The young man's sudden questioning made me a little nervous. Before I came, I had roughly observed that this abandoned warehouse was not far from the village. If I gave a bad answer and gave myself away, he could make a phone call and call the nearby villagers. At that time, let alone saving Ye Zhi, I would probably be in trouble myself, and that would be the real problem.

I remained calm, then smiled and replied, "Young man, you're right, I was just asking for directions... But we've started chatting now, and I make a living by litigating cases. If I knew you were breaking the law and let you continue down this path, my conscience wouldn't allow it... You should be grateful for fate; if you hadn't met me, you would have made a really big mistake!"

The young man looked at me with a bewildered expression; it was clear he was genuinely frightened.

I pressed my advantage, saying, "You have a cell phone, right? Go online now and check... see if your actions constitute illegal detention, and see how some group disturbances were ultimately sentenced; there are too many of these cases online, they're not surprising."

The young man glanced at me, then took out his phone from his pocket. I was already impatient; I wished I had a stick in my hand right now so I could knock him down and rush into the warehouse.

Putting everything else aside, just looking at the chaotic environment outside the warehouse, Ye Zhi inside must be suffering terribly. What I'm most worried about is that this incident will leave a shadow on her.

Unfortunately, there's a dog tied up at the warehouse entrance. If I were to force my way in, it would definitely alert the nearby villagers. And once there are more people, it won't be as easy to handle as it is now. So I have to be patient.

At this point, the young man finally spoke, saying to me, "I checked online, you really didn't lie to me!..."

"Then you'd better release him right away."

“I can’t put it there. There are two locks on the warehouse. I only have one key, and the other one is with my second uncle.”

I was a little confused. It seemed that I had underestimated these villagers... They had used some tricks when they were dealing with Guan Yezhi, and these tricks had made things more difficult for me.

I didn't seem too eager. I patted the young man on the shoulder and said, "You've already figured out the nature of this matter. I've been on a plane all night and I'm really exhausted. I need to find a hotel to rest first... You can decide the rest yourself."

After I finished speaking, I glanced at the young man again, then turned and walked to the other side of the beach...

...

By then, dawn was breaking, and a crimson glow, like a rooster's comb, hung lightly in the sky, contrasting with the boundless sea below. The sound of the tide was gentle, and the sand was soft... I couldn't help but feel a little dazed. If it weren't for this matter, and I had simply come to Sanya for a vacation with Ye Zhi, how wonderful it would be to let my heart be immersed in these soft grains of sand.

In the instant after the initial shock, I tensed up again, worried that the young man might not have called out to me, and all my efforts would have been in vain.

"Big brother, wait a minute..."

I was secretly pleased, then stopped and turned around to ask, "Is there anything else?"

The young man walked up to me and said, "If I release that woman inside, and something really happens later, can you testify for me and my second uncle?"

I didn't answer immediately, but asked, "Don't you only have one key?"

"I'm going to find my second uncle..."

"Don't go yet. What if your second uncle isn't as sensible as you... wouldn't that just make things worse?"

The young man was stunned again, clearly a little intimidated by his second uncle. After a while, he said, "How about I call my second uncle over, and you can talk to him?"

I put on a very embarrassed look...

Just then, a middle-aged man carrying a flashlight walked towards us from the other side of the beach... The young man quickly said to me, "That's my second uncle. Three acres of his family's land were requisitioned. His family suffered the biggest loss in the whole village."

"Was that something he started?"

The young man was about to speak when he remembered something, and shook his head, replying, "I can't just say that!"

I already had a feeling that this whole thing was mostly started by the young man's so-called "second uncle." But I still felt that a villager who made his living by the sea wouldn't be so cunning. So there must be someone else behind it all, because based on the information I had, the incident clearly showed signs of being orchestrated... The villagers, unsure whether it was the village committee or the hotel that had withheld their land compensation, unilaterally went to the hotel to cause trouble, and even committed the serious illegal act of detaining people. It seemed like they wanted to use the hotel's influence to escalate the situation... In addition, the police station's efficiency was also questionable!

I suddenly realized that what I needed to do was not just to rescue Ye Zhi. If I had the chance to find out the truth of the matter, why not solve this problem for their hotel once and for all?

I lit a cigarette, trying to calm myself down, and then quickly analyzed in my mind what I had to protect myself from threats. I wasn't too arrogant; for me, protecting my own and Ye Zhi's safety was the top priority. As for the truth behind this incident, it would be best if I could find out; if not, I wouldn't force it.

...

The second uncle walked up to the young man, glanced at me, and then said to him in a dialect that was not easy to understand: "Why are you not watching the warehouse properly and instead gossiping with people?"

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