Chapter 80: Laying the Explosives in Ambush

“Haha.” Pei Qinghu was momentarily taken aback, then burst out laughing. “You useless fool, spouting nonsense in broad daylight.”

“Didn’t you see the video just now? His wife and child are in our hands. If we even so much as press a finger, in an instant—”

“You might want to check your phones again,” Ye Wushang interrupted, turning his gaze to Master Wang.

Master Wang hesitated, instinctively pulling out his phone and tapping the screen. To his surprise, the feed had gone dead; when it restarted, the amusement park was still there, but Xu Zifeng’s wife and child, along with the guards stationed around them, had all vanished.

“What’s going on?” Master Wang exclaimed in shock.

The Pei father and son were furious, snapping, “Old Wang, what’s happening?”

“I—I don’t know,” Master Wang stammered, frantically tapping at his phone. At last, in the operation log, he discovered that five minutes earlier, a command had already been sent from the phone.

The green button had been pressed. In other words, once the guards received the order to retreat, no harm came to the woman and child.

“How could this happen?” Master Wang’s eyes bulged as he glared at Ye Wushang. “What did you do just now?”

“I’ve been standing here the whole time. What do you suppose I could have done?”

“You!” Master Wang was about to berate him, when suddenly he recalled the Rabbit Lord with whom he’d just spoken. His face changed dramatically. “It was the Rabbit Lord! He’s your man, isn’t he? He’s the one who sent the retreat order, isn’t he?”

Ye Wushang only smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.

“You bastard!” Pei Qinghu roared. “You dare play tricks on me? When did you get to know the Rabbit Lord? He knows the strength of the Pei family, and yet he dares to side with you against us?”

Pei Huaide was seething. He had merely thought this young man knew some medicine and martial arts, but never imagined he would pull off such a covert maneuver, sending the Rabbit Lord to meddle behind their backs.

It seemed he had underestimated him after all.

“So that’s why the Rabbit Lord went on stage just now,” An Lan realized, laughing with a gentle charm. “So it was your arrangement—how interesting.”

“I’ll say it again: I, Xu Zifeng, will only work for the Pei family. I’m not considering other families for now,” Xu Zifeng declared. “But in light of your actions, I’d rather never practice medicinal cuisine again than ever serve you!”

With the knowledge that his family was safe, the weight in Xu Zifeng’s heart finally lifted. At the same time, he was ashamed for having shouted at Ye Wushang earlier.

“Well then, President Pei, the poaching attempt is over, and you’ve heard Master Xu’s stance. With him on our side, the An family is certain to win this medicinal cuisine contest. If I were you, I’d know when to retreat. If you continue to oppose the An family, you’ll only bring disaster upon yourself,” An Lan said to Pei Huaide, her smile radiant.

She knew the Pei family would not give up so easily tonight, but she hadn’t expected them to use Xu Zifeng’s family as leverage. Fortunately, with Ye Wushang at her side, the crisis was swiftly dissolved. She found herself liking her bodyguard more and more.

She believed that by night’s end, the Pei family would withdraw of their own accord, leaving the An family free from worry.

“Mr. Ye, Mr. Ye.”

Just then, a quiet call came from behind. It was Baldy, his face full of worry—as if something bad had happened.

Leaving An Lan to deal with the others, Ye Wushang slipped to the edge of the stage and asked in a low voice, “What is it, Baldy? Have you discovered something?”

“Yes,” Baldy nodded, still shaken. “Our men followed your instructions and inspected every detail of the venue. In the end, we found that the entire hall—every table, chair, corner, and nook—was secretly rigged with explosive wires. The connections are dense and complex, almost impossible to defuse. The guys have tried everything, but there’s no way to disable them.”

Ye Wushang’s eyes narrowed as he looked thoughtfully at the calm faces of the Pei father and son. “So, if threats don’t work, they plan to take it by force.”

“Mr. Ye, what do you mean?”

“Nothing,” Ye Wushang replied, waving it off and taking a deep breath. “Tell me, do the explosive wires all converge beneath the stage?”

“How did you know?” Baldy stammered, stunned.

Just as he’d suspected. The real goal was to blow up An Lan and Xu Zifeng. With Xu Zifeng dead, the Pei and An families would be back to square one. And An Lan was the soul of her family’s enterprise; her death would render the An family a walking corpse. The Pei family’s path would be cleared.

“One more thing—do the wires run through the area where Pei Huaide and the others are standing?”

Baldy quickly pulled out the security team’s map, checked it, and stared in disbelief. “How did you know that too?”

“All right, I understand. Leave it to me; you’re done here.”

So, the key to detonating the explosives lay in the insect jar held by Master Wang. One movement from the bug would tug the explosive wires, causing a deadly blast.

With so many explosives and so many people present, the consequences of a detonation would be unimaginable! The Pei family was truly ruthless—willing to kill everyone just to achieve their aims.

“Listen carefully. There are two things you must do now. First, post men at every explosive wire; at my command, pull them all out at once. Second, seal all the exits—no one goes in or out from this moment.”

Baldy was confused, but, trusting Ye Wushang implicitly, he hurried away to make preparations.

Meanwhile, as An Lan ordered the Pei family to leave, Pei Huaide and his son wore dark expressions. Master Wang seized the moment to say, “Miss An, we’re only acting in your best interests. Besides us, there are others who want Xu Zifeng. I’ve heard they’ve planted explosives around the venue. We have some connections with them and can intercede on your behalf—let us take Xu Zifeng, and everyone will be safe. Otherwise, everyone here will die.”

As he spoke, Master Wang spun two iron walnuts in his left hand, his right hand toying with two small jars. To outsiders, it seemed innocuous, but Ye Wushang saw clearly that he was spurring the insects inside. If they broke the chemicals in the jars, the fumes would ignite the explosive wires and cause a massive explosion.

“What did you say?” An Lan’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Explosives?”

Her raised voice startled the guests, who had been savoring Xu Zifeng’s dishes. They froze in shock.

“Explosives?”

“Who would plant explosives? So vicious!”

“If someone wants Xu Zifeng, let them go after him—what does it have to do with us?”

“Quick, run!”

Panic erupted. Guests rushed about in chaos, but all exits were blocked—they had nowhere to flee.

Desperate for answers, they turned on An Lan.

“Miss An, hand Xu Zifeng over to President Pei!”

“Didn’t President Pei say he could negotiate with the bombers?”

“Just give him up, make them stand down—do you want us all to die?”

“You’re here too; even if you don’t care about us, you should care about yourself!”

“I only came for a dinner, not to risk my life!”

Under this pressure, An Lan was distraught. She had seen the Pei family’s tactics before. The so-called bombers were actually the Pei family themselves. If threats failed, they would use force.

If she refused, they might very well go mad and set off the explosives.

Xu Zifeng sighed. “Miss An, perhaps we should give in. There are so many people here—if they really blow up the place, we’ll all die. I don’t want to be responsible for such a tragedy.”

An Lan’s face darkened as she glared at Pei Huaide. “Pei Huaide, I never imagined you’d stoop so low. First you use his family to threaten Xu Zifeng, now you set explosives to threaten me!”

“You—”

“Miss An, mind your words,” Pei Qinghu sneered. “My father said someone else wants Xu Zifeng and asked us to handle it. We’re thinking of everyone’s safety—how can you accuse us? Besides, didn’t you hire a security chief? He didn’t even spot the explosives! Lin Dong told you to change staff and you refused—see how it turned out? Now you’re in their hands.”

At this, An Lan’s face flushed with shame.

The guests began demanding she hand over Xu Zifeng, blaming Ye Wushang for failing in his duty as head of security. For all his skills, he had not protected everyone’s safety—he could not escape responsibility.

“Pei Huaide, you win,” An Lan finally conceded, bowing to pressure. “I agree—Xu Zifeng is yours to take—”

“I disagree.”

Before she could finish, Ye Wushang interrupted coldly. “As head of security, if someone really planted explosives and sets them off, the blame is mine. But if the bombs are fake, and the supposed detonation is a ruse, what then?”

He circled Master Wang, never taking his eyes off the little insect jar. At the opportune moment, he channeled his inner strength, activating a talisman to clash with the insect inside.

At the faintest of sounds, his furrowed brow relaxed. The insect was dead, the explosive wires severed, and the threat of catastrophe had vanished.

…