Best Young Master
Chapter 220 - 196: [The Name of a Person, the Shadow of a Tree]

Chapter 220: Chapter 196: [The Name of a Person, the Shadow of a Tree]

The night was deep, and a Mercedes-Benz van, flanked by three off-road vehicles, was making its way toward the brightly lit Ao Xiang Villa in the darkness of the night.

"Brother Pan, with the Jin Ye organization holding a meeting at Villa 16 in Ao Xiang Villa, could it be that they want to take control under Miss Ruoshui’s name?" Inside the Mercedes-Benz van, a meticulously dressed middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses turned his head and asked the man sitting in the back seat.

Following his gaze, one could see that the man he called Brother Pan was a young man with a buzz cut, younger than the middle-aged man.

He addressed the young man as Brother Pan because the under-thirty-year-old was in charge of the Dong hai Gang’s gambling business in Dong Hai and had previously helped Situ Chen manage the business of two casinos.

"When it comes to economics and finance, Jin Ye is an expert, but in the underworld, he’s not even a beginner," said the young man, surnamed Pan and named Jue Ming, in a light tone filled with confidence, under the watchful gaze of the middle-aged man.

"So what is he up to?" the middle-aged man asked again.

"You’ll find out soon enough," Pan Jue Ming replied, dodging the question while casting his gaze towards Ao Xiang Villa ahead, his eyes faintly shimmering with excitement.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man wisely closed his mouth and thought seriously about Pan Jue Ming’s words.

A few minutes later, the four vehicles arrived at the entrance of Ao Xiang Villa, where four bodyguards from the Situ Family stepped forward to stop them.

"Jin Ye has called us to a meeting at the villa, you can verify it with him," said Pan Jue Ming, as he opened the window and explained to the obstructing Situ Family bodyguard, putting on a very submissive attitude.

"No need for verification, please, Boss Pan!" said the Situ Family bodyguard, gesturing for them to enter. His colleagues hurriedly opened the villa’s grand gates, allowing Pan Jue Ming and his party to enter.

"Thank you," Pan Jue Ming thanked with a smile, then instructed the driver, "Notify the people ahead, enter the villa and go straight to Villa 16."

"Yes, Brother Pan!"

The driver quickly took the order and relayed Pan Jue Ming’s instructions.

Soon, under the watchful eyes of the four Situ Family bodyguards, the four cars entered the villa, heading straight for Villa 16.

The villa gate closed again, and the leading Situ Family bodyguard immediately reported the information.

"Stop the car."

Ten minutes later, Pan Jue Ming arrived at Villa 1 of the compound and asked the driver to stop.

"Zizz~"

The sound of the car tires against the ground rang out as the Mercedes-Benz van came to a halt, and Pan Jue Ming got out of the car alone and walked toward Villa 1.

"Mr. Pan, the meeting is taking place at Villa 16, not here," said a Situ Family bodyguard who approached Pan Jue Ming before he could reach the front door of Villa 1, his face expressionless.

"I know, but I want to offer some incense to Mr. Situ before the meeting," Pan Jue Ming replied.

"Only now you think of offering incense to Mr. Situ? Where have you been earlier?"

The bodyguard gave Pan Jue Ming a cold stare. Being an absolute confidant of Situ Chen, he was very dissatisfied with all the Dong Hai Gang middle management, including Pan Jue Ming, who had come to the meeting tonight. To him, Pan Jue Ming and his peers were all crying crocodile tears.

Faced with the bodyguard’s cold interrogation, Pan Jue Ming did not respond or get angry. Instead, he stood with his legs together and bowed deeply three times in the direction of the memorial shrine.

After completing this ritual, Pan Jue Ming turned and returned to the car, heading toward Villa 16.

When Pan Jue Ming arrived at the entrance of Villa 16, the villa’s parking area was already filled with cars, well over thirty of them.

With the help of the light, Pan Jue Ming clearly saw that most of the cars were occupied.

Beyond that, Pan Jue Ming noticed one car with its door open, where the burly man in the driver’s seat had a bulge at his waist, hiding a gun.

"Mr. Pan, it looks like everyone’s brought their weapons," said Pan Jue Ming’s assistant, a middle-aged man who was a bit curious, "It’s odd that Jin Ye didn’t have them search for guns when entering the villa."

"Whether or not they bring guns won’t affect the outcome of the meeting, and if we searched for guns, the meeting wouldn’t happen," Pan Jue Ming said, his eyes gleaming, smiling. "You guys wait here; I’ll go in alone."

"Brother Pan, just in case, let Xiao Hu and a few others accompany you in," the middle-aged man said, not reassured.

"No need, as I’ve said, the outcome of the meeting is already predetermined."

Confident, Pan Jue Ming said and pushed open the car door, stepped out, and, under the gaze of other Dong Hai Gang members, walked into Villa 16 alone.

Villa 16 was the only office villa in Ao Xiang Villa, three times larger than a normal villa. The first floor served as a conference room, and the second floor contained Situ Chen’s former office and reception room.

On October 1st, Situ Chen staged a coup in the conference room of Villa 16, which was left in shambles, still not yet cleaned up to this day.

Inside the conference room, eight mid-level Dong Hai Gang members sat on sofas in the eastern resting area, each with subordinates standing behind them, varying in number, with at least two each.

Possibly because they had engaged in fierce battles over turf and profit before, now that they had met, there was barely any communication between them. They all sat in silence, smoking, filling the conference room with a haze of smoke.

Creak!

The sound of the door opening was heard as Pan Jue Ming pushed it open and entered.

Whoosh!

In an instant, everyone in the meeting room turned their gaze towards the doorway.

Upon seeing the newcomer was Pan Jueming, the eight mid-level members of the Dong hai Gang showed varying degrees of surprise on their faces.

Their surprise stemmed partly from the fact that they saw Pan Jueming enter the meeting room alone, without any underlings, and partly because they all knew that Pan Jueming was the man who had instigated the internal conflict within the Dong hai Gang — just a few hours after the news of Situ Chen’s death, Pan Jueming had ordered a surprise attack on a venue owned by Liu Kui!

"Boss Pan has quite the courage to come here alone," sneered Liu Kui, who had suffered heavy losses from Pan Jueming’s attack.

As his voice fell, the four muscular men behind him all reached towards their waists as if to draw their guns, giving the impression that they would open fire on Pan Jueming at Liu Kui’s command.

Hmm?

Seeing this scene, the expressions of the other seven mid-level members of the Dong hai Gang suddenly changed, their nerves instantly on edge.

For a time, the atmosphere in the meeting room became tense and even oppressive with the arrival of Pan Jueming, as if a gunfight could break out at any moment.

In the face of Liu Kui’s provocation, Pan Jueming did not respond but, under everyone’s watchful eyes, turned his gaze to the conference area on the west side.

He noted the broken conference table, the floor, and the chandelier, as well as the dark red bloodstains left on the ground.

When he saw those bloodstains, his guess grew stronger. Without a word, he walked alone to one of the undamaged chairs in the conference area, sat down, and silently lit a cigarette.

"Boss Pan, in your opinion, what’s Jin Ye’s angle in all this?"

Out of the blue, a middle-aged man with a slightly balding head spoke up, breaking the silence of the meeting room and asking Pan Jueming a question.

His name was Zhang Ming, he had been in charge of eight large nightclubs under Dong hai Gang, and he had known Pan Jueming before Pan had joined the Dong hai Gang. The two were quite friendly.

"Do we even need to ask? Jin Ye purposefully chose this meeting location to imply to us that he is the only core member of Dong hai Gang still alive, and that we will have to follow his orders," Liu Kui said with a cold laugh before Pan Jueming could reply. "Someone wants to stir up trouble and ambitiously climb to the top, but I’m afraid he’ll end up achieving nothing in the end."

"Jin Ye is a core figure, that’s true, but he’s just a money launderer. He has no idea how the gang’s money is made. If he thinks we’ll follow his orders, I’m afraid he’s not qualified." Another voice spoke up, belonging to a bald man, slightly overweight, with piercing eyes set deep into his flesh.

His surname was Ma, given name Liu, but everyone knew him as Old Sixth Tu. He was one of the key players in Dong hai Gang’s drug trade, having been to the Golden Triangle Region more than once. After the internal strife within Dong hai Gang, he managed to replace an old-timer who was responsible for the drug trade, making him the most powerful among the mid-level ranks, but also the most devoid of legitimate business connections.

"I agree with Old Sixth’s point. Jin Ye thinks he can control us? Not a chance!"

Another person chimed in. He was tall and imposing, with a fierce look about him, a key member of the Dong hai Gang’s smuggling business. His surname was Wu, given name Jun. Like Old Sixth Tu, he had risen through the ranks through more or less the same means, similarly lacking the network in the legitimate world because of his deep involvement in criminal activities.

This common ground naturally allied Wu Jun and Ma Liu. They did not participate in the fight over Dong hai Gang’s territories, but they strongly demanded Jin Ye share with them the income from smuggling and drug trade of the recent years!

"Jin Ye probably wants to prop up Situ Ruoshui as a puppet and use righteousness and seniority to control us. We can’t let him get his way. Instead, we should unite and force him to hand over our share!" Following the stance of Ma Liu and Wu Jun, others quickly joined in.

"That money was earned by our brothers risking their heads like pots, we fought for it—why should Jin Ye monopolize it?"

"Exactly, he must share the money!"

Suddenly, apart from Pan Jueming, the other eight mid-level members of Dong hai Gang quickly put aside their differences, forgetting the fight for territory, and joined forces in a stance suggesting they wouldn’t let Jin Ye off easily if he refused to share the money.

After reaching a consensus, the eight mid-level members of Dong hai Gang once again turned their gazes to Pan Jueming, seemingly waiting for him to make a statement.

"A bunch of idiots!"

Sensing the stares, Pan Jueming slowly snuffed out his cigarette and cursed silently to himself.

"Boss, Jin Ye has arrived, and he’s brought Ye Fan with him!"

Shortly after, before Pan Jueming could make a statement, a subordinate behind Ma Liu suddenly stepped forward and reported in a nervous tone to Ma Liu—he might be just an underling of Ma Liu, yet he had heard that it was Ye Fan who had killed Huang Qi and Situ Haotian, avenging Situ Chen!

Given his status, he was aware of this, so how much more so for the nine mid-level Dong hai Gang members present?

Whoosh!

In an instant, except for Pan Jueming, everyone’s face changed dramatically!

The same thought involuntarily surged in their minds: Ye Fan was the one who had called this meeting!

A man’s reputation, a tree’s shadow.

A fear from the depths of their souls silently crept into their hearts.

...

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PS: First update!

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