Chapter 2729

Zhang Ermao's series of performances were nothing more than following Ye Chen's arrangements.

In other words, he was receiving approval from his superiors for public-funded eating, drinking, and entertainment.

Ye Chen made him indulge every night because he was worried that Chang Shengbo would secretly keep an eye on Zhang Ermao.

Before Chang Shengbo made his next move, Ye Chen could not allow Zhang Ermao to reveal any clues; as long as Zhang Ermao did not slip up, Chang Shengbo would not change his plans for that final evening, but if he did slip up, Chang Shengbo might very well advance his actions.

At this time, Chang Shengbo had been secretly watching Zhang Ermao, and even heard Zhang Ermao's conversations with the female public relations officer clearly.

The more this happened, the more firmly he believed in Zhang Ermao's persona and the things Zhang Ermao had told him.

In his view, Zhang Ermao earned money during the day and came to nightclubs at night to consume, indulging in eating, drinking, prostitution, and gambling without exception, and even stayed in the presidential suite of a five-star hotel; this series of behavior was exactly the typical lifestyle of criminals who made huge fortunes through illegal activities.

When money comes easily and from illegitimate sources, people often develop a psychology of wanting to enjoy it as soon as possible.

After completely trusting Zhang Ermao, Chang Shengbo returned by car to the guesthouse where he resided, planning to spend the next two days there in seated meditation and cultivation, while also trying to gain insight from the three newly acquired magical artifacts to see if he could achieve any progress.

Ye Chen had already grasped Chang Shengbo's movements, so he had someone monitor the guesthouse where Chang Shengbo resided through municipal surveillance, 24 hours a day, dead-eyed on him; once he left the guesthouse, they were to report immediately to Ye Chen.

As for Yun Ruoge, she had fortuitously evaded the gaze of both Chang Shengbo and Ye Chen, secretly lurking in Jin Ling, closely monitoring Chang Shengbo's every move.

That evening, Yun Ruoge truthfully reported everything that had happened that day to the Ying Lord.

When the Ying Lord learned that Chang Shengbo had actually obtained another magical artifact, the entire person was already full of question marks.

In this degenerate Dharma-ending era, magical artifacts had long been extremely rare; even the few magical artifacts in the Ying Lord's possession were all left behind by his former master.

As for the Ying Lord himself, he had never had the opportunity to master how to refine magical artifacts.

Therefore, the Ying Lord could hardly understand why Chang Shengbo, upon arriving in Jin Ling, was able to find three magical artifacts.

Just as the Ying Lord was utterly confused, Chang Shengbo, after thinking back and forth, decided to still report to the Ying Lord the matter of obtaining the third magical artifact that day.

He hoped that the Ying Lord, out of consideration for these two magical artifacts, would temporarily halt the plan to assassinate the An family, giving him more time to dig deeper into Zhang Ermao and his online identity.

However, after he reported the situation to the Ying Lord, the Ying Lord merely said lightly: "Although magical artifacts are precious, they are absolutely not more important than exterminating the An family; I don't care how many magical artifacts you can obtain, you must take action against the An family before midnight tomorrow night!"

For the Ying Lord, the priority of exterminating the An family ranked above searching for magical artifacts.

Moreover, the Ying Lord still had a hidden move in Jin Ling, namely the stealthy arrival of Yun Ruoge.

In the Ying Lord's view, letting Chang Shengbo go to exterminate the An family to draw fire and attention would allow Yun Ruoge to seize the opportunity to pursue the line of excavating magical artifacts, especially since Yun Ruoge had already seen Zhang Ermao from afar that day and knew he operated in the antique street; once Chang Shengbo could not appear, Yun Ruoge taking over to接洽 with Zhang Ermao would be the best choice.

After all, for the Ying Lord, Yun Ruoge's reliability was much greater than Chang Shengbo's.

Chang Shengbo never expected that offering two magical artifacts would still fail to persuade the Ying Lord to delay the plan; he felt deeply stifled inside, and at this moment, the only thing he could do was hope that Zhang Ermao would bring him good news the next day.

……

The next day.

Zhang Ermao slept until the sun was high.

Ye Chen did not look for him, so he only came to the antique street to continue his stall after leisurely eating a lavish meal at the hotel at noon.

As soon as his stall was set up, Chang Shengbo came over, seeing Zhang Ermao's hungover face, and impatiently asked: "Ermao, has your superior approved the credit?"

Zhang Ermao shook his head, yawned, and said: "Not yet; they have been thinking of various ways to cash out since last night until now, but each time the cash amount cannot be too large, so it will probably still take a little time."

Chang Shengbo felt somewhat annoyed and said: "Ermao, I might have to leave Jin Ling tomorrow night; if I go, we will have no chance to cooperate in the future."

Zhang Ermao also wore a look of regret and said: "Grandpa, this time point tomorrow night is indeed a bit tight; why don't you stay a few more days, or wait another three or five days, and you'll surely make it; if you really feel bored, you can move to Buckingham Palace to stay with me, where I have opened a presidential suite; I only sleep in one of the four bedrooms, and you can freely sleep in the remaining three."

Chang Shengbo politely declined: "Ermao, thank you for your kindness, but I am old and have no feeling for such ostentatious luxurious enjoyment of a presidential suite; besides, I have never joked with you before—I can at most wait until tomorrow night; you had better think of a way to contact your superior again, tell him that if there is no new supply tomorrow night, then there will be no need to cooperate anymore."

Zhang Ermao nodded: "Alright, then I'll ask for the credit tomorrow."

Chang Shengbo hurriedly said: "Then tomorrow we'll still meet here."

"Good!" Zhang Ermao agreed without hesitation, patting his chest and saying: "See you tomorrow!"

That evening, Zhang Ermao came to Ying Huang International by car for the third time.

This was already his third consecutive day coming.

Just like the previous two times, today he was still squandering money like dirt, surrounded by beautiful women.

Zhang Ermao did not drink much alcohol today, because he vaguely guessed that his life of paper intoxication and gold obsession would likely end tonight; once Ye Shi no longer needed him to act, he would have to return to Tianxiang Fu to help Hong Wu Ye manage his subordinates and oversee his properties.

Returning to the position of master, his status in the martial world would be higher than that of the Four Heavenly Kings under Hong Wu Ye by one level; he certainly could not continue to spend every day in nightclubs squandering money.

Therefore, today he especially cherished this last beautiful experience.

That night, Ye Chen lay in bed, sleepless all night.

His mind kept thinking: if Chang Shengbo directly attacked Wanliu Mountain Manor tomorrow night, what should he do?

Should he intercept Chang Shengbo midway in a deserted place and do his utmost to kill him, or should he wait until Chang Shengbo arrived at Wanliu Mountain Manor, prepared to act against his grandparents' family, and then suddenly strike him unawares?

Initially, Ye Chen leaned more toward the former.

This was mainly because he currently did not want to meet his grandparents' family.

The reason was not only to let himself remain in the dark, but also because Ye Chen had not yet made the psychological preparation to meet his grandparents' family.

Recalling the past, his grandfather's attitude toward his father had always been bad, to the extent that in Ye Chen's heart, no matter who killed his parents, his grandfather's family, as well as his grandmother's family, bore an inescapable responsibility.

This was also why he had always avoided meeting his grandfather's family and always held some resentment toward his grandfather and grandmother.

So, Ye Chen's initial thought was more inclined to choose a suitable place to have a life-or-death battle with Chang Shengbo.

If he won, he would flick his sleeves and leave, hiding his merits and fame;

If he lost, he would most likely die at Chang Shengbo's hands, which would also count as having given his all, going there, seeing his parents, and being able to die in peace.

But Ye Chen soon overturned this idea.

The reason was that he recalled Lin Wanner's reminder to him.

This time, he was likely to encounter danger; if he could not survive tonight, he must let his grandparents' family know that the Ye Chen they had been thinking of day and night was still alive.