Forced to Marry a Female Billionaire CEO-Chapter 653: The Elder in Black Clothing

"Han Wang's plan is to use our martial force to control you and then poison you," Elder Shi said. "To avoid arousing his suspicion, I've been diligently helping him strategize. I even said I'd help him contact Ye Taiqing to lure him out, and then I'll find Fang Caizhe and use the Northern Dragon Guard to set a trap for you. That's the gist of the plan. Afterward, I'll also help you investigate Han Wang's next move... Understand?"

Hearing Shi Hongda's detailed report, Xu Ke had to admit he was a little baffled. I never expected him to be so proactive. Even though I fooled him with the Snake Mask, he must harbor a grudge against me. Why is he being so cooperative now?

"Got it," Xu Ke said.

"This is my show of sincerity, Xu Ke," Elder Shi continued. "I failed to persuade the Huang Family to vote in your favor, and you didn't give me the antidote. I accept that. So now, I'd like to make a trade with you on this matter."

Shi Hongda had indeed been tempted during his conversation with Han Wang. Wouldn't it be delightful to seize this opportunity to control Xu Ke? But after a moment's thought, he quashed the dangerous idea. It isn't the first time my schemes against Xu Ke have failed. Once bitten, twice shy. I don't want to engage in another battle of wits with him.

Therefore, after a long discussion with the two elder advisers, he decided to come clean with Xu Ke and propose a trade.

"I see." Upon hearing this, Xu Ke had a flash of insight. "So, you want to trade this information for the antidote?"

"Of course not. Besides, I've already told you everything. Even if I wanted to make that trade, would you agree?"

"Hmm, I wouldn't," Xu Ke replied with blunt honesty.

Shi Hongda was left speechless for a moment before continuing, "This information is just a gesture of goodwill to show my sincerity about trading for the antidote."

"Oh?" Xu Ke raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying you have something else in mind to trade for the antidote?"

"Yes. I can help you take things a step further and reap even greater benefits." Shi Hongda finally revealed the true purpose of his call. "If you're willing to give me the antidote, then during this ambush, I'll help you turn their own plan against them and kill Han Wang, Ye Lang, and Ye Taiqing!"

"Moreover, you can use this as an opportunity to accuse the Ye Family of attempting to assassinate you. You can get Ye Yunfeng thrown into the Law Enforcement Hall and locked up for at least two days. Although you don't have evidence that he directed Ye Taiqing, with Hua Xingxue on your side, you can still have him detained.

"You managed to kill Ye Feng in an extremely short amount of time. I believe you could accomplish quite a lot while Ye Yunfeng is in custody."

As soon as Shi Hongda finished speaking, Xu Ke couldn't help but laugh. I have to admit, his calculations are quite impressive. Frankly, if Wong Qifu's remark hadn't been a wake-up call, my original plan would have been exactly the same as his.

Xu Ke offered a superficial compliment, "I understand. A fine calculation, Elder Shi."

"You flatter me," Elder Shi said humbly. "So, what do you think? It's a good suggestion, isn't it?"

"It's good. Very good," Xu Ke nodded. "I can give you the antidote in exchange for your help. However, as for who we kill and how we do it, that's still open for discussion. When the time comes, you'll just follow my orders."

"Agreed! But how can you guarantee you'll give me the antidote?" Elder Shi pressed. He needed a solid reassurance.

Seeing this, Xu Ke had no choice but to repeat the oath that had put Li Lang at ease. "If I go back on our deal and don't cure your poison, may my entire family suffer. How's that?"

"That's a rather weak guarantee..." Elder Shi's expression soured. He wanted something more concrete.

But Xu Ke just spread his hands. "That's the best I can do. If you don't believe me, we can forget the whole thing."

"Fine..." the hesitant Shi Hongda finally agreed through gritted teeth.

After hanging up, Shi Hongda was about to leave to find Fang Caizhe when a call from Huang Zhendong came in.

"Family Head, what is it?" Shi Hongda asked, furrowing his brow.

"Elder Shi, I have something to inform you of. Please come back," Huang Zhendong said in a grave voice.

Hearing this, Shi Hongda's heart skipped a beat. He was suddenly struck by an ominous premonition...

「The story now splits in two.」

After leaving the restaurant, Han Wang and Ye Lang headed straight for their designated safe house. These safe houses were resting places arranged by the Assassin's Alliance in every city. They weren't permanent and were rotated based on mission activity. For example, in a small city like Xu Ke's hometown of Jiang City, where missions were rare, the safe house was changed once a year. But in Tianhai, which had seen three groups of assassins—the Ghost Poison Elders, Elder Tian, and Han Wang—in a single month, the location was changed weekly to avoid detection.

Their current safe house was a short-term rental in a downtown office building.

Han Wang and Ye Lang navigated the winding security passages in the underground parking garage to reach the first basement level. There, they entered a password into a mailbox to retrieve the key card for a room on the twenty-eighth floor, then headed to the elevator to swipe their way up.

"This is such a fucking hassle. I'm this powerful, yet I still have to sneak around like a rat... It's infuriating," Han Wang grumbled. He hated coming to big cities for missions; even finding a place to rest was exhausting. He was even more incensed by the fact that this trip to Tianhai wasn't even for a mission.

"Just bear with it, Brother Wang. We have to do this to stay alive," Ye Lang said gravely, trying to comfort his colleague.

Han Wang just pursed his lips, saying nothing more.

DING—

The elevator doors opened. The corridor was silent. The motion-activated lights illuminated only a small section, leaving the far end shrouded in darkness, punctuated only by the intermittent red flash of a smoke detector. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"The security cameras are all broken. This is a perfect place to hide out," Han Wang sneered, glancing at the camera directly above them. Ever since Xu Ke's phone call a few days ago, he had become particularly sensitive to surveillance.

The two men entered their room.

CLICK.

The door locked behind them. They planned to rest for a while, but just as they were about to, Han Wang's expression suddenly shifted. "Something's wrong. Be careful, we have company!"

"What?!" Ye Lang exclaimed, startled.

The True Qi within them instantly began to roil like boiling water, but they forcefully kept it suppressed inside their bodies.

As they cautiously advanced into the living room, a cold voice echoed from the shadows. "Sit down. I've been waiting for you for a long time. Be careful? Heh. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."

Their pupils contracted as their gaze shot toward the source of the voice. When they saw an elderly man in black robes sitting emotionlessly on a mahogany chair in the corner, their faces paled.

"L-Left Envoy Hu! What are you doing here?!"

The black-robed elder sneered. "I should be asking you the same thing. Why have you come to Tianhai again? Don't tell me you still intend to kill Xu Ke?!"

---

When I opened QQ Reading this morning while getting ready for work, I was so surprised to see a donation that I nearly leaped out of bed...

Thank you to the anonymous reader for the 100 book coins (I'm sorry, I really can't see your name).

And a huge thank you to '2 packets of tomato ketchup' for the 1,766 book coins! (I'm sincerely grateful! I'm happy on one hand, but also a bit overwhelmed on the other. I have no idea how this humble little book deserves the love and generosity from great patrons like GGs, Little Shenlong, Tomato Ketchup, and others... I feel truly blessed...)