Chapter 108: 108
The cry of "Young Master" was clear and unexpectedly strong, that I instantly realized who it was! There was no one else among the female brigands at Aunt Ulan's encampment who would address me as such; only one: Alatan Qiqige! I looked hard at the woman, and there she was, the one and the same Edelweiss who once disguised herself as a village farm woman and had tried to steal my bag!
I would not have recognized her, given her present appearance in au courant fashion and makeup! Her current look was a stark difference to the amazonian female brigand I met in Mongolia that I was too bewildered to react! Lin Feng let out a whistle before saying, "Oh my, it's Edelweiss! Look at you now! I would have mistaken you for a woman of the metropolitan!" The remark made me I eye Lin Feng with narrowed eyes .
Quickly, I chuckled weakly and returned Edelweiss' salute . "Really, I was not able to recognize you earlier," I admitted and said, "So you are the messenger that my father told me about . " Edelweiss responded with a nod . "Indeed I am," she replied, "The Chief is in trouble . It is an emergency that we are unable to handle ourselves and I have come to seek for your help . You had left so urgently last time that we have forgotten to exchange correspondences, hence the inconvenience now . " "But what is so grave a matter that you cannot use a simple phone call?" "There's no signal at the camp," she said, "It was until finally this morning that I decided to come myself . "
What she said filled me with dread . "What happened," I asked at once . Edelweiss could not answer, wearing a troubled look as if she was still looking for a better way to convey the message . After some hesitation, she finally revealed . "I too do not know what is going on . A man came to the camp a few days ago, looking for the Chief . But during his meeting with the Chief, he demanded to see you . The man turned angry and spiteful when the Chief told him that you were not at the camp, feeling that we were lying to him . Before leaving, he left a threat: in three days, the entire encampment would be in turmoil, if you did not show yourself . But we initially believed it only to be a bluff to draw you out, therefore the matter quickly slipped out of our mind . Moreover, it was common for people to come seeking revenge in our line of business . But three days later, the man appeared again at the gates . He demanded once again to see you and was infuriated to hear that we had not been taking him seriously, and went on fighting against the Chief . "
Surely Aunt Ulan did not shoot the man to death, I wondered quietly . I began hoping that that was not the case, otherwise, Edelweiss would be here to ask for me to help her intervene with the police force of Inner Mongolia .
But the matter was hardly so simple and mundane; Edelweiss' forehead creased into a distressed frown . "Well, we have guns, no? And the person was hardly a formidable fighter," she went on, "With only a few moves, the Chief was able to subdue and incapacitate him . But what happened next really baffled us . We had the man tied up in bounds, but he vanished into thin air! To make things worse, the Chief immediately fainted!" I gulped hard, wishing that Aunt Ulan was fine .
Edelweiss must have noticed the change in my expression . Fearfully she squeaked, "The man even left you a letter, Young Master . . . Look . . . " She extracted a missive from the pockets of her down feather coat and handed it to me . It said, "To Murong Shiyan" on the top, I saw . But when I flipped the envelope over, the wax seal was already broken . A look apprehension crept into my face . "I opened it earlier," Father said suddenly from his seat on the couch, "I have broken the spell inside . Don't worry . " I turned back to look at Father, whose face was locked in an upset frown himself even though he was sipping at his liquor and cigarette .
Sponsored Content
I nodded to Father and opened the envelope, taking out the letter and read it . Written in hard and forceful brush strokes were the words: To Murong Shiyan, Destiny wills you to be extraordinary indeed, if you are still able to read this message . But in three days, show yourself, or your mother will have her soul disintegrated!"
Whoever it was, the person was holding Aunt Ulan's life hostage! Filled with rage, I tore the letter into bits and spat . "Goddamnit!" Father crushed the butt of his cigarette . "Calm down," he said, staring at me grimly, "At least, for now, your Aunt Ulan is safe . " Father might not retain any feelings for Aunt Ulan, but he was an upright and conscientious person who would never abandon others without reason, especially a person who once saw herself as a spouse to him . Knowing that he too was equally worried, I listened to him and calmed myself .
Father called for Mother . "Let's first let our guest have a rest for her journey," he instructed her before he turned to us three, "The three of you best prepare yourselves . You'll go to Inner Mongolia tomorrow with Edelweiss . " He stood up, and swung his arms dramatically and Lin Feng's and Yuan Chongxi's gear magically appeared on the coffee table like a magician at his show . We were hardly surprised by Father's display of his magic, but Edelweiss was startled to see this . Mother patted her on her shoulder, regaining her attention and leading her away .
Sponsored Content
Father fell back into his seat on the couch and warned, "The wax seal on the envelope held a curse; one that will draw away the soul of anyone who breaks the seal . You will be faced with a formidable opponent this time . Be careful!" My eyebrows raised quizzically and asked, "Do you know this person?" "One of the members of the organization that Zhang Zhigui is investigating," Father replied after a heavy sigh, "But they are after you this time . Just be careful . "
My head nodded my agreement . My heart felt slightly at ease, knowing that at least who our adversaries were this time and Father was still hardly perturbed, although he was indeed worried of Aunt Ulan's condition .
The following morning, we rushed to the Wu Zhong County train station . Just like before, we would be traveling to Beijing before hopping onto the Airport Express and boarded the plane where we finally had a respite . It was the first time Edelweiss boarded a plane, for she came to Wu Zhong via railway . She was excited in her first flight, tugging at my arm and pointing and asking about everything around her . During the flight, she was looking out of the window all the time, watching the clouds flitting by in the blue sky that she had only seen from ground level . It was an experience that she enjoyed so immensely that all worries and concerns seemed to have escaped her momentarily . Unlike city girls who normally craved material comforts, I wondered, the cheerful Edelweiss who was now peering out of the airplane window with joy seemed more appealing to me . . .
As soon as we got off the plane, we immediately placed a call to Mr . Zhao, the proprietor of the rental car service we met before . He was especially warm and enthusiastic to see us, then I remembered of Yuan Chongxi's advice for him when we last met him . He must have profited a lot then .
Sponsored Content
Without further ado, Mr . Zhao whisked us off to the best restaurant in the vicinity and showered us with praises and compliments during the meal . Being a straightforward person from her life being a horse bandit, Edelweiss was slightly vexed by his sophistry and she did her best to ignore him . But Mr . Zhao, hardly bothered by this, never stopped his flattery of her charms and appeal as we ate . Nevertheless, I was not one who liked enjoying the hospitality of others without repaying them, more so when I knew Mr . Zhao had arranged for lodgings for us at the most lavish hotel there . But as if things were not yet worst, Mr . Zhao had misunderstood Edelweiss and I as a pair of couple! He had booked only three rooms for all of us! No wonder he was smiling slyly at me when he left, I brooded quietly .
I went to the lobby myself and wanted to ask for another room quietly, which I later found out was terribly expensive . But to my dismay, the entire hotel was fully booked! Dumbstruck, we stood together in front of the three rooms, looking foolishly at each other as I held the room cards in my hand . Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi peered at me, and I glared back at them, trying my best to ignore the burning sensation flushing on my cheeks .
But the two rascals immediately snatched two room cards and darted for the doors before locking them behind them! Hence only I and Edelweiss remained, looking at each other with the last remaining room card in my fingers . . .Please download our sponsor's game to support us!