Chapter 22: Communication
That woman… As soon as Nadia completely disappeared from his sight, a cold glint flashed in Ling Xiao's eyes. With Ling Xiao's cultivation, how could he possibly be seduced by such a charm technique? Of course, this was what he told himself.
However, his actions just now did indeed have an intentional component. Although Ling Xiao's previous words seemed sincere, Nadia knew in her heart that Ling Xiao hadn't told the truth. She didn't believe that Ling Xiao, as an Eastern descendant who even ran a Pharmacy, wouldn't have a few secret formulas.
But Nadia, who had spent some time in the East, knew that people like Ling Xiao always valued their secret formulas more than their lives, so how could he easily reveal them to a woman he had just met?
Nadia was very patient, very patient. She believed that with her methods, she wouldn't fail to get what she wanted.
Ling Xiao and Qin Ming's guesses were not wrong. Not long after the incident, the Japanese quickly sorted out the situation, and Qin Ming was targeted immediately. If he hadn't left early today, he would probably have been surrounded by them.
At this moment, outside Qin Ming's street, under the cover of night, besides the roaring of motorcycles, there were no other sounds. Normal people knew that in a Gang-ridden community, night was the most unsafe time, and everyone was hiding in their homes.
In America, one's home is the safest place. At home, you can openly possess firearms to protect yourself. Anyone who breaks in without your permission, you have the right to kill him. Even the police are the same, unless they have a search warrant, that's another matter.
After a group of motorcycle Gang members roared past, the entire block returned to tranquility. Suddenly, under a large tree on the opposite side of the street, a young man in a dark blue suit stood elegantly.
"Jiro, don't wait anymore. It's unlikely he'll come back tonight." The man who suddenly appeared under the tree said to himself, "The insider has just sent word that Zhang Xiaotian has asked Qin Ming to stay at his house directly. It seems our actions have already been noticed!"
"That doesn't mean he won't bring the item back tonight!" Yashida Jiro suddenly appeared beside the young man, looking at him with a complex expression and calling out, "Brother."
The word "Brother" revealed the identity of the newcomer. That's right, the person who came was Yashida Jiro's Elder brother, Yashida Xuan's eldest son, Yashida Ichiro.
Looking at his Elder brother, Yashida Jiro's expression was full of complexity. The last mission failure was his Elder brother who spoke up for him in front of their father, uncharacteristically not kicking him while he was down. His father was quite pleased about this.
On one hand, because of Yashida Jiro's impressive Ninjutsu, Yashida Xuan didn't mind that he had concealed it for many years. On the other hand, Yashida Xuan was also happy to see his brothers getting along, even if the two of them were just pretending in front of him. But no matter what, the item had to be found, so this task naturally fell to Yashida Jiro, who had lost it.
Yashida Ichiro stood there, speaking with an air of ease, "Jiro, your Ninjutsu is quite good! Do you know, Father isn't actually too concerned about the lost item. Whatever is inside that box has nothing to do with us. Even if we get our hands on it, we would just have to return it to the Homeland. What Father hopes most is that you can take responsibility. You know, Jiro, Father has great expectations for you."
"Hmph!" Yashida Jiro snorted coldly, saying, "Don't you just want me to go back to the Homeland to be that Puppet? I simply won't do as you wish. Alright, it's late, Brother, please go back first. I still need to wait a bit longer here."
Yashida Ichiro smiled lightly. He ignored his younger brother's cold words and continued to persuade him, "Jiro, that's not a Puppet. That position is also very important in the Homeland, responsible for direct communication between the Nisshin-kai and the Homeland. If things go smoothly, we will be able to break free from some of The Hand's control, and stretch our muscles a bit. You know how important such a thing is."
"Then why don't you go yourself?" Yashida Jiro's face grew increasingly unpleasant, and his tone became even more hostile.
"I naturally have to stay here to help Father with Gang affairs." Yashida Ichiro smiled softly, lowered his head, and said to himself, "I am the eldest son, and I will naturally inherit this family business in the future. As for you, my dear Jiro, you should go back to the Homeland. Perhaps you can even become an Elder there in the future. You know, Father and I in Los Angeles will fully support you."
Yashida Xuan and his Nisshin-kai had long wanted to break free from The Hand's control. After all, in America, The Hand's operational focus was on the East Coast, and their control over the West Coast was much weaker, so many Gangs were restless.
Yashida Xuan had other connections in the Homeland. Once they could establish a cooperative relationship, with support from the Homeland, even if they truly broke free, The Hand would be powerless against them.
The Hand's high-ranking members were not unaware of these situations, but on the East Coast, especially in the core city of New York, they had been constantly plagued by troubles over the years. Their sworn enemy, the Chaste, had always been bothering them, and even in New York City, many people had emerged to oppose them, such as the Punisher, Daredevil, and a recently appeared entity called Spider-Man, who had caused them a lot of trouble.
Yashida Jiro didn't know much about the progress of this matter, but he knew in his heart that his father had started planning this for a long time, just waiting for the right moment.
As the saying goes, when words don't click, even half a sentence is too much. Yashida Ichiro stood there, looking as if he had everything under control. Yashida Jiro hated and detested this demeanor the most. Since childhood, Ichiro had always acted like a caring Elder brother in front of their father, but secretly, he constantly attacked and suppressed him. This kind of hypocritical behavior was what Yashida Jiro hated the most.
"Alright, Brother, please go back. Tonight, I still need to try my luck." After saying that, without waiting for Yashida Ichiro to reply, Yashida Jiro disappeared from his spot.
This time, he clearly used a very sophisticated Ninjutsu. Even Yashida Ichiro took a lot of time to find his brother's trace again. This made him frown deeply, and a fierce killing intent surged in his heart, but he quickly suppressed it, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
Ling Xiao was unaware of all this, but he wasn't too worried about Qin Ming's safety. Not to mention that having mingled in the market for so many years, he already had a decent way of concealing his tracks. Even if he were discovered, his impressive cultivation wouldn't make him easy to capture. Plus, with the little tricks he had installed in his car, it would be a joke for anyone to try and take him down without causing a huge commotion, let alone before the police arrived.
It was already late when he returned to the Pharmacy. Gan Jing had already closed the shop early. After Ling Xiao observed the surroundings and confirmed there was nothing unusual, he returned to the Pharmacy through the back door.
"You're back!" Gan Jing breathed a slight sigh of relief when she saw Ling Xiao emerge from the basement. Ling Xiao had told her when he woke up that if he wasn't home, she should close the shop as soon as it got dark, clearly worried about something.
Gan Jing walked over, handed Ling Xiao a pair of slippers, and bent down to help him put them on. Only then did she ask, "How are things being handled?"
"More or less!" Seeing Gan Jing, a warmth welled up in Ling Xiao's heart. He put his arm around Gan Jing's waist and whispered, "I've already spoken to Qin Ming. He'll keep an eye on Officer Beckett's matter. Also, the Japanese might be restless recently, so be careful. If you notice anything wrong, call the police immediately."
I feel like I'm rambling a bit, please forgive me, my writing skills are truly limited.