Chapter Thirteen: Prolonging Life

After being discharged from the hospital, Yue Leiting took Xiao Lianshan and me wherever he went. Since seeing Huo Qian in the hospital last time, I hadn't seen him again. It was rare to see Yue Leiting so unsettled as he was today. In the brief ten minutes after I entered, Yue Leiting had already switched between several anxious postures.

I sat beside him and asked if something was wrong.

“Nothing,” Yue Leiting replied absentmindedly, forcing a smile, his gaze flickering toward the door. “Oh, I forgot to mention, I’m introducing you to someone today.”

“Who is it?” Xiao Lianshan asked, eyeing the fruit platter and pondering what to eat first.

“Mr. Yue, long time no see.”

The voice rang out crisp and clear from the doorway as a woman entered, dressed in a sharply tailored suit, her hair elegantly piled up, exuding both nobility and competence. Her Mandarin was tinged with a strong Hong Kong-Taiwan accent.

Yue Leiting hurriedly rose, extending his hand from afar with a beaming smile.

“It’s been a while, Miss Su, you’re as radiant as ever. Please, have a seat.”

The woman carried herself with poise, shook hands politely with Yue Leiting, then took a seat opposite us on the sofa. Behind her stood two expressionless individuals, one on either side. I glanced at them—one tall and slim, with piercing eyes, the other shorter, with long hair and his head lowered, obscuring his face.

I noticed Xiao Lianshan had already moved nonchalantly to Yue Leiting’s side.

“And these two are?” the woman asked politely, smiling at me.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce you. These are my brothers: Qin Yan Hui, and this is Xiao Lianshan.” Yue Leiting gestured courteously to the woman opposite. “This is Su Leng Yue, Miss Su, my distinguished guest.”

“Qin Yan Hui, Xiao Lianshan,” Su Leng Yue repeated the names, pointing to each of us. “I heard Mr. Yue was attacked half a month ago. Fortunately, you had two capable men to save you. I presume these are the gentlemen before me.”

“Haha, yes!” Yue Leiting stroked his buzzcut with pride, then turned to us. “Yan Hui, Lianshan, look at you. You’re famed now.”

“Rumor has it that on Mr. Yue’s birthday, you unexpectedly received two heroes, the Azure Dragon and White Tiger. Some thought it mere jest, but seeing you today, you truly are exceptional. Congratulations, Mr. Yue.”

“Miss Su, you flatter me. How could I possibly deserve these two? It’s thanks to my brothers’ loyalty that I’m able to sit here and converse with you today.”

Su Leng Yue first glanced at Xiao Lianshan, smiling gently.

“Mr. Xiao, you have a noble brow and sharp eyes, brave and resourceful. Since my arrival, you’ve positioned yourself ahead of Mr. Yue, just half a step from me—ready to advance or retreat. Clearly, you’ve had professional training and possess high tactical acumen.”

“The two behind you are wearing oversized clothes to conceal shoulder holsters. You brought guns here—what’s your intention?” Xiao Lianshan asked warily.

Yue Leiting was startled but burst out laughing, dragging Xiao Lianshan onto the sofa.

“Ting, they really do have guns. Don’t you believe me?” Xiao Lianshan insisted.

“I know, I know.” Yue Leiting patted Xiao Lianshan’s shoulder, then addressed Su Leng Yue cordially. “Please don’t mind, Miss Su. Lianshan is straightforward; he says what he thinks. I hope you won’t take offense.”

Su Leng Yue smiled faintly, nodding slightly. Her two attendants immediately retreated.

“Mr. Xiao observes keenly. With you protecting Mr. Yue, he’s surely safe.”

“Miss Su is my guest, and the only one permitted to carry arms here. She’s not an outsider, Lianshan, don’t be nervous.”

Su Leng Yue’s gaze shifted to me, her smile gentle.

“I’ve heard Mr. Qin is skilled in fate and fortune-telling. Today, I’d like you to divine a character for me.”

Her request was polite, but I knew she was testing me. I gave a brief nod.

Su Leng Yue casually wrote the character “Su” on the coffee table.

I asked her what she wanted to divine. She pondered, then said she wanted to know her purpose in coming today. I glanced at the character, then told Yue Leiting that Su Leng Yue was here to demand accountability over something related to the cemetery, implying negligence.

Su Leng Yue’s lips curled in surprise, her smile faint, and she asked why I thought so.

I pointed to the character on the table. “To revive after death is ‘Su.’ You wrote ‘Su’ on the coffee table—the table is wood, and the dead in wood is a coffin. To revive, one must first open the coffin, hinting at exhuming the grave for something. The ‘Su’ character has ‘grass’ over ‘do’—meaning to act carelessly. Combined, it implies a careless act of exhuming the grave for something.”

Su Leng Yue looked at me more intently, smiled without speaking, and turned to Yue Leiting, opening a wooden box and pushing it toward him. Inside lay a large ginseng root.

“Mr. Yue, Master Huang says the mountains are high and the waters far. His health is failing, so he couldn’t come to congratulate you personally on your birthday. He asked me to bring you this and extend his wishes—may you live a hundred years, as enduring as pine and cypress.”

Her words were courteous, but I sensed the final line was a challenge—a veiled threat. Even someone as fearless as Yue Leiting was stunned for a long moment by Su Leng Yue’s words.

He frowned anxiously. “Master Huang is thoughtful. To have him care about a junior’s trivial matters... Miss Su, please tell him to give me three more months, I—”

“Mr. Yue, Master Huang says you have ten days. If you can’t deliver, he’ll drag his old bones here to handle it himself.” Su Leng Yue interrupted coldly.

“Ten days?!” Yue Leiting swallowed, panic on his face.

“Mr. Yue, I’ve delivered Master Huang’s words and gift. In ten days, I await your good news.”

Su Leng Yue stood, her alluring smile restored, glanced at me, and said, “Mr. Qin, meeting you today is truly extraordinary. I hope I’ll have the chance to seek your guidance again.”

I stood politely and gave a courteous reply.

Su Leng Yue had been gone a long while, yet Yue Leiting still stared blankly at the ginseng, slumping heavily on the sofa, sighing repeatedly. Xiao Lianshan couldn’t understand why Yue Leiting feared a woman so much and asked who Su Leng Yue was, so young yet so imposing.

Yue Leiting glanced outside, making sure no one was around, then shook his head.

“Keep your voice down. This woman is not to be trifled with.”

“Ting, how can you be afraid of a woman…?”

“I am afraid!” Yue Leiting slapped the coffee table, his rising anger slowly suppressed, shaking his head weakly. “It’s not her I fear, it’s Master Huang she represents—he’s the real danger, the kind who devours and doesn’t spit out bones.”

“What does Master Huang do?” I asked.

“People in the underworld respectfully call him Master Huang. As for his real name, I don’t know, and probably few do. He’s connected with gangs in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the mainland, especially Taiwan. Every organization follows his lead; even when choosing their leaders, they seek his opinion first. Frankly, he’s the underground emperor of Taiwan. The island’s security isn’t determined by the police—it’s up to him.” Yue Leiting spoke the name with visible trepidation.

“How powerful can an old man be, underground emperor, who listens to him?” Xiao Lianshan protested.

“These days, life in the underworld isn’t about fighting and killing anymore. It all boils down to money. People risk their lives for it—to make more. If you have money, you’re the boss. With money, you have followers. Master Huang has money, so much I can’t even estimate. To control all the gangs in Taiwan, it’s beyond my imagination.”

I still couldn’t understand—no matter how powerful Master Huang was in Taiwan, how did Yue Leiting get involved with him?

“You know what I do. The antiquities business has been lucrative these years. Liu Hao handles procurement on the black market. At first, I met Su Leng Yue—she was generous, and our transactions went smoothly. Later, she introduced me to contacts in Taiwan. Whenever I had good items, I shipped them directly there. There are many wealthy connoisseurs, and they’ll pay high prices.”

“Just now, Su Leng Yue said you had ten days to deliver something. What is it?” I asked.

“Half a year ago, Su Leng Yue approached me. Master Huang asked me to do something for him, handed me a map, said he’d found an ancient tomb. He had no one local, so asked me to help excavate it. Everything found would be mine—he wanted only a book!”

“A book? Grave-robbing for a book? Is that old man just rich and foolish?” Xiao Lianshan interjected.

“I thought the same. Plus, Su Leng Yue gave fifty thousand in advance. It was like manna from heaven—I was thrilled. Not only did I get everything, but fifty thousand up front. Even if the book was made of gold, I wouldn’t lose.” Yue Leiting’s face showed regret.

“What happened then?”

“I sent Huo Qian and Liu Hao to scout the place on the map. They said there really was an untouched tomb. I thought, this is just free money, so I agreed immediately.” Yue Leiting rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Who knew it would be so damn strange? We couldn’t even find it!”

“It had already been robbed?” I asked.

“If only it had, at least I’d have something to explain.” Yue Leiting forced a smile.

“If it hadn’t been robbed, why couldn’t you find it?” Xiao Lianshan pressed.

“We searched all around the tomb, drilled straight down from above—over seventy meters and still just dirt. Nothing underneath, nowhere to find the entrance. We spent four months searching, and still couldn’t find it.”

So that’s why I hadn’t seen Huo Qian lately—he’d been busy with this.

“Huo Qian reported back, confirming it was indeed a tomb, but buried in a peculiar way, seemingly designed to prevent entry. The entrance is extremely concealed, and the soil excavated is wet. Huo Qian was worried that aimless digging would collapse the layers and bury the chamber completely, so he’s had no progress.”

Xiao Lianshan nodded thoughtfully and asked, “Ting, what happens if you don’t deliver to Master Huang in ten days?”

I smiled faintly, pointing to the ginseng on the table. “What else? The ginseng was delivered—Master Huang is refined, but his intent is deadly beneath that civility.”

“Ginseng? Isn’t that a precious Chinese medicine, king of herbs? How is it related to killing?” Xiao Lianshan was puzzled.

Ginseng is for prolonging life. From Yue Leiting’s expression, he understood its meaning too. Sending ginseng was a warning: Ting’s life was about to end, but Master Huang is extending it for now. If he doesn’t deliver in ten days, Ting will lose his life.

Yue Leiting rubbed his face hard, staring at the ginseng and said wearily, “If I’d known, no amount of money would have convinced me to take this job. Now I have money but no life to spend it.”

“Ting, don’t worry. Lianshan and I will go take a look—maybe luck will help us find the entrance.” I patted Yue Leiting’s hand to reassure him.

“My living Bodhisattva, this is the answer I’ve been waiting for!” Yue Leiting threw his arm around my shoulder, exuberant and full of hope.