Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

That was even more decisive than some of the old hands in the Hanjiang Sect. With this, Sun Lin could not help but reassess Yang Ce. And Yang Juehuan's calmness puzzled Sun Lin as well—perhaps the boy did not know what the Ouyang family really did.

Sun Lin shook his head. It seemed he truly would have to question Yang Ce properly.

Once inside the study, Sun Lin pointed to the sofa and said, "Have a seat, Yang Ce."

"Thank you, Uncle Sun." Yang Yu nodded and sat down on the sofa, while Sun Lin settled back behind his executive chair.

"Yang Ce, do you know what the Ouyang family does?" Sun Lin sighed and asked gravely.

"The underworld big shots of P Province, I suppose," Yang Xu said casually.

"Since you know, why were you still so impulsive?" Sun Lin studied Yang Ce's relaxed expression and found it genuinely strange. "Do you realize what consequences your impulsiveness today might bring?"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Sun, for bringing you trouble." Yang Mo felt a trace of apology—the affair had happened at Sun Lin's residence, after all, and the Ouyang family might well direct its anger at Sun Lin.

Sun Lin waved a hand. "Why apologize to me? Weren't you standing up for Xiaojie? Besides, I'm not worried for myself. However powerful the Ouyang family is, they're confined to their little patch in P Province—they can't send a large force to Donghai to make trouble for me. What worries me now is you. If the Ouyang family comes after you, what then?"

"Uncle Sun, since you also know I was standing up for Xiaojie, then you've probably heard the saying: a man's wrath rises to his crown for the sake of a beauty." Yang Linyue spoke calmly. "That I let Ouyang Junyuan walk out of that door alive is already giving the Ouyang family a great deal of face. Come after me? Hmph."

Yang Heng was emboldened, a trace of contempt in his smile. "If the Ouyang family has any sense, they'll just swallow this loss. If they don't, I don't mind making them the second Guo Jinbiao."

"The second Guo Jinbiao?" Sun Lin's heart gave a violent start, and he stared at Yang Ce in astonishment.

"Do you know why Guo Jinbiao died?" Yang Ce looked at Sun Lin and suddenly asked.

"Why? Wasn't it because he clashed with Bao Lin and got—" Sun Lin stopped short, then immediately stared at Yang Ce in amazement. How did he know Guo Jinbiao was dead? What exactly did his words mean? Could Guo Jinbiao's death be connected to him?

To be continued.

658. True Identity

"Nothing to do with Bao Lin. It was that idiot son of his, pestering Xiaojie. I already gave him a chance to let it go, but I never thought his old man Guo Jinbiao would be just as big an idiot." Yang Ce shrugged. "He even cooked up a pile of compensation terms and kept yammering at me. He got on my nerves, so I had no choice but to get rid of him."

"What?" Sun Lin was greatly shocked. Yang Juehuan's words were truly outrageous, leaving Sun Lin utterly at a loss for how to respond for a moment.

Yang Ce had actually said that he had gotten rid of Guo Jinbiao—and for Xiaojie's sake, too. The shock this dealt Sun Lin was enormous. And it was for Xiaojie. If that were truly the case, then Sun Lin could set his mind at ease and entrust his daughter to Yang Ce.

"You're saying Guo Jinbiao was... by you?" Sun Lin asked, his voice wavering with alarm and doubt.

"Heh, that's right. Oh, and that's not all. He came with some fellow called Seventh Master. I had Seventh Master thrown out, and dealt with Guo Jinbiao directly." Yang Ce spoke with complete indifference. "That Guo Jinbiao was a funny one, actually—kept dropping Uncle Sun's name, saying you were going to help him swallow up Songjiang's territory."

"I never said any such thing!" Sun Lin hastened to deny it. The situation now was far too bizarre. He was not quite clear what standing Yang Ce held on Songjiang's underworld, but it was plainly not low—for the man's displeasure alone could wipe out Guo Jinbiao, which clearly made him a heavyweight. And Yang Juehuan's strength seemed considerable: to eliminate Guo Jinbiao and take over Jidun City with lightning speed, how much power would that require? Sun Lin asked himself, and knew that even he could not do such a thing.

"Right, so I told him, Sun Lin is the father of my bride-to-be, that's to say my future father-in-law—how could he team up with an idiot like you to come after me?" Yang Yu nodded.

"..." Flabbergasted, Sun Lin probed cautiously, "Yang Ce, Songjiang's Bao Lin and you..."

"Oh, Uncle Sun, you're one of us, so I won't hide it from you." Yang Heng smiled. "Bao Lin and Da Hou are both my men. But I'm still in university, and I don't much care for underworld affairs, so I leave it all to them to manage."

Shock. Absolute shock. Though he had long guessed that Yang Ce had connections to Songjiang's underworld, never had he imagined that Bao Lin and Hou Lin—the men who commanded the winds and clouds of Songjiang—were actually Yang Juehuan's subordinates.

Thinking of Bao Lin's meteoric rise, Sun Lin finally understood that it was no accident. Otherwise, how could a petty thug have so swiftly become a city's underground leader? There must be a powerful force behind him, secretly supporting him. And judging by Yang Juehuan's words, the power behind Bao Lin was him.

How could that be? How old was Yang Ce?

"Jidun City—that was your men too?" Sun Lin was a big shot in his own right after all; despite his astonishment, he quickly regained his composure.

"Yes. But the men I sent to Jidun weren't Bao Lin and his lot—it was another force of mine. I didn't want any casualties. Bao Lin and the others are thugs in the end; they could take Jidun, but the losses would be terrible." Yang Yu nodded as he spoke.

Once Li Qiang's force had appeared in Jidun City, there was no concealing it—even if Yang Duo had wanted to. The Golden Coin Gang lackeys who had fled from Jidun would surely spread the word.

So Yang Yongjin might as well be generous and tell Sun Lin these things.

"You have other forces as well?" Hearing Yang Juehuan's words, Sun Lin's eyes went wide with shock. Had he not already received word of Guo Jinbiao's demise, Sun Lin truly would have thought he was dreaming.

"I told you, I don't place much importance on the underworld's development." Yang Heng smiled. "I don't like the feeling of things slipping beyond my control. The underworld is a highly complicated organization, and I don't want anyone borrowing it to move against me. Not that I'm afraid—I just find it tiresome. So I have no choice but to keep it under my control."

Speechless. Sun Lin was utterly speechless. Yang Ce was simply too formidable. No wonder he had said what he said this morning—one Songjiang not enough, how about adding a Jidun?

That was no boast—it was the truth. Sun Lin suddenly felt old. He had toiled for decades, yet achieved less than Yang Juehuan.

"Can you tell me what your trump card is?" Sun Lin hesitated a moment. "The Ouyang family is the underworld dragon-head of all P Province."

"That, Uncle Sun—forgive me, I'm afraid I can't say." Yang Ji shook his head. "But if I wanted to bring down the Ouyang family, it wouldn't be impossible."

Yang Lanxu said to himself that if he could persuade Fang Tian to come out with him, then no matter how formidable the Ouyang family was, their only fate would be complete ruin.