I opened my lips, but found that I couldn't utter a single word. My throat felt like it was blocked by something. Finally, after struggling for a long time, and with Xiluo's shout, I managed to squeeze out a few words: "I...I understand. I'll be back soon."
Xiluo was still very anxious: "What do we do now? What do I do? Xiao Wu?"
After a brief moment of mental blankness, my mind suddenly cleared! I don't know why, but suddenly, countless thoughts flooded my mind!
"Siro!" I exclaimed, jolted. "You immediately have your men open the gates and let the police in. No one is allowed to stop them!! Let them search! You take your men, preferably yourself, and a few reliable men, along with our own brothers, to the hospital! Go there right now!! And keep a close eye on Eighth Master!! I'm flying back immediately! Very soon!!"
After I hung up the phone, a sudden surge of rage welled up inside me! I slammed the phone onto the sofa and then jumped up abruptly.
Because I moved too vigorously, I accidentally knocked over a bottle of wine in front of me, spilling the wine on the ground, and the strong smell immediately filled the air!
Eighth Prince assassinated? Eighth Prince assassinated?
Eighth Prince has been assassinated!!!
My mind raced, and suddenly, everything seemed clear and bright!
I knew perfectly well what was going on, but then suddenly my heart sank again!
Yang Wei... Yang Wei!!
Thinking back to the strange tone in Yang Wei's voice when she told me the third strategy today, and how she wouldn't let me go back and told me to wait patiently.
Recalling her suspicious remarks...
"Xiao Wu, I've done my best to plan this for you, I just hope you won't end up resenting me..."
"Let's wait patiently... I understand, perhaps tomorrow, everything will be different!"
Yang Wei, oh Yang Wei!!!
Did you really do it?
You keep me here, then send someone to Vancouver to intercept and kill Eighth Master!
My fists clenched, my face burning, as if all the blood in my body had rushed to my face! Just as my anger was about to erupt, suddenly, I froze!
Why...why did she do that?
I immediately lost heart.
For what? Naturally, for me!
Yes, that's right!
She wanted me to kill Eighth Master, but I refused. She then devised a plan for me to take Eighth Master's place. I refused again.
Since I refused, she simply took my place! With Eighth Master dead, the mountain that had been weighing on me vanished instantly... From then on...
Do you remember what Yang Wei said?
"From now on, you will be in charge of the Great Circle. You are young, decisive, resilient, and adaptable. You will handle internal reorganizations and have my support from the outside. Thorin is getting old, and within ten years..."
A chill ran down my spine!
Yang Wei is amazing! She actually predicted all of this accurately!
She killed Eighth Master for me, so I could rise to power. Everything she did was for me?!
I was angry, but then I remembered what she said: "I did everything I could for you, and I only hope that you won't end up resenting me..."
I couldn't help but smile bitterly, which only confirmed my suspicions.
It was her! She had planned everything perfectly!
Just as I was in a state of utter confusion, my mind a jumble of thoughts, filled with a mixture of anger, surprise, and a myriad of other emotions, the doorbell rang.
I jumped up abruptly, ran over, and pulled the door open...
Under the starry sky, Yang Wei stood at the doorway, her beautiful figure radiant, her slender phoenix eyes sparkling. Her hair was gently pulled to one side, her head slightly tilted, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. She wore a loose-fitting bathrobe, but carried a bottle of wine in her hand.
Her eyes were gentle, and her tone was even softer.
"Xiao Wu, I bet you won't be able to sleep tonight, so I just came to keep you company with drinks."
I……
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter Twenty-Two: A Heart as Deep as the Sea
The starry sky was clear, and the bright moon hung overhead. Yang Wei stood gracefully before me, her bright eyes and white teeth shining brighter than the cold stars in the sky. Her charming smile held a hint of complexity...
My expression was too strange, and even my eyes were a little red. Yang Wei looked at me carefully for a moment, and then the smile on her face gradually faded. She sighed softly, "What's wrong? Won't you let me in?"
I hesitated.
What should I do? She sent someone to assassinate my boss. Should I be furious? Should I turn against her? Have a huge fight with her? Just walk away?
But all she did was for me!
So what should I do? Should I be happy? Should I be grateful to her?
My facial expression was unpredictable; I clenched my fists and then relaxed them; I opened my mouth and then closed it.
Yang Wei raised an eyebrow and slowly walked towards me. I instinctively stepped aside to let her into my room.
As soon as she entered, Yang Wei frowned slightly, looked around the hall, and smelled the strong smell of alcohol in the air: "How much did you drink? Why do you smell so strongly of alcohol?"
"Not much. I just accidentally spilled a bottle." I said expressionlessly, my voice equally stiff.
Yang Wei seemed to smile, walked to the sofa and sat down, placing the wine she had brought on the table. Her expression was calm and composed. Seeing her fearless demeanor, I suddenly felt a sense of irritation.
I couldn't help but take two steps forward, standing right in front of her. I looked down at her, my voice barely audible, as if squeezed out from between my teeth: "Tell me! Did you... do it? Did you send someone to do it?"
"What?" Yang Wei asked calmly. "What did I do?"
"Eighth Master!" I blurted out, "You sent someone to assassinate Eighth Master?"
Yang Wei's expression turned strange at this moment. She didn't answer me, but instead asked, "Oh... is Master Fang dead?"
"Hmph, no." I couldn't help but retort, "Are you very disappointed?"
My anger was starting to build up. I took another step forward, adopting a somewhat coercive posture towards her.
Yang Wei remained calm, her expression radiating confidence and composure. Instead, she raised her head and looked directly into my eyes without flinching.
"Yes, I am indeed very disappointed, and I feel it's a real pity," Yang Wei answered me steadily, while also letting out a regretful sigh.
"You!!" My facial muscles twitched, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I said, word by word, "Yang Wei, you shouldn't have done this!"
To my surprise, Yang Wei smiled instead of responding to my questioning. She sighed, rummaged through her clothes, then, seemingly searching for something and finding nothing, looked up and casually grabbed my cigarette case from the table. She took out a cigarette, lit it leisurely, and took a slow, deliberate puff. Then, raising an eyebrow at me, her tone calm, she said, "Oh, Xiao Wu, you think I did it, is that right?"
Similarly, before I could answer, Yang Wei gently tapped her forehead and chuckled, "Hmm, thinking about it that way. I said those things to you before, and now, not long after I said them, Eighth Master got into trouble... Hmm, so it really does seem like I did it... Little Fifth, I don't blame you for your attitude." She smiled faintly, "I just regret why Eighth Master wasn't stabbed to death... Sigh, is he really not dead? If he were dead, it would have been most beneficial for you."
Although I was emotionally charged, I wasn't a fool. I also picked up on something from Yang Wei's words. My tone softened slightly: "No...you didn't do it?"
“No.” Yang Wei sighed again, but then continued, “Actually, I did think about doing that. After we finished talking, I thought about it carefully. Since you are still so principled, I might as well help you this once and send Hansen to do it. But after thinking about it, I’m afraid the result of doing so would not be good.”
Yang Wei is Yang Wei after all; she is indeed smarter than me. Moreover, it seems that when I talk to her, I am unconsciously led by her train of thought. This time was no different, and I blurted out, "Why not?"
“Because you will hate me for it.” Yang Wei replied quickly without hesitation, “Wouldn’t it be terrible to lose you as a friend because of this? So, I’ve decided not to get involved.”
I finally calmed down and my emotions settled, but I still looked at her with suspicion: "You really didn't do it?"
Yang Wei's eyebrows suddenly twitched, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he said calmly, "No... If I, Yang Wei, wanted to kill someone, would I not dare to admit it?"
I was silent for a moment, then shook my head and looked at Yang Wei again: "No, no... If you didn't do this, why didn't you seem surprised at all when I told you that Eighth Master had been assassinated?"
Yang Wei was silent for two seconds, then looked up at me:
"Because I knew this would happen."
Seeing the change in my expression, Yang smiled and slowly said, "After much thought, I believe the Vietnamese's actions this time boil down to two possibilities. First, naturally, it's a decisive blow; they directly obtained the drug den, taking away the bargaining chip in Fang Baye and Suolin's cooperation, leaving Fang Baye hanging in mid-air. Second, naturally, it's retaliation. But then I thought, if I were to do this, what else could I possibly exploit in the current situation?" Yang remained calm and said slowly, "The Vietnamese operation this time was meticulously planned, ruthless, with few flaws, and it was a sure hit. Clearly, the person in charge is a very capable individual. As the planner, they would have carefully planned and utilized every possible factor in the situation to maximize their benefits! So, now that this has happened, what else could benefit them? What could they use to strike you down?"
Yang Wei himself gave the answer: "Encircle the enemy's stronghold and attack their reinforcements."
With the Great Circle in chaos, and Eighth Master out there, he's naturally extremely anxious and will undoubtedly rush back as quickly as possible. That's almost certain!
And this kind of thing... even if Eighth Master's schedule was arranged to be somewhat secretive...
But in the current situation, the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. Moreover, their operation may have been planned for a long time. And they chose to launch their attack only after Eighth Master and I arrived in Toronto... Perhaps they already have some way of knowing Eighth Master's itinerary in Toronto!
After the incident, Eighth Master would definitely have to rush back. At this point, the Vietnamese, who had gained the upper hand, would send men to intercept and kill Eighth Master on the road... Without a doubt, Eighth Master's death would be a heavy blow to the Big Circle at this stage!
More importantly, the Vietnamese assassinated Master Eight by ambushing him on the road. Especially in this chaotic situation, when Master Eight was disoriented, the combination of their calculated intentions and the Vietnamese's meticulous and ruthless planning made the chances of success very high!
Everything just fell into place so naturally!
Yang Wei spoke calmly as she spoke, and at first I sighed. But then, the more I listened, the more alarmed I became!
Yang Wei!
What a clever Yang Wei!
She wasn't even a party to the incident; she just listened to my retelling of the events and, based on the various details I told her, somehow managed to analyze the whole thing... and, almost without any investigation!
From judging Sorin's reaction and Eighth Master's mindset to assessing the Vietnamese actions, and even predicting Eighth Master's assassination... this woman had calculated it all beforehand!
What a display of intelligence and cunning!
Even though she's my friend, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat when I heard that!
Such a person, if she's a friend, that's fine, but if she's your enemy... wouldn't that be terrifying?!
Seeing my somewhat dazed expression, Yang Wei smiled and whispered, "Xiao Wu, remember when I told you to wait patiently? I said 'perhaps' things would be different after a day. Now, the situation I said would be different has already happened. Although Eighth Master isn't dead, he's definitely seriously injured. If you go back now, you can rightfully clean up the mess."
The more composed and calm Yang's smile and tone, the more amazed I became.
Yang Wei had already twisted open the bottle with a snap, tilted her head back and took a swig. Her face immediately flushed red from the alcohol, as if she had applied rouge.
“Xiao Wu, your time has come. Although it’s not quite the best time I envisioned, the situation is now in your favor. What you need most right now is to get back to Vancouver immediately! The sooner the better!” Yang Wei had already stood up: “Alright, let’s go.”
"..." I exclaimed in surprise, "Now? It's evening now. The last flight to Vancouver today was this afternoon, and it's already taken off."
Yang squinted: "Since I had already guessed that this would happen, how could I not have prepared?"
In just ten minutes, Yang Wei drove up to my door in a car. She was still wearing her robe, her hair was a little disheveled, but she looked calm and glanced at me: "Get in!"
We drove northwest for about an hour, and I don't know how long it took.
This appears to be a small airport, probably privately owned.
Yang Wei got out of the car with me and accompanied me into the airport. Immediately, someone came out to greet us, glanced at Yang Wei, smiled broadly, and exchanged a few words with her. Yang Wei pointed at me, and the person immediately nodded.
I saw a small plane parked on the runway in the distance.