Chapter 658 - 658: Interrogating Old Bai
Old Wang Ba looked like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of being scalded, and Ye Qing had no way to deal with him, so he could only have Black Bear take him to an upstairs room to rest.
After resolving everything here, Ye Qing finally found the time to hurry to Li Lianshan's villa. Old Bai from Tianhui City had been captured and had been held in that very villa. Old Bai was connected to the whereabouts of Ye Qing's younger brother, Ye Jun, so Ye Qing wanted to personally inquire about the situation.
In fact, the first thing Ye Qing wanted to do upon returning was to find Old Bai and ask about his brother Ye Jun. However, as soon as he returned, he had been busy. Especially with integrating the forces of Shenchuan City and taking care of Li Lianshan in the hospital, he simply hadn't had the time to be distracted. Now, having finally dealt with all his affairs, he could finally meet Old Bai.
Old Bai had been brought over from Tianhui City by Black Bear and had been locked up in Li Lianshan's villa for the last few days, under close watch by someone. Although he had been well fed and cared for these past few days, one could tell he was very uneasy, completely unable to understand why Ye Qing would lock up such an insignificant person like himself.
Seeing Ye Qing come in, the muscles on Old Bai's face twitched visibly, a result of being scared to shivering.
Old Bai had been present when Boss Lin burned the van full of disabled people and had seen firsthand how Ye Qing dealt with Boss Lin's people. Therefore, he always harbored fear towards Ye Qing. As Ye Qing stepped closer, Old Bai could no longer hold back and suddenly fell to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling, "Brother Ye, it's none of my business, ah, none of my business! All those things were done by Boss Lin and the Beggar King, they have nothing to do with me, I was just trying to make a living..."
This fellow still thought Ye Qing had caught him to avenge those disabled people, so he was scared enough to kneel and beg for mercy.
"Stand up!" Ye Qing barked in a deep voice.
Hearing Ye Qing's icy voice, Old Bai was so frightened he jerked. He tried several times to get up, but his legs were too weak, and he couldn't. Eventually, he could only brace himself against the wall to stand up feebly. However, he didn't even have the courage to make eye contact with Ye Qing. This man could only be considered a low-level nobody, not at all significant.
"Brother Ye, I... I haven't done anything bad, please, I beg you... spare my life, I... I'll definitely reform in the future..." Old Bai pleaded with a trembling voice.
Ye Qing said sternly, "Answer a few questions for me, and I'll spare your life!"
Old Bai was startled, then replied eagerly, "What... what questions? Brother Ye, just ask away. Whatever I know... I will not hold anything back!"
Ye Qing regarded him quietly and said, "You are one of Boss Lin's couriers, so you must be rather familiar with the people under Boss Lin, right?"
Old Bai replied, "Not really familiar. Boss Lin is very cautious in his dealings. He never allows those of us who deliver goods to interact with his men for fear they'd start doing business on their own."
"I'm not talking about those people..." Ye Qing said, "I mean those disabled people around him, the ones who always go to pick up and deliver goods; you know all of them, don't you?"
Old Bai looked at Ye Qing in astonishment, not understanding why Ye Qing would ask him about this. He scratched his head and said, "I'm not the only one who delivered goods for him; there were others. However, I should have some impression of everyone I've seen!"
"Have you seen this person?" Ye Qing handed a photo of his younger brother Ye Jun to Old Bai, and at that moment, his heartbeat sped up quite a bit. Old Bai was Ye Qing's last hope in finding his brother Ye Jun. If even he didn't know, then Ye Qing's last hint of hope would be shattered.
Old Bai looked at the photo for a good while, thinking hard he said, "Brother Ye, this photo of yours, is a bit too clean. You know, those disabled people under Boss Lin were all starving, nothing but skin and bones, covered in filth, totally unrecognizable. I can only say this person in the picture looks a bit familiar to me, but I'm not sure if it's the one I've seen!"
Familiarity was a hope for the current Ye Qing. He immediately asked, "This person was sent by Boss Lin to deliver the last batch of goods. You were in charge of transporting that batch; do you remember if this person was there?"
When Ye Qing put it that way, Old Bai immediately nodded and said, "Now that you mention it, that's why he looked so familiar. Brother Ye, now that you bring it up, I remember, yes, there was indeed someone who really resembled the person in this photo during that last delivery."
Ye Qing's heart leapt, and he grabbed Old Bai, his voice urgent, "Where is he then? Where did he go afterward? Do you know?"
Old Bai looked at Ye Qing with surprise. Ye Qing's excitement puzzled him, as he couldn't fathom what was wrong with Ye. However, he didn't dare play any tricks on Ye Qing at the moment and honestly said, "The last time we transported the goods back from over there, when we were in Western Province, one of our trucks got separated from us. We were supposed to look for it there, but at that time, you and Boss Lin were fighting, and for some reason, Boss Lin told us to hurry back, so we didn't bother with that truck. This person, he should have been on that truck!"
Ye Qing knew why Boss Lin was in such a hurry to have Old Bai and the others return; he had already learned that Ye was looking for his brother, so he wanted to bring those people back to capture Ye Jun and use him to threaten Ye. Hearing what Old Bai had said, Ye Qing heaved a sigh of relief. This meant that his brother, Ye Jun, must have been on the truck that got lost in Western Province. In other words, he was almost certain to still be alive!
Finding his brother Ye Jun was Ye Qing's greatest wish. As long as he was alive, Ye Qing would always hold onto hope and keep searching forever.
Ye Qing then asked many more detailed questions, including how they lost that truck, who was driving, how many people were on board, and where exactly they discovered it was missing. All this information was crucial to his search for Ye Jun, and he couldn't afford to be careless.
Ye Qing etched every single word Old Bai said into his memory, not allowing for any inaccuracies. Old Bai had answered many questions for Ye Qing until he was dry-mouthed and parched. Finally, when Ye Qing stopped asking questions, Old Bai eagerly awaited Ye's permission to leave.
However, Ye Qing just sat in silence, pondering the information he had just heard, showing no signs of letting him go. Old Bai didn't dare to disturb him and could only sit there anxiously waiting. After a long while, Ye Qing finally looked up, and Old Bai immediately looked at him with eagerness.
Seeing the anxious look on Old Bai's face, Ye knew what he was thinking and said, "You can go now."
"Thank you, thank you, Big Brother Ye, thank you!" Overjoyed, Old Bai hastily expressed his gratitude and headed for the door.
Just as Old Bai was about to leave the room, Ye Qing suddenly said, "However, you can't leave Shenchuan City!"
"Ah?" Old Bai turned around, looking at Ye in astonishment, and asked, "Big Brother Ye, why... why is that?"
"I don't know whether the information you just gave me is true or false. Until I find those people, I can only trouble you to stay in Shenchuan City for now!" Ye Qing paused and then added, "Rest assured, as long as you haven't lied to me, you will be safe here. I can arrange a job for you, you can work at my place, and get paid the same as my brothers every month. After I find these people, you can leave anytime you want, what do you think?"
Although Ye Qing's tone seemed to be asking for Old Bai's agreement, Old Bai knew very well that he had no room to bargain. He had no choice but to nod in agreement. Nevertheless, the conditions Ye Qing was offering were indeed good—arranging a job for him with a monthly income. As long as no one troubled him, where to live didn't really matter, did it!
Ye Qing had Mad Dog take Old Bai down and arranged for him to work at the place. He was mainly kept there so Mad Dog could watch over him, in case he decided to run away. Ever since he had been deceived by Lin Tianhao, Ye Qing had become more cautious and skeptical of what these people said. Until he found his brother Ye Jun, he wouldn't let Old Bai go!
The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, after finishing his morning exercises, Ye Qing just got home around 7 o'clock when he received a call from Ghost-faced Judge Cui Yu. They had returned to Shenchuan City and were currently in the teahouse.
Ye had been looking for Cui Yu for several days. Upon hearing the news, he didn't even have time for breakfast; he washed the sweat off his body, changed his clothes, and drove straight to the teahouse.
Lady Boss Hu Momo and the others hadn't returned yet. In the teahouse, only Cui Yu and a few of his companions were present. When Ye Qing entered, Demon Queen He Qinghua was standing at the door, throwing seductive glances at him non-stop.
Ye turned his head away; although the woman was tempting, he felt an indescribable repulsion towards her.
Entering the door, Cui Yu and the others were seated inside the room. Old Wang Ba had appeared at some point, and the Netherworld Taoist and Pig King had also come. It was evident that the Netherworld Taoist and Pig King were quite familiar with Cui Yu and the others. Could it be that these two were also members of the Sha Men Sect?
In fact, even now, Ye Qing did not fully understand what the Sha Men Sect was. However, he could vaguely sense that the Sect's strength was far from simple. Ghost-faced Judge Cui Yu, Demon Queen He Qinghua, Ghost King Li Ruoyuan, and Cui Yulong; any of these individuals were formidable in their own right. As for the rest, Ye had not seen them in action, but those who stood with Cui Yu and his comrades surely weren't weak!
The thought of such a formidable sect clashing with the Shen Family in a great battle—regardless of who won or lost, the outcome was bound to be mutually destructive.
As the proverb goes, when the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman benefits. If the Sha Men Sect really fought against the Shen Family, surely the biggest winner would be the behind-the-scenes instigator of the conflict!