Chapter 793 - 741: Tell Me, Is There or Not! (2)
"Lord Qin!"
"Lord Qin!"
"Lord Qin!"
At the entrance to the hospital, when Qin Fan stopped, dozens of voices cried out in unison. But these voices were consumed by overwhelming fear. They had no idea why Qin Fan had summoned them. Moreover, his bold and domineering demand that they kneel revealed that the situation was far from simple. When faced with the unknown, human nature often defaults to fear and unease, especially now that they were facing Qin Fan.
"Look around. See who’s missing," he said, his voice soft and ethereal. Yet, this lightness sent a chill down every man’s spine.
"Lord Qin, Nine Fingers from East City isn’t here!" one of the bosses hastily called out just as Qin Fan finished speaking.
"Good. Nine Fingers, is it?" Qin Fan nodded coldly. "If he lives to see tomorrow’s sun, I’ll write my name backward. Continue. Don’t even think about covering for anyone. The consequences are more than you can bear."
"Lord Qin, Li the Cripple!"
"Lord Qin, Jin Yasheng!"
Two more names were shouted out, and then the scene fell silent. It was clear that these three were the only standard-bearers from the Jinling Underworld who had failed to show up. After all, it was better for a friend to die than for oneself. No one dared to protect anyone under Qin Fan’s threat.
"Heh heh... Nine Fingers, Li the Cripple, and Jin Yasheng. Very good. Very good," Qin Fan sneered coldly. "Chang Yuanyi!"
"Lord Qin, I’m here!" Chang Yuanyi bowed quickly in response from beside him.
"I don’t want those three to have any chance of leaving Jinling."
"Yes, Lord Qin! I’ll immediately have people block all potential escape routes! They will have absolutely no chance!" Chang Yuanyi hastily replied. He, too, was eager to atone for his past failures. At Qin Fan’s nod, he pulled out his phone and quickly stepped aside to give orders.
"My brother, Li Qiuzhe, was slashed seventeen times just over forty hours ago," Qin Fan announced. "Heh, seventeen times. He’s lucky he survived and didn’t die on the spot. I hear it’s because he touched some of your ’cakes,’ and that’s why someone attacked him out of spite. Is that right? Hmm... understandable. After all, no one likes it when their slice is taken away. That’s just human nature. But understanding is one thing; one could say you did nothing wrong. But before you made your move, did you ever stop to think he has a brother named Qin Fan? Did you ever consider he has a brother who could wipe out your entire family at any moment? Tell me, did you?"
By the final "did you," Qin Fan was practically roaring. The force of his shout momentarily deafened the dozens of men. But at this moment, they had no time to worry about their hearing. One by one, they panicked, frantically shouting to defend themselves.
"Lord Qin, this has nothing to do with me! Really, it has nothing to do with me!"
"Lord Qin, even if you gave me a hundred times the courage, I’d never have the nerve to touch your brother!"
"Lord Qin, you must see the truth! I only heard about Boss Li being attacked after it happened!"
"Lord Qin, we all know Boss Li is good friends with Young Master Chang, and more importantly, we know he’s your classmate and your brother! How could we possibly dare to do something like that?"
Enshrouded by chaotic fear, these temporarily deafened kingpins of the streets hysterically vied to proclaim their innocence.
In truth, if it came to just wanting to kill Li Qiuzhe, every single person here wished him dead. Some had had their territory forcefully taken by him, while others simply envied his damned good luck. But when it came to actually ordering a hit on Li Qiuzhe, very few had the guts. They all knew that one misstep could cost them their lives, and possibly the lives of their entire families as well. Who could muster the courage for such a risk? Without your life, everything else becomes smoke. Even if you got your ’cake’ back, you’d just be sowing for others to reap. If they lacked this basic logic, how could they have ever reached their current status?
Gazing sinisterly at the crowd of bosses scrambling to explain themselves, Qin Fan remained silent. His Divine Sense, amplified by his Eyes of Golden Flame, swept over the dozens of men, again and again.
After a few passes, the explanations died down. A demonic smile spread across Qin Fan’s face.
Everyone’s heart began to race. But among them, only one man’s accelerated heartbeat was accompanied by a guilty conscience and overwhelming fear. He was the one who had been the most hysterical in his defense. Among the dozens of men, his face was the palest, his expression the most tremulous.
To say he has a clear conscience? Is that even possible?
"Are you all finished?" Qin Fan asked indifferently, once he knew their hearing had returned to normal.
No one responded. The answer was obvious.
"Very good." He licked his lips, a bleak, frigid chill emanating from his face. Once he said "Very good," he began to walk slowly toward the crowd.
Each step he took felt like the approach of the Death God himself. Although the vast majority of them were innocent in this matter, they couldn’t withstand the crushing pressure of that feeling.
Those whom Qin Fan walked past breathed a sigh of relief. Those still waiting for him to approach felt their hearts leap into their throats. At this moment, there wasn’t a single man whose back wasn’t drenched in sweat.
"No, no, no..."
"No, no, no..."
"No, no, no..."
In the crowd, a middle-aged man’s lips trembled uncontrollably as he muttered the word at a volume only he could hear. He was none other than Boss Zhou, the one with the detached villa in the wealthy district. Even as he kept telling himself to stay calm, how could he possibly remain calm at this moment?
"What are you saying?"
Suddenly, a demonic voice echoed right beside his ear.
Boss Zhou whipped his head around. When he saw Qin Fan’s face leaning down toward him, he nearly wet himself in fright. His limbs began to tremble violently.
"Lord... Lord Qin, I—I didn’t say anything! I didn’t say anything!" Boss Zhou shook his head like a rattle, his face now completely drained of color.
"You were saying ’no’," Qin Fan said with a ghastly sneer. "Tell me, no to what?"
"Lord Qin, it wasn’t me! It really wasn’t me! I—I—I haven’t done anything!" Boss Zhou shrieked miserably.
Seeing his body tremble with uncontrollable terror, the other bosses began to wonder.
Could it be this guy is really involved? But given how cautious he is, does he really have the guts to order a hit on Li Qiuzhe?
"Whether it was you or not, we’ll have an answer soon enough," Qin Fan said, his voice floating lightly. He slowly placed his hand on the crown of Boss Zhou’s head.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The Soul Capturing Technique, guided by his True Qi, instantly surged through Boss Zhou’s skull.
Whether it was him or not, a search through his memories will make everything clear.
"AHH!"
"AHHH!"
"AHHHH!"
The moment the memory-scouring Soul Capturing Technique entered his mind, Boss Zhou began to scream, his cries a heart-wrenching, soul-tearing shriek of pure agony. This was the torment of having one’s memories scoured—a pain that even a Martial Artist could hardly bear, let alone an ordinary person like him.