Chapter 170: Tang Long Drops the Mask

Chapter 170: Tang Long Drops the Mask

Tang Jiu gave a faint smile. "Second Brother, I never thought you'd be the type to panic? Hehe, are you afraid someone might snatch away the prize you've been plotting to steal? Birds of a feather flock together, turtles always find tortoises—since you two hang out all the time, how could you not know who it is?"

The muscles in Tang Yifei's jaw twitched slightly. He forced himself to appear calm on the surface, but internally, he had to ask himself repeatedly why he had never noticed Tang Long's scheming nature before, and why Tang Long had suddenly become so inscrutable. Could that guy really have been hiding his true colors all this time?!

"Tang Yifei, you think you're orchestrating everything like a master strategist, but in reality, you're just the pawn Tang Long set up to bear the brunt of everyone's anger. The one who sits back and reaps the ultimate rewards will definitely not be you," Tang Jiu sneered. "You should thank me. If I hadn't brought Xu Yun back to expose all of this, you'd still be let by the nose while helping others count their money. Tang Yifei, I honestly feel sorry for you."

Tang Yifei stared fixedly at Tang Jiu. "Tang Jiu, what on earth are you talking about? What do you mean? Spell it out for me—what has Tang Long actually done?!"

Tang Jiu cast a sideways glance at Tang Yifei. "What he did is far dirtier than anything you've done!"

Tang Yifei felt as though thousands of ants were crawling over his heart, but he knew that continuing to question her probably wouldn't get him any answers. Matters having reached this point, Tang Yifei no longer feared blowing things wide open; he immediately dialed Tang Long's number.

Guoguo couldn't help but inwardly complain about Tang Jiu spilling the beans. If Tang Long found out they had already figured out his sinister intentions, wouldn't all of her father's previous efforts have been wasted? What if that guy named Tang Long ran away? Where on earth would they find him to catch him?!

"Tang Long," Tang Yifei cut straight to the point. "What on earth have you been doing?!"

On the other end of the line, Tang Long fell silent for about ten seconds before speaking slowly, "Second Brother, I have no idea what you're talking about. Is something the matter?"

"Cut the crap! Stop playing dumb with me! What is it that you've been hiding from me all this time?! Why did Little Nine say that what you've done is even dirtier than my actions?! Tang Long, ever since Uncle Tang first fell ill, I felt like something was wrong. Does this matter have anything to do with you?!" Although Tang Yifei lacked deep cunning, it didn't mean he was a fool. There were some things he couldn't see through clearly, but that didn't mean he wouldn't start suspecting.

"Second Brother, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Tang Long replied. "I really don't understand what you're talking about. Can't you speak more clearly? Even if you want to frame someone, you need evidence!"

Impatiently, Tang Yifei interrupted Tang Long, "Save the breath! I'm not listening to your nonsense. Little Nine wouldn't lie to me about this, so stop acting in front of me. I'm warning you, you'd better not harbor any schemes against the Tang family!"

Tang Long let out a cold laugh. "Second Brother, let me tell you this again: I am not like you. I never said I wanted the Tang family, and I don't support your actions either. Furthermore, I even reminded you that Uncle Tang's condition was improving and advised you to drop your plan, but you wouldn't listen. Well, there's nothing I could do. Since you insist on jumping off a cliff after I've done all I could, I won't stop you anymore."

Tang Jiu, who had been silent up to this point, could no longer hold back. "Tang Long! How did you know my father's condition has improved? Who told you?!"

At that moment, Tang Long was genuinely bewildered. In his wildest dreams, he never would have imagined that Tang Jiu was with Tang Yifei. By all accounts, everyone should have despised Tang Yifei right now—why on earth would Tang Jiu be with him?! When Tang Yifei first mentioned that Tang Jiu had said his actions weren't as clean as hers, Tang Long had assumed Tang Yifei was just bluffing to trap him. Only now did he realize it was the absolute truth.

"Little Nine, why are you with him?!" Tang Long asked in panic. "Don't listen to his nonsense! Tang Yifei has completely lost his mind. You'd better stay away from him. Trust your Brother Long, I'm only looking out for you!"

Hearing Tang Long's tone of concern, Tang Jiu really didn't want to believe that her father's condition had been jointly manipulated by him and Aunt Xue. But by now, what reason did she have left not to believe it? Not just Xu Yun, but even her father had already identified the true mastermind. No matter how deeply hidden, that person could still not escape the fate of being dragged into the light.

Guoguo said disdainfully, "The one on this end has indeed lost his mind—he went ahead and kidnapped both me and Sister Xiao Jiu. But you're no prize either, so save the cat shedding tears for the mouse and drop the fake compassion."

Kidnapped?! Knowing that a child wouldn't spout nonsense, Tang Long felt a sudden surge of warmth blossom in his chest. *Oh, Second Brother, Second Brother, you've done a magnificent job with this. You're the one willing to play the villain despised for a thousand years; I certainly didn't force you.*

"Brother Tang Long, are you feeling rather pleased with yourself because of what Second Brother did? Do you think that because he kidnapped me, the Tang family will despise him even more?" Tang Jiu gave a faint smile. "Even so, you still can't cover up the things you've done. Although I haven't gone home yet, I suspect Aunt Xue has already told my father everything."

Aunt Xue?! This news hit Tang Yifei like a thunderbolt crashing down on his head. Aunt Xue was a veteran pillar of the Tang family; he had even believed that if Tang Jiu were to fall out with Uncle Tang, Aunt Xue would never do anything to betray the Tang family. How on earth did she get tangled up in this?

Amidst his fury, Tang Yifei's brain spun at breakneck speed. "Tang Long! You bastard, just how massive a chess game are you trying to play?! Have you treated every single member of the Tang family as a mere chess piece?!"

"Second Brother, you overestimate me. At the very least, your father—my second uncle—hasn't been under my control," Tang Long's voice turned frigid. "It's just that you refused to listen to him, which is why you've driven yourself to this point. Today, everyone has turned their backs on you. I'd like to see what you have left to fight me with."

Feeling immensely grateful that he had hired the Ghost Face Asura, Tang Yifei immediately sneered, "Hahaha, Tang Long, who do you think you are? Fight you? Today I'm going to take your life! Let's see what you have left to play with!"

"Take my life? Hehe, hahaha. Second Brother, aren't you being a bit too naive? Do you honestly think Black Sable and Grey Wolf by your side are match for the Ghost Face Asura who works for me? Who are you sending to take my head? Hahaha!" Tang Long suddenly stripped away his pretense like a mask. "Tang Yifei, you didn't actually think the Ghost Face Asura came to help you, did you? Then let me tell you, you are dead wrong. The Ghost Face Asura is here to help *me*. And not just him—tomorrow, his twin brother, the Blue-Faced Beast, will also arrive here to assist me. Hehehe, Tang Yifei, I'm telling you, you're going to lose everything!"

Tang Yifei gasped for breath, nearly choking himself to death. "What did you say?! The Ghost Face Asura was clearly hired by me!"

"Did you really think your pitiful little family assets could buy his loyalty?" Tang Long let out a heavy snort. "I'll tell you the truth: I was the one who made him agree to your terms. Because only then would you feel secure in your arrogance, and only then would you grow even more reckless! Hahaha! As long as you were reckless enough, you'd march straight to your doom all the faster!"

"Bullshit!" Tang Yifei roared furiously. "You expect me to believe your wild fairy tales?!"

Tang Long laughed heartily. "Then let me tell you something else: the woman who came along with Little Nine and the others has already been brought to me by the Asura. Does that convince you?"

Boom! That was an absolute bolt from the blue! Tang Yifei hadn't told a single soul about his plans for today, and his decision to have the Ghost Face Asura deal with Qiu Yan was a spur-of-the-moment choice. There was simply no way Tang Long could have known his plan in advance!

"Second Brother, stop deceiving yourself. If you don't believe me, you can call the Asura and ask him yourself, hehe," Tang Long said. "Since the mask has already been ripped off, I have nothing left to hide. You probably don't have time to record this call anyway, so you won't have any evidence. I want you to know this: I want not only Tang Zhengting's life, but also your father Tang Zhenfeng's life, your life, everyone's life... hehehe..."

By the end of his sentence, Tang Long's laughter had grown increasingly unhinged and twisted.

Tang Jiu was drenched in cold sweat from head to toe. She never imagined that Tang Long harbored such a monumental conspiracy, but they weren't completely out of options yet. "Tang Long! I will have Aunt Xue expose you in front of the whole family! Don't get too full of yourself!"

"Expose me?" Tang Long burst into laughter once more. "Little Nine, have you ever seen a dead person expose anyone?"

A sudden ringing filled Tang Jiu's head. Even Tang Yifei was so stunned by these words that his jaw hung open, unable to close. A dead person? How on earth could Aunt Xue be linked to a dead person?

"Tang Long, what kind of crazy nonsense are you spouting?" Tang Jiu's upper lip trembled before her entire body began to shake uncontrollably.

Tang Long's voice turned chillingly cold once again. "Little Nine, this was Aunt Xue's own choice. It has nothing to do with me; I won't take credit for things I didn't do. Since Aunt Xue made her choice, I naturally have the right to respect it. After all, of everyone involved, she was the one who helped me the most..."

"I'm asking you what happened to Aunt Xue?!" Tang Jiu screamed almost hysterically.

Tang Long had no intention of withholding the answer, delivering it with crisp efficiency: "She knew your dad and Xu Yun had discovered everything she did, so she felt she had no face left to stay in the Tang family and chose to leave on her own accord. You can't blame me for that—if you want to blame someone, blame that Xu Yun who exposed her! He's the one who drove Aunt Xue to her death."

Tang Jiu had reached the absolute limit of her emotional endurance. "Tang Long, you bastard... Aunt Xue cherished you the most since you were a child. Even I could see that, yet you could actually do something like this—you could just stand by and watch Aunt Xue die... Tang Long, I wish I could tear you to pieces!"

"Little Nine, you're being far too heartless," Tang Long scoffed. "Aunt Xue said she was 'leaving' an hour ago. I imagine she's probably traveled pretty far down that 'road' by now, so don't waste your energy looking. Alright, I've said enough. Tell Second Brother to run while he still can, or the next one to die will be him."

The sound coming from the phone receiver was quite loud, so Tang Yifei heard every word. He shivered violently. Even the formidable Ghost Face Asura he had hired turned out to be one of Tang Long's men—what else did he have left to fight Tang Long with?! Fleeing was perhaps his only way out! At least he still had enough money stashed away to live comfortably for the rest of his life!