Chapter 506 - 506: The Delay of Negotiations
"Where is he!" Ye Qing asked bluntly, not caring about any documents or other information. His primary concern was the situation of his brother, Ye Jun.
"He's in Tianhui City..." Zhao Chengshuang glanced at Ye Qing and said, "Moreover, I found out that he's currently working for the Beggar King in Tianhui City."
"The Beggar King!" Ye Qing frowned upon mentioning this person, feeling somewhat irritated.
Just like Lin Tianhao, the Beggar King also made money using children and the disabled, and Ye Qing had heard about it long ago. When Ye Qing had secretly visited the orphanage last time, he learned about the Beggar King's dealings, including a group of children and disabled persons under him. Ye Qing had planned to go to Tianhui City to find the Beggar King and rescue these children and disabled, but due to the numerous issues in Shenchuan City, his time had been tied up, preventing him from going. However, that didn't mean Ye Qing would turn a blind eye; in fact, he was still concerned about the situation there. Once the issues in Shenchuan City were resolved, he was ready to go to Tianhui City to confront the Beggar King.
It turned out that Old Bai really hadn't repented. The former boss, Lin Tianhao, had already gone to prison and was soon to be executed. Despite his narrow escape, rather than showing any remorse, he fled to Tianhui City to seek refuge with the Beggar King, continuing to engage in these abominable activities.
Ye Qing had initially planned to deal with the Beggar King later, but now that his brother's situation was involved, he had no choice but to act ahead of schedule.
After pondering for a while, Ye Qing got the details about Old Bai's location and activities in Tianhui City from Zhao Chengshuang, then made a call to Black Bear, asking him to take ten men to Tianhui City and capture Old Bai first.
The situation in Shenchuan City was still unstable, and Ye Qing couldn't afford to relax for a minute. He needed to settle the matters in Shenchuan City before he could address the issues with the Beggar King. Therefore, for now, Ye Qing could only capture Old Bai and was unable to look after the people under the Beggar King!
Upon receiving Ye Qing's call, Black Bear set off for Tianhui City that morning. Of course, operating in Tianhui City was harder than in Shenchuan City, especially since Ye Qing had no connections or background there. However, the Beggar King had been in Tianhui City for a long time, and his power was formidable, making him difficult to deal with. Thus, Ye Qing specifically sent Black Bear, feeling somewhat relieved with him managing the situation.
By 6:30 p.m., Ye Qing had arrived early at Tian Sheng. Today, he had specially arranged for the place to be closed temporarily, as it wasn't appropriate for the public to witness the negotiations between the three major gangs.
Around seven o'clock, members of the Fierce Tiger Gang arrived first, led by Pi Junchao, along with other faction leaders within the gang, a total of ten people entered the large conference room arranged by Ye Qing.
The members of the Fierce Tiger Gang knew that Ye Qing had organized this meeting, but no one knew what his real attitude was. He hadn't tried to win over the Fierce Tiger Gang members, nor had he taken advantage of the situation. Could it really be that he was preparing for some sort of peaceful negotiation here?
Of course, within the Fierce Tiger Gang, some were not in favor of such negotiations. These individuals had suffered heavy losses in the chaos, including significant harm to their closest friends and family. For instance, Old Jiu's brother had an arm severed in a melee last night, and his son, not yet twelve, had been stabbed twice and was still in the hospital. Among Pi Junchao's group, he was the most opposed to a negotiation. But since Pi Junchao had agreed, he had no choice but to come along despite being visibly cold and resentful throughout.
The Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang members arrived much later; the negotiation was scheduled by Ye Qing for 7:30. However, they hadn't arrived by eight, causing some restlessness among the Fierce Tiger Gang members present.
"Ye brothers, it seems some people aren't ready to show you respect," Pi Junchao said with a light smile to Ye Qing. He liked this outcome. If the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang didn't show up, it would be a slight to Ye Qing. Thus, Ye Qing would definitely not let the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang off easily, drawing them into the conflict, which was exactly what the Fierce Tiger Gang hoped to see.
Ye Qing was quite calm, merely giving a slight smile without saying anything. Meanwhile, the Fierce Tiger Gang members buzzed with discussion about the Tianqing Gang's and Fu Bang's attitudes toward Ye Qing, mostly speculating that they wouldn't show any respect.
Finally, at 8:30, Yue Peng walked in from the door and said, "Eldest Brother, Yue Gaoyang of Fu Bang has arrived!"
The Fierce Tiger Gang members all looked at Ye Qing, and Pi Junchao slightly smiled, saying, "He really shows you respect by arriving at this time, Ye brother. Looks like our meeting will be delayed."
"Better late than never!" Ye Qing stood up and said, "Please let them in!"
Yue Peng went out, and soon after, Yue Gaoyang and his group walked in directly. Upon entering, Yue Gaoyang immediately greeted Ye Qing with a bow, smiling, "Boss Ye, I'm really sorry, the traffic was terrible, I'm late; I apologize for making everyone wait!"
Yue Gaoyang had brought more than twenty people with him, clearly not stopping at the door but bringing everyone directly into the conference room. This move caused another stir among the Fierce Tiger Gang since Ye Qing had previously stated a limit of ten people, and Yue Gaoyang was obviously breaking the rules. With Ye Qing remaining silent, that made everyone feel even more aggrieved.
"Damn it, acting all high and mighty!" Fierce Tiger Gang's Brother Jiu muttered under his breath, frustrated, "Traffic? Didn't know to leave earlier? Arriving late and still so arrogant, damn it!"
Brother Jiu's place was raided by people from the Fu Bang, and both his son and his brother were stabbed by members of the Fu Bang, so he harbored a special hatred for them.
When Yue Gaoyang heard Brother Jiu's voice, he smirked coldly, turned to glance at Brother Jiu, and said, "The house master hasn't even spoken yet; who are you, a minor character who popped up from nowhere, to speak here? What's happening, has the Fierce Tiger Gang lost all respect for authority?"
Yue Gaoyang spoke casually while glancing at Pi Junchao, as if mocking him for not being able to manage his subordinates well.
Pi Junchao felt somewhat embarrassed; Brother Jiu's comments indeed embarrassed him as the gang leader. Moreover, coming here tonight was meant for negotiations, and Brother Jiu had been opposing him from the start, which also made him somewhat angry. Thus, he glared at Brother Jiu and said sternly, "Old Jiu!"
Brother Jiu's face changed instantly; Pi Junchao speaking to him like this in front of so many people left him no face. What was crucial was that he used to manage a power himself, and if it weren't for this incident, he would still be confronting Pi Junchao. Since when could Pi Junchao order him around?
But now, Pi Junchao was indeed the leader of their group. Therefore, Brother Jiu opened his mouth but eventually did not speak, only glaring furiously at Yue Gaoyang, feeling extremely displeased with Pi Junchao as well.
Ye Qing watched all of this with a faint smile. Seeing Brother Jiu turning away, he stood up and smiled, "Regardless, it's good that you've come. Gang Leader Yue, why haven't we see Gang Leader Shangguan?"
"Don't know, probably stuck in traffic!" Yue Gaoyang sat down at the table with his group of more than twenty men, which outnumbered Ye Qing's men and were much more imposing. Tonight, under the orders of Li Wenyuan, he, like the Tianqing Gang, was to be overbearing, trying to intimidate the Fierce Tiger Gang as a warning to Ye Qing not to interfere unnecessarily.
"It seems that Shenchuan City's traffic really needs to be managed." Ye Qing sighed, looked at his watch, and said, "I don't even know which road Gang Leader Shangguan is stuck on; should we send someone to bring him dinner or something?"
The room burst into laughter, and Yue Gaoyang glanced at Ye Qing, puzzled by Ye Qing's way of speaking today. Ye Qing used to be a man of few words, and would hardly joke like this; tonight, however, he was unusually out of character, making him very hard to figure out.
"Traffic jams like this happen all the time in Shenchuan City. Mr. Ye, if you can't wait, we can talk another day, I'm in no rush!" Yue Gaoyang stood up and sneered at Pi Junchao, "Wise Nephew Pi, shall we head back first?"
Pi Junchao frowned; if nothing was resolved tonight, coming here would have been meaningless.
"Don't even think about running!" Before Pi Junchao could speak, Brother Jiu jumped up and shouted, "Yue Gaoyang, your Fu Bang people stabbed my brother and my son; if you don't clear this up today, don't think about leaving!"
Brother Jiu jumped up and ran toward Yue Gaoyang's men, his eyes red with anger, as if eager to confront Yue Gaoyang right then and there.
"Old Jiu! Old Jiu!" Several people close to him hurriedly got up to hold him back from going towards Yue Gaoyang.
With more than twenty men by his side, Yue Gaoyang was not afraid of Old Jiu. He looked composedly at the struggling Old Jiu and then at Pi Junchao, his face full of mockery.
Pi Junchao's face was extremely ugly. Suddenly, he stood up and yelled, "Old Jiu, sit down!"
Old Jiu was stunned for a moment; he looked at Pi Junchao and then at Yue Gaoyang, roaring angrily, "I won't sit down! God damn it, I can overlook my brother's issue; he's an adult, and getting stabbed comes with the territory. But my son is only twelve goddamn years old, doesn't understand anything, and is still in school, and you stabbed him too; what the hell kind of logic is that? Yue Gaoyang, explain this to me, don't you fucking act dumb!"
Pi Junchao, furious, walked over and slapped Old Jiu twice, shouting, "Chen Laojiu, have you fucking forgotten who you are? This is a gathering of leaders; when did it become your turn to speak? Get the hell out!"
Old Jiu was immediately shocked, staring at Pi Junchao, as the other members of the Fierce Tiger Gang also looked at Pi Junchao, with dissatisfaction evident in their eyes.
Pi Junchao, furious to the max and oblivious to everyone's stares, shouted, "Did you hear me? Get the hell out!"