Chapter Ninety: Suspicions

In the car, Wang Jin did not ask further. His upbringing and the severity of the rules only made Su Yi grow more curious about Yan Qingwu’s origins.

“Miss Su, are you perhaps wondering about our young lady’s background?”

“Hm?” Su Yi glanced at Wang Jin. “Not especially.”

“If Miss Su goes to the provincial capital someday, you should understand then.”

Su Yi gave no reply, but she understood the other meaning behind Wang Jin’s words. Not yet worthy, perhaps?

That was very much Tang Hanyan’s style: never direct, yet always making you grasp the meaning yourself.

By the time she reached the front of her own villa, the entrance was rather lively. Security guards and the others were all there. When Su Yi got out of the car, she heard Wang Jin behind her say,

“Miss Su, you won’t mind if I tell Madam about tonight, will you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then that’s good.”

Wang Jin drove away, and the security guards all showed startled expressions.

The residents here were all considered notable figures in Nanzhou, and the guards had always been courteous to each household. But the moment they saw Wang Jin and that car, courtesy turned at once into reverence.

“Miss Su, we need to ask you a few questions. Would that be convenient...?”

Su Yi turned and met the many security staff, and inwardly sighed. This matter still needed handling. It seemed she would not sleep peacefully tonight after all.

--------

The security staff had already categorized the matter as an audacious thief breaking into Su Yi’s place, only to be discovered by her midway and then fleeing by jumping into the water. Su Yi naturally went along with the story, smoothing things over. She was not at all forceful, which made the guards, who had been prepared to be made things difficult, extremely pleased. In private, they became even more obedient to her request to let the matter be quietly handled.

They even turned a blind eye to the miserable state of her room.

No matter what happened, keeping matters small had always been their highest principle. After all, they were not police, and they did not wish to uncover every last detail. Besides, it was obvious the resident herself had made certain requests...

Just to show sincerity and willingness to clean up the aftermath, the property management would cover all losses.

After Su Yi sent the group away, she learned that her computer had also been among the damaged property.

Her computer?

Su Yi went into the room to check it, and heard Wang Pu say, “That older brother who inspected it said the computer won’t even power on. They can compensate you with a new one. If Sister Su Yi has any important files inside, you can also have someone repair it...”

“There’s nothing important. Forget it.”

It was only the materials sent by the Ninth Miss. If it were sent for repair, who knew whether someone with sticky fingers might leak the contents. At worst, she would simply ask for another copy.

Still...

Su Yi tapped the keyboard of the laptop, deep in thought.

If that black shadow had been coming for her, why open the computer? If it had been coming for the computer, why damage it?

Could its purpose have been to keep her from seeing those materials? But the problem was, she could just ask the Ninth Miss for another copy...

And where had that shadow even come from? How had it found her residence in town? She had always thought of it as a feral creature, wild beyond measure, the sort that acted without reason. How could such a thing carry out such a difficult sequence of tracking, following, attacking, and destroying a computer?

Utterly baffling.

As she thought, Su Yi glanced once at the laptop, and only once. Since it had been said to be broken, so be it.

She then went to see the old lady. Aunt Wang and Wang Pu were beside the bed, and Wang Pu made a shushing gesture toward Su Yi. Su Yi nodded, lightened her steps, and stood by the bedside to look at the old lady. Then she carefully tugged at the blanket, preparing to leave.

All at once, she felt that the room was somewhat cold. Looking over, she saw the window wide open, and could not help frowning. She walked over to close it, but then stood for a while gazing out.

Wang Pu and Aunt Wang grew somewhat tense. Perhaps because lately Su Yi’s presence had become more and more imposing. She herself did not notice, but others felt it very clearly.

After a long moment, Su Yi finally closed the window, turned around, and left the room with Wang Pu and the other woman.

There had not been the slightest sound throughout, and this made Aunt Wang, who had originally wanted to ask what had happened with the thief, immediately abandon the idea. Su Yi, however, took the initiative to mention it. Of course, she could not tell the whole truth, and only spoke half truth and half falsehood.

“Since that thief has come once, he probably won’t come again. Otherwise... he wouldn’t be a thief,” Su Yi said coolly.

Wang Pu nodded and left with Aunt Wang.

Su Yi remained standing there for a while.

Her room’s window had been broken; under no circumstances could anyone stay there. So she returned to take a few of her things, preparing to sleep in the guest room. But before leaving, her fingers brushed over the chair in front of the computer desk and the ruined desk itself.

Her fingertips were perfectly clean.

At that moment, Su Yi’s eyes darkened slightly.

Her expression turned cold.

--------

When the Ninth Miss received Su Yi’s call, she raised an eyebrow. A smug look surfaced on her face, and she answered with great delight.

“Miss Su Yi, calling so early—do you miss me too much, or is it that you can’t understand the English on the materials? If it’s the latter, I can find you a translator. As for the former... wash up and go to sleep.”

Leaning against the guest-room chair, Su Yi listened to the voice on the other end and replied calmly, “It’s fine. Replacing all the text with English is far more civilized than replacing it with all kinds of nonsense.”

“......”

“Send me another copy of the materials. The previous one can’t be used anymore.”

“...”

You really have no shame.

The Ninth Miss was silent for a moment, then her voice sharpened a little. “Something happened?”

Though she was goofy and proud, she still had brains and ability, and instantly smelled something different.

Like a dog.

“Yes. Someone has set their sights on me. We’ll talk when we meet.”

“I’m not giving it to you right now.”

“Hm?”

“Because we’re leaving tomorrow. Aren’t you delighted?”

After waiting a long while with no response, the Ninth Miss finally realized that Su Yi had already hung up.

Damn it!

--------

The next day, Su Yi told the old lady she was going out for a while, then came to the gate of the residential compound and got into an off-road vehicle.

The vehicle started quickly.

Inside, Su Yi saw the Ninth Miss wearing military trousers, military boots, and a short leather jacket, one leg crossed over the other, a woman’s cigarette held between her fingers... full of sharp, heroic elegance and cool, striking beauty.

Su Yi glanced at the cigarette in her hand and then asked the man sitting in front, “May I sit in the front?”

Wind Slayer: Miss Su, could you not set me up like this?

The Ninth Miss’s expression stiffened.

Was she being disliked by this woman again?

“He’s got hemorrhoids and can’t switch seats... how about you sit on the roof instead?” the Ninth Miss said coldly.

Wind Slayer: I really did get shot, didn’t I.

At that, Su Yi gave her a light, brief look and then sat down beside her, placing her backpack nearby. “Between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, a woman’s body is at its most sensitive. Any stimulation can provoke a strong physical response. Over time, it accumulates like poison... and then erupts.”

She had said all she meant to say. Whether the cigarette addict of the Ninth Miss listened or not was another matter.

The Ninth Miss was silent for a while before asking softly, “Are you talking about the desire for making love?”

“I can see you’re still quite precocious for your age. Young people these days are really something...” The woman exhaled smoke slowly.

The driver and Wind Slayer both fell silent. Dead silent.

Su Yi suddenly very much wanted to get out of the car.

----------

Once they were on the highway, Su Yi saw in the rearview mirror four matching off-road vehicles following behind them.

Five vehicles in all—about twenty people.

“What exactly happened before? What kind of people have targeted you?” The Ninth Miss took this matter quite seriously and asked after a short while.

She seemed to suspect that one of her own enemies had found Su Yi, but after thinking it over, she felt that was impossible. She had never had any contact with this woman before. There was no reason they would react so quickly, find Su Yi, and if they possessed such skill, they should already have been dealing with her directly.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then briefly explained what had happened the previous night and in the village before that. Of course, she did not mention the pool; first, because too many things about it were strange, and second, because it was related to the Bone-Devouring Fang dagger. That dagger was of extraordinary value, and it might well invite trouble.

However, if the other matters were investigated carefully, they all led back to the ancient tomb. Since these were people who would be entering the tomb together, telling them would not be harmful to her.

The Ninth Miss’s expression darkened slightly. “So that thing really exists after all... I said those people who were bitten all acted as if they’d gone mad. It cost me a lot of manpower.”

Wind Slayer immediately handed Su Yi a document. Since Su Yi had offered them these hidden details in good faith, they naturally responded with sincerity.

So this document was even more detailed than last night’s.

And, of course, still in English.

But Su Yi had barely looked at the previous version, so it did not matter.

The deeper she read, however, the tighter her brows became.

She flipped through it quickly, soon reaching several images and medical test reports at the back. The Ninth Miss narrowed her eyes. This woman’s English was quite good.

After finishing the entire document, Su Yi unconsciously rubbed the faint crease between her brows, then closed the file.

“You mean these toxins are contagious? And your people still haven’t been able to identify their exact composition, only that they have a three-day incubation period and a two-day outbreak period?”

“Yes. Roughly five days is enough to kill a person outright,” Wind Slayer said, then added, “And once infected, there’s basically no way out.”

“It’s like some bio-zombie thing. Evil as hell,” the driver said, cutting in. Only then did Su Yi notice the square-faced, bearded man.

“Brother Ma, bio-zombie? As a Chinese person, and a rat who digs holes in the ground, you should say it’s a zombie,” Wind Slayer said with a laugh.

Brother Ma, the square-faced man, curled his lip. “Zombie or bio-zombie, what’s the difference? Either way it’s guns or garlic. There’s always a way to kill it.”