Chapter 260: Good News
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Let’s go!”
The two of them stepped out of the door. The rest of them followed behind.
The lady owner of the inn was surprised to see them at the entrance, and she greeted them with a smile.
“Going out?”
Bai Muchuan was wearing a huge pair of sungla.s.ses while holding Xiang Wan’s hand and continued to walk without even sparing a look at the lady owner.
Tu Liang was the one who stopped to return her greeting. “We are going out for a stroll!”
“I see!” The lady owner stuck her neck from the reception counter. “The street’s rather slippery from the rain yesterday, please be careful about it.”
Tu Liang turned his head. “Okay!”
The air of this town smelled really fresh after the rain.
Looking at the clear blue sky made one feel as though rejuvenated, and everyone was in a good mood.
However, the town was a little too dilapidated: the streets were very narrow and uneven as there were many holes on the ground filled with rainwater. It got worse when they stepped on the brick paths as mud would come out of the gaps between the bricks when a foot stepped on them—the mud would splash onto their trousers.
Poor Xiang Wan wore a pair of white shoes that day and they were stained with muddy rainwater.
She frowned as she looked at her shoes. “What do you want to see by coming to the streets?” she asked Bai Muchuan.
Bai Muchuan chuckled. “Just enjoy the stroll!”
Xiang Wan sighed. “…”
Their group of six men and one woman were very conspicuous on the street due to their decent good looks. Moreover, the way they dressed and their disposition was very different from the locals, making them especially eye-catching, and hence, they received a lot of attention from the pedestrians in the street.
Nevertheless, the street they strolled along was a little too short.
In just about 10 minutes, they had walked from one end to the other.
While walking their way back, they spotted a few police officers holding a big microphone promoting good citizen behavior in a corner.
The crowd around the police officers was somewhat dispersed. Some were standing near, while others stood further away. Many of the people were of skinny build and looked sallow; some of them were yawning away.
The people did not feel close to the police when they saw them, nor did they show signs of fear.
Frankly, such police-resident relationship was rare in other places.
Xiang Wan subconsciously slowed down her pace. Her occupational habits made her curious with the micro expressions showing on the faces of the local folks.
The police officers they saw on the street was not coincidental.
The whole of Jiang Zhong might have known about the incident that took place last night.
The Dark Clan had established themselves in the Nanmu region for many years. It was unlikely for them to let the matter rest so easily since the police in Jiang Zhong caught their members. One of their members even died on the spot…
Xiang Wan took Bai Muchuan’s arm as she walked and observed the people. Her steps were getting slower and slower.
Before long, Quan Shaoteng, Tu Liang, Tang Yuanchu, and the rest caught up with the two and the distance between them increased as time went by.
Bai Muchuan let Xiang Wan be. He did not rush her to walk faster but slowed down to match her pace.
At this moment, two people approached them from behind. One of them tapped lightly on Bai Muchuan’s shoulder.
“Brother!”
Bai Muchuan turned around with an eyebrow raised. “What’s the matter?”
The guy who tapped him had an indifferent look on his face as he ignored the police officers talking with a microphone not far away from them. “Brother Blackface is looking for you!”
Hah, they sure have guts , thought Bai Muchuan.
He grunted a laugh. “Where?”
The guy nodded. “Follow me.”
It was a very simple exchange. That guy immediately walked in front to lead the way after he finished his sentence.
Bai Muchuan slipped one of his hand into his trouser pocket. A corner of his lips lifted upward as he followed along unhurriedly.
Xiang Wan also heard the conversation briefly.
She grasped Bai Muchuan’s sleeve anxiously as she whispered, “Just the two of us?”
Bai Muchuan did not look at her. “Are you scared?”
Xiang Wan pursed her lips, her eyebrows lowered. “I’m not afraid when I’m with you, but for the sake of our safety, it’s best to take some precautions.”
After all, they were at a foreign place and at the territory of the Dark Clan. They should stay vigilant and not act tough unnecessarily.
In her opinion, what needed to be reminded had to be reminded.
Bai Muchuan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t worry! I have it under control.”
“Mm?”
Xiang Wan was a little confused, but she quickly guessed what was going on.
Bai Muchuan’s main intention to take a stroll was most probably to wait for Blackface to look him up.
It was no wonder they strolled along the street in such a carefree manner. They even stopped to ask about the prices of medical herbs and bargained with the stall owner…
Xiang Wan felt relieved upon hearing that. “Wily old fox! You’re so cunning.”
Bai Muchuan chuckled softly. “Do you like it?”
Xiang Wan sighed. “… Using it on others are fine, but if you were to use it on me, I definitely would not like it.”
Upon hearing that, Bai Muchuan let out a soft sigh.
“Aye! Who would dare use it on you! You’re older than the wily old fox…”
“What? You dare call me old!”
“Well, I wanted to say… you’re an old hand at trickery and deception!”
“Bai, Mu, Chuan!”
They chatted as they walked, with smiles on their faces, as though there was nothing out of the ordinary.
They were being led outside at the back of the town before the guy leading the way stopped at his tracks.
“Please get in the car!”
At the back of the town, there was a leveled ground where several cars were parked.
The cars parked there looked old and dirty. Among the cars, there was even a donkey cart, most probably used by someone who came to the fair at the town.
That guy walked to an old jeep and pulled the door open.
There was some hesitation in Xiang Wan’s steps, but her hand was being held tightly by Bai Muchuan. His cool and confident posture eventually eased her up to board the jeep bravely and calmly. That guy drove on a path, seemingly heading deeper into the countryside.
No one spoke while on the road.
That guy did not explain anything. Bai Muchuan did not ask as well.
During the quiet journey, Xiang Wan felt her heart was left hanging in the air.
About more than 40 minutes later, they arrived at a small rural thatched house.
Xiang Wan was surprised to see such a house.
It was certainly a rare sight to see such a house that had a thatched roof at this current era.
“We’ve arrived!”
The guy drove the jeep over the muddy path covered in charcoal and stopped outside the house.
“Brother Blackface’s inside!”
When Xiang Wan and Bai Muchuan entered the living room of the house, there was another person right next to Brother Blackface, pouring tea for him.
When Blackface saw the two of them, he waved his hands at his men. “Both of you stand to watch outside.”
“Yes, Brother Blackface!”
The two men were wearing local villager clothes. Their complexion was quite dark, and it was hard to tell them apart from each other. If they weren’t with Blackface, Xiang Wan would have thought they were just normal villagers.
The door closed behind them, making the living room dark.
The dim lighting in the living room was flickering like the will-o’-the-wisp.
Brother Blackface was just as his nickname indicated. His originally dark complexion seemed a little creepy as they looked at him in this dimly lit room.
“Brother Crown Prince, thank you for coming!”
Bai Muchuan and Xiang Wan sat directly opposite of Blackface; they had a half-smile on their face and remained quiet.
Blackface looked at them and laughed. “You sent your men to save me last night. I should have gone to you to extend my grat.i.tude, but with the commotion going on out there, it’s really not convenient for me to go out.”
Bai Muchuan nodded his head lightly, his expression stayed the same. “You’re welcome. We should help each other out.”
Blackface cackled twice upon hearing that and chatted with Bai Muchuan for a little while before his expression got solemn as he changed the topic.
“Last night, I’ve talked to Brother Steel about you.”
“Oh?” Bai Muchuan did not seem surprised at all. “I have to thank you for this!”
“We’re brothers, no need to be so polite!” Blackface waved his hand before studying Bai Muchuan’s expression. Apparently, he had something to tell Bai Muchuan but seemed hesitant to do so as he dragged his voice a little. “Well, Brother Steel seemed to mind what happened to Brother Six…”
He paused before moving his body forward. He then lowered his voice to speak. His pair of small eyes were sharp and bright.
“What happened to Brother Six… he got betrayed, right?”
Brother Six was Zhou Dequan.
At Jin City, Zhou Dequan was an influential character who had even constructed an underground cemetery for hiding dead bodies.
Not much information was being revealed to the public as there were too many people involved in Zhou Dequan’s death. The case of catching the big fish behind him was still ongoing as well.
With the lack of information, things could easily get over-interpreted.
“I heard Brother Six got betrayed and he died a horrible death?!”
During their chat, his eyes were as though stuck on Bai Muchuan’s face.
Bai Muchuan took off his sungla.s.ses slowly and looked straight at Blackface without moving.
Upon seeing that, Blackface thought Bai Muchuan had something important to reveal and moved even closer…
However, instead of revealing anything crucial, Bai Muchuan simply let out a soft sigh. “I want to know, too! Even though I only have two dealings with Brother Six, he has always been a very forthright person and treated me and my brothers well… He even recommended Brother Steel to open up more paths for me… Aye! I didn’t expect he would be dead just like that!”
“Exactly! Brother Steel said that as well. Those things Brother Six were doing, he would never have died if he wasn’t betrayed by his own people!”
It was obvious that Blackface wanted to get some information from Bai Muchuan.
There was sympathy on Bai Muchuan’s face as he echoed Blackface’s words before diverting the topic away.
“Brother Blackface, the police are searching everywhere for you, why don’t you leave this place?”
“Let them search,” Blackface replied in a relaxed tone, “the most dangerous place is the safest place after all.”
Mm, criminals nowadays were better educated and have learned to be smart.
“In Jiang Zhong, who would be able to lay a finger on me?”
Blackface bragged shamelessly for a while when he recalled what happened last night. Maybe he felt too embarra.s.sed to continue, so he rubbed his nose and cleared his throat awkwardly.
“When we got out of the inn last night, we were not in good shape then. We were also too careless and underestimated the police. That’s why the police managed to gain the upper hand…”
Not in good shape… that was because two of them were without pants.
That was true.
Xiang Wan could not help recalling Quan Shaoteng’s prank and her face twitched for a while as she controlled the urge to laugh.
However, when Bai Muchuan heard that, he expressed his sympathy before narrowing his eyes and inquired in a serious tone. “You can’t be inviting me here just to thank me right?”
Straight to the point.
Bai Muchuan did not want to hear any more of Blackface’s bragging.
Blackface was stunned momentarily and guffawed at his remark.
“Of course not, I invited you here as I have good news to share with you.”
“Good news?” Bai Muchuan was puzzled.
“Yes.” Blackface nodded his head and pulled his chair nearer toward Bai Muchuan. He was a loud person, but now, he tried to speak very softly, “When you reach Nanmu, call this number… Brother Steel will send someone to look you up!”
…