Chapter 187: Great Karma—Li Yi Hesitates

“Brother Li Yi, is there a way to resolve this crisis?”

Wang Anguo knew that although Li Yi was a mysterious man, he had a good heart.

This was evident from the countless times he had helped him, his family, and his friends out of trouble. If Li Yi was willing to lend a hand this time, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

However, to Wang Anguo’s surprise, this time Li Yi shook his head.

“Is it impossible?” Wang Anguo asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

“It’s not that I can’t, but the stakes are too high!”

“What… what do you mean?”

“What do you mean by a life-or-death crisis?”

“Well…”

“The so-called ‘trial of life and death’ is a fate bestowed by Heaven. Life and death are predetermined by destiny; outsiders cannot interfere. If they do, they must bear the karmic consequences that follow.”

Li Yi continued, “Take you, for example. You were supposed to have died a month and a half ago, and then be posthumously recognized as a martyr. Barring any surprises, I would have attended your funeral.”

“But because of my intervention, you narrowly escaped that fate. Not only did you not die a glorious death, but you were also promoted to captain of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division for your achievements. Have you ever considered who would be the captain of the Municipal Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division if you hadn’t shown up?”

“Well… I wouldn’t dare to guess!” Wang Anguo said.

“It doesn’t matter who it is, but you must understand that my intervention has already cost someone a promotion, and thus, a chain of cause and effect has been set in motion!”

“Is that what you call karma?”

“Right, getting back to that person from earlier—the karmic burden on him is too heavy. If we were to save him, the karmic consequences would be too severe!”

“Is it… really that serious?”

“Yes, far beyond your imagination—it involves at least ten lives!”

“Ten?”

“Yes!”

Wang Anguo fell silent. He understood exactly what Li Yi was saying.

Huang Lixing’s life-or-death crisis wasn’t irreversible, but if he were to alter his fate, the fates of many others would be altered as well—and no fewer than ten people would lose their lives as a result.

Now he was hesitating!

In fact, it wasn’t just Wang Anguo; Li Yi himself was also hesitating.

When he first spoke those words, he had merely been putting on a front, trying to appear more dignified.

But as he spoke, he began to feel a bit afraid himself!

Huang Lixing was a completely different kind of person from Wang Anguo, Li Gang, and the others. He was a tycoon who rose to power during Hong Kong’s most chaotic era—a fortune built through ruthless, cold-blooded violence.

And his character was deeply flawed—his bodyguards hadn’t tried to kill him over a financial dispute, but because he’d slept with their woman.

Normally, a woman’s betrayal wouldn’t warrant a life-or-death showdown, but after sleeping with her, this guy was heartless enough to kick her to the curb.

The woman was no pushover either; she secretly approached Huang Lixing’s bodyguard and claimed that Huang had raped her while he was away.

That’s why the bodyguard harbored a grudge and struck a deadly blow.

Not only did he kill Huang Lixing, but he also killed his pregnant wife.

If I were to save him now, given Huang Lixing’s vindictive nature, he would undoubtedly seek revenge against the bodyguard and that woman.

In fact, to ensure the problem was eradicated completely, even the families of those two might not escape Huang Lixing’s pursuit.

Li Yi knew all too well just how ruthless the wealthy elite of Hong Kong Island could be.

To them, killing a person or two was child’s play.

After killing someone, they’d stuff the body into a burlap sack, toss it into international waters, and the remains would vanish without a trace—leaving no evidence to investigate.

The iconic murder scenes from Hong Kong films all have real-life counterparts.

So Li Yi found himself hesitating—should he really save Huang Lixing?

Saving a villain for money, only to potentially cause more people to lose their lives—this seemed to cross Li Yi’s moral line.

As silence fell, Wang Anguo suddenly spoke up: “Since the stakes are so high, I won’t press the matter. Whether he survives this ordeal is entirely up to his own fate!”

“Hmm,” Li Yi replied, sounding somewhat disheartened.

He had originally come here full of enthusiasm, intending to squeeze a hefty sum out of Huang Lixing, thinking of it as buying the lives of himself and his wife and children with that money.

But he hadn’t considered that the consequence of such an act might be saving three lives at the cost of more than a dozen others.

The stakes were simply too high—so high that even Li Yi himself felt he might not be able to bear the burden.

In his previous life, Li Yi didn’t believe in Buddhism or ghosts and gods. After Tang Xue’s death, he believed only in himself.

In this life, Li Yi still didn’t believe in Buddhism or spirits, but he did believe in karma.

In his previous life, it took him decades of torment and regret, plus giving away tens of billions and helping nearly a million people, to earn the chance at rebirth.

He absolutely did not want to incur such immense karmic consequences over a mere pittance.

After all, one misstep could cause this karmic debt to ultimately fall upon his wife, children, and elderly family members.

He dared not take that risk!

For a moment, Li Yi even considered canceling his reservation and going home, to get far away from this trouble-ridden place.

But then he thought, “Since I’m here, I might as well make the best of it.” After all, the rent had already been paid and couldn’t be refunded, so if it didn’t work out, he’d just stay a few more days.

Perhaps there’s still a chance things could change—you never know!

…….

What Li Yi didn’t know was that Huang Lixing, back in his room, was also feeling a bit uneasy.

The way that young man had looked at him earlier was simply too strange, and it also gave him a sense of familiarity.

So after returning to his room, he declined the city leader’s invitation to a welcome dinner, citing exhaustion as an excuse, and stayed in the room with his wife to rest.

The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. In the end, he simply sent his wife to another room and stayed alone in Room 314, smoking to ease his mind.

Just as he was feeling flustered, he suddenly heard a commotion outside.

In a foul mood, he immediately sent his bodyguard, A-Biao, out to see what was going on!

Soon, Ah Biao returned to report that the room next door was being cleaned, and the hotel staff had already moved the young man to another room.

Huang Lixing recalled what the official surnamed Zhou had said earlier; clearly, they were worried that the young man might run into him, so they had deliberately arranged it this way.

Thinking of this, Huang Lixing’s mood improved slightly.

He walked over to the window with a cigar in hand, intending to relax by taking in the view.

However, he immediately spotted several people standing below—two women and a man. The two women were dressed like hotel staff, and the man was the young man who had made him so uncomfortable earlier.

Although several floors separated them, Huang Lixing couldn’t hear their conversation at all.

But he could guess that the two staff members were surely discussing the room change with the young man.

Huang Lixing had expected the young man, having suffered such unfair treatment, to make a huge scene, but the outcome left him somewhat taken aback.

The young man glanced up in his direction, shook his head for some inexplicable reason, and then followed the two staff members toward another building.

Even through two panes of glass, Huang Lixing was certain the young man hadn’t seen him.

Yet his earlier gesture and expression left Huang Lixing deep in thought.

Thinking of another matter that was troubling him, Huang Lixing immediately exchanged a few words with his bodyguard, who then hurriedly left the room.

In an instant, Huang Lixing was left alone in the room!