Perhaps it was because of Li Hu’s suggestion, but that night, Zhou Hui had a lot of chaotic dreams.
When a person lived to his level, they were aware when they were dreaming. He also found it strange why he would recall such distant and secret past events, and how these things, after a thousand years of vicissitudes, were still as clear as yesterday.
It was when the Phoenix was giving birth to his eldest son. The celestial phenomena were bizarre, and the universe was unstable. The mother’s inner core was being rapidly absorbed by the embryo. Many people said that the Phoenix would not be able to make it this time.
The Phoenix was immortal through nirvana, but that didn’t mean it could live forever. Once the soul returned to the endless abyss beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, it was said to become eternal, but in reality, it was no different from death.
Zhou Hui knelt before the hundred-zhang golden Buddha of the Heavenly Dao for seven days and seven nights, a string of azure prayer beads in his hand, which he had turned thousands of times.
“Do you take refuge?” the Buddha asked for the first time.
Zhou Hui was silent for a long time, then said, “No.”
Outside the Buddhist hall, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a downpour began. Countless bolts of lightning descended from the sky like winding giant dragons, whipping the earth into a scorched wasteland for thousands of miles.
Hu Qing held an oil-paper umbrella and walked up the winding bluestone path from the foot of the mountain, stopping at the entrance of the Buddhist hall. He was like a lonely ghost in the rainy night, his wet face exceptionally grayish-white, and he said幽幽地, “He can’t hold on.”
“…”
“The Phoenix said that if it comes to the end, he can sacrifice his inner core to save the embryo.”
“…”
The lights in the Buddhist hall were like beans. Half of Zhou Hui’s profile was hidden in the darkness, looking obscure.
The Buddha asked again, “Do you take refuge?”
This time, a long, long time passed, so long that Hu Qing thought he had fallen asleep in that position, or simply turned into a stone and taken root in the ground, before he heard him suddenly speak, his voice hoarse, “No.”
On the tenth day, the heavens and earth tilted, a black wind howled, and the rain fell endlessly, like the legendary ice hell. The vast world was filled with the wild dance of demons and ghosts, glaciers collapsed, seawater poured in, and the earth trembled and cracked under the scorching of blood and fire.
Zhou Hui trembled all over, his fingernails digging into the prayer beads, causing several pieces of azure lapis lazuli to be covered in cracks.
The Buddha asked for the third time, “Do you take refuge?”
The sharp fragments dug deep into his palm, and blood seeped into the core of the prayer beads along the fine cracks, reflecting a hazy and strange glimmer under the single candlelight.
“I…”
He wanted to say he was willing to take refuge, but the weight of those few words was like the sky collapsing and the earth cracking, pressing down on his back until it bent, and almost every inch of his bones was about to break.
“I…”
He closed his eyes tightly and, trembling, opened his mouth. At that moment, he suddenly heard a voice from the front of the Buddhist hall: “He’s born! The young Phoenix has descended!”
“The peacock has descended, with wisdom and light, complete in merit, and proficient in the Buddhist dharma!”
“Maha Peacock King, born on the ground, like the golden sun on a snowy mountain, is enfeoffed as the Peacock Wisdom King!”
…
Zhou Hui’s whole body suddenly relaxed, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted. He let out a long, complete breath.
However, that breath never went back in—
“Sinful creature! It’s too late!” The Buddha’s voice boomed like thunder in the distant Thirty-Three Heavens.
“Obsessed and unrepentant, unteachable, you have lost your last chance!”
“You will be subjected to blades and axes, fall into hell, and suffer the pain of being unable to reincarnate and atone for eternity!”
Zhou Hui looked up and saw the angry eyes of the vajra and the solemn face of the Buddha, as if it would collapse at any moment and devour people. He suddenly retreated several steps, panting, feeling as if his whole body was soaked in ice water, covered in cold sweat.
At that moment, Hu Qing came running from outside the Buddhist hall, his voice so sharp it was almost distorted. “Zhou, Zhou Hui! Quick, go and see, the newborn’s eyes—”
Zhou Hui whipped around and saw the nine-tailed fox’s face was ashen, his expression full of indescribable fear and terror. He couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
“The newborn has opened his eyes,” Hu Qing trembled. “In his pupils… the death of the Phoenix is reflected.”
The prayer beads fell to the ground with a clatter. The thread broke, and the azure lapis lazuli beads scattered on the ground with a jingle.
Zhou Hui’s eyes snapped open.
Sometime during the night, it had started to rain heavily outside, a pitter-patter against the hotel’s glass windows. An almost imperceptible damp, salty smell floated in the air.
Chu He was reaching over him for the phone on his side of the nightstand. Seeing him awake, he silently turned back.
Zhou Hui laughed, rolled over, and pressed down heavily on him, his hand immediately groping downwards. “I can’t believe you still haven’t learned your lesson… Hmm? How many times do you have to suffer before you learn to be smart?”
The scent of passion that had just subsided in the dark, warm room began to rise again. In the hazy, rainy night, it was particularly intoxicating. Chu He let out a vague moan, his hand subconsciously gripping the bedsheet. Zhou Hui caught his fingers in the gap between his thrusts and held them in his palm.
“I just wanted to… make a phone call…”
“There’s no signal,” Zhou Hui said, kissing him forcefully while panting heavily. “In the barrier, you and I are the same. Or do you think you can get out?… It’s not that simple, I’m telling you…”
The friction of their naked bodies created a scorching heat, making one particularly addicted and infatuated. For a moment, Chu He felt that the dark night was like a bottomless body of water, enough to drown a person alive. He desperately tilted his head back, gasping for breath, but felt the hand on his throat tighten.
Finally, just as he was about to suffocate, a hazy, unclear light flashed in his mind, like a colorful block of colors exploding. His whole body trembled as if electrocuted, his limbs went weak, and even his internal organs spasmed.
He let out a pained and yet blood-pumping gasp that he himself didn’t hear.
Zhou Hui also gasped for breath. After a long while, he gradually calmed down and lowered his head for a brief kiss.
Chu He was extremely tired and lay there, not wanting to move at all. Zhou Hui lay on his side next to him. In the darkness, one could see sweat glistening on his firm, naked upper body. His voice was lazy and hoarse with satisfaction. “Who did you want to call?”
“Zhang Shun.”
“Is your brother a child who can’t grow up? He’s so anxious he’s about to die just because his brother is out for one night?”
Chu He lay quietly without moving. After a long pause, he suddenly asked, “Were you dreaming just now?”
“No,” Zhou Hui immediately denied, then paused. “Hu Qing has already told your brother that you’re coming back tomorrow. What, you can’t even wait one night? Your brotherly love is really touching, tsk tsk.”
“…” Chu He was speechless for a moment, then said, “I’m just curious. If there’s no special reason, why did you bring me into this barrier for one night? For fun?”
“Can’t I do things without a reason?”
“You’re not that kind of person. The things you do, if not one hundred percent, then at least ninety-nine percent have a reason.”
Zhou Hui shifted to a more comfortable position, lying on his side next to him, and said casually, “It seems you really don’t know me at all.”
“…” Chu He frowned, then rubbed the space between his eyebrows with his middle finger joint, looking a little confused.
This look reminded Zhou Hui of some old, fragmented, and warm memories from a long, long time ago. He couldn’t help but smile faintly and was about to tease him when some dark and gloomy shadows from his dream just now suddenly appeared, like malicious demons hiding behind the beautiful and peaceful years, suddenly showing him a ferocious smile.
Zhou Hui suddenly fell silent.
“You know I have a reason for keeping you here for one night, but you can’t figure out what that reason is. In any case, it means our ways of thinking are different.” After a long pause, he suddenly gave a playful smile and reached out to playfully hook Chu He’s chin. This action was actually very flirtatious, even frivolous, but with his impossibly handsome face, it had a masculine charm that made one’s heart flutter.
“—Don’t be anxious, darling. Just one night. Your husband always knows when to stop when he’s having fun. Didn’t you know?”
Chu He looked at him with a blank expression. Zhou Hui blinked and showed a cunning smile.
At the same time, in the suburban development zone, at a construction site.
Zhang Shun parked the Ferrari on the side of the road and got out of the car, holding an umbrella. The wilderness was flat under the heavy rain. In the distance, the plains undulated, without a single light, as if some kind of monster was revealing its huge, endless, dark black fangs on the horizon.
The police tape from the crime scene was still wrapped around the wire fence, but it had been torn to pieces by the heavy rain.
Zhang Shun took a deep breath, silently gave himself a pep talk, lifted the police tape, and ducked under it.
It wasn’t scary when he came during the day, but standing in front of the construction building at night, looking at the large pit where six coffins had just been dug out a few hours ago, the horrifying fear all came back. For a moment, Zhang Shun almost wanted to turn and leave, but thinking of Zhou Hui’s seemingly casual but ruthless style, and Li Hu’s ambiguous hints and suggestions, Second Young Master Zhang gritted his teeth and stood his ground.
“How do I use this?” he muttered to himself, looking down at the golden Buddha seal on his palm. It seemed that the woman surnamed Li had just pressed it on the ground during the day and recited a couple of spells. The reflection of the mirrored underground was like watching an IMAX 3D blockbuster. By the way, what were those two spells again?
“Even if I can’t get in, I should be able to shout a few words and pass some water or something. If that doesn’t work, I’ll just call the police…” Zhang Shun said to himself. He was about to press his palm into the damp mud of the pit when suddenly a light flashed on the road in the distance, followed by bright car headlights approaching from afar.
Someone’s here? Zhang Shun was startled. He immediately looked around and, after a moment of hesitation, ran into the construction building and quickly hid behind a pile of scaffolding.
However, he had guessed wrong. It wasn’t a police car that drove over, but a Grand Cherokee. As it approached the construction site, the large vehicle turned off its headlights and stopped in front of the construction building. The car doors opened, and several people got out one after another, talking in low voices, “…”
“…”
Zhang Shun’s heart skipped a beat—they were Japanese!
They were the Japanese investors who Mayor Huang had said bought this construction site during the day!
What were they doing here so late at night? Could the murder really be related to them? Zhang Shun’s heart was pounding. He couldn’t help but peek out—he saw several Japanese men working together to move a long cloth bag from the car, throw it on the ground, and then move out a huge long wooden box.
Zhang Shun recognized what it was, and his legs went weak.
—It was a coffin.
Another young man in a white robe got out of the car. His steps and expression were very stiff. He walked out of the car step by step and stood in front of the cloth bag and the coffin. After Zhang Shun got a clear look, he almost wet himself. A gun was pressed against the back of the young man’s head. The person holding the gun was a middle-aged man in a gray suit. All the other people stood in a circle, watching.
Is this a murder scene? Did I f*cking walk into a murder scene?!
Zhang Shun trembled like a leaf, considering whether sneaking away while no one was looking or just falling to the ground and pretending to faint was more feasible. Just then, he heard the gray-suited man speak, and it was actually in Chinese. “Do it now, don’t make me do it!”
The young man trembled all over and, after a long while, said hoarsely, “But I don’t want to kill anymore. You can kill me.”
After saying the last word, he suddenly became calm and stood there with his eyes closed.
The gray-suited man probably didn’t expect the young man to say that. After a moment of surprise, he became furious and smashed him to the ground with the butt of his gun, then kicked him fiercely a few times.
The young man curled up in pain but gritted his teeth and didn’t give in. When he was pushed to the limit, he let out a short cry of pain. The gray-suited man kicked him a few more times. There was nothing he could do, so he said angrily, “Do you think only you can do it, Yan Lanyu? You guys! Untie this bag!”
Two subordinates immediately untied the cloth bag and pulled it off. Only then did Zhang Shun see that there was a person inside.
The person must have already fainted, as he didn’t react to all the commotion. The gray-suited man spat, then walked over to the person with his gun.
The young man named Yan Lanyu lay on the ground, probably knowing what was going to happen next, and panted in pain, shaking his head.
But Zhang Shun didn’t react, or rather, this well-protected rich second-generation didn’t realize that there was such a cruel side to the world. He subconsciously widened his eyes and saw the gray-suited man raise his gun. The silenced gun went off with a pfft.
A stream of blood shot out from the head of the person in the cloth bag, and then his head tilted to the side and he was still.
He killed… he killed someone!
Zhang Shun trembled as if he had been struck by lightning. In a panic, he took half a step back and clang! he bumped into the steel scaffolding.
At that moment, Zhang Shun felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen into ice. Then, a few people in the distance turned their heads at the same time and shouted, “Who’s there?”
Zhang Shun froze for half a second, then turned and ran!
It turned out that even a desperate rich second-generation was no match for a well-trained wolf. He had only run a few steps before he was caught by the head, thrown hard to the ground, and then a few punches rained down on him, making him cry out and cover his head. Soon, the intense pain took away his strength to scream, and he could only let out intermittent pleas for mercy in between the punches that landed on his face and body.
For a few seconds, he even thought he would be beaten to death—he had never thought that being held down and beaten was such a terrifying and desperate thing. Thinking about it, he was even worse than that little boy named Yan Lanyu. At least he had gritted his teeth and didn’t beg for mercy…
“Alright!” someone suddenly shouted.
The punches gradually stopped. Zhang Shun panted wretchedly for a while before the sharp pain slowly returned through the numbness. He saw the gray-suited man standing in front of him with a gun, his face gloomy. Not far away, the young man shouted sharply, “Don’t kill him! I’ll make the seventh smiling corpse for you!”
Zhang Shun stared at the gun, his mind a complete blank. It was so stiff and blank that he didn’t even think of things like “My life is over,” “I’ll be a hero again in eighteen years,” and “Brother, I’m going to die. Will we see each other underground soon?”
“…Tie him up,” Zhang Shun felt as if a whole century had passed, but it had only been a few seconds before he heard the gray-suited man’s voice. “Bring him over. If the corpse isn’t made successfully, use him to make up the number.”
The subordinates immediately got some rope from the Cherokee, tied Zhang Shun up, and brought him before the gray-suited man and the young man. The young man had already gotten up and was kneeling by the man’s corpse, staring at Zhang Shun. “Who are you? Why are you here?”
Zhang Shun couldn’t control his trembling. He knew it was very embarrassing, but he really couldn’t stop. He desperately thought that he was still too inexperienced. At a critical moment, he was not as mature and calm as his brother, completely useless.
“I… I was just passing by. I was just passing by to buy some soy sauce. Please don’t kill me…”
Yan Lanyu let out a short, sad laugh. “You’d better close your eyes.”
Close my eyes? Why? Are you really going to kill me to make the eighth corpse? Damn it, will I also lie in a coffin and laugh like that ghost? …A thousand thoughts flashed through Zhang Shun’s mind. He heard the young man say, “The process that follows will be a bit disgusting. I have to take out all this person’s internal organs and then take some measures to make his face… you’d better close your eyes.”
Zhang Shun stared at him in stunned silence. Realizing that the young man was not joking, he immediately closed his eyes tightly and turned around.
A rustling sound came from behind him, followed by a strong smell of blood. Something wet fell to the ground with a splat. Realizing what it was, Zhang Shun immediately got goosebumps all over his body.
He didn’t realize it himself, but he was already trembling so much he couldn’t even stand steadily. The Japanese men let out obvious sneers.
“Alright,” Yan Lanyu said hoarsely after what seemed like a long time. “Put him in.”
A few people came forward, lifted the corpse, and put it in the coffin.
Zhang Shun used all his courage to open his eyes a tiny crack—he thought that if he didn’t die tonight, he must remember what this person looked like, so that he could burn some ladies and iPhones for this unlucky brother on holidays in the future. Who knew that as soon as he opened his eyes, he was scared stiff. The corpse had been stripped naked, its mouth grinning from ear to ear, and it had been placed in a strange cross-legged sitting position, with one hand holding a small knife and stabbing it into its own chest, and the other hand held flat, its index finger pointing straight ahead.
Zhang Shun was practically scared out of his wits. He saw that the Japanese men were not taboo and put the corpse in the coffin, closed the lid, and began to dig in the large pit where the six coffins had been dug out during the day with a special tool.
They dug very quickly and very hard. Fortunately, they didn’t make Zhang Shun dig with them—Second Young Master Zhang thought they probably found him troublesome, not that they had studied the Geneva Convention’s provisions on not forcing prisoners of war to do hard labor. The soil at the bottom of the pit was loose, and they soon dug a pit seven chi square and buried the coffin in it.
Yan Lanyu sighed and sat on the ground, saying to Zhang Shun, “You step back.”
Zhang Shun hastily took several steps back. He saw him take something from his neck, which seemed to be a sharp, gray-white pendant. He used the tip of this pendant to prick his middle finger and began to draw a talisman on the ground with his blood, murmuring something while drawing.
All the Japanese men stepped back, but the gray-suited man came forward and pressed the muzzle of his gun against his head.
“Is this necessary, Uncle Aida?” Yan Lanyu asked with a hint of mockery without looking back.
The gray-suited man said coldly, “With your cunning, fox-like personality, who knows if you’ll deliberately make a mistake so that we all die here?”
Yan Lanyu seemed to disdain to answer, but from Zhang Shun’s angle, he could see with the corner of his eye that his wrist had imperceptibly wiped away a section of the talisman and redrew a few strokes.
As the talismans became more and more numerous and dense, the surrounding wilderness slowly grew darker. In the tense environment, Zhang Shun was particularly sensitive. He soon discovered that the rain, which had already become finer, had stopped, and then the wind began to blow harder and harder. The dark clouds piled up layer after layer like a thick swamp, covering the pale, hazy moon. The entire wilderness became as black as ink, and even the flashlight beam from a dozen steps away became blurry.
Yan Lanyu was still drawing without looking up. A green light seemed to emanate from his and Aida’s faces, looking extremely terrifying.
Zhang Shun shivered. Then, he heard long and mournful screams coming from the depths of the wilderness, from all directions, from far to near.
The Japanese men also became slightly restless, looking around, but they couldn’t see anything. In the darkness, it was as if countless ghosts were flying from afar, wailing long cries, drifting back and forth above their heads, even whispering miserable, sharp wails close to their ears
This strange and terrifying atmosphere was like a live-action Hollywood ghost movie. The Japanese men, holding flashlights that had completely turned green, were trembling—only Zhang Shun, who was standing on the side, after reaching the peak of fear, burst out with a self-abandoning calmness, thinking, What’s there to be afraid of ghosts? I’ve seen a ghost at the head of my bed and critically hit a demon lord. You Japanese devils are much scarier than ghosts.
“What’s happening?” Aida ignored the foul, cold wind that was blowing on his shoulder and ear and asked Yan Lanyu loudly, “What have you done?!”
“This is normal,” Yan Lanyu said lightly while drawing. “The seven smiling corpses attract countless lonely ghosts and fierce spirits from all directions, and too many ghosts will cause the Earth-born Fetus to have convulsions due to extreme pain, thus collapsing the earth’s veins…”
Before he could finish, there was a muffled boom, and everyone felt the ground under their feet shake.
“It’s the Earth-born Fetus!” Aida cried out in surprise, followed by ecstasy. “The Earth-born Fetus has moved!”
Yan Lanyu had no time to respond to him. The talisman had consumed too much of his energy. He pricked his finger again with that strange, gray-white pendant, and after drawing the last few strokes with blood, he suddenly stood up and retreated several steps.
Then, the earth trembled and let out a rumbling roar of cracking!
Everyone fell down in a cry of surprise. Zhang Shun was caught off guard and fell flat on his face, instantly spitting out half a bloody front tooth. Before he could get up and curse, he saw the large pit under his feet crack open. The crack rapidly spread down into the ground with a terrifying creaking sound, and within a few seconds, it had formed a bottomless black gap, while countless cracks rapidly crawled out in all directions.
A corner of the coffin that had just been buried in the ground was exposed in the gap. It suddenly shook with a clang, and was then pulled by a force from the gap in the ground—Zhang Shun subconsciously knew that there was something inside pulling it—the coffin swayed in the mud for a few times, and then with a whoosh, it was forcefully pulled in by that thing underground!
Zhang Shun was horrified. He took the opportunity to turn and run, and then Aida roared angrily, “Catch him and make him go down first!”
Several Japanese men pounced and instantly pinned him down tightly. Zhang Shun struggled desperately but to no avail. He was tied up and escorted to the edge of the hole. He couldn’t help but cry out in terror, “Don’t go down! There’s something down there! The coffin, the coffin was pulled away!”
Aida showed a mocking smile and ordered his subordinates, “See how deep it is inside.”
Several Japanese men tied a brick to a rope and threw it into the hole. Because the earth’s tremor had not completely subsided, and the edge of the crack was very steep, they pulled each other. After a moment, the brick hit the ground, and they pulled the rope out to measure it. It turned out to be over twenty meters deep.
Aida pointed at Zhang Shun and said, “You, go down first.”
Over twenty meters! Sliding down the rope could still be fatal! Not to mention there was such a strange thing inside! Zhang Shun shook his head desperately and shouted, “No! Don’t make me go down! If I die, my family will not let you go! I have money, tell me how much you want!”
“Money,” Aida sneered. “For people like us, money is the least valuable thing. Send him down!”
Several subordinates immediately pushed Zhang Shun into the crack. Second Young Master Zhang struggled and screamed. In the chaos, his face and body were punched several more times. Although the Japanese were well-trained security personnel, Second Young Master Zhang was really fighting for his life at this moment, so for a while, he was not immediately pushed down. Aida became more and more annoyed after waiting for a few minutes and suddenly pulled out his gun and shouted, “Are you going down or not? Don’t make me throw your corpse down to scout the way!”
Zhang Shun screamed in fear, his legs went weak, and he was pushed by his subordinates, almost falling into the crack.
“Let him go,” at that moment, Yan Lanyu stood up and walked over, pressing down on the subordinates who were pulling Zhang Shun, and said in a calm and unquestionable tone, “I’ll go down first.”
The subordinates hesitated and stopped, all looking at Aida with questioning eyes. Aida’s expression was rather strange. He looked Yan Lanyu up and down before slowly humming, “You are indeed as soft-hearted as ever… But it doesn’t matter. You have to go down anyway. It doesn’t matter if you go down early to scout the way.”
Yan Lanyu sneered and didn’t answer. He took off his outer kariginu, revealing a set of short clothes underneath. The young man’s figure was thin and agile. After his subordinates tied a climbing rope around his waist, he walked down the steep earthen slope step by step. Before reaching the hole, he turned back and looked at Zhang Shun, “You follow me. Don’t be afraid.”
He looked very young, at most seventeen or eighteen, maybe even only fifteen or sixteen. A child of this age would usually still be in middle school. His eyes already held a沧桑and weather-beaten look that many adults did not have.
At that moment, a strange feeling struck Zhang Shun’s heart. He suddenly thought that it had always been like this. Whenever there was danger, he was always protected behind others—Chu He, Zhou Hui, even that woman named Li Hu, and now it was this teenage boy…
He was always the one being protected. He always watched others get injured and bleed in front of him.
Zhang Shun opened his mouth but couldn’t make a sound. After a long while, he nodded heavily.
Yan Lanyu jumped down without looking back. Zhang Shun was pushed hard by the Japanese men and stumbled into the crack right after him. As he went down, his forehead scraped hard against the wall of the pit. Before he could even feel the pain, he suddenly lost his balance and fell at least two or three meters vertically.
With a thud, he fell heavily on a protruding rock, his teeth chattering in pain. He heard Aida ask from above, “How is it down there?”
Yan Lanyu was in front of him. He said without looking back, “Let out more rope!”
Then he turned and made a “shh” gesture, took out a dagger from his back pocket, and stuffed it into Zhang Shun’s hands.
“You…”
Yan Lanyu interrupted Zhang Shun, speaking quickly and softly, his Chinese fluent, not at all like a Japanese person. “Listen, I will lead these people to a dead end later. If you get a chance, run.”
“What about you?”
A very faint smile appeared on the young man’s face. “I’m going to kill all of them.”
At that moment, Zhang Shun simply didn’t know what to say. The short seconds felt incredibly heavy to him. After a moment, he swallowed and said firmly, “I’ll stay and help you!”
Yan Lanyu smiled and shook his head, pointing to the gray-white pendant on his chest. “If you get a chance, after I die, take this pendant. It can protect you and get you out of this cave safely. After you get out, please tell the Zhou Hui who was with you during the day about my death. Please ask him to pass the message to a person in the State Security surnamed Yu. This fragment is what their State Security has been looking for.”
The cave was very dark, but Zhang Shun could feel tears slowly welling up in the corners of the young man’s eyes, although he couldn’t hear any sound.
“I can’t just run away alone,” Zhang Shun panted, struggling to refuse. “You’re still so young, I can’t… Who is that person surnamed Yu? Can he come and save you? Or you can come with me, we…”
Yan Lanyu said, “He is the person I saved two years ago. I gave up my freedom to save his life, and he promised to come back and save me in two years. He broke his promise.”
The young man paused sadly and said in a low voice, “Please tell him that Yan Lanyu is dead. This is the last thing I can give him.”
