Seeing Ye Fan hesitate, Lin Yue in the cage roared crazily, "Ye Fan, don't believe him. Qi Yuanhao is a cunning and sly villain. If you let him go, he will surely launch a desperate revenge against you. At that time, you might not even be able to die."
Lin Yue screamed, gripping the iron bars as if driven mad.
"Lin Yue, you mad dog, you know better than anyone how I've treated you, Qi Yuanhao. It was I who pushed him into the position of Jiangcheng City Lord, yet you repay kindness with enmity and still have the nerve to bark here. I only regret not eliminating you back then, which has finally led to today's predicament."
Qi Yuanhao also roared, the two of them like roosters fighting until they were red-eyed.
Watching them argue, Ye Fan shook his head helplessly.
Who would have thought that the two most intimate people would have reached this point?
"City Lord Lin is worried that if I let Young Master Qi go, he will retaliate fiercely against you, right?"
Ye Fan's sudden interruption silenced both of them.
Lin Yue immediately frowned. Indeed, if Qi Yuanhao were released, his first target would likely be Lin Yue.
Given Qi Yuanhao's nature, he would never ignore Lin Yue's betrayal.
Seeing Lin Yue's silence, Ye Fan smiled slightly and then slowly stood up.
"Does Young Master Qi think I fear your Qi family? I forgot to tell you that the Zhou family has already gone all out against the Qi family. It's likely that in no time, the Qi family will disappear from Haicheng forever. At that time, do you think the Qi family can still pose any threat to me?"
Ye Fan snorted, completely unfazed by Qi Yuanhao's threat.
At this, Qi Yuanhao froze, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. How dare the Zhou family?"
But Ye Fan smiled and said, "Without the protection of the Qi family, do you think you, Young Master Qi, have any other trump cards? I don't want to kill you, not because I fear the Qi family, but because I don't want my hands stained with blood. However, Young Master Qi seems quite confident. Since that's the case, I can tell you with certainty that the day the Qi family is annihilated will be the day you, Qi Yuanhao, die. However, I won't kill you; I will hand you over to the Zhou family. As for how they deal with you, it has nothing to do with me."
Saying this, Ye Fan turned to look at Lin Yue.
"You are also a pitiable person, and you have done many good deeds for Jiangcheng over the years. As for your actions against me, perhaps you were under duress. Moreover, someone has begged me earnestly to spare your life, so I will not kill you, but you will live as an ordinary person from now on."
Ye Fan sighed and turned to leave the basement.
It was not yet time to release Lin Yue. If he were to expose what happened here, Ye Fan would also be in trouble.
After all, arbitrarily detaining the young master of the Qi family, once the Qi family found out, they would surely storm in and rescue Qi Yuanhao.
Furthermore, the Qi family had been monitoring the City Lord's Mansion. If Lin Yue appeared, he would fall into the hands of the Qi family immediately, which would not be good for his safety.
After leaving the basement, Shen Bao quickly stepped forward.
"How is it?"
Seeing Shen Bao's smiling face, Ye Fan asked calmly.
"The Zhou family has achieved a complete victory. Currently, ninety percent of the Qi family's assets are owned by the Zhou family. This is the asset information sent by Zhou Youde, with your name on it."
Handing Ye Fan several contracts, Shen Bao's face showed unprecedented joy.
Looking at the shares the Zhou family had allocated to him in these contracts, Ye Fan nodded with satisfaction.
This Zhou Youde was indeed a formidable figure, and his actions pleased Ye Fan.
"After all, the Qi family has existed for hundreds of years and has deep foundations. Therefore, it is not easy to completely eradicate them. Inform Zhou Youde to go all out to uproot the Qi family and eliminate future troubles. Remember, if you don't cut the grass by the roots, it will grow again in the spring."
With a profound look in his eyes, Ye Fan walked away slowly.
Watching Ye Fan leave, Shen Bao nodded heavily and hurried to contact Zhou Youde.
With the Zhou family handling matters in Haicheng, it would become his vast backyard in the future.
However, Ye Fan was not entirely trusting of this alliance.
After all, their cooperation was based on common interests. Once these interests disappeared, the Zhou family might turn against him.
In this world, there are only eternal interests, never eternal friends.
As for Taiping Town, with Lu Sheng and Elder Chen there, Ye Fan was completely at ease.
In Jiangcheng, with Lin Yue out of power, the Antique Association was completely under his control. Moreover, with Ye Fan's current reputation, no one in Jiangcheng dared to lay a hand on him.
Therefore, Jiangcheng was also as solid as a fortress.
After all, by following Ye Fan, these people would make money, and no one would go against their interests.
In the following days, Ye Fan became completely idle, spending his days at Tianyin Pavilion, flirting with Shen Tianyin. Their relationship progressed rapidly. Aside from the final step, everything else had been done.
With Ye Fan's company, Shen Tianyin was also living in happiness every day.
But this happiness was short-lived. One day, with the arrival of Liu Piaoxu, that happy atmosphere was completely shattered.
"Why such a grim expression? What happened?"
Seeing Liu Piaoxu's gloomy face, Ye Fan asked with a frown.
Based on his understanding of Liu Piaoxu, he would not show such a displeased expression unless something major had happened.
"A batch of treasures from my Dark Alliance was intercepted in Jiangnan City. The other party has considerable backing and is demanding that the Dark Alliance pay the ransom, otherwise, they will not return our items."
A flicker of anger flashed in Liu Piaoxu's eyes.
Hearing Liu Piaoxu's words, Ye Fan was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected anyone to be so audacious as to dare to rob the Dark Alliance's goods.
However, since the other party made Liu Piaoxu so wary, they were likely not ordinary individuals.
"Do you know the identity of the other party?"
Ye Fan also received a share of the profits from the Dark Alliance, so the interception of these goods meant that Ye Fan had also suffered a loss. Thus, Ye Fan could not stand by and do nothing.
"We don't know yet, so I want to go to Jiangnan City personally."
Liu Piaoxu slowly raised her head, her eyes fixed on Ye Fan. Although her eyes were cold, a hint of deep affection was hidden in their depths.
Seeing Liu Piaoxu's resolute expression, Ye Fan understood that this woman wanted him to accompany her.
Since he had nothing else to do, it wouldn't hurt to go with her. Moreover, the Wang family had already withdrawn, and it was time for him to visit the Wang family and discuss cooperation with the Great Elder.
"Tomorrow morning, we will travel by car."
Unexpectedly, as soon as Ye Fan made his decision, he heard Liu Piaoxu speak.
Hearing Liu Piaoxu's words, Ye Fan was slightly surprised, "Travel by car? Not drive?"
Although Ye Fan could also drive, he had always had a dedicated driver and was used to it.
But Liu Piaoxu shook her head, "If we drive, we will definitely be targeted."