Chapter 1046: Kidnapped

Hu Bayi also lowered his voice: "Actually, we aren't that close with him. Back when we went to excavate the Tomb of King Xian, we were buying supplies in a small town and stayed at his place... We didn't really keep in touch after that. Who knew this grandson would run off to Myanmar? He saw photos of me and Pangzi in the newspaper and insisted on tracking us down."

He Yuzhu gave a cold snort: "We need to keep our guard up."

Hu Bayi didn't seem to care much: "Master He, with your skills, are we still afraid of him?"

He Yuzhu laughed: "Don't keep flattering me every day; I can't handle everything."

Wang Pangzi leaned in to smooth things over: "Master He, don't worry too much. If the kid really has the real deal, we'll spend the money to buy it; if he doesn't, we'll just shake off our dust and leave. What can he do about it?"

Luo Shi'an walked over quickly and said: "Pangzi, Brother Bayi, I've missed you guys to death."

Hu Bayi shook his hand without showing any emotion: "Brother, where are you taking us?"

Luo Shi'an said: "Of course, to the Pagan Jade Mining Area."

Hu Bayi asked: "About how many kilometers is it?"

"Just over 110 kilometers, we'll be there soon!" Luo Shi'an said.

Several people followed Luo Shi'an onto a Mercedes-Benz commercial van.

The space inside the vehicle was not small. In the front, besides the driver, sat two local Myanmar men. Each had dark skin, wore shiny, thick gold chains around their necks, and had gaudy tattoos on their arms; one look and you could tell they were no good.

Xu Damao leaned into He Yuzhu's ear and muttered in a low voice: "Zhuzi, why do I feel like this guy is acting suspicious? Don't tell me we're being kidnapped, damn it?"

He Yuzhu nodded calmly: "It's indeed possible. Looking at it this time, they aren't up to any good."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao's hair stood on end, and his face went stiff: "Zhuzi, I know you have great skills and can protect yourself. But you can't just look out for yourself! Your buddy here isn't a pauper anymore; my good life has only just begun, and I don't want to throw my life away in this godforsaken place!"

Seeing his cowardly look, He Yuzhu couldn't help but laugh and said in a low voice: "Don't worry, with me here, nothing major will happen. But I'll say the ugly words first: I can't guarantee you won't lose a single hair."

Xu Damao swallowed his saliva, his eyes darting out the window, muttering to himself: "If I'd known, I would've stayed at the factory and not come... Running to this place where even birds don't lay eggs, what for..."

Wang Pangzi leaned over to them and said: "Damao, can you keep it down? They haven't done anything to us yet, and you're already scaring yourself to death."

The car drove for about four or five hours before pulling into a large manor.

This place was in the middle of nowhere, desolate for miles around, with wild grass growing taller than a person.

A large river flowed in front of the manor; the river was quite wide, the water was very muddy, and several speedboats were docked at the pier.

Hu Bayi was highly vigilant and scanned the surroundings. The more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong, so he turned and gave He Yuzhu a look.

He Yuzhu nodded calmly.

Hu Bayi immediately understood—Master He had been prepared for this all along.

Today's affair was most likely a trap set by that grandson Luo Shi'an.

Luo Shi'an and the two Bodyguards got out of the car first, smiling broadly, and led them toward the large house in the manor.

He Yuzhu didn't show it on his face, but he had already scanned the place with his system.

Good heavens, there were over a dozen armed and dangerous characters hiding inside: tall Westerners, monkey-like Southeast Asians, and black men as dark as charcoal.

He Yuzhu sneered inwardly; they had really put together a Multinational Force.

However, he didn't make a scene. These were just a bunch of small fry; the one he wanted to see was the person truly in charge behind them.

It was already obvious: today's setup was a kidnapping case.

People like Luo Shi'an specialized in getting to know wealthy people, using the guise of selling goods to lure them over, and then extorting a huge sum.

Their methods were exactly the same as those telecommunications scammers in later generations.

As soon as the group stepped into the hall, they were surrounded tightly by over a dozen big men with a 'whoosh'.

Xu Damao's face turned pale, and his legs were shaking.

Wang Pangzi, however, was quite fierce and cursed at Luo Shi'an: "Luo, what the hell do you mean by luring me here?"

Luo Shikuan chuckled: "Master Pang, don't be impatient. Our boss wants to discuss something with you."

"Discuss your mother's business! I have nothing to discuss with him!" Wang Pangzi glared, "Are you looking at me because I have money, and want to kidnap me to demand a ransom from my family?"

Luo Shi'an still pretended to frown: "Master Pang, don't put it so harshly. We're just doing some business..."

"Doing your mother's business!" Wang Pangzi wasn't intimidated at all.

He knew that with He Yuzhu around, this bunch of scum was no match, so he was exceptionally arrogant.

The smile on Luo Shi'an's face finally couldn't hold up, and he revealed his true colors, saying viciously: "Wang Kaixuan, Hu Bayi, don't you damn well get cocky! Since you've arrived here, don't think about leaving alive. Unless you hand over at least half of your net worth!"

Hu Bayi sneered: "That's a big mouth you've got. I'm worth several billion; can you damn well swallow that?"

Luo Shikuan's eyes lit up: "Oh my, Master Hu is such a big tycoon, I didn't even know! You have that much money! That's great, it's enough for our boss to support tens of thousands of troops."

Xu Damao's legs went weak listening from the side. It wasn't that he didn't believe in He Yuzhu's skills, but he was afraid that if He Yuzhu didn't protect him—He Yuzhu hadn't treated him badly over the years, but he couldn't help but remember when his father had trouble back in the day, and he felt insecure.

Dajinya was also shivering with fear, leaning toward He Yuzhu and whispering: "Master He, everything depends on you today. You can't just leave your brother behind..."

He Yuzhu's eyes were calm; he didn't say a word, and no emotion could be seen on his face.

Soon, a group of burly men from various countries surrounded them and pushed and shoved them into a room that looked like a prison cell.

Inside were a few hard wooden beds, dirty and shiny, with dark red stains left on the walls. The air was damp and pungent, and the bedding had been used by who knows how many people; the smell hit them right in the face.

Luo Shikuan stood at the door, triumphantly: "Our boss is busy right now. Someone will talk to you tomorrow or the day after. You'd better think clearly about how much money you want to give our boss. If you pay too little, you won't keep your lives."

Wang Pangzi spat on the ground: "Pah!"

He Yuzhu spoke indifferently: "If you want us to pay, fine. But you must let me see your boss."

Luo Shikuan snorted: "The boss doesn't have time to see you."

He Yuzhu laughed and said unhurriedly: "Then he won't get the money."

As soon as Luo Shikuan's group left, Xu Damao collapsed onto the floor, howling at the top of his lungs: "Pangzi! Hu Bayi! You guys brought me here! It's over, even if I don't die, I'll be skinned alive!"

Hu Bayi frowned: "Damao, you're older than us, why are you so uncomposed? With Master He here, what could possibly happen?"

He Yuzhu didn't speak; he raised his hand and gave a light wave. With a few 'clatter' sounds, the handcuffs on everyone's wrists fell to the ground.

Xu Damao's eyes went round: "Zhuzi! Damn, what kind of magic is this?"

He Yuzhu smiled: "Heh, just a little magic trick. Haven't you seen someone pull a snake out of an empty basin? It's about the same. Actually, I'm just fast with my hands; I used the keys to open them for you, you just didn't see it clearly."

As he spoke, he actually pulled five keys out of his pocket and shook them in his hand.

Dajinya rubbed his wrists, which had been chafed red, and chuckled: "Uncle-Master, look at how scared you were, you almost wet yourself. With Master He here, we're going to strike it rich again this trip!"

Xu Damao cursed: "Strike it rich my ass! I have enough money to spend, I don't want to earn this kind of life-risking money!"

Hu Bayi let out a huff: "Damao, you're being boring now. Since we're already here, don't you think taking a risk is quite exciting?"

Wang Pangzi was at least sensible; he scratched his head, looking thoroughly embarrassed: "Sorry, brothers, it's all because I didn't judge those people correctly. I originally thought these grandsons just wanted to sell us jade at a high price; who knew these bastards were playing at kidnapping."