Chapter 497

"I... I mean, the deceased comes first. Everyone, shouldn't we first take care of Xiao Rui's posthumous affairs, and discuss 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 in my duties while he was alive; now that Rui'er has departed, I must let him go in grandeur, not let him leave lonely and bare."

"But, elder brother, shouldn't we avenge Rui'er?" Yang Shouyi stepped forward, evidently still had more to say. However, Yang Shouren waved his hand to cut him off: "Other matters can wait; first settle Xiao Yi's posthumous affairs. Go, fetch the most renowned priest for me. Arrange everything; I want Rui'er to depart in grandeur." Yang Shouren said solemnly, his tone allowing no rebuttal.

Yang Shouyi's face showed a struggle for a moment, finally he could only resentfully give up.

The Yang family's handling efficiency and speed were both fast; in just a few hours they had invited the Nanman priest and the Taoist priest, and the altar was set up.

The customs for funerals in the north and south are not much different; on the first day after death, most people observe a vegetarian fast and perform rites for the deceased, only after mourning period do they bury the body.

While they were handling the funeral, I sneaked out, intending to go to the county casino to find Yao Wenju. The matter, we need to get to the bottom of it; the simplest way is often to confront directly, regardless of whether Yao Wenju admits or not, regardless of whether he is truly the perpetrator, my inner instinct tells me I must go to the Yao family's casino.

But the county town is far away; at this late hour, there are no buses, no taxis. Helpless, I had no choice but to turn back and ask the Yang family to lend me a car first.

Yang Shouren cannot be asked, because of the taboo that elders with white hair should not be sent off by those with black hair; Pangzi was dragged by QingSongShu to act as a filial son. Now the only one we can ask is Yang Shouyi.

Yang Shouyi stood on the left side of the hall; the room was crowded and noisy. I pushed through the throng and sneaked behind him.

Just 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 turn startled me greatly. But I quickly came to my senses and told him I had a friend who went to Yichang and wanted to borrow a car from him to go to the county town.

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: "Do you want me to have the driver take you there?"

I shook my head, saying no need, I can go alone; 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; after leaving the toilet I didn't turn back but went straight toward the side gate.

Who would have thought, just halfway there, a scene under 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 couldn't see the man's face, but his back was unmistakably Yang Shouyi's.

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

Just then, the woman broke free from Yang Shouyi's embrace, slowly lifted her head, making me stumble and I quickly hid.

That face, pear-blossom-like with rain, pale yet flushed, was clearly Yang Shouyi's elder sister-in-law, Yang Shouren's wife Ye Qi.

"Holy shit... this is a live ** ah"

After inadvertently catching sight of the main actors, my heart surged with shock; I 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 person, this would surely look like a couple fallen in love, hotly dating. But what I saw was a huge green hat, placed from Yang Shouren's head down to his feet.

The son's bones aren't even cold, and he's already out fooling around with a man? Yang Shouyi is no good either; looking all refined, he turns out to be a hypocrite.

I despised them deeply in my heart, wondered whether to tell Yang Shouren, but after struggling I decided against it; it's someone else's family affair, regardless of whether the uncle and sister-in-law are ** or truly in love, what's crucial now is to find out whether Yao Wenju is indeed the mastermind behind killing Yang Rui.

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 the driving test. Although then it was just to gain another skill, I never expected it would come in handy now.

After getting in the car, I recalled the steps the instructor taught during the license test, and gently started the car; fortunately the Yang family's car is automatic, not manual, and doesn't require clutch work, making it much easier to drive.

The car crept along slowly; by the time we reached the county casino it was already 1 a. m. Since I left the Yang home, over six hours have passed.

I didn't 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 "Bao Ye", Yao Wenju is merely the behind-the-scenes boss, never directly intervening in all casino affairs, so the staff inside don't recognize Yao Wenju 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 into the phone booth, dialed Yao Yirong's number, and upon hearing "Hello?" I immediately got to the point, anxiously saying: "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 some 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 didn't see you at all. You know, a few days ago was my birthday; you and Qiang ge disappeared on my birthday, are you ashamed?"

Sweat, this little girl, when did she become so naggy.

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

The other end stayed silent for a moment, then Yao Yirong said calmly, neither sad nor happy: "Why should I give it to you?"

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

My throat felt pinched; I never expected Yao Yirong would now oppose me. No choice, I had to calm down, coax and deceive, using tricks and persuasion, wearing out my lips, and finally managed to pry Yao Wenju's mobile number from her mouth.

Having obtained the number, I immediately dialed from the phone booth, telling Yao Wenju only one sentence: "I'm now in the basement casino, looking for you with urgent business."

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

Upon entering the basement casino, not long after, a suit-wearing bodyguard approached me; I recognized him as one of those who accompanied Yao Wenju to the hospital to find 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 chief sofa, right hand supporting his chin, brows tightly furrowed, expression very solemn.

I clearly saw that on Yao Wenju's right ring finger there was a jade-green thumb ring, on which seemed to be engraved a small character.

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, I swiftly ran toward Yao Wenju. Before he could react, I grabbed his right hand and looked: the tiny character on the thumb ring was clearly the surname "Yao".

"Is it really you?" My gaze turned cold, I stared at him icily.