Best Young Master
Chapter 222 - 198 [Token of Loyalty, Pawn Before the Horses]

Chapter 222: Chapter 198 [Token of Loyalty, Pawn Before the Horses]

After agreeing to Pan Jue Ming’s request, Ye Fan didn’t say anything further and took the lead toward the stairway entrance, Pan Jue Ming, seeing this, hurriedly followed.

How should Pan Jue Ming explain to Ye Fan?

Watching the two ascend the stairs, not only Ma Liu and the other eight members of the middle echelon of the Dong Hai Gang were curious, but Jin Ye was also slightly intrigued.

Until the figures of Ye Fan and Pan Jue Ming disappeared, no one could figure out the reason for this, however, they understood one thing: if Pan Jue Ming couldn’t give Ye Fan a reasonable explanation, let alone continue to stay in the Dong Hai Gang, whether he could even preserve his life was a question!

Even outsiders knew all this, how could Pan Jue Ming himself not?

Despite being aware of all this, there was not a trace of fear on Pan Jue Ming’s face, only determination, his steps were exceptionally firm.

Soon, Pan Jue Ming followed Ye Fan to the second-floor balcony, and at first glance, he saw the brightly lit Villa No.1.

The evening breeze blew as Pan Jue Ming took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Ye, you just mentioned that you looked over my file. Did you review my entire history, or just the part after I joined the Dong Hai Gang?"

Upon hearing Pan Jue Ming’s words, Ye Fan was somewhat surprised—he had thought Pan Jue Ming would be eager to give an explanation.

After his surprise, Ye Fan turned to look at Pan Jue Ming, who intentionally lagged half a step behind, and saw a handsome face with an age-incongruent depth of vicissitude.

This realization nearly convinced Ye Fan that Pan Jue Ming had an untold story, so he responded, "I focused on the period after you joined the Dong Hai Gang; I glossed over the rest."

"Before I explain to Mr. Ye, I’d like to talk about my story before I joined the Dong Hai Gang, hoping you will grant me this opportunity," Pan Jue Ming turned to look at Ye Fan, his eyes not pleading, but full of respect.

"Okay," Ye Fan was also somewhat curious about Pan Jue Ming’s story, so he nodded.

"I was born in Yanjing, and my ancestors for three generations were merchants. Our Pan Family was once one of the renowned business families in Beijing. The war in the last century and the subsequent civil war affected my clan, and a significant portion of our family wealth was plundered. Afterward, with the establishment of the new China, my family’s robust foundations and extensive connections allowed us to gradually recover our strength and trend towards rebuilding our prosperity. However, man’s plans are no match for those of heaven. During the subsequent calamity, my family was secretly plotted against by rival clans, accused of being ’counterrevolutionaries,’ and our wealth was almost completely looted. Not to mention the wealth, except for the children, almost everyone suffered persecution."

Looking towards the distant Dongfang Zhu Tower, Pan Jue Ming seemed a bit lost in thought, as if falling into the memories of the past, "That catastrophe nearly destroyed my family, with nearly half dying in those years. After it ended, my grandfather wanted to leverage his old connections to make a comeback. However, unlike after the founding of the nation, those who used to fawn over our Pan Family, who had commercial dealings with us, all treated us like bad omens. They did not offer help; they didn’t even want to have normal interactions. That applied to businessmen, and even more so to the politicians we had connections with; they couldn’t wait to tell everyone they had no relations with our Pan Family."

"My grandfather, who already lost most of his life from that calamity, died from anger facing all this. Our Pan Family was torn into four or five pieces, and my father took on the mantle of family head in these perilous times.

My dad, influenced from a young age, had a great business mind. After enduring the challenging initial years, he was able to seize the opportunities provided by the ever-changing policies of the past decades, which led to the resurgence of our Pan Family. By a few years ago, although the Pan Family wasn’t in the top tier of business clans in Yanjing, we were still quite notable, and moreover, we had a respectable network in the political realm."

"Just when we in the Pan Family thought we could rise to the ranks of the top business clans in Yanjing, or even in Huaxia, through our political connections, another nightmare descended upon us. The tree we relied on had fallen, and once again we were caught in the disaster, the consequences of which were no less significant than the calamity of the last century, if not worse."

At this point, Pan Jueming’s eyes reddened slightly, and there was a sparkle of anger and hatred in his gaze, "My dad, my uncle, and my aunt were all thrown into prison. The assets of our Pan Family were divided up like a cake in a very short period of time, leaving behind only some secret assets that no one knew about."

As he spoke, Pan Jueming’s emotions became more agitated, and his voice trembled slightly.

In order to control his emotions, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, pulled one out, and first offered it to Ye Fan.

Ye Fan did not have the habit of smoking, but after listening to Pan Jueming’s account just now, deeply feeling the sorrow and hatred in Pan Jueming’s heart, he hesitated for a moment before taking the cigarette from Pan Jueming’s hand, allowing Pan Jueming to light it for him.

"According to the information, you sold your properties and squandered your money gambling in the Dong hai Gang’s casinos, indulging in women all day long, and after losing all your money, you tried to kill yourself in the casino. You were stopped by the staff and fortunately met Uncle Situ, and were saved by Situ Shu."

After taking a light puff of the cigarette, Ye Fan thought about Pan Jueming’s information and said thoughtfully, "If I’m not mistaken, you must have chosen to give up on everything when the Pan Family faced the third blow, right?"

"Yes, and no," Pan Jueming first nodded, then shook his head, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and said, "I am the eldest son of this generation in the Pan Family. When disaster struck again, although I cursed the blind heavens, I forced myself to accept everything and did not give in to despair. Instead, I planned to carry the burdens of the family just like my father had done."

As he said this, Pan Jueming’s expression became pained, his smoking quickened significantly, as if he were trying to numb the deep-seated pain in his soul with nicotine.

Soon, one cigarette burned out, and he lit another, taking two harsh drags before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Later, something happened that completely shattered the last of my resolve."

"What?"

"A woman who repeatedly professed her love for me, swore she would stand by my side for life through thick and thin, and was ready to die for me, slept with my enemy when I was at my lowest, and I caught them in the act."

As he spoke, nightmare-like memories surged into Pan Jueming’s mind like a tide, his eyes turned completely red, shimmering with a bloodthirsty light, and his body trembled uncontrollably, "Her background was decent, but in the Forbidden City, she could at most be considered average. Initially, I thought she had been forcibly taken by my enemy using despicable means, and in my rage, I planned to kill that bastard. But, when I charged to the bedside, that woman looked at me as if she was looking at a beggar and questioned what I was doing."

"That moment, I stood there stunned, staring blankly at the woman. Under the mocking smile of my enemy, she looked at me as if I were trash and told me: From now on, I have nothing to do with her! She told me to look in the mirror and see what I’m worth, and not to fantasize about the frog desiring the swan’s flesh!

Ha ha... You know, before our Pan Family faced the nightmare, her family’s situation wasn’t even one percent of what mine was!!"

Speaking of which, Pan Jueming laughed, his smile filled with irony. It seemed as though he was mocking that woman, but even more so mocking himself, "Honestly, I will never forget her condescending expression and the look in her eyes filled with disdain. That scene was like a sharp dagger plunging straight into my heart, shattering the last bit of persistence I had."

"She’s not worth it for that kind of woman."

Ye Fan couldn’t comprehend the pain Pan Jueming had experienced back then, but he knew that the woman’s actions were the straw that broke the camel’s back, and he felt somewhat sorry for Pan Jueming.

"Not worth it indeed, but at the time, I couldn’t understand. Rage completely clouded my mind, and I tried to kill that adulterous couple, only to be thrown out like trash by the henchmen of my enemy."

After reliving those painful memories, Pan Jueming’s expression gradually returned to normal, and he spoke more slowly, "After that incident, I resigned myself to fate, I left the little assets I had at home to my brothers and sisters, and then, as shown in the details you’ve seen, I sold my villa in Yanjing and went gambling in the Dong hai casinos, cavorted with women, and eventually, I lost everything. When I tried to commit suicide, I was stopped by the casino’s staff, and then I met Mr. Situ."

"At that time, Mr. Situ said to me: A person only has one life, if you really want to die, don’t die here; if you want to keep living like a human being, I give you a chance."

Speaking of Situ Chen, Pan Jueming’s face showed sadness, and within that sadness, there was deep gratitude, "Because of Uncle Situ’s words, I joined the Dong hai Gang, helped Mr. Situ manage the casinos, until Mr. Situ was murdered."

"I sympathize with your experiences, but they seem unrelated to you orchestrating the internal strife within the Dong hai Gang." Ye Fan looked puzzled at Pan Jueming.

Pan Jueming met Ye Fan’s gaze without fear, stating word by word, "I did it on purpose!"

"On purpose?" Ye Fan was slightly puzzled.

"Yes!"

Pan Jueming said earnestly, "Through some special channels, I learned that the case of Ao Xiang Villa had been overturned, thus deducing the situation and figuring that the Ye Family would surely seek revenge but lacked a good excuse. So, I instigated the internal strife within the Dong hai Gang! And the shootout under the Dong hai International Conference Center was also plotted by me!"

Ye Fan’s expression changed slightly!

"I wanted to give the Ye Family Camp the quickest excuse to make a move, then take the opportunity to seize control of the Dong hai Underground World amid the chaos and present you with a token of loyalty!" Pan Jueming slowly revealed his purpose, with his expression becoming somewhat excited towards the end.

Coming to his senses from shock, Ye Fan immediately guessed Pan Jueming’s intention, "You want to use me, or rather the Ye Family, to assist you in making the Pan Family rise again?"

"No!" Pan Jueming shook his head, expressing hatefully, "I only want to use you and the power behind you to take revenge!"

"Revenge?"

"In the second year after I joined the Dong hai Gang, Uncle Situ once told me that our Pan Family’s downfall was orchestrated by the Bai Family from behind the scenes, and that my clan was dragged into it due to manipulation by the family where my enemy belonged!" Pan Jueming said through gritted teeth as if he would tear that man who had slept with his woman into pieces should he appear before him!

"So that’s how it is." Ye Fan suddenly realized.

"Bang—"

The next moment.

Before Ye Fan could speak, Pan Jueming suddenly bent his knees and slammed onto the ground with a dull sound.

Beneath the night sky, he looked up at Ye Fan with reverence and said word by word, "Mr. Ye, I had planned to take control of the Dong hai Underground World amid the chaos to prove my worth, to offer you a token of loyalty! Now that you’ve stepped in, I can no longer present that token, but if you acknowledge my abilities and agree to help me take revenge, I am willing to be your dog, to bite whoever you command!"

"Get up first," Ye Fan said with a frown.

Pan Jueming remained immovable, his gaze fixed on Ye Fan with determination.

"I can help you take revenge, but I don’t need a dog."

Seeing this, Ye Fan didn’t insist further, instead, he turned his gaze to the brightly lit Villa No. 1, his face cold as he said, "If you believe I can do it, then be my chess piece, help me erase Nanqinghong from Huaxia, in memory of Uncle Situ’s spirit in heaven!!"

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PS: Drafting the outline has exhausted too many brain cells, leaving my head painfully throbbing, so there will only be one update tonight.

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. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket, Monthly Ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)