Chapter 81: Setting a Trap for the Enemy

Zhang Chulan recounted everything that had happened in the guest room to Xu San and Xu Si without leaving out a single detail. Upon hearing his account, Xu Si couldn't help but gasp, "Yezi, you really are something else. You just went head-to-head with them the moment you met?"

"Those two old men are no easy characters. Aren't you afraid they'll come after you for this later?"

"Come after me?" Ye Yan sneered dismissively. "I'd be delighted if that old dog Wang Ai came looking for trouble. I'm just looking for an excuse to teach him a lesson."

"Unfortunately, that old bastard is too cautious, not giving me a single opening. Actually, it was Chulan who dropped the ball today—if he'd only given me a bit of help, I'd have loosened up Wang Ai's old bones for sure."

Hearing Ye Yan's words, Zhang Chulan fell silent. After a long pause, he finally said, "Brother Yan, I'm sorry about today. I couldn't help you."

"Forget it, this isn't on you," Ye Yan said, glancing at him without blame. He understood why Zhang Chulan would back down. After all, as a newcomer to this circle, it was only natural to feel intimidated by people like Wang Ai and Lü Ci, who lorded their power over others. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Not everyone could be like Ye Yan, who, even when he was a rookie, dared to go up against the Wang family, and who, after rising in power, had the guts to take on two of them alone. Ye Yan had never expected others to live up to his own standards; there was simply no need.

Even so, Zhang Chulan still felt deeply guilty. If Ye Yan hadn't shown up today and borne the brunt of the pressure for him, Zhang Chulan really couldn't say what might have happened next. Regardless of whether it was for Xu Si or someone else, the fact remained that Ye Yan had saved him. And yet, he hadn't been able to help in return.

Seeing Zhang Chulan still looking as downcast as a gelded man, Xu Si patted him on the shoulder with a comforting smile and said, "Come on, it's not such a big deal. Don't take it so much to heart. His grudge with the Wang family didn't begin today, and this little incident won't make any real difference."

"But I—" Zhang Chulan tried to protest, but Xu Si cut him off impatiently, "Alright, you're a grown man—why are you being so wishy-washy? Go play somewhere else. I need to discuss something with your Brother Yan."

"Oh," Zhang Chulan replied, drooping his head as he left. Only then did Xu Si toss a cigarette to Ye Yan. Lighting up, he asked, "Let's put your business with the Wang family aside for now—we'll deal with that later. I wanted to give you a heads-up... it's about Quanxing."

"Go on," Ye Yan replied lazily, puffing on his cigarette.

"Go on?!" Xu Si was taken aback. "Wait, that's your reaction? This is almost certainly going to involve someone from your own family, and you're not even surprised?"

"Why should I be surprised?" Ye Yan shrugged. Xu Si was so thrown by Ye Yan's reaction that he almost jumped up. "Quanxing! I'm talking about Quanxing!"

"I know about Quanxing," Ye Yan replied.

Xu Si was speechless. Something felt off. In his experience, anything involving Xia He usually made Ye Yan jump out of his skin. But today, Ye Yan was acting completely out of character—unusually indifferent, in fact. It was very intriguing.

Xu Si, cigarette dangling from his lips, hesitated before finally blurting out, "Yezi, did you and Xia He have a fight? Did you break up?"

In Xu Si's eyes, for a man to be so unconcerned about his own woman, it could only mean they'd broken up, or that he'd lost a fight in bed. But here on Dragon Tiger Mountain, the latter clearly wasn't likely. So the possibility that they'd actually broken up suddenly felt much more plausible.

"You single dog, what nonsense are you imagining? You're the one who's broken up! It's just Quanxing infiltrating Dragon Tiger Mountain—nothing major. I knew about it ages ago, alright?"

Xu Si was dumbfounded. How did he know? This operation was supposed to be top secret—only a handful of people were in the loop. Even with Ye Yan, Xu Si had only just now decided to inform him, in case something unexpected happened. But it seemed Ye Yan already knew.

"Xia He told me," Ye Yan said, seeing right through Xu Si's thoughts and cutting him off before he could ask.

"Did Xia He tell you what Quanxing's after?" Xu Si sidled up slyly, hoping to fish for some intel.

"Nope. Get lost," Ye Yan said, rolling his eyes and pushing him away.

Unfazed, Xu Si sidled up again, "Come on, we're brothers. Shouldn't we share information? Don't waste time!"

"Xu, where's your self-respect?"

"What use is self-respect? Share the intel and you can have my chastity too!"

Ye Yan was speechless. Who wants that? Better save it for your offspring.

"As for how many Quanxing agents are here, or what they're up to, I don't know. But all four Wild Cards are here, and they've disguised their entry using domain poison techniques. That's all I know..." Ye Yan told Xu Si what little he did know, and the latter listened intently, committing every word to memory.

It was only a few brief sentences, and on the surface they didn't seem all that useful. But for Xu Si, as the head of the North China region, this information was worth its weight in gold. Knowing about one more infiltrator could mean one less employee dying for Dao Tong. That alone was enough.

"I've told you what I know. You know what to do with it, right?"

"Got it, loud and clear. I'll go brief the capture team. If they run into Xia He, we'll give her a free pass."

"Now that's more like it," Ye Yan said, nodding with satisfaction. "Alright, we've exchanged information, so there's no need to hang around here. Let's go see the real boss."

"The real boss?" Ye Yan looked at Xu Si in confusion.

"Yeah, the local manpower on Dragon Tiger Mountain. This operation isn't just a solo effort by the company—it's a joint action with Dragon Tiger Mountain. Old Master Lu has already made arrangements on his end."

"That's quite a scale."

"It is. The higher-ups have made it clear: if anyone from Quanxing dares show their face on Dragon Tiger Mountain, we'll wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

"A true 'invite the enemy into the trap,'" Ye Yan exclaimed, drawing a sharp breath—he hadn't expected the company to be so determined this time.

Noticing the doubt in Ye Yan's eyes, Xu Si said quietly, "Actually, the company's resolve this time is partly thanks to you. If Tu Junfang hadn't stirred up so much trouble in the south, we wouldn't be seeing such a grand operation now."