Through the brim of his cap, Lei Lao’s face showed surprise as he recognized Ye Fan’s features.
“You…”
“If you don't want to die, behave. Otherwise, I’ll take your life in minutes.”
Although Lei Lao was a highly respected figure in the antique appraisal circle, his ability to react to danger was quite poor.
If Ye Fan hadn't interrupted him and stopped him from saying more, he might have been exposed.
Upon hearing Ye Fan’s words, Lei Lao quickly shut his mouth, looking embarrassed as he felt ashamed of his earlier impulsiveness.
The middle-aged man beside them snorted, “Well said. If you don’t cooperate obediently, we’ll kill you in minutes. Don’t think you can act presumptuously just because you’re old. In our eyes, you’re no different from ants.”
The middle-aged man berated them angrily, his words devoid of emotion, filled instead with mockery.
Lei Lao obediently fell silent, lowering his head. He seemed fearful, yet also wronged.
Seeing this, Ye Fan quickly tied them up.
“Get up, and come with me.”
Tying them together with ropes, Ye Fan coldly commanded.
Hearing Ye Fan’s words, Lei Lao and the others obediently got up and walked out one after another.
“Thank you.”
Watching Lei Lao and the others leave, Ye Fan said faintly to the middle-aged man.
“No need for pleasantries, we’re all working for the village chief. When we have time, we brothers should have a good drink. I’ve heard that our brother Ma has a great capacity for alcohol, let us witness it firsthand.”
Smiling, he nodded, “Definitely.”
Then, he slowly followed them out.
As most of the villagers were at the public trial of the East Village devil, there were not many people coming and going on the streets.
“Keep your heads down, don’t speak. If we’re exposed, we’ll all die.”
Ye Fan whispered to Lei Lao and Ji Lao.
After Ye Fan’s reminder, the two old men nodded obediently, “Understood.”
The distance from the village chief’s house to the village entrance was two to three hundred meters. Normally, they might have covered this quickly, but now, they dared not walk too fast, for fear of being discovered.
After more than ten minutes, they finally saw the village entrance. Ye Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Once they were out of the village, everything would be easier.
But at that moment, someone called out from behind him, “Ma Wu, why aren’t you guarding the entrance and wandering around?”
Ye Fan stopped abruptly, pulling Lei Lao and Ji Lao along with him.
Turning around, he saw a thin middle-aged man walking towards them.
With the village entrance so close, if they were discovered, all their previous efforts would be in vain.
But if this person approached, the possibility of exposure was extremely high.
“I’m talking to you, are you mute?”
Seeing Ye Fan keeping his head down and not speaking, the man raised his voice, filled with anger.
“The village chief secretly ordered me to deal with these two people.”
He lowered his voice, fixing his gaze on the middle-aged man, and prepared to act at any moment.
“When did this happen? How come I don’t know? Aren’t these people all outsiders? The village chief still wants to keep them for a purpose.”
The middle-aged man frowned. Clearly, he held a significant position in South Village, otherwise, he wouldn’t speak with such confidence.
Ye Fan frowned, “Who dares to question the village chief’s affairs? I am merely executing orders.”
Still keeping his head down, Ye Fan’s feet tensed, ready to launch an attack at any moment.
As a result, the middle-aged man became even more suspicious. He stopped four to five meters away from Ye Fan and looked at him quizzically, “Why do I feel like you’re acting strange tonight? Can the village chief hide anything from me? Could it be that you’re acting on your own to profit from them?”
A cold glint flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes as he grew wary of Ye Fan.
“If you don’t believe me, go ask the village chief.”
Ye Fan said coldly, his body still immobile, maintaining an offensive stance.
These words greatly annoyed the middle-aged man.
“Bullshit! They’re in the basement right now. Are you asking me to go to the basement to inquire?”
It was clear that this middle-aged man had fixated on Ye Fan and was suspicious of his actions.
They had to deal with this scoundrel quickly. The longer they delayed, the more dangerous they would become.
“I have a secret letter from the village chief here, would you like to see it?”
Taking out an envelope from his pocket, Ye Fan asked in a low voice, gradually moving closer to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man quickly retreated a couple of steps. Just as he was about to stop Ye Fan, he saw a blazing fire erupt from the direction of the South Village ancestral hall.
“Bad! Someone has broken in.”
The middle-aged man cursed under his breath, then rushed towards the ancestral hall.
“Someone must have broken into the village. Don’t you dare do anything foolish, go and fight the fire! I’ll deal with you later, kid, once I’m done.”
Saying that, the middle-aged man quickly ran towards the ancestral hall.
Ye Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief, “There’s no time to delay, let’s go quickly.”
As they passed through the village entrance and finally exited South Village, Ye Fan suddenly felt his entire body relax.
He quickly untied Lei Lao and Ji Lao, “Hurry back to East Village. Tian Yin is waiting at Xu Sanhu’s house. Remember, no matter what sounds you hear, hide and don’t come out.”
“What about you? Are you going back?”
Looking at Ye Fan, Ji Lao asked urgently.
“The fire at the ancestral hall was likely set by Shen Bao. I need to go and meet him.”
Ye Fan’s gaze was determined. He would never abandon Shen Bao in such a critical moment.
Knowing that Ye Fan’s decision was final, Ji Lao nodded heavily, “We’ll wait for you in East Village. You must return safely.”
After casting a deep glance at Ye Fan, the two old men quickly left.
Seeing their figures disappear into the night, Ye Fan turned and hurried back into the village.
Since Shen Bao wasn’t guarding the entrance, he must have gone to the ancestral hall. Moreover, he hadn’t returned for this long, so something must have happened.
Given Shen Bao’s skills, he shouldn’t have been easily discovered, especially since he had disguised himself.
Therefore, the only explanation for his delay was that he must have discovered something important.
Taking advantage of the darkness, Ye Fan moved swiftly. Because the ancestral hall was on fire, the villagers on the road were all hurrying towards it, paying no attention to Ye Fan.
At the main entrance of the ancestral hall, Ye Fan suddenly changed direction, taking a detour to the side. Seeing no one around, he quickly climbed onto the roof.
If Shen Bao were here, the roof would be the most likely place.
Indeed, the moment he climbed onto the roof, he saw a person lying in the roof ridge gap, looking down into the house.
A smile curved Ye Fan’s lips as he slowly crawled over.
“Find anything?”
He asked in a low voice.
Shen Bao had seen him approaching long ago and turned to him, “They seem to be looking for a stone, though the exact type of stone is still unclear.”
A stone?