Chapter 61: Accepting a Favor

When Zhong Yuan said he had come here to kill someone, he was simply stating a plain, straightforward truth.

Yet, to the ears of everyone else, it sounded entirely different.

Especially the two Chinese men standing not far across from him; the moment those two words slipped past Zhong Yuan's lips, both of them instantly tensed up.

It was impossible to tell how Chen Mingjiang on the other end of the line was reacting, but after maintaining a long silence, he finally spoke: "I am coming over now."

Zhong Yuan smiled faintly and said, "Alright, I'll be waiting for you!"

Since they had run into each other here, there was naturally no escaping with just a phone call. This meeting was bound to happen!

Chen Mingjiang arrived very quickly.

Two or three minutes later, he was there.

The rain outside was still pouring.

The patter of the heavy rain masked the sound of his footsteps, and it was only when he appeared in the doorway that the people inside the house noticed him.

When he entered, Zhong Yuan was leaning against the cabinet beside the door, smoking a cigarette.

Catching sight of him, Zhong Yuan narrowed his eyes and smiled lightly, "Mr. Chen, we finally meet!"

Chen Mingjiang had long since seen photographs of Yu Guang, but looking at the man before him now, he found it remarkably difficult to connect him with the person in the pictures.

Upon closer inspection, the facial features were indeed very similar.

Yet, their temperaments were worlds apart, especially the light emanating from their eyes, which was as different as heaven and earth.

The Yu Guang in the photographs he had obtained, although looking somewhat younger, appeared utterly listless. In those eyes, aside from a profound gloom, there was almost nothing else. That Yu Guang seemed indifferent to everything, merely waiting for a lingering obsession to be fulfilled so he could depart without a shred of hesitation.

However, the Yu Guang before him now possessed a slightly more hardened, ruthless edge, yet those eyes were far more tranquil, bottomless and unfathomable.

After staring at Yu Guang in appraisal for a moment, Chen Mingjiang did not answer his remark. Instead, he turned his gaze to survey the kitchen.

Several corpses lay on the kitchen floor. Their manners of death were not particularly gruesome, but it was evident that the person who inflicted the blows had been decisive, ruthless, and highly experienced. As for the young man standing nearby, Xiao Hua...

When Chen Mingjiang looked his way, Xiao Hua flashed a grin—somewhat awkward, yet remarkably carefree. It was as though the corpses on the ground had nothing to do with them, or rather, as if they did not even exist.

Chen Mingjiang suddenly felt a mild headache coming on.

Just who on earth was this Yu Guang? And what was his purpose here in Southern Thailand?

After turning these doubts over in his mind for a moment, he consciously suppressed them.

Recalling his gaze, he looked back at Yu Guang, "I remember you had another young brother named Dazi, is that right? Where is he?"

Zhong Yuan took a final drag of his rapidly diminishing cigarette, then flicked his finger, sending the butt flying out the door.

"Dazi, come in and say hello to Mr. Chen!" The moment his voice fell, deliberate, heavy footsteps echoed from just outside the house.

A flash of surprise crossed the faces of Chen Mingjiang and the two other Chinese men.

Chen Mingjiang was especially astonished.

He considered himself a master of close combat—even if not among the absolute top tier, he was undoubtedly a formidable expert. Yet, when he had approached just moments earlier, he had completely failed to detect anyone lying in ambush outside. Had Yu Guang's people harbored malicious intent toward him, he would have been dead the instant he stepped close!

A wave of lingering fear flashed through his mind, but immediately afterward, he realized this probably had nothing to do with combat prowess; rather, his preconceived judgment of Yu Guang's identity and a sense of misplaced sympathy had clouded his perception.

Subconsciously assuming Yu Guang would not harm him, he had let down nearly all his guard upon approaching the area.

Zhong Da walked in from the outside, soaked from head to toe.

"Mr. Chen!" he offered a flat greeting, then walked over to stand beside Zhong Yuan. Although the gun in his hand hung downward, he had not put it away, and the safety was still disengaged!

Seeing this, Chen Mingjiang arched a brow slightly and let out a bitter smile.

Then, he said, "This isn't a proper place for conversation. How about this: Mr. Yu and your two young brothers trouble yourselves to accompany us for a trip?"

Zhong Yuan, however, shook his head. "There's no need for a trip, and you gentlemen are occupied with other matters today anyway. Let's keep it brief: I don't care what you're doing here, and our purpose is very simple—we came to kill Lin Zhonghai. However, if you have use for Lin Zhonghai, we can hand him over to you. How does that sound?"

Chen Mingjiang frowned.

Still, Yu Guang was right; they indeed had other pressing business today. Moreover, tonight's operation was strictly confidential and absolutely could not afford any leaks.

Therefore, Yu Guang...

"Rest assured, Mr. Chen, not a single whisper of your presence here tonight will leak out. As long as you clean up your tracks when you leave, everything that happened here today will be attributed solely to us," Zhong Yuan said abruptly.

Chen Mingjiang glanced at him.

Then, a smile spread across his face. "Very well! Then I accept Mr. Yu's favor!"

"There will come a day when you have to return it," Zhong Yuan added.

Chen Mingjiang nodded. "I'll be waiting."

Zhong Yuan smiled, then said, "There's no one left in this house. You're welcome to search it, but you'd better be quick about it. I estimate someone will be showing up here before long!"

"Understood," Chen Mingjiang replied.

"Then... farewell!" With that, Zhong Yuan signaled to Xiao Hua, indicating for him and Zhong Da to head out first. Once the two stepped outside, Zhong Yuan cast one last smile at Chen Mingjiang, turned, and strode out into the rain curtain outside.

In moments, all three figures vanished into the night.

"Brother Jiang, who exactly is that Yu Guang?"

Chen Mingjiang replied, "Don't ask about things you shouldn't!" With that, he crouched down to examine the corpses on the floor. After a brief inspection of the fatal wounds, his brows furrowed deeply.

At that moment, one of the two Chinese men spoke up, "Brother Jiang, what should we do with this live one?"

Chen Mingjiang turned his head for a quick look and said, "Take him with us!"

"Should we still search the house?"

"No need to search anymore! Fall back!" As he spoke, he had already risen to his feet.

Hearing this, the other two hauled the unconscious Xiao De up from the ground, supported him between them, and followed close behind Chen Mingjiang as they exited the kitchen and plunged back into the overwhelming sheets of rain.

By this time, the small cabin to the north had already been breached.

Lin Zhonghai and his men were either dead or captured, and the hostages had been successfully rescued and escorted back to the vehicles Lin Zhonghai's group had prepared.

When Chen Mingjiang and his two companions arrived with the unconscious Xiao De, they quickly boarded the vehicles as well.

As their vehicle skirted around a narrow path onto the main road, Chen Mingjiang deliberately scanned both sides of the road, but saw no trace of Zhong Yuan and his two companions.

Yet, this was hardly surprising; both sides of the road were dense woods. If someone wanted to hide, even with a searchlight in this rainy night, finding them would be a stroke of pure luck.

Still, he could not fathom Yu Guang's motive for targeting Lin Zhonghai. Could it be related to the people Lin Zhonghai had captured?

At this thought, he glanced back at the Chinese hostages who had been given sedatives and were currently fast asleep in the back, a contemplative look in his eyes.

Just what kind of person was Yu Guang?

And what was he really doing here in Southern Thailand?