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Having seen the formidable, they had never witnessed anything quite like this. The scene before them plunged the onlookers into deep shock and confusion, including the old man lying on the ground. His top hat had fallen off, his face somewhat pale. Yet, the pain was the least of his concerns as he stared at Wang Xiaoqiang with wide-eyed astonishment.

The chubby shop owner saw Wang Xiaoqiang suddenly make a move, and even Afei took a hit, which made his heart skip a beat, an ominous feeling rising inside him. He began to suspect that the old man and Wang Xiaoqiang were in cahoots!

He couldn't help but suspect, given Wang Xiaoqiang's highly suspicious behavior upon entering the shop, and now he was intervening to help the old man.

The chubby shop owner, surnamed Wang and named Zhong, had been running his business for over a decade. Through careful observation of his customers, he discerned certain patterns; most who were willing to spend a lot on ginseng did so for gifting purposes. Those customers knew nothing about ginseng and only cared about the outward appearance and price discounts of the ginseng.

Once the gift was given, they didn't worry about the authenticity of the ginseng. And if the recipient found out it was fake, they wouldn't openly dispute it. Understanding this pattern, Boss Wang started selling artificial ginseng as Wild Mountain Ginseng, luring customers with huge discounts while making exorbitant profits.

Over time, although a few customers who realized they'd been deceived came back to cause trouble, they were all scared off by Afei.

The old man was the first to dare to confront Afei, and Wang Xiaoqiang was the first person who Afei couldn't subdue. Not only could Afei not handle him, but it also seemed he had taken a hit as well. Seeing this, Boss Wang Zhong also felt uneasy, but fortunately, he had connections with the Business Bureau and the local police station.

Even if the old man reported this incident, a bit of money would ensure it went away without any fuss.

Stunned and suspicious after taking a loss from Wang Xiaoqiang, Afei gave Wang Xiaoqiang a wary glance. When he saw that Wang Xiaoqiang appeared just like a countryman newly arrived in the city, Afei's rage overcame his doubts, and he launched a kick at Wang Xiaoqiang's head.

The old man had served in the military when he was young and was well-trained in martial arts. Although he was astonished by Wang Xiaoqiang's abilities, when he saw the bald man deliver a powerful Swing Leg kick aimed right at Wang Xiaoqiang's temple, the old man couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for him. If that kick landed, it could knock a man out cold.

Seeing this, the old man cried out lowly, "Be careful!"

Wang Xiaoqiang almost instinctively raised his right hand to block. The Five Elements Spiritual Spring rapidly moved from his ankle to his arm. When Afei's kick hit Wang Xiaoqiang's arm, the Spiritual Spring just so happened to stop right where the impact occurred.

A white light, visible only to Wang Xiaoqiang, flared up, followed by a thud. Afei's formidable kick not only failed to move Wang Xiaoqiang an inch, but was also repelled by Wang Xiaoqiang's arm. Because the kick was so high, the jolt made Afei lose his balance and fall to the ground in an extremely awkward position.

And the right leg he had used to kick Wang Xiaoqiang was now experiencing a wave of sourness, swelling, and tingling pain, jerking uncontrollably as if he'd been electrocuted.

Boss Wang Zhong, seeing that Afei couldn't handle the situation, made a call to the nearby police station.

Although Wang Xiaoqiang's move took the old man by surprise again, he knew that martial power couldn't solve the problem.

He then took out his cellphone from his pocket, first called the Business Bureau to file a complaint, and then he called the daughter of the Deputy Bureau Chief of the Western District Public Security Bureau.

The old man's name was Xu Yongqian, a retired official from the Provincial Party Committee. He lived in a high-end community not far from there and kept a low profile, never revealing his identity to strangers or mentioning that his son was the Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee and his daughter was the Deputy Chief of the Western District Public Security Bureau.

Boss Wang Zhong wasn't flustered when he heard the old man call the Business Bureau.

He had been selling fake ginseng and making a killing with backings from both the underworld and government officials. Wang Zhong wasn't just acquainted with Deputy Bureau Chief Zhou Xiangfeng of the Business Bureau; he was also on good terms with the head of the nearby police station.

The call he made wasn't a regular police call, but directly to Director Jiang Dequan of the People's Road police station.

Director Jiang Dequan, who had frequently benefited from Wang Zhong's generosity, understood the situation after hearing Wang Zhong's account and immediately brought people over.

Xu Yongqian's daughter, named Xu Qingxue, rushed over after hearing that her father had been swindled and beaten while buying ginseng, furious and ready to take charge.

"""

The incident occurred at the medicinal materials market on People's Road in the Western District. Both the local police station on People's Road and the District Public Security Bureau were not far from the site, and both parties acted swiftly, swiftly arriving on the scene.

However, it was the police from the station who arrived a step ahead. The station's chief, Jiang Dequan, brought two officers over, first forcefully dispersing the crowd of onlookers before walking up to the store owner to ask what had happened.

With an aggrieved expression, Wang Zhong pointed at the elderly Xu Yongqian and Wang Xiaoqiang and said, "Director Jiang, my business is ruined. In broad daylight, someone has actually framed and defamed me, and they even resorted to violence..."

"Eh, is that so?!" Jiang Dequan glanced at Xu Yongqian and Wang Xiaoqiang. He had only recently climbed to the rank of chief, and before that, he had been an ordinary officer, so he wouldn't recognize someone of Xu Yongqian's stature. Of course, he was even less likely to know Wang Xiaoqiang, a country boy from out of town.

He immediately widened his eyes and bellowed with feigned authority, "How audacious, take them into custody..."

"I'd like to see who dares to make a move?" Just as Jiang Dequan's subordinates were about to detain the individuals, they heard a woman's sharp call, followed by four more officers closing in.

Jiang Dequan was startled by the shout and looked up to see a female officer in her late twenties, smartly dressed in her uniform, with a valiant and spirited appearance. Her stunning and lofty beauty made her the very image of a domineering police flower.

Upon seeing the emblem on the woman's uniform and recognizing her features, Jiang Dequan was taken aback. Though he didn't know Xu Yongqian, he couldn't fail to recognize the deputy bureau chief of the District Public Security Bureau, Xu Qingxue.

He quickly waved his subordinates away and then bowed and scraped with a smile, "Deputy Bureau Chief Xu, such a trivial matter — how could it warrant your esteemed presence?"

"Trivial? Is this matter trivial?" Xu Qingxue left no room for face-saving, coldly saying, "As a station chief, you resolve issues by only listening to one side, and without understanding the situation you already want to make arrests. Can that be considered trivial?"

Jiang Dequan had come with the pretext of official duties to help Wang Zhong escape blame, but with the arrival of the deputy chief of the district public security on the scene, he was naturally feeling extremely guilty.

He vaguely sensed that Xu Qingxue was here for the other party, and as he was feeling uneasy, Xu Qingxue stepped forward to take the elderly man by the arm, asking with concern, "Dad, are you alright?"

"How can I be alright? Dad was cheated by this medicinal shop owner and was even assaulted. If it weren't for this young man's rescue, I might be dead by now ..." replied the elderly Xu Yongqian, bristling with anger.

When Jiang Dequan realized that the elder was none other than Xu Qingxue's father, he was so scared that he nearly wet his pants. It filled his heart with such frustration...

Even if Xu Qingxue was just the deputy chief of the district public security, what was key was that her brother was the Secretary General to the Provincial Party Committee, the most trusted person of the Party Secretary, effectively the second in command in the entire H province.

And there you have Wang Zhong, whose eyes must have been plucked by a hawk or his head kicked by a donkey, cheating someone who shouldn't be cheated, the father of the secretary general of the provincial committee. Now even I am going to suffer the consequences alongside you!

Xu Qingxue was well-known locally as the beautiful bureau chief. Shop owner Wang Zhong certainly remembered her, and realizing that the old man he had cheated was none other than the father of the female bureau chief, his heart thumped wildly in fright, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead. He didn't dare to breathe too loudly.

At this inopportune moment, personnel from the Market and Commerce Bureau arrived, led by no other than the bureau's deputy chief, Zhou Xiangfeng.

This was not a coincidence. Zhou Xiangfeng had a good relationship with Wang Zhong and was aware of the underhanded dealings in his store. He normally kept a close eye on these matters, always personally rushing over whenever there was a complaint against a shop in the medicinal materials market, to prevent any issues with Wang Zhong's store.

It was only after arriving that he learned his old friend's store was indeed in trouble.

What he didn't expect was that the elderly man who had made the complaint call was Xu Yongqian, the father of the Provincial Party Committee Secretary General. Moreover, Xu Yongqian's daughter, the district deputy chief, was also present, which made him feel dumbfounded.

After the arrival of the Market and Commerce Bureau personnel, Xu Yongqian presented the facts of being swindled when purchasing ginseng to Zhou Xiangfeng.

While Zhou Xiangfeng listened with deferential attention, he noticed Wang Zhong giving him covert signals.

Wang Zhong was unaware that Xu Yongqian's son was the secretary general of the Provincial Party Committee. Although his daughter was the deputy chief of the district public security, the Market and Commerce Bureau wasn't overseen by the public security department, and even the city government had no right to intervene.

Hence, in his view, as long as Zhou Xiangfeng was willing to help him, this issue could be mitigated and defused.

However, after hearing Xu Yongqian's explanation, Zhou Xiangfeng didn't give him any face, directly turning to the Market and Commerce Bureau officials behind him and ordered, "Seal off this store immediately, and investigate this matter thoroughly!"

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