The second young master Zhang was truly the king of the kids who grew up fighting with bricks and cursing with a runny nose. If Li Hu hadn’t desperately held him back, he would have definitely beaten up Zhou Hui today.
“How could my brother have this kind of friend?!” Zhang Shun pointed angrily at “Director Zhou of the Ministry of State Security”. “This guy doesn’t have a single serious word in his mouth. He has this kind of reaction when he sees a dead person. How does he look like someone who could get along with my brother?”
Li Hu said helplessly, “Boss, your wise and heroic image has been completely ruined in the child’s mind… Can you be more careful?”
Zhou Hui asked in surprise, “When was I ever wise and heroic?!”
Everyone was speechless for a moment. Then he suddenly smiled slowly, a smile that made one want to take off their shoes and throw them at his face. “But… even if I’m an idiot, you all have to listen to me. That’s how dominant I am.”
The scene was silent for a moment. No one spoke.
An indescribable expression appeared on everyone’s face.
“Don’t say I didn’t teach you,” Zhou Hui seemed very pleased. He lit another cigarette and pointed at the several coffins. “I’ve seen this thing before. It’s called a seven-laugh coffin, a very evil thing. To make a seven-laugh coffin, you need to use very cruel methods to kill seven adult men born at a specific time. Then you use special techniques to make the corpses laugh, and then seal them in coffins soaked in cinnabar, sulfur, lead, mercury, and other alchemy materials. You bury them in a yin-deficient land. This way, the corpse’s resentment will be extremely strong, and the corpse itself is for the things underground to eat…”
The criminal police captain laughed. “Director Zhou, I didn’t expect a leader from Beijing like you to be so superstitious. Underground? What’s underground?”
Mayor Huang, however, was terrified. He raised his hand and slapped the captain hard. “Old Wang, you unlucky bastard! How dare you talk to the leader like that?!”
Zhou Hui smiled and didn’t keep them in suspense, either because he disdained to or because he was really in a hurry.
“This is a yin-deficient land,” he said. “This kind of place has been unsuitable for living since ancient times, but it also produces strange things. The most common is that a yin-deficient land produces a Tai Sui. In ancient times, it was said that eating a Tai Sui could lead to immortality, but it’s all a lie. Tai Sui and the seven-laugh coffin are both things for deeper underground creatures to eat. The former is naturally formed, and the latter is artificially made.”
“Sometimes, the Tai Sui is afraid of being eaten and will slowly move in the ground. After decades or hundreds of years, it ‘crawls’ from one place to another, possibly getting closer to the surface, and is finally dug up by people. But the seven-laugh coffin doesn’t move. Although it’s a non-natural green food with artificial additives, it can ensure that the things underground eat more stably and happily…”
Zhou Hui stood in the middle of the concave pit, looked at the soil under his feet, and smiled. “There’s an Earth Womb under here. The bodies in the seven-laugh coffin are for it to eat.”
Everyone found it absurd. Only the second young master Zhang couldn’t control his mouth. Hearing this, he asked doubtfully, “Eat? But I don’t see any parts missing from these remains.”
“Brother-in-law, this ‘eat’ is not that ‘eat’. For example, if I ‘eat’ your brother…”
Li Hu said helplessly, “Boss Zhou!”
“Alright, alright,” Zhou Hui raised his hands in surrender. “This ‘eat’ is not that ‘eat’. As for the so-called Earth Womb, it’s the opposite of a Heavenly Womb. The latter is a spiritual beast or divine fetus conceived by the union of qi from the Heavenly Dao among the six realms of existence, for example, the Four Holy Beasts, the Four Fierce Beasts… Li Hu, don’t look at me like that. Foxes really don’t count. An Earth Womb, on the other hand, is a fetus-like thing conceived in mountains or land when the feng shui of the earth is extremely yin or yang. It usually appears in a curled-up form like in a womb. A few in infant form are considered top-grade. The extremely rare ones in the form of a giant infant are almost…”
Mayor Huang couldn’t help but interject, “A treasure of the world?”
“What are you thinking, Old Huang,” Zhou Hui smiled. “This is a great evil, the greatest evil in heaven and earth. It will be completely destroyed by heavenly tribulations. In the seventies, there was a giant Earth Womb infant in the primeval forest of the northeast, ten zhang high and five zhang wide, curled up in a primitive cave, covered in thorns. It attracted a heavenly tribulation that burned down several mountains. As a result, in seventy-six…”
Zhou Hui paused, not having finished his thought. He turned his head and saw that Mayor Huang, Captain Wang, and everyone else had instantly taken half a step back, trying to get as far away from the pit as possible.
Li Hu, on the other hand, stood nonchalantly in the pit, rubbing his chin and asking, “I wonder to what extent this Earth Womb in H-City has grown. What’s the meaning of feeding it with seven-laugh corpses?”
“The Records of the Eastern Sea say that a seven-laugh corpse can cause an Earth Womb to have fetal movement, which leads to the collapse of the earth’s veins, and then people can go in and dig out the embryo,” Zhou Hui said. “Does your child burp after eating too much? It’s the same principle for an Earth Womb. My eldest son used to spit up milk when he was little, and he’d f—ing spit it all over me. I got so angry I really wanted to hang him up and whip him. It’s not easy to earn money for milk powder for a child these days…”
He squatted down, patted the soil under his feet, and showed a wistful expression. “Ah, I miss that feeling of being spit up on.”
Everyone: “…”
Li Hu turned his head and explained in a low voice, “In his early years of handling cases, he saw too much blood and gore, and his brain got a little messed up. Don’t mind him…”
“In short, the criminal is an extremely cunning and cruel, superstitious, and possibly a little mentally disturbed fellow.” Zhou Hui clapped his hands and climbed out of the pit, completely oblivious to the fact that everyone was staring at him. “Old Huang, please have the local police seal off the scene. The victim’s remains should be transported to the morgue for autopsy. Also, conduct a screening of all individuals with a criminal record who match the above characteristics within a ten-li radius…”
Captain Wang was muttering to himself, “No need to screen. Why do I feel this Director Zhou fits the characteristics perfectly?” He was shut up by a sharp kick from Mayor Huang.
Zhou Hui raised his hand and looked at his watch. “…People who have had the opportunity to come into contact with the coffins or have learned carpentry are highly suspicious. If they have also purchased a large amount of Chinese medicine recently, it’s very likely them. Hurry up and investigate. We must not let the seventh body appear, otherwise…”
“Otherwise, what will happen?” Mayor Huang was suddenly terrified by this meaningful pause.
“Move the city,” Zhou Hui smiled.
That smile was indescribably playful, but for some reason, the weasel only felt his heart tremble, as if an endless chill was slowly rising from his internal organs.
“I have some other business to attend to. If you have any problems, don’t look for me. Look for Li Hu.” Zhou Hui waved his hand and walked away from the crime scene without looking back. Captain Wang anxiously took two steps to follow, but before he could speak, he heard Li Hu sigh from behind him. “Don’t chase him. He really has something urgent to do…”
This was the first time Captain Wang had encountered such a major case. His expression was very helpless. “Then… then what do we do now? Maybe I should send a car to protect Director Zhou closely, so things can be done faster?”
Li Hu showed a strange smile and gestured with his chin in the direction Zhou Hui had left.
Captain Wang turned his head and for a moment thought there was something wrong with his eyes—in just a few seconds, “Director Zhou” had already walked so far that not even his shadow could be seen.
·
Footsteps came from the darkness, gradually getting closer. Zhou Hui’s handsome face appeared at the border of the shadows like a demon.
Chu He lay on the ground, his hands bound by iron chains extending from the darkness. The rough iron rings made his blood-stained wrists look exceptionally slender and pale. In fact, it didn’t matter if there were chains or not. His consciousness had completely collapsed. His body was as wet as it could be. He could only pant for breath in vain, his fingers spasming and gripping the ground. A captivating, slightly fishy, sweet scent floated in the air.
It was the smell of lust.
Zhou Hui’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently. Although he had made ample preparations beforehand, his demonic instincts made it difficult for him to control himself.
“Last thirty seconds,” he said hoarsely, caressing the skin of Chu He’s side neck, which was particularly soft and hot from emptiness. “Either you tell me the truth, or I’ll inject the last one into you.”
·
At the same time, on the construction site, Li Hu took several steps back and looked at the unfinished construction building, whispering, “…Strange.”
Zhang Shun was following close behind her, tirelessly trying to get to the bottom of what had happened last night. Hearing this, he asked casually, “What’s strange?”
But Li Hu ignored him and turned to Mayor Huang. “Which company is building this residential building? How could such a big incident happen, and yet no one besides a site manager has come to inquire?”
“A real estate development company from another province called Tianqi Construction Industry,” Mayor Huang muttered after just finishing a call. “But that was ten minutes ago.”
“What?”
“The people from the Aita Conglomerate want to take the opportunity to buy this construction site as well, to connect it with the land they originally wanted to invest in and build a larger hotel and entertainment center. Tianqi Construction was probably scared by the discovery of the coffins and actually agreed to sell the entire plot of land to them at a very low price.” Mayor Huang lowered his voice and asked stealthily, “Beauty, could this have something to do with the Japanese? I was wondering why our city suddenly attracted a foreign investor…”
Li Hu started to laugh and asked, “How many years have you been a human, weasel?”
Mayor Huang’s pupils suddenly dilated. He could barely speak, only staring at her with a pale face.
“Don’t worry, I’m just asking.” Li Hu said kindly, “Speaking of which, we’re both among the five great immortals. Five hundred… five thousand years ago, we could barely be considered family. I won’t hold a grudge against you weasels for often stealing our chickens and leaving us with a nest of feathers and bones.”
As she spoke, she grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth as sharp as knives. “However, if this really has something to do with the Japanese, you’d better cooperate with our investigation honestly. Otherwise, I have a thousand ways to beat you until your face blooms like a peach blossom, and even Chu He won’t be able to protect you.”
Mayor Huang was tongue-tied. Large beads of cold sweat rolled down his fat face. “Gre-gre-great… great immortal, this little one has eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. How would you like me to cooperate?”
Li Hu took Mayor Huang’s fat arm and held him hostage, threatening in a low voice, “You should be able to find the information on Tianqi Construction, right?”
“Huh?”
“I want the list of responsible persons for Tianqi Construction and the detailed drawings of this construction building. I also want all the miscellaneous approval documents and transfer slips. Give them to me within today. If you can’t do it or leak the news to Zhou Hui, you’re dead.”
Li Hu’s eyes were fierce. “I guarantee that even if you reincarnate eighteen more times, you won’t grow teeth to eat chicken.”
“…” Mayor Huang said with a pale face, “I-I-I-I-I’ll do it right away!”
Li Hu let go of Mayor Huang with satisfaction. Seeing that the surrounding police officers were all busy, she strolled around the construction site for a while and slowly walked to the entrance of the construction building.
Zhang Shun followed closely. Before he could speak, Li Hu suddenly turned around and puffed out her chest with great warmth. “Second Young Master Zhang!”
Zhang Shun was almost hit by the D-cups and hurriedly took half a step back. “What? I just want to know where my brother is. Also, what was with that fierce ghost last night? And this Buddha seal on my hand…”
“It means you have a deep innate affinity with the Buddha, Second Young Master Zhang!” Li Hu pulled him and ducked into the semi-finished concrete construction building. “I have a question I want to figure out. You can break evil, so come and be my insurance.”
“What for? I told you I’m not a virgin anymore. That guy surnamed Zhou ended up looking for Mayor Huang!”
“Aiya, I don’t want a virgin’s blood. I just need…” Li Hu climbed over the scaffolding in her high heels, waved for the police officers outside to leave, and then jumped onto a patch of yellow soil in the middle of the first floor of the building.
“I want to see what this Earth Womb looks like,” she said thoughtfully. “How could a place like H-City have a yin-deficient land? And why did Feng Si, of all places, hide here? Don’t you think all this is very strange?”
Zhang Shun was instantly furious. “You’re all very strange, okay! My house got haunted as soon as you people came! Even my brother f—ing turned into a Sailor Moon! What more do you want?!”
Li Hu hurriedly soothed him. “Shh—you’re a reincarnation of a Buddha bone, you need to be more calm… Speaking of beautiful girls, don’t I count? I’ve been a very beautiful fox since I was little.”
Zhang Shun only felt a wave of dizziness, not sure if it was from anger or from her swaying D-cups.
“Come on, Second Young Master Zhang. Lend me the Buddha seal on your hand, in case the Earth Womb suddenly crawls out… Oh, be careful. I’m a demon in essence, so the Buddha seal is harmful to me.” Li Hu carefully pressed her palm against Zhang Shun’s. The red nail polish made her hand look very beautiful. This palm-to-palm posture was actually very ambiguous. If not for the wrong time and place, Zhang Shun might have enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was completely ruined by Li Hu’s nervousness.
Zhang Shun only felt a warm current being “sucked” away from their pressed palms. A few seconds later, as if a faint light had flashed, Li Hu released her hand. A faint golden swastika hovered虛虛 (xūxū) – insubstantially – over her fair palm.
“Damn, this is good stuff…” Li Hu muttered. She bit the tip of her tongue and spat a mouthful of blood on the ground, then slammed the copied Buddha seal onto the ground. “—Appear like a mirror, all ghosts stay away!”
Zhang Shun only felt a “buzz!” in his ears, as if countless gongs had been struck in his brain at once, shaking him so much that he instantly retreated several steps.
Li Hu ignored him. The soil under her hand seemed to bubble up like boiling water, then instantly turned into a mirror, flashing and refracting in the intricate network of earth veins. After an unknown number of folds, a chaotic black shadow finally appeared.
“How…” Li Hu frowned. “How is it so small…”
Earth Wombs were generally huge. Some were born in the heart of great mountains, their wombs even able to fill an entire mountain. But the fetus in the earth beneath her feet was as small as a human, and it was already out of the womb. Its whole figure was… long and slender, very similar to an adult.
Li Hu’s heart skipped a beat. Could it have already become an adult? she thought.
No, impossible. The oldest Earth Womb on record is in the Kunlun Mountains. After tens of thousands of years, it has only grown to the size of a five- or six-year-old.
The mirror continued to refract. Li Hu narrowed her eyes and finally saw the specific shape of the Earth Womb in the chaos.
Her face instantly went blank.
The Second Young Master Zhang, gritting his teeth, finally managed to get up. While rubbing his ears and wanting to curse, he walked over to Li Hu and took a casual look. He was also stunned. In the mirror’s reflection, there was a faint image of a person suspended with both hands tied, their long hair hanging down, making it impossible to tell their gender. But even under such blurry visibility, just the profile of the face had a breathtakingly shocking beauty.
In stark contrast, this person was covered in bloodstains. Their robes were painted with dense, intricate curse marks. The density was such that just one more glance would send a chill from the very bones.
Li Hu took several steps back and fell to the ground with a thud.
“Beauty, are you alright?” The Second Young Master turned to help her, but he only saw her look of astonishment and horror, her lips seeming to tremble slightly.
“Damn it,” she said with a trembling voice. “It’s… it’s an acquaintance.”
·
“The six realms refer to the six realms of existence. The Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao are called the two good paths. The Asura, Hell, Hungry Ghost, and Animal Daos are called the four evil paths. That fierce ghost hunk you saw last night is the current representative of the four evil paths.”
On the way back, the Second Young Master Zhang kept asking about the Earth Womb, but Li Hu refused to say anything. Only when pressed did she reveal some of the inside story of that night.
“Zhou Hui and I both come from a unit directly under the Ministry of State Security. This unit has no name, only a number, 574. It’s specifically responsible for handling mysterious events within China. For example, a hundred-meter-deep sinkhole suddenly appearing in a certain place for no reason, a large-scale sighting of UFOs at night, a large lake drying up and revealing a huge, deadly unknown prehistoric creature… Small things like your house being haunted, we wouldn’t even care if it made the newspaper headlines.”
Zhang Shun sat in the car, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. “Are you guys considered special agents? Can that lunatic surnamed Zhou do that?”
“Don’t underestimate Zhou Hui,” Li Hu said. “There are only six of us at the team leader level, and each of us is responsible for guarding a region of China. Zhou Hui is in charge of the Beijing area. Do you know how many crises the capital faces at all times? Why else do you think everyone calls him Boss Zhou?”
Zhang Shun’s mind was in a mess. After a long moment, he squeezed out a sentence: “Then… what does this have to do with my brother? Don’t tell me he’s also one of your agents?”
Seeing his entire worldview being refreshed, Li Hu seemed a little sympathetic, but still told the truth. “Your brother was once our Team Leader Four, responsible for guarding the northwest. He later defected.”
Zhang Shun: “…”
The blow came too quickly. The Second Young Master Zhang’s mind was in a daze.
“My brother… why did my brother defect? Colluding with a foreign country? Are you here to arrest him?”
Perhaps seeing that the Second Young Master Zhang, a proper rich second-generation heir who was used to a peaceful life of spending money and chasing girls, was suddenly thrown into a cruel reality was too pitiful, Li Hu couldn’t help but feel a little pity. “Colluding with a foreign country is the most insignificant kind of defection for people like us. Although we serve this human society, our loyalty is limited. If your brother really defected to the United States or Japan, at most he would be leading Japanese onmyoji to plant a few curse seeds in the northeast, or casting some large-scale mutation spells in the East China Sea. After thirty or fifty years, it would be metabolized by nature. That’s not a big deal.”
“Then what did he do?!”
Li Hu sighed and said solemnly, “He… defected to the four evil paths.”
Seeing the Second Young Master Zhang’s expression, it was probably the same as if he had heard Li Hu say, “Your brother is the Dark Lord, and we Sailor Scouts will punish him in the name of the moon.”
“More than ten years ago,” Li Hu said, “Zhou Hui planned an operation against the Demon Lord, that fierce ghost hunk who almost killed you, with the aim of temporarily sealing the four evil paths. For this, he brought all the elites from our six teams. After several years of long investigation and action, he finally confronted the Demon Lord’s true form in a final fierce battle. The danger of that battle was unimaginable. To avoid unnecessary sacrifices, we six team leaders didn’t bring any team members and all went into battle personally. Unfortunately, four of them were seriously injured and fell on the way. In the end, only Zhou Hui and your brother successfully reached the Demon Lord.”
“…” Zhang Shun blinked, thinking, Is this an RPG game commentary? Is this a Dungeons & Dragons game commentary?!
“If both Zhou Hui and the Demon Lord were at their peak, it would be hard to say who had the upper hand. At that time, your brother was the key to victory. But unfortunately, this key piece turned against them at the most critical moment. According to Zhou Hui’s later account, not only did he not fight, but he also took advantage of the chaos to give Zhou Hui a few vicious kicks…”
Zhang Shun thought this was really not his brother’s style of doing things. The credibility of that guy surnamed Zhou’s words was too low.
“Zhou Hui said that later, enduring the emotional trauma of being betrayed by your brother and the physical pain of being kicked, he bravely and fearlessly fought, shed blood and sweat, and defeated the Demon Lord with a tenacious and unyielding spirit—I believe the truth should be the exact opposite.” Li Hu said, “But one fact remains unchanged. When the Demon Lord was half-sealed, your brother suddenly attacked, knocked out Zhou Hui, and rescued the Demon Lord. Since then, we have completely lost track of him.”
Zhang Shun thought of the ghostly image of the Demon Lord he had seen on the night of the haunting and thought, So that’s how it is. This person has been in my house all along… But why would my brother do this?
He asked Li Hu. Li Hu threw up his hands. “You ask me, who do I ask? Your brother, only God knows what he’s thinking. And later, when the story spread, everyone believed that the real situation was that your brother fought the monster alone while Zhou Hui slacked off on the side, which led to your brother’s defeat. Only then did Zhou Hui hastily kill the Demon Lord to silence him and came back with a lie to absolve himself of responsibility… Don’t you think this fits Zhou Hui’s character better?”
“…” A lot of complicated black lines appeared above Zhang Shun’s head. “But… but my brother has been in the Zhang family all this time. He… he hasn’t left since he was ten. Are you trying to say he’s been an agent since he was seven or eight?”
Li Hu curled his lips into a smile. His bright red lips looked very beautiful and sexy, but for some reason, Zhang Shun felt this smile reminded him of Zhou Hui.
Unlike Zhou Hui, that sense of superiority of an adult facing a child was not well hidden. It was even revealed in his slightly pitying tone. “Can you… can you still remember the first time you met your brother?”
Zhang Shun’s first reaction was, What’s there not to remember? Wasn’t it when he was five or six, just back from abroad, and heard that his father’s remarried wife had died, and then he came home and saw his brother?
He still remembered that day was particularly gloomy. After he got home, he lay in bed, sick as a dog… Huh? Why was he so sick?
What did his brother look like when he was ten? A vague image of a gentle beauty in a white robe with long hair tied up appeared in Zhang Shun’s mind. But who was that? His brother should have only been ten at the time.
No, no, his memories were all messed up. It must be because he had never carefully recalled and organized them over the years. But wait, why had he never thought about when he first met his brother? Even when a person is just spacing out, they would subconsciously recall some childhood memories, right?
Zhang Shun sat on the spacious and comfortable leather back seat of the car, his face turning pale and then white. He suddenly realized that Chu He seemed to have appeared naturally in his childhood memories. It was unclear when he had appeared, or what he had looked like when he appeared. It was as if he had invaded his memories in a slow, silent, and润物细无声 (rùn wù xì wú shēng) – moistening things silently – way.
“A bewitching spell.” Li Hu still had that uncomfortable smile and said, “You have a deep innate affinity with the Buddha, which can alleviate the pain of your brother being eroded by the Demon Lord. That’s why he went to great lengths to stay by your side. But speaking of which, he must have had a very hard time all these years. His primordial spirit disappeared, his heart’s blood was exhausted, and even his true form was suppressed. And now he’s been caught by Zhou Hui…”
When she got into the car, she had instructed her trusted driver from Yunnan to drop the Second Young Master Zhang off at the hotel on the way. Now, the cool black Mulsanne had already pulled up at the hotel entrance. But Zhang Shun didn’t notice at all, just sat stiffly in the back seat, his face pale.
“Your brother is in great danger,” Li Hu’s expression was very compassionate. “With Zhou Hui’s temper, he might hang him up and beat him to death. But you don’t have to be too sad. You’re not related by blood, and he only stayed by your side to use you…”
The Second Young Master Zhang was in a state of extreme emotional turmoil. Hearing this, he blurted out, “No!”
“Oh?”
“My brother is not like that!” Zhang Shun paused, seeming unable to think of a rebuttal. He just shook his head firmly. “My brother is not like that. He… you don’t understand. He has protected me many times… Where is he now? What will Zhou Hui do to him?”
Li Hu looked at Zhang Shun with great interest for a while, then turned to look out the car window and said, “I don’t know, but according to our mechanism, Zhou Hui will definitely find an absolutely safe place to hang him up and question him about everything first…”
Her words were very suggestive. Zhang Shun couldn’t help but think of the suspended Earth Womb he had just seen, and Li Hu’s exclamation of “an acquaintance” after seeing it.
—”Your brother’s Dharma-form is one of the Ten Great Sights of the Heavenly Dao. It’s very rare…”
—”Zhou Hui will definitely find an absolutely safe place to hang him up…”
“That… that Earth Womb is my brother’s true form?” Zhang Shun felt as if he had been enlightened. His whole voice trembled. “So you were so shocked when you saw it just now?!”
Li Hu fell silent.
She faced the window. Zhang Shun saw her profile in the car window’s reflection, looking somewhat unfathomable.
“He’s buried underground? How do I dig him out?!” Zhang Shun was completely distraught. “That guy surnamed Zhou will kill him, right? Damn it, that guy surnamed Zhou would definitely do it, right?! Driver! Driver, turn back! Back to the construction site in the suburbs, right now!”
The driver showed a helpless expression and didn’t move. Li Hu immediately turned back and cursed, “That’s not true at all! That’s not your brother! Stop overthinking it!”
“But you…”
“How could Zhou Hui do such a thing? Do you think he won’t be sanctioned by the higher-ups? You young people just love to overthink these things.” At this point, the car had completely stopped in front of the hotel. Li Hu immediately reached out and gestured for him to get out. “Get out, get out. Go back and get some sleep, your brother will be back soon. I’ve talked to you too much today. I need to find a few handsome guys to make up for it. Don’t delay my golden nightlife.”
The more she acted nonchalantly, the more suspicious she seemed. Zhang Shun grabbed the car door handle, uncertain and unwilling to get out. He struggled and said, “Then tell me what that Earth Womb is…”
“Get lost. I’m living a good life. Why would I go looking for trouble for myself?” Li Hu pushed him with her hand and squeezed with her chest. The round D-cups forced the Second Young Master Zhang to retreat out of the car. “Go, go, go. It’s so late. Are you trying to scrounge a meal by not leaving? In your dreams!”
The Second Young Master Zhang was forcibly pushed out of the car. Before he could ask any more questions, the car door slammed shut, and then the car turned around and drove off in a flash.
The Second Young Master Zhang chased after it for several steps before finally watching helplessly as the black Bentley disappeared into the stream of traffic on the main street.
·
In the rearview mirror, the dejected figure of the Second Young Master Zhang could be seen standing on the street. The driver retracted his gaze and sighed helplessly. “Team Leader Six…”
“Uh-huh?”
“Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”
Li Hu was taking out a bottle of red nail polish from her small bag and carefully filling in a small chip on her pinky nail. Hearing this, she didn’t even look up. “Don’t worry. No matter who dies, it’s acceptable.”
She held up her hand and admired her perfect nails against the light, her face devoid of expression. “After all, it’s a Buddha bone…”
·
These special agents from the Ministry of State Security were staying in a government-appointed four-star hotel in H-City. To maintain the secrecy of their operation, they had booked an entire floor. It was already dark when Li Hu returned. She walked down the thickly carpeted corridor. Her high heels made no sound, like a cat walking.
As she passed Zhou Hui’s room, she suddenly paused, a look of confusion on her face. Then she took out a spare room card and swiped the door open.
—Zhou Hui was standing by the bed, leaning over, injecting a syringe into the side of Chu He’s neck.
“Damn it! Stop!” Li Hu immediately took two steps forward. “Too much of that will kill him!”
Zhou Hui pushed the syringe into Chu He’s blood vessel and sneered without looking up. “What are you thinking?”
Only then did Li Hu notice that the liquid in the syringe was blood-red. Chu He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, his hair slightly damp, his eyes tightly closed. Zhou Hui concentrated on injecting the last drop of liquid before pulling out the syringe and huffing, “I’m not an immortal phoenix. This tube of heart’s blood is almost a quarter of my total… Where can you find a husband as good as me?”
“…” Li Hu said through her nose, “Hehe!”
Chu He’s lowered eyelashes trembled. It was hard to describe that lazy aura of post-coital warmth and having just bathed. It was as if a soft glow was emanating from under his skin. Li Hu instantly collapsed onto the bed as if her bones had been removed, and rested her head on his lap with a coquettish air. She looked at Zhou Hui and asked with a grin, “So? Who won your tug-of-war in the end?”
While disposing of the used syringe, Zhou Hui asked, “Have you heard the story of Zhang San playing chess?”
“How does it go?”
“There was a person named Zhang San who loved to play chess. He lost repeatedly but kept playing. One day, he came home after playing chess, and his wife asked, ‘How did you do today?’ Zhang San said, ‘I didn’t win the first game, he didn’t lose the second, and I wanted to draw the third, but he wouldn’t let me’—what conclusion can you draw from this story?”
“Zhang San is a really bad chess player?”
“No,” Zhou Hui said. “What I mean is that this nosy wife is very annoying. If I were Zhang San, I would have divorced her.”
“Hahaha, oh, that’s such a pity,” Li Hu immediately clapped her hands and laughed wildly. “Luckily, I’m not your wife, just your rumored second mistress, hahaha!”
Zhou Hui’s face darkened. He glared fiercely at both Li Hu and Chu He.
Unfortunately, Chu He was as calm as ever with his eyes closed, and Li Hu was laughing and rolling around on her own, her chestnut curls spread all over the bed. After she finally finished laughing, she sat up, rested her chin on Chu He’s knee, and asked in a very sweet voice, “Hey, you two, what if I did something that you esteemed couple might find a bit f—ed up?”
Zhou Hui asked, “Don’t you often do f—ed up things?”
“What if I did?”
Before Zhou Hui could speak, Chu He, with his eyes closed and motionless, said, “I’ll kill you.”
Li Hu laughed again, blew him a kiss, and propped up her chin, saying nothing more.
