Chapter 223: Chapter 189: Business_2
At that moment, Lu Youdao was standing in front of the camera, his lame leg resting on a metal pedal. It was clear that he was the one who had saved me just now.
"Kid, this is the first rule I’m teaching you," he said. "There is no such thing as absolute trust among Apostles. At any given moment, your top priority is to ensure your own absolute safety."
"Don’t trust anyone, especially on a mission. Your closest partner may betray you; nightmares can drive a person to become a Ghost."
Feeling an innate resistance to Lu Youdao’s sermon, Yang Xiao, clutching his stifled chest, mocked, "If I’m not mistaken, you are a teacher for special equipment training, not for schemes and plots."
"But first, you need to survive to have the chance to attend my class," Lu Youdao said as he lifted the piece of velvet to cover the camera again, his hoarse voice tinged with a hint of melancholy, "You can go now, and there’s no need to come back again."
Shortly after Yang Xiao left, Huang Qiang called him to awkwardly inform him that the special equipment training class had been canceled.
Of course, it wasn’t cancelled permanently, but it would be taken over by other coaches, and the training location would be moved elsewhere.
Yang Xiao tried to find out more about Lu Youdao’s background from Huang Qiang, as well as what exactly was hidden behind the doors of that underground training facility, but Huang Qiang claimed he didn’t know either.
The special equipment training class was canceled, but the other two training courses were still progressing intensely. In a few days, time quickly passed with Yang Xiao fully immersed in them.
One morning, right after a painful combat training session, Yang Xiao received a phone call from Fu Qingzhu, asking to meet him.
Yang Xiao also wanted to take the opportunity to speak with him, so he checked the time and agreed to meet at 10 a.m. at a cafe near the Patrol Defense Bureau.
After learning from Beibei that the relationship between the Patrol Defense Bureau and the Apostles Union was not as harmonious as imagined, he worried that meeting in private might cause trouble. Hence, before setting out, he specially called Ms. Wen to ask for her opinion, to which she replied with a laugh that it was fine.
After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, Yang Xiao headed out to the appointment.
As soon as he stepped into the cafe, he saw Fu Qingzhu, who looked rather pitiful at the moment, with one arm in a sling and his forehead covered in gauze, secured on both sides with medical tape.
"Fu, you look... are you alright?" Seeing Fu Qingzhu in such a state, Yang Xiao felt somewhat embarrassed, as Beibei had been too harsh.
Fu Qingzhu was rather magnanimous, gesturing with his remaining good arm, "It’s no big deal, the arm isn’t broken, just a severe dislocation. The doctor advised me to rest for a while."
"Yang, it’s good that your female team member didn’t go all out; otherwise, it would have been troublesome," Fu said with a bitter smile.
Since the identities of both parties had been disclosed, the ensuing conversation was frank. Fu Qingzhu admitted that the Resentful Eye from the latest mission had fallen into his hands.
"What kind of Resentful Eye was it?" Yang Xiao was curious, after all, Teacher Wang had been the Ghost this time.
With a look of distress, Fu Qingzhu said, "Don’t even mention it. This mission has left a psychological scar on me. Until now, I haven’t dared to take a close look at it, afraid of summoning Teacher Wang."
This was nothing but a blatant lie. Fu Qingzhu wasn’t new to this and had the vast resources of the Apostles Union backing him; it was impossible for him not to inspect a precious Resentful Eye artifact. He clearly had the intention of keeping secrets, not wanting to reveal anything to Yang Xiao.
However, Yang Xiao felt this was normal; after all, if he knew, it meant that the Patrol Defense Bureau would also know. The abilities and limitations of a Resentful Eye were an Apostle’s biggest trump card.
"Do you remember Yu Mi?" Yang Xiao changed the subject.
"Oh, her? I had someone look into it; she’s just an ordinary person. Most of what she said about herself during the nightmare mission was true, so you can rest assured," Fu Qingzhu assured with a sip of coffee and a comforting look to Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao nodded, "That’s good to hear."
Originally, he had also planned to investigate Yu Mi, but since Fu Qingzhu had already checked, he let it go. After all, Fu was no ordinary person, and Yu Mi’s performance hadn’t been particularly outstanding.
It wasn’t until the topic turned to Lu Ji that Fu Qingzhu’s eyes reddened. He said Lu Ji’s death was undeserved, that he was trying to save everyone. In the moment they fell from the window, it was Lu Ji who shielded him and took the brunt of the impact.
"Ah, Fu, fate is beyond our control; don’t be too sad," Yang Xiao consoled.
Lifting his coffee cup, Yang Xiao took a small sip, and the fatigue from training was slightly dispelled, "Fu, you didn’t call me here today just to catch up, did you? Is there something you need?"
Fu Qingzhu suddenly smiled, "You can’t hide anything from you, Yang. Indeed, I do have a favor to ask of you."
"Oh, what is it?"
Fu Qingzhu pushed away his coffee cup and leaned forward, his voice lowered, "Here’s the thing, we recently got a business deal. A scion of a prominent family is coming to Rongcheng for a short stay and needs a reliable person to act as a bodyguard. I’d like you to take on the job."
"This... this isn’t appropriate, is it? After all, this is an internal matter for your Union, and you’re asking me, an outsider..." Yang Xiao did not want to get involved in these murky waters, as he was very aware of Director Nalan’s stance on the United Federation.
"No, no, you’ve got it all wrong, brother. This has nothing to do with our Apostles Union; it’s a personal deal I took on, my own business," Fu Qingzhu clarified, "And I originally planned to handle it myself, but now..."
Fu Qingzhu looked down at his suspended arm and chuckled bitterly, "But, brother, I’ve been injured by your team to this extent, so I can’t take the job. But I can’t breach the contract either, as reputation is most valued in our line of work."
