Hedonist Prodigy

Chapter 80: Jiang Feng Has Disappeared

The sun rose, but Jiang Feng still hadn’t returned. Zhao Wuxia had spent the entire night sitting in the courtyard, her clothes and hair soaked with dew. She had always placed great importance on her appearance, maintaining a clean and elegant demeanor in any situation, but at this moment, she had completely forgotten those details. She stared blankly with her dry eyes at the several pools of blood on the ground, anxiously waiting for Jiang Feng to come back.

Although she could never be sure if the blood was left by Jiang Feng, it was evident that something extremely dangerous had occurred here before she returned last night. After thinking all night, she still couldn’t come up with any proper way to handle the situation. She could only sit in the courtyard waiting for Jiang Feng, but after waiting all night, he still hadn’t come back.

Zhao Wuxia could no longer wait. A whole night had passed, and if Jiang Feng was fine, he should have returned by now. But since he hadn’t come back, something must have happened. Even if nothing had happened, it was very likely that he was now in a difficult situation and unable to return.

However, she didn’t dare to call the police, fearing that her small mistake might worsen Jiang Feng’s current predicament. Zhao Wuxia decided to go to the Jiang Family; no matter what, she had to report Jiang Feng’s situation to Old Master Jiang.

With this thought in mind, she struggled to get up from the ground and staggered toward the exit. Just as she reached the door, she heard the sound of a car engine approaching. 

She froze for a moment, then a look of wild joy spread across her face. “Is Jiang Feng back?” 

Suddenly bursting with energy from who knows where, Zhao Wuxia quickened her pace and rushed outside. 

Outside the courtyard, a white Audi TT slowly came to a stop, and Ye Qingxuan emerged from the car. 

Ye Qingxuan had come specifically to find Jiang Feng. Ever since the birthday banquet for Old Master Qin two nights ago, where she had inadvertently gotten involved with Jiang Feng, she had been plagued with deep unease. She understood that she had dragged Jiang Feng into trouble, which could potentially cause him significant distress.

Moreover, after hearing about the situation between Jiang Feng and Pei Ruoxi, Ye Qingxuan realized that she had misunderstood Jiang Feng. The imperfect truth had pierced through the last thin barrier in her heart, suddenly making her feel utterly ashamed of herself.

She was not someone who could trample on others’ happiness for her own, feeling justified in doing so. After learning the final truth, she had been wanting to talk to Jiang Feng to apologize, just like she did last time when she went to Yanjing University to apologize to him.

She knew that Jiang Feng might not care about it and that a simple “I’m sorry” wouldn’t resolve the issue at its core, but this was her stance. Regardless of whether Jiang Feng cared or not, she had to have her own attitude. Otherwise, if something truly went wrong, she would be uneasy for the rest of her life.

However, after Old Master Qin’s birthday banquet, Lu Xiuxiu had moved to her place, strictly monitoring her. Due to the unpleasantness during the family meeting, she was under constant surveillance, making it difficult for her to find an opportunity to leave. She had only managed to sneak out while Lu Xiuxiu was upstairs making a phone call.

Once outside, she immediately went to Yanjing University but couldn’t find Jiang Feng. Later, she got in touch with Ma Lianhao and, after asking him, learned Jiang Feng’s current residence. She then drove over without stopping.

Just as Ye Qingxuan was about to enter the courtyard, she saw Zhao Wuxia rushing toward her in a flurry. 

Seeing Zhao Wuxia’s frantic demeanor, Ye Qingxuan was momentarily taken aback, and before she could react, Zhao Wuxia’s steps suddenly halted. Behind her black-framed glasses, her large eyes stared blankly at her, tears streaming down her face like a broken dam.

As soon as Ye Qingxuan saw Zhao Wuxia’s appearance, she was startled and didn’t understand what was happening. Why did Zhao Wuxia start crying the moment she saw her? At that moment, her heart couldn’t help but tremble uncontrollably. Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a moment before rushing forward and asking, “Zhao Wuxia, what’s wrong? What happened?”

Zhao Wuxia had been waiting for Jiang Feng to return. When she saw that it was Ye Qingxuan and not Jiang Feng who had come, the last glimmer of hope in her heart instantly vanished. The emotions she had suppressed for so long could no longer be contained, and tears began to flow. 

Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s gentle words did not stop her tears; instead, her cries grew louder, wailing like a small child. Ye Qingxuan’s heart was thrown into chaos by Zhao Wuxia’s crying. She reached out to support the swaying Zhao Wuxia and urgently asked, “What on earth happened? Tell me, quickly!”

“I… I…” Zhao Wuxia’s eyes were filled with tears, and after a long while, she finally managed to say, “Jiang Feng is missing.”

“Jiang Feng is missing?” Ye Qingxuan was taken aback, unable to comprehend what Zhao Wuxia meant. How could Jiang Feng be missing? Did he not come back last night, or had something happened?

Ye Qingxuan patiently said, “What do you mean he’s missing?”

“He’s just missing; he has disappeared.” Zhao Wuxia choked up and slowly recounted to Ye Qingxuan what she had seen last night. 

After listening, Ye Qingxuan’s expression changed drastically. She felt a wave of dizziness and ringing in her ears, and her legs felt weak, almost causing her to fall to the ground. Jiang Feng was missing? How could such a thing happen? Was it a consequence of what happened at Old Master Qin’s birthday banquet?

After a moment’s thought, Ye Qingxuan dared not think any further, fearing that her speculation might be true. She left Zhao Wuxia behind and rushed into the courtyard.

Just as Zhao Wuxia had said, there were indeed several patches of dark blood on the bluestone floor of the courtyard. The color of the blood, reflecting in the sunlight, caught her eye, and Ye Qingxuan felt a sharp pain in her eyes, turning red. 

She stared blankly at the pool of blood, an unsettling feeling suddenly engulfing her body, as if someone was choking her by the neck, making it difficult to breathe. 

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Qingxuan finally managed to take a deep breath and stumbled back to Zhao Wuxia, saying, “Have we called the police? We should call the police immediately!”

Zhao Wuxia had cried for a while and had regained some clarity. Although her mood was still heavy, she could now think rationally about what was happening. She shook her head and said, “We can’t call the police. If something really happened, once we report it, the consequences might become even more serious.”

Ye Qingxuan felt that Zhao Wuxia was wrong, but after hearing her say that, her hand instinctively retracted from her bag where she had been reaching for her phone. She paused for a moment and asked, “Then what should we do?”

“I don’t know,” Zhao Wuxia admitted, completely unsure of what to do. 

“But we can’t do nothing,” Ye Qingxuan said, biting her pink lip. “No matter what Jiang Feng’s situation is right now, we must first figure out what happened here last night. There is blood here, which clearly indicates that a struggle occurred. This blood might belong to Jiang Feng, or it might not, but at least it’s a clue. We might be able to find some leads from this blood.”

Zhao Wuxia’s eyes brightened as she said, “You’re right. If this blood doesn’t belong to Jiang Feng, it means he is temporarily safe, and we still have time to consider other matters. If it does belong to him, then we must report it immediately.”

The two exchanged glances, and both had made up their minds. Zhao Wuxia returned to the house to get a small bag and carefully scraped a bit of the blood from the ground, planning to take it for testing. 

Even though doing this might not help much, it was still better than doing nothing at all. The two of them set out with the bag containing the bloodstain.

Two hours later, the test results came out. Zhao Wuxia and Ye Qingxuan looked at the results, and their anxious hearts finally let out a small sigh of relief; the blood did not belong to Jiang Feng. But whose could it be? Almost simultaneously, another question surged to the forefront of their minds. “What should we do next?” Zhao Wuxia asked softly. Ye Qingxuan forced a bitter smile and shook her head; she didn’t know what to do either. Originally, she had thought that if the blood was Jiang Feng’s, they would immediately call the police and let them handle it. But since the blood wasn’t Jiang Feng’s, the entire situation had become increasingly perplexing.

After hesitating for a moment, Ye Qingxuan said, “Do you think Jiang Feng left after getting into a conflict with someone last night?” “That’s unlikely,” Zhao Wuxia sighed. She had been living under the same roof as Jiang Feng for some time and knew a bit about him. Jiang Feng spent most of his time sitting under the crooked tree in the backyard. Although she didn’t know what that tree meant to him, it was clear that he valued it greatly. Since Jiang Feng cared so much about that crooked tree, he wouldn’t leave easily unless something unforeseen happened that forced him to go. But what exactly had happened? She was still completely in the dark.

“Then…” Ye Qingxuan was about to say something when Zhao Wuxia’s phone rang. Upon hearing the ringtone, a look of joy immediately appeared on Zhao Wuxia’s face as she quickly pulled out her phone. However, when she saw that it was an unknown number, her expression shifted to one of unmistakable disappointment. After a moment, she distractedly answered the call. “Zhao Wuxia, it’s me,” came Jiang Feng’s voice from the other end. “Young Master, you…” Zhao Wuxia couldn’t help but scream, and before Jiang Feng could say anything, she quickly asked, “Young Master, where are you now? What happened? Are you okay?” She fired off three questions in a row, leaving Jiang Feng momentarily stunned. “I’m fine. I just wanted to inform you that I need to leave the house for a while. You must remember not to go back to the rental place anymore.” 

“Okay, okay… but—” Zhao Wuxia wanted to say more, but the call had already been disconnected. She stared blankly at her phone, unsure how to react. “Was that Jiang Feng on the phone?” Ye Qingxuan asked from the side. Zhao Wuxia nodded, and Ye Qingxuan quickly asked, “Is he okay?” “He should be fine,” Zhao Wuxia sighed. “But what about that blood? What does it mean?” Ye Qingxuan asked, puzzled. Zhao Wuxia forced a smile, “I don’t know; I didn’t have time to ask.” 

Despite saying that, Zhao Wuxia could tell from Jiang Feng’s tone that something must have happened to him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have left so suddenly or warned her so seriously not to return to the rental place. Jiang Feng didn’t know that Ye Qingxuan would go looking for him at the rental; he called Zhao Wuxia just to inform her that it was no longer safe to go there. Jiang Feng hadn’t taken the events at Old Master Qin’s birthday banquet seriously. To him, even if Ye Qingxuan had said something, it was just a small joke, harmless. However, the Jiang family’s attitude had made him more alert. As a member of the Jiang family, even though he hadn’t contributed much, he was clearly being targeted within the family. This incident was evidently more troublesome than he had imagined. Because of this, he had told Jiang Dai’er not to follow him; he knew that Zhao Wuxia cared about him. Earlier, while in the backyard, he had been thinking about how to get Zhao Wuxia to leave on her own without letting her overthink things, but he hadn’t come up with a good plan.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Wuxia did not return, but Qin Shiming came instead. There were some things he simply didn’t have time to say to Zhao Wuxia. From Zhao Wuxia’s tone, Jiang Feng understood that she must have discovered something. However, he didn’t plan to tell her too much; the more Zhao Wuxia knew, the worse it would be for her. Moreover, he had just killed Qin Shiming, and the Qin Family would definitely keep a close watch on him. The Li Family and the people from the Qihuang Sect might also come looking for him sooner or later. He didn’t have many ties in this world, but after spending a brief time with Zhao Wuxia, he had gained a deeper understanding of her character and developed a bit of fondness for her. Naturally, he didn’t want Zhao Wuxia to be implicated because of him.

Jiang Feng realized that he definitely couldn’t return to his rental apartment for the time being, and he couldn’t stay in Yanjing either, unless he became powerful enough to confront the Qin Family on his own. But given his current strength, that was simply impossible. Not to mention the Qin Family, even the Li Family, which was at the bottom among the seven great families of Yanjing, had connections with the mysterious Qihuang Sect, making his situation even more precarious. Let alone the Qin Family, which was several times stronger than the Li Family; with the Qin Family’s background, Jiang Feng would never believe that there weren’t any powerful figures backing them.

Jiang Feng wouldn’t naively think that the Qin Family’s current prosperity was solely due to the talents within the family. While it is true that the economic foundation determines the superstructure, without a strong backing, no matter how much wealth one has, it could be plundered at any time. No matter how powerful a force is, there will come a day when it collapses. The fact that the Qin Family could dominate in Yanjing, where noble families abound, was certainly not a coincidence.

However, Jiang Feng felt no regret for offending the Qin Family. It was just a matter of killing one person. Not to mention that Qin Shiming’s actions had already crossed his bottom line; even if they hadn’t, killing him was just killing him. But Jiang Feng did not kill anyone else besides Qin Shiming, as doing so would have been meaningless. Since Qin Shiming had been sent by the Qin Family to find him, someone within the family must have known about it. Even if he killed everyone, they would still know it was him. The reason he took those people away was to protect the ginkgo tree in the backyard of his rental apartment from being damaged.

Moreover, Jiang Feng had originally planned to leave the capital to cultivate; it was just that this incident forced him to do so a bit earlier. The only regret was that ginkgo tree. At this moment, Jiang Feng was at a newsstand on the outskirts of Yanjing. After finishing his phone call, he paid for the call and was about to turn to leave when he caught sight of a news article in the Yanjing City Daily. His interest piqued, he casually bought the newspaper and turned to the nearby bus stop to catch a bus.

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