"Eldest Brother, rest assured, I... I will definitely make him reveal Gu Xianping's whereabouts!" Hou San rushed into the crowd, pushed a few burly men away, and helped up Hou Da, who had been beaten to the brink of death.

Hou San angrily rebuked, "Brother, what are you doing? Have you gone mad? You have no grievance with Boss He, what are you trying to do? For the sake of Gu Xianping, is it worth risking your life? Don't forget, your wife is still pregnant, if you throw your life away, what will she do?"

Hou Da's ribs were broken, and blood continuously spilled from the corner of his mouth, but the ferocity in his eyes didn't diminish at all. He coughed a few times, spraying Hou San with blood, looking very miserable.

"Brother, why must you suffer like this?" Hou San said, "Brother, just tell us where Teacher Gu is. I'll beg Eldest Brother to spare your life. Don't forget, you need to take care of your wife!"

"No... impossible..." Hou Da clenched his teeth, mustering all his strength to spit at He Biao, saying, "Even if I become a ghost, I will... I will never let you off..."

He Biao was enraged, swearing, "Fuck, you're really asking to die!"

"Eldest Brother, Eldest Brother, don't be angry, don't be angry. Give me some face, please give me some face," pleaded Hou San, quickly getting up to comfort him.

He Biao glared furiously at Hou San and said, "Fuck, Hou San, I'm giving you face. Otherwise, he would have died long ago!"

Hou San nodded repeatedly, then bent down to look at Hou Da, saying, "Brother, can't you stop being so stubborn? I know your life was saved by Gu Xianping, but you don't have to repay him with your own life. If you die, who will take care of your wife, and the unborn child? Even if you don't care for your wife, don't you feel pity for your child at least?"

"The child... the child..." Hou Da laughed bitterly, then suddenly grabbed Hou San's clothes and roared, "Do you even know that your sister-in-law has had a miscarriage?!"

"What?" Hou San was stunned, exclaiming, "What happened? How could this be? Everything was fine, why did she have a miscarriage? Didn't you always want children? Brother, have you forgotten what dad said when he died? You're the eldest, you have to bear the responsibility of continuing the family line!"

"You think I don't want children? You think your sister-in-law wanted to miscarry?" Hou Da turned his head to look at He Biao, yelling, "It was him! This beast! He sent someone to the clinic, and they beat your sister-in-law until she miscarried. San'er, do you know what your sister-in-law was carrying? It was a boy, a boy! Only two months old, do you know how small that is? Just... gone like that... My God, what did I do wrong, why don't good people get good rewards..."

At that moment, Hou Da seemed to collapse, slumping to the ground and bursting into heart-wrenching sobs, crying until he was hoarse.

Hou San froze as well, and after a long time, he finally stood up dejectedly and turned to look at He Biao.

He Biao was somewhat embarrassed, waving his hand and saying, "I didn't know about this, I knew nothing. I sent Tao Zi to grab someone, how could I know what he'd do, this wasn't my intention!"

Hou San stared at He Biao for a long time, then suddenly bent down to help Hou Da up and started running outside.

"Fuck, where the hell are you going!" He Biao shouted, "Hou San, what do you think this place is? You come and go as you please?"

Hou San ignored him, helping Hou Da as he made his way straight outside.

He Biao frowned, gesturing with his hands, and several men inside the room immediately ran out, stopping Hou San.

A man said gravely, "Third Brother, please go back and clear things up with Biao. Don't make it difficult for the brothers!"

At this time, several men also ran up from downstairs. Seeing the situation, they were greatly surprised, and the leading man whispered, "Third Brother, what happened?"

These people had grown up playing with Hou San; they were his most trusted brothers. Although Hou San was under He Biao, these few men were actually more loyal to Hou San's orders.

Indeed, Hou San's relationship with He Biao was similar to Mad Dog's with Ye Qing. Although Mad Dog was a subordinate of Ye Qing, the men under Mad Dog were more strongly bonded with Mad Dog than with Ye Qing.

"What the fuck, thinking of rebelling?" Seeing Hou San's brothers arrive, He Biao was instantly furious, bellowing, "All of you, get the fuck out, this has nothing to do with you. Hou San, if you want to remain brothers, then bring Gu Xianping out. As for your elder brother, I'll give you an explanation. Otherwise, no one is leaving here today!"

"An explanation?" Hou San turned his head to look at He Biao and said, "My unborn nephew is dead, what can you give me for an explanation? Kill your cousin, will that do?"

He Biao furrowed his brows tightly, saying in a deep voice, "Hou San, don't be too arrogant. I consider you a brother, so I don't want to draw a knife on you, don't think I can't deal with you. This is Jiuchuan County, without me, you're just a useless man, I can crush you with one hand!"

"He Biao, from today onwards, we're no longer brothers!" Hou San said, supporting Hou Da, "He, you're not fit to be my brother!"

With that, Hou San turned and ran outside with Hou Da.

He Biao's face twisted with anger as he roared, "Stop them for me!"

The men inside the room charged forward, and Hou San's brothers immediately confronted them, with one of them saying in a stern voice, "Third Brother, you go first, we'll cover your retreat!"

"Good brother!" Hou San shouted loudly, "He Biao, if anything happens to my brothers, I swear I'll fight you to the death!"

"Fuck, trying to scare me? Kill them for me!" He Biao roared.

Several men inside the room immediately charged forward, clashing with Hou San's brothers.

Hou San's five brothers blocked He Biao's men, while the remaining two protected Hou San as they ran down the building. There were still some of He Biao's men below, but they were held off by the two, buying Hou San some time.

Hou San, supporting Hou Da, rushed out of the teahouse and after running more than a mile, finally hailed a taxi. Hou San put Hou Da in the car and said to the driver in front, "To the county hospital."

Seeing that Hou San did not get into the car, Hou Da couldn't help but anxiously ask, "Third Brother, where are you going!"

"Eldest Brother, I can't abandon my brothers!" Hou San closed the car door and shouted, "Call the police for me, we won't die! Driver, please, start the car and get him to the hospital quickly."

After speaking, Hou San turned and ran back towards the teahouse. As he passed a sugarcane stall, he suddenly ran over, grabbed the knife used for peeling sugarcane, wrapped it with a cloth around his hand, and headed straight for the teahouse.

Hou Da struggled to get up in the car and yelled, "Third Brother! Third Brother!"

Hou San didn't even turn his head back once, and Hou Da's tears immediately began to flow. After a while, suddenly remembering what Hou San had said, he hurriedly took out his cell phone and called to report the incident to the police.

At the same time, in the county's second guesthouse. Ye Qing, with Zhou Hongbin and others, had just returned to the hotel. The rooms had been booked in advance, ready for Zhou Hongbin and his family to move into.

Ye Qing looked at Zhou Hongbin and said with a light smile, "Director Zhou, the things we need to discuss might not be suitable for Mrs. Zhou and your son to hear."

Zhou Hongbin frowned deeply and said sternly, "I have nothing to discuss with you!"

"Hey, what's with you?" Da Fei immediately glared and said, "They say one won't give up until they reach the Yellow River, and won't turn back until they hit the south wall. You've hit the south wall now, aren't you ready to turn back yet? Secretary Hong has captured your wife and child, don't you understand what this means? What good does it do you to protect him now?"

Zhou Hongbin replied coldly, "Secretary Hong has misunderstood me. Besides, my wife and children are fine; Secretary Hong has merely transferred them temporarily. Ye, you don't have to deceive me. Secretary Hong won't harm me!"

"Really?" Ye Qing let out a cold laugh and said, "Or do you need Secretary Hong to shoot at you before you come to your senses?"

Zhou Hongbin replied coldly, "Keep bluffing, Secretary Hong would never do that to me!"

"I don't think so," Ye Qing said with a smile, "Do you dare to make a bet with me?"

"What bet?" Zhou Hongbin furrowed his brow.

Ye Qing smiled and said, "Come with me and see if Secretary Hong will send someone to kill you."

"Nonsense, why would Secretary Hong do such a thing?" Zhou Hongbin looked at Ye Qing and said, "Don't play those tricks with me. Finding someone to pretend to be an assassin to scare me, you think I'll fall for that?"

"Director Zhou, to tell you the truth, I was indeed planning to hire a few extras to help me put on a show. But now I can see, with Secretary Hong's character, I don't need any extras," Ye Qing stood up and said, "Director Zhou, come with me and you will see what kind of person your Secretary Hong really is."

Zhou Hongbin frowned deeply, pondered for a while, and finally stood up and walked out of the room with Ye Qing.

"Old Zhou!" Hu Yuehong was a bit scared.

Zhou Hongbin smiled and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. You two stay here; there will be no trouble. Rest assured, Secretary Hong will rescue us soon!"

Ye Qing closed the door, gave Zhou Hongbin a look, and said, "The child is only ten years old, having to live without a father so soon, have you thought about how he'll get by? Director Zhou, have you ever considered these questions?"

Zhou Hongbin replied coldly, "Stop scaring me, Ye, you won't last long. Opposing the state brings no good end, you will die miserably!"

"Opposing the state?" Ye Qing couldn't help but smile and said, "That's a serious accusation, how exactly am I opposing the state?"

Zhou Hongbin said coldly, "Taking a police deputy bureau chief's family hostage, that's a heinous crime, that's opposing the state!"

"Wow, you sure do put heavy charges on. To be honest, I've studied law too, and I've never heard of such a crime as 'opposing the state.' Director Zhou, who taught you law?" Ye Qing said with a light smile, "Besides, I haven't taken your family hostage. Your wife and son, they were taken by Secretary Hong, I actually saved them, so don't twist the facts!"