.....

Lu Ding stepped out of the guard booth.

That’s right, he’d been waiting here for two whole hours.

On a tall building in the distance, Snow City 749 Special Envoy Meng Yu witnessed the entire scene with her own eyes.

Beside her, a young man with a neatly combed slicked-back hairstyle, wearing a vest and a monocle, spoke in a low voice, "Looks like he’s probably not here to stir up trouble today."

This man was Meng Yu’s assistant investigator, Pang Shi. He’d been busy earlier, so he wasn’t in the office.

He continued, "If he were here to cause trouble, he wouldn’t have waited this long. A two-hour wait for someone like him is more than enough to show sincerity."

It was like the smile of someone powerful and influential.

Or the money of a poor man.

Even just a little bit could represent sincerity.

And Lu Ding’s two-hour wait was worth a fortune!

Meng Yu toyed with the pinky ring on her little finger, "Let’s go. Since that’s the case, let’s see what trick this Grand Guardian has up his sleeve."

Inside the banquet hall.

Lu Ding and Zheng Feng had just approached.

When they heard footsteps from behind—three sets of them.

Meng Yu walked in with her assistant investigator and the Snow City 749 Deputy Bureau Chief Zhai Hun, whose facial injuries had already healed.

Lu Ding waited in place.

Pang Shi, half a step behind Meng Yu, quickened his pace and stepped forward, extending his hand, "Grand Duke Lu, I’ve long heard of your reputation. This is Snow City Special Envoy, Meng Yu, Special Envoy Meng. I’m Pang Shi, Special Envoy Meng’s assistant investigator."

Lu Ding glanced at Meng Yu, who remained unmoved.

This woman sure knew how to put on airs.

She sent her assistant investigator to shake hands with him.

But Lu Ding didn’t really care. He wasn’t some bully who needed others to respect him.

He reached out and shook hands with Pang Shi.

Then he turned to look at Zhai Hun, "This must be Deputy Director Zhai of Snow City 749, right?"

Zhai Hun, who had been listless just a moment ago, perked up instantly.

He hadn’t expected that the infamous Corpse-Shattering Taishui would actually know his name, and even take the initiative to speak to him.

This was a huge ego boost for him.

He hurried forward, using both hands to grasp Lu Ding’s, "I don’t deserve that, I don’t deserve that. In front of Grand Guardian, I can’t claim such a grand reputation."

As he said this, Zhai Hun had already started planning out the entire process of how he’d work under Lu Ding.

He’d been sick of Meng Yu for a long time.

She was always targeting him.

He couldn’t even drop a curse word.

He wasn’t directing it at anyone; it was just his verbal habit, not an insult.

If he didn’t have a strong enough backing, enough connections, and such a deep influence on Snow City that the city wouldn’t function without him, he figured that woman would have gotten rid of him long ago!

But now, everything was fine.

The Grand Guardian had arrived.

With the Grand Guardian here, justice would prevail.

With the Grand Guardian here, there was hope.

If he could work under Lu Ding, what a beautiful thing that would be.

Zhai Hun couldn’t help but envy that dimwit Hou Dehai. The two of them actually had a decent relationship. In the past, he’d lent quite a bit of money and rare natural treasures to Hou Dehai.

But since Hou Dehai couldn’t receive gifts from either side and couldn’t pay back the debt, he stopped lending. After all, no matter how wealthy you were, you couldn’t keep throwing money into a black hole.

Still, he was decent enough not to demand repayment for what he’d lent before.

They were friends.

Forget it, forget it.

Pang Shi, seeing the two chatting so amiably, spoke up, "Grand Duke Lu, shall we take our seats?"

Hearing his words, Lu Ding thought, these people hadn’t shown him any face earlier.

Now that they’d seen the real deal, he wasn’t about to give them face either. It was a two-way street.

"No need. I came here this time to find Deputy Director Zhai. Now that I’ve met him, and I’m busy, let’s get straight to the point."

"Zheng Feng."

As Lu Ding called out.

Zheng Feng stepped forward, suddenly dropping to his knees, raising a gift box with both hands, "Deputy Director Zhai, I’m sorry. On behalf of my father, I apologize to you!"

Zhai Hun was caught off guard by this sudden development.

The young man before him, he obviously recognized him—Zheng Tai’s son.

But what was going on now?

Zheng Tai shouldn’t have done anything to wrong him. In fact, he had even done him favors.

Zhai Hun didn’t speak. He reached out, took the gift box, and opened it.

Inside was a Frost Spirit Peach, sealed by a secret method.

The moment he saw this rare natural treasure.

Zhai Hun froze on the spot.

Years ago, his brother-in-law had died without a trace, leaving no clue about the killer, all because of this very treasure.

For all these years, this matter had been a constant pain in his heart.

He felt he had let his wife down. Most of what he had now was thanks to her—she helped him strategize, manage things, plan, and even provided financial support. Without her, he wouldn’t be where he was today.

And he had failed to look after his brother-in-law.

Now that the Frost Spirit Peach had surfaced, even though Zhai Hun wasn’t good at using his brain, no matter how stupid he was, he could roughly guess some of the reasons.

His hands trembling slightly, he picked up the letter left beside the Frost Spirit Peach in the box.

[From Zheng Tai’s own hand: .........]

It detailed how he had come to the north with what mindset, how he had encountered Zhai Hun’s brother-in-law, how he had used his identity to gain his trust, and finally killed him.

Zhai Hun’s eyes, scanning the contents, gradually turned bloodshot.

Yes, he had hoped that Lu Ding would lead him. He had hoped to work under Lu Ding. He had a better impression of Lu Ding than of Meng Yu.

Under his wife’s guidance and advice, he had learned what it meant to bow his head, to swallow his pride.

But that didn’t mean Zhai Hun had no bottom line!!!

He violently ripped up the letter in his hand.

He didn’t care if Lu Ding was present or not, he grabbed Zheng Feng by the collar, "Your father!! Where is your father!!!!"

"He dares to do it, dares to admit it, but now he doesn’t dare to face it!!?"

"Why doesn’t he come himself, that despicable coward!!!!"

"Why doesn’t he come himself, where is he!!!!"

The show had begun.

Meng Yu and Pang Shi, in a spectator mode, walked over to the seats and sat down.

Lu Ding also stepped back, leaving the entire spotlight to the two of them.

Zheng Feng knelt on the ground, his attitude earnest, "My father is dead."

"Dead? Hahaha, he died well! He died well!!!!!"

"That hypocritical bastard, and I had ties with him! He used his position to plot against my brother-in-law!"

"Now that he’s dead, he comes out to confess?!!"

"And he sends you, his son, to apologize? What’s the meaning of this!!!"

Zheng Feng lowered his head, "I’m sorry, Deputy Director Zhai. My father was wrong, and I won’t deny it. But he’s already dead, so I, as his son, have to come and make amends in his place. If you want to blame someone, if you want to punish someone, blame me, punish me."

Zhai Hun kicked him flying, "Don’t give me that bullshit!"

"I may not be a hero or a good man, but I know that grievances have their targets, and debts have their debtors."

"The father dies and washes his hands clean, leaving the son to take the fall—can you handle it!!?"

"Look at your pathetic state! The son of a bureau chief, reduced to this miserable wreck. You haven’t enjoyed a single bit of your father’s blessings, but you’re taking all the blame for his crimes. Now you want me to blame you, to punish you? Have you even eaten a single bit of this Frost Spirit Peach? Have you even smelled its scent? Or was there a hand of yours in the murder of my brother-in-law!!?"