Chapter 057: The Drug Lord’s Granddaughter

This time, Luo Feng no longer doubted the little ghost’s words. As soon as the little ghost finished speaking, Luo Feng dashed out. The direction the little ghost indicated was the door beyond the hotel lobby. Luo Feng ran extremely fast; by the time we reached the outside of the hotel, he had already dragged someone back.

It was a man, clearly terrified. Luo Feng kicked him to the ground and demanded to know why he was watching us. At first, the man refused to answer, but under Luo Feng’s threats, he stammered that Yun Gao had sent him to keep an eye on us. Luo Feng was furious, cursing, “That brat, I haven’t gone looking for him yet and he’s already come after me?”

I told Luo Feng to calm down, pulled the man up from the ground, and told him to go back and inform Yun Gao that there was no need to watch us anymore. I spoke plainly to the man, saying I wouldn’t move against Yun Gao for now, but some things could be hidden for a while, not forever. After making sure the man would deliver these words, we let him go.

When we returned to the hotel, Luo Feng’s anger finally began to subside. He looked at me with a playful glint in his eyes and asked, “Come on, tell me, why are you helping Yun Qing? Have you taken a liking to her? It’s not easy for someone to catch your eye.”

In response to Luo Feng’s teasing, I merely smiled. “Yun Qing is someone who will be useful one day. By not investigating Yun Gao, I’m doing her a favor, and by hiring her a good lawyer, that’s another favor owed. Yun Qing’s talent in chemistry is remarkable; there are methods she uses that I still don’t fully understand.”

For example, the glowing green mask I saw on the rooftop, the dazzling lights I witnessed in the hotel, and the time I answered Luo Feng’s call only to hear a woman’s laughter and sobbing. Luo Feng shrugged and patted me on the shoulder. “I thought you’d finally taken an interest in a woman, but it turns out you’re just planning for the future again.”

I nodded. “I don’t waste time. Everything I do is to pave the way for myself. If there are loopholes in the law to exploit, I’ll use them to reduce the sentence as much as possible. If there’s a chance for parole, then parole it is.”

Luo Feng agreed, and for now, the affairs in the port district were brought to a close.

The little ghost didn’t have an ID, so Luo Feng arranged for a fake one to help her avoid the mainland’s scrutiny. With his frequent travels and many subordinates using aliases, this was no problem for him. Still, Luo Feng was initially against me bringing the little ghost along.

He thought she might be a burden, and her unknown identity made her an inconvenience to have around. But his words only earned him a glare from the little ghost, whose expression suggested she might pounce and bite him at any moment. I had already made up my mind; if we didn’t take care of her, she’d have nowhere to go. Besides, her connection to Xuan Yi was the true reason I wanted her by my side.

After a night’s rest, we boarded a passenger ship out of the port district, then took a train back to the capital.

It was late at night when we arrived in the city. Chen Fan thanked me profusely before parting ways. He was overjoyed—helping the port district police crack a major case would almost certainly earn him a promotion. Luo Feng watched Chen Fan’s retreating figure and muttered that the man was useless.

I only smiled, saying that Chen Fan would be useful to me one day.

Returning to the capital, I suddenly felt as if I’d been away for ages. Luo Feng invited me to stay with him again, but I shook my head and refused. He sighed. Luo Feng had a villa in the city, living alone, and he’d asked me to come stay more than once, but I’d always declined.

I told Luo Feng I preferred my own small place.

Not pressing the issue, Luo Feng dropped the little ghost and me off at my apartment and left.

I rented a small, slightly rundown place—two bedrooms and a living room. The little ghost insisted on sleeping with me, so we squeezed into one room. At night, I heard her talking in her sleep, calling out for Xuan Yi and trembling from time to time. I gently tucked the blanket around her.

When morning came, I sought out Luo Feng immediately.

I asked if he had any news on Xuan Yi. Luo Feng had already inquired in detail, but from his expression, I could tell the news was not good. Indeed, after his investigation, Luo Feng’s men had found that Xuan Yi had arrived in the city.

They had tracked her to the capital and even spotted her a few times. But each time they tried to apprehend her, Xuan Yi would slip into a crowded area and vanish. After a few such close calls, she disappeared completely. Now, Luo Feng couldn’t even confirm if she was still in the city.

As for Xiao Mei, there was still no trace.

Luo Feng told me not to worry, promising to think of another way. I tried to suppress my anxiety and took the little ghost to an internet café to look up some information. The case of the haunted restaurant in the port district had not been reported by the mainland’s mainstream media, so I had to search through forums and websites for clues.

After Li Deshui was arrested, he was quickly handed over to the judicial process. His crimes were clear, and the case was under trial—life imprisonment was practically inevitable.

The little ghost stood beside me, blinking as she stared at the screen. The internet café was full of smoke, and she soon started coughing. After I finished my research, we left. Just then, Luo Feng returned with news. He said the capital wasn’t his territory, so he had fewer people to rely on.

Luo Feng said he would take me to meet someone else who could definitely help. On the way, he told me about this person—a well-connected and discreet figure in the city’s underworld. When I asked what this man did, Luo Feng surprised me by saying he was a drug lord.

I frowned and stopped in my tracks. “A drug dealer?”

Luo Feng nodded and said the man’s name was Wang Jianming, known as Master Ming among his peers. Wang Jianming was over sixty, his family lost decades ago during the cultural upheaval, leaving only a granddaughter in her twenties. Although Luo Feng had dealings in the underworld, there were lines he refused to cross, and drugs were one of them.

It was because of Luo Feng’s character that we had become friends.

He patted my shoulder. “We’re just asking for help finding someone. I’m not close to Wang Jianming, just a passing acquaintance. If you don’t want to go, we can turn back.”

I shook my head. “It’s just using connections. Are you sure he can find Xuan Yi and Xiao Mei?”

Luo Feng replied, “He’s got a much better chance than I do.”

I had no further objections and continued walking with Luo Feng. He seemed to hesitate, and I asked if there was something on his mind. Luo Feng nodded and finally voiced his question: “I’ve wanted to ask for a long time—why do you seem to hate drug dealers so much?”

He even brought up an incident from a year ago, when I’d beaten a small-time dealer half to death. Luo Feng said I looked terrifying that day, more agitated than he’d ever seen. I smiled and asked in return, “If I said I simply can’t stand what drugs do to people, would you believe me?”

Luo Feng shook his head. “No.”

I said, “You think I’m not that kind-hearted, right?”

Luo Feng shrugged. “Forget it, if you don’t want to say, I won’t ask. Tell me when you’re ready. We’re here.”

With that, I noticed we had arrived outside a courtyard house. It was a traditional Beijing siheyuan, full of old-world charm. As soon as we approached, several burly men came out to greet us. They recognized Luo Feng, calling him Brother Feng, and ushered us inside.

Once seated, a man in his early thirties came out to receive us—decent looking, with nothing remarkable. Luo Feng quietly told me this was Sun Yuxiao, Wang Jianming’s most trusted lieutenant, and that they’d had dealings before. I wasn’t interested in him and paid little mind to his name.

After we sat down, Luo Feng asked, “Is Master Ming here?”

Before Sun Yuxiao could answer, a clear, feminine voice rang out. “My grandfather isn’t here. What do you want with him?”

Soon, a woman entered. Her hair was cut short, just to her neck, the fine strands tousled playfully by the breeze. Her skin was pale, and she looked just over twenty. Her large eyes landed on the little ghost the moment she entered the room. She was beautiful, and in a drug lord’s house, I immediately thought of what Luo Feng had said—she must be Wang Jianming’s granddaughter.

Sure enough, Sun Yuxiao stood up and showed her great respect.

The woman walked straight to the little ghost, remarking on how cute she was as she approached. I was taken aback and was about to stop her when, to my surprise, she crouched down and hugged the little ghost. Normally, the little ghost was hostile to everyone but me—anyone who got close was likely to get bitten.

But unexpectedly, the little ghost let the woman hold her without protest.

The woman even pinched the little ghost’s cheek, yet she didn’t get angry. I stood up and pulled the little ghost behind me. Only then did the woman rise, sizing me up before asking what business I had with her grandfather. Luo Feng explained that we wanted their help in finding someone.

Sun Yuxiao suggested he should first inform Wang Jianming, but the woman readily agreed on the spot. With no objections left, Sun Yuxiao held his tongue. The woman told us her grandfather was traveling and wouldn’t be back for some time.

I thanked her, and she waved it off, saying we should bring the little ghost along next time we visited.

After leaving the Wang residence, I asked the little ghost why she hadn’t tried to hide.