Chapter 343

With Ye Xiaotian's return, his subordinates obviously had to come pay their respects. When Ye Xiaotian left the mourning hall, Li Dazhuang had already quickly walked over and reported to him in a low voice, "Sir, everyone is in the front hall, waiting for sir's instructions."

As Li Dazhuang spoke, he quickly glanced at the masked man beside Ye Xiaotian, who was being pushed in a wheelchair. He already knew this person's identity — the advisor that the sir had unintentionally met on his way back and had recruited.

Ever since Ye Xiaotian drew his sword in anger for Mao Wenzhi and fought against the four chieftains, his reputation for "protecting his own" had spread across the entire territory of Guizhou. Some capable free people who wanted to join a wise master all treated Crouching Bull Ridge as the best place to go. Now, there were many people who joined Crouching Bull Ridge and were placed in important positions.

However, the person in front of him had been personally recruited by the chieftain. As the number one friend of Ye Xiaotian, Li Dazhuang was definitely a potential competitor. Faced with Li Dazhuang's scrutinizing, or perhaps unfriendly, gaze, Tian Binfei only smiled slightly.

Ye Xiao 'an nodded. He had practiced similar scenes many times. This was something he had to go through after taking on the identity of a waiter, and he often faced situations like this. As a result, Tian Binfei had arranged for people to rehearse with him in situations like this and the problems he might encounter.

Ye Xiaotian turned around and looked apologetically at his parents. His eyes were still red, and his voice was slightly hoarse. "Father, mother, I will go to the front hall to take care of some business …"

Old man Ye and Madame Ye had already lived in Crouching Bull Ridge for so long and had experienced many ups and downs. How could they not understand that their son was no longer just their son? Old man Ye nodded and said, "Son, go do what you need to do."

Ye Xiaotian nodded and looked at his wife, whose eyes were like peaches from crying. In the past, whenever he heard her talk, he wanted to tear her mouth apart. Seeing her like this, Ye Xiaotian could not help but feel a pang of sorrow. After a moment of hesitation, he said hoarsely, "Sister-in-law, don't be too sad. Brother … I will avenge him!"

Ye Xiaotian slowly turned around and sucked in a deep breath. Regardless of whether he was willing or not, no matter what his goal was, he had to play the role of a waiter perfectly right now. Being active and being passive was just a difference in mentality, but the motivation they gave off was completely different.

At this moment, all the experiences he had with Little Fool since he was young rushed into his mind. He worked hard to make himself act more perfect and flawless, just like when he was performing on stage. He played a role, tried to figure out the role, and became one with the role.

Ye Xiao 'an took a few steady steps forward and suddenly stopped. He tilted his head slightly. His actions and charm were exactly the same as Ye Xiao Tian's. "Official Yu, you should come as well!"

Of course, Ye Xiao 'an knew the relationship between Yu Junting and Little Fool, but he didn't know how Little Fool addressed Yu Junting in private. Did he call her Junting, Little Ting, or something more intimate? He did not know, but it was not wrong for him to refer to her as sir Yu in this situation.

Yu Junting nodded her head and gently handed her daughter to her mother-in-law. She held her little hand and suddenly felt a little unhappy in her heart. "Since Xiaotian came back, he hasn't taken a good look at his daughter." However, when she thought about Ye Xiaotian's current mood, she felt relieved.

… …

In the Loyalty Gathering Hall, the number of subordinates had almost doubled. The ones who sat at the very front were obviously Li Dazhuang, Gedore, Yu Jiahai, Yu Po-man, and other old officials. Below them were mostly unfamiliar faces. They were all the great figures that had recently joined Crouching Ox mountain.

"All rivers return to the sea, and geniuses return to the sea." This was a necessary process for an organisation to truly take shape and rapidly strengthen. No one could support an organisation that was growing larger and larger with just a few brothers in the beginning. Obviously, not all the people who joined them were true geniuses, but they had to be given a trial in order to find gold in the sand.

The people before him were all geniuses who had been selected after the initial trials. They had already filled the various levels of the Crouching Ox mountain organisation. Ye Xiaotian had to leave Crouching Ox mountain from time to time, but his organisation was still able to develop steadily and prosper because of the efforts of these people.

Ye Xiao 'an sat at the very front and gave everyone a few simple words of encouragement. He told them about what he had gained from his trip to Guiyang. This was all public information. In reality, even before he had returned, the Crouching Ox mountain range already knew about everything. However, many people still could not help but become excited when they heard him say it again.

The Crouching Ox mountain range had already received the recognition of the imperial court. It had become a great organisation that controlled Tongren and suppressed Shiqian. Although it was not as great as the four heavenly kings, it had already far surpassed regular chieftains. Its influence even surpassed some Guardian Deity level chieftains.

Every single person who joined Crouching Ox mountain hoped for it to develop and grow. Only then would they have a place to use their skills, and only then would they be able to make contributions and obtain rich rewards. Of course, they hoped for the Crouching Ox mountain range to become as powerful as possible. However, the chieftain's elder brother had just died. Even though everyone was extremely excited for the development of Crouching Ox mountain range, they could not show too obvious joy. They could only forcefully endure it.

Ye Xiao 'an sat at the very front. He turned his body slightly and rubbed his forehead with one hand, appearing to be in deep thought. This was also one of Ye Xiaotian's habitual movements. Used in this kind of situation, in this kind of mood, his actions were even more understandable.

Ye Xiao 'an absent-mindedly listened to the reports from his subordinates in charge of the military, politics, agriculture, and commerce. He coughed and said, "Regarding my elder brother's death, Master Yu …"

Ye Xiao 'an turned towards Yu Junting. Earlier, no matter if he was explaining the situation to everyone or listening to their reports, Yu Junting's limpid eyes had been staring at him without blinking. Her gaze made him feel as if he was sitting on pins and needles.

Of course, Yu Junting did not discover anything strange about him so easily. It was merely an instinctive reaction from reuniting with her lover after a long time. However, Ye Xiao 'an felt uncomfortable all over under her gaze. He purposefully rubbed his forehead and lowered his head in deep thought to avoid her gaze. At this time, Ye Xiao 'an switched from defense to offense.

Being called out by Ye Xiao 'an, Yu Junting also realized that she had been too carried away by her gaze. Her face heated up slightly and she hurriedly sat up straight.

Ye Xiao 'an spoke in a low and slow voice. He deliberated and said, "Regarding my brother's death, I hope that Master Yu will put in more effort. A life for a life. The culprits must be brought to justice. They definitely cannot be allowed to get away scot-free!"

Yu Junting nodded and said, "Tongren is now under my rule. For something like this to happen, I cannot shirk the responsibility. Don't worry, I will continue to investigate this case until the real culprits are brought to justice!"

As Yu Junting spoke, she secretly let out a sigh of relief. The others such as Li Dazhuang also let out a sigh of relief. Master Yu's arrangement was very rational. Before this, they had always been worried that Master Yu would come back and stir up a storm of blood in order to avenge his brother. An appropriate killing could establish power, but an inappropriate amount of blood would only damage the newly established reputation of Crouching Bull Ridge.

… …

"I know, you have just returned, there must be a lot of things you need to deal with …"

Leaving the hall and walking towards the backyard, Ye Xiao 'an hesitated. Just as he was about to speak, the considerate Yu Junting took the initiative and said with a smile, "This time, I came because you were not here. I wanted to bring my daughter over so that father-in-law and mother-in-law would not be so sad …"

Speaking of parents-in-law, Yu Junting blushed again. "There are still a lot of things to deal with in Tongren. I will go back now."

Ye Xiao 'an nodded and secretly let out a sigh of relief. After growing up, he had less interaction with his parents. In addition, he did not have much privacy with his parents. If he wanted to pretend to be a waiter, he felt that he could handle it. If he had less contact, he would not be exposed. However, in front of a waiter's woman, he did not dare to have such confidence. Moreover, even if he could hide it, he did not want to have too much contact with his brother's woman.

Yu Junting rolled her eyes at him and said in annoyance, "You only know how to nod. You haven't even hugged your daughter since you came back. Aren't you afraid that she will not recognize you as her father?"

"Daughter …" Ye Xiao 'an was at a loss. Suddenly, he stopped. Yu Junting asked in surprise, "What is it?"

Ye Xiao 'an shook his head and said, "You go back first. I'll go see … eldest sister-in-law!"

Yu Junting followed his gaze and glanced at it. Knowing that it was Sister-in-law Ye's residence, she nodded lightly.

The unlatched door opened gently. Ye Xiao 'an saw his wife sitting under a tree in the courtyard with a glance. Her gaze was rather dull, and she did not notice his arrival at all. His son, Little Shitou, also seemed to know that his mother was sad. He stood by his mother's side with a finger in his mouth, appearing very obedient.

Ye Xiao 'an's heart immediately ached. In the past, every time he stepped into this house, he had to bite the bullet and reluctantly enter. Now that he had lost the opportunity to step into this door as the male master, he felt that everything that was not worth mentioning in his heart before was so precious.

"Second Uncle …" Shitou mumbled and reached out to pull on his mother's sleeve. Ye Xiao 'an shook his head and slowly walked over, gently sitting on the opposite side of the stone table.

His wife still did not seem to notice his arrival. She sat in a daze for a long time before faintly saying, "That bastard. When he was alive, I wished that he was dead. But now that he is really dead, I … I really can't bear to …"

His wife's voice choked with sobs. Two streams of tears slowly climbed down her cheeks. Ye Xiao 'an's heart was filled with sorrow. Tears also swirled in his eyes. He really wanted to disregard everything and tell his wife the truth. But he could not. His wife was just an ordinary woman, and his son was even more ignorant of worldly affairs. It was too difficult to keep a secret without revealing anything. He wanted to protect this family, so he had to keep this secret.

However, the people he had to hide it from were not enemies. Instead, they were the people who did their best to protect the Ye family and Little Er. His parents, his wife and son …

At this moment, Hong Baichuan was hurrying to Tongren. Tycoon had already found Hua Yunfei. As for how to deal with this fake Ye Xiaotian, Hong Baichuan still did not have a final plan. As for Tian Miaowen, who was as shrewd as a fox and impossible to hide from, she had already left Guiyang and set sail to the east.

Ye Xiao 'an had a long way to go …