After talking with Lin Xirou, Xiong Hei had just finished dealing with Gouya’s matter and came to take Yan Tuo to see Jiang Baichuan.

In front of Xiong Hei, Yan Tuo’s “performance” came much more naturally. He hung his head the whole way, sighing repeatedly, and finally just leaned against the wall and crouched down dejectedly.

Xiong Hei was puzzled: “What’s wrong with you? You’re about to get revenge and beat that bastard up, why this expression?”

Yan Tuo said: “I spoke directly with Aunt Lin. She told me to give up on that idea.”

After thinking for a moment, Xiong Hei understood. Looking at Yan Tuo, he found him both pitiful and amusing. He walked over and crouched beside him, offering a cigarette: “Want one?”

Yan Tuo shook his head.

Xiong Hei lit one for himself and slowly exhaled the smoke.

Yan Tuo glanced sideways at the blue veins protruding on Xiong Hei’s wrist: “She told me it’s because of the bloodline. Brother Xiong, what’s wrong with my bloodline?”

Xiong Hei spat: “Always thinking the grass is greener on the other side.”

He turned to look at Yan Tuo: “Look at you – you have money and the life to enjoy it. Instead of enjoying yourself while times are good, you’re determined to suffer by trying to join us. What’s the point?”

Yan Tuo smiled: “Brother Xiong, you don’t understand. People always want what they don’t have. The poor want money, the sick want health, and those with money and health want security and long life. If it were impossible, I’d give up, but knowing it’s possible, how can I not try? And after all that effort, to be told there’s no hope…”

He leaned closer to Xiong Hei, lowering his voice: “Brother Xiong, is there no hope? Not even a slight chance?”

While Lin Xirou was tight-lipped, Xiong Hei’s brain was more muscle than cells, often letting slip a word or two – when it came to clues, even one or two words were valuable, after all, the puzzle he was piecing together about the Earth Owls wasn’t complete yet, and every piece counted.

Xiong Hei said: “Hey, Yan Tuo, let me ask you – you want security and long life to enjoy yourself more, right?”

Yan Tuo nodded, that’s right.

“Then if you could never enjoy anything again, couldn’t even see the sunlight, what would be the point of security and long life?”

He patted Yan Tuo’s back and stood up: “Come on, while you’re in a bad mood, take it out on that bastard.”

Yan Tuo already knew that Jiang Baichuan was being kept in a state where “injuries went untreated, food was withheld, and water denied,” but even with mental preparation when he stepped through the door, the stench was so overwhelming he could barely keep his eyes open.

The place where Jiang Baichuan was confined was similar to where Gouya had been kept, appearing as a cultivation room from the outside but accessed through a hidden door. These hidden rooms were small with no ventilation – even normal people would find them suffocating, let alone someone with untreated, festering wounds who had to relieve himself in the same space.

Yan Tuo couldn’t stand it and quickly closed the door, retreating while blinking repeatedly. The dark room had no lights, and in his brief glimpse, he’d only seen a dirty heap sprawled in the mess, vaguely human-shaped, but nothing else clear.

Xiong Hei chuckled outside: “Well, feeling better?”

Yan Tuo said: “Looks like he’s dead?”

Dead? Xiong Hei was startled: “Impossible, he was still moving this morning.”

Despite his words, he was worried. He grabbed a soil-turning fork, covered his nose, and went in to prod the figure before retreating: “Not dead, scared me for a moment.”

Jiang Baichuan still had his uses and wasn’t in immediate danger of dying. Yan Tuo covered his nose with his hand: “Brother Xiong, can you find me a mask?”

Xiong Hei didn’t understand: “Huh?”

“It’s too foul in there. How can I go in? What if I end up vomiting while beating him?”

Xiong Hei rolled his eyes: “Such a hassle.”

As soon as Xiong Hei left the cultivation room, Yan Tuo pushed open the hidden door and went in, fumbling to turn on the lights. He stepped forward and crouched down, fighting back nausea as he pushed Jiang Baichuan’s shoulder: “Jiang Baichuan?”

Jiang Baichuan’s body shifted slightly as he slowly raised his head.

Previously, Jiang Baichuan had been someone who didn’t show his age much – not because he looked particularly young, but because his privileged lifestyle gave him vitality and he took care of his appearance. But after these few days, stripped of all external support and subjected to torture, it was as if overnight the word “aged” had crawled across his entire body, making him look more than a decade older than his actual age.

He squinted, his eyes clouded: “Huh?”

Yan Tuo said: “If you want to suffer less, play dead. The closer to death you look, the better.”

Jiang Baichuan stared at him blankly, gradually recognizing him: “You’re that… that?”

Just then, the door outside creaked, and Yan Tuo quickly whispered: “You know how to scream in agony, right? The more miserable, the better.”

He quickly stood up and kicked Jiang Baichuan in the stomach, shouting: “Fuck you!”

The curse was fierce, but the kick wasn’t particularly hard. Jiang Baichuan took a moment to react, then after two seconds clutched his stomach and let out a hoarse cry of pain, struggling to crawl toward the corner.

The footsteps outside quickened, and soon Xiong Hei poked his head in, handing over the mask while cautioning: “Just go through the motions, don’t kill him.”

Yan Tuo snatched the mask from Xiong Hei’s hand, looking like he might turn on him too, glaring with eyes full of killing intent: “This is all your fault – you’ve got him half dead already, I can’t even hit him properly.”

He impatiently gestured for more: “Give me a cigarette and lighter, the smell’s too much.”

Xiong Hei handed them over and was about to say something more when Yan Tuo kicked the door shut.

The hidden room was so small that the door’s slam seemed to make the entire space shudder.

Yan Tuo lit the cigarette, using it like incense, waving it around to let the smoke disperse. Then he bent down to check the gap under the door before looking at Jiang Baichuan, who sat dazed in the corner, mouthing silently: Scream.

Jiang Baichuan understood and let out another panicked cry of pain with a trembling finish: “No… no more…”

Outside, Xiong Hei listened at the door with satisfaction: this kid Yan Tuo could be quite intense when he got angry.

He knocked on the door: “Yan Tuo, ten minutes.”

Yan Tuo grunted in response. Watching the two shadows disappear from under the door and hearing the outer door close, he finally relaxed slightly. He walked to Jiang Baichuan’s side and reversed the cigarette, offering: Want a smoke?

Jiang Baichuan looked up at him, then at the door, and trembling, took the cigarette. He put it to his lips and took a greedy, deep drag before slowly exhaling.

Then he looked up at Yan Tuo, confused.

During these days, Yan Tuo had been the only one among these people to show him any kindness. But why?

Yan Tuo said: “There’s a Miss Nie…”

Jiang Baichuan’s whole body trembled, forgetting to exhale and swallowing the smoke instead.

“If you want to send her a message, I can help deliver it.”

Jiang Baichuan froze for a moment, finally realizing he’d swallowed the smoke and coughed several times. After calming down, he said hoarsely: “I understand now, no wonder…”

Yan Tuo raised his index finger to his lips.

Jiang Baichuan swallowed and said nothing more, just shakily taking deep drags from the cigarette.

No wonder after Yan Tuo’s escape, when Madam Hua was burned and the lame father was kidnapped, Nie Jiuluo, who should have been the first affected, remained safe and sound.

What was Yan Tuo’s position? Was he a turncoat? Was he trying to trick him with these words? Should he respond or not?

Jiang Baichuan was extremely nervous.

Yan Tuo could guess all these thoughts: “Who I am doesn’t matter to you. All you need to know is that I can see her and can help deliver a message. It’s up to you whether you want to send one or not. Ten minutes isn’t long, think it through. This is your only chance – once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Jiang Baichuan’s mind raced.

— Yan Tuo could indeed see Nie Jiuluo; he had known about her all along.

— Though his motives weren’t clear, perhaps… he could be trusted to deliver a message because if he were working with Lin Xirou’s people, Nie Jiuluo would have been in trouble long ago.

— When he was captured, he was completely confused and believed Xing Shen and the others were equally baffled. Now, after several interrogations, he had some guesses about what was happening, and the others needed to know what this was all about…

Jiang Baichuan hesitantly raised his head.

That night, Yan Tuo stayed at the farm. Firstly, there was no need to rush back, and secondly, Gouya’s matter wasn’t fully settled – his injured tongue only prevented speech, not eliminating the threat. Midnight tonight would be the real crucial moment.

The farm had a dedicated two-story building for guests, and because Lin Xirou frequently stayed there, its facilities rivaled those of hotels. The first floor housed the dining room, reading room, gym, and bar, while the second floor was entirely for lodging.

Yan Tuo noticed that initially, only Li Yueying stayed in her room due to poor health, while others were busy outside. But after nine o’clock, they gradually returned, with showering being their priority – the sound of running water through the pipes was audible through the walls.

He stayed in his room with the TV volume turned up, trying to create the impression that for him, this was just an ordinary evening.

At ten-thirty, he made two phone calls.

One to Lin Ling, confirming everything was normal in the storage room.

Another to Liu Changxi, asking about Nie Jiuluo. Liu Changxi said he was still busy at the shop but would message him after returning home.

That probably meant everything was fine – after all, if anything had happened, the postpartum care nurse would have informed Liu Changxi immediately.

After the calls, Yan Tuo set his phone to silent and turned off the lights for bed.

Getting into bed was real, but sleeping was fake. He lay fully dressed, eyes open, fingers tapping lightly at his side, waiting as time passed minute by minute.

Around eleven-fifteen, there was a movement of doors opening and closing outside. Yan Tuo quickly sat up and moved silently to the door, peering through the peephole.

First, he saw Xiong Hei, looking fresher than during the day, with a clean-shaven chin and neatly combed hair.

Very unlike his usual style.

Then he saw Feng Mi and had to look twice to recognize her. She had undone all her dreadlocks and straightened them with a flat iron, giving her a plain appearance that added an air of innocence compared to her usual heavy makeup.

Next came Yang Zheng supporting Li Yueying. Yang Zheng was probably the last to shower, his hair still visibly wet. Li Yueying had applied a light layer of powder to mask her sickly appearance – though the powder on her wrinkled face looked somewhat strange, it did brighten her complexion considerably.

Last was Lin Xirou, wearing a black coat, her long hair tied in an impeccable bun without a single strand out of place, giving her more gravitas than usual.

When she reached Yan Tuo’s door, she turned to look at it.

Their gazes met, and Yan Tuo’s mind jolted, almost instinctively backing away before remembering this was through a peephole, and he was supposed to be “asleep” – so regardless, the peephole would appear dark from the outside.

He held his breath, remaining perfectly still.

A shadow moved – Feng Mi had come back, affectionately linking arms with Lin Xirou and gesturing toward the door: “Aunt Lin, this godson of yours has an elderly person’s schedule. I never go to bed before three in the morning.”

After waiting for them to go downstairs, Yan Tuo quickly retreated to the window, lifting a corner of the curtain slightly.

Sure enough, in the darkness, five figures moved in staggered formation, their flashlight beams dancing chaotically as they headed toward the pitch-black main building.

Opening the door would trigger hallway surveillance, so Yan Tuo quietly opened the window, gripped the windowsill, and lowered himself down before taking a breath, letting go, and landing swiftly.

The ideal scenario would be following them into the second underground floor, but that would be extremely difficult. He’d have to play it by ear, though most likely he’d have to give up on that plan.

At a minimum, he needed to wait near the side door to eavesdrop on their conversation when they came back out, gauging from their tone and responses – if Gouya had exposed him, he’d make straight for his car and escape during the night.

…

Because Li Yueying’s presence slowed the group down, Yan Tuo caught up quickly, and her frequent coughing helped mask his already light footsteps.

He could even faintly hear their conversation.

Lin Xirou: “Is the natural fire ready?”

Xiong Hei: “Yes, found a special room and lit several oil bowls – they won’t all go out.”

Feng Mi commented coolly: “If they all go out, it’s wasted. Better wait till tomorrow.”

Xiong Hei responded irritably: “Can’t you say something positive?”

Lin Xirou: “Are all the duty staff cleared out?”

Xiong Hei: “Yes, they’re all gone. One more thing, Sister Lin, should we cut the power, or is just turning off the lights enough?”

Yang Zheng: “I say cut the power. We’re already being perfunctory enough conducting a sending-off here, let’s not be too casual about it.”

…

Natural fire, power cut, lights off.

It seemed this “execution” had its procedures. Yan Tuo’s heart raced – if they cut the power and lights, wouldn’t that greatly increase his chances of sneaking into the second underground floor?

Just as he was thinking this, he noticed his pocket flashing.

Shit, his phone!

Thankfully he’d set it to silent earlier, but the light was risky enough. At least it was happening now – if it had flashed like this in complete darkness after they “cut the power and lights,” wouldn’t he have been…

Yan Tuo quickly ducked behind a tree, checking his phone while keeping an eye on the group.

Liu Changxi.

Really, why call at this time? Yan Tuo wanted to hang up but feared there might be news about Nie Jiuluo. Steeling himself, he answered with an almost whispered “Hello.”

Surprisingly, there wasn’t even a “hello” from the other end. Yan Tuo thought Liu Changxi had dialed by mistake and was about to hang up when something struck him.

He heard very soft breathing.

“Miss Nie?”

Sure enough, Nie Jiuluo’s voice came through, clearly weak: “Are you… working? Why is your… voice so low?”

Yan Tuo made an affirmative sound: “Busy, following some people… Earth Owls.”

“At night?”

“Yes.”

“Is your phone… on silent?”

Yan Tuo couldn’t help smiling, saying: “It is.”

He looked ahead – fortunately, with Li Yueying’s presence, they hadn’t gone far.

“Are you wearing… long clothes? The hem… can easily catch on things, make noise.”

Yan Tuo instinctively looked down at his coat: “Understood.”

“Hanging up now… wait for your… safety report. Be careful.”

Yan Tuo’s steps faltered, wanting to say “okay,” but the line had already gone dead.

This was the first time someone had told him to “be careful” – even Lin Ling hadn’t said that, since he usually informed her after the fact, rarely before.

And it was the first time someone had asked for a safety report.