Chapter 227

After spitting out the coffee, I quickly ran to the bathroom and retched several times, but the taste of that cat feces coffee remained just as strong. Left with no choice, I could only get some hand soap on my hands, lather it up, mix it with water, and take a big gulp to rinse my mouth.

When I came out, Yao Wenju was blowing on the coffee, his expression while drinking it full of enjoyment.

"What kind of coffee is this? How can it smell like cat feces." I really couldn't understand; Yao Wenju could drink coffee and enjoy it so much.

"Kopi Luwak civet cat coffee, currently the world's most expensive and rarest coffee variety." Yao Wenju licked his lips and gave a long‑lasting explanation: "It comes from Raja Island in Sumatra, Indonesia. On that island there is an animal called the civet cat that eats only coffee cherries. The feces excreted by the civet cat, after roasting and drying, become this unique kopi Luwak."

"So that means this really is cat feces! Not just tasting like it, it's pure cat feces." I couldn't help but retch a few times with a strange look on my face, my stomach churning.

"Tsk, don't look down on cat feces; it's very precious. A box of civet cat coffee costs tens of thousands. Of course, price is secondary; the key is that rich aroma." Yao Wenju licked his lips and began to lecture me on the art of coffee.

"Try another cup, but don't gulp it down all at once. Before drinking coffee, gaze at it as you would a lover. After three minutes, purse your lips and take a small sip. Once the coffee is in your mouth, stir it with your tongue. When it's had enough time to mellow, swallow it with a gulp, and then you'll feel a lingering, rich, mellow fragrance." Yao Wenju's face was intoxicated, like that of an artist.

"Whatever, I don't care about civet cats or coffee cats. I have no interest in them. Right now, I only care about this matter." I pointed at the photo on the table, interrupting Yao Wenju's intoxication while holding back my retching.

Since encountering that cat spirit that sucked Qingqing's meridians in Anhui, I have become extremely sensitive to cats, even to the point of disliking them. Now, to see someone licking cat feces in front of me with such relish infuriates me—how am I supposed to endure this? Just licking it is bad enough, but you damn well insist on teaching me how to lick; say another couple of sentences and I'll go crazy to the point I can't even believe myself.

Yao Wenju looked at me, who was strongly opposed to the cat‑feces coffee, sighed helplessly, and kept his mouth shut despite wanting to say more. Seeing me get to the point, he spread his hands and said helplessly, "Who can guess what the Yang family is up to? In any case, this doesn't feel like a dispute over interests to me. On the contrary, it seems……"

Yao Wenju frowned, pondered for a moment, then stared and said, "It's as if the Yang family is digging its own grave."

"Well, is that possible?" I was equally puzzled. The Yang family isn't targeting the Yao family; they're destroying their own century‑old foundation? That assumption is a bit too exaggerated.

On the surface, the first possibility is a conflict of interests between the Yao and Yang families. The Yao family hates assassins and wants to eradicate them, repeatedly ruining the Yang family's ancestral grave feng shui.

But after seeing Yao Wenju, a second possibility arose. The Yang family's motive is merely to find a pretext for war; they stage everything themselves, then divert the blame eastward to frame the Yao family. First, they use the Masked Beast as a catalyst to make the other casino shareholders dissatisfied with the Yao family. Then, using the death of Yang Rui from the Yang family and the iron tablet discovered in the ancestral grave, they provoke the Yang family, drive the Yao family out of Yichang, and openly seize the Yao family's shares.

However, looking at it now, while the second possibility seems large, it feels strange. Reasonably, businessmen prosper through harmony; money matters can be settled by sitting down and talking things out. The Yang family's sudden provocation aside from whether they are stronger than the Yao family, Yang Shouren has no need to sacrifice his own biological son's life.

No…… it's not Yang Shouren! It seems I've been focusing on the wrong point because I thought the head of the Yang family was Yang Shouren. The one investigating the Yao family is Yang Shouyi, the one who met Wu Fei is also Yang Shouyi, and tonight, the one using connections to attack the Yao family is even more so Yang Shouyi.

Reasonably, while he's arranging Yang Rui's funeral, he couldn't possibly have the energy to mobilize troops. Therefore, it's very likely that all of this was prearranged by Yang Shouyi; from start to finish he never intended to sit down and properly negotiate with the Yao family.

"Are you sure the person who killed Sun Miao was sent by Yang Shouyi?" I pondered, then confirmed with Yao Wenju.

Yao Wenju didn't answer me; instead, he called a bodyguard downstairs, whispered a few words, and then the bodyguard withdrew.

Soon, the bodyguard dragged in a man covered in wounds from head to toe, on his last breath.

Yao Wenju made a gesture inviting me to speak and said, "You go ask him yourself."

Barring any surprises, this is the killer of Sun Miao! After fleeing, he was captured by Yao Wenju.

I stepped forward, stared at the killer on the ground, and asked, "Are you really sent by Yang Shouyi to kill Sun Miao? Does the head of the Yang family, Yang Shouren, know about this?"

The assassin appeared to have professional training, his mouth was tough, his expression stubborn. Until the bodyguard beside him kicked him and said sternly, "Think clearly about your family; if you don't want them to come to harm, answer honestly." Only then did he give up his stubbornness, and his mouth was pried open.

"It was the second master; the second master sent me. The great master doesn't know about this." He said.

"Does Yang Shouyi know martial arts or magic?" I pressed him, but the answer was disappointing. The assassin shook his head in confusion, saying he didn't know, and he had never seen Yang Shouyi take action.

After the assassin was taken away, Yao Wenju asked me doubtfully, "Do you think Yang Shouyi is also an insider?"

I nodded, but then immediately shook my head, not entirely sure. The intuition that gave me this feeling was the scene when I left to ask Yang Shouyi for the key.

I remember that when I went at night to ask Yang Shouren, I had merely reached his side, hadn't spoken a word, and he immediately turned his head, looking at me with no surprise whatsoever.

Amid the heated funeral proceedings, with the surroundings so noisy, he could still sense my approach—this cannot be said without noting his hearing is exceptionally sharp. To say he is not a martial practitioner, I simply don't believe it.

Furthermore, Yang Shouyi's eyes: when I first met him, he gave me an impression of refined melancholy. But when I asked him for the key, being overly fatigued, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, that single action let me instantly notice something abnormal.

The difference between cultivators and ordinary people lies in their temperament and eyes. As cultivation deepens and one's inner energy grows stronger, their eyes give the impression of being bright and alert, sparkling. If you look closely at his eyes, you might even get the illusion that they are flashing with sharp light.

Yang Shouyi's eyes are also clear and bright, unlike those of an ordinary person. However, because he constantly wears glasses, which conceal them, I cannot obtain further confirmation.

The only thing I can be certain of is that Yang Shouyi has a problem, a serious one. I have a feeling that perhaps the truth of all this lies within Yang Shouyi himself.

"Wen Ge, do you think Yang Shouyi and Ye Qi might be colluding to take over the Yang family's property? First they use this opportunity to stir up a feud between the Yang and Yao families, then, when both sides are weakened, they appear as peacemakers, resolve the conflict, and incidentally kick out Yang Shouyi, the elder brother, so they can become the head themselves." This possibility arose in my mind, and I also told Yao Wenju in detail about the scene I saw in the side courtyard when I came out—Yang Shouyi and Ye Qi meeting secretly.

Upon hearing this, Yao Wenju sucked in his breath and also found it interesting: "I never expected the Yang family's chaos to be capable of such a marvelous thing happening."

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and said with a bitter smile, "Is this kind of thing considered marvelous? Why don't you say that Yang Shouyi, this refined scoundrel, is a beast in human form who hooks up with his sister‑in‑law, covets his elder brother's wealth, and doesn't even treat his own biological brother as a person,"

"Ah…… actually I understand." Yao Wenju sighed leisurely, gazing at the dark night sky, his eyes deep, and said, "It's not that brothers aren't human; it's that the sister‑in‑law is too alluring."

After that he even stroked his chin, pondering: "Yang Shouyi's wife must be quite beautiful, right?"

I…… this, damn it, something's off—how did Yao Wenju also get infected by Pangzi?."