The next morning.
After everyone finished their breakfast, Ye Kong instructed the steward to gather everyone in the back garden without delay.
The steward hurriedly asked what was the matter.
"Just do as I say." Ye Kong said as he drank his tea.
"Yes." The steward turned around and hurriedly went to do it.
"Father, what are you doing?" Fujiwara No Chiko whispered to Ye Fan. She was still in the dark.
"Catching a ghost." Ye Fan smiled.
"Catching a ghost?" Fujiwara No Chiko put down the teacup in her hand with a puzzled expression, "What ghost?"
"A mole." Ye Fan said.
"A mole? Could it be … "Fujiwara No Chiko suddenly understood Ye Fan's meaning," Could it be … "
"That's right." Ye Kong continued Ye Fan's words, "It's the person Matsumoto Takeyoshi sent to secretly spy on me."
"Why, you found him?" Jinchan asked. When Ye Fan went to save Xiao Zhao, Fujiwara No Chiko had already told her the whole story.
"You will know soon." Ye Kong said as he put down his teacup, "Everyone, please follow me." After saying that, he walked out of the door. Everyone put down the fragrant tea in their hands after hearing that and followed Ye Kong to the back garden.
At this time, the back garden was filled with a large group of people. There were servant girls, accountants, pawnshop assistants, cooks, night watchmen, and guards. There were more than 50 people. These people were whispering to each other, not knowing why Ye Kong suddenly gathered everyone. This situation had never happened before.
Seeing that Ye Kong had arrived, everyone immediately quieted down. In an instant, there was complete silence. It was strangely quiet.
"Master." The steward walked over, "According to your instructions, I have already informed everyone to gather here."
"Mm." Ye Kong nodded, "Is everyone here?"
"Replying to Master, everyone is here." The steward replied.
Everyone is here? Ye Fan was shocked. What was going on? Could it be that the person sent by Matsumoto Takeyoshi had no cultivation and was just an ordinary person? Ye Fan looked at Ye Kong. To his surprise, Ye Kong only smiled as if he had a card up his sleeve. This made Ye Fan even more confused.
Ye Kong smiled as he walked to the front of the crowd. With his hands behind his back, he observed everyone one by one. These servants were so scared that they lowered their heads and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
After checking the first row, Ye Kong walked to the second row. The first row was filled with servant girls, while the second row was filled with cooks and guards. When he came to the front of a burly guard, he stopped in his tracks.
"Did you drink?" Ye Kong asked.
"In … in reply to Master," the guard stammered, "I … I drank it."
"Guards are not allowed to drink. Don't you know the rules?" Ye Kong calmly asked.
Ye Fan frowned. It seemed that this guard was sent by Matsumoto Takeyoshi to monitor the Ye family. He didn't expect this person to know the location of the antidote. He also didn't expect that this person had heard the entire conversation between father and son last night. However, no matter how Ye Fan looked at him, he didn't think that this person had any cultivation. Perhaps it was because of this that he was able to get away with it.
"Master." That guard fell to his knees with a thud. "Master, please spare me. I won't dare to do it again."
"Let me ask you." Ye Kong crouched down and whispered a few words to that guard.
That guard also whispered a few words back to Ye Kong.
"You can get up." Ye Kong said as he got up. He smiled and looked back at the steward.
The steward's expression began to change.
"You stay." Ye Kong said to the kneeling guard. "The rest of you can leave."
Everyone felt as if they had been pardoned and immediately dispersed. The steward also prepared to leave.
"Zhou Quan." Ye Kong said to the steward as he turned around. "You stay too."
That steward immediately froze in place. He then turned around and bowed respectfully to Ye Kong. "Master, do you have any other orders?"
Ye Kong slowly walked in front of the steward. "You drank last night?"
"In reply to Master, I drank." The steward replied.
"You drank with him?" Ye Kong asked again.
"Yes." The steward replied. "I have always been on good terms with Zhao Mang. Yesterday, I drank with him."
"Is that so?" Ye Kong turned around and asked that guard.
"In reply to Master." That guard said, "I was on duty last night. In the middle of the night, I coincidentally met Steward Zhou. When he saw me, he suddenly called out to me and said there was good wine. I have always been a glutton for wine. In a moment of excitement, I drank with Steward Zhou."
"Then how about the Exquisite Wine bestowed by the emperor? It tastes good, doesn't it? "Ye Kong asked coldly." Tell me the truth. I won't kill you. "
The steward was stunned at first, then he smiled. "If that's the case, then I don't need to continue acting." After speaking, he straightened up and patted his clothes. "I didn't expect that the identity I hid for more than ten years would be exposed by you. This is good too. I'm free now. I don't have to worry about a mess all day long."
After hearing this, Ye Fan was shocked. He never would have thought that the person sent by Matsumoto Takeyoshi to spy on the Ye family was actually this steward!
Ye Fan clearly remembered that when he was seven years old, he followed his father Ye Kong to the temple fair. On the street, they met this person. At that time, this person's clothes were ragged, his hair was unkempt, and his face was dirty. He stood in front of a steamed bun stall and stared at the steaming buns. From time to time, he would swallow his saliva.
Ye Kong had a kind heart. When he saw this scene, he took out some money from his pocket and handed it to him. However, this person shook his head and refused to accept the money. He told Ye Kong that he was not a beggar. He also said that honest people don't eat handouts.
Ye Kong saw that although his clothes were ragged, the cloth was of the highest quality. He also saw that he spoke well, so he began to chat with him. From the conversation, he found out that this person was originally a steward of a large family. Later, because his master was involved in a lawsuit, his entire family was executed. Because of this, he became homeless and homeless. The money on him was also confiscated by the soldiers who searched his house. He couldn't carry a heavy burden, so he wanted to continue doing his old job. However, the other large families all thought that he was unlucky and no one was willing to take him in. Thus, he ended up in his current situation.
Ye Kong saw that this person was honest and dutiful. It just so happened that the family lacked a steward, so he brought this person home and made him the steward of the Ye family. Ye Kong was very meticulous in his work. He secretly sent people to investigate this person's background. The result was exactly the same as what this person called Zhou Quan said.
This Zhou Quan lived up to his name. He was very efficient in his work. In just a few days after he arrived, he managed to tidy up the entire Ye family in an orderly manner. Ye Fan still remembered that every time he caused trouble and was punished by his father, Zhou Quan would secretly bring him food from the kitchen. If this person didn't admit it himself, he wouldn't dare to believe that this person in front of him was one of Matsumoto Takeyoshi's men.
"Speak," Ye Kong said, "You concealed your identity and lurked in the Ye family for more than ten years. What is your purpose?"
"To spy on you and him." As Zhou Quan spoke, he glanced at Ye Fan. His eyes didn't have the usual modesty that Ye Fan saw. Instead, they were cold and sharp.
"What are you spying on us for?" Ye Kong asked.
"It happened 23 years ago. Don't tell me you don't remember?" Zhou Quan said with a smile.
As soon as he said that, Ye Kong's face immediately changed in shock!
However, the other people present were confused. Ye Fan was even more confused. 23 years ago? What happened twenty-three years ago? How come he never heard his father mention it? The number 23 was a little sensitive for Ye Fan because he was 23 years old this year and his zodiac sign was that of a snake.
"Who exactly are you?" Ye Kong asked coldly.
"Since things have come to this, I won't hide it anymore. My name is indeed Zhou Quan. Matsumoto Takeyoshi is my adoptive father." Zhou Quan said, "My purpose in coming to the Ye family is very simple. I want to find out the identity of the umbrella bearer from 23 years ago."
"You know too much," Ye Kong drew the Inversed-Scale Sword from his waist and said slowly, "No matter what, I can't let you leave today."
"Hahaha," Zhou Quan laughed loudly, "Your Ethereal Sword Technique is indeed powerful. However, based on my many years of secret observation, I'm already familiar with your sword techniques. So, you can't stop me now. You and I are master and servant, so I won't fight you today. However, that might not be the case next time."
"Is that so?" Ye Fan slowly walked to Ye Kong's side, "I'd like to see it for myself."
They were brothers in battle, father and son in battle. For this person to be able to silently infiltrate the Ye family for more than ten years without being discovered, he must be extraordinary. What was even more strange was that even though his identity had been exposed, in front of his father, himself, Jinchan, and Fujiwara No Chiko, he was still able to remain calm and talk cheerfully. This person must have an extremely high cultivation base to be able to deal with them calmly. Ye Fan didn't dare to be negligent. He immediately stood beside Ye Kong. Fujiwara No Chiko and Jinchan also stood behind Zhou Quan, cutting off his escape route.
"What, do you have to fight?" Zhou Quan said as he looked around with a pair of bright eyes, "Even Little Young Master wants to make an enemy out of me?"
"Although you've treated me well, you've infiltrated the Ye family for more than ten years. You definitely don't have any good intentions," Ye Fan slowly drew the Snake Shadow Sword from his waist, "Matsumoto Takeyoshi harmed my father-in-law. Since you're his adopted son, our enmity is irreconcilable."
At the mention of his father, Fujiwara No Chiko was instantly enraged. It was truly a small world. He didn't expect to meet his enemy's adopted son here. How could he let go of such a good opportunity? Thinking of this, Fujiwara No Chiko patted the scabbard. With a swish, the scabbard opened. Fujiwara No Chiko directly pulled out the Chihō. Suddenly, a tiger roared and a dragon roared, and a brilliance came out.
Jinchan didn't sit idly by. She stretched out her hand and took out the emerald green bamboo flute. She put it to her mouth and gently opened her red lips. A melodious flute sound drifted into the ears. On the ground around Zhou Quan, countless black ants broke out of the ground. After they emerged from the ground, they directly formed a circle of three feet around Zhou Quan, surrounding him and making hissing sounds. These ants all had green wings. At a glance, it was obvious that they were poisonous. This was because the grass that these ants crawled over instantly withered. As long as Jinchan played the flute, these poisonous creatures would pounce on Zhou Quan who was surrounded!
"Ant Formation?" Zhou Quan frowned, "You're Jinchan from Miaojiang?"
"Yes." Jinchan smiled.
"Looks like I have no choice but to leave today," Zhou Quan said with a smile. "Everyone, take care. I'll make a move first." As soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his body and landed directly into the ground, disappearing from sight!
This scene shocked everyone on the spot. Even Jinchan frowned.
"What kind of move is this?" Ye Fan said in surprise, "He can actually drill into the ground?"
"Earth Escape?" Ye Kong's face was full of disbelief.
"This person has a special technique and his cultivation is not shallow." Jinchan said as she cast a spell to make the black ants drill back into the ground. "If you meet this person again, you must be very careful."
After hearing this, Ye Fan secretly frowned. Other things were fine, but this Earth Escape Technique was impossible to guard against. Who knew if this person would suddenly drill out of the ground in the middle of the night and stand in front of his bed?
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