Chapter 608 - 608 Catching the King of Explosives (8th Update)
The people of the Ding Family, seeing that Young Master Ding Shaoyan hadn't died, didn't pursue Ye Qing and Du Tianyi any further. After all, Ding Shaoyan had caused so much trouble, and the punishments Ye Qing inflicted on him were deserved. Moreover, if Ye Qing hadn't killed him, then this matter really wasn't much of an issue. That influential figure from the provincial government definitely wouldn't create resentment with Liu Changping and Zhou Bolong over this.
With matters regarding the Ding Family coming to a close, Ye Qing returned to the teahouse to find that Li Lianshan had already led his people to reclaim their previous territory.
Just as Ye Qing and Zhao Chengshuang had anticipated, Li Wenyuan's death and Shangguan Tian's descent into madness left the Tianqing Gang and Fu Bang in complete disarray. Firstly, infighting split them apart as various small forces began to compete for territory, each aspiring to become the new Gang Leader. Under these circumstances, aside from a few loyalists of Li Wenyuan and Shangguan Tian, there was essentially no one left who would seek revenge for them.
Now that the two major gangs were splintered, none of the factions were particularly strong. Having absorbed nearly half of the members from Fierce Tiger Gang, Li Lianshan's power had significantly increased, and dealing with these people wasn't difficult. Over the next few days, Li Lianshan was busy dealing with Li Wenyuan and Shangguan Tian's loyalists, eliminating them all to prevent any future troubles. As for those vying for power who did not oppose him, Li Lianshan, following Ye Qing's intentions, temporarily ignored them, allowing them to fight among themselves before stepping in to reap the benefits.
After resting for a day in Shenchuan City, Du Tianyi left, heading straight for the Western Province to seek vengeance against Yang Shitao. Ye Qing didn't follow him because there were still many things in Shenchuan City that needed his attention, and he simply couldn't leave.
Once he had regained control of his territories, Ye Qing entrusted Lin Mengjie with their management, while he himself went directly to Eryao Town to continue with the construction of the orphanage.
The previous explosion had destroyed the building where the children had lived. At that time, the Ding Family was fully focused on targeting Ye Qing, and some people in the city had halted the construction of the orphanage, deeming Ye Qing's private orphanage illegal and prohibiting its construction.
Now with the support of Liu Changping and Zhou Bolong, nobody in Shenchuan City dared to question the legality of the orphanage anymore. Construction continued, but Ye Qing recognized that he must obtain an official permit for the orphanage; otherwise, if any chaos ensued or someone wished to exploit the orphanage for their own purposes, it would be troubling. Ye Qing himself wasn't afraid of anything, but he was concerned that the children would suffer!
At the orphanage, Huang Fulin had been on-site all this time. The last explosion had genuinely terrified him, but fortunately, there were no casualties—indeed, a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Seeing Ye Qing arrive, Huang Fulin was filled with emotion and couldn't help but sigh deeply.
Ye Qing personally inspected the construction of the orphanage. The old building was gone, leaving the children with no place to stay. Some were injured and now residing in the hospital; the rest were temporarily sheltered in a house Ye Qing had rented, but this was not a long-term solution. The priority was to build a new building where the children could live; the rest could be constructed gradually.
For this purpose, Ye Qing had Liu Yuan find a reputable construction crew specifically for the construction of a new building. Lin Zhen Nan also contributed ten million to support the construction. With money paving the way, things became much easier; the construction crew promised Ye Qing that they would erect a new building in half a month. Liu Yuan was fully prepared and ready to begin interior decoration as soon as the building was completed, aiming to minimize the time before the children could move in.
With Liu Yuan's help and the construction crew's promise, Ye Qing felt somewhat relieved. In the afternoon, he had a meal with the teachers from the school. Although the explosion had been harrowing, none of them intended to leave. Firstly, Ye Qing paid well, and secondly, they had integrated into the local environment, treating the orphanage as their own responsibility and not considering leaving at all.
Ye Qing had feared that the recent explosion would scatter the morale of the staff, but seeing their attitude, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He decided to increase everyone's salary by ten percent to thank them for protecting the children from harm during the explosion.
It took an entire day for Ye Qing to settle the affairs of the orphanage. Mainly supervised by the headmaster, with Fang Tingyun, Mo Xiang, and Huo Pingping on site, as well as Lin Yashi helping out, there wasn't much for Ye Qing to worry about.
After dinner, Ye Qing took another walk around the school to observe the surroundings. The recent explosion had made him aware of security risks at the orphanage, so he planned to build a wall to guard against unnecessary dangers.
As night fell, the area around the orphanage was quiet, a place already seldom visited. Driving around the perimeter of the orphanage, Ye Qing observed both the orphanage and its surroundings. He wanted to base the security measures for the orphanage on these observations.
Just as Ye Qing's car passed a small grove, his eyes unintentionally caught sight of a black sedan parked amidst the trees.
Ye Qing was surprised. It was late, and the area was secluded—who would be here at this time?
The recent explosion at the orphanage made Ye Qing extra cautious about its security. Now, upon discovering a car here, his vigilance immediately heightened. Pretending to be unbothered, he maintained the same driving speed and slowly drove away. However, as soon as he turned the corner ahead, he immediately pulled over, got out, and took a back path towards the grove.
In the small woods, indeed there was someone sitting in the black sedan—it was the King of Explosives who had had a conflict with Xu Dingjiang last time. As soon as he saw Ye Qing's car, he hid inside his vehicle. Only after Ye Qing's car drove away did he feel somewhat relieved and sat up to continue observing the orphanage carefully.
In the darkness, everything seemed so quiet. The area was desolate; he wasn't worried about anyone coming, so he wasn't very vigilant. Just as he was intently watching the situation at the orphanage, suddenly, the car door was opened by someone. A strong hand reached in, grabbed him by the collar, and effortlessly yanked him out!
The King of Explosives had no chance to resist; he was dragged out directly. Then, a hand grabbed his neck, lifted him up, and a deep voice sounded beside his ear, "Who are you?"
The King of Explosives was no pushover; after a moment of shock, he quickly kicked towards the person's chest. However, just as his foot was raised halfway, an arm slammed down on his leg, causing him pain so intense his face contorted, and he couldn't help but let out a muffled groan. He grabbed the arm and twisted forcefully, trying to make the other person release their grip. But his strength was ultimately no match for his opponent, and his arm was twisted and pinned to the ground instead.
The King of Explosives was fast to react. The instant he hit the ground, his other hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a black object the size of a broad bean, which he threw forcefully to the ground. A "pop" sounded, and a dense cloud of white smoke rose into the air, engulfing both of them. Taking advantage of the situation, the King of Explosives drew a dagger from his leg and lunged towards the person's chest.
This move was practically the King of Explosives' sure-kill technique, which had eliminated many formidable enemies. However, the person he faced this time was different—it was Ye Qing.
He had taken a back route to sneak into the woods and quietly approached the car, catching the King of Explosives observing the orphanage. Seeing the sly look on the King of Explosives, Ye Qing felt anger bubbling inside, suspecting the man wanted to do something harmful to the orphanage; thus, he did not hold back in his attack.
When the King of Explosives suddenly threw that small bomb and white smoke filled the air, it did catch Ye Qing off-guard. However, he did not panic; instead, he swept his right arm across his chest, just in time to block the dagger thrust by the King of Explosives. Had he been a fraction slower, the dagger might have pierced his chest.
Ye Qing parried the King of Explosives' arm, seizing his wrist in a fluid motion, twisting it and snatching the dagger from his hand. With one arm still twisted, Ye Qing held the dagger to the King of Explosives' neck, his voice cold as ice, "Move again, and I'll kill you!"
Feeling the icy chill of the dagger on his neck, the King of Explosives indeed stopped moving, knowing well that he was no match for Ye Qing and that further struggle would be in vain.
The white smoke took a while to dissipate slowly, and in the moonlight, both men could finally see each other clearly. The King of Explosives was not very surprised; he had observed Ye Qing before. However, Ye Qing was somewhat astonished because he recognized the King of Explosives as the perpetrator behind those recent explosions!
"It's you!" Ye Qing frowned; he had attempted to capture this man numerous times but had never succeeded. Unexpectedly, he had him under control this time. It seemed, then, that the explosive events at the orphanage were his doing too?
With defiance, the King of Explosives tilted his neck and coldly stated, "Hmm, now that I'm in your hands, kill or butcher me as you please!"
Ye Qing did not kill him, instead, he slowly withdrew the dagger but did not let go.
"Did you orchestrate the explosion here last time?" Ye Qing asked in a stern voice.
The King of Explosives glanced at Ye Qing and nodded slowly, saying, "Yes, it was me. What, do you plan to kill me, or are you preparing to hand me over to the police?"
Ye Qing, staring at him, shook his head, "I'm not planning to kill you. I just want to ask you one question. Why did such a massive explosion leave no one dead in the orphanage?"
"Because I never planned to kill them in the first place!" the King of Explosives said proudly. "My employer only wanted me to create an explosion here and did not demand any casualties. So, when I planted the bombs, I never intended to kill anyone!"