Chapter 39: Twenty Million to Buy That Horse!

This is indeed extremely important intelligence.

The content on the small bamboo slip roughly says that the Yu State Court has dispatched 200,000 elite troops, hurrying to Xi Tun Guan, and additionally the Sha Yue Nation will send 100,000 barbarian soldiers in close pursuit, expected to arrive near Xi Tun Guan in about five days.

Duan Wu's mood plummeted to the bottom.

300,000 enemy troops are rushing in, and here at Daxuan Xi Tun Pass, although the Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army has been formed and the Fairy provides extremely powerful equipment, the number of soldiers is simply too few.

2,500 Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army troops, plus over 7,000 Xi Tun Guan soldiers, only a total of ten thousand people…

How can we deal with three hundred thousand enemy troops?

Even if we urgently conscript from the 60,000 civilians of Lin Xian Village, both combat power and numbers would still fall far short!

Duan Wu, impatient and flaring, rushed out of the camp tent, mounted his horse, and galloped to Immortal Cave.

"General Duan!" the guard at Immortal Cave saluted with clasped fists.

Duan Wu, his face full of anxiety, asked, "Has His Majesty not returned yet?"

The guard replied, "No."

Duan Wu ran to the stone slab bearing the Fairy's Communication Artifact, knelt, kowtowed, then lifted it and pressed the button.

"Jinli Fairy, are you there?"

Aside from a buzzing sound, he heard no other response.

But based on prior experience, that buzzing indicates one can still speak with the Fairy.

He could only cling to hope and, respectfully, continue to inquire.

Then, immediately, the light on the Communication Artifact suddenly went out, and even the buzzing ceased.

Duan Wu, unaware that the Walkie-Talkie had run out of power, suddenly turned pale.

The Communication Artifact shut down?

The Fairy no longer contacting us…?

"Fairy…"

Duan Wu knelt heavily, forcefully kowtowing toward the Walkie-Talkie, "I, the junior officer Duan Wu, am not a greedy man and have never dared to hope that the Fairy would continuously protect us."

"Having received the Fairy's help to get everyone through the previous trapped crisis, I, Duan Wu, am immensely grateful… but…"

"But… we have encountered an even greater crisis, Fairy, I beg you to manifest again and help everyone!"

Several guards present also knelt and pleaded.

Despite their utmost devotion.

The Walkie-Talkie still gave no response.

A guard, his face showing sorrow, asked, "General Duan, has the Fairy abandoned us?"

Duan Wu's eyes reddened, "We must not disclose this situation, otherwise the populace will be unsettled."

He, with utmost respect, returned the Walkie-Talkie to its place, then sent someone to summon the remaining commanders here.

The situation is critical; we must discuss together.

——

At this moment, Ning Jinli finally arrived at her factory gate driving the Broken Bread Van.

She was terrified, having taken a long detour from the distant suburbs.

She deliberately took the most remote road, fearing any mishap along the way.

Fortunately it was a scare without danger, and she returned safely.

Next, she only needs to transport the four thieves' corpses together with the Bread Van to the cave side.

That was the only viable plan she had thought of last night.

Just as she opened the gate and drove the Bread Van in, only a few meters in.

A police car sped toward her.

"Pull over immediately!" the officer shouted through the siren.

Ning Jinli instantly broke out in cold sweat, nearly flooring the accelerator.

At the critical moment, she strained to stay calm, slowly stopped the vehicle, glanced at the rearview mirror, and saw a police officer and a middle‑aged man stepping out of the police car.

What is happening...?

Could it be... that the fact there are corpses in the Bread Van has been discovered?

Ning Jinli's scalp tingled, and her mind went blank.

The middle‑aged man rushed ahead to the Bread Van, stared at Ning Jinli, then slammed the driver's door, "You! Get out!"

"W-what's... what's wrong?" Ning Jinli stammered.

The middle‑aged man glared angrily, "How dare you ask what's wrong? Last night, that kid who dined with you in my restaurant, he was your friend, right? He stole my horse and ran! Where is he now?!"

Ning Jinli was stunned for two seconds.

So this is the matter?

This middle‑aged man is the owner of that antique‑themed restaurant, huh?

Seeing the officer also approach, Ning Jinli hurried out of the car.

The officer verified her details, then presented identification and explained the situation to her.

The restaurant owner reported to the police, but they couldn't locate the young man who stole the horse; eventually, using the restaurant's surveillance, they identified the person who dined with that man.

Then, based on the Mercedes vehicle information of Ning Jinli parked outside the restaurant, they pinpointed her identity.

Thus, the officer brought the restaurant owner over.

"Miss Ning, where is that friend of yours?" the officer asked.

The restaurant owner muttered angrily, "I've lived most of my life, and this is the first time I've seen someone so brazen! They even dared to steal the horse I kept in the restaurant to enhance the atmosphere! And during the dining rush, under everyone's eyes!"

"That's outrageous!"

Do you know how much money I spent to buy that horse?

Do you know how much effort it took to ship it back from abroad?

It's a purebred horse with top-tier racehorse bloodline! If it weren't for its too-violent temperament making it unsuitable for racing, I wouldn't have had a chance to buy it! In the end, someone snatched it away!

The restaurant owner grew angrier and angrier, his face swelling to a liver-like hue.

Ning Jinli was both nervous and embarrassed.

On her way back, she tried calling Xiao Qidi, but that kid didn't answer.

"I…" Ning Jinli told the truth, "I really don't know where he is now..."

The officer casually glanced at the van beside her, then moved closer to look through the anti-peeping film on the rear window.

Ning Jinli instantly felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet straight to her forehead!

Those four corpses are right inside!

She only covered it with things she found in the van; if the officer discovered it, she'd be… done for!

The officer couldn't see the situation clearly, so he casually reached to pull open the van door.

Just then, Ning Jinli thought quickly on her feet: "Officer, may I compensate for my friend? Just consider it as buying that horse."

The officer turned his head to the restaurant owner: "It would be best if you could compensate and settle this."

"Compensation?" the restaurant owner snapped, "Can you afford it? That's not something your Mercedes G-Class can match!"

Ning Jinli continued: "Name your price, with this handsome officer as witness, I will definitely pay."

The restaurant owner said unhappily: "Just buying that horse cost me over five million, plus various fees and transport costs… and the upkeep for the two months since I got it… altogether it's not under ten million, but eight or nine million!"

Ning Jinli only wanted to settle the matter quickly to lose money and avoid disaster, so she decisively said: "I'll compensate you twenty million."

The restaurant owner blinked, "How much?"

"Twenty million," Ning Jinli said with a sincere apologetic expression, "I'm really sorry for the trouble. I imagine you must have loved that horse, but… I really can't help you find it back."

"Cough…" the restaurant owner's expression eased considerably, and he asked skeptically, "You're sure about giving twenty million?"

Ning Jinli nodded, pulled out her phone, and said, "I'll transfer it to you right now; just give me your bank account number."

The restaurant owner hesitated no longer and promptly gave his account number.

Ning Jinli transferred the twenty million in front of him and the officer.

At this, the restaurant owner beamed, "Oh dear, look at how this blew up—luckily Miss Ning is a straightforward person, so I won't pursue it further."

"Thank you, boss," Ning Jinli said, exhaling in relief.

"However," the restaurant owner leaned in and said, "I have a small request."

Ning Jinli instantly tensed, thinking he might go back on his word, "You want more money?"

The restaurant owner hastily waved his hands, "No, no, no—you've already given twenty million; I'd be ashamed to raise the price now."

He said this while opening a short online video on his phone.

When opened, it showed Xiao Qidi galloping on horseback down the street like lightning.

The speed was too fast, the image blurry, making it impossible to clearly see his appearance.

But under the night's neon lights, the blurry image actually added to the atmosphere, and with background music added by the uploader, it was practically a movie highlight reel.

The restaurant owner chuckled, "This video has become a huge hit, number one in online views! I'd like to ask—could your friend come by my restaurant again for a spin, to help me capitalize on the buzz and promote the place? I can pay him!"

This owner really has a head for business.

He had already thought of leveraging the buzz from this incident; moreover, netizens who watched the video were saying that the handsome rider had serious style.

It's almost unbelievable that there's still a man in this world who's so handsome, so noble, and yet exudes a domineering aura.

Just a single blurry short video—who knows how many men and women it has dazed.

"Ah…" Ning Jinli forced a smile, "My friend doesn't like showing his face, besides he's busy, and his personality is rather abnormal, so… I can't help you."

The restaurant owner's face showed disappointment.

But since Ning Jinli had said as much, he couldn't press further.

"Right, should we sign a liability waiver agreement?" Ning Jinli asked the officer.

The officer asked the restaurant owner, "You're sure you won't pursue this, right?"

The restaurant owner nodded vigorously, "Definitely, definitely! This young lady has compensated me, I'm satisfied, and I want to withdraw the report."

Afterward, the officer led the two of them to the police car outside the door.

He gave them paper and pen, and on the spot they wrote a note, signed, and left their thumbprints.

Ning Jinli furtively glanced back at the van parked inside the gate, silently letting out a breath of relief.

Good… it wasn't discovered by the officer.

Once the agreement is signed, he should just leave, right?

"All right, this is your proof, one copy each—this matter is settled." The officer photographed and filed the agreement, then handed copies to both of them.

"Okay, Officer Uncle, boss, take your time." Ning Jinli gave a sweet smile.

The restaurant owner sat back into the police car.

The officer also opened the driver's door, about to step in, but suddenly fixed his gaze on Ning Jinli and said sternly, "Fortunately last night didn't cause a traffic accident, otherwise it wouldn't be as simple as paying money and settling."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ning Jinli nodded vigorously, "I'll definitely educate my friend properly."

The officer's gaze inevitably fell again on the van behind her.

The wheels were covered in mud, and with dawn just breaking, a young woman driving it back from outside gave off a bunch of signals that felt somehow off.

He casually asked, "You left your Mercedes G-Class at the restaurant and then drove this rundown van—where were you going?"

"This…" Ning Jinli felt cold sweat break out on her back again.

She really isn't good at lying, but right now she absolutely cannot tell the truth.

It's simply impossible to explain!

The police officer noticed her reaction was off, immediately became alert, and strode toward the minivan.

This definitely has a problem; we need to check it!

Ning Jinli stood frozen in place.

She never expected that, just as the person was about to leave, something like this would suddenly happen.

What to do?!

She couldn't go stop them!

Run?

Where could she run to?

In that instant, she felt like the sky was about to collapse!

As long as the police officer opened the door, they would see something wrong inside the van; just move aside whatever was covering it, and the corpse would… would be revealed!

Ning Jinli's face turned deathly pale as she watched the police officer already start pulling the door handle.

She clenched her fists, gathered her courage, and quickly walked over.

There was nothing else to do; she could only face reality herself and bear the consequences.

When the time came to go to the station, she would try to give a truthful account; as for whether the police would believe it, that was no longer something she could consider.

"Police uncle, I…"

"Clatter——"

The police officer pulled open the door.

Ning Jinli was drenched in sweat, already beginning to organize her words to confess and turn herself in, when she suddenly discovered the minivan was completely empty.

Not to mention the corpse.

Even the pile of miscellaneous junk covering the corpse was gone!

The empty cargo area could be seen at a glance; the officer peered in, took a sniff, frowned, and said, "You're just a little girl—why does the car reek so badly of smoke and sweat?"

Ning Jinli's heart leapt to her throat.

Although she didn't know what was going on, the corpse was definitely gone.

But she was still worried the officer would smell blood, never expecting it to be masked by the criminals' smoke and sweat.

"This van… someone else was driving it earlier, they made it filthy." Ning Jinli said, forcing herself to speak.

The officer gave her another glance, thinking to himself.

Although he felt something was odd, after all there really was nothing in the van.

Looking again at this young girl, she had an utterly harmless expression.

Clearly she was rich—willing to pay twenty million in compensation—yet she dressed very plainly.

And she even ran to the factory first thing in the morning.

Such a wealthy youngster is not commonly seen.

Forget it, no need to hassle her.

The officer said nothing more, got back into the police car, and drove away.

Until the vehicle disappeared at the end of the road outside the factory, Ning Jinli felt as if her strength had been instantly drained, and she collapsed to the ground.

That night, up until just now, she felt as if she had just experienced a terrifying, bizarre nightmare!

She shuddered, got up, staggered over to the minivan, flung herself inside, and examined it carefully.

If it weren't for the bloodstains still visible in the corner, she would have thought everything that happened last night was fake.

But…

Where's the corpse?

How did it just vanish into thin air?

Could it be that the rear door popped open from the jolt on the road and the corpse fell out?

"Hiss…" Ning Jinli felt her hairs stand on end.

"No, no!" she shook her head, rejecting that guess again.

Because if that were the case, she would have seen the rear door open when she just got out of the car.

Moreover, she remembered that before getting out, she had glanced back and confirmed the corpse covered with junk was still inside the van.

In other words, the corpse disappeared during the time between her getting out of the car and settling compensation with the restaurant owner.

"Could it be… that I unintentionally teleported it over there with my thoughts?" Ning Jinli frowned in thought, "But that shouldn't be possible; my telepathic range doesn't reach here."

"So… is it haunted…?"

At this moment the sky had just lightened; everything around was a dull gray, and the factory gate's illumination glowed with a dim yellow light.

Inside and outside the vehicle all was silent; the more Ning Jinli thought about it, the stranger and creepier it felt.

It was even creepier than moving the corpse last night and driving it back all the way!

She trembled all over, stuck out her buttocks, and backed out of the van.

The instant her feet touched the ground and she turned, a long, ghastly black monster face suddenly loomed before her!

"Ah!!!"