Ye Fan and Shen Bao had already been brought under his control, their lives hanging in the balance. At this moment, Hu Zi was feeling quite smug.
"I don't think it's too late."
Ye Fan sneered.
He needed to stall for time. As long as reinforcements arrived, these people before him would surely perish.
"Oh? I'm very curious to hear what other tricks you have up your sleeves?"
Old Man Xu guffawed, looking at Ye Fan and Shen Bao as he shook his head repeatedly.
"With your capabilities, if you were to pledge your loyalty to me, I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury and comfort. If you refuse, I don't mind sending you to see the King of Hell right now."
Old Man Xu smiled with immense pride, as if everything was firmly in his grasp.
Hearing Old Man Xu's words, Ye Fan let out a helpless sigh.
"Village Chief Xu, you truly want to recruit us? But what's the point of recruiting us? East Village has already been wiped out. No matter how much money you earn, what good will it do?"
An idea sparked in Ye Fan's mind. Old Man Xu didn't know about East Village's predicament, and he could use this to buy time.
Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Old Man Xu immediately furrowed his brow, looking at him suspiciously.
"What did you say? Say that again."
He took two swift steps forward, his gaze fixed intently on Ye Fan.
Seeing Old Man Xu's expression, Ye Fan feigned a look of confusion. "What? You don't know, Village Chief Xu?"
"What happened? Tell me quickly."
Grabbing Ye Fan by the collar, Old Man Xu roared furiously.
His terrifying aura seemed as if he wanted to devour Ye Fan whole.
A look of terror flashed across his face. Ye Fan wrenched himself free from Old Man Xu's grasp and stumbled back two steps.
"Three days ago, South Village and North Village joined forces and attacked East Village simultaneously. Village Chief Xu Sanhu led the villagers in resistance, but they were outnumbered and captured alive. My companions were also taken. By sheer coincidence, we were out of the village at the time and escaped. Upon hearing the news, we infiltrated South Village, intending to rescue everyone. Unfortunately, with only the two of us, we were no match for them. In the ancestral hall of South Village, we fought, but were ultimately repelled. Helpless, we then ventured into the mountains to seek help. That's how we discovered this cave. Village Chief Xu, Xu Sanhu is currently imprisoned in South Village. If he is not rescued soon, his life will be in grave danger."
Ye Fan deliberately emphasized the words "grave danger."
Indeed, upon hearing his words, Old Man Xu's body began to tremble violently. He gritted his teeth, his eyes darkening further.
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible! Hu'er would not fail! How could those good-for-nothings from South and North Village defeat Hu'er? You're lying, you must be lying."
Saying this, he lunged forward again, grabbing Ye Fan by the collar.
His face contorted into a ferocious snarl as he roared, "Speak! Are you lying?"
The terrifying appearance sent a chill down Ye Fan's spine.
He had to admit, at that moment, Old Man Xu was truly formidable.
However, having experienced far greater storms, Ye Fan was naturally not intimidated by him.
"Village Chief Xu, our lives are in your hands right now. Would I dare to lie? If you don't believe me, you can send someone to East Village to see for yourself. Wouldn't it be clear then whether I'm telling the truth?"
His gaze was sincere, his expression natural, without a hint of panic.
Ye Fan's expression itself was proof of the truth or falsehood of his words.
Old Man Xu slowly closed his eyes, staggering back a few steps, nearly falling.
Fortunately, two men in black stepped forward and supported him.
"Old Village Chief, we'll head down the mountain now, charge into South Village, and rescue the young master."
Hu Zi said angrily, his eyes burning with rage.
But Old Man Xu waved his hand and shook his head. "This matter is not as simple as you think. There must be another hidden reason. Otherwise, given Hu'er's caution, he wouldn't have been ambushed by those weaklings from South and North Village."
Saying this, his gaze returned to Ye Fan. "Speak, what else are you hiding?"
Old Man Xu narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed intently on Ye Fan, as if trying to see through him.
Ye Fan took two steps back, his brows furrowed, a hesitant expression on his face.
"Damn it, speak quickly, or I'll blow your head off."
Seeing this, Hu Zi roared in anger, stepping forward a few paces and pressing the muzzle of his gun firmly against Ye Fan's head.
"I'll speak, I'll speak everything."
Ye Fan put on a terrified expression. In this situation, such an expression was necessary.
"Speak quickly."
Ye Fan glanced fearfully at Hu Zi before slowly opening his mouth.
"Xu Sanhu once told me that he possessed a piece of chicken blood stone that involved a great secret. South Village and North Village are targeting East Village because of this stone. Furthermore, on the day of the incident, Village Chief Xu Sanhu seemed to have had a conflict with a subordinate named Hu Liu, and was very agitated, even vowing to eliminate Hu Liu. Unexpectedly, soon after, people from South and North Village arrived, and without expending much effort, they breached East Village. I merely suspect this, but I have no concrete evidence."
Ye Fan appeared troubled, stammering his words.
"What do you suspect?"
Old Man Xu calmed down, staring intently at Ye Fan, asking coldly.
"I suspect Hu Liu colluded with Kong Weiren and Dong Dabiao. Otherwise, why would they have entered the tightly defended East Village with such ease? If there were no traitors involved, I would never believe it. Moreover, when we went to rescue them, we didn't find Hu Liu, and the chicken blood stone was also gone. I believe Hu Liu must have taken it and presented it to Kong Weiren and the others."
He shifted the blame completely, diverting the trouble.
Since Hu Liu was already dead, no one could expose Ye Fan's words, no matter what he said now.
Unless they could meet Xu Sanhu, but unfortunately, Xu Sanhu was in Kong Weiren's hands. As soon as Old Man Xu revealed himself, Kong Weiren and Dong Dabiao would undoubtedly mobilize all possible forces to attack them.
Those two harbored far more hatred towards Old Man Xu than towards Ye Fan and the others.
"Hu Liu, that son of a bitch! He dared to betray East Village! I knew from the start that this news was fishy."
Hu Zi shouted angrily.
"Shut up."
Old Man Xu roared, glaring coldly at Hu Zi. "If you dare to blabber again, I won't hesitate to eliminate you."
Old Man Xu's icy voice sent a shiver down Hu Zi's spine. He shrunk his neck, daring not to utter another word.
"Why did Hu'er tell you about the chicken blood stone?"
Old Man Xu narrowed his eyes, staring at Ye Fan, and asked.
Clearly, he still harbored doubts about Ye Fan's story.
However, this was understandable. After all, they had not personally witnessed Hu Liu's betrayal. Furthermore, Ye Fan and Shen Bao were supposed to be sent here to have their blood drained to create fakes.
In that case, Xu Sanhu would have no reason to befriend them, let alone tell them such a crucial secret as the chicken blood stone.
By all logic and reason, Ye Fan's words were unreliable.
"Village Chief Xu, you might not know this, but Village Chief Xu Sanhu and I hit it off immediately, as if we were old friends of many years, and could talk about anything. To be frank, our purpose in coming to Qianfo Mountain this time was to find an ancient tomb, because that tomb contained a treasure. It was precisely because I mentioned this that Village Chief Xu Sanhu told me about the chicken blood stone. Apparently, this chicken blood stone can pinpoint the location of the great tomb. Before this, I had no knowledge of this matter. If it weren't for Village Chief Xu Sanhu, how would I have found out?"
Ye Fan had neatly tied up all the loose ends, his reasoning impeccable.