The young master Qiao, currently pale and terrified, was trembling. Although the Qiao family was a prominent clan in Jiangnan City, they paled in comparison to the Feng and Wang families.
Thus, this young master Qiao was even more insignificant than Feng Xiao and Wang Feng.
“I apologize, I apologize, please don’t hit me anymore.”
Young Master Qiao crawled from the ground to Ye Fan’s feet, desperately kowtowing. “I’m sorry, I was blind and didn’t recognize your greatness. Please, just let me go like I’m nothing. I’ll never dare to do it again.”
In front of Brother Dong, how could this young master Qiao possibly still have any courage? Let alone him, even Feng Xiao wouldn’t dare to be too arrogant in front of Brother Dong.
Ye Fan frowned slightly. He had initially thought this young master Qiao might have some backbone, but unexpectedly, he turned out to be a coward, which truly disappointed him.
In fact, although Ye Fan was displeased by the young master Qiao’s disrespect, he was also somewhat intrigued, wanting to see what abilities this young master Qiao possessed.
If he were truly a brave man, Ye Fan might have spared him.
But as it stood, Ye Fan shook his head helplessly.
“Let’s go, it’s too disappointing.”
Ye Fan sighed, shaking his head.
It was no wonder Ye Fan felt this way. Having interacted with people like Feng Xiao and Wang Feng so often lately, his standards had become much higher than many others. Someone like the young master Qiao before him simply didn’t catch his eye.
Brother Dong also shook his head, his face filled with disappointment, and slowly followed Ye Fan.
From a distance, the Wang family’s elder had already noticed the commotion. Seeing Ye Fan showing off his power, he didn’t rush over.
At this moment, seeing Ye Fan approaching, the elder quickly greeted him with a smile.
“Brother Ye, this old man has been waiting for you for a long time. I didn’t expect that as soon as you arrived, someone would be blind and dare to provoke you. Should I send someone to teach him a lesson?”
Ye Fan, however, smiled and shook his head. “He’s just a clown. Why bother with him? Besides, today is a banquet hosted by the Wang family. Why let such a fellow disrupt everyone’s enjoyment?”
Ye Fan smiled magnanimously, not taking Young Master Qiao seriously at all.
Seeing Ye Fan’s disdain for Young Master Qiao, the elder immediately burst into laughter, patting Ye Fan on the shoulder.
“As expected of you, Brother Ye. You are so domineering; it truly impresses this old man. If it were a few decades earlier, I would have certainly joined you on some adventures.”
“Elder, you are not old now. How about we venture out together now?”
Ye Fan looked up at the elder, his brows filled with smiles.
“Haha, after this matter is settled, I will venture out with Brother Ye. We’ll break out of Jiangnan City, go to Hangcheng, go to Nansheng, and forge a new world.”
The elder’s momentum was surging, and at this moment, he seemed to have become decades younger.
Seeing the elder’s earnest expression, Ye Fan also smiled.
This was the effect he wanted to achieve. The elder was nearly sixty years old and had been in charge of the Wang family for thirty years. So many years of monotonous life had long since extinguished the passion within him.
Therefore, Ye Fan needed to reignite the elder’s youthful spirit. Only then would the elder become even more energized.
Having understood Ye Fan’s intentions, the elder was sincerely grateful to Ye Fan, his gaze filled with gratitude.
The two looked at each other and smiled, speaking no further.
When smart people are together, a single expression is enough to convey what’s on each other’s minds.
There was no need for many words.
The elder personally accompanied Ye Fan into the Wang family. This scene caused everyone in Jiangnan City to look on in shock.
“Who is this young man? He actually has the elder personally greet him, and judging by their demeanor, the elder is very polite to him. We’ve never heard of such a person in Jiangnan City.”
“That’s just your ignorance. This is the most dazzling rising star in Jiangnan City’s antique circle right now, named Ye Fan. He won first place at the treasure appraisal fair held a few days ago. However, this person’s whereabouts are mysterious, and he’s very low-key, so very few people know him.”
Someone nearby was enthusiastically introducing him.
“I heard that this Ye Fan is on bad terms with the young master Feng Xiao of the Feng family. They’ve had conflicts several times, and it seems young master Feng has suffered losses at his hands. It looks like the heavens in Jiangnan City are truly about to change.”
Another person quietly shared the gossip they had heard.
Everyone immediately showed expressions of sudden realization.
“No wonder. I was wondering why the elder would be so polite to Ye Fan. So, this Ye Fan is in a standoff with the Feng family, which explains the elder’s behavior.”
The matters between the Wang family and the Feng family were no secret in Jiangnan City. Many people knew that these two families had been in a constant struggle for years. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Therefore, the Wang family would naturally not let an opportunity to win over a rising talent like Ye Fan slip away.
Moreover, judging by the scene they had just witnessed, the Wang family’s efforts to recruit him had already been successful.
Walking in with the elder, many core members of the Wang family came forward to greet Ye Fan.
It could be said that the Wang family had successfully created momentum for Ye Fan. At this moment, Ye Fan was undoubtedly the center of attention.
The elder was very satisfied with this and smiled at Ye Fan. “Let’s go, we’ll talk in the study.”
Ye Fan nodded silently. He was somewhat unaccustomed to this feeling of being watched by everyone.
Both in his previous life and in this one, Ye Fan had always preferred to act low-key.
As a tomb keeper in his previous life, he had always been a loner, rarely interacting with many people, let alone attending such banquets.
And in this life, he had been striving in Jiang City, rarely participating in such large-scale events.
In the study, besides the elder and Ye Fan, only Wang Feng was present.
As the future heir of the Wang family, it was natural for Wang Feng to be there.
“The Gu family members are still preparing; they will come out in about an hour, so we don’t need to rush,” the elder said to Ye Fan with a faint smile.
“The elder’s actions today to create such momentum for me might make the Gu family overthink things. If they fail to achieve their goal and end up harming themselves, it would be a loss that outweighs the gain,” Ye Fan said with a hint of worry. The Gu family had come to Jiangnan City this time to select participants for the treasure hunt.
Therefore, core figures must have been sent. Such people could not be easily fooled by mere displays of momentum.
But the elder shook his head dismissively. “These actions were not intended for the Gu family in the first place.”
“Oh?”
Ye Fan was stunned and looked at the elder with confusion.
This old man was becoming more and more unfathomable to him.
Previously, Ye Fan could somewhat guess the elder’s plans, but now, he felt that the elder’s actions often had ulterior motives. Even with his considerable depth of cunning, he couldn’t see through them.
Seeing the doubt on Ye Fan’s face, a cold smile flickered in the elder’s eyes.
“These actions are for the people of Jiangnan City to see. Those people have gone to great lengths for this selection. If we don’t first deter those who are unaware of their own limitations, who knows what kind of trouble might arise tonight.”