Seeing the Buddha hesitate, Yang Jian knew this guy was not honest and still harbored a glimmer of hope. Such people could not be let go.
"Since you're unwilling to write, I won't force you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Jian kicked him in the chest.
The Buddha's stout body fell backward, and Yang Jian then swung his extendable baton, smashing it down three times on his right kneecap.
"Ah, it hurts so much-----."
Piercing screams echoed across the wilderness, but unfortunately, there was no one around.
Fang Zhicheng heard the commotion and rushed in, only to see the Buddha writhing in pain on the ground. His round face was a mess of snot, tears, and blood, making him look particularly ferocious and terrifying. He was covered in fish feed mixed with urine, looking as pathetic as one could be.
He never imagined that the Buddha, whom he once looked up to and whose name struck fear into the hearts of the brothers in the Xichuan Gang, would end up in such a state.
At the same time, he felt a chill at Yang Jian's ruthless methods. It was fortunate that this man was not his opponent; otherwise, he would have had to leave Dongjiang. Such a person was truly not to be trifled with.
"Xiao Yang, you can't hit him anymore. We still need him for negotiations."
Fang Zhicheng was afraid of Yang Jian hurting the Buddha too badly, which might trigger a conflict between the higher-ups, and they, the low-level members, would become cannon fodder.
"Brother Cheng, I never leave loose ends. He tried to kill me multiple times. I can't let him go, or next time it will be me lying in front of him. I won't allow that to happen."
Yang Jian didn't care about their negotiations. It was his usual practice to prevent his enemies from seeking revenge themselves.
Fang Zhicheng dared not say anything more. After all, he was the one who had tied the man up, and how he was dealt with was his decision.
Seeing the Buddha still howling, Yang Jian gently tapped the Buddha's left leg with the baton. "Buddha, you've got some backbone, but I wonder how long you can last. Next, I'll break your bones one by one. Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't die too quickly."
The Buddha was truly terrified this time. Enduring the intense pain, he crawled to Yang Jian. "Mr. Yang, I'll write. Please, don't hit me anymore."
"It would have been so much better if you had said this earlier. Now this leg is ruined, and you'll have to live with a cane for the rest of your life. It's so difficult. So, in the future, you must recognize the situation and make the right choices decisively, or you'll regret it forever."
Yang Jian knew very well how hard he had hit him just now. A comminuted fracture of the kneecap was certain, and the possibility of recovery was very slim.
Knowing that he and Meng Meiyun were not married, not even boyfriend and girlfriend, Yang Jian had no intention of letting him go. Seeing his old classmate, he felt no burden.
He took out a notebook and a ballpoint pen he had prepared earlier from his pocket, placed them on the chair he had just sat on, and made the Buddha sit on the ground to write.
The Buddha wiped his face with his sleeve and looked at Fang Zhicheng with a mournful expression. "Mr. Fang, can you give me some water? I'm dying of thirst, and I'm hungry too. Please give me something to eat."
Seeing such a big shot like the Buddha kneeling on the ground begging him, Fang Zhicheng felt a sense of satisfaction. However, he didn't agree immediately. Instead, he looked at Yang Jian. After Yang Jian nodded, he went outside and brought back soy milk and steamed buns.
Without bothering about the urine stains and fish feed on his hands, the Buddha grabbed the buns and wolfed them down. He drank the soy milk in two gulps. Being a fat man, a basket of buns and a cup of soy milk were not enough to fill him. However, Fang Zhicheng had only brought this much. Eating half-full, he felt much better.
Seeing the Buddha finish eating and pick up the ballpoint pen, Yang Jian pulled Fang Zhicheng outside to the fish pond to watch Ah Feng fishing.
The main reason was that the smell of urine inside was too unbearable. Given the Buddha's character, the bad deeds he had done were likely countless, and it would take at least two to three hours to write them all down. There was no need to keep an eye on him; he couldn't run away now anyway.
"Xiao Yang, what are you making him write?"
Fang Zhicheng didn't know Yang Jian's intention.
Yang Jian took a chair and sat next to Ah Feng. "I'm making him write down all the bad things he's done over the years. We'll keep it as leverage. Mainly, I'm worried that after we let him go, he'll accuse us of kidnapping and assault to the police. After all, I can't really kill him."
"Will that be useful? What if he writes something false?"
"Of course, it will be useful. I've already told him to write down the specific details of his crimes, including the time, place, and people involved, as well as the information of the victims. I'll take some time to verify it, and I believe he won't dare to lie."
"This is a good idea. It's like holding his handle firmly in your hands, allowing you to control him at will. Xiao Yang, you're very experienced. You must have done this before, right?"
Yang Jian chuckled. "Of course, I have. And the results were surprisingly good. Because of a confession, a domineering boss who had been arrogant for over a decade directly fled, and his organization crumbled overnight."
"You're amazing. However, this method can only be implemented by experts like you. We can't capture big shots like the Buddha."
"Even tigers have their moments of slumber, and even the most formidable security has loopholes. Besides, he's not a national leader, so his security level wouldn't be that high. I had two opportunities to get close to him before and could have disabled him."
"Alright, we can't learn your methods. How long are you planning to keep him locked up? Our Boss Zheng heard that the Buddha was kidnapped and is rushing back from his hometown. He might be negotiating with the Buddha's boss in the next few days."
Fang Zhicheng's ultimate goal was to hand the Buddha over to the higher-ups for disposal, but he didn't dare to proceed without Yang Jian's consent.
"It's fine. You can negotiate however you want; I won't interfere. After I get his confession, I'll verify it with two victims. If the Buddha hasn't lied, then you can dispose of him as you see fit."
"That's good. I can arrange for people to assist you in verifying the victims, as you're not too familiar with this place yet. But you can't lay a hand on the Buddha anymore. If something goes wrong, we'll lose our bargaining chip."
"Okay, as long as he doesn't lie, I won't touch him. Breaking one of his legs is enough to vent my anger and let him experience what it's like to be bullied. Let's see if he dares to be arrogant and domineering in the future."
Fang Zhicheng laughed heartily. "He won't be arrogant for a while. Due to your appearance, the Yunan Gang has suffered heavy losses recently, with dozens of their men lying in the hospital. They don't have much fighting capacity left."
"I plan to lead people to sweep through Fenghuang Street again in the next few days and completely drive out the Yunan Gang. As long as we control Fenghuang Street, we'll truly get rich. By the way, Xiao Yang, how is the sales of your lottery business doing? Have you made any money?"
"It's okay. We lost money last period, but we made it all back this period."
Yang Jian only found out about the lottery sales from the previous day when he left home that morning. This Tuesday's lottery actually made fifty thousand yuan, finally stopping the losses.
"It's good that you didn't lose money. If we take over Fenghuang Street, this will be a small business, and it won't matter whether we do it or not then."
In Fang Zhicheng's eyes, Fenghuang Street was a treasure trove, a money tree, and earning tens of millions a year was not a dream.