Chapter 278: Fermentation (Part 2)

Gu Zhangsheng and his son Gu Yao followed Gu Zhengying into the inner hall and saw Gu Yuanzong.

However, Gu Yuanzong was not the only one here; there was also a sturdy old man in military uniform.

The old man sat on a chair to the side; seeing Gu Zhangsheng and Gu Yao, he nodded with a smile as a greeting.

The father and son recognized the old man; he was the Patriarch of the Ouyang Family, Ouyang Guilin.

"Dad."

"Grandfather."

After briefly greeting Ouyang Guilin, the father and son came before Gu Yuanzong and called out respectfully.

Gu Yuanzong looked up at the two of them, his expression full of gravity: "Wait a moment, there are others who haven't arrived yet."

Gu Zhangsheng nodded, retreated to the side with Gu Yao, and waited quietly.

Just then, Gu Zhengying left again, and when he returned, there was another old man behind him.

Ding Zhen.

The Patriarchs of the Ding Family and the Ouyang Family were all present, and every one of their faces revealed an indescribable gravity.

This discovery made Gu Zhangsheng and Gu Yao's hearts hang in the air, with a premonition that something major had happened.

And Gu Yuanzong's next words confirmed their guess, while simultaneously shocking them so much their souls nearly flew away.

"Something happened at the Botanical Garden and the Welfare Institute; Ding Yuan was killed on the spot, and Ouyang Long and his subordinates were disarmed and locked in the Xunzheng Division Prison by Xue Zhangming."

Gu Yuanzong scanned the people before him and continued: "I have already spoken with Xue Zhangming on the phone; he stated that a battle occurred at the Botanical Garden and the Welfare Institute, and the commotion was too great, so he had to move in to make arrests. However, he can choose not to pursue it further, but Ouyang Long cannot come back, and Ding Yuan's death cannot be investigated."

After speaking, Gu Yuanzong's gaze lingered for a moment on the dark and uncertain faces of Ding Zhen and Ouyang Guilin, then looked at the father and son, Gu Zhangsheng and Gu Yao.

"Tell us about the incident at the hotel tonight."

Gu Yuanzong spoke calmly.

"Ah..."

Gu Zhangsheng was still reeling from the shock of the news just now and hadn't heard what Gu Yuanzong said for a moment.

Gu Yao had not yet come into contact with the core of the family and did not know exactly what was going on, but through those names that could be said to stand at the pinnacle of Jinling, and the fact that Ding Zhen and Ouyang Guilin were gathered here.

Even a fool could guess that something massive had happened; seeing Gu Zhangsheng hesitate, he spoke first: "Grandfather, it's like this..."

Gu Yao recounted the hotel incident in detail, exactly as it happened; he realized the gravity of the matter and dared not hide anything, nor did he dare to add any embellishments or fabricate anything.

Gu Yuanzong nodded after listening, his brow furrowed into a 'chuan' shape, and he looked at Ding Zhen and Ouyang Guilin, asking: "What do you two think?"

"Does Elder Gu believe that the matter at the Botanical Garden and the Welfare Institute is related to that person named Chen Che?"

Ding Zhen asked in return.

"After receiving the news, I immediately had people investigate the ins and outs as well as the identities of those few mysterious people, but even though Ouyang Long witnessed their appearances with his own eyes, we couldn't find out who they were."

Gu Yuanzong said: "So I suspect those mysterious people must have used means like a Disguise Technique, which is why their true identities couldn't be found. And combined with the hotel incident, that Chen Che just happened to want the land at the Botanical Garden for business, so he is the prime suspect."

"But Ouyang Long is not only a member of my Ouyang Family, he is also a Lieutenant in the Military Department, and there is more than one armored vehicle among his subordinates. The combat power displayed by such a scale is not something that just a few Martial Artists can shake."

Ouyang Guilin said: "That Chen Che does have some ability, but I have investigated exactly what kind of people are around him clearly; according to Ouyang Long's account, the reason for the defeat was because there was a woman wearing a fox mask, and that woman performed a Secret Technique that made the fired shells turn back. And Chen Che does not have such a person around him, I can be certain."

Gu Yuanzong frowned in thought; he had previously asked Xuanwu to investigate the Fang Family, and the final suspicion also pointed to Chen Che, yet he couldn't find anything useful about Chen Che.

This in itself was very suspicious; if he couldn't find out about a person, then only those in Beijing could do it, but all signs indicated that it was impossible for Chen Che to have any connection to Beijing.

Under such contradictions, Gu Yuanzong's suspicion of Chen Che deepened even further; moreover, regarding the Botanical Garden incident, there was no better explanation than Chen Che.

"Regardless of whether the matters at the Botanical Garden and the Welfare Institute are related to him, this Chen Che is indeed very suspicious, and there is no better explanation at present; for the sake of safety, let's test him."

A flash of sinister light appeared in Gu Yuanzong's deep eyes, and he said something that everyone except Gu Zhengying and Gu Zhangsheng did not understand: "Whether it is or isn't, I will not allow anyone to cause trouble at a time like this!"

Tianxie Manor.

"I have already arrested the people, and I have also sent those children to the Special Care Hospital of the Xunzheng Division; after their physical examinations are finished, they will be sent to a proper Welfare Institute."

Xue Zhangming's slightly impatient tone came through the phone; Chen Che nodded, indicating his affirmation: "Thank you for your hard work, Director Xue, another great achievement; congratulations."

"Congratulations my ass!"

Chen Che's emotionless flattery sounded like mockery to Xue Zhangming; he suppressed his anger and warned: "Chen Che, I'm telling you, from today on, you just stay put and behave yourself; do you know how much effort I spent at the Gu Family? Although the excuse was sufficient, if this continues, the one at the Gu Family will lose patience sooner or later; if I'm finished, you definitely won't survive either!"

"Many thanks for the reminder, Director Xue; I will certainly cause you less trouble."

After Chen Che finished speaking, he hung up the phone directly; Xue Zhangming nearly smashed his phone again, cursing as he continued to deal with tonight's affairs.

Chen Che put away his phone, looked up at the sky, let out a breath, and then turned back into the house.

Su Xiao came up to meet him and asked: "How did it go?"

"Those children have been taken care of, don't worry."

Chen Che replied.

Su Xiao nodded with relief and smiled.

"What do you plan to do next? Release these videos and Photographs to the public?"

Song Jinhe was wearing loose pajamas, wearing a facial mask, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, watching the recorded footage that Chen Che and Su Xi had captured on the computer with very little ladylike demeanor.

Ma Zijun said: "But these are not enough to topple the Gu Family, and we still haven't figured out the relationship between the Gu Family and the Martial Arts Alliance."

"That's right, these things are simply not enough to topple the Gu Family; furthermore, Xue Zhangming won't cooperate either; if we don't push him to a dead end, he won't help us deal with the Gu Family."

Chen Che rubbed his forehead and said.

Shen Qi suddenly remembered something, leaned in, and reported: "Master, Fang Shaoyi of the Fang Family came to look for you before; you weren't there at the time, so I told him to go back and wait; should we see him now?"

Chen Che nodded: "Let him come."

Shen Qi immediately went to handle it, and in less than half an hour, Fang Shaoyi arrived at Tianxie Manor.

"Mr. Chen."

Fang Shaoyi bowed respectfully to Chen Che to greet him.

Chen Che noticed his graying hair, patted his shoulder, and said: "Thank you for your hard work, Fang Family Head."

"Serving you is nothing at all."

Fang Shaoyi said.

"Alright, tell me, where is the Martial Arts Alliance headquarters that Xuanwu took you to? And who is the Alliance Leader?"

Chen Che gestured for Fang Shaoyi to sit, but the latter did not move at all, instead casting his gaze toward the others.

Chen Che shook his head and said, "They are all my own people and can be trusted; you can speak directly."

Fang Shaoyi nodded slightly and revealed a secret that sounded like a thunderclap exploding in their ears: "The place Xuanwu took me to was the Gu Family, and the Gu Family Patriarch, Gu Yuanzong, is the Alliance Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was greatly shocked.

Ma Zijun and Jiang Lan even jumped up directly, staring at Fang Shaoyi with faces full of astonishment, unable to believe that what he said was true.

"So that's how it is... in that case, everything makes sense now!"

Chen Che composed his mind and revealed a mocking sneer.