Gu Yue Zhai.
Concerning her only remaining granddaughter, the last of her kinsfolk, the real boss of Gu Yue Zhai--- Zhang Lilanfang, who obviously treated her as her own heart, was extremely nervous.
Zhang Qingrui had been clever and sensible from childhood. She would never disappear for a whole day without notifying her relatives.
Zhang Lilanfang had not slept all night and was extremely tired. One of her hand grasped the cellphone, and kept counting the jade beads binding the bead chain.
s.h.i.+ s.h.i.+jie returned not long after.
s.h.i.+ s.h.i.+jie, his father, and grandfather, all of them served Mrs. Zhang’s family--- to be more precise, not the Zhang family of her husband, instead, the s.h.i.+ Family had a history as servants since the old lady was still a young miss in the Li’s Family.
"Sorry, Mistress, there’s still no message about the manager."
s.h.i.+ s.h.i.+jie watched Zhang Lilanfang, that was still calm, breathe deeply. "However, we found her car at the parking lot of a market. I’ve check the cameras and found the manager didn’t pick up her car... She might have gone missing in that market. According to the manager’s temperament, it’s definitely not a joke. Maybe a kidnapping. Even though we didn’t receive any message from any gangsters..."
At this moment, Zhang Lilanfang opened her eyes furiously.
Ever since she started reciting Buddhist texts and staying on a vegetarian diet from dozens of years ago, this lady wasn’t as violent like those previous years. Yet, s.h.i.+ s.h.i.+jie perceived a deadly cold look in his mistress’s eyes.
"I left the capital for several tens of years... Now I finally manage to raise a kid... Do they think it’s easy to bully a widow? Don’t push me too far!"
Zhang Lilanfang stood up abruptly, cursing angrily, "Even if I’m now an old biddy but I’m not dead yet!"
"Mistress, please calm down."
"Don’t worry." Zhang Lilanfang took a deep breath, "If I get to be fl.u.s.tered, things will get worse. s.h.i.+jie, give consideration to both seeking the manager and taking care of the shop until she has been found. Everything proceeds as usual. If outsiders asked, just tell them the miss is now under the weather and is having a rest at home."
s.h.i.+ s.h.i.+jie nodded, asking her again, "Mistress, Old Zhong is still living here, can we ask him for help?"
While Zhang Lilanfang snorted, "It’s not that bad. Granted that the old goat is very powerful, yet he isn"t that strong to have power this area. Now things are not clear, so just send people to seek and wait and see in the meantime."
"Yes!" s.h.i.+ s.h.i.+jie nodded, exiting the room quickly.
Zhang Lilanfang held the table and sat down slowly. Her hands covered her forehead, closing eyes, while her shoulders trembled faintly, "Qingrui, Qingrui..."
‘Is she crying?’
Black Soul No.9 sensed the plaintive cry of the aged lady--- He had been staying here all the time.
Since many days ago, he was watching silently. His intellect reminded him to seek new businesses, yet his steps show reluctance to go away.
Seeing Zhang Lilanfang sobbing suddenly, No.9 took two steps ahead, trying reaching to touch... But his hand eventually halted in the air.
"Why... am I so grieved?"
Black Soul No.9’s look turned vacant.
…
…
After You Ye went out, Luo Qiu arrived at the professor’s house, coming to the hidden bas.e.m.e.nt.
This time, he stayed there for several hours unwittingly.
He was focusing on the several maps of different times on the wall. From rough to accurate, no matter which map, there were all marked on the same spot.
"Noin-Ula Mountain."
In fact, the books on the table which had been thumbed over often were all the information about this mountain and the surrounding terrain.
Luo Qiu sat down on the old leather chair in front of the table. From here, he was able to view the model on the table. Looking at everything here, from the feel of the cus.h.i.+on, the declining chair, to the attrited floor under the table. His fingers whisked over the drawer edge, observing several spots of dried brown spots on the drawer... Boss Luo seemed to see the appearance of an old man who used to give it everything he got working on some field here.
A certain belief was supporting him throughout that time.
Squeaking sounds, like someone treading on the wooden stairs was suddenly heard, out of the door in front. Boss Luo’s feelings were getting more and more accurate...
The person who was walking down the stairs, was Qin Chuyu.
…
He didn’t leave. His intuition told him that Qin Chuyu might have come here earlier than him. The lady that looked quietly out the window a while back, might not just have been Qin Fang’s foster daughter.
Eventually, Qin Chuyu wearing a white long slim dress showed up at the doorway.
It was accurate to describe her as ‘n.o.ble’ or ‘aloof’. In other words, besides the physical appearance, she was the best example to explain the sentence ‘Temperament is the crucial factor.’
She was the current ident.i.ty of Yu Sanniang, who was loved and despaired over, ending the tale of the Koan Sutra. Afterward, no one knew what she experienced.
However, the story should be much more complicated than simply living for 500 years.
Since speculating that the other party had already viewed the records earlier than him, Luo Qiu decided to stop waiting and see.
Boss Luo opened his mouth first, "Miss Qin... or Yu Sanniang."
She seemed not to be surprised by such questions, or perhaps was merely maintaining her countenance only, coolly saying, "You’re really not an ordinary person."
Luo Qiu stood up, as per the habit of the boss, or due to politeness.
He pointed at the dead body remaining on the floor of the bas.e.m.e.nt. "Miss Qin, do you know who that guy is?"
Qin Chuyu answered, "A guy who learned some heterodoxy and played petty tricks to do evil. His death need not be regretted."
Qin Chuyu’s answer confirmed Luo Qiu’s thoughts to the eccentric bas.e.m.e.nt, and the suspicion as to the real ident.i.ty of the professor.
"The professor is missing, but Miss Qin does not seem to be worried about him," Luo Qiu suddenly said.
While Qin Chuyu said calmly, "That man, only went to do something to ease his heart, so nothing should be worried. He’s merely a poor man that has been tormented through dozens of years by his sense of guilt, and won’t hurt anyone else. As to Zhang Qingrui, she’ll come back as soon as the matter finishes. Thus the conclusion is, nothing should be worried."
"That man?" Luo Qiu caught the small clue of discordance of the calling.
Qin Chuyu took an indifferent glance at Luo Qiu, "Who are you?"
The two different questions, between the male and female, revealed a friction.
…
…
The flight, to Ulan Bator.
A big box of one cubic meter in the airplane baggage compartment... In the box, Zhang Qingrui body was curled up and sleeping with an oxygen mask on her face.