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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
In that moment, I suddenly understood Lingfeng's feelings, that sense of being at a loss and unsure of what to do. I didn’t know what I should be doing, just repeatedly dialing Yang Guo'er’s number, listening to the sweet female voice on the line: “The user you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later…”
Fatty, seeing this situation, slapped me across the face. I covered my face in shock and looked at him, and Fatty shouted, “Wake up!”
I spat and angrily replied, “When have I not been awake?”
Fatty responded with a chuckle, “I thought you were out of it!”
To be honest, I was indeed a bit dazed. After Fatty's slap, my mind became much clearer. Right, didn’t I have Guo'er’s classmate Luo Yun’s number saved?
I quickly dialed that number. After a moment, a female voice answered in a panic: “Who is this?”
“I’m Zhong Zhengnan, Guo'er’s boyfriend!” This was something I had never dared to say before, but it came out naturally now.
“Zheng Nan, you need to come to Aries Fashion City quickly; Guo'er is missing. I just called the police.” The voice on the other end was extremely anxious.
After asking for the location, I called Fatty and we rushed out to catch a cab. During the ride, I also called Gu Shuchang; it might be troublesome later.
Half an hour later, I arrived at the scene—a specialty store of a certain brand. There were already seven or eight people gathered outside, and two police officers were investigating inside. Besides a few panicked-looking staff members in uniforms, there was a man and a woman inside. The man appeared to be in his forties with slicked-back hair and exuded confidence. Beside him stood a stylishly dressed and beautiful woman who tightly grasped his arm.
“Are you Guo'er’s classmate Luo Yun?” I approached the middle-aged man, nodded at him as a greeting, then turned to the woman and said, “I’m Zhong Zhengnan, Guo'er’s boyfriend.”
“Zheng Nan, hello.” Luo Yun forced a smile and pulled the middle-aged man closer. “This is my husband Ma Zhenkai.”
I smiled at Ma Zhenkai, disregarding politeness, and directly asked, "Luo Yun, what happened?"
Luo Yun pointed to the fitting room inside the store. "I helped Guo'er pick out an outfit and insisted she try it on. But after seven or eight minutes, she still hadn't come out. I knocked on the door, but there was no response. I got anxious and called the staff to get security to break down the door, only to find it empty—Guo'er was gone!"
In my panic, I blurted out, "How... how could this happen? A living person just disappears like that?" Although I forced myself to hold back the rest of my words, everyone understood what I meant. Ma Zhenkai frowned, clearly displeased.
Not caring about his feelings anymore, I turned and walked toward the fitting room. Two police officers were discussing something at the door, and they had already discovered a hidden door in the wall inside the fitting room.
Actually, it couldn't really be called a hidden door; the wall was made of plywood that someone had cut a large hole in with an extremely sharp tool. The wallpaper had a European floral pattern, making it hard to notice any traces unless you looked closely.
"Where does this board lead to?" I asked one of the tall police officers.
The tall police officer frowned and glanced at me and Fatty before not answering my question and instead asking, "May I ask who you are?"
"I'm the boyfriend of the missing person Yang Guo'er. My name is Zhong Zhengnan!"
The tall police officer's expression softened. "Behind this door is a storage room. The storage room has two levels and leads directly to an underground garage. It seems this location was premeditated."
Premeditated? Why did Luo Yun bring Guo'er to this store to try on clothes? Just as I was about to turn around and ask Luo Yun, another police officer with big eyes nodded at me and said, "Mrs. Ma, there was a promotional girl who lured them in with a new outfit discount. We asked the staff in the store, but none of them recognized any promotional girls."
Mrs. Ma? I looked at the big-eyed policeman with suspicion; from your tone, it seems you hold her in high regard. Could it be that Ma Zhenkai is some big shot? Guo'er had been here before; her classmate Luo Yun married well.
"Is this Ma Zhenkai quite influential in Moon City?" I asked directly.
"Of course, the east is for horse breeding and the west is for sheep herding. The Ma Family in the east and the Yang Family in the west are both well-known families..." The Big-Eyed Policeman spoke up.
"Haha." The Tall Police Officer patted the Big-Eyed Policeman on the shoulder and interjected with a smile, "Mr. Zhong, have you offended anyone else since coming to Yue City?"
Hearing what the Tall Police Officer said, I suddenly hit my head. Damn it, Tang Zian had already made his intentions clear, and I was still wasting time with Kung Fu? I picked up my phone, walked outside, and dialed Tang Zian's number.
"Tang Zian, what do you mean by this?" I said angrily in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" Tang Zian sounded quite surprised.
"Aren't you looking for the Book of Life and Death? Didn't I already agree to help you? Why are you doing this kind of thing?" Hearing Tang Zian play dumb only made me angrier.
"What have I done? Zheng Nan, clarify your words."
"Still pretending? In the martial world, we say that misfortune should not befall one's family. With what you're doing, do you still follow any rules? Kidnapping Guo'er... Aren't you afraid that word will get out and people will stab your grandfather in the back?" This should be Tang Zian's doing; the Elder Tang wouldn't resort to such actions.
"Kidnapping Guo'er? What? Yang Guo'er has been kidnapped?" Tang Zian exclaimed in shock. Then it seemed like someone was talking on the other end of the line. After a while, Tang Zian's voice came through again: "Zheng Nan, let me be clear: we absolutely did not kidnap Yang Guo'er. We wouldn't do something like that, nor would we dare to kidnap her. First, tell me what's going on so we can see how we can help."
From Tang Zian's tone, he didn't seem to be lying. Could it be that Guo'er really wasn't kidnapped by them? The problem is, who else would kidnap Guo'er besides them?
I explained the situation here to Tang Zian, and his surprised voice came back: "Ma Zhenkai? Isn't he from the Ma Family? It's very likely that it's them targeting the Yang Family."
What a mess with all these pigs, sheep, and horses; it has nothing to do with me. Tang Zian continued on the phone: "If the Ma Family is involved, this matter gets a bit complicated. Where are you now? Let's meet face to face."
I provided him with the address.
"Wait for me, I'll be there soon," Tang Zian said before hanging up.
As I walked back into the store, the two police officers had finished their investigation and approached Ma Zhenkai, greeting him. "Mr. Ma, since Mrs. Ma is involved in the crime scene, we may need to take her statement. We hope you won't mind."
Ma Zhenkai nodded. "Cooperation between the police and the public is essential."
After the two officers left, Ma Zhenkai glanced at me and Fatty, handing me a business card. "If you need anything, call me. I hope I can help." He then patted Luo Yun on the shoulder.
Luo Yun looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry, Zheng Nan. I didn't know it would turn out like this..." She seemed about to say more, but Ma Zhenkai embraced her shoulder and waved goodbye to us as he left.
Fatty and I squatted outside the door smoking. Although smoking was not allowed inside, the staff didn’t dare say anything. Later, a man in a black suit arrived, presumably a mall manager. He frowned at us and said, "Brothers, don't let your ashes fall on the ground."
Fatty rolled his eyes. "Then why don’t you bring an ashtray? A mall this big doesn’t even have an ashtray? How can it keep up with international standards without proper facilities? Both hardware and software are crucial."
The black-suited man's expression changed as if he was about to explode. A staff member shouted for Manager Wang and whispered something to him. The black-suited man nodded and walked away nonchalantly. I guessed that the staff member mentioned our connection to the Ma family; it seemed that the Ma family indeed had influence in Moon City.
After smoking three cigarettes, Tang Zian arrived. He looked around the scene and saw nothing significant before signaling us to follow him. The three of us found a teahouse and booked a private room to sit down.
"Zheng Nan, how much do you know about the Ma family and the Yang family?" Tang Zian asked directly.
"I don't know anything at all!" I replied without hesitation.
"Since you don't know, I won't elaborate much. The Ma Family and the Yang Family are both branches from above," Tang Zian pointed to the Flower Board.
"Who are you?" Two names floated in my mind; their credentials were even more solid than Huang Lao's. However, with the passing of the older generation, these two families had lost their former glory. Of course, a family with deep roots and abundant branches still possesses immeasurable heritage.
"This time, Huang Lao personally intervened, hoping that the Yang Family would give him face. Our Tang Family is an old-established family, understanding the role of the Baojian. The Yang Family, however, is a newly rising family. Old Man Jin gave them the Baojian, but it was of no use to them; they have no idea what this Baojian is for. We thought it would be a sure thing to ask for it, but unexpectedly, this incident occurred," Tang Zian shook his head, seemingly lamenting. He continued, "The Ma Family and the Yang Family are in opposing camps, naturally fighting to the death. Usually, both sides are evenly matched, and neither can do anything to the other. But this time, something unexpected happened; the Ma Family actually uprooted the Yang Family's influence in Moon City. Now the people from the Yang Family in the capital must be furious."
"The Yang Family in the capital?" I felt a bit confused. "What does that mean?"
"Didn't I just tell you? They are all branches from above; they are all up there!" Tang Zian sighed. "To put it simply, although our Tang Family is a prestigious family, who can escape being affected by war in chaotic times? If it weren't for my elder serving Huang Lao and that connection, how could we thrive so well in Star City? Even so, to those above us, we are merely like ants. Just look at your friend Lingfeng; the strength of his family far surpasses ours."
"Lingfeng? I know he has a background, but it seems there isn't anyone with the surname Ling among the older generation of revolutionaries?" I frowned.
"How rare! Do you know his alias?" Tang Zian then mentioned a name we had only seen on television; I didn't expect Lingfeng to be his descendant.
"Alright, now I understand the background of the Ma Family and the Yang Family. But how does this relate to Guo'er being kidnapped?" I expressed my confusion.
"What is Yang Guo'er's surname?" Tang Zian looked at me with flickering eyes.
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