Chapter 54
Chapter 54
1:00 PM.
As expected, I received a call from Meng Yifan.
I was incredibly excited, and Meng Yifan was just as emotional on the other end of the line. I could hear a slight sob in his voice; he probably thought he’d never get out.
“How did you get me out? How much did it cost?”
Meng Yifan was still worried about the money.
I couldn’t say too much over the phone. I simply told him that Du Ruhai’s people had contacted me and that I had traded the Ashes Urns for his freedom.
“You can’t go! Something will happen!”
“Those bastards are absolute scum!”
Meng Yifan’s tone was furious. It was only then that I learned he had been beaten.
He had been beaten while inside the detention center.
“If you go, something will definitely happen to you. Du Ruhai won’t let us off easily.”
“I have no choice. The Ashes Urns have to be returned.”
I sighed and said, “Now that you’re out, if I don’t give them back, they’ll come and kill us in the middle of the night. Don’t worry about things on my end.”
I told Meng Yifan not to come over for now and to head back to the real estate agency first. Neither of us had been at the shop for a while, so there were bound to be many things waiting for him to handle.
After hanging up, a huge weight was lifted off my chest.
However, while Meng Yifan was safe, I was now the one in jeopardy.
“Are you really going to return those two Ashes Urns?”
Song Xiaotian looked at me. “The people are dead, and their families can’t even get their ashes back.”
I sighed. “I want to return them to the families too, but I can’t handle this. Now that we’ve uncovered so much, I have no way to deal with Du Ruhai. All it takes is one word from him, and I could be walking down the street one day and get ‘mysteriously’ killed in a car accident.”
It wasn’t that I lacked principles, but the prerequisite was that I shouldn’t have to sacrifice myself.
What use are principles if I’m dead?
Song Xiaotian nodded. “I’ll go with you to deliver them. Otherwise, you really might never come back.”
That person sent me another text message, setting a time and place.
The time wasn’t at night, but the location was very remote, quite a distance from the city center.
If it were just a simple delivery, there would be no need to choose such a secluded spot.
Song Xiaotian was right; I really might not come back.
6:00 PM.
Song Xiaotian drove his car, taking me toward the destination.
I remained silent in the car, my mind racing through many thoughts.
Song Xiaotian asked what I was thinking about.
I said, “If Old Zhao Seven is in league with Du Ruhai, why did he let me take these two Ashes Urns? He seemed to know that Du Ruhai would use Meng Yifan to trade for these things.”
If they were on the same side, it seemed contradictory for him to do something that harmed Du Ruhai’s interests.
“It is suspicious,” Song Xiaotian said. “But the fact remains that he played you. No matter what he’s planning, he’s using you. Anyone who uses you like that isn’t reliable. He’ll sacrifice others at any moment to achieve his own goals.”
I nodded and stopped talking.
In any case, I wasn’t going to associate with Old Zhao Seven anymore.
That man wasn’t sincere at all. If he hadn’t leaked the information beforehand, Meng Yifan wouldn’t have been caught.
After driving for nearly an hour, the car stopped near an unfinished building in the suburbs.
I grabbed my backpack and walked toward the derelict structure, with Song Xiaotian following close beside me to ensure my safety.
Inside the derelict building were three men: one in a suit and two who looked like hired muscle.
Seeing there weren’t many of them, I figured they just wanted to teach me a lesson.
“Chen Mo, right?”
“That’s me. I brought the stuff.”
As I spoke, I handed over the backpack.
The man in the suit opened it, checked the contents, and nodded. “At least you’re sensible.”
“I’ve given you the items.” I played the coward, offering a deeply apologetic look. “It was wrong of us to take Boss Du’s things. I hope Boss Du won’t lower himself to deal with small-timers like us. I’m truly sorry.”
The three of them immediately burst into laughter, looking at me with mocking expressions.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. So you do know you’re a small-timer.”
The man in the suit sneered. “A small-timer who dares to steal from Boss Du’s home? I don’t think you saw yourself as one back then. You really shouldn’t have brought someone else with you today.”
With that, he raised his hands high and clapped a few times.
In an instant, eight or nine more men emerged from all directions, surrounding Song Xiaotian and me.
Seeing the scale of this, I panicked.
These people really had no intention of letting me go.
“Big brother, there’s no need for this. I’ve returned everything to you…”
“Shut it. Shh!”
The man in the suit acted like a total hotshot, waving his hand dismissively at the thugs. “Take care of them first.”
I thought to myself that these people were way too brazen. Were they planning to cripple me or kill me?
With so many of them, Song Xiaotian was likely going to suffer too.
I was just about to tell Song Xiaotian to run-this had nothing to do with him.
But to my surprise, despite being outnumbered, Song Xiaotian suddenly flicked a short baton out from his sleeve and pointed it at the man in the suit.
“I don’t care about your business, but he’s my brother-in-law.”
“If anyone touches him today, I’ll make sure none of you walk out of here.”
His tone was even more arrogant than the man in the suit.
I was stunned.
He wasn’t just talking tough; he was being genuinely aggressive, as if he were threatening everyone present.
The man in the suit froze, the smile vanishing from his face. “I think you have a death wish.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Song Xiaotian smirked and swung the baton directly at the nearest man’s head.
When I heard that dull thud, I realized the baton was made of solid iron. The man who was hit collapsed on the spot.
“Fuck!”
The others immediately flared up in rage.
Song Xiaotian didn’t flinch. “If anyone else fucking moves, you’re dead today!”
He pointed at the man in the suit. “I used to be a cop. I’ve looked up your family situation and I know everything. You think I won’t ruin your parents?”
The man in the suit stiffened, his face turning beet red. Suddenly, his bravado vanished.
It wasn’t just him; not a single person there dared to take a step forward.
“What the fuck are you looking at!” Song Xiaotian suddenly barked at another man, who immediately lowered his head.
Never mind them-even I was shaken by Song Xiaotian. I almost forgot he was on my side.
“You’ve got guts. Real guts.”
The man in the suit suddenly laughed and waved his men off. “Let them go. They’re too much trouble. Impressive.”