Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Zhao Xiuming was certain he had never encountered Huang Jinsheng since entering the instance. Yet the man had asked for him by name, without knowing anything unusual about him.
Huang Jinsheng liked beautiful men. It was possible that someone in Zimu City had told him about a handsome student to curry favor.
At first, even Liu Wenhe, before his death, had probably assumed Huang Jinsheng had simply taken a fancy to a pretty face.
Knowing what had happened to Ah Hao and Shuai Zai wouldn’t have helped. At the time, the whole gang, including those two themselves, had been unaware of Zhao Xiuming’s name. All they knew was that he was a “doctor.”
Besides, when Zhao Xiuming appeared before Liu Wenhe, he was an innocent, gullible student.
And a classmate of gang member Dahu’s little brother. He was nothing like the evil monster Ah Hao had described. It was natural that Liu Wenhe hadn’t connected the two.
Only on the gambling parlor’s roof, when Zhao Xiuming asked about the mainlanders and Liu Wenhe had already realized he wasn’t human, did that change.
Liu Wenhe suddenly thought he understood. His expression turned strange, hatred mingling with terror. “So that’s it. That’s what this is…”
“You’re the evil monster Huang Jinsheng is afraid of!”
“You came to kill me. You found out about our plan…”
“No, not our plan! Huang Jinsheng’s plan. I was only following orders. I never wanted to get mixed up in whatever’s between you and him.”
“Please spare me. You want to know about the mainlanders, don’t you? I’ll tell you everything. Huang Jinsheng brought them here to deal with you…”
Recalling the scene, Zhao Xiuming pieced together what Liu Wenhe’s words implied. Huang Jinsheng was involved with some evil anomaly, and their relationship was complicated.
It was neither an arrangement of offerings and cooperation nor outright hostility, but a delicate balance.
One thing was certain: Huang Jinsheng deeply feared this “evil anomaly,” though it had done nothing to hurt him so far.
His actions seemed more like taking precautions. Or perhaps he wanted to control the anomaly without destroying it.
Now, through a series of misunderstandings, Zhao Xiuming’s slaughter in Zimu City had convinced Liu Wenhe that he was the anomaly Huang Jinsheng wanted dealt with.
Which meant, in Liu Wenhe’s eyes, that Huang Jinsheng hadn’t asked for Zhao Xiuming out of lust. He meant to use this anomaly to silence Liu Wenhe.
“Pah! Huang Jinsheng doesn’t know you found out about the mainlanders, does he? Otherwise, he wouldn’t have set this trap for me.”
“He made me offend you so you’d shut me up for good! That bastard Huang Jinsheng. After all my loyalty…”
In Zhao Xiuming’s memory, Liu Wenhe had realized he wouldn’t survive and thrown caution to the wind.
He was certain Zhao Xiuming was the anomaly he had helped Huang Jinsheng plot against for money.
Now that the anomaly had uncovered the plan, Liu Wenhe knew he was doomed. Everything he had done was a joke.
His first safeguard was the unanswered phones. The second was that he had yet to tell the mainlanders anything about Huang Jinsheng.
Neither had any effect on Zhao Xiuming. Neither could save Liu Wenhe.
“Good thing I tried to squeeze more money out of him and bargain for better terms. I deliberately kept the mainlanders from meeting him. At least that’s some revenge. He won’t get to those masters so easily now.”
Utter despair had made Liu Wenhe bold. “Zhao Xiuming. Ha! Even monsters have names.”
“I’d heard Huang Jinsheng went from selling his ass in Zimu City to being a rich, powerful boss because he had something unnatural guiding him.”
“That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Did he sell his ass to you?”
“No wonder he insisted the masters shouldn’t destroy the anomaly, just make it obey… With a face like yours, he couldn’t bear to let you die.”
“What a man Huang Jinsheng is. Even a monster, he can–”
Liu Wenhe never finished. Little Darling had no intention of letting him continue. He taught him a lesson, then sent him to his death.
Zhao Xiuming hadn’t been angry when he heard it. Remembering it now stirred no emotion either. He was simply putting the pieces in order.
Huang Jinsheng was an indispensable business partner and source of money for the gangs.
He was also the target of the mainlander players. That made the “evil anomaly” beside him almost certainly the boss of this instance.
It reminded Zhao Xiuming of the thing behind the dark green wooden door or, more precisely, the anomaly that looked like a little girl.
It could create gateways into instances. Zhao Xiuming had every reason to suspect it.
With a theory in mind, he could keep testing it. The only problem was… he apparently couldn’t stroll around Zimu City anymore.
Fortunately, that wasn’t much of a problem.
A few days later, Dahu got his wish and saw Huang Jinsheng. But it wasn’t the meeting he had imagined.
Neither the gangs nor Huang Jinsheng took Dahu seriously. The Incense Masters of the Tianding Society and the Longhu Society invited Huang Jinsheng for tea, with Liu Wenhe’s death among the matters to discuss.
The Tianding Society chose a teahouse in Zimu City, one of its own establishments where the two gangs’ territories met.
All the customers were cleared out. Only gang members and a few pretty, well-trained tea attendants remained.
The young women moved among the tall men in their qipaos. Two more sat downstairs playing pipa lutes.
Upstairs, fragrant incense sent thin wisps of smoke into the air.
Three graceful women in qipaos moved lightly and quietly. Apart from the clink of teaware and the pour of water, only breathing could be heard.
Once the tea was brewed and the refreshments set out, the women withdrew without a sound. The pipa music gradually stopped too.
Only then did the three powerful men turn to business. Dahu knelt in the outer room, hands bound and mouth gagged.
A screen blocked his view. He could only make out the indistinct murmur of conversation.
The old interrogator gave him a look and whispered, “Huang Jinsheng’s in there. You’ve had your meeting. When we get back, you tell us everything.”
Dahu nodded obediently, apparently resigned.
He had neither eaten nor drunk for days and was weak. His escorts relaxed their guard. Just as they started downstairs, he suddenly made his move.
From somewhere, he found the strength to knock aside the man holding him and charge back up. A few strides carried him into the screen. He crashed through it bodily and fell to the floor.
The Longhu Society’s Incense Master hadn’t brought a gun. Startled, he whipped a hidden dagger from his sleeve and pointed it at the Tianding Society’s leader, convinced the invitation had been a trap.
The Tianding Society’s Incense Master calmly raised his tea. He glanced sideways at the subordinate who had blundered and gave a few cold laughs.
The escorts broke into cold sweats and hurried to drag Dahu away.
Perhaps the hatred in Dahu’s eyes was too obvious. Huang Jinsheng said, “Wait.”
He wasn’t the fat, bloated man Dahu had imagined. There was no bulging belly, no greasy face stamped with cunning.
He looked young, around thirty.
His features were delicate, and he seemed to be in poor health. He even carried a handkerchief. After saying “Wait,” he held it over his mouth and coughed a few times.
Then he said with remarkable kindness, “No need for knives, gentlemen. How unpleasant.”
The Longhu Society’s Incense Master lowered the dagger with an embarrassed smile. To show his regret, he dropped it and kicked it away.
Huang Jinsheng addressed Dahu pleasantly. “Young man, you came to see me, didn’t you?”