Chapter 440: Grand Finale (Part 1): Qiu Dekao's Invitation

"Jude Kao's people are filling the entire village now, but they still seem to have made no progress. Many support and logistics personnel are holed up in the village, outnumbering us. They know you're coming. Jude Kao has already put out the word: he wants to see you."

Panzi's team was divided into two groups: one for going underground and one for support. He said that this time the main priority was rescue. The demonic lake deep in the mountains was too far from the village, so logistics were particularly important. Normally it would take us two or three days to get into the mountains. Now we would set up three supply points along the route, with five men at each point on twenty-four-hour standby. That would save the time lost to overnight rest and shorten the support time from the village to the demonic lake to within one day.

That meant fifteen support men alone, with Xiuxiu in charge. The remaining two good hands would go underground with us. Adding Xiao Hua, Panzi, and me, that made five. That woman of Third Uncle's, Dumb Sister, was actually among the five going underground.

I asked Panzi why he arranged it that way. Panzi said, "That girl is useful to us. I think Third Master trained her back then because she has real skill. Of course, I don't know if Third Master slept with her or not. Besides, she's already suspicious of you. It's safest to keep someone like that close."

I said, "So I have to be on tenterhooks the whole time?"

"Once we're inside, we'll definitely split up. She'll be with Master Hua's team. Saving people is what matters. If we rescue them, everything's fine. If we don't, you probably won't have the energy to pretend to be Third Master or not," Panzi said.

I nodded. I had thought the number of people might be too many, but when I considered we were going to rescue people and needed to do it as quickly as possible, this many people were necessary. The longer you stayed in that kind of place, the more dangerous it was.

That village at the bottom of the demonic lake still held too many unsolved mysteries. If the Zhang Family Ancient Building was indeed in the rock layers beneath the lake, given the size of the mountain there, the interior would be extremely complex. It was foreseeable that our advance into the Zhang Family Ancient Building would be very slow. Good logistics could compensate for the awkwardness of our last trip.

Among those going underground, only one kid I didn't know. He was extremely thin, only nineteen, nicknamed Pibao. They said he had very sharp ears and was top-notch material, already somewhat famous in Changsha. This time the Jiala assembly had recruited him at the highest price. I figured I'd have to spend some time with him to know what kind of person he really was. According to Panzi, someone with such a high price tag was bound to be hard to get along with.

As for Jude Kao, Panzi asked if I wanted to meet him. Without thinking, I refused. At this critical juncture, with all kinds of chaos, I didn't want to deal with social niceties. I had just shamelessly put on a big show for Third Uncle's men. That old devil was far shrewder than those guys, and there was no compelling reason to go. Why bring trouble on myself? Panzi said, "Maybe not necessarily. The relationship between that white-haired foreigner and Third Master was complicated. I don't know exactly what happened back then. He's looking for you; maybe you can feel him out."

I thought that was true, but to probe an old fox like that, I'd need to be in top mental and physical shape. With Fatty and the others' safety on my mind, I wasn't eager to dwell on that bullshit. So I told Panzi, "No rush. After we rescue them, there will be plenty of chances. Right now the arrow is on the string, we have to shoot. When we get there, we'll rest one night, set out the next day, and talk when we reach the lake. Let him react too late."

Panzi shook his head. "Avoiding that old fox will be tough, I reckon. But let's do it your way. Your thinking is right."

We each made our own calculations and discussed various details again. Then we began to rest with our eyes closed. After jolting along for seven hours, we arrived at Banai.

The moment I stepped out, I saw those stilted wooden houses, the familiar tropical trees, the villagers in ethnic costumes. For a moment I felt that everything that had happened in Sichuan and Changsha was a dream. If I went back to Agui's house, I'd find Fatty and Poker-face waiting for me.

The weather had already turned cool, but it was still much hotter than Changsha or Sichuan. I unbuttoned my shirt and noticed Dumb Sister staring at me. My heart jumped. I immediately buttoned up again and went to find Agui.

Agui was the same as ever. It was already completely dark. I handed Agui a cigarette and said to him, "Finally back. Where's Yun Cai?"

Agui led us into his house while looking at me in surprise: "Boss, have you been here before? You know my daughter?"

Only then did I realize—I was no longer Wu Xie. To Agui I was now a stranger. I gave an awkward laugh and said, "I have been here before, when I was very young. Your daughter's name is Yun Cai too? Last time I came, there was a famous guide here named Yun Cai."

Agui nodded, half-understanding: "Oh, that

I let out a few dry laughs and glanced at Sister Ya, who seemed no longer to be looking at me; everyone else got out of the car. Several friends Agui had brought took their luggage and gear and headed to their respective homes. There was no hotel here, so everyone had to stay separately in villagers' houses.

"This is your room." Agui pointed to the wooden building where me, Poker-face, and Fatty had stayed before. I sighed and walked toward that stilt house, lifted the door curtain to enter, and froze.

There was already someone in the room I was familiar with, sitting on the ground with a small oil lamp lit in front of him.

It was a foreigner, an extremely old foreigner. I recognized his face: Jude Kao.

"Please, have a seat, old friend." The foreigner made a gesture when he saw me enter. "We finally meet again."

I sucked in a breath, and cold sweat started to pour down. I thought, Sure enough, I can't avoid it, and it's come so fast. I glanced outside to see where Panzi and the others were. Jude Kao immediately said, "When old friends meet, there's no need to be so formal. I'll just chat a bit and then leave, no need to trouble your men."

I didn't see Panzi; the other guys were all talking and laughing. I cursed inwardly, turned my head to look at Jude Kao, and forced a smile. Almost at the same time, I saw something placed beside Jude Kao.

It was a knife; I recognized it. It was the ancient knife Xiao Hua had given Poker-face before he came here.

My heart skipped a beat, and my first thought was actually: It got lost again so quickly, what a waste. Then upon reflection, I realized something was wrong—how had this been found? Had Jude Kao's people already gone into the demonic building?

Seeing me staring at the ancient knife, Jude Kao pushed it slightly toward me, spread his hands, and said, "It should be yours. One of my men found it by chance. Now it's being returned to its rightful owner."

"Where did this come from?" I pretended to be calm as I walked over, sat down, and picked it up to look at it. I knew without a doubt it was Poker-face's knife.

This knife was very heavy, but still much lighter than his original black knife. Even I could barely lift it. The blade was covered in mud, as if it hadn't been wiped clean.

"Why ask when you already know?" Jude Kao took a sip of tea. "Too bad my men were carrying too much weight to bring the corpse out as well. Pity that your colleagues, doing such dangerous work, don't even get a funeral. But you Chinese don't seem to care about such things. It's a virtue I've never been able to learn."

"Corpse?" My mind buzzed. "He's dead?"

"This knife was taken from a corpse. If you mean the owner of this knife, then I suppose he's dead." Jude Kao looked rather surprised at my expression. "What? Is that person important? Mr. Wu, you rarely showed that kind of expression when faced with death before."

I stared at the knife, as if in a daze. I thought: Absolutely impossible! Poker-face! How could Poker-face die? If Poker-face is dead, then Fatty can't be much better either. Impossible, impossible. Poker-face and death are completely incompatible. In this world, is there any place that could make him die?! He absolutely could not die.

After a brief daze, I immediately forced myself to calm down, looked carefully at the knife, and asked Jude Kao, "Was there anything distinctive about that corpse?"

Jude Kao seemed baffled by me. Maybe he had always maintained this profound attitude when dealing with Chinese people, and might have previously sparred in cryptic dialogue with Third Uncle. But after all, I wasn't Third Uncle, and couldn't play along. I just wanted the answer to my question.

He stared at me in surprise, then burst out laughing. He took a sip of tea and suddenly said, "Are you really Mr. Wu, or have I misremembered?"

I slapped the tea out of his hand, grabbed him by the collar, and said, "No more bullshit. Answer my question."

Jude Kao was very old. After his initial shock, his face darkened, and he asked, "What's wrong with you? Have you gone mad? Aren't you afraid I'll make your secrets public? Wu Sansheng, where has your reverence gone?"

Holy shit! I thought, who the fuck taught you Chinese, Yu Qiuyu? But then I thought, being so rude, he probably wouldn't talk to me normally either. I quickly changed tack and let him go, saying, "Answer my question first. This is no small matter. Do you remember what happened at Biaozi Ridge? Do you want to go through that again?"

Jude Kao was taken aback. He straightened his clothes and asked, "So serious?"

"Answer me. What did that person look like?"

Jude Kao said, "I'm not sure. It was one of my men."

"Take me to see him. I want to ask him myself," I said.

Jude Kao looked at me, staring for several minutes. Seeing that my anxiety was not feigned, he immediately stood up and said, "Alright, come with me. But his condition is very bad. You need to be mentally prepared."