Chapter 92: The Shadow in the Rainy Night

Without hesitation, Ye Fei stepped over the police tape and rushed into the bar.

However—

He had barely stepped inside when two police officers blocked his way. “Stop! This is a crime scene. Unauthorized personnel aren’t allowed. Who are you?”

Ye Fei took a deep breath and didn’t try to force his way in. Instead, he said, “Is one of your officers named Zhou Danzhuang missing? I’m her junior from the academy. How is she? What’s the situation? Do you have any leads?”

“Junior?”

The two officers exchanged glances, their wariness easing a little. One of them sighed and said, “We’ve already sent colleagues to investigate. Most of the surveillance cameras in the bar have been destroyed. We suspect this is a premeditated abduction.”

“If you’re really Zhou’s junior, then if you receive any threatening calls, you must notify us immediately. Understood?”

Ye Fei nodded and didn’t linger. He turned and quickly called Chen Yu. “Hello? Where are you?”

On the other end, Chen Yu gave him the address of a café.

Ye Fei hurried over.

When they met, Ye Fei could see that Chen Yu’s expression was tinged with displeasure—clearly, something unpleasant had happened earlier. But upon seeing Ye Fei, her mood visibly improved, and she smiled. “So, what’s so urgent that you needed to see me?”

“My senior has been kidnapped—Zhou Danzhuang, a police inspector. I need your people to look into it.” Ye Fei took out his phone to show her a photo of Zhou Danzhuang. His tone was calm. “I suspect someone’s pulling strings behind this, but I don’t know who.”

“You don’t know who?” Chen Yu nodded, took a sip of coffee, and said, “I’ll get someone on it right away.”

“Thanks. By the way, any news on the bronze cauldron?”

“I’ve been worrying about that just now,” Chen Yu said with a trace of exasperation. “I brought in a rather well-known fixer. He’s supposed to know a bit of everything. But after seeing the bronze cauldron, he was terrified out of his wits. I tried questioning him, even offered more money, but he wouldn’t say a thing.”

“A fixer? Are people like that reliable?” Ye Fei asked with curiosity.

A fixer, after all, was someone well-connected in the underworld, able to get wind of all sorts of rumors—especially in the antique business. But the field was also rife with people selling false information.

“He’s reliable, but loose-lipped,” Chen Yu shook her head. “So I had him thrown out.”

“There’s no rush,” Ye Fei said with a smile. “Even the Xing family couldn’t find the other cauldron. It won’t be an easy task for us, either. By the way, what’s your plan for Chunqiu Pharmaceuticals?”

“I’ll do as you say,” Chen Yu shrugged.

“Good.” Ye Fei didn’t seem surprised. He said straightforwardly, “Tomorrow, I’ll buy some herbs from a nearby pharmacy and use the cauldron to refine a batch of pills. You should pay attention to when we publicize it. Once we’re able to mass-produce those pills, this crisis should be resolved.”

“Thank you, Ye Fei.” Chen Yu’s face showed genuine emotion.

He had helped her a great deal on this journey—her father Chen Bozhong, and herself as well.

“No need to thank me.”

“I’ll go back now,” Ye Fei said, waving goodbye.

Watching his departing figure, Chen Yu felt a swell of conflicting emotions.

...

Returning to the villa.

Ye Fei had just stepped inside when he saw Lin Qiqing anxiously sitting on the sofa, clutching her phone as if waiting for something.

Seeing Ye Fei, she hurried over. “Your ninth senior has been kidnapped, Ye Fei!”

“I know.” Ye Fei nodded and reassured her, “Don’t worry, Senior. I’ve already asked a friend to investigate. The circumstances of her disappearance are too strange—I suspect someone’s orchestrating this from behind the scenes. For safety, you should have bodyguards with you these next few days.”

“Me? I’ll be fine!” Lin Qiqing bit her lower lip and said, “Ye Fei, just tell me—who took Danzhuang?”

Ye Fei lit a cigarette, squinting as he struggled to explain.

He had too many enemies—Qin Feiyang, Situ Feng, and others whose names he hadn’t even bothered to remember.

At that moment—

Outside the door.

A frigid, cutting wind suddenly howled in, smashing through the villa’s floor-to-ceiling window.

Whoosh!

“Look out!”

Ye Fei’s face hardened. He pushed Lin Qiqing aside and caught the object that had shattered through the glass.

It was a black arrow, its entire body pitch dark.

The arrowhead was coated with a pale green, paint-like liquid.

Tied to it was a photograph.

“This is...”

“My ninth senior!”

Seeing the person in the photo, Ye Fei drew a sharp breath.

Zhou Danzhuang was shown tossed in the trunk of a car, her body bound tightly with hemp rope. A rag was stuffed in her mouth and a black blindfold covered her eyes. Her clothes were soaked through.

Beside him, Lin Qiqing came forward for a look. When she saw who it was, she gasped and covered her mouth in shock. “This...this is...”

“Senior, stay put. Call me if anything happens,” Ye Fei said, glancing at the shattered window before dashing out, arrow in hand.

He didn’t know where the arrow had been shot from, but whoever fired it couldn’t be far.

Stepping outside, he took a deep breath and heightened all his senses to the maximum.

The night was eerily silent.

All he could hear was his own breathing, and—

The faint movement of air.

Suddenly—

A subtle current flickered by.

Ye Fei’s eyes snapped open, focusing at one o’clock. There, a shadow moved like a wild wolf, flashing past and disappearing down the street.

“Found you.”

Ye Fei curled his lips in a cold smile and set off in pursuit.

The shadow moved swiftly, seemingly with intent, as if leading Ye Fei in a particular direction.

Ye Fei quickly caught on but didn’t rush. Instead, he deliberately slowed his pace and followed from a distance.

He wanted to see what this person’s real purpose was in luring him out.