Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Lin Yue couldn't help but freeze for a moment before finally letting out a long sigh.
While he understood that Ye Fan's reasoning was sound, familial bonds were difficult to sever.
Jiang Zhitao's punches were heavy and vicious. Within minutes, Lin Yang was already bruised and swollen.
A smile touched Ye Fan's lips. "Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily. I'll beat you to death one punch at a time, only then will I feel truly relieved. Steward Lin, savor every moment."
Ye Fan's grasp of human psychology was far superior to Lin Yang's.
Hearing Ye Fan's words, Lin Yang couldn't help but tremble violently.
"You... you're a devil! I won't let you go even as a ghost!"
To his surprise, Ye Fan sneered, "I'm not afraid of the living, why would I fear ghosts? Besides, you were the one who provoked me first, and I gave you a chance."
Jiang Zhitao landed another heavy punch square on Lin Yang's face. "You old scoundrel, I'll treat you like a punching bag today."
The sounds of impact echoed incessantly.
Accompanied by Lin Yang's screams, it was like a symphony to Ye Fan's ears.
Seeing Lin Yang's battered face, Ye Fan sneered, "If you tell me the details, I'll have him stop. The condition is simple, the choice is yours."
He coaxed and tempted Lin Yang bit by bit.
"I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Please, stop hitting me!" kuAiδugg
Finally, unable to bear the pain any longer, Lin Yang's spirit broke.
"It would have been better if you said so earlier. Why waste so much time?"
Ye Fan snorted and returned to his seat.
"Speak, I hope what you say is what I want to hear, otherwise..."
To Lin Yang, that smile was like that of a devil!
"Jiang Zhong was acting under my orders when he sold fakes to Tianyin Pavilion."
"Where did the fakes come from?"
Qi Yuanhao asked urgently.
"The details of the items were provided by the eldest daughter of the Shen family, Shen Shiyun, and the eldest young master of the Zhou family from Haicheng, Zhou Youde. Then, the vice president of the Antique Association, Qin Zhonghe, and his brother, Qin Zhongfu, found people to forge them. I then contacted buyers. Once the fakes were sold, we were not responsible for anything further. The profits were split equally among our three families. We've been doing this for five years, and we've had hundreds, even thousands, of forged items passed through our hands..."
He confessed everything he knew to Ye Fan and the others.
After speaking the secrets hidden in his heart, Lin Yang felt a sense of relief and collapsed onto the ground.
He knew he was finished, completely finished, but as long as he could keep his life, it would be enough.
A portion of the money he had earned over the years was hidden away. As long as he could stay alive, he could live a comfortable life for the rest of his days.
Raising an eyebrow, Ye Fan glanced at Qi Yuanhao. Seeing his somber expression and no intention of further questioning, Ye Fan gestured for Shen Bao to escort Lin Yang away.
Only Lin Yue, Qi Yuanhao, Ye Fan, and Jiang Zhitao remained in the reception hall.
"Now that the truth is out, City Lord Lin, please have the enforcement team make the arrests directly."
Jiang Zhitao was impatient, and since this matter involved Ye Fan, he was naturally even more eager.
However, Ye Fan shook his head. "We can't rush this. Although we've learned all the people behind the scenes from Lin Yang, we have no other evidence besides his confession. If we move against Zhou Youde, Shen Shiyun, and Qin Zhonghe now, they will immediately destroy the evidence, and all our previous efforts will be in vain."
Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Lin Yue nodded, his gaze towards Ye Fan filled with admiration.
"Young friend Ye is correct. Lin Yang's words alone are not enough to convict those people. Therefore, our top priority is to obtain concrete evidence as quickly as possible. That way, even if they try to argue, it will be useless."
Easier said than done. How could they find evidence of their crimes?
This chain of profit was clearly divided, with each person performing their specific role, and they had no knowledge of the specific details of each other's actions.
Lin Yang was only responsible for sales, so he was completely unaware of the forgery process.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Ye Fan pondered for a moment, then said calmly, "Since Qin Zhonghe was responsible for the forgery, the location must be in Jiangcheng. Why don't we follow this lead? If we can find the place where they forge the fakes, we can bring them all down in one go."
"How do we find it? Qin Zhonghe won't tell us foolishly."
Jiang Zhitao frowned.
Jiangcheng wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. In the vast sea of people, finding the forgery location would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Moreover, this matter could only be investigated secretly, not openly, which made it even more challenging.
The few of them exchanged glances, unable to come up with a good solution.
At this moment, Shen Bao walked in quickly from outside.
He was holding the porcelain vase he had retrieved from Jiang Zhong.
"Brother Ye, according to Jiang Zhong's confession, this porcelain vase was given to him by Jiang Xiaobo before he disappeared. He said that the vase hid a great secret, but Jiang Zhong spent many days trying to decipher it without success. Do you think this vase might be related to this fake artifact case?"
Upon hearing Shen Bao's words, Ye Fan's eyes suddenly lit up.
Jiang Xiaobo was Shen Shiyun's confidant and was well-known in Jiangcheng's antique circle. Such a person would never be uninvolved in this matter.
Taking the porcelain vase from Shen Bao, Ye Fan examined it carefully.
"A Qing Dynasty mid-period floral motif porcelain vase, ordinary condition, with a crack at the bottom. This vase itself is not valuable..."
His gaze fell upon the crack at the bottom of the vase. Suddenly, his divine eye activated, and within the crack, Ye Fan discovered a clue.
"Found it."
Saying this, Ye Fan smashed the vase hard.
"Crash."
The porcelain vase shattered.
And amidst the many fragments, a tiny piece of paper was mixed in.
Ye Fan quickly picked it up and slowly unfolded it. It only had four words written on it: South City Flower Village.
If Ye Fan hadn't possessed his divine eye, he might not have discovered the note at all. It had to be said that Jiang Xiaobo was truly clever.
He had made a crack in the porcelain vase and hidden the note inside.
This not only required skill but also an extremely meticulous mind.
"South City Flower Village, does that mean this is where the forgery location is?"
Qi Yuanhao frowned.
Ye Fan shook his head. "We can't be sure of anything yet. We have to go and see."
This matter involved too much. The forgery location would undoubtedly be very well hidden and not easily discovered.
Lin Yue slowly stood up. "There's no time to delay. Now that Lin Yang has been arrested, the news can't be kept secret for long. We must resolve this matter in the shortest possible time. Shen Bao, from now on, all your actions will be under the arrangement of young friend Ye."
Lin Yue gave the order decisively.
Although he had only just met Ye Fan, he found that Ye Fan was not only meticulous but also clear-headed. Entrusting this matter to him would ensure its flawless execution.
It wasn't that Lin Yue easily trusted strangers, but at this moment, he had no one else he could rely on, so he had to depend on Ye Fan.