Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"019"

Xiao Lancui's brow furrowed slightly, recalling Xiao Mian's words from the morning—that things had been dicey around here lately.

He scanned his surroundings, found nothing unusual, and walked into the compound with his umbrella up.

From the entrance to the Xiao family villa, it was about a ten-minute walk, flanked by streetlights and snow-covered pine forests.

Night had fully fallen; tall shadows loomed thick and dense, and snow continued to fall, hissing softly in the dark.

A moment later, that creepy feeling of being watched came back.

Xiao Lancui frowned. That person had followed him.

Following him?

Four names instantly popped into his head.

Xiao Jingli, who'd been suspicious of whether he'd regained his memory; Xie Jingfang, who he'd threatened and might go off the rails; and Lu Siye, who he'd played last night.

Any of these three could've sent someone to rough him up—or take him out.

As for the last one...

Xiao Lancui tightened his grip on the umbrella handle.

The missing youngest son of the Lu family.

If it really was Lu Ao, then he was here to kill him.

Lu Ao had always been cold-blooded. If he found out his target was still alive, he'd kill him again to avenge that eunuch.

But after meeting Sun Qinian, who shared the same face and name, the odds that the youngest Lu son was Lu Ao had dropped a bit.

Sun Qinian clearly didn't remember him at all.

Still, whether he was being paranoid or not, someone was definitely tailing him right now.

Xiao Lancui observed his surroundings. The rich neighborhood valued peace and privacy—this tree-lined path had no people and no cameras.

He slid his left hand into his pocket, grabbed his phone, and speed-dialed 110 without looking, ready to hit the cops at the first sign of trouble.

At the same time, he quickly changed course. The fastest place he could get to now was the security booth.

Just then, a familiar jacket caught his eye. He stopped, let go of his phone, and pulled his hand out, calling out flatly, "Xiao Mian."

A tall figure stepped out from under the plane tree. The streetlight lit up Xiao Mian, who was pushing a motorcycle. Busted, he looked totally disappointed but couldn't help saying, "Not bad, Xiao Lancui. Pretty sharp."

Before Xiao Lancui could say anything, he hopped on the bike and tore past him like the wind, throwing back one line: "Don't expect me to give you a lift!"

Xiao Lancui was a little surprised. So it was Xiao Mian.

He let out a quiet breath, loosening his grip on the umbrella. His palm was slick with cold sweat.

He turned and kept walking toward the Xiao villa.

Meanwhile, from diagonally behind the tall tree Xiao Mian had been hiding behind, a cold glint of steel flashed in the dark.

Lu Ao watched the figure disappear into the orange glow and white snow.

His fingers clenched around the No. 11 scalpel blade, his narrow dark eyes burning with murderous intent.

If that dark-skinned bastard hadn't shown up, he'd have already killed the impostor.

He stepped out of the trees, moving fast after the figure that looked so much like his target.

Suddenly, two honks cut through the silence.

Lu Ao watched a sedan pull up and stop beside the impostor, who then got in.

Lu Ao watched the taillights fade into the night. After a moment, he turned and left.

The winter night was freezing. On the sidewalk, anyone who noticed Lu Ao would stare at his feet in shock.

The doctor's shoes were three sizes too small. He wasn't even wearing socks, his heels bare to the freezing air, but he didn't seem to feel a thing, tearing through the wind and snow.

Lu Ao held a map in his hand.

A free tourist map of the capital. His destination: the Dali Imperial Mausoleum.

Meanwhile, at Xingkang Hospital...

On the third-floor hallway, Lu Siye frowned into the phone. "Dad, I really can't come back. Shen'an just got out of surgery and hasn't woken up yet."

He paused for a beat, then said dismissively, "Lu Ao's broke and doesn't know a soul. Where's he gonna go? He'll come back eventually. Don't worry."

After hanging up, he returned to Room 303.

In the room, Huo Shen'an lay in bed. Fu Chen leaned by the window, sucking a lollipop, staring off at the snow falling outside.

And on the sofa sat Xiao Anfeng.

There'd been a little incident last night.

Xiao Anfeng had taken the initiative to ask Lu Siye if he could come to the hospital, frowning. "Huo Shen'an got hurt because of Lancui. This accident is on the Xiao family."

Fu Chen had inexplicably blurted out at the time, "Racing accidents are normal for Ye. It's got nothing to do with Xiao Lancui, right?"

Xiao Anfeng's expression turned grim. "Lancui doesn't even know how to drive. If it weren't for his recklessness, this accident wouldn't have happened. You don't need to say anything more—I'll take full responsibility for him."

He had directly followed the ambulance.

Fu Chen watched his retreating figure, momentarily at a loss for words. He tilted his head with a snicker. "Marshal Lu, what do you think?"

Lu Siye was lost in thought. At the question, he asked, "You don't think we've been played by Xiao Lancui, do you?"

Fu Chen didn't catch on at first. "Huh?"

Lu Siye pulled open the car door and got in to chase the ambulance, tossing out one line: "Damn! Playing the pig to eat the tiger."

Fu Chen bit down on his lollipop and finally understood what Lu Siye had meant last night. Lu Siye was saying that Xiao Lancui was actually very clever—had he been playing dumb all along to fool the three of them?

Fu Chen spat out the lollipop, turned to the sofa, and asked directly, "Xiao Anfeng, what the hell is going on with Xiao Lancui?"

Xiao Anfeng was replying to Xiao Liqin's messages.

Originally, he had planned to stay at the hospital and not go home—one, to get close to Lu Siye, and two, so that when Xiao Jingli asked, he could naturally reveal the trouble Xiao Lancui had caused.

Turns out Xiao Jingli couldn't have cared less that he hadn't come home all night.

Xiao Anfeng felt like crap but didn't tell Xiao Liqin or Xie Jingfang the truth—just said he'd crashed at a friend's place.

Xiao Liqin had just texted asking if he was coming home tonight, and he'd just replied, "Coming back tonight, a bit late. Don't wait up. Get some rest, bro." When he heard Fu Chen bring up Xiao Lancui, he frowned, annoyed, and looked up at him.

"He's him, and I'm me. Got questions for him? Contact him yourself."

Fu Chen let out a whistle and popped the lollipop back into his mouth. Damn, a Xiao Anfeng this prickly was something else. He glanced at Lu Siye, expecting him to be watching Xiao Anfeng too, but instead saw him grab his jacket and head for the door. He mumbled around the lollipop, "A Ye, where the hell are you going now?"

Lu Siye shrugged on his jacket as he walked, not looking back. "Something came up at home. Gotta head back. Hit me up when Shen'an wakes."

Fu Chen grunted in acknowledgment. No sooner had Lu Siye left than Xiao Anfeng got up too. "I'm out too. Huo Shen'an's out of danger. Have him hit me up about the compensation when he wakes."

And just like that, Xiao Anfeng was gone too.

Fu Chen sat there working the lollipop, not moving for a long moment. Finally, he let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh and muttered, "So it really was for A Ye."

He stretched, went over to the bed to straighten Huo Shen'an's blanket, and with nothing else to do, pulled out his phone to play a few rounds of a game. Just as he was about to open the game, his gaze slid over to the call log. A second later, he opened his recent calls and scrolled straight to the unnamed number from a few days ago.

Xiao Lancui's number.

The second the call connected, Fu Chen felt nervous for no damn reason. He silently rehearsed his opener: "Xiao Lancui, you borrowed my car, won the race, and just dipped without so much as a thank-you?"

But when the ringing stopped, his prepared opener never got used.

Fu Chen tried two more times—it rang, but nobody picked up. It was only seven. No way Xiao Lancui was already asleep. The only possibility—

"Shit."

Fu Chen cursed. Xiao Lancui had blocked him!

Xiao Lancui had run into Xiao Jingli's car on the way. By the time he got inside and they were almost done with dinner, Xiao Jingli's face stayed dark and grim the whole time.

Anyone could see he was in the worst mood possible.

Sure enough, barely a second after she set down her bowl, Xie Jingfang moved to leave, and Xiao Jingli set down his teacup and went off. "What kind of mother are you! Your son doesn't come home for two days—what kind of behavior is that!"

Xie Jingfang immediately shot Xiao Lancui a dirty look. Xiao Jingli never gave a damn about Xiao Anfeng, so for him to be pissed now about Xiao Anfeng not coming home—there was no way it wasn't Xiao Lancui tattling!

Xiao Lancui looked back at her, gave a faint smile, and mouthed, "Wasn't me."

Seeing right through her, Xie Jingfang got even angrier and snapped back at Xiao Jingli, "An Feng's an adult. He's got his own private life. Why the hell should I be controlling him?" She added with a sarcastic laugh, "Unlike you—couldn't be bothered with your own son when he was a kid, and now that he's grown, suddenly you're Father of the Year."

With that, Xie Jingfang hightailed it out of there.

Xiao Jingli's face darkened even more—private life. So Xiao Anfeng and Lu Siye's relationship had already gotten to that level.

His resentment swept over the people still at the table. He couldn't scold Xiao Lancui—that was his precious, carefully disguised favorite. Xiao Liqin had no reason to be scolded. That left only Xiao Mian.

But scolding Xiao Mian was completely pointless—the guy was beyond shame, impervious to criticism. Xiao Jingli had words on the tip of his tongue but no one to aim them at. His face cycled through several expressions before he finally stormed off.

Halfway out, he couldn't help himself and said without turning back, "Liqin, tell Xiao Anfeng—if he's not back tonight, he never has to come back again."

Xiao Liqin said, "He got in touch with me this afternoon. He'll be back a bit later tonight."

Xiao Jingli left without another word.

Dinner broke up in a sour mood, and in no time the dining room was left with just Xiao Lancui, slowly drinking his medicine.

The servants now treated him with kid gloves. The second he finished his medicine, a plate of colorful little candies was set in front of him, and one servant said with a smile, "The medicine's bitter—have some sweets, Third Young Master."

Xiao Lancui looked at the spread of candies in the glass dish, wanting to try them all, but he couldn't have too many sweets—bad for his health. After a moment's hesitation, he grabbed a strawberry one first.

Savoring the sweet candy, he headed upstairs to his room. This time, the one waiting for him on the third floor wasn't Xiao Mian—it was Xiao Liqin.

Xiao Lancui wasn't all that surprised.

With Xiao Liqin's connections, he'd definitely know everything that went down last night.

Xiao Lancui stopped, taking his sweet time savoring the sweet-and-tangy taste on his tongue. Xiao Liqin waited a few seconds, and when Xiao Lancui didn't say anything, he spoke first. "I don't meddle in your private life. But your second brother's health isn't great—don't take him to dangerous places anymore."

Xiao Lancui didn't bother explaining, just said flatly, "If you've got demands for him, go to him, not me."

Xiao Liqin's brow knitted tightly. Xiao Anfeng had always been well-behaved and sensible, and was never any good at sports or games. The only reason he'd gotten into something dangerous like street racing was one thing—Xiao Lancui had gone.

Xiao Anfeng didn't know the truth. He wrongly believed Xiao Lancui had taken all their father's love, and had been quietly competing with him since childhood.

In every way.

Even in dangerous racing.

Xiao Liqin obviously couldn't say that outright, so he said firmly, "He's his own person. But from now on, you're not allowed to do anything dangerous either."

A faint smile tugged at Xiao Lancui's lips as he said slowly, "Not even the King of Heaven gets to tell me what to do."

Xiao Liqin's face changed drastically—but it didn't end there.

Xiao Lancui simply pushed past him and went into his room, his last words drifting back lightly, "Let alone you—who the hell do you think you are?"

Then came the sound of a door closing—not loud, not quiet.

Xiao Lancui took a shower, changed into comfy loungewear, and curled up on the couch to read.

Almost midnight, he closed his book and went to bed right on schedule.

As always, he left the bedside lamp on.

At the same time, Lu Ao had made his way to his imperial mausoleum.

The scenic area closed at six, but Lu Ao didn't go in. Instead, he went around to a forest on the mountainside, ten klicks away.

To make sure his and Xiao Lancui's tombs would never be disturbed by grave robbers for centuries to come, he'd gathered the finest trap masters from across the land to design the mausoleum.

Revised over and over, with every step personally supervised by him.

He knew the imperial tomb like the back of his hand.

The current entrance was a decoy. The real entrance was still that unremarkable patch of woods on the mountain.

It took a while, but Lu Ao dug open the entrance. He went down into the passage and walked through the dark until light gradually appeared ahead.

Those were the fish-oil lamps he'd had brought from the sea—lamps that would burn for ten thousand years without going out.

Xiao Lancui hated the dark and would keep a lamp on at night.

Time passed. When he was still a dozen meters from Xiao Lancui's burial chamber, the world outside had already turned to full daylight.

Lu Ao had picked up some injuries too.

He knew exactly where every mechanism was, yet he still couldn't avoid getting hurt—those mechanisms were exquisitely crafted and deadly at every turn.

An arrow had hit him above the left chest. No poison, but the blood quickly soaked through two layers of clothes.

Lu Ao didn't flinch, his dark eyes locked on the sealed tomb door ahead, his pace quickening with every step.

In an instant, he was sprinting—and in the blink of an eye, he was standing before the tomb door.