The smell of blood filled the small room.

The man with a scarred face and the bald man were dead. Both had their carotid arteries cut open, bleeding all over the floor. It was not hard to imagine the situation— Brother Meng entered the door and found the hostage gone, while two of his people were lying unconscious on the ground. Without hesitation, he pulled out his knife and cut the two men's necks.

This was murder.

"Do you know what kind of man you're dealing with? How dangerous it was! If you weren't lucky, you and the girl would be lying on the ground!" Jiang Hao broke the silence between her and Ning Tao.

Ning Tao's mood didn't fluctuate a bit as he heard such words in such an environment. He was a go-between of good and evil who had both good and evil spiritual roots. His ability to adapt to such scenes was beyond the ordinary imagination.

"Promise me you won't act rashly again, okay?" Jiang Hao said.

Ning Tao nodded. "Have you found out who they are and who is Brother Meng?"

"There isn't any identification on them and the technical department of Shan City police is investigating them based on their looks and DNA," Jiang Hao replied. "As for the so-called Ryan, Shan City police are also checking the surveillance footage. I'm sure there will be a result soon."

"What about w.a.n.g Yaoyang?" Ning Tao inquired again.

"He was an import and export trader and his family settled in the United States," Jiang Hao stated. "He has no record of breaking the law and appears to be a legitimate businessman. If it were not for the information you offered, it would be difficult for us to doubt such a man. I believe there should be a buyer behind him. Someone or a hostile force has their eye on Lin Qinghua's ancestral project."

"So I've made contributions to the case, have I?" Ning Tao asked.

Jiang Hao paused for a second before she understood Ning Tao's motives. She rolled her eyes at Ning Tao and quipped, "If I say yes, are you going to use it to intercede for Su Ya?"

Ning Tao gave a bitter smile and said, "She isn't a bad girl. On the contrary, she's very kind. You'll know it's true if you have a visit to the Suns.h.i.+ne Orphanage. For the sake of giving you such an important piece of information and helping you complete your task, please do not pursue her theft, okay?"

"Won't you help me if I don't agree?"

"No," Ning Tao said.

"Wow, you're threatening me for a girl. What's your relations.h.i.+p?" Jiang Hao got a little annoyed.

"I'm an orphan, too, and I consider her my younger sister," Ning Tao replied. "She hasn't done anything terribly evil, and I want to help her as much as I can."

"Do you think of her only as a younger sister?" There was a suspicion in Jiang Hao's voice and her eyes.

Ning Tao replied helplessly, "Yes, of course. What do you think our relations.h.i.+p is? She's so young. How could you..."

Jiang Hao interrupted Ning Tao just in time and said, "Okay, I'll help you." Then she turned and went out the door. "Let's go and see your younger sister. Her wound should have been treated by now. I must have a talk with her, and find out what she knows."

Ning Tao gave a faint smile. Jiang Hao accented the words "younger sister" on purpose, and Ning Tao didn't know what she meant.

As night came, thousands of lights were turned on forming a river of light.

A Buick commercial car came to an upscale western restaurant by the Jialing River and pulled up beside the restaurant.

Jiang Hao in the driver's seat took a glance at the message she had just received on her phone and frowned. "w.a.n.g Yaoyang ran away. Shan City police didn't even meet him."

Ning Tao, in the pa.s.senger seat, said, "Brother Meng must have tipped him off. Did you guys find out who Brother Meng is?"

Jiang Hao clicked on a photo on her phone and handed it to Ning Tao.

On the screen of the phone was a certificate photo of the taxi driver whom Ning Tao met near the Happy Community.

"He's the Brother Meng you're talking about," Jiang Hao said. "His real name is Qiu Meng, and his domicile is in Liangshan province, but he hasn't returned for more than ten years. He had been a mercenary in Southeast Asia and killed several people. In short, he is a ruthless professional killer."

"Too bad he ran away. If I had told you earlier, you would have caught him," Ning Tao sighed, kind of regretting not telling Jiang Hao in time. As long as Qiu Meng was not arrested, Su Ya would not be safe.

"You don't have to worry about the safety of Su Ya. I've arranged for someone to protect her. I'm more worried about you. You took Su Ya from him, and he didn't get what he wanted. He's not going to let you go. So whatever you do, be careful."

Ning Tao nodded and said, "Got it."

"Go inside. Lin Qingyu's coming," Jiang Hao said and put away her phone.

"See you later." Then Ning Tao opened the door to get off.

"Wait a minute." Jiang Hao stopped him.

Ning Tao looked at her, and asked, "What's up?"

"Your tie is a little askew. Let me adjust it for you," When Jiang Hao answered, she already reached over to straighten Ning Tao's tie, without giving him a chance to say no.

Ning Tao was so embarra.s.sed that his neck turned stiff.

"All right." Jiang Hao took a closer look at Ning Tao, and then her lip curled into a smile. "You look good in the suit."

"How much is this suit?" Ning Tao asked.

"3,800." Jiang Hao replied.

"What?" Ning Tao was startled. "It's too expensive!"

Jiang Hao goggled at Ning Tao and quipped, "Look at you! This is the uniform I applied for you. You don't have to pay for it. The expenses will be reimbursed."

Ning Tao was relieved. "Good. I'm in now, and you wait for my news." Then he opened the door again, got out of the car, and headed for the restaurant.

Jiang Hao shook her head and muttered, "You refused the one million I gave you, but you were scared by the price of a suit. What a freak!"

The Second Paris was the most upscale western restaurant in Shan City. People who came here for consumption were all influential figures, which was also the reason why Jiang Hao insisted on preparing a suit for Ning Tao when she learned that Lin Qingyu invited him to have dinner here.

Jiang Hao looked at Ning Tao's straight back for a good while and muttered again, "You tore the check I gave you for a million, but you were startled by a suit over 3,000. Don't you think you're weird?"

Ning Tao just got to the door of the restaurant when he got a call from Lin Qingyu.

"Miss Lin, I've just arrived at the restaurant. Where are you?" Ning Tao asked.

Lin Qingyu's voice came from the mobile phone. "I'm getting stuck in a traffic jam. You go in first. I've already reserved a table. Just tell the waiter my name. It will take me about a quarter of an hour to get there."

"Okay, I'll wait for you inside. Don't hurry! Drive carefully." Ning Tao then hung up and went into the restaurant.

Ning Tao gave a waiter Lin Qingyu's name and the waiter led Ning Tao to a table, and served him a gla.s.s of water with ice.

Next to the restaurant was the Jialing River, where moonlight and light from both sides of the river fall. The mountains, water and light formed a magnificent landscape painting.

Ning Tao looked at the river and thought, "What is Lin Qinghua's project of ancestor seeking studying? Why did it attract foreign rivals? Also, the ledger of bamboo slips diagnosed Lin Qinghua as a new demon, but what on earth does this demon mean?" Then he gave a sigh. "Chen Pingdao, Chen Pingdao, you liar! You forcibly transferred the Sky Clinic to me, so that I also became a pract.i.tioner, but you didn't tell me anything about the pract.i.tioner. If I see you again, I'll definitely settle with you."

However, he did not even know if he would ever meet Chen Pingdao again.

"Gee, isn't that Ning Tao, our cla.s.smate?" A woman's voice suddenly sounded.

Ning Tao's mind was drawn back to reality. He followed the sound source and saw four people at a glance. Three of them were his cla.s.smates, Liang Ting, Tian Mengjiao and Yang Hai. At the moment, Yang Hai looked at him fiercely as if he wanted to jump on him and eat him alive.

It was Liang Ting who found him and acted surprised. She was holding Yang Hai's hand. Apparently, Tang Ling had no idea that Yang Hai went out with her. However, as far as a man like Yang Hai was concerned, this was a routine. It was impossible for him to have only a woman forever.

As for Tian Mengjiao, due to her pretty face, all the boys in Ning Tao's cla.s.s said that she was the belle in the cla.s.s and there were many boys pursuing her. She was so proud that she had never looked really at Ning Tao and their conversation during the four years of college amounted to no more than 20 sentences. She was now taking the arm of another young man. The young man was dressed to the nines and stood out with a Rolex worth hundreds of thousands of yuan. Needless to say, Tian Mengjiao finally found her "true love".

The sudden appearance of the four made Ning Tao feel that the earth was too small, but he politely greeted them anyway. "Hey, are you guys coming to eating too?"

Liang Ting burst into laughter. "Ning Tao, you haven't changed a bit. How could you say eat in a place like this? Don't you think that's corny?"

Instantly, Ning Tao's brow furrowed.

Yang Hai leaned over and whispered in the ear of the young man in the designer suit.

The young man nodded, and his eyes fell on Ning Tao again with a fierce gleam.

"Ning Tao, you're doing fine, wearing a suit and tie to eat in such a fancy restaurant. Did you win a lottery?" Liang Ting mocked caustically, while she watched Yang Hai's reaction.

She was obviously more or less aware of something, and she was trying to please Yang Hai in this way.

"You should say 'have dinner' instead of 'eat'. I can be corny, but you can't, or you're worthless," Ning Tao retorted.

"You..." Liang Ting was choked with anger.

"Don't talk nonsense to him! Otherwise others will think we're familiar with him. Brother Shen Jun, let's go. We shouldn't waste time with such a man. Don't let a liar spoil the atmosphere," Tian Mengjiao said in a soft voice to the young man.

"Who do you call a liar?" Ning Tao was really mad.

"What has it to do with you?" Tian Mengjiao cried with a scornful and disdainful look on her face. "Even if you sit here in a suit and tie, I still see you as the gatekeeper. Construction sites and properties are where you belong. Stop sitting here pretending to be a successful man. The others don't know who you are, but we know!"

Ning Tao stood up, and said in a cold voice, "Then tell me who am I."

Suddenly the young man named Shen Jun shouted, "You are Ning Tao, huh? You are too arrogant."