Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 655 - Chapter 655 Chapter 41 Pretending to be a Fool Without Going

Chapter 655: Chapter 41: Pretending to be a Fool Without Going Mad (Conclusion) Chapter 655: Chapter 41: Pretending to be a Fool Without Going Mad (Conclusion) “Life’s journey is long like a dream, filled with hardship, hardship striking your face directly.”

Wenle inserted the cold car key into the ignition. Accompanied by the sound of the engine starting, the cold vehicle’s tires slowly began to rotate.

He was clearly in high spirits, humming softly to himself. Suddenly, the phone in Wenle’s chest pocket began to vibrate deeply.

“Hello.”

“Is it done?”

The caller was Vivian.

“It’s done. When’s the pickup?”

“Drive to Golden Mountain Park, I’ll take care of the rest. Did you cause any commotion?”

“Commotion? Oh, I guess the headlines tomorrow will feature the public shooting of a Sheng Ji Hall underling.”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? Can’t you even handle this simple task?”

“Relax, no one will catch a handle on me.”

“Whether there’s a handle or not isn’t up to you! Can you guarantee nobody saw you do it? Did you see any cops–or someone suspicious?”

Vivian held back her anger.

“Someone suspicious? Let me think… I encountered a man in a beige suit midway. The look he gave me was extremely fierce, memorable.”

“Beige suit? Is he tall and thin, speaks Mandarin?”

“How should I remember that clearly?”

Wenle answered nonchalantly, then suddenly, he pressed the brake. The cold car stopped just as it was about to exit the garage. Wenle turned on the headlights; two beams of cold light brushed past Li Yan’s body, which remained indistinct.

Vivian’s voice came out from the phone.

“The man in the suit you mentioned might be the special envoy sent from the mainland to oversee the security for an auction happening in a few days. I had a run-in with him at the police station last time, and he even called my godfather today, saying he has the remaining masks from the Golden Gate. Get to Golden Mountain Park immediately, and don’t get into any trouble with him.”

Wenle hung up the phone nonchalantly, his head tilted, peering at Li Yan through the windshield.

Li Yan walked up with a smile, wanting to say hello, but Wenle suddenly hit the gas, the car’s red needle spun rapidly to the right!

The cumbersome machinery, more than thirty tons with cargo, charged toward Li Yan with heavy momentum. Wenle’s vision blurred for a moment as Li Yan’s shadow vanished without trace. He had no intention of slowing down, and the cold car shot out of the garage. Wenle frantically turned the steering wheel as the tires emitted an unbearable screech. Before he could catch his breath, a forceful impact twisted the front of the car. Wenle’s vision shook uncontrollably, and by the time he regained his senses, an unwelcome guest occupied the passenger seat.

The cold car came to a slow stop.

“I just wanted to say hello, and you tried to run me over without a word? Xue Wenhai’s people really are lawless.”

“…”

Wenle raised his hands: “I surrender.”

“Not so fast, first tell me why you tried to hit me. We don’t know each other, do we?”

“I simply didn’t like the look of you.”

Li Yan nodded, then a swift elbow strike landed on Wenle’s temple. Wenle’s neck twisted, and he lost consciousness, his head thudding against the steering wheel.

——————————–

“Ding Jiale–the news must have been talking about him. He should be in a mental hospital receiving mandatory treatment.”

Qian Wu fiddled with the small objects on the table, all of which were taken from Wenle, including three unopened Sheep Blade Corpse Puppet Needles, a miniature compass watch, a wallet, the cold car key, a phone, and a Lao Fu Zi color comic book.

“These are Sheep Blade Corpse Puppet Needles, noted in the Myriad Assembly of Humanity’s Prime. I’ve only seen them in writing.”

Wenle sat slumped in a chair, wearing only white underwear. Li Yan hadn’t held back, and one side of Wenle’s face was swollen and purplish, almost unrecognizable.

“Recognizing Myriad Assembly of Humanity’s Prime at a glance–you must be my fifth uncle whom I have never met.”

He licked the blood in his mouth, still smiling.

“Though powerful, Myriad Assembly of Humanity’s Prime requires the Life Fiend extracted from newly deceased corpses. Just by looking at the artifacts on the table, you’ve already taken at least three lives. Follow the wrong master like Xue Wenhai, and be careful, or you may fall into bitter hell after death and never ascend.”

“May my fifth uncle’s words bring me luck,” Wenle responded.

Qian Wu snorted coldly and fell silent.

“Let’s talk about Xue Wenhai–tell me what you know. And Ye Shiru, I’m quite interested in her as well.”

Wenle stretched his neck: “I won’t say a thing, kill me if you’re unhappy.”

Li Yan was about to speak when his phone suddenly rang. The call was from Zhongxing Baode’s office.

“Mr. Li, there’s a Miss Ye looking for you.”

Ren Yi’s voice came through.

Li Yan’s eyes flickered for a moment, “Have her take the call.”

As he spoke, Li Yan stood up and left the room, intentionally avoiding Qian Wu and Wenle inside.

Ren Yi handed the receiver to Vivian, wearing a professional smile on his face.

Ye Shiru looked at Ren Yi’s beautiful face but felt an inexplicable irritation and resistance, yet due to the pressing situation, she could ill afford to dwell on it.

“Hello, Comrade Li, I am the general manager of Hanlin Cold Chain, my surname is Ye, you can call me Vivian.”

“Miss Ye, what can I do for you?”

“First, I want to confirm whether Ding Jiale is with Mr. Li.”

“Yes.”

“Today during the day, you spoke with my godfather on the phone, and we agreed to meet at nine, but then you backed out.”

“Yes.”

“Straight to the point, I hope Mr. Li and his colleagues won’t get involved in these matters that are irrelevant to Zhongxing Baode. You can name any conditions; I want both the person and the goods, including the remaining masks from Golden Gate.”

Li Yan didn’t respond immediately and, after a moment, countered, “Miss Ye, you found Zhongxing Baode so quickly, it seems you have some understanding of me already?”

“I did my homework.”

“Let’s hear it?”

“Ha, there’s no need for details, just so you know, I have no ill intentions towards Mr. Li, I only wish to resolve this peacefully.”

“Fine, I have one more question. Does your godfather, Xue Wenhai, know that you came to Zhongxing Baode to find me?”

Ye Shiru was startled at first, then fell silent.

“It seems he doesn’t. You took matters into your own hands.”

Ye Shiru still didn’t speak, tacitly admitting it.

Wenle ran into trouble while on the call with her, which indeed threw her into disarray. Adding to that, Xue Wenhai’s phone was inconveniently off as he was wholeheartedly studying Jin Boqing’s Skill of Painting Eyes. After much deliberation, she decided to make the visit herself.

“Let me make it clear, I cannot speak for Zhongxing Baode; I can only represent myself. As for the conditions, I’d prefer to discuss them in person. Both you and Xue Wenhai must come…”

“Fine. It’s a deal.”

“Then it’s settled, let’s meet tomorrow evening at nine o’clock.”

After finishing, Li Yan hung up the phone, his face suddenly became somber.

Vivian left the office of Zhongxing Baode and went straight to Xue Wenhai’s usual residence at the garden villa. She waited in the living room for over two hours before she finally saw Xue Wenhai.

“What do you need to talk about? Take your time.”

Xue Wenhai seemed as if he had just taken a bath after some strenuous exercise, his hair still damp. Perhaps it was Ye Shiru’s misconception, but Xue Wenhai looked somewhat younger.

“Wenle ran into trouble; both the person and the goods were seized by that Li Yan from Zhongxing Baode.”

Xue Wenhai poured himself a cup of coffee, “How did they get mixed up together? How could Le mess up such a simple thing?”

“I went to the office of Zhongxing Baode and called Li Yan.”

Xue Wenhai looked up, placing his coffee down, and questioned Vivian, “Who told you to go?”

“I couldn’t reach you on the phone, Wenle was in trouble, and I was afraid.”

“Alright, alright. Tell me the content of your call, word for word, don’t leave anything out, don’t change a word, go ahead.”

Vivian recounted her conversation with Li Yan faithfully, and the more Xue Wenhai listened, the tighter his brow became.

“Vivian, you’re usually so clever, and I trust you the most, how could you do something so foolish?”

——————————–

“What do you plan to do?”

Li Yan recounted everything that had happened, leaving out the part about the nightclub in Chinatown, to Cha Xiaodao without missing a word, including the fact that he had arranged to meet Xue Wenhai and Vivian tomorrow.

“That Ye Shiru clearly told me on the phone that she had investigated me, had done her homework on me. This means she could very well be aware of my relationship with Judy.”

At these words, Xiaodao’s expression also turned grave.

“Hanlin Cold Chain hiding corpses, the Golden Family massacre, I’ve never met Xue Wenhai, but evidently, he’s a person who has no bottom line and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.”

Li Yan pursed his lips, “I originally thought that with Xue Wenhai’s reckless methods, sooner or later someone among us would take action, not to mention that Yang Zheng had already agreed with Qian Wu. But now it seems I can’t take that risk.”