BL Ch23

When Lou Baoguo and his group finally reached the suburban villa after a long and arduous journey, the setting sun cast twisted shadows through the trees behind them.

“Damn it… Finally made it… This has to be the place, right? I can see the young master’s Apollo,” Lou Baoguo said, panting heavily, leaning on his knees with his back soaked in sweat.

Ji Lin had a few leaves stuck in his messy hair, looking like a natural bird’s nest. His sunscreen had worn off, and he was at least two shades darker. The image of the handsome young detective was barely holding up, and his breath was mixed with the overwhelming anger at being ditched by the extravagant Yu Duqiu. “I swear… I want to smash his car… What kind of godforsaken place is this? No subway, nothing…”

Pingyi City had an extensive transportation network that made getting anywhere convenient. Who would have thought that Charlotte, a highly modernized industrial city, would only have one light rail line! To shake off any trackers, they first took a cab, then the light rail, then bicycles, and finally, they hid in the woods, trekking five kilometers to ensure they weren’t followed before finally arriving at the villa’s location.

“This car was over ten million yuan when it hit the market… There are only a few dozen in the world. Think it over, Officer Ji,” Zhao Feihua said, leaning against a tree, resting. His glasses were crooked, sliding down his nose, and he couldn’t even bother to adjust them. He pointed to the ground, “And… it’s not godforsaken, it’s more like bird-pooped.”

Ji Lin looked down, gasped, and quickly jumped out of the woods, frantically shaking off the droppings on the road like he was performing some kind of impromptu tap dance.

“Watch out, don’t hit a car,” Lu Qing followed him out, casually smoothing her messy ponytail. Her nostrils flared as she picked up a faint scent. “Hmm? What’s that smell? It smells like… burnt flesh!”

Lou Baoguo shivered. “Holy crap? Don’t scare me, sis! Did we arrive too late?” He darted into the villa area, skipping the doorbell and cautiously circled the outer fence to scout the situation inside.

Ji Lin, seeing this, didn’t have time to finish shaking off the droppings and hurriedly followed, whispering, “We didn’t bring guns. What if we run into the kidnappers or those assassins?”

Lou Baoguo, stocky but nimble, crept forward cautiously. “What else can we do? We’ll have to call Madam Yu.”

“Who’s Madam Yu? Yu Duqiu’s dad?”

“No, it’s the young master’s mom. The women are strong in their family, so he took his mom’s surname. We usually call her Madam Yu. She’ll send a helicopter to rescue us.”

Ji Lin asked curiously, “Then why didn’t you contact Yu Duqiu’s mom earlier? She could’ve sent us here.”

Lou Baoguo chuckled. “You think Madam Yu has time to waste? We’re hired as the young master’s bodyguards to make her life easier. If I had to bother her, I’d be fired for sure! But after what happened at the parking lot today, she’ll find out soon enough. I think I’ll be packing up and heading back home…”

Lu Qing turned back to comfort him. “That won’t happen. You did a great job today, protecting us and scaring off those thugs. They ran off like bats out of hell.”

Lou Baoguo blushed, scratching his head bashfully. “Hehe, just doing my job.”

Zhao Feihua doused the mood with cold water. “You scared them off? They ran because the target escaped. There was no point in shooting at the three of you. It would’ve been a waste of bullets.”

Lou Baoguo turned around, raising his fist. “Zhao Feihua, stop talking nonsense! Have you forgotten who carried you when you couldn’t walk?”

“Shh!” Lu Qing hushed them nervously. “The smell is getting stronger. I think I can hear wood burning too.”

Everyone tensed up, hastening their steps and quietly moving around to the back of the villa’s yard. The burnt smell in the air added to the eerie atmosphere, and the sound of wood crackling became clearer. As they turned a corner, they finally saw the source of the smell and sound—a charred corpse, already half-blackened, its death so gruesome it was impossible to tell… if it was a chicken or a duck.

“Can’t you even roast a chicken properly?” Yu Duqiu was lounging on an outdoor sofa, his head resting on the armrest. He was relaxed, having changed into a loose T-shirt and lounge pants after a bath. “You’re a grown man and still can’t roast a chicken.”

Bai Zhao stood by the smoky barbecue grill, his face as black as the charcoal under the grill, but still lighter than the roasted chicken on it.

“You can’t even make a salad.”

“Who says that? Didn’t you eat it all?”

“…” Bai Zhao skewered the unsalvageable chicken and tossed it into the trash. “I’ll go get another one.”

His ankle was bandaged, the bleeding had stopped, but he was still limping slightly.

Yu Duqiu glanced at him, yawning. “Forget it, just come and sit down.”

Bai Zhao turned around. “Not having dinner?”

“We’ll wait for Baoguo and the others to arrive.”

“Can he cook?”

Yu Duqiu thought for a moment. “Hmm, I don’t think so. He usually eats with me. Feihua has a lot of business dinners, so he probably can’t cook either. We can’t expect Lu Qing, a young girl, to cook for us men… Ji Lin should be able to, right? He doesn’t have a partner, lives alone, and his salary isn’t high enough to eat out all the time. If he doesn’t cook, he’d starve, wouldn’t he?”

“… Yu Duqiu!”

The two in the yard simultaneously turned their heads, seeing four pairs of eyes staring at them from the fence not far away, one pair especially filled with resentment.

Ji Lin gripped the iron bars, like a caged mad dog, baring his teeth and growling, “Who the hell are you looking down on?!”

Lu Qing, unusually siding with him, put her hands on her hips and shouted, “Mr. Yu, our captain doesn’t need to cook! There’s a cafeteria at the station, free of charge! He brings home dinner from there every day! Very economical!”

Ji Lin: “…”

Zhao Feihua adjusted his glasses and sighed, “We’ve just driven off the external enemy, and now there’s an internal war brewing…”

Luckily, this internal war didn’t escalate. Just as it was about to ignite, Bai Zhao took the initiative to take on the role of chef and, an hour and a half later, served a decently-presented four dishes and a soup on the dining table.

“Impressive, big brother.” Lou Baoguo, who had burned a lot of energy and gone without food for most of the day, gave a big thumbs up. He picked up a piece of salt and pepper potato and stuffed it into his mouth, praising it even before swallowing. “Oh my god, it’s delicious! I feel alive again! Big brother, with this cooking skill, you’re definitely a great catch for a family man!”

Yu Duqiu laughed and said, “He doesn’t even have a home, so where’s the ‘homely’ part coming from?”

“Can you not always hit where it hurts?” Ji Lin was extremely disdainful of his behavior. His anger from earlier hadn’t fully dissipated yet, but in the name of fairness, he forced himself to eat calmly. “Instead of mocking others, how about you think about what’s going on today? Why are so many people trying to kill you? That’s already three groups in one day.”

Yu Duqiu shrugged indifferently. “Welcome to my world, Captain Ji. Isn’t it good to have a high crime-fighting frequency? When we go back, you can take the credit.”

“We still have to stay here for three days. Who knows if we’ll even survive to take credit. I regret bringing this young girl along. I thought we were just protecting you on a harmless trip abroad, but now she’s on the verge of death before she’s even gotten married.”

Lu Qing tapped her chopsticks on the table. “Captain Ji, you’re underestimating me. Even though I just got promoted, my goal is to take over Old Peng’s position. Men are nothing compared to dreams and careers! And besides, if I found someone like you, wouldn’t my whole life be ruined?”

“… Say one more word, and I’ll dunk your head in the soup.”

“See? This is why you’ve been single your whole life!”

“Nonsense, it’s because I’m busy with work!” Ji Lin was used to bantering with her, and soon he shifted the conversation back to Yu Duqiu. “We’ve suspected for a while that those three cases might not have the same perpetrator. After today, that seems likely. There might be multiple groups behind this, and your appearance has made them feel threatened, chasing you from the domestic front all the way abroad.”

Zhao Feihua, while eating, asked, “How do you know they’re from back home? Don’t get me wrong, our young master Yu here is formidable; he has enemies on all five continents.”

“It’s usually just business competition, and rarely does it escalate to hiring assassins.” Yu Duqiu ate from his separately plated meal. “Besides, I’ve lived in the U.S. for years, and they didn’t try to assassinate me then. Why wait until I moved back to China? Shouldn’t they be thankful I’m out of the market? Or do they think my return will lead to such significant contributions that China will threaten the U.S.’s international standing? That’s some serious patriotism.”

“… You never fail to reach new heights of narcissism.” Ji Lin remarked, “But you’re right about one thing. If they were foreign enemies, there’s no need to strike now, especially when you’re heavily guarded. That’s just making things harder for themselves.”

Yu Duqiu clapped in approval. “Well said, Captain Ji. Your mind is sharp, just like mine.”

“So, let’s review the situation.” Ji Lin wasn’t very interested in food; as long as he didn’t starve, he was fine. After finishing his meal in a few quick bites, he pushed his bowl aside, took out a pen and paper, and spread them on the table.

Yu Duqiu paused his chopsticks mid-air. “Is this old-school note-taking method something Mu Hao taught you?”

Ji Lin coughed. “I’ve said it before—Mu Ge is my idol. What’s wrong with learning from your idol?”

“He likes to get tanned into a wheat color; why don’t you follow that?”

“None of your business.” Ji Lin glared at him and continued with his review. “Let’s start with the earliest case, the Rainy Alley incident—currently, we know the murder weapon was a double-edged blade, but it hasn’t been found yet. The killer’s style is brutal and swift. Besides Liu Shaojie, there should be another young man involved—probably the one seen in the surveillance footage at the entrance of the Yiqing Bar alley.”

Lou Baoguo, his mouth greasy, chimed in, “That might be connected to those assassins who ambushed us today.”

Ji Lin nodded. “Their goal was clear—to kill. They were well-prepared. If it hadn’t been for those bats disrupting things, they might have succeeded.”

Yu Duqiu disagreed. “I hired so many bodyguards to form a human shield with no blind spots when I get out of the car. It’s not that easy to take me out with a single shot—oh, Feihua, you can use this headline for the domestic press: ‘Shocking! Billionaire Survives Assassination Attempt in America, Completely Unscathed!’ This makes me look extremely lucky and breaks those superstitious curses.”

“Please, stop coming up with headlines. Isn’t Black Cat Detective enough for you? Stop trying to tell me how to do my job. Stick to what you know.” Zhao Feihua put down his empty bowl and chopsticks and went upstairs. “You guys chat; I need to face my battlefield. The PR plan I drafted on the plane this morning is completely useless now! If you don’t pull some stunt every day, I should start burning incense and praying!”

Yu Duqiu didn’t bother with his complaints and continued drinking his tomato and egg soup. “Go on, Captain Ji.”

Ji Lin didn’t have time to sympathize with Zhao Feihua; he had plenty of work himself. He continued, “I was just talking about those bats… those masked men in the two cars. They were almost comical.”

Lou Baoguo, who had fought them the longest, agreed. “Yeah, they had top-notch equipment but were terrible at their job. It’s like they were fully geared up but only knew how to swing a basic attack. If the young master hadn’t stopped me, I could’ve caught two of them bare-handed and had a snack.”

“… Are you rapping now?” Ji Lin was speechless. “I guess whoever hired them is also an amateur, probably a hastily assembled group. Their method is similar to the mastermind behind your uncle’s suicide—they weren’t trying to kill you, just to delay you.”

Yu Duqiu nodded in agreement and casually handed his empty bowl to Bai Zhao. “Another bowl, please.”

Bai Zhao took it. “Do you like the dishes?”

“They taste like my mom’s cooking, but the last time I had her food was in elementary school, so I don’t remember much.” Yu Duqiu had an idea. “Hey, since Chef Dong is gone, and it’ll take a while to find a new head chef, why don’t you take over for now?”

“Sure,” Bai Zhao agreed without hesitation.

Somehow, the serious conversation always veered off-topic. Ji Lin was at his wit’s end with Yu Duqiu’s laid-back attitude. “I’m talking about serious business here! Can you stop chatting? And why is your food separate from ours? Even the pepper powder on your potatoes is more than on ours! Special treatment?”

“It’s not special treatment. I didn’t ask for it. Bai Wolf here voluntarily made me a private meal.” Yu Duqiu took the bowl of freshly filled rice. “But I’m listening; you’re saying what I’m thinking, but I’ve got one more point to add.”

Ji Lin forced himself to remain patient. “What?”

“The ragtag group wasn’t going to kill anyone; they were just firing shots to scare us. That’s normal. But those assassins were clearly out for blood—yet they didn’t shoot at the competition. Does that make sense?”

“It does seem odd…” Ji Lin frowned in thought. “What do you think the reason is?”

Lou Baoguo casually said, “They didn’t think they were worth the bullets.”

Lu Qing suggested, “Maybe it’s an industry rule—no killing other professionals?”

Ji Lin dismissed that. “Come on, I don’t believe criminals would be that principled.”

Yu Duqiu sighed. “You guys need to use your imagination. Sometimes, the least likely answer is the correct one—Bai Zhao, you always have the wildest ideas. What do you think?”

“…” Bai Zhao silently picked up some food with his chopsticks and said while eating, “They might know each other, or even be working together.”

The other three were momentarily stunned, their sun-fried brains suddenly clearing up. Ji Lin immediately grabbed his pen and quickly noted down this possibility. Then, he drew several arrows and listed the reasons:

Both groups knew Yu Duqiu’s schedule, both chose to ambush him in the parking lot, both had guns, both retreated without success, and neither group harmed the other…

There indeed seemed to be a possibility that they belonged to the same criminal organization.

After writing down the last reason, he drew several more arrows from the other side and listed the doubts:

If the two groups were working together, why did they send masked men to cause trouble when professional assassins would have sufficed?

Why did the behavior of the masked men seem less like committing a crime and more like pure disruption?

If the radical faction that sent the assassins was behind the Rainy Alley case, and the conservative faction that sent the masked men accidentally caused the Yu Wencheng case, then which side was responsible for the Bai Zhimin case?

Who was the one who used Du Lingya to bribe Dong Yongliang? Could it be the person he was thinking of?

Are all these people working under the same boss? Are they all pursuing their own agendas? Is there someone who fears Yu Duqiu while someone else wants to eliminate him as soon as possible?

As the list of doubts grew longer, Ji Lin became more and more overwhelmed. Finally, he threw down his pen in frustration and concluded, “We have too few clues right now to draw any definitive conclusions. We’ll have to wait until we get back and interrogate Dong Yongliang and your fiancée.”

Lu Qing clutched her aching head, “Ugh, this case is getting more and more complicated. How are small-time officers like us supposed to deal with an international crime syndicate… Old Peng even wants me to report every single detail to him. Just from today alone, I’ll be reporting until tomorrow.”

Ji Lin closed his notebook. “You were just talking about plotting a coup, and now you can’t handle a little hardship? I’ll report with you, and we can have the others in the team help analyze and investigate too.”

Lu Qing’s eyes shone with gratitude. “Captain Ji! You do have your likable moments!”

Ji Lin raised his fist. “Do you want a bump on your head?”

Lu Qing immediately retracted her neck and stuck out her tongue, “Just joking.”

Yu Duqiu smiled as he reached for the last piece of pan-fried beef on the plate. “I think Captain Ji has always been likable, aside from being a bit rigid. But I’m not a big fan of police officers—their job is too righteous, and it makes me feel guilty playing around with them. Otherwise, I might invite you to my basement… Huh?”

His chopsticks came up empty.

Bai Zhao, expressionless, picked up his freshly filled bowl of rice and the food he hadn’t finished. “It’s dirty; I’ll go wash it.”