Chapter 107: What Else Could It Be, A Train Ticket?

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I thought it over for a while. This time, I had no choice but to drag Luo Feng into the matter. An unknown conspiracy was the most frightening thing of all. In truth, I had never wanted to involve Luo Feng, which was why, when I sent people to the harbor district to look for Duan Kun, I had dispatched four of my own men instead of seeking Luo Feng’s help immediately.

But rescuing Wang Yazhuo was no ordinary matter. There was absolutely no way I could accomplish it alone. Luo Feng told me not to feel embarrassed. He said that I had saved his life, and that he had long since regarded me as his own brother. At worst, after we rescued her, he would withdraw all his people from the capital and stop operating there.

I smiled. “You spent years establishing yourself in the capital. Are you really willing to give it all up just like that?”

Luo Feng shook his head. “Of course I’m not willing. But what choice do I have? It’s you.”

I did not say any more words of thanks. I told Luo Feng that things had not yet reached such a desperate point. If my guess was correct, Wang Jianming’s operation was imminent, and he desperately needed Luo Feng. His threats were merely intended to force Luo Feng into submission. Unless absolutely necessary, Wang Jianming would not actually play dirty, attack Luo Feng, or deliberately give the police grounds to arrest him.

Even taking the worst-case scenario into account, if Luo Feng ultimately refused Wang Jianming, Wang Jianming would certainly find another way to carry out his plan. The matter was too important to him; he would not be distracted by dealing with Luo Feng in the short term. My only concern was that my deductions might all be wrong. Even so, I still believed Wang Jianming’s drug-trafficking plan was merely a smokescreen. He had another objective, and the most likely possibility was that he wanted to ensure the safety of the people being smuggled through customs.

“So even if you rescue Wang Yazhuo now, Wang Jianming will tolerate it for the time being—as long as you don’t harm her,” I told Luo Feng.

Luo Feng thought about it. “Why would I harm Wang Yazhuo for no reason?”

I nodded and said expressionlessly that I had only promised Wang Yazhuo I would get her out. I had never promised not to send her back into Wang Jianming’s hands afterward. The only thing I cared about was the secret Wang Yazhuo possessed. Whether she lived or died had nothing to do with me.

Once we learned the reason behind that fire, we could send Wang Yazhuo back. Luo Feng was not someone easily dealt with, either. Even if Wang Jianming harbored resentment and wanted to move against him, he would have to think twice. Luo Feng nodded and said we would do as I suggested, but he had no idea how we were supposed to rescue her.

Although the Wang family’s courtyard was not heavily guarded, it was not a place just anyone could enter. Sneaking in and secretly getting her out was utterly impossible. As for forcing our way inside, Luo Feng was currently under police surveillance and could not act freely. Even in the past, he had not been confident that he could rescue her by confronting Wang Jianming’s men head-on.

For a while, I could not think of a way to bring Wang Yazhuo out, either.

Night had fallen. After dinner, I took some food and entered Z’s room. The little ghost followed me inside. Z had already showered, and her hair was dry. Wrapped tightly in bedclothes, she immediately relaxed when she saw me come in. I told her to eat something, but she said she had no appetite.

“If you don’t eat, then when something really happens, you won’t even have the strength to run.”

I took advantage of her fear, and at last she accepted the bowl from me.

The little ghost thought I truly intended to sleep with Z instead of staying with her. She stared fixedly at Z, as though she might pounce at any moment. The little ghost’s twisted, vicious expression frightened Z. More precisely, Z was now terrified of all children, because she was constantly seeing that disheveled child whose gender could not be discerned. Yi Dongchi’s blood.

It was deep into the night when the little ghost finally fell asleep with her head on my lap. Only then did I carry her back to her room. Z lay on the bed, her eyes opening and closing, and after great difficulty she finally drifted off again. I smiled faintly, climbed onto Z’s bed, and when she showed no reaction, I turned off the light and lay down beside her.

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I had no idea how much time had passed when Z’s muttering woke me.

Her whole body was trembling, and she kept speaking under her breath. Listening closely, I heard her repeating, “Don’t come any closer.”

After turning on the light, I saw that her forehead was covered in cold sweat, yet she had not awakened. The muscles in her face were twisted almost into a knot. The nightmare she was having must have terrified her beyond measure. There was perhaps nothing more agonizing than a nightmare from which one could not wake. After an unknown length of time, Z slowly returned to normal.

I stared coldly at her and reached out to undo her clothes. She still showed no reaction. My movements were gentle enough not to wake her. Z smelled wonderful. After removing her clothes, I pulled down her trousers as well, leaving her in nothing but her underwear.

Z had a beautiful figure. Aside from the claw marks on her arms, which were somewhat frightening, there were few men who would not be moved by the sight of her unclothed. I removed my own clothes as well, turned off the light, and lay down beside her.

The next morning, I was awakened by a sharp scream. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. Z stood with both arms crossed over her chest, staring at me in terror as she demanded to know what I had done. I shrugged and pulled back the quilt. When Z saw that I was bare-chested, tears suddenly began to fall.

Someone was knocking on the door outside. I heard the little ghost calling for me. Judging by the sound, she was practically about to knock the door down. Z covered her mouth, forcing herself not to cry. I said nothing and slowly put on my clothes. Between sobs, Z asked whether I had deliberately deceived her from the very beginning and tricked her into coming back.

I shrugged. “I didn’t deceive you. I told you I was going to sleep with you.”

Z gritted her teeth. “You really did have ulterior motives.”

I gave her a wicked smile. “What else did you think I brought you back for?”

Z was speechless. I tossed her clothes to her and told her that if she did not want the media to spread the story everywhere, she had better get dressed at once. She immediately pulled on her clothes, and by the time I opened the door, she was dressed.

Z was not the only one crying. The little ghost was crying too.

Between sobs, the little ghost asked whether I had abandoned her.

I picked her up and pinched her nose. As I went downstairs, I turned to Z and told her I would bring her some food later.

Everyone had been awakened by the little ghost’s pounding on the door. Luo Feng was sitting on the sofa, yawning. The moment I came downstairs, he asked whether I had slept with Z. Before I could answer, the little ghost tearfully announced that I had not slept with her the previous night, but had slept in Z’s room instead.

Luo Feng was startled at first. Then he asked with a lecherous grin, “So, how was Z?”

I nearly laughed. “The little ghost is right here. We’ll talk about it later.”

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Luo Feng crossed his legs. That was simply his nature: no matter how serious the situation, he could always make a joke of it. But once the joke was over, he would become serious again.

“Fang Han, I trust you to handle things, and I know everything you do is based on your own considerations. But this time, I genuinely have no idea what you’re thinking. If you’re saying you only wanted to sleep with Z, I absolutely don’t believe you,” Luo Feng said.

“Then what else do you think I brought her back for?” I repeated the same question I had asked Z.

Luo Feng looked frustrated and stopped asking.

I asked Luo Feng to prepare a train ticket for me. He froze and asked where I was going.

“Yu City,” I replied.

He was even more astonished. “What are you going to Yu City for now?”

“To find Xuan Yi,” I told him. “Not immediately—some days from now. Help me prepare a ticket. I have no idea what Xuan Yi went to Yu City for. There are too many mysteries surrounding that man. I have to find him.”

Yu City was enormous. I did not know a single person there, and even Luo Feng’s influence could not reach that far. Yet I was not worried in the slightest that I would fail to find Xuan Yi.

When Xuan Yi left, he had deliberately made sure the Wang family knew where he was going. According to my deductions, he wanted us to know that he had gone to Yu City. The Sansong Temple where Xuan Yi had once stayed was connected to the Ghostly Dining Case. After Xuan Yi came to the capital, Wu Qingshan, who had met with him, died, and the Little Ghost Doll Case occurred. I could not shake the feeling that wherever Xuan Yi went, a case would follow.

If nothing unexpected happened, Xuan Yi would appear again after I arrived in Yu City. After all, he was always the one guiding me into the whirlpool of conspiracy.

…

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