Jiang Baichuan laughed heartily. “Angry or not, what’s done is done.”
Que Cha glared at him. “You’re so dark-hearted. Yan Tuo’s group is ruthless. What if they seek revenge against her? Didn’t you say she was useful? If she’s so useful, why did you set her up like this?”
Jiang Baichuan turned off the bathroom light and wrapped his arm around Que Cha’s waist as they walked downstairs. “You don’t understand. I had three people in custody, but couldn’t get anything out of them. What’s the use of just holding them? To catch big fish, you need to muddy the waters. Releasing her was meant to stir up the depths of this pool.”
“Besides, how is this dark-hearted? Yes, I pushed her out there, but I warned her in time and promised to help her however I could, didn’t I? If she wants, she can hide here as long as she likes. I’ll treat her like a Buddha.”
Nie Er was like a fine blade, but this blade preferred to stay in its sheath. If you wanted to use her, you had to seek her approval first—too inconvenient. With the current situation unclear and the opponent’s background unknown, it made perfect sense to push Nie Er out to test the waters. If she was truly golden, she wouldn’t fear the fire test. If not, there was no point in protecting her. Perhaps when forced into a corner with no retreat, she might finally take the plunge and join his side?
As he pondered this, his phone vibrated with a message from Nie Jiuluo.
Jiang Baichuan glanced at Que Cha.
Que Cha understood and turned away, showing the back of her head to indicate she wouldn’t peek.
Jiang Baichuan opened the message.
—If Yan Tuo finds me, I’ll try to handle it myself.
Jiang Baichuan didn’t reply. He watched the message burn away and snorted, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Impressive. She was refusing his protection.
***
In his hazy state, Yan Tuo felt like a flower roll: being stretched, folded, and pinched into fine pleats, carefully garnished with green onions to make it look more appealing.
The next step should be the steamer, he thought.
However, instead of seeing a steamer, he gradually became aware of the subtle sounds of knives, scissors, and tweezers.
When Yan Tuo opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was an irregular ice-block glass lava lamp hanging from the ceiling.
This was his room.
It must be night, as the pendant lamp was lit with a magma-yellow glow. Once lit, these lamps lost their appeal—Yan Tuo preferred how they looked when unlit: like a suspended, tech-inspired stone, mercury-bright with cold, hard gray undertones.
Lu Xian was wiping his hands with an alcohol swab. Hearing movement, he smiled at Yan Tuo. “Awake?”
He was a young man in his late twenties, of medium height. Due to his comfortable lifestyle, despite his youth, his waist was already showing signs of developing into a swim ring. His most distinctive feature was a face that mothers-in-law adored—he’d dated three girlfriends, and while all breakups were amicable, each girlfriend’s mother had been inconsolable, as if they’d lost the perfect son-in-law.
Yan Tuo responded with a vague sound, his mind blank, unable to recall what had happened.
Lu Xian said, “You’ve been asleep for several days. Yan Tuo, you’ve been through the wringer this time.”
Had he? Yan Tuo started remembering: the wild hemp field, the canvas bag, the stainless steel arrowhead in Que Cha’s hand pointing at him, the dirty soles of Da Tou’s sneakers as he kicked him, and… Nie Jiuluo.
Yes, Nie Jiuluo.
Remembering her, he became fully alert, his gaze darkening.
Lu Xian pointed to a bandaged area on the front of his thigh. “This part wasn’t from a hot iron, was it? The flesh was necrotic. The smell—whew! Two more days and maggots would have set in.”
Yan Tuo felt nauseous. “Do you have to be so graphic?”
Lu Xian eagerly continued, “But there’s good news.”
He leaned toward Yan Tuo, gesturing to the area from the right side of his neck to his jaw. “There’s a wound here. It’ll leave a scar. But fortunately, it’s not on your face. It’s usually not visible, and even when it is, it doesn’t mar your handsome features. If anything, it adds a touch of masculine heroism.”
Yan Tuo: “Get lost.”
Lu Xian looked surprised. “Does it bother you? Don’t worry, when you’re middle-aged, you can grow a big beard. With enough facial hair, it’ll cover…”
He stopped abruptly because Yan Tuo had planted both hands at his sides.
From experience, when Yan Tuo assumed this posture, he was about to get up, and Lu Xian was likely to get hit—though given his current injuries, it was probably just for show.
Lu Xian knew when to quit. He pressed the wireless call button around his neck. “Lin Ling, Yan Tuo’s awake.”
Lin Ling’s voice came through almost immediately: “Good, I’ll be right there.”
Lu Xian winked at Yan Tuo and started packing up his medical kit, preparing to make his exit. Suddenly, Yan Tuo remembered something: “Where’s Aunt Lin?”
Lu Xian didn’t look up: “You mean my goddess? She’s at the farm.”
Yan Tuo fell silent.
His father, Yan Haishan, had become increasingly successful in business and, following the trend, became involved in charitable work, establishing a scholarship fund. Lu Xian was one of the beneficiaries. He studied medicine and after graduating, worked at a major hospital while also being employed by Yan Tuo’s company. He was clever, knowing when to turn a blind eye—as he put it, wealthy people and big companies inevitably had some under-the-table operations requiring discreet medical care. It was a fair exchange: he had benefited from the scholarship, and now he was repaying the favor with his expertise.
But Yan Tuo suspected that Lu Xian’s willingness to bend rules and his inability to maintain relationships with his three girlfriends had much to do with his admiration for Lin Xirou. He idolized Lin Xirou and often teased Yan Tuo, saying, “Look at that—someone your age who outranks you and is more capable. On paper, you’re the legal representative, but in reality, she’s the one working behind the scenes, paving the way for you. What did you do to deserve such a goddess of an aunt?”
***
Just as Lu Xian left, Lin Ling arrived carrying a vase of flowers. The vibrant blooms and lush greenery brought life to the entire room when she set them on the table.
Yan Tuo commented, “They look nice.”
Thinking back to his recent days in the dark underground cell at the pig farm, with Sun Zhou’s heart-wrenching screams constantly in his ears…
Compared to now, it felt like a different lifetime.
Lin Ling pulled up a chair and sat down. “I called Aunt Lin. She’s on her way back now, and should be here in about half an hour.”
Yan Tuo made a sound of acknowledgment. “She went to the farm?”
The farm referred to the medicinal herb plantation registered under his name.
Lin Ling nodded. “She took Gou Ya with her.”
“What for?”
Lin Ling gave a light laugh and lowered her voice. “What for… am I supposed to know that?”
Both fell silent at these words.
After a moment, Yan Tuo changed the subject. “What about Sun Zhou?”
Lin Ling looked confused. “Who’s Sun Zhou?”
Yan Tuo: “The one who was locked up with me.”
Lin Ling: “Wasn’t it just Gou Ya who was locked up with you?”
There seemed to be some discrepancy here that needed to be cleared up from both ends. Yan Tuo gestured for Lin Ling to continue with her version first.
The situation wasn’t complicated. When a person suddenly loses contact, you might wait a day or two, but after five days, you have to start searching.
Moreover, during this time, Lin Xirou received a call from Yan Tuo’s phone. The caller said they had found the phone and asked who she was and how to return it.
Lin Xirou replied that she was a hospital caretaker and provided the company address (which was publicly available online), asking them to mail the phone back. She promised the owner would show gratitude upon return. Strangely, the call ended abruptly, and the number became unreachable afterward.
Initially, no one suspected foul play, limiting their search to phone inquiries. But as they continued investigating, something felt off—the disappearance was too complete to be ordinary.
Lin Xirou first dispatched her capable assistant Xiong Hei to search Shihe County in person, then grew anxious and went herself, taking Lin Ling along.
Lin Ling continued, “With no leads, we had to offer a reward. Of course, Aunt Lin couldn’t appear publicly, so I handled it as a company assistant.”
She snorted, “After filtering, I met with three people. You can usually tell if someone’s suspicious right away—Old Qian the driver and the old inn owner were honest folks. They recorded videos when asked and left happily with their reward.”
“But this guy called Da Tou was full of excuses. He wouldn’t agree to our meeting location, claiming it wasn’t safe and insisting on his place. He refused to show ID, demanding privacy protection. He wouldn’t record a video, citing image rights.”
Yan Tuo understood immediately. “He was deliberately making contact to probe us.”
Lin Ling nodded. “That’s not all. After our talk, he followed me. Aunt Lin suggested we turn the tables and had Xiong Hei follow him instead, which led us to Ban Ya.”
“You know Xiong Hei—hot-tempered and ruthless. When he saw you and Gou Ya in such terrible condition, he exploded. He not only burned down the pig farm but also pushed a woman into the fire.”
Yan Tuo started. “How old was she?”
“Around forty or fifty, they said.”
That must have been Sister Hua. Yan Tuo fell silent before saying, “Xiong Hei shouldn’t have done that.”
Lin Ling agreed. “Yes, Aunt Lin scolded him severely. His actions destroyed all our leads and alerted our targets. Da Tou disappeared completely.”
Something flickered in Yan Tuo’s mind, too quick to grasp, but he instinctively asked, “All leads were lost?”
“Yes,” Lin Ling was still irritated recalling it. “That village was sparsely populated to begin with, hardly anyone came to fight the fire. We learned the pig farm was rented by outsiders, names unknown. We encountered one person blocking the road, but they were simple-minded. Wasn’t Xiong Hei too impulsive? Just because that woman bit off a chunk of his arm, he threw her into the fire—he should’ve at least gotten some information first.”
Yan Tuo remained silent, still dwelling on the phrase “all leads were lost.”
Lin Ling didn’t notice his unusual reaction. “Fortunately, we still have you. If you hadn’t woken up, we’d be completely stuck.”
Yan Tuo’s lips were dry. “Did Gou Ya say anything?”
Lin Ling shook her head and lowered her voice again. “I haven’t seen him, but according to Xiong Hei’s men, Gou Ya might be dead, though I’m not sure if that’s true. Remember when we were in the farm’s second basement level…”
She stopped abruptly, shivering and glancing nervously at the door.
Yan Tuo said quietly, “Let’s not talk about that if we can avoid it.”
Lin Ling nodded quickly and, trying to lighten the mood, asked, “By the way, why did you let that beautiful young lady go?”
Yan Tuo was confused. “What do you mean?”
Lin Ling smiled and took out her phone, showing him a photo. “Miss Nie. Initially, when we had no leads, Aunt Lin wanted to investigate her.”
Then Da Tou appeared, and following that thread led them to Yan Tuo and Gou Ya, so the Nie Jiuluo lead was naturally abandoned as worthless.
Yan Tuo stared at the photo, which was a magazine page. Nie Jiuluo wore a classic blue cotton camisole and black balloon pants, barefoot and sitting by an old wooden window frame. Her head was slightly lowered, brows furrowed in thought. Outside the window were blurred green trees, and her hands were stained with dirt.
There was a casual beauty in the successful candid shot of her at work.
“A magazine photo?”
Lin Ling nodded. “She’s quite well-known in the sculpture circle. There’s a lot about her online.”
Yan Tuo’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he struggled to sit up despite his injuries. “She…”
Before he could finish, the door was suddenly pushed open.
Whether here or at the plantation, only one person entered without knocking.
Lin Ling’s back straightened immediately. “Aunt Lin.”
It was indeed Lin Xirou, looking hurried and travel-worn, though her worried expression didn’t diminish her radiance.
Behind her stood Xiong Hei, like an iron tower. Despite the weather being cool enough for jackets, he wore only a white T-shirt with “Try Me” printed on it, stretched tight across his dark, muscular frame. His right forearm was heavily bandaged.
The bandage probably covered where the chunk of flesh had been bitten off.
Yan Tuo lay back down and called out, “Aunt Lin.”
Lin Xirou walked over with a smile and sat by his bed. “Finally awake. I just met Lu Xian, he said you’ll be fine after some rest, mostly recovered.”
As she spoke, she reached out to stroke Yan Tuo’s face.
Yan Tuo instinctively wanted to avoid her touch but held still.
Lin Ling interjected, “Perfect timing, Aunt Lin. I just told him about our search efforts and was about to ask about his side of things.”
Lin Xirou made a sound of acknowledgment. “Xiao Tuo, Aunt Lin needs to ask you something important.”
The room fell silent at these words. Xiong Hei by the door glanced outside, then added the safety latch with a click.
Yan Tuo spoke first: “Didn’t Gou Ya tell you?”
Lin Xirou sighed. “You suffered, but compared to Gou Ya, that was nothing. He won’t wake up for three to five months. Tell me, who hurt him?”
As she spoke the last sentence, she withdrew her hand, brushing Yan Tuo’s cheek. He noticed her fingertips were colder than before.
What had flickered through his mind earlier suddenly became clear: “All leads were lost,” “Fortunately we still have you,” “Gou Ya won’t wake up for three to five months”…
In other words, whatever he said now would be taken as fact. Whatever he said would become the truth.
His heart pounded as he swallowed hard, making a final decision at the last moment: “I didn’t see.”
Xiong Hei interjected, “There were five cells under the pig farm. He and Gou Ya weren’t held together, so they probably don’t know what happened to each other.”
Lin Xirou asked, “How did you end up in their hands?”
Yan Tuo replied, “It was quite unexpected. On my way back, my navigation malfunctioned, and I took a wrong turn to Ban Ya.”
“I just stopped to ask for directions, nothing more. When I got back to the car, three… four people suddenly attacked me. One of them stuck a needle in the back of my neck, probably with anesthetic. I quickly lost consciousness, and when I woke up, I was already underground at the pig farm.”