142: Chapter 142 Are you ready to step down?

On the edge of Old Town.

Fei Shan stood with a team of his men before the corpses of the four from the Violent Bear group, silent for a long time.

Yet those behind him could see that the two hard, solid iron balls in his hands were being crushed, continuously shedding bone dust.

After a long while, he finally took out his phone and dialed.

"Mr. Rong, I am incompetent. I failed."

"It's just someone with Qi Manipulation, and you still failed? How many people did you send?"

"Four. It was led by my best subordinate and brother—you've met him, his name is Bao Xiong."

"Bao Xiong... He should be considered top-tier among those at the Ninth Stage. If four Ninth Stage experts couldn't handle it, it seems that kid is truly not simple."

"I can only ask for your help. Please, you must avenge my brothers."

"Fine, I'll take over the matter. Besides, I was going to take care of that Mad Dog tomorrow night anyway."

"Thank you."

Many people were sleepless tonight, and Ye Qingzhou was one of them.

He sat in the dark room, staring at the phone in front of him, not daring to blink.

When the phone light lit up, he jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and answered immediately.

"Young Master."

"It's me, speak quickly."

"The search of the Donghe District has just been completed, but there were still no findings."

"Still nothing? Group One has been out of contact for over eight hours now, and you still haven't found any news?"

"Young Master, we have never had any overlap with Group One; we don't even know where the incident occurred. Searching after the fact is like looking for a needle in a haystack. We have done our best."

Ye Qingzhou certainly understood this, and he also knew that Group Two had been doing their best to search.

However, an entire liaison group going missing—the responsibility and consequences were too great for him to bear.

"Young Master, I suggest you immediately strengthen your own security. If this is indeed targeted by some faction, and they can make an entire group disappear so thoroughly, I fear they also have the ability to threaten you."

"You don't need to worry about that! I don't believe they are bold enough to ignore the Imperial Court and strike at me! Keep searching! Report back every hour. I'll wait for your call."

Daybreak came without him realizing it.

Until it was nearly time for class, Ye Qingzhou had not received any good news.

What slightly comforted him was that he had waited for Qin Bing to arrive.

"President."

"Qin Bing is back. Come, sit down and let's talk."

Ye Qingzhou acted quite warmly, which caught Qin Bing by surprise.

"Sit... is that really necessary? Aren't you looking for Tang Long?"

"Yes. I heard that you have a good relationship with him, so I wanted to ask you to be an intermediary."

Qin Bing immediately grinned. "What do you mean 'good'? It's 'very good'. He will definitely give me face."

"That's good then." Ye Qingzhou smiled and asked, "Did you contact him yesterday? When did you arrange to meet today?"

"I sent him messages right after we talked yesterday. I sent dozens of them, but he hasn't replied at all."

"In other words, you haven't made contact yet."

Speaking of this, Ye Qingzhou's expression was noticeably cold.

"Uh... maybe his phone is broken? Or perhaps some other accident happened. If he saw them, it's impossible for him not to reply to my messages. I don't think we need to make an appointment; why don't we just go to Class 9 and find him?"

Ye Qingzhou's smile carried a hint of sarcasm. "How can we talk if we don't communicate beforehand? If he doesn't want to talk, am I supposed to be like Manman earlier and press my hot face against his cold backside?"

"This..."

Qin Bing hesitated for a moment, then immediately thumped his chest.

"President, don't worry. I know Tang Long very well. As long as you provide enough benefits, he's not that hard to talk to. A conversation is definitely possible; it's just a matter of the price."

Ye Qingzhou raised his eyebrows slightly, weighing the situation internally.

If, as Qin Bing said, Tang Long was truly a mercenary guy, then things might not be too bad.

His Group One had been missing for over twelve hours now, and this matter was definitely related to Tang Long; it could not be dragged out any longer.

"Fine, then I will make a trip and see what he's like. You will have to help put in a good word for me. Regardless of whether it works out or not, I won't let your efforts go to waste."

"President, you are too polite. Don't worry, I will definitely do my best."

The two soon arrived at Class 9, and the entire class was stirred up once again.

"Wow, that's President Ye of the White Clothing Society!"

"That's right. He's no joke; he's so handsome!"

"Needless to say. His father is the Duke of Huaicheng, the Minister of the Imperial Court. He'll inherit at least a dukedom in the future, how could he not be handsome?"

"Stop being sour. He is a true genius, completing the breakthrough from the Third Stage to the Fifth Stage in half a year. Can you compare to that?"

"Let's not talk about that; let's talk about his character. Yesterday Tang Long called him a coward, yet today he came here in person. Can an average person show such magnanimity?"

"Young Master Wei, it's rare for Young Master Ye to come here. This is a good opportunity; shouldn't you go over and greet him?"

"Young Master Wei, Young Master Ye just glanced at you."

Facing the questions from the two lackeys beside him, Wei Lin glared at them gloomily.

Yesterday he had been slapped hard by Ye Qingzhou, and when he got home, his old man had punished him by making him kneel until midnight. At this moment, he had nowhere to vent the evil fire in his heart.

"Is Young Master Ye your father? If you want to suck up to the royals, do it yourself; don't drag me into it!"

The people around were very surprised, feeling... how did Young Master Wei seem like a different person today?

Qin Bing and Ye Qingzhou stood at the door for a long time but didn't find Tang Long; they only waited for Jiang Xiaolan.

"Xiao Lan, you came just in time. Do you know where Tang Long from your class is?"

Jiang Xiaolan was also a bit surprised. "He's not here? Strange. The first period is Breathing Technique class; he usually doesn't skip it. This guy is getting more and more out of line."

Ye Qingzhou asked, "Could you please help me make a call and ask?"

Jiang Xiaolan immediately took out her phone to call, but just like with Qin Bing, it wouldn't go through.

At this moment, Qin Bing said, "He might be in the library; let's go over and check."

The two arrived at the library and found the doors locked; it wasn't even open.

Ye Qingzhou was becoming increasingly restless. He started calling Miao Manman, Nie Yu, Jiang Yan, and others in turns, but the result was the same; no one knew Tang Long's whereabouts.

Just as Ye Qingzhou was about to give up, Qin Bing's phone suddenly rang. The caller was actually Tang Long.

"Hello, Old Tang! You finally returned the call. Where are you? Where did you run off to?"

"Old Qin, President Ye is with you, right?"

"That's right, we are together. President Ye wants to talk to you in person. Let me tell you, he is very sincere, do you understand?"

"Fine. Then give the phone to him; I'll have a few words with him."

Upon hearing that it was Tang Long calling, for some reason, Ye Qingzhou felt as if he had found a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation. When he took the phone, he completely lost his usual composure and didn't quite know where to start.

"Hello, President Ye!"

"I am Ye Qingzhou. Hello, Tang Long. I've heard your name constantly over the past few days. I came here specifically to visit you today, but I didn't expect..."

"Stop! I know you want to talk to me, and I am quite willing to talk. But I'm short on time right now, so let's skip the pleasantries. I have only one question: Are you ready to step down?"

Ye Qingzhou's expression changed abruptly. He immediately refused righteously.

"That's impossible. If this is your attitude, I'm afraid we can't talk anymore."

"Why can't we talk? You are less than two months away from graduation; would stepping down a little early really have such a big impact?"

This question left Ye Qingzhou stunned.