It was nearly eleven o'clock at night.
Chu Yuxuan sat alone on the fishing boat at Nanwan, chain-smoking one cigarette after another.
Ada Jing was tied up at the stern of the boat, with tape over his mouth. His eyes were so swollen he could only squint through a narrow sl*t. He rested his head against the railing, gazing blankly at the vast sea, his expression resigned.
He probably had an inkling of his fate by now, looking much more composed than before.
Chu Yuxuan felt a bit uneasy. Despite having full confidence in his brothers' abilities—Old Four had scouted the location after Blackie arranged the meeting with Su Dong, leaving nothing to chance—he still worried. After all, Blackie and Su Dong were drug dealers, not just ordinary thugs. Such people were not to be underestimated.
After about ten minutes, Old Three called: "Boss, it's done. There were only seven of them. Apart from Su Dong, we killed them all."
Chu Yuxuan let out a sigh of relief. "Are you all okay?"
"We're fine," Old Three replied. "During the fight, Old Five used Blackie as a shield... and Blackie got shot in the arm."
"Alright, as long as you're okay. Bring them all back."
About half an hour later, the brothers returned victoriously.
As they got out of the car, Blackie complained loudly, "Chu Yuxuan! Where did you pick up these foreign buddies? D*mn it, they used me as a meat shield! Hahaha..."
From his delirious tone, he was probably high again.
Chu Yuxuan ignored him and looked at Su Dong, who was being held by Old Three by the collar. "Do you recognize me?"
Su Dong, emaciated and with dark circles under his eyes due to the drugs, looked like a starving stray dog in Old Three's hands. He looked at Chu Yuxuan with fear and nodded, "Yes... I recognize you!"
Chu Yuxuan got up, walked over to Su Dong, rolled up his sleeve to check the tattoo, and then took out his phone to take a photo of Su Dong, which he sent to Chen Hong.
In no time, Chen Hong replied, "Yes, that's him. Although he's a lot thinner, I recognize him at a glance."
Chen Hong had barely escaped from Su Dong's clutches years ago, so Su Dong's face was still fresh in his memory.
Chu Yuxuan took a deep breath, his excitement barely contained. After searching for so long, he finally found this key figure!
"Chu Yuxuan, it's time for you to fulfill your promise!" Blackie swayed, still numb from the drugs and oblivious to his wounds.
Chu Yuxuan glanced at him, smiling faintly. "Thanks for tonight... Go talk to your buddy Ada for a while. I'll find someone to help you with your wounds. Once it's taken care of, you can leave. Otherwise, you'll die on the boat."
"Hey, hey, hey, you really are considerate! Hahaha..." Blackie laughed crazily for a while and then said, "Alright, I'll do as you say, but first, give me my money!"
Chu Yuxuan looked at Old Five, who immediately brought out a large box from the car, placed it at the bow of the boat, and opened it for Blackie to see.
Blackie was overjoyed, dragging the box to the stern, looking as happy as a child, and began chatting excitedly with Ada about the future.
In reality, the future could be long or short, hopeful or bleak. Chu Yuxuan did all this just to let Su Dong see it.
"Su Dong, since you recognize me, you should know why I'm looking for you," Chu Yuxuan said. "I don't like killing people, and I know you were just working for someone else back then. Tell me everything you know, and I'll let you go. I'll even give you money like I did for Blackie. Deal?"
Hearing this, Su Dong's terrified expression slowly turned to confusion. "I... I already told your people everything I knew at noon. That's all I know, really!"
Chu Yuxuan was taken aback. "What do you mean, 'your people'?"
Su Dong was also confused. "Aren't they your people? I thought you still wouldn't let me go, so..."
"What the hell is going on?!"
Su Dong swallowed nervously and said, "At noon, two young guys found me. Without saying a word, they pointed guns at my head, looked at the tattoo on my arm, and said they were from Chu's Third Branch. They asked if I knew why they were looking for me...
"I was puzzled, but then I thought it must be related to the events from ten years ago. Besides that, I had no other ties to Chu's family. I still couldn't understand why they were looking for me. When I tried to ask, they wouldn't say anything. They only threatened me, saying I should know the reason. I told them everything I knew from back then... After that, they left, gave me fifty thousand yuan, and told me to keep quiet, saying Chu's family wouldn't bother me again, so I should rest assured...
"But I knew that if Chu's family had their eyes on me in Jiangcheng, there would be no way out. Whether they didn't kill me for some reason or not, I planned to run tonight. But then Blackie suddenly contacted me, saying he wanted to buy two hundred jin of goods. I thought it would be a good way to make some money for my escape, so I fell into your trap. Young Master Chu, to be honest, when I first saw you, I thought you still wouldn't let me go..."
Chu Yuxuan pondered silently. The two young men Su Dong mentioned were probably not Chu Zhiqing's people. If they were, Su Dong would have been dead long ago. How could he still end up in Chu Yuxuan's hands?
To be safe, Chu Yuxuan decided to call Chu Zhiqing. What if the old fox had some use for Su Dong? It was better to clarify.
The phone took a while to connect. "Hello, son!"
Chu Yuxuan answered irritably, "I need to ask you something. Did you find Su Dong at noon?"
It was noisy on Chu Zhiqing's end. "Who? What Dong?"
"The one with the tattoo on his arm!"
"You found him?!" Chu Zhiqing was excited. "What's his name?"
Chu Yuxuan took a deep breath. It seemed he was right about Chu Zhiqing not being involved.
But if not Chu Zhiqing, then who? Besides them, was someone else investigating the events from ten years ago? Could it be the old man?!
Chu Yuxuan's mind was in turmoil. The old man had never liked his mother, so there was no reason to investigate her death, right? Not to mention his aunt and uncle; who among them would have the time for this?
"Hello, son, why aren't you speaking?" Chu Zhiqing asked from the other end. "What's his name again?"
Chu Yuxuan was about to hang up but suddenly heard faint sounds of a broadcast and Chu Li's childish laughter on the other end.
"Chu Zhiqing, when did you go to New York?"
"Hehe, just arrived. Just got off the plane. I have some work matters."
Chu Yuxuan asked, "Didn't you withdraw from the overseas project? What business could you have? And why bring that little girl?"
Chu Zhiqing knew he couldn't hide it any longer. He coughed and said, "Well, Lily's mother won a beauty pageant, so I came to celebrate. Lily missed her mother, so I brought her along. I'll be back in two days..."
"Dammit! You really went overseas for some fun! Stay there and rot!"