"Alright!" Ming Yue readily agreed. She knelt and, with a sorrowful expression, kowtowed three times to each of the two gravestones.
Standing up, she said, "Big Brother Ye, I'm so sorry about what happened back then. I really wanted to help, but I happened to be traveling abroad. By the time I returned, it was too late. Alas!"
Such a convincing act!
Ye Xiu and Qin Qing sneered inwardly. Although the Ming Family was one of the masterminds behind the scenes, the ones who actually orchestrated the plan were Ming Yue and Ming Hao. Huang Xinming, for example, was under Ming Yue's direct command. This woman's heart was as venomous as a serpent's. Yet here she was, playing the part of a good person. If Ye Xiu and Qin Qing didn't already know the truth, they might have actually been fooled by her performance.
"Let's not dwell on the past," Ye Xiu said, pretending to be touched.
"Alright," Ming Yue nodded.
"Well, well. To think I'd come to visit a grave and run into two beauties. The fortune-teller was right; my luck with the ladies has been incredible lately!" a sleazy voice suddenly interjected.
Ye Xiu, Qin Qing, and Ming Yue turned toward the sound. A large, fat man was swaggering over with two young men in tow.
Upon seeing the middle-aged fat man, the temperature on Qin Qing's face plummeted. She recognized him. It was the driver who had killed Ye Xiu's mother and maternal grandparents... Fang Dahai!
Could the sacrificial offering Ye Xiu mentioned be Fang Dahai? That would be a fitting offering indeed!
When Ming Yue saw Fang Dahai, the corner of her mouth lifted in an imperceptible smirk. She was the one who had secretly informed Fang Dahai of Ye Xiu's return. The purpose, of course, was to test Ye Xiu. If Fang Dahai could kill him here, that would be even better.
"Big Brother Ye, these men are obviously trouble. You should just ignore them," Ming Yue said, keeping up her act.
Ye Xiu sneered inwardly. The offering he had asked the Ghost Doctor to prepare was, in fact, Fang Dahai. However, just as the Ghost Doctor's men were about to capture him, Fang Dahai received an anonymous text from Ming Yue and immediately gathered his own men to rush to the cemetery. And now, she was feigning ignorance and innocence.
How ridiculous!
"Tsk, tsk. You two ladies are real stunners. How about we become friends?" Fang Dahai said, walking closer. He brazenly sized up Qin Qing and Ming Yue with a thuggish air.
The two henchmen he brought with him flanked Ye Xiu, leering at the two women. One of them suggested, "Boss Hai, this place is in the middle of nowhere. If we had our way with these two beauties right here, no one would ever know."
"Hitting on girls in a cemetery... what a creative idea!" Fang Dahai's eyes lit up. He looked at Ye Xiu and asked, "What do you think of this idea?"
"What's the point?" Ye Xiu asked, his face devoid of expression. "You came for me, so just make your move. Why bother with provocations first?"
His intentions exposed, Fang Dahai was taken aback. He had indeed planned to provoke Ye Xiu by harassing Qin Qing and Ming Yue before striking. He never expected to be seen through so easily.
"Fine. Since you've put it that way, there's no need to waste any more time," Fang Dahai's expression turned sinister. He said coldly, "Brothers, chop him up for me!"
With that, he took the lead, slashing viciously at Ye Xiu's neck, intending to kill him with a single blow. At the same time, his two henchmen attacked. One stabbed at Ye Xiu's left ribs while the other chopped at his right shoulder.
He was surrounded from the front, left, and right. With the gravestones at his back, there was no room to retreat or dodge.
A cold, imperceptible sneer formed on Ming Yue's lips. Ye Xiu is dead for sure this time. Even a master of martial arts would be helpless in this situation.
Qin Qing broke out in a cold sweat for Ye Xiu. Surrounded on three sides with no escape, she couldn't imagine how he could possibly survive this deadly encirclement unless he could fly.
Fang Dahai and his two henchmen also believed Ye Xiu was finished. In this situation, there was no way out.
However, facing an impossible situation, Ye Xiu made a move that stunned everyone.
With inconceivable speed, his right foot shot out and kicked Fang Dahai, sending him flying. Simultaneously, his hands flashed out to his sides like lightning. His left hand precisely caught the tip of the cleaver stabbing at his left ribs, while the index and middle fingers of his right hand clamped down on the blade chopping toward his right shoulder. With a sudden exertion of force, his two assailants stumbled backward several steps before falling flat on their backsides.
The entire sequence was as smooth as flowing water, executed in less than a second. A perfect counter.
"This…" Qin Qing and Ming Yue were shocked. Such a fatal situation… resolved so easily?
"In all of martial arts, nothing beats speed," Ye Xiu said with a cold smile.
Qin Qing and Ming Yue were stunned for a moment before they understood. Ye Xiu's movements had been too fast. Fang Dahai's cleaver had only been halfway through its swing when Ye Xiu's foot had already struck his stomach. Likewise, the henchmen's cleavers were still in mid-attack when Ye Xiu's hands intercepted them.
It sounded simple, but it was incredibly difficult to execute. It required precise judgment, extreme speed, astonishing accuracy and power, as well as a calm mind and vast experience. An ordinary person could never pull it off.
"He's a master! Run!" Fang Dahai clutched his stomach as he scrambled to his feet and bolted.
His two henchmen reacted quickly, getting up and fleeing at the first opportunity. They weren't idiots. The ease with which Ye Xiu broke their three-pronged assault proved he was a trained fighter, far beyond what the three of them could handle.
"You think you can escape?" Ye Xiu sneered. He closed the distance in a few quick steps, leaped up, and kicked Fang Dahai, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt. He didn't chase the two henchmen. He only wanted Fang Dahai. Besides, the henchmen wouldn't get away; someone else would deal with them.
"Mercy! Please, spare my life!" Fang Dahai knew he couldn't escape. He scrambled to his knees before Ye Xiu and began kowtowing frantically, his forehead thudding loudly on the ground as he begged. A large, dark patch spread across his trousers.
"If I spare you, who will spare my mother and grandparents?" Ye Xiu picked up the cleaver Fang Dahai had dropped and planted his foot on the man's head. "I know you were just a small fry back then. You wouldn't have dared to kill someone on your own. You must have been threatened.
"If you had reformed and become a good person after leaving prison, perhaps I wouldn't kill you today. But what have you done since your release?
"Right after getting out, you sexually assaulted a female student and then intimidated her family into settling the matter for a mere twenty thousand yuan.
"Three years ago, a pregnant woman just happened to glance at you, and you beat her so badly she had a miscarriage. She later died when doctors failed to save her.
"Two years ago, you led a group to demolish an elderly couple's house, then destroyed their bodies to cover your tracks.
"Last year, you drugged several girls at a KTV and let your men assault them. When their families tried to sue, you had them all beaten and permanently disabled.
"You have committed countless heinous acts over the years. You deserve to die for each and every one of them."
Fang Dahai was stunned into silence by Ye Xiu's words. He couldn't imagine how Ye Xiu knew about all these things.
Qin Qing's face was a mask of disbelief. She had never even heard of the crimes Ye Xiu listed. She couldn't believe anyone could be as cruel and vicious as Fang Dahai.
As for Ming Yue, hearing Ye Xiu's speech sent a cold sweat down her back. Fang Dahai had committed those acts in secret and had always cleaned up the aftermath perfectly, leaving no clues for even the most skilled investigators. But Ye Xiu had found out.
It was obvious he had been watching Fang Dahai for some time now.
At that moment, Ming Yue couldn't help but wonder: Does Ye Xiu know that the Ming Family is behind Fang Dahai?