Just yesterday, Wang Wu told me Long Capital was sending a new elder. Now they're holding it in Tianhai?

Lin Zhongtian responded, "Yes!"

"Anything else?"

Lin Zhongtian put on a long face. "That's really all I know. If you press me further, I'll have to start making things up."

Indeed, Lin Zhongtian was unclear on Wong Ting's arrangements. Wong Ting had long since abandoned him after he sided with Xu Ke.

Wong Ting knew there had to be something fishy about Lin Zhongtian's sudden one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in attitude. Perhaps Xu Ke had kidnapped his grandson or even poisoned him. But he didn't care, nor did he want to waste time helping Lin Zhongtian out of trouble. An elder was just being coerced, that was all. He could just find another one to come over, and they would serve the same purpose.

Xu Ke didn't press him further either, saying with a smile, "Alright, then I'll have to ask Elder Lin to keep an ear out for me."

"Yes..."

Xu Ke left with an assured stride, leaving Lin Zhongtian standing there, seething with frustration. The respectful language Xu Ke used upon leaving seemed polite, but it only made him feel more aggrieved.

At the same time, he was filled with regret.

Who knew that this trip to Tianhai could end so miserably?

…

As the sky darkened, the renovations at the medical clinic were nearly finished, and the workers were about to leave when Xu Ke arrived.

The moment Xu Ke got out of his car, Dongfang Mingliang, who was taking out the trash at the entrance, hurried over to greet him. "Mister Xu."

If word got out that an Innate Expert was hired to take out the trash here, people would probably be scared to death.

Xu Ke stepped forward with a smile. "You've worked hard."

"Not at all! We're not the ones working hard, you are!" Dongfang Mingliang bowed deeply.

His attitude was countless times more respectful than it had been yesterday. After causing trouble yesterday at noon, Dongfang Mingliang had gone back and carefully inquired about the situation. When he learned that Xu Ke had just returned from the Martial Alliance, having extorted three hundred million from several major families and Wong Ting right after his confrontation with them...

The knowledge left him dripping with cold sweat, so scared he nearly wet his pants.

He might not know about others, but Dongfang Mingliang was crystal clear about how stingy those major families were. Despite their wealth and their casual talk of billions, getting them to willingly spend a single extra, meaningless cent was impossible. The wealthier they were, the bigger the misers they became!

And now, Xu Ke had not only gotten away with killing but had also managed to squeeze money from the hands of these "misers." He hadn't just made them suffer a loss; he had forced them to pay for it. He had virtually nailed the Family Heads of several major families to a pillar of shame.

When had Tianhai ever produced such a ruthless character?

Even Chen Xiong, at the pinnacle of his power as the Alliance Hierarch, couldn't have pulled that off!

It was precisely for this reason that Dongfang Mingliang was being so reverent now.

"How is it going?" Xu Ke asked, the corner of his mouth curling up when he noticed the dust on the man's clothes, a clear sign of his labor.

"Young Master Hai Ming is smarter than me; he picked up the skills quickly. I'm not as good, so I'm still helping out with whatever miscellaneous tasks I can handle..." Dongfang Mingliang gushed. "But being here, I feel like I've regained my youthful, positive drive! I have to thank you, Mister Xu, for giving me this chance to rekindle my youthful passion!"

He went on and on, praising what a rare opportunity Xu Ke had given him to work as a renovator.

Xu Ke just smiled and said no more, waving a hand to signal him to stop before walking inside. Dongfang Mingliang followed obediently.

Inside the clinic, everyone was still busy, including Chen Haiming. He wore an impassive expression, showing neither displeasure nor happiness as he worked. Remembering Chen Haiming's behavior from yesterday, Xu Ke figured he saw this as "honoring his lost bet" by dutifully working as a renovator.

"Good day, Dr. Xu!" the workers greeted in unison.

"Sorry to disturb you all. I'm just here to see Duan Jia," Xu Ke said with a smile. "You can all clock out once you're done with your tasks. Order whatever you want to eat and put it on my tab. Boss Duan will settle the bill with me."

"Thank you, Dr. Xu!"

The crowd instantly grew even more excited.

After speaking, Xu Ke gave Duan Jia a meaningful look and stepped outside. Duan Jia followed him.

The reason Xu Ke had come to the clinic was that Duan Chongfeng had told him to find Duan Jia here. Duan Chongfeng had to report back to the people from Long Capital, so he couldn't summon Xu Ke to Dapeng Commerce to explain things in person. That's why he asked Duan Jia to contact him instead.

"What's the matter?" Xu Ke got straight to the point.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Duan Jia lowered his voice. "We have news about that group you asked us to keep an eye on."

Xu Ke paused. "Which group?"

He had so many enemies, he couldn't immediately recall which group they were talking about...

Duan Jia hurriedly said, "The ones observing Miss Xu Yi."

Xu Ke's eyes sharpened. "What news?"

"Our men followed them outside Tianhai Pass last time. We discovered they live in a place called the Huayuan Community, near the Dragon Metro Station just outside the pass."

"You managed to track them to their lair without them noticing?" Xu Ke asked in surprise.

His first reaction was delight, but his second was that something was off... These people were agile, so logically, their anti-tracking abilities shouldn't be weak. It shouldn't have been this easy for Duan Jia's people to find them, right?

As expected.

Duan Jia looked somewhat embarrassed. "We were discovered the moment we started tailing them."

Xu Ke was speechless. Just as he'd thought.

"Then how did you find out about their lair?"

"Because they invited our man over for tea."

Xu Ke's expression darkened. "That audacious? What did Brother Duan say?"

He felt like cursing. First, this group brazenly apologized to Tang Yingchang only to continue observing Xu Yi like a bunch of peeping Toms. Now they had the gall to invite Duan Chongfeng's men for tea? They clearly had no regard for him or Duan Chongfeng!

"The boss told me to fill you in on the situation first," Duan Jia said.

Xu Ke nodded, signaling him to continue.

Duan Jia explained, "One of my subordinates, a guy nicknamed 'Worm,' had been waiting for them at Tianhai University for a while and finally managed to tail them today. He followed them from the university to the Dragontown district. After they got out of the metro station, they cornered Worm in an empty alley.

"First, they asked him who he was and why he was being so sneaky. Worm retorted that it was none of their business and that *they* were the ones being sneaky by stalking Miss Xu Yi.

"Worm said that because he figured since he'd been discovered, he couldn't track them covertly anymore. He might as well lay it all out and warn them to stop following Miss Xu Yi.

"He was expecting a fight, but to his surprise, after he finished speaking, they actually started proclaiming their innocence."

Xu Ke frowned. What did they have to feel wronged about?

Duan Jia noticed Xu Ke's confusion and added, "I was wondering the same thing—what could that group possibly have to feel wronged about? So Worm countered them, saying that Xu Yi's brother specifically assigned us to investigate them. He even told them that her brother didn't see them as good people!

"Who would have thought that after he said this, the group would completely change their tune and voluntarily invite Worm to the Huayuan Community for tea. Worm was wary and didn't agree, so they told him not to be so tense, reassuring him that they weren't bad people.

"They even said that if Doctor Xu wasn't satisfied, they would disappear from Tianhai starting today and he could rest easy."

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