Ti Shen

CHAPTER 3: STUMBLING UPON A SECRET

Ran Feng Ge flicked his wrist and a small, delicate blade slipped into his palm. He took a sideways step backward and stood in a corner of the elevator. Lifting his head, he stared intensely at the hatch on the ceiling.

With a clean crack, someone lifted the hatch and light flooded into the elevator.

Ran Feng Ge froze at the sight and slid the blade between his fingers. The minute the person above stuck their head through the opening, he struck and aimed the blade at them, slicing the air with a whoosh.

Unexpectedly, the person easily avoided his attack.

“Ah Qiu, it’s me!” After identifying themselves, the person stuck their head through the top of the elevator again. “Boss wants to see you.”

Boss… Could it be… Ran Feng Ge mumbled to himself.

“Quickly! I finally came up with a way to meet you alone. If we don’t take advantage of it, we’ll be found out soon! If Boss gets angry, no one around would live to see it!” The person urged and threw down a rope.

Should he go? Or not?

Ran Feng Ge was a talented and strong man with a fearless attitude. After hesitating for a split-second, he reached out and grabbed the rope. Stepping up the walls of the elevator, he climbed up halfway and was pulled up by the man above. The man then slid the hatch back into place and led the way out of the confined space they were in. They followed the pipelines to a stretch of hallway where another elevator was waiting. They entered and the man pressed the button for the underground Level 3. He then leaned against the wall of the elevator and stared at the display of numbers above the door.

Ran Feng Ge finally stopped to look at his companion. The man was tan and skinny, and seemed to be in his late twenties. He had small eyes and thin wisps of a mustache above his lips. When he smiled, he appeared like a crafty rat. Overall, the man was thoroughly average in appearance; the kind that could be easily lost within a crowd and never found again. Unfortunately, Ran Feng Ge knew this man.

If he recalled correctly, this man should be Lan Kuang’s assistant who was responsible for transmitting messages and reports―Hei Bao.

Feeling Ran Feng Ge’s eyes on him, Hei Bao turned his head and glanced back. “What?”

“Nothing,” Ran Feng Ge responded in Jing Qiu Han’s voice. Hei Bao had called him “Ah Qiu” in the other elevator, so he didn’t forget to act in the manner of his current identity.

“Are you scared?” Hei Bao seemed rather gleeful at the thought.

Ran Feng Ge raised an eyebrow. “What’s there to be scared of?”

“You really aren’t scared?” Hei Bao didn’t believe Ran Feng Ge’s words. He then added, “Just admit it if you’re scared. Bao-ge will take care of you!”

Ran Feng Ge mulled over the words in his head. Was Jing Qiu Han supposed to act scared in this situation?

“Then I’ll thank Bao-ge right now.” Ran Feng Ge altered the tone of his voice, appearing very sincere.

Hei Bao was satisfied with his response and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Boss only wants to ask you on the progress of your information gathering.”

“Thank you for the reminder.” Expressionlessly, Ran Feng Ge bowed sideways. He then shook off Hei Bao’s hand. While he kept up a humble and respectful expression on the outside, his mind was racing over the slew of information he had been given.

The information that Jing Qiu Han had been gathering, could it be on Su Yi Mo?

It seemed like there really was something shady about Jing Qiu Han!

Was Su Yi Mo aware of this? Judging by the man’s reactions, it didn’t seem like he did. Otherwise, why would he have asked Ran Feng Ge to substitute for Jing Qiu Han? Su Yi Mo was blinded by his love for Jing Qiu Han. How could the thought that his lover was a spy sent to his side by Lan Kuang ever cross his mind? Then… Was Jing Qiu Han planning on harming Su Yi Mo? Who exactly had shot Jing Qiu Han in the first place?

When they stepped out of the elevator, Ran Feng Ge sighed to himself. He had been planning on distancing himself from the messy situation, but now he was standing even deeper in the mire.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom was parked in Level 3 of the underground parking lot. The door to the backseat of the car was open and waiting for them. Hei Bao shoved Ran Feng Ge inside the car and closed the door firmly behind him.

Once settled in his seat, Ran Feng Ge glanced sideways and directly met Lan Kuang’s dark, dissecting eyes. Remembering how Lan Kuang had easily recognized him during their previous encounter, Ran Feng Ge quickly lowered his eyes. After deliberating for a moment, he tentatively called out, “Master…”

Lan Kuang didn’t respond. He merely turned the glass of wine in his hand; sending out waves of the red wine’s enticing aroma.

Seeing that Lan Kuang was silent, Ran Feng Ge kept quiet as well. Keeping calm and quiet was always the key to success.

Finally, Lan Kuang chuckled coldly. With a swing of his hand, he flung the remainder of his wine at Ran Feng Ge’s face.

When Ran Feng Ge saw the turn of Lan Kuang’s wrist, he had guessed what the man was about to do. If he had been acting as Ran Feng Ge, he would surely dodge and avoid being splattered by the wine. However, he wasn’t Ran Feng Ge at the moment. He controlled the urge to dodge and kept his head down as the wine drenched him. He clenched his fists at his sides, his body trembling at timed intervals. No matter how anyone looked, he appeared like a subordinate who was frightened after being reprimanded by his boss, but wasn’t willing to openly display his fear for all to see.

“So you actually remember that you have a master!” Lan Kuang grounded out coldly. He reached out and bashed his wineglass against the windshield of the car, leaving him with a jagged base and sharp shards of glass. He slammed a hand against Ran Feng Ge’s shoulder and pushed him down onto the seat. Holding the jagged edges of the wineglass against Ran Feng Ge’s throat, he asked, “Then, how much have you accomplished out of all the tasks I’ve given you? Huh?”

Lying flat on the backseat, Ran Feng Ge instinctively glanced up at Lan Kuang. In that moment, the light flickering inside his eyes brought Lan Kuang a hint of a familiar feeling.

Lan Kuang was stunned, but quickly recollected himself and stared closely at the man beneath him. Disappointingly, all he could see was a nervous face; the eyes that were hidden behind eyelashes showed nothing but panic and fear. It wasn’t the pair of stubborn eyes filled with hatred that he knew. He calmed down and simultaneously cursed at himself. Why did everything remind him of those soul-piercing eyes?

“Master, please give me a little more time…” Ran Feng Ge adjusted the tone of his voice, injecting a bit of fear into it. He stared anxiously at the sharp glass at his throat, afraid that even one slip could end up with him having a sliced throat.

For god’s sake, why was he always involved in such difficult situations?

“I’ve already given you seven years. Is that not enough?” Lan Kuang released Ran Feng Ge and tossed aside the broken wineglass. He jabbed a finger at Ran Feng Ge’s chest. “Remember, if you keep dragging things out, then…next time…it won’t be as simple as a mere warning!”

So Lan Kuang is the one behind Jing Qiu Han’s injuries, Ran Feng Ge exclaimed to himself. He gathered that Lan Kuang’s goal had been to warn Jing Qiu Han to stop wasting time and quickly get the classified information on Su Yi Mo, or something of the sort.

“Ah Qiu, did you really fall in love with that Su bastard?” Lan Kuang stared sharply at Ran Feng Ge, the force of his fingertips increasing on the latter’s chest. The atmosphere inside the car immediately became oppressive.

“Ah Qiu w-wouldn’t dare,” Ran Feng Ge stammered

“Wouldn’t dare?” Lan Kuang picked at his response.

“Ah Qiu is only loyal and devoted to Master!” Ran Feng Ge said with his head lowered.

“That sounds more like it!” Lan Kuang pushed him aside and sat up straight. He added coldly, “At noon tomorrow, send me all the information you have on the head of the Su family. Remember, at noon tomorrow!”

“Yes!” Ran Feng Ge quickly replied.

“Get lost!”

When Ran Feng Ge turned around to get out of the car, Lan Kuang added faintly, “Don’t forget that your little sister is still waiting for you at Chasing Hawk.”

“I thank Master for the reminder,” Ran Feng Ge answered quietly, his suppressed fury and fear keeping him from turning around. It was the perfect response.

What answered him was the quiet slam of the door. The blue Phantom quickly sped out of the underground garage. Ran Feng Ge stood still for a moment, then turned around and decided to head back the way he came.

Out of nowhere, Hei Bao appeared beside him with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. “How about it? I didn’t lie to you, right? Boss only wanted to ask you on your progress.”

“Yes. Thanks, Bao-ge.” Ran Feng Ge reached inside his clothes and drew out a fold of bills. “This is only a small token of my gratitude, not nearly enough to express my respect toward you. I hope Bao-ge will keep on giving me a heads-up in the future.”

Hei Bao’s small eyes brightened, widening just a fraction. With a greedy light in his eyes, he grabbed the bills from Ran Fen Ge and stuffed them inside his chest. He patted Ran Feng Ge on the shoulder and said, “Leave it to me!”

After Hei Bao left, Ran Fen Ge smiled to himself.

Su Yi Mo. Su Yi Mo. It’s a shame that you’re head over heels for this guy. You aren’t even aware of the fact that he’s a spy here to steal your secrets. Like an idiot, you’d had your heart stolen away!

Ah! How pitiful!

“What are you doing here?”

While Ran Feng Ge was sighing to himself, a questioning voice came from behind him.

Ran Feng Ge scratched his nose and turned around to see the expressionless Su Yi Mo. He wondered whether he should tell Su Yi Mo about what he had just discovered, or was it better to let the man discover it himself?

He suddenly had a great urge to see what kind of expression Su Yi Mo would make after knowing that he had been betrayed. Would his face remain blank and expressionless like always? Or would he become even colder?

“I heard there were a lot of brand-name cars down here, so I came to see.” Ran Feng Ge shrugged. “There really are a lot of good cars here. Is everybody at Huan Yu rich?”

“You came down here to look at cars? Then why couldn’t I find any trace of you leaving the lobby on the security cameras?” Su Yi Mo stared unimpressed at Ran Fen Ge. He knew the man had been stuck in an elevator on the 27^th floor. Xia Ming also said “Qiu Han” had been looking for him. So what was Ran Feng Ge doing in the underground parking lot?

“Oh, I was afraid that people would recognize me so I had changed my appearance a bit before leaving the building,” Ran Feng Ge replied unconcernedly.

“I think I need to remind you, right now you’re―”

“―Jing Qiu Han! I remember!” Ran Feng Ge cut Su Yi Mo off with a smile. He leaned in and wrapped an arm around Su Yi Mo’s shoulders. “Hey, big boss Mr. Su, I have something I want to ask you―”

Su Yi Mo glanced with loathing at the arm Ran Feng Ge had around him, a clear message of “don’t touch me if you’re a stranger” apparent on his face.

Ran Feng Ge glanced around and signaled Su Yi Mo with his eyes, reminding him to act like a professional. Otherwise, people would see through the holes of their act!

Su Yi Mo glanced in the same direction Ran Fen Ge had looked and saw someone from their company walking over. He quickly changed his expression. However, his face was stiff and the semblance of a smile he had allowed to grace his face appeared downright fake.

An average person truly couldn’t compare to a body double’s ability to adapt.

Ran Feng Ge leaned into Su Yi Mo’s ear and asked, “How much do you truly know…about Jing Qiu Han?”

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Translators: Nannyn

Proofreaders: dinoj