Gan Qing hastily skimmed through the letter and when she reached that point, her gaze suddenly froze and she shot up. "I finally know what it was that I had felt was wrong the whole time."

Yu Lanchuan asked, "You're just reading a letter, why do you keep going into shock?"

Gan Qing ignored him. She picked up her phone and called Zhang Meizhen. The other person's phone might have run out of battery and switched off automatically—the call did not go through. Her heart tightened, "Do you have President Yang's number?"

Yu Lanchuan opened his contact list and found Yang Yifan's number. He passed his phone to her, "Why?"

"Qiao-Qiao." While waiting for Yang Yifan to pick up the call, Gan Qing quickly explained to Yu Lanchuan, "Ever since she came to Yanning, she had been working at the pet store at the building entrance. She had never moved places and had been keeping watch on Old Sect Leader Yang the whole time."

Yang Ping's location was unknown. Back then, even Wei Huan and the others couldn't find him. She was a young orphan girl, she would know that depending on herself alone would be even more impossible. Meanwhile, Wei Huan and Zhu Cong had both obviously determined that Elder Yang had taken some underhanded actions before to protect his son. In that case, following this line of thought, Elder Yang and Yang Ping—this pair of father and son—would definitely have contact with each other. As long as she kept watch on Elder Yang, she would definitely find Yang Ping one day.

Gan Qing asked, "Was she really only keeping watch?"

Yu Lanchuan frowned. "Old Yang being implicated in this matter is only the deduction of two dead people, right?"

"I know but Qiao-Qiao doesn't know. If by any chance…" Gan Qing said, "What's going on, why is President Yang not picking up?"

"Thank you. Then, I will come again tomorrow to complete the discharge paperwork." Yang Yifan chatted with the nurse while checking the ward for personal valuables and stuffing them into a large bag. She couldn't carry it with one hand and had no choice but to use both hands. Her phone was stuffed into a little pouch hanging from her wrist. "Just a couple of days in the hospital and the old man has so many things here."

Yang Yifan had been on long leave for the past few days. There wasn't any urgent business at the company either, and she responded to calls and messages all together in one go. She had set her phone on silent mode to avoid disturbing the other patients in the hospital.

Gan Qing called her three times in succession but did not get through. "Do you have Yan Hao's contact?"

"Uhh yes, it's… Search for 'Backyard Ostrich.'"

Gan Qing, "..."

"I just…" Yu Lanchuan explained drily, "think that this kid does things by charging blindly ahead, his body is tall and imposing while his brain is miniscule, he can run pretty quick but can't really fly, so…"

"Did you make a remark for me?" Gan Qing asked as she searched. She had just asked when she immediately regretted it and raised a hand to cut him off. "Never mind. You don't have to answer. It's definitely nothing good, I don't want to know…"

Yu Lanchuan mumbled, "Fiery Cloud."

He didn't open his mouth when he spoke, and his voice was low and unclear. Even with Gan Qing's hearing ability that could hear a person's phone conversation through a wall, she only heard some vague sounds that almost sounded like "make out."

Distracted, Gan Qing said, "You're so secretly passionate under that icy exterior that you have to be so unrestrained?"

Yu Lanchuan completely did not know where this female hoodlum's mind had leaped off to. He stared at her in utter puzzlement. His two naturally sharp and keen eyes looked very lost, very like he was childishly asking for attention. Gan Qing tsk-ed. She tilted her head to hold the phone in place, kissed her own fingers and then pressed them to Yu Lanchuan's face, pushing him lightly to the side. "All right, enough. Why isn't this one picking up his phone either… He even declined! Little Master Yu, what kind of luck do you have with people?"

Yu Lanchuan held his face. He didn't know what to say.

Yan Hao could have his head chopped off and his body bleeding but he would never dare pick up a call. Fortunately, he still had enough sense to send a question mark in a WeChat message after rejecting the call.

Gan Qing didn't have the time to quibble and quickly sent him a voice message. "Do me a favour. Go next door and look for Qiao-Qiao. Tell her I have something urgent."

The lights on the second floor of the pet store were switched off. Qiao-Qiao seemed to already be sleeping. Yan Hao pressed the doorbell twice—no response. He thought that it wouldn't really be proper of him to directly jump up to the second floor and knock on a young lady's bedroom window but he also didn't dare call Gan Qing to ask her what was the matter. Hence, he wrung his hands and paced anxiously and irresolutely around the pet store three times.

Right then, his ears twitched. He heard a strange noise coming from inside the shop.

Yan Hao leaned against the display window, peeking in through the gaps of the blinds. There were cat kennels in the pet store, each space separated from one another by plexiglass. Every night, Qiao-Qiao would put the cats inside and carefully count the number. After making sure they have ample food and water, she would lock the door. But today, for some unknown reason, the always meticulous Qiao-Qiao had surprisingly overlooked one cat.

The little cat was locked out of the kennels and didn't have food or water. It was scratching the door in a panic and wailing mournfully, startling all the other animals in the pet store. The cats and dogs all howled along with it and the noise was even spreading beyond the walls, yet Qiao-Qiao, who looked after the shop, was not responding.

Something was wrong!

Yan Hao leaped back abruptly. He jumped and pulled himself up to the window ledge on the second floor. "Qiao-Qiao? Qiao-Qiao!"

The window was opened a crack but there was no response even after he called out a few times. Yan Hao gritted his teeth, broke off a twig and reached the twig in to push the curtains aside. The room was empty, the bed neatly made. The owner didn't seem to have even come up at all.

"Qiao-Qiao's missing." Yu Lanchuan received Yan Hao's message and couldn't be bothered anymore about his half-numb face. "Wait, don't panic yet. She's stayed at the pet store for so long and has seen Old Yang coming in and out every day but nothing happened, right? Aren't you being a little too sensitive?"

Gan Qing grabbed a box of blades from the drawer. "The peace and harmony was because Yang Ping hadn't shown his face yet. She didn't dare alert the enemy."

"How do you know that she'll definitely do something to Old Yang?"

"When she mentioned Old Yang at the end, there was something not right with the look in her eyes." Gan Qing paused, then continued in a low voice. "...I'm very familiar with that look."

Yu Lanchuan grabbed her shoulder.

"She is not the past you, understand?" Yu Lanchuan said each word slowly. "The matter right now has nothing to do with you in the first place. Back then, both you and Wei Huan were innocents dragged into it. The enmity the two of you should resolve has already been resolved, and the debt you should pay has already been paid. Right now, no matter what happens, it has nothing to do with you. You are helping out due to friendship; if you watch without doing anything, it is your rightful role. It is no longer the feudalistic society now. The stuff about children bearing the debts of the parents no longer applies."

Gan Qing looked at him in surprise.

Yu Lanchuan said solemnly, "If you trust me, then leave everything to me. I will think of something."

Let me protect you.

Gan Qing paused. She rubbed her nose with her finger, then lowered her head and smiled.

"I am being serious here, I'm not joking with you," Yu Lanchuan said.

"I know." Gan Qing patted his hand that was on her shoulder. "Little Master Yu, I appreciate the offer."

Yu Lanchuan's brows swiftly drew together but he saw her take a couple of steps toward the door, then stand there and turn back to look at him. "No wonder you were single until your current age. You hold nothing back at all from the very start. You'll spoil a person rotten this way, and it won't last long."

Yu Lanchuan's eyes widened. Gan Qing wrapped her coat around herself and hurried downstairs.

While waiting for the cab at the hospital entrance, Yang Yifan finally saw the string of missed calls from Gan Qing and Yu Lanchuan.

"Little Master Yu," she called back and asked, "what's the matter?"

"Where are you?" Yu Lanchuan skipped right past the formalities. "If you haven't left the hospital yet, stay where you are for now. Wait for us to go over and pick you up."

Yang Yifan was puzzled. She didn't understand what kind of jianghu extravagance this was now. "There… there's no need for such a grand ceremony, is there? The Qing dynasty was already toppled 200 years ago."

Yu Lanchuan said, "I'll explain later. Basically, don't leave yet! Find somewhere with lots of people and wait for us."

"But my grandpa has already left first," Yang Yifan said in confusion. "I was packing up just now, that's why I'm leaving after them."

Yu Yan received the news and hurried over in a police car. When he got down, from far he saw Yu Lanchuan walking out of No. 110 Courtyard. He dashed over, "Master Lan, should I get someone to track her phone location?"

Yu Lanchuan, "Yes, hurry-"

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Hao ran up to him, panting in broken gasps. "Her… Her phone's here."

In the middle of the night, they got the boss of the pet store to come over and open the door. They found that Qiao-Qiao had not taken her personal belongings. Her phone was placed right behind the counter. The lock screen was a white background with red words that said: I'm sorry.

She even used a photo editing app to add a pair of drooping teddy bear ears on top.

Yu Yan said, "...This gremlin kid!"

"It's okay, don't panic yet. The cab Old Yang is in was booked by Director Yang on a ride-hailing app and the location can be tracked. I'll ask her to send it over," Yu Lanchuan said. "Old Yu, you drive. I'll go over with you and wait for them. Everyone else, look for Zhu Qiao! Yan Hao, call Boss Jiang and the rest here to keep watch nearby. On the off chance that she really wants to do something to Elder Yang and doesn't have the opportunity while he's in the cab, she's very likely to be lying in wait somewhere nearby."

Yan Hao made a noise of assent and ran off.

Along with the warmth of spring and the blooming of the flowers, the Old People Exercise Group that hung out at the downstairs of No. 110 started to become lively. The moment they saw that something was happening, they poured out like a swarm of bees. After a while, they left the place and scattered in all directions to ask around, each of them holding a photo of Qiao-Qiao.

Han Dongsheng had been recently entrusted with the task of taking care of Elder Yang's home while the old man was hospitalised. When he heard the news, he rushed to the sixth floor, entering with the spare key and switching on the lights. "I'll keep an eye here. If she comes, I'll find a way to keep her here."

All the lights in the sides and the corners of No. 110 that were usually not switched on were now all turned up to the brightest setting. From far, Gan Qing turned back for a look and the courtyard was so bright it was disturbing the neighbourhood a little. She was so dazzled she had to shield her eyes with her hand. For a moment, she had an illusion that the whole world was looking for a lost little girl.

And dragging her back up from the depths of a swamp.

"Drive forward," Yu Lanchuan said, staring at his phone.

"Why are we still moving forward?" Yu Yan asked. "Is the cab they're taking an ox-cart? It's been five minutes and they haven't moved. Ai, is there a lag on the tracking? Don't just stare at your phone, look at the cars on the road too. If we pass by them…"

Yu Lanchuan interrupted him. "Stop!"

They saw a cab stopped on the opposite side of the road. The driver was leaning against the door and smoking, looking completely unruffled. Yu Yan swept the car lights over and realised that the car plate number corresponded with the one Old Yang was taking.

"It broke down, I'm waiting for someone to come and tow it." The driver flicked the ashes resignedly. "A buddy of mine picked up my customers on his way… I don't know which road they took. There was also another customer in my buddy's car so he would definitely prioritise them. You guys wait a minute, let me ask…"

"Hey! Didn't you just pick up two customers from me just now… Yes, yes, that old couple. Where are you guys? Huh, what? They got down halfway?"

Yu Yan, "..."

He touched the Anti Mercury Retrograde charm hanging from his keyring and faintly felt that Teacher Meng-Meng was not very effective tonight.

"Where did they get down… oh." The driver turned around and said to the two of them, "The intersection of Yongchun Road."

Yu Yan and Yu Lanchuan exchanged looks, their gazes rather heavy. They got into the police car. The accelerator was pressed to the floor and the car leaped out like it was whipped.

"Over thirty years ago, the intersection of Yongchun road was an industrial zone. The old factory that caught fire back then was located right there." Yu Yan caught Yu Lanchuan's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Why are you surprised? The higher-ups have given their orders to strictly investigate this so-called Travellers' Sect and to gather all kinds of information related to them. Furthermore, the real cause of Old Madam Lin's death still doesn't have a conclusion yet, I still remember this matter! Alliance Leader, do you have any internal gossip from the martial arts world to share?"

Yu Lanchuan didn't make any sound. The street lights shone into the car, casting a heavy shadow on his features.

All the information they had now came from Wei Huan's monologue in that letter of his that was like a will.

Yu Lanchuan didn't believe it. If Wei Huan was reincarnated, he would be a primary school student now. Yu Lanchuan didn't know what his character was like and a one-sided story did not prove anything. Even if Wei Huan held true to the saying "A person on their deathbed speaks from the heart," this killer who went on a wild goose chase around the world might not have accurately guessed the truth.

Old Sect Leader Yang was greatly respected and had high morals, and his conduct was there to be seen by anyone with eyes. Compared to other people's judgement, Yu Lanchuan trusted his own eyes more. Old Yang wielded the mighty power of the Beggars' Sect in his hands. If he really was so selfish, he would have made his fortune long ago like Wang Jiusheng. An old man who collected scraps and brought them home when he was free, would he be involved in a case of murdering people to silence them?

But… if he was really innocent, why would he go to the address of that old terrible case in the middle of the night?

Furthermore, as Wei Huan said, if Old Yang didn't know anything, why would he oust Yang Ping from the sect without even giving a proper reason?

Along with the expansion of the city, the old industrial zone was demolished and subsequently rebuilt a long time ago. The intersection of Yongchun Road had long since been transformed from how it was over thirty years ago. The small factory had turned into a tall building, taking the shape of a newly built residential area. On the west side far away from the main road, there was even a park. At this hour, the people taking after-dinner walks had all gone home and the bustling park had quieted down, the sound of stray cats meowing starting to emerge from the bushes.

Yu Yan stopped the car at the entrance to the park and used his phone to check the location. "The old factory that caught on fire back then was located right in the park. Is it here? I… Should I take a police baton or something with me? Hey, Master Lan! Wait!"

While he was speaking, Yu Lanchuan was already taking the lead to charge in.

Right in the middle of the park was a manmade lake. A stone bridge spanned across it and large willow trees were already growing lushly on the banks. The reflection of the moon floated on the surface of the water, scattering into many layers with the ripples, resembling fragments of gold.

Zhang Meizhen helped Old Sect Leader Yang to sit on a bench beside the lake. "I heard that back when they remodeled this place, they found someone to study the fengshui. With this lake, the ghosts of those who died unjust deaths can be subdued."

Old Yang had grown old. After this round of hospitalisation, his life force seemed to have been sucked away by something and only a thin layer of his former vitality was left. He followed Zhang Meizhen's gaze and squinted at the lake surface.

"Actually, there was already news that this area was going to be demolished back then. At that time, there were people who said that they would rebuild a new factory while others said that the government had expropriated the land to build a tall building… Back then, who would have thought that this place would turn into a public park?" Zhang Meizhen rubbed the side of her head. "And who would have thought that the two of us would go our separate ways because of what would happen here? Ai, I've heard about Yang Ping. You've cut off ties with him for nearly twenty years now and… things are already what they are now, you should be more open-minded."

Old Yang twisted his head around and patted the back of her hand, giving her a smile.

Zhang Meizhen suddenly sensed something wrong. She stood up. "It's late at night but instead of going home, you insist on getting down from the cab. I don't know what's going on in your mind… Fine, you've seen this place and you've sat here, there's nothing else, is there? Let's go. Don't catch a cold and make yourself fall sick. Do you really take yourself as a twenty-year old lad?"

"The person I'm waiting for isn't here yet," Old Yang said softly. "You should leave first. I'll sit here for a while more."

"Who are you waiting for?"

She had just barely finished speaking when she heard footsteps. Very light but not concealed.

Zhang Meizhen turned her head abruptly and saw a ghost-like girl.