Chapter 10

Chapter 10

We arrived at the Li Family estate at three in the afternoon. At least nothing else went wrong along the way.

The manor the Li Family lived in now had been built against the mountain. It covered a vast area, but the surroundings were extremely remote. The nearest little village was a long distance away.

Security at the estate was tight. High walls, iron gates-just driving in required us to go through several checkpoints.

When it came time to unload, I made a point of observing closely.

The wooden crates holding the fish were all very heavy. One fish was missing from Luo Hong’s truck.

Logically, the workers should have noticed the moment they lifted the crate.

But I watched as the crates on Luo Hong’s truck grew fewer and fewer, and still, there was no reaction at all.

It wasn’t until another crate was carried down and passed by me that I heard a faint string of bell chimes.

Startled, I turned to look. Could that girl from last night be inside the crate?

I made an excuse to go to the restroom and watched as those men carried the crates down a secluded side path.

A short while later, several people emerged from that path.

The man in the lead was very young, dressed in an obviously expensive outfit, but he had a sickly look about him, and he walked slowly.

I pretended I had just come out of the restroom and heard the people behind him all address that young man as “Young Master Li.”

I was a little shocked. The Li Family had only one heir in each generation. Li Xiong’s son, Li Lun, was forty this year and had never had children.

Then who exactly was this “Young Master Li,” who looked barely twenty?

They soon walked off into the distance. Afraid of drawing the security guards’ attention, I could only hurry back.

The Li Family manor was built with carved beams and painted rafters, but I didn’t know whether it was because of its orientation or not-the dark, looming mountain behind it swallowed up most of the sunlight, giving the entire estate a lifeless, oppressive air.

I returned to where we’d parked.

Wang Cheng and Luo Hong should have gone to get the receipt, but to my surprise, by the time I came back, the whole group had started eating.

“Brother Long, come on! This soup is so damn fresh.”

A servant of the Li Family, by the look of him, had wheeled over an insulated barrel. Inside, wontons were boiling, steam billowing up from the broth.

Wang Cheng and the Luo brothers had already eaten who knew how many bowls. Their faces were flushed red from it.

What caught my attention even more was a shriveled little old man standing not far away. He was thin and short, dressed in a long robe and mandarin jacket, which was strange enough-but he even wore his hair in a queue, with a round skullcap on his head, and he was chatting quite happily with Luo Hong and his brother.

Only when I walked up beside Wang Cheng did the little old man notice me.

His gaze paused on me for an instant, but then he broke into a grin. “This gentleman has an excellent face as well. May I ask your esteemed name?”

“Long Changdong.”

The moment he heard my name, the little old man’s expression changed. He quickly turned his head away and ignored me completely.

Seeing this, Wang Cheng curled his lip and leaned close to my ear. “That guy’s called Pi Gui. I heard he’s some kind of esteemed teacher to Young Master Li. He was awfully warm toward Luo Hong and Luo Gui just now. No idea what kind of tricks he’s up to.”

I glanced at the wontons in Wang Cheng’s bowl. Where the wonton skin had been bitten open, the meat filling inside was snow-white. Even the bowl of wonton soup carried an unnaturally alluring aroma.

“Stop fucking eating. Aren’t you afraid it’s stuffed with fish meat?”

I didn’t deliberately lower my voice, so the others must have heard me too, but none of them reacted.

I snatched Wang Cheng’s bowl and tossed it aside. Wang Cheng actually looked a little reluctant to part with it.

I practically dragged him into the vehicle.

Just before I got in, a roar faintly echoed from behind the manor.

I couldn’t tell what kind of animal it was, but it startled an entire mountain of birds into flight.

A dense black flock passed over our heads, blocking out even the last trace of sunlight.

I looked back at the Li Family manor once more. With its gate like a tombstone and the rear mountain like a burial mound, the place looked exactly like one enormous grave.