scared Tang Ming will send someone to kill me. I dare not sleep, and I’ll go mad if this continues."

"Fool, idiot! Knowing that even nine-star martial artists were no match, you still provoked Tang Ming. Isn’t that seeking death?" Zhou Xianren pointed at Zhou Haotian and scolded irritably:

"Moreover, you teamed up with the Qin Family for this act. Now that three of the Qin Family’s nine-star martial artists are dead, what if the Qin Family blames us? Can you bear that responsibility?"

"I know I was wrong. You must save me, sob, I don’t want to die."

Zhou Haotian cried out tearfully. Thinking about how his subordinates described the scene where three nine-star martial artists were instantly killed, he felt death could come at any moment.

"Telling me all this now is already too late," Zhou Xianren said, grinding his teeth in frustration,

"We had hoped to get a Detoxification Pill from Tang Ming through Zhou Dafu’s connections, but now that you’ve provoked him again, he definitely won’t hand over the Detoxification Pill."

"Then, what should we do?" Zhou Haotian finally realized the gravity of the situation, looking anxiously at Zhou Xianren.

"Given the current circumstances, we must find a way to cope with this crisis. The old man’s health is deteriorating day by day, and if he passes away, without a martial master to oversee, the Zhou Family will become merely a business family, and our previous enemies will surely kick us when we’re down."

Zhou Xianren stood up and paced back and forth on the floor in agitation, saying hurriedly, "No, I must discuss this with the old man."

Then, ignoring Zhou Haotian, he hurriedly left the study to discuss with the elder how they could overcome the pressing crisis.

Elder Zhou, since falling ill the last time, had been deteriorating physically. Moreover, as the Zhou Family had become the laughingstock of Songlan City, he had been staying in his courtyard, recuperating and never stepping outside his doors.

When Zhou Xianren came hurrying to see Elder Zhou, the man was sunbathing in his yard, his complexion pale, his demeanor listless, showing none of the powerful aura of a martial master he once had.

"Dad, how is your health now?" Zhou Xianren asked with concern after entering the courtyard.

"Temporarily manageable, but it’s not a long-term solution." The elder sighed and looked at Zhou Xianren,

"How did it go with getting the detoxification pill from Tang Ming that I asked you to buy?"

"Well... it hasn’t been easy." Zhou Xianren gave an embarrassed smile and complained,

"The fourth one is utterly useless, completely indifferent to whether you live or die. I told him to plead with Zhou Dafu, but he tried several times without success. Tang Ming was even less receptive; I couldn’t even get him to meet me."

In fact, besides pressuring Zhou Xianyi, Zhou Xianren had not dared to approach Tang Ming, although he cared for the elder’s health, he hadn’t put in as much effort as he claimed.

"Ah, it’s all the mess you and Haotian created. If it wasn’t for ruining the detoxification pill Zhou Dafu contributed, I might have already recovered."

The elder sighed in frustration.

"Dad, I know I was wrong, but your health is the urgent matter at hand," Zhou Xianren said, hanging his head and gritting his teeth,

"That Tang Ming is too uncooperative. Shall we force him to cooperate?"

"Force him how? You talked about kidnapping him before, and that led to four Nine-star Martial Artists being humiliated in public. Do you want the Zhou Family to be even more disgraced?"

The elder glanced at Zhou Xianren dismissively, if force could solve the problem, he wouldn’t be so troubled.

"I mean, since Nine-star Martial Artists aren’t working, how about we use a stronger martial master? I refuse to believe Tang Ming can withstand the power of a Samurai."

Zhou Xianren fiercely suggested.

"Ah, the Zhou Family only has me as a martial master, but I’m not up to it anymore. If I really took action, I’m afraid the last bit of face for our family would also be lost."

The elder sighed heavily and straightened up, his entire body trembling.

Zhou Xianren hurriedly stepped forward to support the elder, asking carefully,

"Father, how much strength can you actually muster now?"

"Don’t ask. The snake poison has been wreaking havoc in my body. I used to be able to muster the strength of a Peak Nine-star fighter, but recently the poison flared up and, compounded by my intense anger, it has rapidly weakened me. Now, being able to muster Eight-star fighting strength is already quite good."

The elder said mournfully, his body had deteriorated badly after his birthday celebration was disrupted and multiple failures thereafter.

"That severe?"

Zhou Xianren’s face paled, he hadn’t realized the elder’s strength had regressed so horrifically. If outsiders knew, the Zhou Family could be destroyed in minutes.

"Father, we can’t go on like this," Zhou Xianren said after a moment of thought, biting his teeth,

"While the outside world is still unaware of your condition, how about we forge an alliance with the Ma Family and Qin Family to deal with Tang Ming?"

"Join forces with the Ma Family and Qin Family?"

The elder frowned slightly, looking at Zhou Xianren with perplexity.