<h4>Chapter 1244: Chapter 1244: A Meaningful Banquet</h4>


    Gao Mantang made a big decision. Xiang Yu had shown kindness to his family, and he was willing to sacrifice his own life to save Xiang Yu.


    The old man noticed that Gao Mantang seemed preupied and then said, "Don’t worry, if what you say is true, I definitely won’t let him get away with it."


    Only then did Gao Mantang nod without thinking much more.


    He was aware of the old leader’s capabilities. Without this connection, Gao Mantang wouldn’t havee this far today.


    After dinner, Gao Mantang yed a game of chess with the old leader. Now that the old man was retired and usually had nothing to do, he felt lonely and bored. Having Gao Mantang apany him made him very happy.


    "Mantang, since you’re also alone there, you might as well move in with me so we can keep each otherpany," the old man said with a smile.


    Gao Mantang quickly waved his hand and said, "Old Chief, I’m not like you. Your children are busy every day and don’t have time to keep youpany. My son and grandson are by my side, and when Zhitao gets married, I’ll still have to look after the child."


    The old man chuckled and cast an envious nce at Gao Mantang. His children were indeed capable, each upying high positions. Yet, they didn’t have much time to visit him, which gave him an indescribable sense of mncholy.


    At around seven in the evening, the old man called on Gao Mantang to go outside with him.


    They had a driver take them to another vi, which, unlike the old man’s, was heavily guarded. Although it didn’t show on the surface, they could both sense it.


    "Old Liu, I’m here," the old man shouted downstairs, clearly familiar with this Old Liu.


    Footsteps sounded rapidly from upstairs, apanied by a burst ofughter, and someone walked out.


    This person was tall and slender, around sixty years old, yet looked quite youthful and not at all aged.


    Upon seeing the old man, Old Liu happily gave him a punch, though it was clearly in jest and not serious.


    After greeting each other, Old Liu looked at Gao Mantang with some confusion and said, "Why does this person look so familiar to me?"


    Gao Mantang also recognized him and quickly stepped forward to greet him. He had mingled around here before and had naturally heard about the other party’s courageous deeds.


    After the old man introduced him, only then did Old Liu realize who Gao Mantang was, and apparently, he had a certain impression of him as well.


    Old Liu invited them into the room and had someone make tea, exchanging pleasantries with each other.


    Eventually, the old man looked at Old Liu and said, "I have something I want to discuss with you."


    Old Liu then said, "Let’s go to the study."


    Both men were already a hundred and twenty years old. At their age, there was nothing they hadn’t experienced, but seeing the seriousness on the old man’s face, Old Liu realized the gravity of the situation and then went to the study.


    Gao Mantang remained where he was, thinking that perhaps with them involved, the matter might be resolved.


    At the same time, Commander Cao was pacing in his office. He had a bad premonition.


    All signs were pointing to the fact that his identity had been exposed. He was unwilling to give up his current position.


    Now his chief had invited him over for dinner—something that had never happened before.


    His heart was a bit anxious; what if this was a trap? If he went, he might never return.


    At this moment, he was conflicted. He had another choice, which was to abandon his current identity and leave immediately.


    Doing so was undoubtedly the safest, but it also came at a substantial cost.


    Commander Cao weighed the pros and cons continuously in his mind, recalling the tone of Chief Liu’s phone call back then.


    Chief Liu’s speech had been steady, with no hint of anything in his tone, just like old friends nning to meet.


    Finally, Commander Cao made a big decision, gritting his teeth, then grabbing his hat and adjusting his cor in front of the mirror.


    He drove himself and made a phone call while on the road.


    Since he had never been here before, he wasn’t allowed to approach the vi and had to call Old Liu.


    At that time, Old Liu was consulting with the old man. After checking his phone, Old Liu smiled at the old man and said, "He’s here."


    Old Liu and the old man came out of the study and then had someone let Commander Cao inside.


    Commander Cao stopped his car and left all the metal objects on him at the door before walking straight in.


    Upon entering the room, he first stood there and saluted Old Liu with a standard military salute.


    "Don’t be restrained; I’m just inviting you for a meal today. Come on, everyone," Old Liu said with a chuckle, then called the others over to the dining table.


    Gao Mantang followed behind. He had heard of this Commander Cao before but had never met him. Today was the first encounter.


    Old Liu had already arranged the food, and after they were seated, he introduced the old man and Gao Mantang to Commander Cao.


    Upon learning the old man’s identity, Commander Cao quickly stood up and saluted him.


    The old man smiled and gestured for him to sit down.


    Commander Cao shook hands with Gao Mantang and smiled without saying much.


    Commander Cao had also heard of Gao Mantang’s deeds. This guy had no scruples and was an old rogue in the military district, somewhat simr to Xiang Yu in that regard.


    As they sat down, they inevitably exchanged some polite words.


    Although both Commander Cao and Gao Mantang were not young anymore, in front of the other two, they were still considered juniors and subordinates.


    "Old Cao, the main reason I invited you over today is to apany these two friends of mine. Don’t hold back; drink as much as you can," Old Liu said with a hearty smile.


    Commander Cao promptly replied, "Of course."


    The atmosphere at the scene was very lively, and after three sses of wine, everyone had drunk quite a bit.


    It was then that Old Liu said, "Old Cao, I heard you recently caught someone?"


    Commander Cao was taken aback, knowing that there was more to today’s dinner. He chuckled and quickly said, "Oh, the chief has heard about it. Just today, on my way to work, I happened to see a thief stealing, so I caught him on the spot."


    Upon hearing this, Gao Mantang’s face changed suddenly; he knew that Old Liu wasn’t referring to this incident, but Commander Cao used it as a cover-up.


    He stole a nce at his old chief and then at Old Liu—both had smiling faces, revealing nothing of their thoughts.


    At this point, he couldn’t help but admire the two, realizing he was stillcking in this aspect.


    "Oh? What happened with that thief?" Old Liu asked, appearing very curious.


    "I just handed him over to the local police. I didn’t follow up on what happened afterward."


    Everyone chuckled, raising their sses for a sip of wine.


    "What have you been upied withtely?" Old Liu asked, looking at Commander Cao.


    "Currently, we’re conducting a military armspetition to enhance theirbat capabilities," Commander Cao replied with a smile.


    Old Liu nodded and said, "More training is always good. I heard you’ve been visiting City Six a lot recently."