Chapter 11: The Art of Hosting Guests

In a residential building over twenty stories high, not far from Ye Feng’s school, a tall middle-aged man stood on the rooftop, watching from afar what was happening outside the porridge shop. It wasn’t until Ye Feng was loaded into the business vehicle that he took out his phone and dialed a number. “Brother Long, their men have kidnapped Ye Feng. I didn’t stop them…”
“…” Brother Long simply listened quietly, saying nothing, waiting for the middle-aged man to continue.
“I think this time their actions weren’t ordered by that woman. They’ve only been following Ye Feng for less than a day. Apart from seeing him go to an antique shop twice, they haven’t observed any other movements on his part. That woman would likely act so recklessly before she fully understands her enemies.” The man waved at two young men beside him, pointing at the business vehicle fading into the distance. The two nodded and left quickly.
“Dude, what are you trying to say?” Brother Long finally spoke.
“Brother Long, in City H, who doesn’t know you? If that woman dares to show up, she must have some backing. Probably someone or some faction in the city has already sided with her; otherwise, she wouldn’t dare challenge you openly. After all, this is your territory.” The man paused for a moment. “The ones who kidnapped Ye Feng must also be some faction in the city that’s defected to her. We can use Ye Feng as a lead to wipe out this entire faction at once. That way, it won’t be a direct provocation, yet it will serve to deter and weaken them.”
“Dude, using Ye Feng as a bait wasn’t my idea. Unlike us, he’s not from the underworld. He shouldn’t be dragged into this. Now that he’s already been kidnapped, it doesn’t make much sense for you to bring this up. I hope he can return unharmed. I also hope that once he comes back, you’ll apologize to him honestly…” Brother Long’s voice sounded somewhat helpless.
“I’ve already sent people after them. Let’s see where they take Ye Feng!” After hearing Brother Long’s words, the man fell silent for a while before speaking again.
“Let it be…” Brother Long sighed lightly and hung up the phone.
The man turned to look in the direction the business vehicle had gone—its silhouette had long disappeared…
…
It was unclear how much time passed before Ye Feng felt the vehicle’s speed slowing down.
“Are we almost there?” Realizing he had reached his destination, Ye Feng immediately pretended to struggle.

Sure enough, after a short while, the car stopped, the door was opened, and he was lifted up by several people again.
“This kid is quite heavy. I wonder what benefits he can bring by doing this.”
Ye Feng heard someone shouting beside him.
About five minutes later, Ye Feng was thrown heavily to the ground. He let out a muffled groan and pretended to be in pain, rolling on the ground a few times.
At that moment, the crisp sound of leather shoes hitting the ground came from the door.
“Boss,” Ye Feng heard the others calling the person who came in behind them.
“You guys go out first! I have questions for him!” Ye Feng heard that the person seemed quite young.
After the door closed, Ye Feng heard the person walking toward him. While still wondering what their purpose in abducting him was, the black cloth covering his head was suddenly pulled off.
It was a man around the same age as Long Ge, less domineering but more weathered and vicious. That was Ye Feng’s first impression of the man.
Qing Lang wasn’t in a hurry. He squatted down, removed the hood from Ye Feng’s head, and also took out the cloth from his mouth. Then he sat back down on the sofa.
“It seems you want me to speak first?” Ye Feng stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
“I guess you must have many questions. And before I get the answers I want, you probably don’t have the mood to answer mine. So, I’m giving you this chance!” Qing Lang said with an indifferent expression.
“Alright, let me ask a simple question first. You didn’t kidnap me here for a ransom, did you?” Ye Feng smiled. “I’m an orphan with no money and no relatives.”
“Oh, that’s not something someone willing to spend over 400,000 yuan on some ancient jades would say,” Qing Lang said, shaking his head with a smirk.
“Did you follow me?” Ye Feng pretended to be surprised.
“Have you finished your questions?” Qing Lang raised his eyebrows slightly.
“No,” Ye Feng shook his head.
“I want to know if you’re the mastermind behind this kidnapping,” Ye Feng stared intently at him.
“You can call it that! But this isn’t a kidnapping—it’s just asking you some questions. If you answer well, we’ll send you back safely. If your answers don’t satisfy us, you might suffer the consequences,” Qing Lang said with a sinister smile.

“Is there someone else above you?” Ye Feng continued to stare at him. “If I’m not mistaken, it should be a woman…”
“You don’t need to know that. Remember, you’re a hostage now.” Qing Lang was slightly taken aback; he clearly hadn’t expected Ye Feng to connect this kidnapping case with Pearl. But he quickly regained his composure.
“Alright, you can start asking your questions!” Ye Feng rudely pulled a chair next to the sofa and sat down face to face with the man.
Qing Lang looked slightly astonished. “You really aren’t afraid that we’ll kill you.”
“I have no reason to worry that you’ll kill me…” Ye Feng smirked eerily, pausing for a moment before continuing, “Because you just said it’s only a few questions.”
Qing Lang glanced at Ye Feng thoughtfully. “Whatever you think. The questions I have are simple. I hope you’ll answer them truthfully.”
“First, what exactly is your relationship with Brother Long? How close are you?”
“Shouldn’t that be two questions?” Ye Feng smiled, glancing at the man across from him, whose expression wasn’t good. He immediately shook his head. “He and I are just ordinary friends. We’ve only known each other for half a year. How close can we get?”
“Why does he take such good care of you? Is it just because you’re friends?” Not getting the answer he wanted to the first question, Qing Lang pressed on.
“Who knows? You should ask him that. Maybe he just likes you and helps out out of kindness. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll give up on you. You should know—he’s unpredictable.” Ye Feng still wore a smile.
“What are his special habits or flaws?” Qing Lang seemed dissatisfied with the answer to the second question as well.
“I don’t know. He only comes when I sing and leaves after listening. We don’t have much of a personal relationship, so I know nothing about those things.” Ye Feng deflected the question again.
“Alright, since you don’t know much about Long Tian, let’s ask you about yourself!” Qing Lang sneered, his cold gaze fixed on Ye Feng. “Why did you spend so much money on those four pieces of jade? Where did you get the money?”
“The money, of course, was earned by me.” Ye Feng smiled at Qing Lang. “Buying jade is just a personal preference. Do you really think you can eat it to fill your stomach or use it to develop some ultimate martial art?”

“He stood up and said, ‘It seems that unless you suffer a little, you won’t answer my questions honestly.’ With that, he stepped toward Ye Feng one by one.”
“Hey, violence is illegal. Don’t do something crazy…” Although Ye Feng said this, he had no intention of running away. “If you attack me, don’t blame me for fighting back! It’s self-defense, and it’s not illegal…”
“Then go ahead and fight back!” Qing Lang paid no attention to Ye Feng’s warning and placed a hand on Ye Feng’s shoulder.
Just as he was about to use force, a crackling sound was heard.
“Huh? I haven’t even used much force… My hand hurts so much…” Qing Lang then realized that his arm, which was on Ye Feng’s shoulder, was actually broken…
“I told you, it’s self-defense,” Ye Feng said, gripping his other wrist with his right hand. “This is a slow-motion replay of what just happened…”
As he spoke, Ye Feng gradually increased the pressure in his right hand…
“It hurts… it hurts…” Qing Lang began to cry out in pain.
“Do you want me to let go?” Ye Feng smiled as he looked at Qing Lang, who had tried to intimidate him.
Qing Lang quickly nodded, his face twisted in pain. “Yes…”
“It’s simple if you want me to let go. Tell me where you keep your valuables—like money, jewelry, and other things…” Ye Feng’s smile grew even brighter. “You invited me here; you can’t expect me to leave empty-handed. That’s not how you treat guests…”