Chapter 445, How Difficult to Provoke (Second Update)

Chu Chen set down the bowl and handed her a piece of candy, "Here."

Taking the candy, Gu Xinuo peeled off the wrapper and stuffed it into her mouth, leaning against the refrigerator, she said, "I just got off the phone with Ajiu, Mo Lingling has disappeared. They suspect she leaked the location of the island."

Hearing this, Chu Chen frowned, "Aqian couldn’t find her whereabouts either?"

Gu Xinuo hummed affirmatively, "There’s no record of Mo Lingling leaving the country, she must have been taken away."

If the firing of the island really had anything to do with Mo Lingling, they would never let her off this time.

That was her own grandfather, how could she conspire with outsiders to do such crazy things?

Chu Chen turned off the tap, wiped the water stains off the bowl, and put it back in its place.

"Did Ajiu mention when they would return?"

"Tomorrow," said Gu Xinuo, "she’s organized everything on the island."

Turning off the lights, Chu Chen took her hand and walked out.

"You go to sleep first, I still have some documents to go through."

Seeing the pile of documents on the living room table, Gu Xinuo hugged his arm, "I’m not sleepy, I’ll help you go through them."

As she spoke, she pulled him to sit on the sofa.

Chu Chen glanced sideways at her, his lips curving into a faint smile.

Throughout the quiet night, the living room light remained on.

After reading through a few documents, Gu Xinuo’s eyelids began to droop.

Her head tilted, and she fell asleep on the table.

Hearing the slight noise, Chu Chen turned his head to look at her, her serene sleeping face coming into view.

This fool...

He sighed softly, put down the paperwork, picked her up, and started walking upstairs.

...

In the winter season, the weather in Country Y became unpredictable.

After a brief rain in the afternoon, the weather cleared up.

Upon arriving at the headquarters, Ye Jiuliang and his companion didn’t stop for lunch, but went straight to the Pear Blossom Forest with the shattered gravestone.

The Pear Blossom Forest held a special significance to the four of them; when they established the headquarters, they chose a spot next to her herb field to plant a pear orchard.

The gentle breeze danced with the petals, scattering their fragrance.

Ji Mingqian dropped the iron hoe, his forehead covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

Ye Jiuliang hefted the heavy bag, carefully placing it into the prepared pit.

Soil mixed with petals was sprinkled over the bag, handful after handful until the pit was filled.

With a hand pressed against the ground, Ye Jiuliang had been without sleep for two days and a night, faint dark circles under his eyes.

Master, this place is also our home; there’s a pear orchard here too, much livelier than the island, you would have liked it here too, wouldn’t you?

Learning of their return, Chu Chen and Gu Xinuo came to find them.

They were followed by a few others, carrying a newly carved gravestone.

"Ajiu," Gu Xinuo crouched down, tapping on Ye Jiuliang’s shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Ye Jiuliang shook his head, standing up, his feet a bit numb.

"Ajiu, the gravestone for the master is ready," Gu Xinuo said.

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiuliang’s gaze shifted to the heavy gravestone.

Chu Chen and Ji Mingqian exchanged a glance, then together took the gravestone, setting it into place with gentle motions.

Their old playful master hated anything too formal; even for the gravestone, he requested only one and no additional embellishments.

How did he put it? He always lived freely and hated being bound by rules and customs.

Without letting others help, the four of them worked together to erect the gravestone.

After a while, all four retracted their hands, looking at the restored gravestone, bows were made by their straight backs.

Their movements synchronized, silent but already in perfect understanding.

A moment later, several people left Pear Blossom Forest.

Stepping on the fallen blossoms, Ye Jiuliang looked back at the forest, his thoughts drifting far away.

"Ajiu, you should go and sleep first," Gu Xinuo said warmly, observing her mud-stained clothes and finally resting her gaze on his haggard face.

Ye Jiuliang redirected his gaze, his voice slightly hoarse as he spoke, "Achen, issue the wanted order."

It was essential to find Mo Lingling.

Chu Chen nodded, as he had the same intention.

Without an appetite for food, Ye Jiuliang went straight back to his room.

After washing up, he was too lazy to dry his hair and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

In another room, Ji Mingqian did the same, falling asleep the moment he touched his pillow.

...

The twilight held strands of silence and desolation.

The clouds scattered and the wind rose, with the scent of gunpowder lingering faintly.

Upon learning that the K organization had stolen their goods, Wei Nan personally flew to Country Y with his men.

To avoid attracting attention, Dark Hall’s plane landed in a deserted area on the outskirts.

After executing a cool drift, the sound of the car’s engine came to a sudden stop.

Relying on the faint moonlight, Wei Nan identified the person stepping out of the car and quickly went up to meet him.

"Master."

Li Mochan’s gaze moved past him and settled on the two planes in the distance, his cold eyes narrowing slightly.

"Let’s go."

Wei Bei and Wei Xi followed behind Li Mochan, exchanging knowing looks and smiles with Wei Nan.

The cold wind rose abruptly, and the dark-colored planes took off one after the other, soon disappearing into the night.

On the plane, the lights were bright.

"Wei Xi, do you have the information on the K organization?" Wei Nan asked.

Wei Xi, halfway through the documents, passed them directly to him, "It’s hard to get detailed information on the K organization; we only have the basics. However, I’ve heard that there’s more than one person in charge at the K organization besides Chu Chen."

As Wei Nan flipped through the information, he said, "I’ve heard rumors."

"Could it be three people?" Wei Bei asked.

Wei Xi shook his head, "It’s four."

"Four?" Wei Bei exclaimed in astonishment.

Wei Xi nodded, "Yes, it’s said to be three men and one woman. Aside from Chu Chen, the others rarely make public appearances. They don’t even have names, just code names."

Not two pages into the file, Wei Nan finished quickly, muttering, "So mysterious."

"But what I’m more curious about is that mysterious Y—I’ve heard that person is the most difficult one to mess with in the K organization," Wei Xi said.

Wei Bei looked at him curiously, "Mysterious Y? How tough are they?"

"I’ve heard they have a quirky temperament and ruthless methods. They like to visit nightclubs and bars, quite the playboy," Wei Xi slowly recounted the gathered information.

"However, there’s another rumor that the mysterious Y and the only female among them are a couple."

Realizing, Wei Bei humorously added, "The rabbit is eating the grass at the edge of its own burrow."

Wei Nan laughed lightly.

...

Having only slept for a couple of hours, Ji Mingqian was awoken by Chu Chen’s relentless calling.

Arriving tardily at Chu Chen’s office, Ji Mingqian collapsed onto the sofa, half asleep, half awake.

His eyes half closed, his voice carried the roughness of someone not yet fully awake, "What do you need me for?"

"How’s the investigation on the east side coming along?" Chu Chen had finished the last document, stretched lazily, and walked over.

The mention of the east side jolted Ji Mingqian to full alertness.

He sat up, looked at the person sitting across from him, and said, "I have good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?"