Forced to Marry a Female Billionaire CEO-Chapter 603: Courteous Competition

Although the atmosphere was heavy, Duan Chongfeng still glanced at Yuan Shang wordlessly.

Just now, he had been told not to interrupt...

Xu Ke continued in a low voice, "When Song Zhong died, I promised him that I would take care of his wife and daughter and not let the Ye Family trouble them."

"Qi Fu and I believe that conflict shouldn't extend to family. After Song Zhong's death, she immediately dispatched people to his wife and daughter's location, intending to protect them."

"Unfortunately, the Ye Family acted faster than us. By the time our people arrived, Song Zhong's daughter was already dead and the entire house had been burned to the ground. His wife would have also perished, had she not happened to hide in the cellar of her house abroad."

"Even so, she was barely alive."

As he spoke, Xu Ke's eyes darkened, and a murderous intent began to surge within him.

His words hung in the air. BANG! Yuan Shang slammed his fist on the table, his expression twisting with rage. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "Those damn bastards!"

"As she lay dying, our people told Song Zhong's wife the truth: that he had already been killed."

"I thought she would resent us, but to my surprise, she shed tears and begged our people to seek revenge on the Ye Family for her, for her daughter, and for Song Zhong."

"She died shortly after. Our people brought her and her daughter's ashes back, and they were buried with Song Zhong."

"Before she died, she helped us locate a diary and other evidence Song Zhong had left behind. Sadly, most of the diary was burned, and the Ye Family had already taken all the evidence."

"The only piece of valuable information we got was this…

"Five years ago, Song Zhong disguised himself as a robber, organized a group of men, and murdered Hua Hailong and his wife. He then abducted their daughter."

"Hua Hailong was the son of Hua Xingxue."

This was why Xu Ke had been so surprised to see Hua Xingxue working as a security guard when he first arrived at the Tianhai Martial Alliance. It wasn't just because Wong Qifu had told him that Hua Xingxue was the former Law Enforcement Hall Chief, but also because he had just learned about Song Zhong's involvement.

However, Xu Ke had too much on his plate. Even though he sympathized with Hua Xingxue's plight, he had to set it aside for the time being.

At this revelation, the expressions on Yuan Shang and Duan Chongfeng changed completely. "Are you telling the truth?!" Yuan Shang's eyes widened.

"Maybe it's false," Xu Ke said with a smile, "but I don't think Song Zhong's diary had any reason to lie to me."

"Those bastards… they even dared to kill Old Hua's son?!" Yuan Shang roared, his eyes practically bursting with rage.

The entire living room fell silent. Duan Chongfeng's expression was just as grim. Although he had no personal connection to Hua Xingxue, how could he remain calm seeing his friend so enraged?

But Xu Ke just let out a soft laugh. "Ye Yunfeng is a deeply calculating man; he even plotted against his own son. What's killing the son of a Law Enforcement Hall Chief to someone like him?"

At his words, everyone looked at him in shock. "What do you mean?"

"That… you don't need to worry about." Xu Ke realized he had said too much and changed the subject with a smile.

Seeing that Xu Ke was unwilling to elaborate, they had no choice but to drop the matter.

Yuan Shang took a deep breath. "So, is Old Hua being crippled related to his granddaughter's kidnapping?"

"Perhaps. I don't have any evidence yet." Xu Ke shrugged. "But I do know one thing: Old Hua chose to step down voluntarily because of his injuries, and the most direct beneficiary was Vice Hall Chief Peng Hetong."

"But the greatest beneficiary was likely still the Ye Family!

"After all, with Peng Hetong in power, he could be arrogant enough to ignore you and Alliance Leader Chen, using official procedures to release a prisoner."

Xu Ke hadn't forgotten the time he was ambushed. If not for the elder in black delivering Zhao Chengyang in a sack along with the phone footage, his injuries would have been for nothing. Ye Fan would probably still be alive and kicking.

"This..." Yuan Shang's face was completely ashen. He had never anticipated all of this was going on behind the scenes.

"We don't know what happened on the night Old Hua lost his martial arts," Xu Ke said, gently tapping Hua Xingxue's blood-red fingerprint on the document. "But we do know a few things. The record was written by Old Hua himself. The fingerprint was made by Old Hua himself. The injury was left untreated by his own choice. And he even gave up his position himself."

"But whether any of it was truly voluntary… we can't be sure."

Everyone fell silent.

A moment later, Yuan Shang suddenly whipped out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag before speaking. "So, you want Old Hua to come out of retirement to be the one to take on the Ye Family?"

Xu Ke just smiled without saying a word.

"But do you realize how unfair this is to Old Hua?" Yuan Shang stared at Xu Ke.

"How is it unfair?"

"Let's assume everything you've said is true," Yuan Shang said. "By your logic, Old Hua gave up everything so his kidnapped granddaughter could be free..."

Xu Ke interrupted him with a laugh. "Don't put it like that. I never drew that conclusion."

Yuan Shang glared at him. This guy leads me to that exact conclusion and now he wants to play coy...

"Fine, it's my own inference," Yuan Shang continued. "But if you bring Old Hua out of retirement now, wouldn't that just put his granddaughter in danger all over again?"

"That's not fair at all."

At these words, Tang Yingchang and Duan Chongfeng also fell silent. True, the desire for revenge for a murdered son is powerful. But if Hua Xingxue chose to give up everything for his granddaughter and compromise with the Ye Family, then they shouldn't be the ones to make him live in fear again.

But Xu Ke suddenly burst out laughing.

"Unfair?" he laughed, his eyes suddenly turning sharp and cold. "In the entire Tianhai Martial Alliance, other than you and Alliance Leader Chen, is there a single position that hasn't been corroded by the Ye Family?"

"The Ye Family already has a stranglehold on Tianhai. If they truly become its overlords, do you really think Old Hua and his granddaughter—who know all their dirty secrets—will be allowed to live?"

Ye Yunfeng would even slaughter Song Zhong's innocent wife and daughter. He would certainly show no mercy to Hua Xingxue, who once stood against them!

"But... we have you now," Yuan Shang said, his expression conflicted.

They all understood Xu Ke's logic. They knew that if the Ye Family solidified their rule over Tianhai, they would absolutely eliminate all loose ends. But now that Xu Ke has risen and can contend with the Ye Family, it seems too cruel to force an old man, who only wants to live out his final years in peace, back into the fray...

"What the hell good am I?" Xu Ke retorted.

"But you've defeated the Ye Family so many times," Yuan Shang pointed out.

"I have bested the Ye Family, yes, but when was it not a reactive counterattack?" Xu Ke took a deep breath, his eyes filled with coldness and caution. "Me, stand alone against the Ye Family? Am I insane?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The Ye Family's power was immense—that was an acknowledged fact throughout Tianhai.

Despite Xu Ke having dealt with two of Ye Yunfeng's sons, the Ye Family hadn't suffered any significant losses from his attacks. In fact, Xu Ke was the one who had always been on the defensive.

Ye Yunfeng had been driven mad by Xu Ke several times, it was true. But in reality, Ye Yunfeng always held the upper hand with his overwhelming power. Xu Ke had only won through schemes and luck; rarely could he win a direct confrontation based on strength alone.

In terms of accomplishments, what has he really done? At most, he killed Song Zhong, crippled Yuk Ming from the Ancient Fist Sect, and dealt with Qiu Changyang. He hadn't killed a single member of the Ye Family's main lineage, aside from Ye Yunfeng's two sons... Even Ye Dexian had managed to get away. Given all that, how could he possibly think he was ready to face the Ye Family on equal terms?