Walking on the wet streets, the dry pantyhose felt as if they had been despised, becoming moist once again.
Xiao Lin was holding an umbrella. If it weren't for Lian, he wouldn't even bother with this drizzle; wearing a hat would have sufficed. Besides, there were three blocks between the hotel apartnt and the North Palace. Not too far, but definitely so distance, which is why Xia Xue insisted on having the car for them. It would only take her a few minutes to walk there.
"Was the hotel apartnt arranged by Yao Zheng?" Xiao Lin's tense heart eased a bit as they exited the hotel. He didn't need to pretend in front of Lian; he was transparent before her.
"Yes, he recomnded this place on the first day, based on our requirents, and had his secretary find it for us."
"Keep an eye on Secretary Li next to him; he might be one of Fourth Master's people."
"You and Qing Yi ca here for Fourth Master?"
"Qing Yi's determination to dominate the Northern District is inevitable. This is his first real step into the political arena."
"What about you?" Lian walked beside him. Hua Qingyi's path had no choice. That was why Lao Long insisted on making Hua Qingyi leave back then. With the Hua family's steadfast political stance, adding the Dragon Soul's halo would make it really hard to hold the Hua family in check. The existence of the Xiao Family is a restraint. No matter which side's power, his fundantal role is to restrain these ever-growing family powers. Hua Muyun's foresight was set when Xiao Zhenfeng first took the helm of the Xiao Family, and now is the ti to play his role.
"? Never really thought about it. The old man's side is quite tense; if possible, I'd rather my third brother take that position, and I could just be an ordinary doctor." That's Xiao Lin's wish, but it's just a wish without other implications. He thought his family elders would never do it, and in the end, they'd still push him back to the beginning. The outco is a given, so why struggle? It's just that he isn't so willing.
"Where Fourth Master is, the real issue with forbidden drugs is in the Northern District! Is it related to Yao Zheng?"
"Regarding the forbidden drugs, I dealt with Han Fei, Yan Juanjuan's husband, destroyed her production site, so she injured a very important friend of mine."
"Friend?"
"Yes, you've t, Deputy Chief Wu Shuang from the City Police Departnt."
"Heh, another confidante, huh!" Lian wasn't mocking, as it was normal for Xiao Lin to be liked by won.
"Sort of. She has about a month or so to live. I have to pick up the pace, but your arrival would trap in a deadlock. Fourth Master wouldn't be unaware of your coming here, and now I know Yao Zheng is related to Fourth Master, yet without evidence. He's now pinned the forbidden drug matter on Han Fei; I can't intervene in the Northern District's affairs without killing him. Brother Luo also sacrificed, attacked by outsiders."
A soft hand held Xiao Lin's, providing him with reassuring encouragent. "I'll have Xia Xue go back, but I want to stay." Xiao Lin shook his head; there was no way he could agree to this. "The three of us have always been the best partners; you can't deny that. Besides, Fourth Master is soone I must find."
"I handed the witness capable of proving Yao Zheng's murder to Dark to protect, but Yan Juanjuan disappeared. She's the only one who can provide evidence of Yao Zheng's involvent with forbidden drugs, and she's part of it. Currently, the clues we have are only on the lower-level personnel, and they've all been eliminated. The trump cards in my hand are few, and every testimony capable of proving guilt has inconsistencies."
"How did Wu Shuang get injured?"
"A small police officer nad Zhang Qiang died in the hospital. He had a sister, Zhang Qian. I thought I could get more information through this but didn't expect this to be a trap set by Fourth Master. When I went to rescue Zhang Qian's son, they poisoned Wu Shuang. Zhang Qian also disappeared. The result from the witness was that Zhang Qiang had no sister. These were all traps set from the start to make fall in."
"You're feeling guilty because you intended to make Wu Shuang our scapegoat from the start, right? You just didn't do your best, and she ended up in trouble?"
"Yes, I was too hasty, so I overlooked Fourth Master's malice."
The two stopped at the red light; beyond this road was the North Palace. There were no vehicles passing by, and they waited orderly.
"Don't turn your head, use your peripheral vision to look to your left." Xiao Lin suddenly grabbed Lian's hand and whispered.
"The blue comrcial vehicle?" With her limited view, she could see a car parked by the roadside.
"Yes, this car always lingers around the North Palace. I once went to probe it but didn't et the main person. However, the people inside were professionally trained."
"What are you suspecting?"
"Not suspicious, just a hunch." The green light turned on, and Xiao Lin took Lian's hand to walk across the street, like a couple. "I just feel that soone inside might be the person I'm looking for."
"You an Hong Lian?"
Xiao Lin shook his head, uncertain. "Hong Lian is an old man; I've seen him, but the person inside should still be middle-aged." Though he didn't see clearly from the car window that day, it was definitely not the grandpa beside Guo Guo. "He could be Hong Lian or Mu Rongyun, I don't know. But his frequent observations of the North Palace make suspect he might be one of Fourth Master's people."
"The car has departed!" As they neared the North Palace, the car started and left with a trail of smoke. "Its license plate is special, supposedly exclusive to a certain family, but this family never enters Yanjing." Lian focused on the departing vehicle, pondering for a mont. "I don't think it's one of your suspected targets."
"Do you recognize this car?"
"I don't, but I've seen this in Dragon Soul's database before, indicating a special family existence. Its power doesn't lie in Yanjing, so coming here is strange."
"Is that so?" Faced with this answer, Xiao Lin was more disappointed than hopeful. Hong Lian disappeared again, and the whereabouts of the Rose Staff seed even more elusive. Moreover, the assassin who had previously tried to kill him seed to vanish as well, never appearing again. Handing the Hexagram to Yi revealed that the assassin didn't belong to 'Black Crow' because there was no record of him in the database. But he wasn't from DOMO either, as the thod and practice were different. To Xiao Lin, DOMO had already beco a mystery; neither Yi nor Consort Ling ever gave him a real explanation. (To be continued. If you like this work, welco to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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