Though the Grand Elder bowed and admitted his mistake, Ye Fan still showed him no pleasant expression.
He let out a cold snort, then turned his head to look at the burly strong men in front of him.
"My esteemed sirs, we have intruded here without invitation. If we have offended you in any way, please forgive us. Today's matter, we will certainly give all of you a satisfactory answer. May we know if we can meet the person behind all of you?"
Ye Fan said respectfully to these people.
Hearing Ye Fan's words, the burly men frowned. Just then, a cold voice sounded from behind them.
"That's more like human talk."
Saying that, the burly men parted, and a young man walked out with his hands behind his back.
"Young Master Wu? How could it be you?"
Looking at the young man, Ye Fan appeared terrified.
Upon hearing Ye Fan's address, the Grand Elder understood. This Young Master Wu must be the eldest young master from the secret passage of the Wu family of the Dark Alliance, Wu Liuding.
"Ye Fan, I didn't expect you to be a traitor. Did you forget the City Lord's orders? Are you truly preparing to betray City Lord Lin?"
Wu Liuding said, his face grim, looking at Ye Fan and asking coldly.
These words, falling into the Grand Elder's ears, carried even deeper meaning.
It turned out his guess was correct. Lin Yue had orchestrated all of this, and Ye Fan had received orders, but Lin Yue's conspiracy had caused Ye Fan to betray him.
It seemed his choice earlier was the right one. If he hadn't produced Lin Yue's letter plotting against Ye Fan, he might not have found this place even if he turned Jiang City upside down.
Ye Fan snorted coldly, his expression instantly turning grim.
"Betrayal? Wu Liuding, you're just a pawn kept in the dark. You know better than I do about Lin Yue's plans. Though my position is low and my words carry little weight, I, Ye Fan, am not a fool. Lin Yue wanted to put me to death, so I could only fight back."
Ye Fan said coldly, as if he had transformed into a different person at that moment.
"To tell you the truth, you kidnapped Young Master Wang. The Wang family will not let this go. By then, Lin Yue will shift all the blame onto you. In the end, your Dark Alliance will have no way out but death."
Staring into Wu Liuding's eyes, Ye Fan said coldly.
Hearing Ye Fan's words, Wu Liuding suddenly raised his hand: "Nonsense! A mere Wang family is not even in the City Lord's consideration. Moreover, you are now like fish in a barrel, do you still think you can make any waves? As long as we eliminate you, who else will know that we were the ones who kidnapped him?"
Saying that, Wu Liuding waved his hand, and the burly men rushed forward with a roar.
Seeing this, Ye Fan's expression darkened, and he pushed the Grand Elder away: "Attack."
With a loud shout, a neat sound of footsteps followed from behind. Soon, more than a dozen enforcers holding weapons, led by Shen Bao, rushed in.
"Leave no one alive."
Ye Fan commanded coldly.
Shen Bao nodded, then led his men to advance swiftly.
Upon seeing the enforcers rush in, Wu Liuding's expression changed drastically. He quickly retreated, letting the burly men block the entrance.
"Make it quick, don't let Wu Liuding escape."
Ye Fan said coldly.
At this moment, the Grand Elder was completely stunned, his face filled with solemnity.
He had no idea Ye Fan had a hidden hand, and that these enforcers were actually armed, appearing suddenly like heavenly soldiers descending.
At this moment, even he was shocked by Ye Fan's shrewdness.
"It's a pity this child is not of my Wang family. Otherwise, how could my Wang family not prosper?"
The Grand Elder sighed inwardly.
As the burly men were subdued, Ye Fan and the Grand Elder quickly rushed into the stone chamber.
But at this moment, Wu Liuding was nowhere to be seen in the stone chamber.
In the stone chamber, a chair was placed, with scattered ropes lying beside it.
Seeing the ropes, Ye Fan was taken aback, then said, "Young Master Wang the Second must have been hidden here. This is the best proof."
The Grand Elder naturally saw it too and frowned deeply.
"Chase him! He has the Second Young Master with him, he can't have run too far."
Saying that, he was the first to chase into the passage behind.
Watching the Grand Elder chase out, Ye Fan curled the corners of his lips into an imperceptible cold smile, then quickly followed the Grand Elder's footsteps.
This passage was dug by Ye Fan at the request of Lu Sheng and others, leading all the way outside, very hidden.
The purpose was for today!
Following the Grand Elder in pursuit, they rushed out of the cave without seeing any trace of Wu Liuding.
"What's going on? Why did he run so fast?"
The Grand Elder frowned deeply, his face filled with disbelief.
Hearing the Grand Elder's words, Ye Fan also feigned a frown.
"Did we overlook something? Logically speaking, with the Second Young Master, he shouldn't be able to run this fast, should he?"
Ye Fan frowned, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Hearing Ye Fan's words, the Grand Elder glanced at him, then said in a deep voice, "Turn back and search carefully. We cannot miss any detail."
This was an excellent opportunity to find the Second Young Master. If they missed it this time, they didn't know how much effort it would take next time.
Seeing the Grand Elder's resolute gaze, Ye Fan naturally wouldn't object. He nodded and returned with the Grand Elder along the same path.
The result was as expected: they found nothing.
Now, the Grand Elder was even more frustrated.
He had been confident enough to find the Second Young Master, so why did it end up being a fruitless effort?
Looking at the Grand Elder's gloomy face, Ye Fan couldn't help but sigh, "I'm afraid there was someone else waiting for them here, otherwise, they wouldn't have run so fast. We were outmaneuvered."
Ye Fan squinted his eyes, his face filled with dejection.
Hearing Ye Fan's words, the Grand Elder pondered with a frown, but still nodded, "Since we already know it was them, we can search for them with a specific target."
He finally sighed, and then walked to the cave entrance with Ye Fan.
There, those burly men had already fallen to the ground, their bodies bleeding profusely, clearly all killed.
Seeing Ye Fan and the Grand Elder approaching, Shen Bao quickly stepped forward and asked, "How is it? Did you find him?"
The Grand Elder did not speak. Ye Fan shook his head and said, "They escaped."
Shen Bao's expression also changed, but he still looked up at the Grand Elder: "Grand Elder, please rest assured. The roads leading in and out of Taiping Town have all been sealed by me. Since we know who the opponent is, we will find them even if we have to dig three feet deep."
This was all they could do now. The Grand Elder nodded, thanked Shen Bao, and then, along with his subordinates, left with Ye Fan and the others.
All the way, the Grand Elder was silent and said nothing until they parted, having agreed to invite Ye Fan over in the evening. Only then did he leave.
Watching the Grand Elder and his group leave, Ye Fan sneered.
"Next, we'll just wait for the Wang family and Lin Yue to go to war. It's best if they both suffer heavy losses, and we can reap the benefits."