Ye Qing hid by the door, silently listening to the conversation between the two inside. From their discussion, he had essentially figured out what had happened. It seemed that Director Chen, in collaboration with a man known as Beggar King from Tianhui City, had been selling these children to Tianhui City for the Beggar King to deal with.
"Hahaha..." The man inside chuckled proudly and said, "You don't need to worry about any of this. When I do things, I make sure there's no trouble later. I've taken care of the adoption paperwork for those kids. Even if the police get involved, I have the adoption papers on my side, and they'll never trace it back to me."
"Director Chen really has a thorough plan..." The woman smiled and said, "Right, about that group of people the Beggar King mentioned to you before, have you got them sorted out? If they're ready, I can take them back tomorrow. The place we used last time got smashed, and we're really short on hands right now."
The man said, "Everything is arranged, but for us to maim those kids as Beggar King asked, the price will be different."
The woman said, "There's no other way. If we get attacked again, these kids who have arms and legs could all escape in the chaos. We need to maim them first, then even if we are attacked, they won't be able to escape. That's safety. Don't worry about the money; the Beggar King said he would increase your cut by ten percent."
"Hahaha, I'm very happy with that price," the man laughed loudly and said, "Come on, let's go down and have a look. Those little brats are already in the basement. You have more experience with this, let's see how to handle it most effectively!"
Hearing this, Ye Qing quickly turned and ran to the side of the hallway, hiding in the darkness.
The door opened, and a man and a woman walked out. The man wore wide-brimmed glasses, looked to be in his thirties or forties, with neatly combed hair, and appeared scholarly. However, there was a hint of greed flickering in his eyes.
The woman was younger, in her twenties or thirties, with attractive features but a vicious look in her eyes.
Unaware of Ye Qing, the pair chatted and laughed as they went downstairs to the basement. In the darkness, Ye Qing followed less than five meters behind them, and they felt nothing.
The basement also had rooms along the corridor, and at the end there was a room with the lights on. The two walked over and inside sat three men, with seven or eight children lying on the ground next to them, their mouths taped and hands bound, looking around in terror.
Upon seeing Director Chen enter, the three men immediately stood up. The one leading said in a deep voice, "Boss, can we start now?"
Director Chen turned to look at the woman and said, "How are these few?"
The woman walked over, looked at the children, and nodded in satisfaction. "Their age will do. Nowadays, people are so damn heartless. Even the slightly older kids have difficulty begging on the streets."
Director Chen laughed and said, "The older ones can be sold for their organs. At Beggar King's place, one kid could make us two to three hundred thousand at least."
The woman smiled lightly and said, "Director Chen, nothing is easy in this world these days."
"Enough, you're here pretending to be poor, but everyone knows Beggar King just bought a mansion worth thirty million just two days ago!" Director Chen sneered and said, "Enough, no more nonsense. Tell me, what's the plan?"
"The more miserable, the better. People these days need to compare others' miseries before they can feel sympathy—the more pitiful, the more money we make." Looking at the children, the woman said, "Do we have sulfuric acid? Just pour it straight on, that's the best effect. Using a knife, you'd have to stop the bleeding, which is a hassle!"
The four men in the room were taken aback for a moment, while Director Chen gave the woman a thumbs up and said, "Damn, you guys are hardcore. Coming up with something as vicious as using sulfuric acid. No wonder you make money. In this society, you can't stand firm without being ruthless. Xiao Ke, go get the barrel of sulfuric acid we bought the other day."
One man walked out, while the other two men dragged out a girl about six or seven years old from among the children, quickly stripped her clothes off, and pulled off the tape from her hands and mouth.
"Uncle, uncle, please don't hit me..." The girl seemed to know what fate awaited her, and she began to plead tearfully, "Uncle, I'll be good from now on, please let me go, I can wash clothes by myself, I can fold the blankets myself..."
"Damn, what's with all this crap!" The man slapped the little girl twice, and her cheeks swelled up immediately, with a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.
No mercy was shown by the four adults in the room; this was all routine for them.
The little girl seemed to realize she couldn't escape her fate. She sobbed and looked around at the adults, each of them so indifferent. She knew she had no one to rely on.
"Uncle, can you not use sulfuric acid, is it okay to use a knife instead..." the girl bargained tearfully, having heard the conversation clearly. Although she was young, she understood that sulfuric acid was a terrifying thing.
"Shut up, or I'll crush you!" the man threatened in a low voice.
The woman watched the little girl with a smile, saying, "This kid is pretty clever, even knows that sulfuric acid hurts more. Good, the quality of this batch is high, and these clever kids are especially good at begging."
Director Chen let out a cold, scornful laugh, turned his head impatiently, and said, "Damn it, Xiao Ke that bastard, he went out to get a bucket of sulfuric acid, why is he so slow?"
As he was speaking, someone entered the doorway, holding a bucket of sulfuric acid in his hand.
"What's the rush, eager to be reincarnated?" the newcomer asked softly.
Hearing the voice was not right, Director Chen immediately turned his head to look. After locking eyes with the newcomer, his expression changed, and he exclaimed, "You're not Xiao Ke, who... who the hell are you?"
The newcomer quietly stared at him and said, "Didn't you claim that if I came looking for you, you'd make me disappear within minutes?"
A flicker of panic passed through Director Chen's eyes as he stammered, "You... You're Ye Qing!?"
The moment that name was mentioned, the other three people in the room instantly became panicked, and the woman hastily took a step back, watching Ye Qing warily.
The person was indeed Ye Qing. He had been hiding by the door and had seen the situation inside clearly. Just now, when Xiao Ke had gone out to fetch the sulfuric acid and had barely taken a few steps, Ye Qing had covered his mouth and dragged him aside. Taking him along, Ye Qing grabbed the bucket of sulfuric acid and knocked Xiao Ke down, before returning with the bucket himself.
Ye Qing walked over, shielded the crying little girl behind him, and said softly, "It's alright, it's alright, don't be afraid."
The little girl, as if finding a savior, clutched Ye Qing's trouser leg tightly, finally daring to cry out loud.
Ye Qing positioned all the children behind him, then turned his attention back to Director Chen and the others, asking, "Why?"
"What why?" Director Chen feigned composure, angrily declaring, "Mr. Ye, I'd advise you to mind your own business. Let me tell you, I'm with the Fierce Tiger Gang, and if you dare touch a single hair on my head, the Tiger King will definitely not let you off!"
"The Fierce Tiger Gang?" Ye Qing fell silent for a moment before asking, "Is the Fierce Tiger Gang behind this?"
"That's right, this is our Fierce Tiger Gang's business!" Director Chen, believing Ye Qing was frightened, suddenly found the nerve to speak up, "The Tiger King is my elder brother, and you should have heard of his name. He's not someone you can compare to that Old Lin or the likes. I suggest you be sensible and stay out of the Fierce Tiger Gang's affairs.
Otherwise, be careful you go to sleep with a head and wake up without one!"
"The Tiger King!" Ye Qing nodded slowly, adding, "I'll remember that name. Once I'm done with the business here, I'll make sure to pay him a visit myself!"
"Ah?" Director Chen was momentarily stunned, as Ye Qing's tone didn't suggest fear at all.
"You... You're not afraid of my big brother?" Director Chen blustered with false bravado, shouting, "If you dare lay a finger on me, my brother will chop you into eighteen pieces and feed you to the fishes in the sea!"
"I'll be waiting!" Ye Qing looked calmly at the four of them and declared, "Now, let's settle your matter first."
The expressions of the three men changed, while the woman simply smiled faintly and said, "Mr. Ye, I had heard of your name over in West Gate and indeed, meeting you in person is different from hearing of you. My mistress heard that such a character had emerged in Shenchuan City and wanted to see you in person too. It seems I can go back and inform my mistress now. With Mr.
Ye's talents, it is well worth a personal trip for my mistress!"
Ye Qing frowned slightly and asked, "Who is your mistress?"
"The Xikou Fire Butterfly, Mr. Ye must have heard of her," the woman said with a hint of arrogance when mentioning the name Fire Butterfly, signifying its extraordinary meaning.
Ye Qing had heard of the Fire Butterfly; it was Li Lianshan who had told him about her. The underground forces of Shenchuan City were intricate with dozens of supposed leaders, and seven or eight gangs jockeying for position, no one yielding to anyone. But West Gate was different—a single woman, the Fire Butterfly had unified the underground forces of West Gate, and no one dared to disobey her.
This much was clear, the woman was not simple.
Moreover, the Fire Butterfly had an unfathomably deep background and even had connections to the Great General Helian Tiehua of Meng District. Not to mention someone of the monstrous level like Helian Tiehua, even Red Robe Ao Wuchang of Shuzhong and Ludong White Horse Chen San were not people to be trifled with.
By mentioning the Fire Butterfly's name, the woman was subtly warning Ye Qing: if Ye Qing dared to harm her, Fire Butterfly would certainly not spare him!
Last time, the Life Claiming Ghost whom Ye Qing had injured was rumored to be the Fire Butterfly's lover. Even Li Lianshan was quite afraid at that time, worried that Fire Butterfly would seek revenge on Ye Qing. Thankfully, there had been no signs of that for some time, so Li Lianshan had slightly relaxed.
Even as a local thug of Shenchuan City, he was extremely wary of Fire Butterfly, which showed the woman's complexity. According to Li Lianshan, he'd rather clash with the most powerful leader in Shenchuan City than provoke the Fire Butterfly, the female demon.
Ye Qing, who had gotten a clearly detailed account of Fire Butterfly from Li Lianshan, quietly watched the woman and asked, "Is your mistress also involved in this matter?"