Chapter 225

"I... I mean, the deceased comes first. Everyone, shouldn't we first take care of Xiao Rui's posthumous affairs, and talk about other things later?" I unconsciously shrank my body and stepped to the side.

When his words fell, Yang Shouren sighed dimly: "What Xiao Chen Shifu said is indeed reasonable. As his father, I failed to fulfill my duties while he was alive. Now that Rui'er is gone, I must let him depart in grandeur; I cannot let him leave lonely and desolate."

"But, elder brother, how can we not avenge Rui'er?" Yang Shouyi stepped forward, obviously still had more to say. However, Yang Shouren waved his hand to cut him off: "Other matters can wait; first we must properly handle Little Yi's posthumous affairs. Go, fetch the most renowned priest. Arrange everything; I want Rui'er to depart in splendor." Yang Shouren said firmly, his tone allowing no rebuttal.

Yang Shouyi's face showed a struggle for a moment, and finally he could only resign himself resentfully.

————I am the cute dividing line————

The Yang family's handling was efficient and swift; in just a few hours they had invited the Nanmu elder and the priest, and the altar was also set up.

The customs for funerals in the north and south are not greatly different; on the first day after death, most people perform a vegetarian fast and merit transfer, and only after observing mourning do they bury the deceased.

While they were handling the funeral, I sneaked out, intending to go to the county city's casino to find Yao Wenju. The matter needed to be gotten to the bottom of; the simplest way is often to confront it head‑on, regardless of whether Yao Wenju admits it or not, and regardless of whether he is truly the perpetrator; my inner instinct told me I had to go to the Yao family's casino.

However, the county city is far away; at this hour there are no buses or taxis. Helpless, I had to turn back again and ask the Yang family to borrow a car.

Yang Shouren could not be asked, because it is improper for an elder with white hair to see off someone with black hair; Pangzi had been taken by QingSongShu to act as a filial son. Now the only person I could ask was Yang Shouyi.

Yang Shouyi stood on the left side of the hall; the room was full of people and the noise was mixed. I squeezed through the crowd and crept up behind him.

As soon as I reached behind Yang Shouyi and before I could speak, he turned his head, looked at me in surprise, and asked: "What do you need?"

"Um… nothing!" Yang Shouyi's sudden turn startled me badly. But I quickly came to my senses and told him I had a friend in Yichang who wanted to borrow a car from him to go to the county city.

Yang Shouyi showed little surprise, perhaps tired; he first took off his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes. At that moment, from the side I saw a pair of clear eyes, not weary but rather full of spirit.

Yang Shouyi asked: "Would you like me to have the driver take you?"

I shook my head and said no need, I can manage on my own; everyone is busy, better to focus on handling Xiao Rui's funeral.

After getting the keys, I went to the courtyard toilet to relieve my stomachache. I knew the Yang family had a side gate, so after leaving the toilet I did not turn back but proceeded straight to the side gate.

Who would have thought that, just halfway there, a scene beneath the big tree in the side courtyard almost made my jaw drop.

Under a large banyan tree in the side courtyard, a man and a woman clung tightly together; I could not see the man's face, but his silhouette was unmistakably Yang Shouyi.

This place is very secluded; if I had not been walking from just the right angle to see the side of that tree, I would not have seen them at all. I thought this was Yang Shouyi's girlfriend, so I prepared to walk over smiling and say hello.

At that moment, the woman broke free from Yang Shouyi's embrace, slowly lifted her head, causing me to stumble, and I quickly ducked away.

That face, wet with tears like pear blossoms, bearing a hint of pallor and flush, was clearly Yang Shouyi's elder sister‑in‑law, Yang Shouren's wife Ye Qi.

"Holy shit… this is outright incest!"

After inadvertently catching sight of the main actors, my heart surged with shock; I panicked and hurriedly found a place to hide. When I peeked out, I saw Yang Shouyi with one hand on Ye Qi's shoulder, the other holding her small hand, whispering. As he left, he even kissed her forehead.

To an ordinary observer, this would surely look like a couple fallen in love, hotly dating. But what I saw was a huge olive‑green hat, placed from the top of Yang Shouren's head down to his feet.

His son's corpse is not yet cold, and he already runs out to hook up with a man? Yang Shouyi is no good either; though he appears refined, he is actually a refined scoundrel.

I despised them deeply in my heart, wondering whether I should tell Yang Shouren, but after struggling I decided against it—this is someone else's family affair, regardless of whether the uncle‑in‑law and aunt are committing incest or are truly in love; what matters now is to find out clearly whether Yao Wenju is indeed the mastermind behind Xiao Rui's killing.

After leaving the Yang estate, I quickly climbed into the small car Yang Shouyi had prepared for me. Back in Shenzhen I had also paid a few thousand yuan to take a driving test. Although I had done it just to gain an extra skill, I never imagined it would come in handy now.

After getting in the car, I recalled the steps the instructor taught during the license test, and I started the car gently. Fortunately the Yang family's car is automatic, not manual, so I don't have to worry about the clutch, making it much easier to drive.

The car crept along slowly, and by the time we reached the county city casino it was already 1 a. m.; more than six hours had passed since I left the Yang home.

I did not dare hesitate; I rushed into the casino right away. But after entering, I forgot an important detail: the casino's name bears the title of "Master Bao", Yao Wenju is merely the behind‑the‑scenes boss and does not directly intervene in all its affairs, so the staff inside do not recognize him either.

Fortunately, I have Yao Yirong's phone number in my contacts; as long as I find Yao Yirong, I can surely locate Yao Wenju.

I stepped out to the phone booth, dialed Yao Yirong's number, and when the "Hello?" came through I immediately got to the point, anxiously saying to Yao Yirong: "Yirong? Quick, give me your brother's number; I have urgent business with him."

"Hai Sheng? How come it's you." Yao Yirong's voice was delighted, yet mixed with a hint of complaint: "Where did you and Qiang ge go? A few days ago I went to Chan Yi Tang to look for you to hang out, but I couldn't find you anywhere. You know, a few days ago was my birthday; you and Qiang ge disappeared on my birthday—do you have no shame?"

Sweat, this little girl, when did she become so chatty?

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and urged anxiously over the phone: "Granny, cut the crap, quickly give me your brother's phone number; I have urgent business with him."

The other end of the line stayed silent for a moment, then Yao Yirong said calmly, without joy or sorrow: "Why should I give it to you?"

Although her tone was calm, it fully showed that Yao Yirong was now angry with me.

My throat felt pinched; I never expected Yao Yirong would now be sparring with me. I had no choice but to calm myself, coaxing and deceiving, using every trick, wearing my lips raw, until I finally pried Yao Wenju's mobile number from her mouth.

After obtaining the number, I immediately dialed from the phone booth, telling Yao Wenju only one sentence: "I am now in the casino on basement level two; I have urgent business with you."

Yao Wenju also replied very briefly in six characters: "I'll have someone come pick you up."

Upon entering the basement‑level casino, not long after, a suit‑wearing bodyguard approached me; I recognized him as one of those who had accompanied Yao Wenju to the hospital to look for me.

He led me all the way to a small villa a few kilometers from the casino. Going up to the villa's second floor, a group of people sat in the hall, the atmosphere tense.

Yao Wenju sat in the central seat of honor on the sofa, his right hand supporting his chin, brows tightly furrowed, his expression very solemn.

I clearly saw that on Yao Wenju's right ring finger he wore a jade‑green thumb ring, and on the ring seemed to be engraved a small character.

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, I swiftly ran up to Yao Wenju. Before he could react, I grabbed his right hand and saw that the small character engraved on the thumb ring was clearly the character "Yao".

"Is it really you?" My eyes turned icy as I stared coldly at him.