Chapter 150: Riddled with Doubts

"Now you're finally making some sense. Logically speaking, I'm quite a key figure in all this, yet at the same time, a fragile lamb waiting to be slaughtered. The fact that my Big Brother could leave with a clear conscience really shows how much he trusts you," I said to Fatty, partly as a form of consolation. After all, when you've spent this long with someone who still guards against you like you're a wolf, it's bound to feel uncomfortable.

While I could comfort Fatty, my heart was still aching with endless frustration. So that night, Big Brother had intentionally put on that cold act to provoke my temper, and then seemingly forced by circumstance, went off to find some ghost tailor to make Han Xue's wedding gown. It was all just an elaborate performance staged simply to conceal his true objective while carrying out a task! He had kept even me in the dark. To think I'd spent the last few days feeling guilty for losing my temper with him that night—in the end, I had just been played for a monkey.

I've never been good at concealing my emotions, which is why Fatty can always tell what I'm thinking just by looking at my face. He patted my shoulder and said, "Well, Fatty here always called you naive, but compared to that old fox Sun Zhongmou, even Fatty looks as pure as a sheet of white paper. Let's go inside. If we keep chatting out here, your cousin is probably going to start plotting another conspiracy. Sometimes I think, Little Ye, how wonderful the world would be if everyone were as innocent as you."

I gave him a side-eye and retorted, "For every complicated person, there must be a simple one; just like for every person sitting in a sedan chair, there must be people carrying it. It's just like Yin and Yang in Tai Chi—you've got high hopes. If everyone were like me, you'd be ruling the earth by now."

Fatty burst into hearty laughter. Being around him always brought a sense of relaxation—not the kind of calm I felt when I was with Han Xue. Being with Han Xue brought a profound inner peace, but Fatty always knew how to drop a harmless joke right when the atmosphere grew heavy and eerie, instantly putting you at ease.

As we stepped inside, the young girl took a sip of tea and asked, "Done discussing your script? How do you plan to fob me off this time?"

"Little girl, why must you always view Fatty through colored glasses? Can't you see the pure innocence written all over my face?" Fatty asked with an exaggerated expression.

"No, I only see old-cunning. Go on, spit it out—what's your verdict?" she asked.

"I know where Sun Zhongmou's old lair is; it's in Jinan. Before he left, Sun Zhongmou mentioned that the ghost tailor is a friend of the Sun family. Fatty figures that if he's really going to look for the ghost tailor, he'd head to the Sun family first, and through them, locate the tailor. So his route should be heading to Tianjin first, picking up that formidable old empress dowager—your grandmother—and then rushing over to the Sun family together. They don't want you guys to find them, which is why they didn't take a plane or a bullet train. They're probably taking an unlicensed cab or driving themselves, and sticking to back roads. If we take a plane, we might even manage to cut them off at the pass, or at the very least, cross paths with them," Fatty explained.

The young girl looked at Fatty, nodded, and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's move! Though I'm quite curious—based on our intelligence regarding Sun Zhongmou, he prefers to act entirely alone. Why would he seek out my grandmother this time?"

"How would Fatty know? Your grandmother's martial arts skills are impressive, but she is getting truly old. When Fatty suffered a loss at her hands last time, I simply didn't expect an old lady to still have such moves. If I'd been prepared, it wouldn't have ended so miserably. Compared to her grandson Sun Zhongmou, she's definitely far behind. What he needs might be your grandmother's ghost-path identity, or perhaps your grandfather's status," Fatty said.

"I never thought a fat man like you would actually have some brains. Let's go, we're going to intercept them. Do you guys have anything you need to pack? Hurry up and get ready." The young girl had an impatient streak. Fatty had merely thrown that out as a hypothesis, yet she was actually gearing up for an interception. If it were that easy to intercept Big Brother, would he even be Big Brother?

"Hold on. There's no need to rush into that. Instead of cutting them off, why not let the mantis stalk the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind? Little girl, I can tell you're extremely curious about Sun Zhongmou. Aren't you interested in probing into his secrets—like what on earth is kept on the second floor of Sun Zhongmou's house?" Fatty asked slyly.

"Fatty, you're at it again!" I glared at him and shouted.

Fatty's words instantly piqued the young girl's interest. The two of them exchanged a glance, looking like a pair of scoundrels plotting together. I hurriedly waved my hands and said, "Cut it out, both of you! Fatty, how is it that you still refuse to give up? Aren't you actually afraid that my Big Brother will knock your teeth out once he finds out?"

To my surprise, the two of them completely ignored me now. The young girl remarked, "I've long heard that Sun Zhongmou, who managed to enter the Twelve Ghost Caves of the Luoshui River, keeps the River God of the Yellow River enshrined on his second floor. It's said that with the River God possessing him, he's able to move freely in and out of the Twelve Ghost Caves. Ever since I was a child, my family taught me that when you encounter something you don't understand, you must seek the answer. Naturally, I intend to cherish this rare opportunity."

"Hey! Are you two treating me like air? That's enough! Plotting against my Big Brother right in front of my face—I object!" I protested.

They exchanged another look. Fatty turned his head toward me and said, "Well, we believe in fairness and justice. Come on, let's take a vote. Fatty here is in favor of checking it out."

"I'm in favor too!" The young girl raised her hand.

"Alright, the minority yields to the majority. It's settled," Fatty declared.

"You can't play it this way. I'm really not kidding around with you. Dragons have reverse scales that, if touched, mean certain death. Do you not know Big Brother's temper? Must you provoke him?" I pleaded. It wasn't that I wasn't curious; rather, the memory of the glare Big Brother had given me back then still filled me with lingering fear. The person Big Brother cared about most in the world was me, yet he had been able to cast a murderous look my way. From that, one could easily imagine how vital the secret on the second floor was to him.

Aside from that, I simply had no desire to uncover the secret that Big Brother guarded so painstakingly. Once Big Brother's secrets were exposed before everyone's eyes, I felt he would become utterly pitiful. A Big Brother with secrets was the true Big Brother.

"You now have the right to remain silent. You can choose to come with us, or you can choose not to. Of course, if you try to stop us, we won't mind knocking you out first and then going anyway. Take your pick," the young girl said coldly.

"Enough! Have either of you ever considered showing any respect for my Big Brother?! Or do you just look down on me?" I demanded.

Fatty walked over, pulled a funny face at me, and said, "Aww, Little Ye, are you mad?"

"If you want to go, go ahead. I won't stop you, but I will report everything truthfully to my Big Brother. You'd better mentally prepare yourselves for whatever he decides to do to you—I won't intervene," I said, turning on my heel to leave. Fatty grabbed my arm and asked, "Are you genuinely angry?"

"Yes, Fatty. I consider you a friend, so let me ask you this: don't you really think my Big Brother is pitiful? He has no hobbies, no friends, no career—all he has left are the secrets he carries on his shoulders. I've always felt that those secrets are what's keeping him going. Once those secrets are gone, Big Brother will lose the only remaining shred of vitality he has. Is that really what you want?" I said.

Fatty looked at me, then glanced at the girl, and threw his hands up in surrender. "Alright, Fatty was in the wrong here. It's just that my curiosity got the better of me, and I figured since Sun Zhongmou was fooling Fatty anyway, Fatty might as well go take a peek at that secret. I thought about it too simply. Fine, we won't look. Kiddo, check the flights and confirm so we can leave immediately."

"I'm sorry, Fatty. I want to know the truth too, but honestly... sometimes I feel like Big Brother is so exasperating, yet at other times I feel so heartbroken for him. I want to know all the answers, but I always feel that the very day those answers are revealed will be the day Big Brother walks out of my life for good. Just thinking about it makes me miserable," I confessed.

"Fatty understands. We're brothers, what are you being so polite for?" Fatty said.

Seeing that Fatty had given up, the young girl took out her phone to book flights. The earliest available flight to Jinan was at 2:30 in the morning. After booking three tickets, my mind immediately raced back to preparing for the trip. This was a long-distance journey, and unlike my single days, I now had to give Han Xue a proper explanation. Men are naturally adept at lying, especially in front of women. I had already concocted an excuse for this trip: I would just say Big Brother needed me to oversee the ghost tailor making the wedding dress.

Just as we stepped out of the village committee building, we heard people outside discussing something animatedly. Listening closer, I caught whispers about how Sun Zhongmou's house in Sanlitun had caught fire.

"Damn it! Let's move!" Fatty cursed loudly.

With that, the young girl slammed on the gas, and we sped toward Big Brother's house.

A fire? At a time like this?