Several men carried Luo Yaozong to Jinsha Pool, then turned towards the Xiangmi Lake Resort.

Someone had dug a large hole in the resort’s wall at some point, loosely filled with bricks – unnoticeable from a distance. The resort’s security didn’t patrol Jinsha Pool regularly. They had originally planned to tamper with Jinsha Pool’s wall but never found the opportunity. After entering the resort, they made their way to where it bordered Jinsha Pool’s wall. The resort’s tranquil atmosphere was maintained by its many large trees.

A rope hung down from one of the trees. With a push off the resort wall and gripping the rope, they leaped to the other side, landing inside the Jinsha Pool compound.

Two men crossed over in succession. As they crept around and made some noise on the ground, the guard dogs kept at Jinsha Pool began barking furiously, causing the security team to rush over.

“Who’s there!”

“Thieves! Catch the thieves!”

“Stop right there!”

The security guards caught the two thieves without much effort and brought them before Ge Jian.

Though these men confessed readily after a beating, claiming they came to steal steel bars from the construction site to sell, Ge Jian felt something was off.

“Search again carefully, check if they have any accomplices. We can’t afford any mistakes right now.”

Just as Ge Jian finished speaking, one of the guard dogs started barking towards Building 2.

Ge Jian’s eye twitched as he suddenly remembered Wu Daonan’s mysterious warnings.

“Let’s go! It’s caught the scent of strangers!”

The two previously docile thieves suddenly began struggling violently. Ge Jian showed no mercy, kicking them both severely until they could no longer move.

Meanwhile, on Building 2’s rooftop, someone had just carried Luo Yaozong up. The unconscious drunk man was extremely heavy, leaving his carrier breathless.

The cold wind on the roof brought Luo Yaozong slightly to his senses. He struggled to open his drunken eyes, trying to make out the figure before him.

“It’s… it’s cold… where…”

At this crucial moment, Luo Yaozong woke up!

The person was startled but, hearing the dogs barking below, gritted his teeth and pulled Luo Yaozong forward:

“This is the best way to extort money, though you’ll have to suffer some pain. Don’t say your brother didn’t help you, and don’t blame me. I’ll burn extra spirit money for you after you reach the bottom—”

While Luo Yaozong’s mind was still foggy, the person gave him a hard push, sending him falling to the ground.

Ge Jian ran to Building 2’s entrance with his men. Something fell from above, landing less than three meters from Ge Jian’s feet. When they shone their flashlights, they saw Luo Yaozong’s contorted face.

In mid-December Pengcheng, the night wind made Ge Jian shiver.

After a moment’s shock, he remembered to check Luo Yaozong’s pulse.

…

Ring! Ring!

The midnight phone call was urgent, waking Xia Xiaolan. Looking at her watch, she saw it was 1 AM.

Who would be calling her at this hour?

If not for an emergency, who would contact her?

With the bank crisis resolved and the property launch tomorrow, Xia Xiaolan didn’t expect any good news from a midnight call.

When she answered the phone, she remained stunned for a good three to four seconds.

“Ge Jian, have your people secure the scene. Don’t let anyone touch anything. If you’re short-staffed, get people from Zhen Zhu. We can’t handle any more problems. I’m coming right away… Wait, you haven’t reported it to the police yet? Report it immediately!”

Luo Yaozong had fallen from Building 2’s roof!

The other three men claimed they were working together to steal steel bars, but Xia Xiaolan didn’t believe a word.

Luo Yaozong worked at the construction site – how could he not know where the steel bars were kept?

Building 2’s construction was already topped out; there’d be no reason for steel thieves to go there.

Xia Xiaolan collected herself and made her first call to Tang Hong’en’s residence.

Someone was trying to destroy Jinsha Pool. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t waste time with subtle maneuvering – she needed to mobilize her strongest supporter, especially since this might be connected to the previous bank incident.

“…Uncle Tang, I still need to understand the specifics. I’m not sure if I’m handling this correctly.”

Tang Hong’en shared her sense of urgency. No one would dare call his home in the middle of the night without good reason.

Few people knew his home number, and even fewer would dare call at this hour – it had to be important!

Indeed it was. Tang Hong’en tried to keep his voice calm as he affirmed Xia Xiaolan’s actions: “You’re doing the right thing. Get him to the hospital for emergency treatment and report to the police immediately. This situation is suspicious and could easily escalate into something bigger.”

The victim wasn’t just anyone – he was the son of the Luo family from Ganquan Village.

The Jinsha Pool land had originally been the Luo family’s private plot.

These two factors together suggested this wasn’t simple.

To date, Xia Xiaolan has spent nearly a million on property promotion, hiring Wu Daonan, and placing advertisements in Hong Kong newspapers. How could she give up on tomorrow’s property launch?

Should she be grateful that Luo Yaozong fell from Jinsha Pool’s roof tonight rather than during tomorrow’s launch? That would have truly pushed her into a corner.

Jinsha Pool’s biggest selling point was being a “feng shui treasure land.”

After promoting it as a feng shui treasure land for so long, a death right at the launch would destroy that image. Even with ten Wu Daonans vouching for it, the properties would become unsellable.

Xia Xiaolan’s face darkened:

“Uncle Tang, I want to suppress this news, just for the next couple of days. Can you help me?”

What if it was a trap?

What if others were waiting for her to suppress the news?

Xia Xiaolan made her request nervously. On the other end, Tang Hong’en remained silent for a moment before agreeing:

“The news can be suppressed, but we must still do everything possible to save him.”

Xia Xiaolan breathed a sigh of relief. With Tang Hong’en’s agreement, there was still room to maneuver.

“Thank you, Uncle Tang. I’ll head to Jinsha Pool now.”

After hanging up, Xia Xiaolan’s second call was to Liu Yong. If she couldn’t trust her uncle at a time like this, who could she trust?

By the time Xia Xiaolan reached the hospital, half an hour had passed.

The operating room light was on, with Luo Yaozong was being treated inside.

At this moment, Xia Xiaolan wanted this coward to live.

Luo Yaozong had reluctantly worked as a security guard for quite a while, yet chose to have an incident the night before the property launch. Xia Xiaolan was exasperated.

Ge Jian stood guard at the operating room door with his men, straightening up when he saw Xia Xiaolan: “Manager Xia—”

“Skip the details, how is Luo Yaozong?”

“He’s lucky. He fell where the sand was piled up – otherwise, he’d have been impaled by the steel bars. This was thanks to Mr. Wu’s advice from that day. He said your fortune was too strong, and Jinsha Pool could attract wealth energy. He warned that too much good fortune could lead to bloodshed, so he advised us to move the steel bars from Building 2 and replace them with sand piles… Luo Yaozong fell onto that sand pile. Otherwise, he would have died instantly.”

Falling from the sixth floor onto steel bars would have been certain death.

Landing on fine sand provided some shock absorption.

Ge Jian had thought Wu Daonan was a fraud but now believed in his abilities. Manager Xia’s offer of an apartment as payment was well worth it – coincidence or not, it had saved Luo Yaozong’s life.

Xia Xiaolan also found it remarkable.

“Have you caught everyone who was with Luo Yaozong? Leave some men to guard the hospital, then come back to the construction site with me. Catching them isn’t enough – our troubles are just beginning!”