Mad Dragon gets out of prison and marries a beautiful CEO.

Chapter 104

Chen Li didn't turn back, opened the car door and got in.

As the engine started and the car turned around, he glanced at the figure under the main building's porch in the rearview mirror.

Ye Qinglian remained standing in the same spot, one hand in her pocket and the other slightly gripping the hem of her shirt, watching his car drive out the gate.

After leaving Emerald Villa, Chen Li increased the speed of the car.

Instead of returning directly to Bihu Longting, he turned onto the road leading to the East District.

He planned to personally check out the situation at the medicinal herb market. Although Ye Qinglian said the accounts would be delivered tonight, some things couldn't be seen just from what was written on paper.

The car circled around the perimeter of the East District Medicinal Herbs Market.

The stalls, made of corrugated iron sheds, were densely packed together. There weren't many people around in the afternoon, and a few vendors were unloading and loading goods onto trucks.

As Chen Li slowed down and passed the market's main entrance, he glanced at the guard post and the registration desk for vehicles entering and exiting. Security was lax; there was only an old man sitting inside looking at his phone, and no one checked or questioned anyone entering or exiting.

This glimpse reveals a lack of overall management.

This kind of relaxation is both a good thing and a bad thing.

If Lu Changgeng sends someone to investigate, the other party can get in and out easily.

But if Chen Li's people wanted to plant spies in the market, it would be very easy.

He took out his phone and called Ah Kun:

"At the East District Medicinal Herbs Market, pick two people to go there as wholesalers."

"Don't buy anything, just observe the people. Who's watching whose stall, who's talking to whom in a corner, who's pacing back and forth on the outskirts of the market without going in or out. Write it down and report it to me every day."

Ah Kun understood immediately; it was about counter-tracking the undercover agent. He replied right away:

"Yes, Mr. Chen."

Ah Kun isn't very strong, but he's smart and easy to use—that's Chen Li's fair assessment of him.

After hanging up the phone, I eased off the accelerator and let the car glide past the market's main entrance.

He took one last look at the drab, gray tin shed, then stepped on the gas, and the car sped away.

It was almost five o'clock when we got back to Bihu Longting.

He parked his car in the yard and when he entered the living room, he saw a brown paper envelope on the coffee table. The seal was not stamped; it was simply folded.

He walked over and opened the envelope; inside was a stack of photos.

The photos show the exterior of Mingyuan Garden from different angles and at different times. The most recent photo shows a white truck parked outside the side gate of Mingyuan Garden yesterday afternoon and unloaded several metal boxes.

There was a note at the bottom of the photo, with messy handwriting:

"Lu Changgeng is transporting things to Mingyuan. The boxes are all the same size, and the contents and origin are unknown, but there are quite a few of them."

The note was unsigned.

But Chen Li recognized the handwriting; it was Ye Qinglian's.

She acted faster than he expected.

He carefully put away the photos and notes, then leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes for a while.

The sky outside the window transitioned from blue to orange-red, and the light moved slowly across the living room walls.

My phone screen lit up; it was a message from Chen Jia, a photo of her sitting at her desk in her dorm room, with a cup of milk tea and a stack of lecture notes on the table, accompanied by the caption:

"We've arrived safely. How's it going on your end?"

Chen Li stared at the line of text, his fingertip hovering over the edge of the screen for a moment, then typed two words:

"good."

He locked the screen and sat up from the sofa.

Tonight I need to go through the accounts of the medicinal herb market and also send Ah Kun a topographical map of the area around Mingyuan so he can arrange the locations.

The photos and notes on the coffee table were put into a drawer in the study, the door was closed and locked.

Starting tomorrow, Lu Changgeng will begin to make moves.

He needs to make sure each step is solid before the other person makes a move.

The call came in at 1:17 a.m.

Chen Li was looking through the account books in the tea room when his phone buzzed on the table, displaying A-Kun's name on the screen.

When he answered the phone, Ah Kun's voice sounded different from during the day; he seemed flustered.

"Mr. Chen, Xiao Wu, whom we sent to the market, has disappeared."

Chen Li closed the ledger in his hand and asked:

"What happened?"

Ah Kun replied truthfully:

"He was intercepted in the alley behind the back gate of the medicinal herb market on his way home from work tonight."

"When we found him, he was still breathing, but he couldn't speak. He drew something on the ground with his hand, and then he died."

"Mr. Chen, the symbol he drew should refer to the Juxian Chamber of Commerce, telling us that it was people from the Juxian Chamber of Commerce who did it."

Chen Li then asked:

"Where is he?"

Ah Kun replied:

"It's still in the alley; I haven't let anyone move it."

"Let me go take a look. I suspect that Lu Changgeng is deliberately making an example of someone to warn others."

Chen Li put the account book on the table, got up and walked to the cabinet, took out a short blade from the drawer, tucked it behind his waist, and turned to leave.

The East District is much quieter in the early morning than during the day.

The alley behind the medicinal herb market is very narrow, with empty cardboard boxes and broken wooden boards piled up on both sides that were not cleared away during the day. One of the streetlights is broken, and the entire road is lit by an old, yellowish lamp hanging at the entrance of the alley.

Ah Kun stood in the middle of the alley, followed by two henchmen, the three of them surrounding a clump of shadow on the ground.

As Chen Li walked over, Ah Kun stepped aside, revealing the body on the ground.

Chen Li had met the young man in his early twenties twice; he was tall and thin, didn't talk much, and was efficient at his work.

He was lying face up on the concrete floor, with a deep gash on the right side of his neck, from which all the blood had drained.

His left hand was outstretched to his side, his index and middle fingers stained with blood that had not yet dried, drawing a pattern on the ground that was indeed the logo of the Juxian Chamber of Commerce.

They committed murder and left behind distinctive symbols.

There are only two possibilities: either it's a frame-up, or it's a provocation or a warning.

Chen Li and Lu Changgeng's relationship is already irreconcilable, so there's no need for anyone to fan the flames. Excluding that possibility, it must be Lu Changgeng's deliberate act.

"Where is the murderer?"

Chen Li stood up and asked.

Ah Kun pointed to the alley and replied:

"I sent people to chase them at both ends of the alley, but they couldn't catch them."

"But a section of surveillance footage at the back of the alley captured the rear of a black sedan without license plates heading towards Mingyuan."

Chen Li asked:

Who else is in Xiao Wu's family?

Ah Kun looked at his brother beside him.

That brother was on good terms with Xiao Wu and knew about his family situation, so he said:

"He's not married, he has a mother who lives in a county town below Yuncheng. He said he wanted to save enough money to bring his mother up here, but I never expected..."

Chen Li shifted his gaze from the young body on the ground and sighed:

"Send him back to the morgue at Harmony Hospital, notify his family as needed, and pay the funeral expenses through my account. Tell Zhao Guangzhu to give his mother some money for her retirement."

If we don't take good care of our men, who will be willing to follow us loyally in the future?

"Yes, I'll have someone take care of it right away."

Ah Kun bowed and said.

Chen Li turned and walked towards the alley entrance without looking back.

"Withdraw all your men tonight. You don't need to keep an eye on the market anymore."

Ah Kun paused for a moment behind him:

"Mr. Chen...then we..."

"Wait for my news."

Chen Li walked out of the alley.

After closing the car door, he didn't start the engine immediately. He sat in the dark driver's seat for a while, his fingertips resting on the steering wheel without moving.

He could feel something that had been pressing down on his chest rising.

It's not anger.

It was something colder and harder than anger that pushed aside all other emotions, leaving only one thought.

He wasn't going to wait any longer, he was going to get the hell out of him!

At 2:20 a.m., Chen Li's car stopped in front of the first guard post at the entrance to Mingyuan Mountain.

The tea garden is built halfway up the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, there is an electric iron gate, behind which is a guard post. The people inside have already stood up.

He recognized Chen Li's license plate and the face inside the car, and shouted through the iron gate:

"Mr. Chen? What brings you here so late?"