Chapter 213: Probing

At the Li family residence, Li Hong was sitting on the sofa, feeling extremely uneasy and furious. He shouted at the person next to him, "Did you see wrong? Are you sure it's Yang Yun? That guy Yang Yun was clearly already dead; how could he still be alive!"

"Young Master, we have confirmed it's true. Quite a few people have already seen him; Yang Yun is really still alive!" The subordinate was so scared that he knelt on the ground, trembling as he spoke.

Hearing this, Li Hong's face turned exceptionally ugly. He said, "I didn't expect him to still be alive after jumping into the moat. That guy really has a tough life; he didn't even die from that. Damn it!"

Li Hong then said to the person below him, "Go and check where Yang Yun is for me. Report that kid's location to me. This guy has harmed me so badly; I can't just let him go like this!"

"Young Master, you cannot easily show your face right now. I think it would be better if we deliberate on this matter further!"

"What are you talking about, 'deliberate'? As long as Yang Yun is alive in this world, I won't feel comfortable. I wish I could kill him right now!"

"But!"

"What 'but'? Go and investigate for me quickly! Besides, my father has already spent money to smooth over the previous matters; I will be able to show my face soon, so what is there to be afraid of!"

"Young Master, I suggest you wait until the Master has finished handling things before you show your face; it won't be too late then!"

Hearing this, Li Hong was so angry that he kicked the man, cursing, "When did you get the right to order me around? You are just a dog of the Li family. Whatever your master tells you to do, you just obey obediently. Do you hear me!"

The man on the ground was kicked down by Li Hong and hurriedly knelt to beg for mercy, "This subordinate deserves to die, this subordinate deserves to die!"

"Hmph, it's good that you know your place. Now get out of here and help me find out Yang Yun's whereabouts. I want to know where that guy is immediately!"

For the next while, I wandered around with Xiao Huan, waiting for an opportunity, because I knew the Li family would inevitably reveal a flaw and couldn't help but come to cause me trouble. Xiao Huan was also especially happy these past few days because I was by her side all day, taking her to play everywhere—amusement parks, snack shops, supermarkets—our presence was basically everywhere.

However, Li Hong and his people did not disappoint me. Before long, someone was following us. The other party was not some expert; their tailing skills were very amateurish. But I didn't expose them. I was waiting for their tailing, so once I knew they were there, I naturally wouldn't easily shake them off.

Xiao Huan and I continued to eat and play as if nothing was wrong, acting like two people without a care in the world. I had already notified Miss Ling and Lao Wu; as soon as I gave the order, Lao Wu and Miss Ling's people would be in place immediately. Furthermore, the authorities should also be prepared to support me from the periphery. Although I hadn't discovered their presence, I knew they would definitely be there.

However, these past few days, I hadn't waited for any movement from the Li family. I didn't want to wait any longer, as I still had many things to do, such as the matter regarding Xu Hongzhi and the matter regarding Zhang Longtao. After all, I had always kept the matter of Su Xueyan in my heart, all for the sake of one day uncovering the truth.

Although Zhang Longtao's influence was not what it used to be, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. I didn't want to expose the backing of Miss Shuang and Miss Ling too early, because if exposed too early, it would be difficult to deal with the Li family and Xu Hongzhi. Without being able to expose my strength, dealing with Zhang Longtao was indeed somewhat difficult, but not impossible. After all, I still had Xu Hongzhi to use. Although Xu Hongzhi was already suspicious, I knew he wouldn't turn against me in the short term. After all, on the surface, I was still his brother, and as long as I didn't have a falling out with him, things wouldn't be too tense.

So, I took Xiao Huan to visit Third Brother. Third Brother clearly hadn't expected me to take the initiative to visit him. Although he was suspicious, he still had to keep up appearances, so he naturally welcomed me warmly, patted my shoulder, and said with a smile, "Fourth Brother, I've missed you to death these past few days. Why did you run off without a word? You didn't answer your phone. If Lao Wu hadn't said you were fine, I would have been ready to call the police!"

"I had something come up suddenly and didn't have time to tell you. I'm sorry!" I said apologetically.

"Why are you being so polite? We are brothers, who is who? If you have anything, just tell me directly; wouldn't I help you? By the way, what have you been doing these past two days?" Xu Hongzhi asked with a smile, though his gaze held a hint of scrutiny.

"It's hard to talk about this matter!" I deliberately pretended to be in a difficult position.

"What matter? Is it inconvenient to tell your brother?" Xu Hongzhi put his arm around my neck and said with a smile.

"It's mainly about the previous matter with Zhang Longtao. Although so much time has passed, I have never forgotten the grudge regarding Su Xueyan. I cannot let her die so inexplicably, so these past few days I have mainly been scouting out Zhang Longtao's recent situation!" When I said these words, I felt very uncomfortable. This wasn't an act; this was indeed my internal emotional state.

Hearing my words, Xu Hongzhi's expression softened significantly. He patted my shoulder and said, "Fourth Brother, don't worry about this matter. Zhang Longtao is just at the end of his rope now. With me and Miss Ling and the others helping you, what are you afraid of? We will definitely make that guy Zhang Longtao admit his mistakes and tell us about what happened back then!"

"So you are willing to help me?" I looked at the Xu Hongzhi before me with joy.

Xu Hongzhi smiled and said to me, "That's only natural. You are my Fourth Brother; if I don't help you, who will?"

"Zhang Longtao might not be that easy to deal with. Although Zhang Longtao seems to be failing now, after all, he built his empire on his father's foundation. I reckon he still has quite a few core members loyal to them. If we fight head-on, we probably won't gain much of an advantage!" I said with concern.

"What are you afraid of? Don't you have Miss Ling and Miss Shuang helping you? They will definitely provide you with money and manpower!" Xu Hongzhi said with a smile.

Hearing this from Xu Hongzhi, I knew he was probing me, testing the attitude of Miss Ling and Miss Shuang. I naturally couldn't expose the situation of Miss Shuang and Miss Ling to Xu Hongzhi, so I said to him with a troubled expression, "It's hard to say. I went to see Miss Ling two days ago, and Miss Ling didn't want to see me at all. Besides, I have no blood relation to Miss Ling; why would she go to such lengths to help me?"

Xu Hongzhi looked at me in surprise and said, "How is that possible? I saw Miss Shuang and Miss Ling taking special care of you before. I even thought you were biological siblings!"

"You're overthinking it. I don't have that kind of luck, so relying on Miss Ling and the others is difficult!" I sighed and said.

"It's okay, don't worry. I'll help you ask Miss Ling and the others. Even if they don't help you, don't you still have me? Just rest easy!" Xu Hongzhi said with a smile.

"Thank you so much, Third Brother. I'm almost embarrassed!" I said, scratching my head in embarrassment.

Fortunately, I had already notified Miss Ling and the others in advance, so even if Xu Hongzhi called them now, he wouldn't get any useful information. As for dealing with Zhang Longtao later, I couldn't rely entirely on Xu Hongzhi. Since he had betrayed me before, he certainly wouldn't want to see me do well. Perhaps he wouldn't help with dealing with Zhang Longtao this time, or he might even try to sabotage me.