Chapter 697 - 550: Shut Him Up! (4)_3
His unease grew stronger. The ashtray on his computer desk was overflowing with cigarettes, many of which he had extinguished after only a puff or two.
Finally, he could no longer restrain himself and dialed a number outside the Huaxia Region. The line rang until it disconnected, but no one answered. This only amplified his panic.
He shot up from his computer chair, grabbed another phone, and dialed a contact saved as ’Xiao Li’.
"Young Master He, your instructions!" a young voice answered immediately.
"Check for the soonest flight out of the country. I need to leave!" the anxious young man said hurriedly.
"Young Master He, which country are you heading to?" the person on the other end asked, momentarily stunned.
"It doesn’t matter which country! The most important thing is speed!"
"Alright, Young Master He, I’m checking right now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of furious typing filled the line.
A dozen seconds later, the voice returned. "Young Master He, I’ve found it. The earliest flight is to Bangkok at 9:10!"
"Book it for me now!"
After barking the order, the young man abruptly ended the call.
Uncontrollable panic spread across his face as he rushed out of the study and into the bedroom. With trembling hands, he opened the closet, haphazardly threw a few sets of clothes into a suitcase, and then dragged it out of thehouse to flee.
***
At the same time the young man surnamed He was hastily leaving his home, a different scene was unfolding on the wide avenue leading to the Ye Family estate.
Inside a Highlander, a middle-aged man was bound hand and foot. Fear filled his shifty, triangular eyes. The screen of his phone, still in his pocket, glowed with a missed call.
"Gentlemen, this has nothing to do with me! I’m just the contact! When it comes down to it, I’m just an insignificant broker! If you have a score to settle, go after the mastermind! Please, let me and my wife and children go! I’m begging you!"
The only sound in the car was the hum of the tires on the pavement. The shifty-eyed man pleaded, but his words were met with absolute silence. Neither the two men flanking him nor the people in the front seats uttered a word. Their cold, stern expressions made the man’s heart sink into an abyss. Even now, he had no idea where they were taking him.
For him, every second felt like an eternity. The Highlander turned off the Ring Road, heading down a secluded road flanked by lush, green trees. It was a quiet area with few people or cars in sight.
Soon, a brightly lit manor appeared ahead. When the man saw the two imposing characters for ’Ye Family’ on the gates, his eyes widened in terror.
"The Ye Family? The Lingnan Ye Family? Are you taking me to the Ye Family? No—no, I haven’t done anything to offend them! I haven’t!"
Although he wasn’t from Jiangzhou, anyone who moved in the upper echelons of society knew what the Ye Family represented in Lingnan. The man began to struggle and scream hysterically. The Ye Family’s reputation was terrifying enough, but then there was the patriarch, Ye Jizu. His methods were all too familiar to those who operated in the gray areas of society. The man’s frantic struggles were a clear testament to his terror.
But no matter how much he screamed and struggled, no one paid him any mind. The Highlander drove swiftly onto the Ye Family estate and found a place to park. All four doors opened at once.
A burly young man dragged the shrieking middle-aged man out of the car like a dead dog.
"Grandmaster Jizu sent for me. Where is he?" the young man from the passenger seat asked with a smile, addressing a staff member working inside the manor.
"In the side hall. Fourth Young Master, you and your men can head right over," the staff member replied.
Smiling, the young man said his thanks, gave a wave of his hand, and led the way inside. It wasn’t their first time at the Ye Family estate. The young men dragged the broker toward the side hall with practiced ease.
Surprised to see them all gathered together, the lead young man said with a fawning smile, "Greetings, Elder Ye, Grandmaster Jizu, Mr. Qin, Second Young Master, Young Master Ma, and Lai Shenxiang!"
Seeing this, Ye Jizong knew exactly what was about to happen. He sighed inwardly as he stood up to excuse himself. "Elder Ye, Mr. Qin, Lai Shenxiang, I have something else to attend to, so I must be going."
"Alright, go ahead," Ye Congjun said with a slight wave of his hand, knowing exactly what Ye Jizong was thinking.
After nodding to Qin Fan and Lai Shenxiang with a smile, Ye Jizong quickly left the side hall.
Once Ye Jizong had left, the lead young man threw the broker to the floor. "Grandmaster Jizu, this man is a broker. He’s the one who arranged the deal between He Xinyi and the foreign mercenaries! The person who hired them to assassinate Mr. Qin was He Xinyi, son of the chairman of the Lingnan Chamber of Commerce!"
He Xinyi? Son of the Lingnan Chamber of Commerce’s chairman? The name sounded familiar to Qin Fan, but he couldn’t quite place it. He furrowed his brow, trying to recall.
"The chairman of the Lingnan Chamber of Commerce? He Changkong?" Ye Congjun’s eyes widened as he frowned. "You mean that guy who started out as a pickpocket at the train station back in the eighties?"
He couldn’t quite believe it. Being based in Jiangzhou, they surely knew who Qin Fan was. How could they still dare to hire an assassin to kill him? Wasn’t that just a death wish?
"Yes, Elder Ye, that’s the one! However, it was his son who posted the bounty for the assassination!" the young man responded with deference and awe.