Chapter 464: The Shadow Behind! (Thanks to the book friend JIA. for the reward!)
"anyone there?"

"hero?"

"uncle?"

Wang Gui, who was trapped in a dungeon cage without a piece of cloth to cover his body, cried and shouted to the outside. He had been trapped in the dungeon for nearly an hour. The freezing temperature in the dungeon made him shiver all over. He felt that he was going to freeze to death soon...
Wang Gui's cries in the dungeon received no response. There was only the hungry barking of the vicious dogs beside the cages.

"Wang! Wang! Wang!"

Driven by hunger, they kept ramming into the dog cage, trying to rush into the cage and pounce on Wang Gui for a feast. Seeing this horrifying scene, Wang Gui, who was already trembling with fear, felt his legs go weak and he became incontinent. He curled up in the center of the cage, closed his eyes and wailed in fear:

"Grandpa, please, let me go!"

"I have an eighty-year-old mother and a two-year-old child, both of whom need my care... My sister is the military governor's concubine. Please let me go, and the military governor will give you a lot of silver. Please don't kill me, I beg you!"

Hearing Wang Gui's miserable cries in the dungeon, the subordinates estimated that Wang Gui was already scared and that he would be killed if they continued playing with him, so they notified Ye Cheng. Upon hearing the news, Ye Cheng walked over slowly and looked at the stinking Wang Gui in the cage. He frowned slightly and looked at Wang Gui with disgust and contempt in his eyes.

Ever since he got the order from An Miaoyi, Ye Cheng was ready to take action someday. However, what he didn't expect was that Wang Gui was the kind of person who would walk into hell on his own. Since that was the case, Ye Cheng would not let him go, and he took his men to capture Wang Gui.
With a wave of his hand, his men beside him led the vicious dog out of the dungeon. Hearing the dog's barking disappear, Wang Gui, who was curled up on the ground shivering, hesitated for a moment and then mustered up the courage to look outside.

"Butler Ye, is that you?"

Looking at the well-dressed young man in front of him, Wang Gui was startled at first and shouted in surprise. During this period, he had met Ye Cheng, the butler, several times when he went in and out of the Governor's Mansion, so he also knew Ye Cheng...
"Ye Cheng, why are you locking me up here? Why don't you let me out right away? Believe it or not, I will tell my sister right away and have her report to the commander-in-chief to have you brought to justice!"

Seeing that it was Ye Cheng, Wang Gui, who was confident that he had his sister's support, immediately changed his miserable look and started shouting in a stern voice.

Hearing Wang Gui's shouting, Ye Cheng was not angry at all, and was too lazy to talk to Wang Gui. He just smiled, shook his head and left the dungeon. As Ye Cheng left, several burly men immediately entered the dungeon.

"What are you going to do?"

"My sister is the commander-in-chief's concubine..."

After being pulled out of the dog cage by these strong men, Wang Gui immediately panicked and subconsciously took out Jinyu as a backer. However, this time he made a wrong calculation, and soon his painful wails were heard again in the dungeon.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Under the beating, Wang Gui, a coward, couldn't hold on for long and started begging for mercy.

"Butler Ye, I was wrong! Please let me go!"

"You are such a magnanimous person, just treat me like a fart! Please don't hit me anymore!"

In response to Wang Gui’s begging for mercy, these sturdy men would naturally not stop without Ye Cheng’s order, and they continued to punch and kick Wang Gui fiercely. They were all seconded by Ye Cheng from the personal guards, and they were all experts in boxing and kicking and very experienced. Although they beat Wang Gui to the point that he cried for his parents and howled like a ghost, they only targeted the thicker parts of his flesh and would not really beat Wang Gui to death...

After a cup of tea, looking at the beaten dying Wang Gui, Ye Cheng walked up to him and leaned over to look at Wang Gui. Feeling Ye Cheng's gaze, in order to avoid being beaten again, Wang Gui immediately wanted to put on a flattering smile on his face. However, because he was beaten so miserably, this smile affected the wound on his face, and Wang Gui's smile was uglier than crying because of the pain.

At this moment, Ye Cheng's boots stepped hard on Wang Gui's face and pressed hard. Wang Gui screamed immediately.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

Ye Cheng turned a deaf ear to Wang Gui's screams, stepped on Wang Gui's face and said calmly:
"Wang Gui, Wang Gui, why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror to see what kind of shit you are?"

"What a hero the Governor is! He's so proud of you that he chose your sister as his concubine. And you, a bastard, still have the nerve to shout that you're the Governor's brother-in-law every day?"

"You bastard, you don't do anything that a human being should do! You spend your days drinking, drinking, whoring and gambling, using the title of the governor to cheat and ruin his reputation. Don't you think you are tired of living?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Cheng took a sword from his subordinate and put it on Wang Gui's neck. Feeling the icy coldness of the blade, Wang Gui, who was stepped on, begged for mercy:
"Butler Ye, I will never dare to do it again. Please give me one more chance, and I will definitely turn over a new leaf and be a good person..."

Listening to Wang Gui's words and feeling his seemingly sincere gaze, a smile appeared on Ye Cheng's face again. Just when Wang Gui was delighted and thought he could get through this level, Ye Cheng kicked him hard in the stomach again, causing Wang Gui's face to twist in pain.

"Wang Gui, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You just want to get away with it here so you can go to Madam Jinyu to complain. But don't you use your brain to think about it? My last name is Ye! The old lady is my aunt! The governor is my cousin. As for Madam Jinyu, to be disrespectful, isn't she just a maidservant beside the old lady?"

"I can just kill a useless person like you. Do you think you can do anything to me?" Ye Cheng said with sarcasm and disdain:

Hearing Ye Cheng reveal his thoughts, Wang Gui's heart tightened and he quickly begged for mercy:

"Butler Ye, you think too highly of me! Even if you gave me two guts, I wouldn't dare to complain!"

"I really know I was wrong this time and I won't dare to do it again. I must be an honest person..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Cheng stared at Wang Gui closely, which made Wang Gui feel uneasy. After a few seconds, Ye Cheng took his foot away from Wang Gui's face and asked calmly:
"What are you going to do next?"

Wang Gui quickly said:

"Butler Ye, I will buy a few acres of land when I get home, and I will farm it honestly!"

Ye Cheng sneered upon hearing this and said disdainfully:
"Wang Gui, you think too highly of yourself. Can you settle down and farm?"

Wang Gui was speechless when he heard this, not knowing what to do. Seeing this, Ye Cheng did not embarrass him and ordered:
"I have a job as a warehouse keeper for a government agency. I get food and lodging every month, work two days and rest one day, and I get one tael of silver a month. During festivals, I also get rice, flour and pork. What do you think, Wang Gui?"

Hearing that Ye Cheng wanted to go to the warehouse by himself, Wang Gui immediately looked embarrassed. Seeing this, Ye Cheng narrowed his eyes and said coldly

"It doesn't matter if you don't want to go. Then go find the King of Hell and reincarnate..."

After saying this, Ye Cheng pretended to pick up a knife and chop at Wang Gui's head. Under the threat of death, Wang Gui immediately became cowardly and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I'll go to the warehouse, I'll go to the warehouse! I'll do whatever you tell me to do, Butler Ye!"

"Wang Gui, please don't force yourself!" Ye Cheng said calmly:

"Not reluctantly, not reluctantly at all!" Wang Gui said, forcing a smile on his face:
Glancing at Wang Gui, Ye Cheng scolded coldly:
"Since you are willing to go, then Wang Gui, you must work hard. A real man should be upright and honest. But you idle away your time, indulge in eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, and even ask your sister for money when you have no money. What kind of man are you? You have completely lost the face of a real man!"

“I’m giving you one chance this time, but it’s just this one chance. If you still dare to be so shameless, I will peel off your skin and then throw you into a dog cage. Let’s see if those beasts who dug out your heart will eat it…”

Hearing Ye Cheng's warning, Wang Gui shuddered and immediately promised:

"Butler Ye, I promise to turn over a new leaf and take good care of the warehouse!"

"Ok!"

Ye Cheng nodded, and then instructed his men beside him:

"Give him back his clothes and take him away!"

After putting on his clothes again, Wang Gui was about to leave, but before he took two steps, he seemed to suddenly remember something. After hesitating for a moment, he weakly asked Ye Cheng:
"Butler Ye, I owe Xue Laowu and his gang three hundred taels of silver. If I don't pay them back next month, they will chop me into pieces and feed me to the dogs..."

Ye Cheng waved his hand and said:

"Don't worry about this matter. I will help you deal with it. You just need to be an honest warehouse keeper for the government and live a law-abiding life!"

Hearing that he didn't have to pay back the three hundred taels of silver, Wang Gui couldn't help but show a look of relief on his face, and bowed to Ye Cheng repeatedly and said:
"Thank you, Butler Ye. Thank you, Butler Ye!"

"Let's go!"

"Yes, yes, I'll go now!"

After Wang Gui was taken away, Ye Cheng's men murmured in a low voice with a hint of envy:

"Damn Wang Gui, this bastard, really doesn't know how to appreciate what he has. It's such an easy job to look after the warehouse, and he's paid one tael of silver a month. He also gets rice, flour, and pork during festivals, but he's still unwilling to do it. Twelve taels of silver a year is enough to support his mother and children, and he can live comfortably in Dongning..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Cheng shook his head helplessly and said:
"We can't help it. He has a good sister. We can't let outsiders say that our Governor-General is mean, right? This is how his life will be. He can only be a parasite who eats and waits for death. We should follow the Lord and work hard. There are still many days to come. It's not a bad idea to give his wife and son titles!"

Upon hearing this, the men around him all showed a glimmer of hope in their eyes and nodded in agreement.

After comforting his men, Ye Cheng took out a twenty-liang silver note from his pocket, handed it to a sturdy man beside him and instructed:
"This is the money that Madam has approved. Go to Fengshan County and buy two large tiled houses for Madam Jinyu's parents to live in. Leave the extra money to the old couple and let them buy whatever they need!"

"Wang Gui, that bastard, took so much money from Madam Jinyu, but he only knew how to spend it on himself and didn't know how to honor his parents..."

"Understood!" The subordinate took the silver and left.

After finishing all this, a subordinate came over and reported to Ye Cheng:

"Butler Ye, Xue Laowu has been captured! He is now in the front yard!"

When Ye Cheng heard this, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and then he turned and walked towards the front yard.

After arriving at the front yard, Ye Cheng saw in front of him a middle-aged bald man with his hands tied and a rebellious look on his face. Although he looked quite old, one could tell that he was still very strong and was a real martial artist. This man was Xue Laowu, a famous rogue in Dongning who specialized in loan sharking.

Seeing Ye Cheng coming over, Xue Laowu also realized that Ye Cheng was the leader. He looked at Ye Cheng and took the initiative to ask:
"May I ask which road you are from, little brother? How did I, Xue Laowu, offend you?"

Looking up and down at Xue Laowu with great interest, Ye Cheng said with a smile:

"Which way do you think I am?"

Hearing Ye Cheng's words, Xue Laowu was stunned and couldn't help but recall what had just happened. Half an hour ago, he was having dinner at his mistress's house. Halfway through the meal, a group of people broke in, knocked down all the thugs around him, and then captured all of them.

Although the other party did not reveal any information, but he, Xue Laowu, had been in the martial arts world for so many years, and his eyes were still quite perceptive. He could still see some clues from the skills of the other group of people...
Xue Laowu took a deep breath, looked at Ye Cheng deeply and asked in a deep voice:
"May I ask if you are a member of the Fengwu Army?"

"That's it!"

Ye Cheng smiled and nodded and asked:
"Now that you know where I come from, then you should understand why I captured you, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Laowu lowered his head and remained silent, as if he wanted to use silence to confront Ye Cheng.

Seeing this, Ye Cheng continued to speak:

"I answered your question. As a courtesy, you should also answer a question for me, Xue Laowu!"

"My question is very simple, and it is also very easy for you to answer it!"

At this point, Ye Cheng walked up to Xue Laowu, looked him in the eyes, and asked word by word in a cold tone:

"Tell me who is the master behind you..."

(End of this chapter)