Chapter 100: The Three Families of Jiangnan District

“These two won’t be so easily dealt with by us. From what they said, the forces behind them are quite powerful. Be extra careful,” Xiao Ye warned Wang Gui as he accompanied him back to his residence.

Before getting out of the car, Wang Gui said to Xiao Ye, “I understand. You be careful too. Be extra cautious with the upcoming tasks.”

Xiao Ye waved his hand, signaling him to leave quickly.

Wang Gui was momentarily stunned, never expecting Xiao Ye to let him go just like that.

Xiao Ye naturally had his own plans. Wang Gui was obviously not someone who had fabricated a random identity to deceive him. From his attire and mannerisms, he could clearly sense that this man likely shared a similar background.

Watching Wang Gui’s departing figure, Xiao Ye stepped out of the car.

It was around 10:30 p.m., yet Xiao Ye had no intention of going home. There were still matters he needed to investigate.

In a lavish estate somewhere in Jiang Hai City at night, a middle-aged man paced anxiously in his study.

At that moment, an elderly man burst in and bowed respectfully before him.

“Master, tonight’s transaction has failed,” the old man said in a low, heavy tone.

The middle-aged man wasn’t entirely surprised, but a flicker of astonishment and disbelief crossed his face. His subordinates had never failed in such dealings before.

“What about the others?” the middle-aged man asked coldly.

“Most are dead or injured. Those who survived were taken by specialists responsible for such incidents for questioning,” the old man replied.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the middle-aged man slammed the table hard and cursed loudly, “Don’t you realize how crucial this operation was? Why didn’t you assign more guards? Did you really wait until something went wrong to report to me?”

“Master, I had considered such a possibility,” the old man said calmly. “According to the intelligence brought back by the scouts, two individuals disrupted our plans midway.”

“Two people?” The middle-aged man’s eyes reddened with fury, unable to focus on the subtleties in the old man’s tone.

“Find out everything you can about these two. You have three hours—I want all their details,” he ordered.

The old man rose from the ground, nodded, and left the study.

This middle-aged man was Cheng Jiangshan, the current head of the Cheng family.

This deal was extremely important to him. If successful, he could leverage it to gain a foothold in Jiang Hai City’s industries.

But now, the plan had been entirely disrupted by Xiao Ye and Wang Gui, and Cheng Jiangshan wished he could tear them apart limb by limb.

News of the investigation into Xiao Ye and Wang Gui spread quickly. Naturally, it didn’t escape the watchful eyes of Chilon.

Xiao Ye was still on the road, about to call Chilon when the phone rang.

“Xiao Wang, I found out a group was investigating your background just now. Want to strike first?” Chilon asked.

Xiao Ye nodded with a faint smile, understanding that the other side was finally losing patience.

“Of course. Also, check out the Cheng family in Jiangnan District—see who exactly we’re dealing with.”

After saying this, Xiao Ye hung up.

About half an hour later, Chilon returned with the gathered information.

Though many families jointly controlled the economic lifeblood of Jiangnan District, only a few were truly powerful. The Cheng, Chen, and Ye families stood as the prominent clans.

They had dominated Jiangnan District for years, possessing formidable strength and wealth.

Moreover, they kept a low profile, so most people in Jiang Hai City had no idea about their true standing.

“I also found out that the people investigating you just now were from the Cheng family,” Chilon reported.

Xiao Ye had a rough idea now. By coincidence, these three clans had unfortunately crossed paths with him.

They would certainly regret it.

“There’s no need to take action for now. They won’t find anything useful. Instead, give them some other matters to attend to,” Xiao Ye ordered Chilon.

After giving the instructions, Xiao Ye drove toward the harbor.

Though he hadn’t appeared personally, he had already dispatched a team to ensure that the weapons confiscated earlier were all transported to a designated place at the harbor before the squad leader arrived.

Once that was done, Xiao Ye reminded Mouse a few things and returned to his villa.

Though it was late, Qin Xue’er was waiting for him at home as usual.

The meal and wine prepared earlier had lost their flavor—Xiao Ye had been gone too long.

There was no helping it; he had spent quite some time dealing with the two elders. Otherwise, he would have left much earlier.

Despite enduring a bit of nagging, Xiao Ye never revealed where he had been that night.

“If you come home late again, don’t bother entering the house—sleep with your car instead,” Qin Xue’er teased coquettishly, but before she could finish, Xiao Ye lifted her onto the bed.

The next morning, Qin Xue’er’s anger had mostly dissipated.

Xiao Ye had slept well through the night, but Cheng Jiangshan had not.

He had been waiting all night for the investigators to report back.

Three hours passed, and by dawn, no information about Xiao Ye and Wang Gui had been uncovered.

“How do you run your intelligence operations? You can’t find any information on these two alive men?” Cheng Jiangshan shouted at the old man, showing no respect.

“Master, please calm down. I admit my incompetence, but these two are truly strange—there’s simply no way to trace their information!” The old man’s expression grew grave, and his words sent a chill through Cheng Jiangshan.

No information? That meant...

This realization sobered Cheng Jiangshan.

Since this was only speculation, he had no choice but to send the old man out again to investigate.

Near noon, just as Xiao Ye was about to eat, Qin Xue’er called.

“Xiao Ye, come home for lunch today.”

They usually didn’t meet at midday, so this unusual request suggested something was amiss.

Xiao Ye understood and agreed immediately.

When he returned home, he found Shu Ran there as well.

“Shu Ran will be staying with us for a few days. You don’t mind, do you?” Qin Xue’er asked.

Xiao Ye was indifferent. After the way he had helped Shu Ran deal with Chen Ning last time, she probably wouldn’t cause trouble again.

Thinking that, he looked at Shu Ran, who smiled and nodded in return, though her expression was somewhat odd.

After dinner, Shu Ran found an excuse to take a walk around the villa.

In several inconspicuous spots, she discovered the cameras Xiao Ye had set up in advance.