"Alas, you've come too late! The Qi Yuanhe family left our village long ago..."
Upon arriving at the elder's home, he poured several bowls of hot water. Qin Chuan thanked him, sat down, and patiently listened to the elder's subsequent words.
"Uncle, did they move elsewhere like other villagers?" Qin Chuan asked, feigning ignorance and curiosity.
"If only they had moved elsewhere to live!" the elder sighed. "The whole family is dead! Dead! Only two young children were left, and who knows if they are alive or dead now. Such pity!"
"Since you are relatives, you should search for those two children and see if they are still in this world!"
Qin Chuan's expression changed, and he stood up abruptly, anxious. "Uncle, what exactly happened? How could an entire family die all of a sudden? Did they offend some enemy and get poisoned?"
The elder shook his head. "No! It wasn't like that!"
"This family's story is truly tragic. This world is truly unfair. The rich can do whatever they want, committing evil deeds without restraint, while good people can only be bullied by them!"
Qin Chuan said nervously, "Uncle, whom did they offend? And how did it turn out like this? Can you tell me the entire detailed process of what happened?"
Hearing Qin Chuan inquire about the entire process, the elder showed a hint of hesitation. Seeing this, Qin Chuan immediately had his elder brother take out a pack of cigarettes from his bag and placed it beside him.
"Old sir, I genuinely want to know the cause and effect of this matter. If you know, please tell me. I promise not to implicate you."
The elder waved his hand, refusing the cigarettes, and said earnestly, "Young man, I am already this old, with no children and alone. Even if those people come looking for me, what am I afraid of!"
"I'm worried about you. If I tell you the truth and you go for revenge, it will bring you trouble!"
"You have no idea how powerful the people who killed the Qi Yuanhe family are!"
Qin Chuan tightly clasped the elder's bone-thin hands. "Uncle, we appreciate your good intentions, but we truly want to know the entire course of events from back then. Tell us, and we will naturally weigh whether we can exact revenge! If our strength is truly insufficient, we will naturally keep this secret and focus on finding the two lost children..."
Seeing Qin Chuan's sincerity, the elder hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, "That happened about seventeen or eighteen years ago. At that time, Qi Yuanhe was indeed our village head..."
The elder meticulously recounted the Qi family's story. It's worth mentioning that while the elder was telling the story, another elder from the same village came to visit. He was also a lonely old man with no children. Upon learning about the situation, he joined in the storytelling.
Overall, it was no different from what Qi Yan had said, except that the two elders' accounts were more detailed. After all, Qi Yan was too young at the time, and even after growing up and gathering much information about her family, she still didn't have as many details as the elders. This was because the two elders were among the participants of the events back then.
Time flowed quickly. Unconsciously, over an hour had passed, and the story had concluded. Qin Chuan stood up, bade farewell to the two elders, and returned to the car.
"Xiao Chuan, should we seek verification elsewhere?" asked his elder brother, Qin Yang. The others also looked at Qin Chuan, awaiting his decision.
Qin Chuan stared at the distant coal washing plant emitting black smoke, a glint of hatred flickering in his eyes. He shook his head upon hearing the question. "There's no need. With the stories from these two elders, we have enough proof that Qi Yan wasn't lying."
"She and the Han family truly have an irreconcilable feud. We can cooperate!"
"Let's go. We're returning to Longcheng to find Qi Yan!"
The car quickly returned. After more than an hour, they were back on the roads of Longcheng. Qin Chuan had the car drive directly to the bar. As expected, Qi Yan and Li Xiangcao were there, still cleaning up. From this, it was evident that the two of them didn't have much money left after opening the bar, otherwise, they wouldn't have had to personally handle the cleaning.
Hearing footsteps, Qi Yan and Li Xiangcao, who were cleaning the bar, looked up. Upon realizing it was Qin Chuan and his three companions, they showed great surprise. Qin Chuan had appeared too quickly. In their estimation, it would take several days, but only half a day had passed. Could it be...?
"Miss Qi, let's talk!" Qin Chuan said directly. "We visited your hometown, Nantai Village, today..."
"Alright, come inside and sit!" Qi Yan also acted decisively, truly embodying the swift and resolute style of a martial artist.
"Xiangcao, please bring some drinks for our guests." Li Xiangcao nodded and left, returning shortly with four cups of drinks, which she placed on the table.
Qi Yan asked with great curiosity, "Whom did you speak to in your village today? You got results so quickly?"
"Two elders from your village. They once stood against the Han family with your father." Qin Chuan replied. "Unfortunately, after your father's incident, they were also terrified. In the end, they could only let the Han family have their way, selling their farmland at a very low price."
Qi Yan clenched her fists. Qin Chuan, fearing she would fall into the same extreme emotions as the previous night, quickly changed the subject.
"Now that we are ready to join forces, we should exchange the intelligence we have. This will be very beneficial for our cooperation. What do you say?"
This statement immediately captured everyone's attention. They all pricked up their ears, listening intently. Qi Yan hesitated for a moment, then smiled, her icy face instantly blooming with great charm, astonishing everyone.
"Miss Qi, you should really smile more. You look quite pretty when you smile," Qin Chuan blurted out unconsciously. It was the truth. Qi Yan was naturally beautiful, and especially as a martial artist, her figure was excellent, exuding a heroic and unrestrained aura, both cold and free-spirited, possessing a unique beauty.
Qi Yan immediately retracted her smile and shot Qin Chuan a sideways glance. "Whether I smile or not is none of your business. Let's get down to business!"
"You tell me first, what leverage do you have against the Han family? That way, I can gauge how much of my own leverage I should reveal to you."
As soon as she said this, it immediately met with strong opposition from Qin Chuan's side. Yao Dong even glared. "Why should we speak first!"
Qin Chuan stopped Yao Dong and smiled. "Alright, then I'll offer a small piece to get the ball rolling. Because I've only just begun to deal with the Han family, and the most direct enemy is that old man Liu An. I don't have much leverage concerning the direct relatives of the Han family. Listen first!"
Qi Yan nodded, and Li Xiangcao, sitting beside her, also listened intently.
"I have direct evidence of Liu An hiring assassins. Once this evidence is found by the right person and made public, it can send Liu An directly to jail, or even to the executioner." Qin Chuan presented his first piece of leverage.
Qi Yan and Li Xiangcao's expressions immediately changed, their pupils contracting violently.