Immortals and Demons Forever

Chapter 42: Defection

As soon as the two stepped inside, Sun Datou immediately locked the door from the inside. Su Mu smiled faintly; sure enough, the moment this topic came up, Sun Datou turned into a scared little bird. If Song Dachui found out about this, he’d definitely have his skin flayed! Sun Datou bolted all the windows as well; only after ensuring the room was completely sealed off did he feel slightly more at ease. “Don’t be so panicked. Even if you did it, so what? I think that woman belongs to you anyway.” Su Mu acted as if he were at his own home, picking out a bottle of liquor from the cabinet, sitting down, and pouring himself a glass. The two of them sat in their chairs, while Sun Datou remained standing, looking like a guest who’d just dropped by. “Sit down. Let’s talk over a drink. All you need to do right now is relax—just have a few drinks.” Sun Datou had long since lost his patience. He snapped, “Su Mu! You said you had evidence earlier—bring it out and let me see it! If you’re trying to string me along on purpose, I swear I’ll make you die a miserable death!” “Do I really need to bring it out specifically? You should find a mirror and take a look at yourself right now—you’re practically confessing without even being questioned.” “Just fucking bring it out first! Whatever you want from me, we’ll talk about it later!” “All right, this is a real treasure—I’ve been planning to keep it as a memento.” With that, Su Mu unfurled the recording scroll and tapped it with his finger. The recorded footage quickly took shape and began playing. Sun Datou took just one glance and lunged forward to snatch the recording scroll. Su Mu was quick on his feet and had already tucked the scroll into his robe. Sun Datou lunged forward with all his might but grabbed at thin air; before he could make another move, Su Mu had already seized his wrist. “Impossible! I was so careful that day—how could anyone have found out? Who did this?” “I can’t tell you that. Sun Datou, you’ve really got some nerve! As the saying goes, ‘Don’t mess with a friend’s wife.’ You had your fun and now you want to run away without taking responsibility? There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world!” Zhong Da’s tone immediately turned forceful. “Once this gets handed over, it won’t just be you—that woman will be in deep trouble too. It’ll be a total disgrace. My brother Mu Ge is counting on this to mend his relationship with Song Dachui—don’t you think it carries enough weight?” “Y-you guys…” Sun Datou’s face went pale. If Su Mu were to take the initiative to make peace with Song Dachui, this item would definitely be the best and most substantial peace offering. “Mu Ge making peace with Song Dachui is, of course, the worst-case scenario. But right now, there’s a best-case scenario—do you want to hear it?” “Spit it out!” Su Mu released his grip on Sun Datou’s wrist and patted his shoulder with just the right amount of pressure. “As long as you’re willing to cooperate, that woman will be yours from now on! I can even destroy this evidence right in front of you. Let’s have a drink. As long as you treat me like one of your own, why would I ever harm you?” Sun Datou had been caught red-handed and had no choice. With his limited wits, how could he possibly outmaneuver Su Mu? He was a practical guy, though, so he simply grabbed the bottle, tilted his head back, and gulped it down in one go. “This is the best possible option. It’s simple, really: pledge your loyalty to Mu Ge, and do whatever he tells you to do. You can rest assured that Song Dachui won’t make you kill him yourself—after all, you’re brothers, so it wouldn’t be right for you to be the one to stab him in the back.” Sun Datou was taken aback. So Su Mu was planning to kill Song Dachui outright? How ruthless! If he’s going to act, he’s going all the way—to take a life. Amid his shock, he also felt a surge of excitement. If Song Dachui were dead, the fact that Su Mu had him by the throat would no longer be a threat. “How exactly do I help you with this?” “First, you need to take care of my first problem for me—He Jin, who’s lying unconscious. It’ll be easy for you to visit him; just find an opportunity to strike and make sure he never wakes up again.” “Why do you want to kill He Jin?” “Because once he regains consciousness, he’ll reveal information that’s incriminating to me. If that gets out, I’m finished. And before I’m finished, your involvement will be exposed too. So we’re like grasshoppers tied to the same string—neither of us can escape.” “Things that would incriminate you? What exactly?” “All right, since we’re on the same side now, I don’t need to keep this from you. I had something to do with the deaths of Cao Shang and Gou Wei. Does that make sense?” “You…” Even someone as slow as Sun Datou could figure out what was going on. “So He Jin has to die—and the sooner, the better.” “I—I get it. I can tamper with his medicine. He already has poison in his system—it’s just not lethal enough. I can increase the dose and let the poison kill him. The Inner Sect people said He Jin’s health is deteriorating day by day. He might wake up, or he might die of kidney failure. No one should suspect foul play.” “Excellent! Now let’s talk about the second matter. Song Dachui must be eliminated, and so must his close associates. Has he mentioned to those around him that he plans to take direct action against me?” “Yes! That kid Tang Kuan came up with a plan to use a man named Guo Yan. He went out of his way to summon him yesterday. A few of you will be left behind in the Heavy Industry Zone, while the rest will be transferred to an area on the floor above. The reinforcements being brought in are all men who follow the Supervision Team’s every command—they’re thugs we’ve been keeping on hand specifically for this purpose. Song Dachui said to wait a few days before making the move, but Erhu is too impatient to wait any longer. When the time comes, Guo Yan will slip a drug into your drinks. Once you’re out of it, someone will come over to provoke you, then deliberately stir up chaos. Erhu and Tang Kuan will also seize the opportunity to arrive. Using their positions as a cover—pretending to maintain order when in fact they intend to take your lives—they’ll later claim it was a riot in the Heavy Industry Zone and pin the blame on the troublemakers. As long as there are enough people involved, the punishment will be relatively light. By then, the Supervision Team will just go through the motions; they won’t actually impose severe penalties.” Su Mu nodded repeatedly. “Tang Kuan isn’t half-bad at thinking—he actually came up with such a clever plan. He killed Old Blackhead, and I haven’t even settled the score with him yet.” “It wasn’t his idea, though. This kind of thing has happened before. We call it the ‘riot eradication method.’ It’s very effective—you kill the target in the confusion, make a big scene out of it, and everything gets resolved easily.” “I see. Then let’s go with the flow!” Su Mu suddenly smiled. “Clever people often fall victim to their own cleverness. Since rioting makes it easy to shift the blame for anything, let’s take this opportunity to take care of these two as well!”