The flame crest was unique; not just anyone could wear it in Feng Yi.

It was a unique symbol.

Xiao Jiu did not say anything. He looked up at his Grandma, wearing a puzzled look. Why were they hiding? What if it was someone Grandpa had sent to look for them?

Ling’er watched as the man walked past her, followed by two other men. She stepped out of their hiding spot, with him in tow, only after they were some distance away.

Xiao Jiu saw that the three men had already gone far away and asked, “Grandma, didn’t Grandpa send them to look for us?”

“I’m not sure if Ziqing sent them, but I’m guessing they might have been sent by the people who kidnapped us.”

Ling’er was not wrong. Those men were sent by Qian Mo, who had learned of their escape and was ordered to recapture them. Still, no one would have thought they would be so bold in their attempts to locate Ling’er and Xiao Jiu.

It showed how much power Situ Qianhui possessed.

Ling’er stared at the three men warily. Would there be kidnappers near the President’s manor?

If they took the initiative to look for Ziqing now, it would be dangerous. It would be safer if Ziqing looked for them instead.

Money was now their top priority. If they had money, they could contact Ziqing. It was the only foolproof method in Ling’er’s mind.

Feng Jiuxiao nearly went crazy when the search on Camel Mountain turned up empty. Neither Ling’er nor Xiao Jiu was on the mountain.

Jiuyan had already gone to inform the authorities to conduct a thorough search of the capital.

Such a large-scale search for missing persons alarmed everyone.

Situ Qianhui waited on tenterhooks, awaiting news of that blasted woman’s capture. Hours later and she still had not received any word.

She threw her wine goblet in a fit of anger. “Trash! They’re all useless trash!”

Deputy Jin had just stepped into the living room when the shards of the goblet landed right beside his feet. He arched an unimpressed brow in Situ Qianhui’s direction as he walked towards the sofa where she was sitting, mindful of the glass shards littering the floor.

Situ Qianhui looked at Jin Cheng, who had suddenly walked in, and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Jin Cheng stopped in front of Situ Qianhui and stared at his childhood sweetheart. He did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point. “Did you take Ling’er away?”

Situ Qianhui held her head up high, her expression remaining unchanged as she stared down at Deputy Jin, pointedly dodging his question, “Jin Cheng, what do you mean?”

“Ling’er is Brother Jiu’s wife. You can’t say her disappearance has nothing to do with you,” Jin Cheng challenged.

Situ Qianhui had been pampered since she was young and had done similar things in the past. Jin Cheng was convinced that Situ Qianhui was behind Ling’er’s disappearance.

Situ Qianhui stood up excitedly and blinked her eyes. Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes. She gave him her best impression of a kicked puppy and said, “How long have you known her? We grew up together. How could you accuse me of such a thing? Would you trust an outsider over someone you’ve known your whole life?”

Jin Cheng could not bear to see Situ Qianhui cry. If she started crying, there would not be anything he could do to fish for information from her. “Qianhui… everyone knows you have a crush on Brother Jiu.”

“Yes! Since we were children, I’ve liked Brother Jiu; you’ve always known that. Do you remember how he abandoned me at our wedding banquet? How he trampled on my affections, humiliating me before all our guests, and have I ever complained? Do you know how much that day meant to me? I’ve waited all this while… Yet now that his ‘wife’ is missing, you’re pinning the blame on me?” The more Situ Qianhui spoke, the more aggrieved she became and the more she cried.

Jin Cheng was at his wit’s end. It was true that Brother Jiu had walked out on her during their wedding banquet, and Qianhui was indeed the victim of the mess he left behind.

Brother Jiu knew what he was doing. He knew how those in attendance would construe his actions, yet he did not spare a thought for Qianhui, her feelings or her reputation.

It was wrong on so many levels Jin Cheng did not know where to begin.

Sighing, he pulled out his handkerchief and dried her tears, “Don’t cry. I did not mean to sound so harsh. It was just a question; I did not mean anything else by it. Brother Jiu is in a bad mood, and I’m afraid if he does not find Ling’er soon, the lockdown of the capital will be the least of our concerns. He might actually blow up the city and dig through the debris just to find her.”

Situ Qianhui was stunned by the news, but it did not dissuade her from the plans she had set in motion. No matter what, she had to find Ling’er first. With her recapture, she could rid herself of the menace once and for all, and in time, Brother Jiu would forget about her.

“Rest. I’ll check on Brother Jiu before joining the search for Ling’er. Brother Jiu spent many years searching for her and with great difficulty too. I hope he won’t lose her again,” Jin Cheng said.

Situ Qianhui sensed something amiss in Jin Cheng’s words. She tugged at his arm and asked anxiously, “What did you say? What do you mean she wasn’t easy to find?”

Jin Cheng had thought Situ Qianhui knew about this matter. Was she unaware of Ling’er’s identity?

“Don’t you remember the woman Brother Jiu brought back more than 20 years ago? She’s Ling’er. She left because she found out that Brother Jiu was supposed to marry you.”

“She’s that woman?” Situ Qianhui realised that Brother Jiu had always liked the same woman. The woman who stole Brother Jiu from her more than 20 years ago… To think they were the same person. Brother Jiu had left her at the wedding banquet because of that woman.

No wonder she looked familiar. It turned out that they had met once before.

So many years had passed, yet Bother Jiu still loved her.

Jin Cheng realised he might have said too much. He did not want to remind Qianhui of those painful memories, of the day Brother Jiu left their wedding banquet to search for Ling’er.

He sighed. “Qianhui, it’s been more than 20 years since that day. Can’t you let go?”

“Why must I let go?” Situ Qianhui asked, “Brother Jiu asked me for my hand in marriage and then abandoned for that sleazy strumpet as soon as he laid eyes on her! Why should I let go? She did not grow up with Brother Jiu. She did not have her wedding ruined. She was not publicly humiliated before her closest friends and family! I’ve waited over 20 years for this day, and you expect me to let it go? If anyone should be marrying Brother Jiu, it should be me!” Situ Qianhui roared hysterically, tears streaking down the sides of her face where they had just dried.

Jin Cheng pulled Situ Qianhui into his arms, patting her back gently as he comforted her, “You’ve always known how he felt about you, but never have I ever forced you into a relationship with me. Brother Jiu did not marry you because he did not want you to suffer. Please, try to understand…”

Situ Qianhui buried her face into Jin Cheng’s chest. How could he say that Brother Jiu did not want her to suffer? If everything she had experienced so far was his ‘so-called’ attempt to prevent her suffering, she did not want anything to do with it. If anyone were free from suffering the consequences of Brother Jiu’s actions, it would be Ling’er, not her.

Since that was the case, she would stop at nothing to prevent Brother Jiu from finding that blasted woman, if only to make him feel a tenth of her pain.

After Jin Cheng left, Situ Qianhui made Qian Mo pass down a kill on sight order. That way, she would rid herself of that interloping third wheel once and for all.

–

It was a moonless night, and a strong wind blew.

Qin Shu dressed in black for her infiltration attempt of the President’s manor. Ye Luo was driving her there.

This time, Qin Shu entered the President’s manor alone. She brought President Ba with her and asked Ye Luo to stand guard outside.

The President’s courtyard wall was taller than most, but it posed no difficulty to Qin Shu. She climbed in quickly.

Lamps lit up the garden expanse. Qin Shu easily avoided the patrolling guards, with President Ba leading the way.

However, what Qin Shu did not know was that because Ling’er and Xiao Jiu had gone missing, the security in the manor was ten times stricter than before. Compared to Hua Xia, who advocated martial arts, the country of Feng Yi was probably the originator of martial arts. Therefore, the martial strength of the guards in the garden was above Platinum-level.

What was even more tragic was that before Qin Shu could find Ling’er and Xiao Jiu’s courtyard, she was surrounded by a group of people, all of them were Platinum-level.

Fu Tingyu was right.

Although she had reached the bottleneck of a Platinum-level martial artist, she was far from being able to contend with so many of her peers alone.

“There’s an intruder in the President’s manor. Arrest him!” The leader of the patrol shouted.

Seeing that the guards surround her, Qin Shu hurriedly shouted, “Wait a minute.”

The leader angrily shouted, “If he doesn’t sound like a native, he must be a spy. Arrest him!”

Qin Shu shouted again, “I’m here to look for my father!”