Chapter 694 - 649: How Could It Be Him? (3)_3
Finally, he couldn’t resist dialing a number outside the Huaxia Region.
The line rang until it disconnected. No one answered. This sent him into a deeper panic.
He shot up from his computer chair, grabbed another phone, and dialed a number saved as "Little Li."
"Young Master He, your orders!" The call connected almost instantly, and a young voice came through.
"Find the earliest international flight out of here! I need to leave the country, now!" the flustered young man said quickly.
"Young Master He, which country are you going to?" the person on the other end asked, momentarily stunned and confused.
"It doesn’t matter which country! The only thing that matters is that it’s soon!"
"Alright, Young Master He, I’ll check right away!"
Following his response, the sound of frantic typing filled the air.
A dozen seconds later, the voice returned. "Young Master He, I found one. The earliest is a flight to Bangkok at 9:10!"
"Book me a ticket, now!"
After blurting this out, the young man abruptly ended the call.
Panic spread wildly across his face. He rushed from the study into the bedroom. With trembling hands, he yanked a few outfits from the closet, stuffed them haphazardly into a suitcase, and then fled the house, dragging his luggage behind him.
As the young man named He rushed from his home, a different scene unfolded on the wide road leading to the Ye Family estate. Inside one of seven Highlanders, a middle-aged man was bound hand and foot.
His shifty, rat-like eyes were now filled with terror.
The screen of a phone in his pants pocket glowed with an unanswered call.
"Sirs, this has nothing to do with me! I just connected the two parties! I’m nothing more than an insignificant broker! You should be going after the person responsible! Please, let me go! Let my wife and children go, please? I’m begging you!"
In the car, silent except for the hum of the tires, the rat-eyed man pleaded desperately.
Yet his words received no response.
Neither the two men flanking him nor the ones in the driver and passenger seats uttered a word.
Their stern expressions made the rat-eyed man’s heart sink to the depths of despair.
Even now, he had no idea where they were taking him.
As seconds stretched into an eternity for him, the Highlander turned off the Ring Road and onto a quiet road. It was lined with lush green trees, but there were few people or cars in sight.
A short while later, a brightly lit manor appeared ahead.
When he saw the two imposing characters for "Ye Family" outside the estate, the rat-eyed man’s eyes shot wide open.
"The Ye Family? The Lingnan Ye Family? You’re taking me to the Ye Family? No... no, I’ve never done anything to offend the Ye Family, I swear!"
He wasn’t from Jiangzhou, but anyone who moved in the upper echelons of society knew exactly what the Ye Family’s name meant in Lingnan.
The rat-eyed man struggled hysterically, shouting. The terror of the Ye Family was embodied by one person in particular: the Ancestor, Ye Jizu!
People like him, who operated in the gray areas of society, knew all too well about the Ancestor’s methods.
His desperate struggles were a clear testament to his fear.
However, no matter how much he yelled or struggled, no one paid him any mind as the Highlander drove swiftly onto the Ye Family estate.
After finding a parking space, all four doors opened at once.
A well-built young man dragged the screaming, rat-eyed man out of the car as if he were a dead dog.
"The Ancestor sent for us. Where is he?" the young man from the passenger seat asked a staff member with a smile.
"He’s in the side hall. Fourth Young Master, please go right in," the staff member replied.
The young man smiled and said, "Thank you." Then, with a wave of his hand, he boldly led his men inside.
It wasn’t their first time at the Ye Family estate. The young men dragged the rat-eyed man along a familiar path toward the side hall.
The lead youth was surprised to see everyone gathered, but he quickly put on a fawning smile. "Good evening, Elder Ye, Ancestor, Master Qin, Second Young Master, Young Master Ma, Mr. Lai Shenxiang!"
Seeing this, Ye Jizong knew what was about to happen. He sighed inwardly and stood up. "Old Master, Master Qin, Mr. Lai Shenxiang, I have a small matter to attend to, so please excuse me."
"Go on," Ye Congjun said, waving his hand dismissively. He knew exactly what Ye Jizong was thinking.
Smiling and nodding to Qin Fan and Lai Shenxiang, Ye Jizong quickly departed from the side hall.
After Ye Jizong had left, the lead youth shoved the rat-eyed man to the floor. "Ancestor, this man is the broker," he said grimly. "He’s the one who arranged the deal between He Xinyi and the foreign mercenaries! The person who hired them to assassinate Master Qin is He Xinyi, son of the president of the Lingnan Chamber of Commerce!"
He Xinyi? Son of the president of the Lingnan Chamber of Commerce?
The name sounded familiar to Qin Fan, but for the life of him, he couldn’t place it. He frowned, trying to recall.
"The president of the Lingnan Chamber of Commerce? He Changkong?" Ye Congjun’s eyes widened and he frowned. "You mean the guy who got his start as a pickpocket at the train station back in the eighties?"
It was hard to believe. They live in Jiangzhou, so they have to know something about Qin Fan. How could they still dare to hire someone to assassinate him? Isn’t that just asking to die?
"Yes, Elder Ye, that’s him. However, his son was the one who put out the contract to assassinate Master Qin," the young man replied, his voice filled with reverence and fear as he faced Ye Congjun.
Few from the younger generation could face Ye Congjun with composure, least of all those who worked for Ye Jizu. It was impossible for them to remain unfazed in his presence.
The moment the youth finished speaking, the rat-eyed man immediately wailed from his knees. "Elder Ye, Ancestor, this has nothing to do with me! I’m just a broker! I knew nothing about the details from start to finish! I... I swear, I don’t even know who the client was! My only job was to connect them and collect a commission. I didn’t ask about anything else!"
It was true. If he had known this assassination involved the Ye Family and Qin Fan, he wouldn’t have dared to be the broker, not even if he had a hundred times the courage.
He couldn’t believe someone would be insane enough to hire a hitman to go after Qin Fan, much less someone connected to the Ye Family.
The rat-eyed man then turned toward Qin Fan, still on his knees, and screamed through terrified sobs, "Master Qin, I didn’t know! I really didn’t know you were the target!"
Ignoring the kneeling broker, Qin Fan turned to Ye Jizu. "Right, who is this He Xinyi again? I can’t seem to place him. Do you have a photo? Let me see."
Honestly, he was completely baffled.
"Of course, Qin Fan. I’ll have someone send it over right now," Ye Jizu quickly agreed. He picked up his phone, opened WeChat, and typed out a message.
Less than ten seconds later, a photo popped up in the chat.
Ye Jizu placed his phone on the revolving glass of the dining table and spun it quickly toward Qin Fan.
Stopping the lazy Susan, Qin Fan picked up the phone.
The moment he saw the photo, however, he froze. A memory suddenly flooded his mind.
Isn’t this the same pretentious asshole from Ji Yuchen’s birthday party who flicked cigarette ash on my barbecue? Why would he hire an assassin to kill me? This makes no fucking sense! Besides, that was months ago. Is he really that petty?
"Could there be a mistake?" Qin Fan said, setting down the phone with a deep frown. "Why would he hire someone to kill me? As I recall, our run-in was nothing major. Besides, that was a long time ago. Even if he wanted revenge, why wait until now?"
Ye Jizu was also taken aback by Qin Fan’s words. After a moment, he said, "Master Qin, we’ll know for sure once we get our hands on him."
Hearing this, the young men panicked.
Fuck, this had better not be a mistake! If it is, we’re finished under the Ancestor’s command!