Chapter 111: Don’t Leave

The figure stood just around the corner outside Luo Feng’s house. The wind had picked up, and the figure swayed gently in the breeze. I told Z’s mother to stay in the car and not move, then opened the door and stepped out myself. There was a streetlamp at the corner, but it didn’t shed enough light for me to clearly see the figure’s face. I approached slowly. The figure remained motionless.

As I drew closer, I finally exhaled in relief—it was Xiao Mei. She wore a long dress that fluttered in the wind, as if it might lift her whole body up. I stepped in front of her, unable to hold back, and snapped, “You always show up like a ghost. What exactly do you want?”

Xiao Mei stood her ground, smiling as she stared at me. “How do you know whether I’m human or a ghost?”

It was already past midnight. Xiao Mei’s presence near Luo Feng’s house could only mean she had come looking for me. I didn’t want to get tangled up in pointless debates, so I asked why she had come. Instead, she took a step closer, placed both hands on my shoulders, and stood on tiptoe, trying to kiss me.

This wasn’t the first time Xiao Mei had acted so flirtatiously toward me. But after several such encounters, I knew she wasn’t truly that uninhibited. So I stood still, curious about what she really wanted. Sure enough, just as her lips were about to touch mine, she stopped.

Her face was very close to mine, and I felt the breath she exhaled was cold and lifeless.

I curled my lips into a smirk, watching her with amusement. Xiao Mei furrowed her brows and asked if I would hate her if she really were a ghost. I scoffed, “Honestly? Whether you’re human or ghost, I hate you.”

“Why? Aren’t you the one who doesn’t believe in ghosts or gods?” she countered.

“Because I detest those who always put on airs and play tricks,” I replied.

Biting her lip, Xiao Mei suddenly pressed her lips against mine. I hadn’t expected her to really kiss me. Before I could react, her kiss had already left a deep mark. I froze, about to push her away, when a sharp pain stung my lips. Xiao Mei stepped back, smiling at me.

I wiped my mouth. She had drawn blood. Anger surged within me, but Xiao Mei smiled as if nothing had happened.

“Crazy woman,” I cursed, turning to leave. Xiao Mei called out twice. Seeing I didn’t stop, she shouted my name, saying she had something important to tell me. I halted. I didn’t move closer this time, but as I looked back, the wind tousled her long hair.

That strange sense of familiarity I felt the first time I saw Xiao Mei surged again. I paused but, just like before, couldn’t recall where I had met her.

After a moment, Xiao Mei finally revealed why she had come—her words surprised me. She told me not to leave Jing City anytime soon. It was as if she already knew I was planning to leave. I stepped forward and asked how she knew.

Xiao Mei didn’t answer that. Instead, she said she not only knew I intended to leave Jing City but also knew I was headed to Yu City.

I guessed Xiao Mei also knew that Xuan Yi had gone to Yu City and that I was searching for him. It wasn’t hard for her to deduce that after investigating the Guman Doll case, I would go to Yu City to find Xuan Yi. I stopped asking and stared at her intently. I sensed she had more to say.

“If you promise not to leave Jing City, I’ll go with you to the hotel,” Xiao Mei hesitated, then said.

I was taken aback. Then she said something even more unexpected. I thought for a moment and pointed to Luo Feng’s house. “I can just sleep here. Why go to a hotel?”

Xiao Mei answered that she didn’t want more people to see her. Aside from her eerie, unsettling presence whenever she appeared, she was indeed quite beautiful.

I shook my head. “I think I told you before, nothing tempts me—not even women.”

Without hesitation, Xiao Mei retorted, “Then why do you sleep with Z?”

“You even know what happened between me and Z? Seems like you’ve been following me,” I asked.

Xiao Mei didn’t deny it. She said she had seen me bring Z back to Luo Feng’s house, and the next day, Z left looking pale and unwell. Xiao Mei stepped closer, her hands roaming over my body, slowly moving toward my lower half. I caught her hand just in time.

My voice turned cold. “I don’t like being followed. Don’t think just because you’re a woman, I won’t do something about it.”

Xiao Mei’s intention was clear—she wanted me to stay in Jing City, or more precisely, to stop me from going to Yu City. She was even willing to use her body as a bargaining chip, which surprised me. Despite her repeated temptations, I knew she was rather conservative; otherwise, she wouldn’t have blushed so many times.

Seeing she couldn’t persuade me, Xiao Mei decided to be more straightforward. She told me that only by staying in Jing City could I preserve my life. Leaving, especially going to Yu City, would certainly put my life at risk. But she refused to say who was targeting me.

“Fang Han, I’ve said all I can. If you still want to investigate, don’t take reckless risks,” Xiao Mei said suddenly, her tone serious.

“People who won’t speak openly have no right to tell me what to do,” I replied, ignoring her. Returning to the car, I explained the situation to Z’s mother, who then relaxed. I took her back to Luo Feng’s house. When I went upstairs and pulled back the curtains to look down, Xiao Mei was no longer there.

After a whole night’s sleep, the next morning we woke early. I was about to take Z’s mother to the arranged residential community. But just as I came downstairs, I saw Luo Feng sitting on the sofa, head bowed, looking very serious. I asked him what was wrong. He pointed to the table and said another anonymous letter had appeared.

I was startled and immediately picked up the letter from the table. Luo Feng had already opened it. The handwriting was exactly the same as the previous anonymous letters. This time, the message was simpler: “Do not leave Jing City.” The warning matched exactly what Xiao Mei had told me.

Luo Feng told me that early this morning, his men found an envelope slipped under the front door. But the person who left it had vanished long before.

I told Luo Feng about seeing Xiao Mei last night. He asked if I thought Xiao Mei could be the anonymous sender.

I shook my head. The sender’s identity was always mysterious. If Xiao Mei were the sender, she wouldn’t have come to warn me in person and then send a letter later. Also, Wang Jianming had been receiving anonymous letters intermittently for years. Though I didn’t know Xiao Mei’s exact age, she looked about the same age as Wang Yazhuo.

Meaning, a few years ago, Xiao Mei was just a teenager.

For someone so young to be so well-informed, so powerful, aiding Wang Jianming in evading police investigations multiple times—it was unbelievable.

The identity of the anonymous sender was not something that could be uncovered overnight. Aside from the handwriting, there were no other clues. Finding this person was like searching for a needle in a haystack. I wasn’t in a hurry. What concerned me was why both Xiao Mei and the anonymous sender warned me not to leave Jing City.

After a moment of thought, Luo Feng asked with a complicated expression, “Do you want to reconsider? I’m worried there really is danger.”

I had already faced danger once in Jing City.

At home, if I hadn’t woken up in time and avoided being drugged completely, the consequences would have been unimaginable. The anonymous warning was accurate. Coupled with Wang Jianming’s testimony, the information the sender had was likely true.

But I still had to leave Jing City.

I couldn’t find Duan Kun in a day; without knowing the truth behind my father’s death and the secret inside the box from years ago, I couldn’t seek revenge. Duan Kun was constantly on the run. I’d searched for him for so long with no luck. I feared he might be in danger or already dead, and then all the truth would be buried in the earth.

The vengeance for my father’s death had to be taken; I couldn’t wait any longer.

I told Luo Feng that no matter the danger, I was going to Yu City to find Xuan Yi. The mysteries surrounding Xuan Yi and Sansong Temple were too many.

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