Chapter 205

Ye Hao's troubled mood improved a little when a ten-or-so-year-old child passed by. Among the people coming and going, only that child said the key point: 'Those on the ground are game coins.'

What truly put Ye Hao at ease, however, was the phone call he received that night. Ye Hao had left a number in that Braille letter, and while he was looking over a report that evening, he got a call from a stranger. The person should be someone from Kun Ye's entourage; they gave the time and place, their tone was flat, and Ye Hao couldn't tell what attitude they had, but getting a reply and their agreement to meet was already a good sign.

They had agreed to meet two days later in the afternoon, and Ye Hao cleared his schedule for that day, staying in to discuss the afternoon meeting with a few close aides. They didn't dare go unprepared; thinking of the worst case, what if they went and couldn't come back? The other side wasn't exactly easy to deal with.

The day after sending the letter, Zheng Tan was just as before—strolling around campus in the morning and heading to the overpass in the afternoon—and he remained curious about that old man whom Ye Hao feared.

The reason Zheng Tan dared to come over after learning the old man's identity was mainly because Kun Ye had shown no hostility; sometimes Zheng Tan wondered whether his own presence as a small fry was too faint, or whether the other side simply didn't deign to quarrel with him, letting him do as he pleased.

As the saying goes, when the forest is big, all kinds of birds appear; when a lady is beautiful, all kinds of suitors appear; when power is great, all kinds of people come to you; when a person is prominent, all kinds of people surround them—thus a trait of a prominent figure is being able to accommodate all sorts of people.

Indeed, the thoughts of a prominent figure are hard to guess.

After half a day, the atmosphere between the old man and the cat remained unchanged, just as before. No one threw money or game coins, so Zheng Tan lay down beside him for an afternoon nap.

As the sun set, Zheng Tan left the overpass and returned to Chu Hua University, while the old man sitting on the overpass, as usual, gathered his things, picked up that shabby-looking wooden box, took his white cane, and left.

Walking down this street past the familiar storefronts, some of the shop assistants remembered the old man. Every day at this time one could see that blind old man passing by.

In the night, the old man walked on the sidewalk, near the edge.

A black sedan slowly drove over, pulling up to the sidewalk, and in this way the distance between the black car and the old man was only about a meter.

The black sedan drove very slowly; even if it went past the old man a bit ahead, it would stop up front for a while, wait for the old man to catch up, then start moving again.

The rear-seat window rolled down. The person inside looked at the blind old man walking on the sidewalk, silent, as if pondering what to say.

The person in the rear seat was also an old man, but compared to Kun Ye, one could tell at a glance that he led an extremely affluent material life. To outsiders, these two old men seemed to live in completely different social strata, worlds apart.

While the old man in the car looked out the window, a noticeably larger-than-average cat lay curled beside him; the cat was well-behaved, its eyes curious as they gazed outside, but it had no intention of jumping out and made no sound.

After ten minutes like that, the old man in the car finally spoke: 'Off work, eh, Lao Huang.' His tone was thick with sarcasm and mockery.

Kun Ye's surname is Huang, and the reason he was once called the Earth Emperor also lies in his surname.

Upon hearing the old man in the car's words, Kun Ye's face showed no change; it seemed he had long expected this person to speak that way, and he didn't respond, continuing to walk at his previous pace.

Such exchanges between the two old men had happened more than once; as expected, the old man in the car withdrew his gaze from the window. The driver accelerated the car, quickly leaving Kun Ye behind.

"I really don't know why he's made himself into this state; enjoying life would be much better, and even with resources he doesn't make use of them!" the old man in the car sneered.

Just as Tang Qi had said, of those who lived through that era, not many remain today; in Chu Hua Shi it's just a few old-timers, and though they've been openly and covertly at odds with each other all this time, no one would specially come to cause trouble for Huang Kun—at most they'd exchange a few barbed words or engage in some harmless scuffles for amusement, never coming to blows here. Even Tang Qi was no exception. When Tang Qi retreated behind the scenes, he had instructed Ye Hao on his attitude toward Kun Ye.

"Nineteenth Lord, not everyone can enjoy life's pleasures the way you do," the driver in front said.

Nie Shijiu just likes it when people praise him for enjoying life, and indeed that's his style; so in many people's eyes, Nie Shijiu is always dignified and radiant, even at his age he's often seen with young women, making many envy him—'old but vigorous' is a phrase often used when speaking of Nie Shijiu.

However, when Nie Shijiu thought of how Huang Kun completely ignored his attitude, he grew angry. 'That damn old immortal, pulling a stunt!'

The driver, looking at Nie Shijiu in the rear-view mirror, continued: 'Nineteenth Lord, looking at Kun Ye like this, he seems feeble and declining—could his health be problematic?'

Nie Shisan gave a sarcastic smile, "That guy's life is tough; back when he was at his fiercest, everyone thought he was bound to die, anyone could get lucky, but this one definitely wouldn't be let go. But? He's doing just fine now!"

The driver heard Nie Shisan's tone; it didn't sound like he was angry at himself. Given his understanding of the boss, the boss's heart likely matched his own thoughts; he was just saying that verbatim.

So the driver continued, "Although he's alive, look at him now—blind for so many years. I recall his old self was about your age, right? But today, where is the aura of the former local emperor, Lord Kun, who once dominated the region? And now, isn't it Lord Kun's adopted son who controls that area? Speaking of which, Lord Kun is merely a figurehead without real power, a retired emperor."

In the driver's view, even blood relatives in this circle might resort to murder, let alone those without ties—so it's even less reliable.

"No real power in hand? Hmph……"

Nie Shisan snorted a laugh and didn't explain. But the driver ahead felt a chill down his back; he knew the boss was truly angry this time, so he hastily shut up and said nothing more.

After a while, Nie Shisan teased the cat lying nearby, slipping his finger into its mouth.

The cat clung to Nie Shisan's finger, nibbling playfully; even the cat teeth that had bitten dogs before lightly scraped his finger, yet it never really bit down—it didn't dare.

"This cat—well raised. Even if I stick my finger into its mouth, it wouldn't dare really bite."

Though Nie Shisan's words seemed calm, the driver felt his scalp tingle, not daring to utter a sound. Perhaps, if Lord Kun had fallen back then, the boss might be easier now? Lord Kun's existence is like a thorn in the boss's throat—he can't pull it out, and moreover… he doesn't dare to.

Zheng Tan didn't know about the meeting between Ye Hao and Lord Kun; Wei Leng and Ye Hao never mentioned it to him. Zheng Tan also didn't want to get involved—after all, those few are people handling big matters; as this cat, I should just think about how to pass the time,

Therefore, on the afternoon when Ye Hao met with Lord Kun, Zheng Tan as usual went to Tianqiao, where he happened to see the old man tidying up. He wondered why the old man was leaving work so early today—who would have thought that as the old man passed Zheng Tan, he said, "Curiosity? Feel free to follow along and play."

Zheng Tan stayed where he was, still wondering how the old man knew he had come here; today he had no chance to fish coins from the wooden box, his steps were very light, yet the old man could still accurately sense his position.

Seeing the old man had already descended Tianqiao, Zheng Tan stopped pondering that question, then wondered whether the old man meant for him to come over and take a look—if he went, he might be able to get to the bottom of the old man. It was rare for such a prominent figure to extend a polite invitation; at least to Zheng Tan it seemed like an invitation, so he hurried to follow, only then realizing belatedly that this might have been the first time he'd heard the old man speak.

Following the old man down the bustling street, turning into a lane, walking a stretch, they arrived before a house.

Without the old man knocking, the door was opened from inside.

Zheng Tan saw a young man with a solemn expression; his attitude toward the old man was respectful, but when his gaze swept over Zheng Tan, he showed no surprise at seeing a cat here—just a brief pause—then he followed beside the old man and went inside.

Zheng Tan glanced around, then followed them in.

The house looked dilapidated from outside, but inside it was merely passable, with nothing special. Some wealthy, high-status elders like classical decor, others prefer modern touches, but Zheng Tan couldn't tell which style this was; overall the furnishings were very simple. Evidently the owner didn't care about showy material things. Thinking the old man was blind, Zheng Tan felt at ease.

Moreover, judging from behind, Zheng Tan couldn't tell the old man was blind at all—no one supported him, the old man stumbled neither, his steps remained steady, and while moving he accurately placed the wooden box, big black umbrella, etc., in their proper spots without needing anyone nearby to help.

Going further in, there was a modest living room where Ye Hao and Long Qi, among others, were present.

Upon seeing Lord Kun enter, Ye Hao hastily rose to his feet, but before he could speak, he was choked by the black cat following behind Lord Kun.

Not only Ye Hao—Long Qi and Baizi felt as if a herd of alpacas were galloping hoof‑first in their chests.

Long Qi glanced at Baizi, eyes signaling: "Boss didn't notify us about this cat, did he?"

Baizi: "Absolutely not!"

Today's plan was indeed solid, having considered many scenarios and their countermeasures; they even dissected various psychological tactics in depth—but nobody had factored in this cat!

In Long Qi's view, a cat is inherently an uncertain factor, let alone this one—who knows what could happen with it present! What on earth does Lord Kun mean by this?

Zheng Tan watched the expressions of Ye Hao and the others, flicked his ears, and walked aside. "What a load of crap—do I even care?"

They chatted among themselves; Zheng Tan didn't join them, intending to find a spot to lie down—he was a bit tired from the walk.

When coming, Zheng Tan had imagined many possibilities, but upon arrival he felt none of the anticipated oppression, nor any sense of malice or danger around; though he couldn't let his guard down, at least psychologically he was much more relaxed.

Zheng Tan spotted a wooden table by the window, more than three meters away from those people, with a vase holding lucky bamboo—perfect for lying down to sleep there.

So he rose and leapt!

As he jumped up, the table was a bit wobbly; the vase on it swayed a few times with the table's tremors—if the amplitude were any greater, the vase would likely have fallen off the table. (To be continued…)

ps: (3.26) Sorry, I was irritable on Monday and not in good shape, so I only released one chapter. However, there will be a double release on Tuesday.