Chapter 1047: Trapped in the Bandit Den

Hu Bayi's face darkened, and he coldly cursed, "These bastards, they really aren't human! Master He, we must pull them out by the roots, otherwise, there's no telling how many more people they'll harm."

He Yuzhu narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "If we're going to move, we move against their boss behind the scenes; dealing with these small fry is meaningless."

"The boss behind the scenes won't meet with us, will he?" Hu Bayi asked.

"I can have our company transfer a sum of money to them first—1 million USD. And tell them that if their big boss comes forward, we will give them more money," He Yuzhu said.

Hu Bayi frowned: "Master He, I feel like these grandsons are in the business of kidnapping every single day; their boss behind the scenes might not necessarily show up."

A wicked smile appeared on He Yuzhu's face: "We have to experience for ourselves how they use torture to extort money from hostages!"

Xu Damao immediately jumped up and cursed: "He Yuzhu, I'm over sixty now, I can't take a beating!"

Wang Pangzi chimed in: "Master He, if you ask me, why don't we just grab these small fry, force them to cough up the Commander's address, and wipe them all out in one go?"

He Yuzhu laughed heartily: "If I did everything myself, you wouldn't have any sense of participation. By the time I raid their treasury, I'd have no reason to share it with you."

Xu Damao slapped his thigh: "He Yuzhu, you can earn as much money as you want. I have enough money in my hands now to be content; don't you go using me to get beaten up!"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Rest assured, I won't let you suffer; I just want to figure out how they treat their hostages."

Xu Damao shook his head: "Zhuzi, I don't think your logic holds up. Whether that leader is willing to come out and see us is not something we can decide."

In truth, He Yuzhu had hundreds of ways to deal with these warlords in his mind. He just wanted to first thoroughly understand their methods and see exactly how they harmed the innocent. At the same time, he didn't want Hu Bayi and the others to witness the true, brutal face of these people with their own eyes.

The sky had turned completely dark.

Xu Damao and Dajinya threw all the tattered mattresses and quilts onto the floor and lay directly on the bare bed boards.

Although the bed boards weren't clean either, compared to those dirty quilts, they were actually much better.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was ten o'clock at night, and no one had come from outside to deliver food at all.

Wang Pangzi ran to the door and shouted loudly at the guards, but the only reply he got was: no food is provided at night. These guards looked fierce and menacing, but they didn't actually make things difficult for them.

Dajinya couldn't help but curse out loud: "These grandsons are truly despicable! They are single-mindedly trying to extort our money, yet they can't even bear to give us a single bite of hot food; what kind of business is this!"

He Yuzhu, however, remained calm; he fished a piece of chocolate out of his pocket and put it into his mouth to chew slowly.

Xu Damao smelled the fragrance and leaned over: "Zhuzi, share some with your buddy?"

He Yuzhu shook his head: "There's only this little bit; if I let you eat it, I won't have the strength to fight when these people come knocking later."

Hu Bayi advised from the side: "Damao, endure it; once you fall asleep, the hunger pangs will pass."

Dajinya didn't say anything more, but his gaze kept drifting toward He Yuzhu; he wanted some, but he couldn't bring himself to ask for it.

He Yuzhu ignored everyone, first tossing all the bedding on the bed onto the floor. Then, as if performing a magic trick, he took a towel out of his pocket, brought out a little clean water, wiped the bed boards clean with great care, and then lay down and fell fast asleep.

Hu Bayi watched all of this, lowered his voice, and said to Wang Pangzi, Xu Damao, and Dajinya: "Gentlemen, in my opinion, Master He dealing with this group of local warlords is like using a butcher's knife to slaughter a chicken. The way he is acting now is mostly for us to see."

Wang Pangzi chuckled: "I dare to bet with everyone that Master He will definitely get us food tomorrow."

Xu Damao shook his head: "I don't think he has such a kind heart. This kid has loved bullying me since we were little; he's doing this on purpose to make us suffer a bit."

Hu Bayi sighed: "Damao, human greed is insatiable. To be honest, if it weren't for Master He, we would still be wearing Handcuffs right now."

Wang Pangzi nodded vigorously: "That's right, this trouble was caused by me. If it were anyone else, they would have blamed me long ago, but Master He hasn't said a single word of reproach."

Dajinya said unpleasantly: "Pangzi, don't try to gild your own lily. I used to think you were sharp-witted, how did you get fooled by such a local small-time thug?"

Wang Kaixuan lowered his voice: "Have you noticed that this time Master He is exceptionally eager to come here, his mind even more anxious than ours? I always feel there is some hidden story here."

Xu Damao spoke with feigned mystery: "He Yuzhu's wife, Liu Rusi, is exceptionally obsessed with jade and emeralds; in my opinion, he came on this trip for the jade... It's a pity, the two pieces of jade I gave him back then were worth 1 billion USD. If I hadn't handed them over, I'd be a multi-billionaire by now, and I wouldn't have to suffer this."

Dajinya snorted: "Uncle-Master, don't bring that up again; that was you being blind and suffering a loss yourself."

After hearing this, Xu Damao stopped talking, turned over, and before long, the sound of snoring began.

The next day, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the four of them were still sleeping in a daze when He Yuzhu had already risen. With a casual wave of his hand, a large flatbread and several pieces of smoked meat appeared beside each person.

The aroma of meat filled the air, and the few of them woke up with a start.

Xu Damao grabbed a flatbread and examined it back and forth, unable to help asking: "Master He, which group of people sent this food?"

He Yuzhu glared at him: "You still expect them to have such kindness? I got this myself."

Hu Bayi smiled and continued: "Pangzi really has a good eye; he was certain Master He would get us food, and it really came true."

Not long after, several burly men burst in from outside, looking like Bodyguards at a glance.

They surrounded a young man who was wearing sunglasses and a designer suit, his demeanor arrogant.

As soon as they entered, the muzzles of the Bodyguards' guns were aimed squarely at He Yuzhu and his group.

The young man spoke slowly: "Gentlemen, a night has passed, have you thought it through? How much money do you plan to pay to ransom yourselves? Hurry up and give me a number, lest you suffer physical pain."

Wang Pangzi remained as fearless as ever, staring fixedly at the young man, suddenly spat on his face, and cursed: "Get lost, your mother! A small-time punk like you isn't worthy of negotiating terms with me! Call your boss over!"

He Yuzhu's expression remained unchanged, but in reality, he was observing everything, taking in every move of everyone present. As long as anyone dared to pull a trigger, he could store the opponent into his space at any time.

The young man was quite composed; he didn't get angry after being spat on, but instead waved his hand at the armed Bodyguards behind him: "I'm not angry." After saying this, he looked at Wang Pangzi again, "If you can't come up with the money, don't think about leaving alive. When the time comes, how I want to torture you will be entirely up to me. The more you jump around now, the more you will suffer later."