BL Ch81

After dawn, the scenery of Moxie was even more beautiful than at night. Looking out the window, large swathes of white mist floated among the mountains, dreamlike like a fairyland.

After breakfast, on the way to meet the mayor, Lou Baoguo planned with enthusiasm. “When I’m old, I’ll build a small foreign-style house here, with a yard to grow vegetables, waking up every day to such a beautiful view, how delightful.”

But once he actually got onto the street, he fell silent.

After all, it was a small city surrounded by mountains, where supplies were hard to transport, and the standard of living wasn’t high. The ground was mostly yellow earth, tires rolling over it raised choking dust. Few houses were more than three stories tall, their exteriors painted in various colors, looking pretty from afar but upon closer inspection, the interiors were quite outdated. There were hardly any restaurants that looked appealing.

Lou Baoguo smacked his lips, “No way, I, Lou Laoye, can tolerate anything but not compromising on food.”

A person accustomed to the luxurious excess of Palace Number One was bound to find it hard to go from luxury to frugality.

The interior of the city government was slightly better decorated. With Pei Ming’s introduction, they smoothly met the local mayor and government officials. The whole meeting process was very harmonious. Yu Duqiu had countless halos above his head; although his appearance might not be very reliable, his real worth was there, earning him respect from everyone.

Since Pei Ming had given a heads-up earlier, the mayor roughly understood the purpose of their visit. Although there were initial reservations, Yu Duqiu generously promised that if the Themis experiment was successful, the final developed devices would be supplied to the area for free, indefinitely.

The local area lacked adequate medical facilities to treat those drug users, and they had to guard against these individuals harming others or even the tourism industry. Now, not only was there help coming, but they would also get advanced medical equipment for free. Why not take advantage of this?

The mayor immediately decided: “Alright! Approved! As long as they’re willing participants in the experiment, you can treat dead horses as if they were still alive!”

The last sentence wasn’t explicitly stated, but that was the gist of it.

After the meeting, all the main participants lined up for a group photo. The Burmese side brought out a pre-prepared banner with “China-Myanmar Friendship Endures” written in red on white, in both languages.

Ji Lin looked at the two seemingly respectable but actually cunning merchants in the middle, their identical fake smiles making him think that these two were truly in cahoots.

The mayor enthusiastically saw them off to the door, his face beaming like he had met a fool. After he left, Ji Lin quietly approached Yu Duqiu from behind and asked softly, “You, a cunning merchant, are actually showing mercy today? What if all the drug users in the Golden Triangle come here for treatment later? Will your equipment be enough? Aren’t you afraid of going bankrupt?”

Yu Duqiu distanced himself slightly, “I have my measures. As for you, Captain Ji, watch your steps.”

Ji Lin was stunned, just about to ask what he meant when he felt a piercing gaze on his back.

… No need to turn around to know who the jealous one was.

Yu Duqiu whispered, “Xiao Bai is in a bad mood, has been giving the cold shoulder all morning.”

Ji Lin: “Wasn’t he fine last night? What did you do to him?”

“A long story.” Yu Duqiu changed the subject with a wave of his hand, “By the way, didn’t we talk about going to the gem market yesterday? I checked, there are several markets here in one day. We’ve missed the morning market, but we can go to the afternoon umbrella market. Let’s head back to the hotel for lunch and change clothes, can’t look so formal, too conspicuous.”

Ji Lin looked at his hair, gleaming like a big light bulb in the sun: “….”

Your clothes are the least conspicuous part of you!

The so-called umbrella market, as the name suggests, is a market under umbrellas.

Moxie is at a high altitude with harsh sunlight. Locals set up large umbrellas by the roadside for shade, placing a small table and plastic chairs underneath for gem buyers to sit and negotiate prices.

The umbrella market was near their hotel, so they walked over.

Yu Duqiu seemed to finally realize how conspicuous his hair color was, rarely wearing a straw sun hat, his outfit changed to casual shorts and long pants, with sunglasses on his nose, perfectly blending in with tourists from around the world looking for bargains.

Ji Lin, having been running around for months, had tanned quite a bit and had given up on sunblock, boldly leading the way under the sun.

Pei Ming insisted on joining them, complaining about being tired on the way, “You young people are full of energy. I’m still a bit tired after the meeting, and you’re already out shopping.”

Yu Duqiu half-jokingly said, “There are many locals in the market, information flows fast, we can look for our experimental subjects while we’re at it. If all goes well, we can finish the experiment and go back in a few days, maybe Old Zhou can even make it to see his daughter off to school.”

Zhou Yi was flattered, “Thank you, young master.”

Though everyone knew, if they didn’t catch Bai Zhiming this time, they wouldn’t be going back. And Bai Zhiming was hiding who-knows-where; they might be here for who-knows-how-long.

After walking for about ten minutes, they saw dozens of colorful umbrellas set up by the roadside, the market already bustling. Some tourists were surrounded by several gem sellers.

“Amateurs usually get ripped off; truly pure gems are rare.” Pei Ming advised, “When you see something you like, don’t rush to buy it. Gem colors can look different under the umbrella; take it into the sunlight, I’ll check it for you. And take off your ring; if they see you have money, they’ll swarm you, and it’ll be hard to leave.”

Pei Ming was an expert in this regard, so Yu Duqiu had to listen to him. However, even after taking off his ring and putting it in his pocket, Yu Duqiu, who had almost never experienced ordinary life, was still exposed—his smooth, fair skin showed a life of luxury, not to mention the tall men following him, clearly bodyguards.

The vendors swarmed them in no time, making it hard for them to move, each eager to show off their best goods, chattering in Burmese or other languages Ji Lin couldn’t understand. Some spoke Chinese with an accent, hoping for a good price.

Ji Lin stood outside the crowd, watching Zhou Yi and others fend off the eager sellers like bees, while he, unnoticed, felt for the first time that having no money could be an advantage.

Yu Duqiu, well-protected, wasn’t worried. He turned and slipped into the crowded umbrella market.

The gem capital truly lived up to its name; the goods dug up by the vendors were diverse—rubies, sapphires, spinels, garnets… in all colors and shapes. Ji Lin couldn’t tell the good from the bad and had no interest in buying, so he just listened closely to the conversations between the vendors and tourists. Hearing familiar Chinese, he stopped at that stall.

The young vendor under the umbrella, about twenty, with skin as dark as coal from constant sun exposure, made Ji Lin feel somewhat comforted about his own tan.

The young vendor had just scared off a customer with a high price and was feeling down when he saw this Chinese-looking young man showing interest. He quickly put on a smile, presenting a ruby the size of a mung bean to Ji Lin, slightly lowering his initial price, “Handsome, I just dug this out yesterday. Look at this color, how beautifully red. Only three thousand yuan, are you interested?”

Ji Lin wouldn’t spend half a month’s salary on such a flashy item. He sat down in a plastic chair, pretending to be knowledgeable, observed it for a while, and said, “It’s okay, can it be cheaper?”

“It’s already the lowest price, handsome.”

Ji Lin, acting serious, said, “Here’s the deal, I’m buying for my boss. He used to come here often but is too busy now, so he sent me. He says many here know him and can give a discount.”

The vendor didn’t doubt it; some “gem hunters” were indeed regular customers, especially Chinese ones, who bought in bulk and offered decent prices, making them the most welcomed buyers locally.

“Who’s your boss?” the vendor asked with respect.

Ji Lin confidently said, “You’d definitely know him—about fifty, tall and sturdy, missing a pinky on his left hand, remember?”

The vendor frowned, trying to recall, then shook his head, “Don’t know him.”

“Then forget it, I’ll ask someone else, thanks.” Ji Lin stood up immediately to move to the next stall without delay.

This vendor was too young, probably new to the business, not knowing Bai Zhiming was normal. He wandered under the umbrellas for a while, trying the same tactic with a middle-aged Chinese vendor.

But still, no luck.

He asked five or six people, almost exhausting all the Chinese vendors in the market, yet not one recognized Bai Zhiming.

Could they have been wrong? Did Bai Zhiming not frequently visit the gem market?

The remaining vendors didn’t speak Chinese, their chatter incomprehensible, so Ji Lin couldn’t ask further. Just as he was about to look for Yu Duqiu’s translator, Yu Duqiu found him first.

“Oh, you’re here, I’ve been looking for you.” Yu Duqiu had finally escaped the crowded area, sweating from the heat, “I got separated from Pei Ming, that’s perfect, no need to find an excuse to ditch him. Let’s go investigate.”

Ji Lin noticed only Bai Zhao was with him, “Where’s your translator?”

“Got lost in the crowd.”

Now how were they going to investigate? None of them spoke Burmese, though Yu Duqiu’s English was good, but many vendors here only knew the simplest business English, not enough for non-gem related conversations.

Ji Lin shared what he had learned so far. Yu Duqiu thought for a moment and asked, “Bai Zhao, do you have a clear photo of Bai Zhiming?”

Bai Zhao pulled out his phone, sending the photo to them, “Going to ask each one with the photo?”

“No, that’d be too much work. Print out a few copies, get some locals to help us look. These gem traders move all around Moxie’s mining areas, in the mountains and towns, they might find people faster than the police.”

Ji Lin: “How will you convince them to help? Aren’t they here to do business?”

Yu Duqiu chuckled like he heard a good joke, “Captain Ji, after knowing me for so long, how do you still not know? I have a superpower?”

Ji Lin was puzzled, “What superpower? The power to make people want to punch you with one sentence?”

“… No, I mean—’money’ power.”

The local market was really crowded and chaotic, and it took Pei Ming half an hour to find them. For someone like him, who was extremely particular about his image, he didn’t want to linger a moment longer and suggested they go for a stroll by the picturesque lake. Yu Duqiu had already accomplished his business by throwing money around and agreed to go with him.

Back at the hotel in the evening, Pei Ming tidied up his disheveled hair, once again presenting an impeccable elite image, and came to discuss the itinerary with Yu Duqiu: “Duqiu, have you decided how many volunteers you want to recruit?”

Yu Duqiu’s eyes shifted, “Four or five would be enough. This experiment is mainly to test the effectiveness of the equipment and prove it’s harmless to humans, so we can recruit more volunteers back home later. We don’t need immediate results, just some progress. We don’t need many people; I don’t want to attract the attention of local armed forces.”

Pei Ming nodded in agreement, pondering for a moment, “The north of Moxie is quite chaotic. The more chaotic a place, the less oversight there is, and there’ll be more drug users, but it’s also more dangerous. Even though we have many people, we can’t guarantee no accidents. I suggest looking elsewhere.”

Yu Duqiu nodded, “Yeah, I heard the same from the market today. Then I’ll trouble you, Brother Pei, to help me look.”

This search took them three whole days.

Every morning, the bird calls in the valley would wake them from their sleep, accompanied by the distant, solemn chime of temple bells. After getting ready, they set out to find volunteers willing to participate in the experiment.

They did manage to find a few drug addicts.

The first was a middle-aged man, almost reduced to skin and bones by drug use. According to his wife, he got addicted while working away from home, squandered all their savings, with several organs showing signs of failure. Now, without money for treatment, he was essentially waiting to die.

A family of five lived in a drafty shack, with all able-bodied members going to the mining area to look for gems during the day, often returning empty-handed but continuing because they needed to support the family.

The translator was about to explain their intentions, but Yu Duqiu stopped him, shaking his head.

Just by looking, one could tell that the man was beyond saving.

When they left, they left some money behind, for which the family was very grateful. Lou Baoguo couldn’t help but look back to see the man, who could barely move on his own, struggling to sit up, facing the distant stupa, devoutly and laboriously bowing down, not getting up for a long time.

Lou Baoguo sighed, “What’s the use of praying to Buddha? Hasn’t he been sick for so long? Doesn’t he know that gods and Buddhas can’t cure diseases?”

“Faith is a kind of anesthetic; you can’t take away someone’s right to seek relief,” Yu Duqiu also looked back at the shack, watching as the man slowly stood up with family support, a glimmer of hope still in his deeply sunken eyes, “Perhaps, he’s not praying for recovery in this life but for a disease-free next life.”

Ji Lin’s expression was complex, “I hope he won’t get addicted again in his next life.”

Yu Duqiu shrugged, “I’m a materialist; I don’t believe in an afterlife. In my view, only those desperate with no way out would pray to vague divine beings for blessings. I’ll never reach that point.”

The second drug user was a little girl, only nine years old.

Her family was slightly better off than the first; at least their home wasn’t leaking, and the child could go to school.

According to her parents, she accidentally ingested methamphetamine disguised as milk tea packaging while picking up scrap after school, probably dropped by a careless drug dealer. Fortunately, the dose was small, and with timely treatment, it didn’t cause significant harm to her body. However, the child didn’t understand the danger of the substance and occasionally mentioned wanting to try it again, worrying her parents about potential addiction, asking if it could be treated.

Zhou Yi, feeling sorry for the girl, touched her shiny black hair, reminded of his own daughter, and pleaded, “Young master, perhaps… could we help her?”

Yu Duqiu: “Of course, but first let her go; you’re scaring her.”

“…”

The little girl, with her big, watery eyes, breathed a sigh of relief as the scary, scar-faced uncle moved away, then saw the most handsome big brother from the group approaching.

Yu Duqiu gentlemanly extended his hand, as if inviting a little princess to a ball, “Come, let’s take a walk by the lake.”

The accompanying doctor took this opportunity to ask the girl’s parents detailed questions about her recent mental state, physical reactions, etc., to assess the severity of her symptoms and avoid alarming the child.

Yu Duqiu, holding the little girl’s hand, strolled by the lake reflecting the blue sky, stopping to admire the shimmering light on the water, watching the shrimp catchers work for their livelihood, pointing at the distant mountains, saying something unknown. When they returned, the little girl was in a good mood, saying she wanted to give the handsome big brother some candy she had saved.

The candy wasn’t individually wrapped, stored in a tin box. The girl usually used her scrap money to help with household expenses, occasionally buying candy with the leftover change. She had saved this box for nearly a year, colorful and pretty, though one couldn’t tell if it was expired.

Yu Duqiu looked at the little hand holding out the candy, silent for a moment.

The girl’s palm was quite white, but her fingernails were black with ingrained dirt that couldn’t be washed away.

Zhou Yi and the others knew how severe his cleanliness obsession was, especially with things that go into the mouth. They were about to find an excuse to politely decline, but Yu Duqiu bent his knees, squatting down to the girl’s height.

Then he opened his mouth, and with the girl’s hand, he took the candy, of unknown flavor and potential bacteria.

“It’s so sweet.”

He smiled.

“Once, someone gave me candy this sweet too… thank you for letting me relive that memory.”

Before leaving, the girl’s parents, avoiding their child, quietly asked if their supposedly miraculous device could really treat drug addiction.

The accompanying doctor told them that since the girl’s symptoms were mild, she didn’t need or was suitable for the experiment. If she didn’t consume drugs again, her body would naturally detoxify over time, and she would be fine after a few days.

The parents were temporarily relieved and warmly saw them off, watching until they were out of sight before returning inside, asking their child, “What did that big brother say to you?”

With the sweet taste in her mouth, the girl’s face showed sadness and tension, “Big brother said, when he was my age, he ate something randomly once, got locked in a dark room, and it caused the death of one of his family members.”

The parents thought this was a story Yu Duqiu fabricated to scare the child and asked, “Will you dare to eat random things again?”

The girl quickly shook her head, “No! Big brother said, if I want to eat something, I should find him, not pick it up from the ground. He lives just beyond those mountains; it can be delivered quickly. Oh, and he gave me this—”

The parents took the card, which had a faint scent, but they couldn’t read English and didn’t know the man’s true identity; otherwise, they’d know that just the private number on the card could fetch a fortune.

Yu Duqiu walked towards the next potential volunteer, his eyebrows furrowed.

The candy stuck to his tongue, overly sweet, each swallow going against his biological instincts, extremely painful.

“If you don’t want to eat it, spit it out,” Bai Zhao, closest to him, whispered, “She can’t see you anymore.”

Yu Duqiu thought for a moment, then shook his head, “Forget it, it’s rare for me to have a conscience, let’s be good for once.”

Bai Zhao chuckled softly and, while Pei Ming was ahead not paying attention, grabbed Yu Duqiu’s chin, tilted his head, and kissed him, skillfully taking the candy with his tongue.

“I stole it; it’s not your fault. I’m the bad guy; you’re still the good guy.”

Yu Duqiu was momentarily stunned, “I thought you were still mad.”

Bai Zhao, also affected by the candy’s sweetness, slightly furrowed his brows, “I’m not mad.”

He was just stubborn, not having sought him out for the past couple of nights, looking somewhat haggard, as if he hadn’t slept well.

“So, you agree with what I said that night?” Yu Duqiu asked.

“Why would I agree?” Bai Zhao raised an eyebrow in response, “You’ve said you’re full of lies, told me not to believe your words. So, I’ll obediently listen, treat whatever you say as insincere, and only trust your actions — your performance in bed is much more honest than your words.”

Yu Duqiu was speechless.

Who taught him this skill of twisting words and evading the main point?

The people walking behind them witnessed the entire scene from the secret kiss to the bold statement. Lou Baoguo was shocked, whispering, “My big brother is truly fearless like a young calf, but why do I feel… he’s not the submissive one?”

Zhou Yi wasn’t in the mood to discuss romance, touching his rejected scar, a muscular man over six feet, yet his eyes held a pitiful look, “Abao, do I really look that scary?”

“… Well… actually, it’s not that bad, don’t take it to heart, the little girl will forget after a couple of nightmares.”

“… Just shut up.”

For the next few volunteers, Yu Duqiu was still unsatisfied, either complaining about their age, physical condition, or health. When they finally found someone suitable, he claimed they didn’t meet the experimental standards, without specifying what those standards were.

After three days, all the volunteers found were politely declined by him.

Pei Ming kept a straight face, but inside, he was probably getting impatient. Even Ji Lin was puzzled, “It’s not like we’re picking a spouse; why do you have so many requirements? If you keep being this picky, we’ll have to look in the north.”

Yu Duqiu ordered two dinners to be sent to his room, pushing all the food he didn’t like onto Bai Zhao’s plate, “Remember this for next time, don’t make me do it myself… Hmm? What did you say, Captain Ji? Oh, volunteers, right? I did it on purpose, wasn’t that obvious?”

“… What?!” Ji Lin nearly flipped the table, “So you’ve been playing with us these past few days?”

Yu Duqiu raised a hand to calm him down, “Calm down, your usually sharp mind seems to be failing you. That doesn’t match your name.”

“What do you mean… I’m ‘Lin’ as in ‘righteous and dignified’, not ‘Lin’ as in ‘quick-witted’! Don’t tell me you don’t even know how to write my name?”

“I know, I know, righteous and dignified, the ‘Hao’ from Mu Hao, the ‘Lin’ from Ji Lin, the combination name is all set, are you going to debut or something… Hey, don’t, just kidding.” Yu Duqiu quickly pressed down on the table, preventing a small-scale war from breaking out, finally getting serious, “If I found volunteers, how would I have an excuse to stall for time to look into Bai Zhiming’s whereabouts?”

Ji Lin, suppressing his anger, sat down, unable to fathom his intentions: “You could do the experiment while looking for Bai Zhiming, it wouldn’t delay anything.”

Yu Duqiu wagged a finger, “Once the experiment starts, we’ll quickly verify if my device has any issues and if Miss Cen’s data had any errors. Pei Ming has been holding back until now, perhaps just waiting to see this result. If I succeed, he might very well move against me. At that point, I’d be too busy defending myself to help you look for Bai Zhiming.”

Ji Lin thought about it and found some logic in his words, reluctantly accepting the reason: “But you can’t keep stalling; Pei Ming will get suspicious. Bai Zhao, no one found any information today either?”

Bai Zhao expressionlessly ate the food Yu Duqiu disliked and replied, “I’ve asked the vendors, nothing yet.”

Ji Lin snorted, “They better find some useful leads; otherwise, they’re earning my week’s salary in one day, and if they find Bai Zhiming, they get a 100,000 bonus. That’s too good for them.”

Yu Duqiu made a sound of surprise, “When did our incorruptible little Ji start caring about money?”

Ji Lin’s eyes flickered, “It’s not about caring for money… I just want to earn more, to take care of my parents in their old age, and occasionally look after Uncle and Aunt…”

Yu Duqiu chuckled, “You really plan to take care of Mu Hao’s parents in their old age? They don’t lack money, no need for you to worry. Wanting to earn money is the first step towards corruption; hearing you say this, I’m starting to doubt you.”

Ji Lin was speechless, “As if you trusted me much before… I was just thinking. I know Uncle and Aunt have money, but that doesn’t conflict with wanting to look after them. What the elderly need most isn’t money but companionship from their children. Mu Ge, he… might be gone, I want to do something for him.”

Yu Duqiu clicked his tongue twice and whispered to Bai Zhao, “Look at him, he was so down not long ago, but since I gave him hope, he’s full of fighting spirit again. Am I not great?”

Bai Zhao, after finishing the pile of food on his plate, glanced over, “You’re definitely great at being picky.”

“…”

As soon as he finished speaking, the phone on the table started buzzing, making the table tremble.

Bai Zhao picked it up, answered, hummed a couple of times, then hung up, remaining silent.

Yu Duqiu and Ji Lin seemed to sense something, both stopping their chopsticks, staring unblinkingly at him, waiting for him to speak.

Bai Zhao looked serious, taking his time, but finally, living up to their expectations, he gave them the answer they had been waiting for: “Someone has found traces of Bai Zhiming.”