Chapter 184: Rare Warmth
March 6, Friday.
Today is the last day Han Guowei will stay in City C, even though tomorrow is the weekend, military orders must be obeyed, and he has to fly to City G in Province G in the afternoon to officially take over the position of commander of the Southern Supervisory Area of the Shadow Arrow.
Han Guowei declined the farewell party organized by his unit and chose to have a simple meal at home with his family at noon to catch up on their latest work progress.
Most of the things to be moved to City G have been packed up. Now, the Han family’s living room is piled up with several large packing boxes, waiting for the unit’s special vehicle to take them to the airport.
Knowing that he would have to discuss confidential matters with his nephew today, Han’s mother busied herself preparing a table of dishes before heading out to say goodbye to the neighbors.
Perhaps staying up late the night before took a toll on him, Han Guowei’s complexion was not good, and his appetite was poor; he hardly touched his chopsticks and instead gulped down soup to relieve the fatigue from long hours of closed work.
“Working in intelligence is exhausting. You’re still young, so I won’t mention the need for a balance between work and rest, but you should still maintain a basic schedule; otherwise, it will affect your thinking and reduce your efficiency.”
Seeing his nephew’s dark circles, Han Guowei felt some pity and took the initiative to pick up a piece of food for him. “How’s the investigation into Yang Jiu’s death that Old Mistress arranged for you in Province Y going?”
Han Jieqian put down his soup bowl, reflected for a few seconds, and then shook his head. “I have some ideas, but I still need Director Ye to provide more information.”
“Hmm? Why are you starting to look for clues from the General Bureau of Intelligence?”
Han Guowei frowned, slowing his eating, and looked up with a confused expression. “The investigation into Yang Jiu involves both the Western and Southern Supervisory Areas and doesn’t need to escalate to the headquarters level.”
“I believe things are not simple; we have already determined the cause of Yang Jiu’s death. Wait a moment, I’ll show you a forensic examination result from the Medical Security Center of the Western Supervisory Area.”
Saying this, Han Jieqian put down his bowl and chopsticks, quickly walked to the living room sofa, took out his briefcase, and pulled out a piece of paper, placing it on the dining table.
“For the purpose of long-term monitoring, we contact Yang Jiu on the first of each month. However, we received no response for three consecutive times on March 1, so the intelligence unit of the 309th Brigade stationed in Province Y urgently mobilized for a carpet search and discovered the location of Yang Jiu’s buried body on the evening of March 1.”
“Yang Jiu was confirmed dead between the night of February 29 and the dawn of March 1. On the surface, his body had multiple fresh wounds from sharp weapons, but what was truly fatal was the gunshot wound to the head. By the way, this is a small fragment of a bullet found deep in the cranial wound.”
Han Jieqian took out a photo, lightly tapped the table with his finger, and said seriously, “Preliminary technical analysis at the scene suggested it was standard ammunition of the Shadow Arrow, but after sending the sample back to the testing department of the intelligence bureau for a second analysis, this conclusion was overturned!”
“The conclusion overturned? Let me see…” Han Guowei picked up the photo and scrutinized it, flipping through the accompanying document, “I trust the testing department’s competence, is this the opinion of Section Chief Liu?”
“No, it’s the judgment of Chief of Staff Zhen!” Han Jieqian’s mouth twitched a couple of times, feeling somewhat helpless. “His view is that after years of bloodshed and escape, the standard ammunition of the Shadow Arrow has undoubtedly leaked to some extent, and there are records of both exports and overseas copies.”
“Chief of Staff Zhen believes that based solely on this bullet fragment, we cannot determine it’s the standard ammunition currently used by domestic Shadow Arrow units. Haha, the logic is quite tight… I never claimed it was used by domestic units, but he has preemptively blocked my statement.”
Han Jieqian coldly smiled, putting away the photo and report.
“Wait a minute, don’t bring this kind of emotion to your work, or it will lead to subjective premature judgments.”
Han Guowei’s expression gradually became serious, but he did not evaluate or criticize too much; after all, he was the first to suspect Zhen Guangquan, he just didn’t have clear evidence yet.
“At that moment, I had a sudden idea and contacted Director Ye to inquire whether any Shadow Arrow units were executing secret missions or passing through Province Y recently.”
Han Jieqian nodded and pulled out a piece of paper from his briefcase, waving it in his hand. “The result is quite interesting. Two days ago, Director Ye replied: Chief of Staff Wu personally signed an order last week for the Blood Dragon Brigade to send an elite reconnaissance team to infiltrate Old Street in Northern Myanmar for intelligence collection.”
“Unfortunately, that team is currently in a state of operational secrecy and cannot be contacted, so any subsequent investigation must wait for them to proactively contact the headquarters or return after the mission.”
Han Guowei was startled and quickly gestured, “Oh, I know that I worked with Wu Zhongxian to formulate this mission plan led by the instructor Tuwuijun of the Blood Dragon Brigade. Because now in Northern Myanmar, there have been signs of unknown overseas blood family forces infiltrating, and the Luo family has faced multiple ambushes there.”
“The Luo family is a vassal family of the Wang family; we suspect someone is secretly driving things, attempting to reestablish underground connections with the Liang family’s internal dissenters or continue to strengthen the pressure on the Wang family. We must get a concrete understanding of the situation.”
Han Jieqian was taken aback and nodded slowly. “Oh, Director Ye specifically explained this to me as well. However, the real doubt lies in Yang Jiu’s manner of death, which makes me think in other directions.”
Taking advantage of the momentum, Han Jieqian pointed at the materials in Han Guowei’s hands. “Through special examination methods, the forensic pathologist deduced the hormone fluctuation curve in Yang Jiu’s body before death.”
“Yang Jiu most likely did not even have his boiling blood activated before he died, and did not disturb the neighbors; that’s what I find most strange. If he was killed in a surprise attack, why would he have fresh wounds from silver weapons, seemingly engaged in a desperate struggle?”
“Therefore, I am extremely suspicious that the combat wounds on Yang Jiu’s body are fabricated!”
“Yang Jiu was a highly valuable wandering blood family broker, very smooth in personality and had significant influence in the blood family circles of Province A, even receiving protection from orthodox blood families. He was one of the most successful blood family businessmen in our past decades.”
“According to Director Ye, Yang Jiu’s personal information monitoring is very strict, and there has been no sign of enemies in his life or death; he’s been wandering around for many years, very alert, able to adapt to circumstances. So, who would suddenly attack Yang Jiu without any defense and later disguise it as a violent clash?”
After Han Jieqian finished speaking, he finally sighed in relief and started sipping his soup again.
“Indeed, his death is quite suspicious. Yang Jiu’s identity is too sensitive and critical to the Shadow Arrow’s daily intelligence collection, getting shot in such an unclear way impacts our future intelligence work efficiency in the greater southwest…”
Han Guowei furrowed his brows and lost his appetite for food. His fingers tapped intermittently on the table, plunging the dining room into a brief silence.
Han Jieqian put away his briefcase, his expression grew even more mysterious. “Third Uncle, Yang Jiu’s only value is as an intelligence dealer, and whoever killed Yang Jiu must have motives and benefits that directly involve intelligence…”
This meticulously orchestrated act of killing an intelligence dealer only has one possibility: the murderer obtained some high-value intelligence from Yang Jiu but did not allow him to leak it; at the very least, they must delay the timing.
“You’re still thinking about internal traitors?” Han Guowei’s expression changed abruptly at this, “Jieqian, do you still believe that someone within the Shadow Arrow killed Yang Jiu!?”
Yes, the evidence is insufficient, but I have an ominous premonition… The reason Yang Jiu lost his life must either be related to the identity of the murderer being too sensitive, or the intelligence’s value is extraordinarily high, so high that it required complete silencing after contact with Yang Jiu! Perhaps both conditions are true.
Ordinary wandering blood families or black blood families would not dare to offend an intermediary who can offer them a lifeline at a critical moment. But if they know that Yang Jiu was providing intelligence to the Shadow Arrow, they would most likely use the most brutal methods to intimidate others rather than trying to cover things up.
Bloody vendettas among blood families do not involve meticulously cleaning up the scene, burying the body, or fabricating the manner of death. This indicates that the opponent most likely knew of Yang Jiu’s existence and that he was being watched by the Shadow Arrow and did not want to prematurely expose the fact of Yang Jiu’s death.
Han Jieqian toyed with the soup spoon, his brow knitted tighter.
Han Guowei was stunned, finally understanding Han Jieqian’s line of thinking, and nodded repeatedly, “Right, once Yang Jiu is exposed as working for the Shadow Arrow, he would certainly die a gruesome death, not sneakily and quietly like this… Then the suspicion of being an internal traitor becomes significant.”
What heavy intelligence or clues could Yang Jiu possess that are highly regarded by an internal traitor… As they pondered, both Han Guowei and Han Jieqian’s expressions changed drastically, standing up simultaneously.
“Meng De!” the two exclaimed in unison.
Since leaving early yesterday, Jiang Yan and Meng Huai had taken turns driving. It must be said that Xiang Zuxing’s ordinary domestic SUV performed quite well, and its condition was well-maintained and comfortable to drive.
Unlike the last hurried journey south, this time Jiang Yan did not adopt a non-stop approach day and night, but instead adhered to a regular schedule, eating at appointed times and resting at set intervals.
After a whole day on the road, they barely arrived at City B in Province A, which is a must-pass route to Old Street in Northern Myanmar and a resupply point before crossing the border.
The closer they got to the southwestern border of Province A, the more rumors and news from Northern Myanmar flooded in. Especially after nearly two months of unrest, it seemed to be gradually calming down, with no signs of stopping, which surprised Jiang Yan.
It seemed that the apparent conflicts of interests among local warlords in Northern Myanmar were not merely the aftermath of Zhu Bixian’s collapse, clearly indicating that there were greater forces at play, specifically the Luo family and the Alliance of the Hidden aiming to seize the underground interests of Northern Myanmar.
Though the Luo family had once been a dominant force in the southwest decades ago and had a substantial foundation, for Xiang Zuxing, who was trying to establish an initial foothold on the southwestern border, the instability of this position was particularly evident, necessitating the current call for assistance from the wind signal.
Resting for a moment at a small roadside shop, Jiang Yan was still contemplating several details of this southern trip, unaware that Meng Huai had been staring blankly for quite a while.
“The flavors of Province A should suit you, right?”
Jiang Yan looked up and realized Meng Huai was gazing outside the shop. The meal in front of them had turned cold, indicating both of them had lost track of time, preoccupied with their thoughts.
Outside, a stream of unfamiliar faint presences passed by, mostly blood servants and attendants, with a typical black blood family aura mixed in.
“There are so many blood families here… and they’re so brazen…”
Meng Huai returned his gaze slowly, lifting his bowl with a somewhat heavy heart.
“You used to be in the Shadow Arrow, you should know that Province A, especially cities close to the Northern Myanmar border, is indeed the area with the highest density of blood families, but it’s also the most chaotic.”
Jiang Yan smiled and started instinctively arranging Meng Huai’s plate, but before his chopsticks could land on the dish before him, she had already moved it away.
Meng Huai looked up silently at her, only able to stretch his hand to grab the dish further away.
“Hey, Meng Huai, can you please adjust this habit of eating…”
Jiang Yan realized she had somewhat “predicted” his dining habits and felt a little embarrassed, her face slightly flushing.
“Sorry… your sister Jiang Yao doesn’t she do this too?”
Meng Huai’s attitude was sincere, yet he remained stubborn and continued as he pleased.
Is he really taking my teasing seriously, or is he just mocking me? His emotional intelligence is quite low, a stark contrast to Zhong Jing.
So I won’t indulge him; realizing this, I piled all the food onto a single plate.
Jiang Yan huffed through her nose, no longer organizing his food, and began eating on her own.
“Very good.”
Meng Huai nodded, once again stifling the conversation with his low emotional IQ.
On the journey, the two had little to say. This cleverly opened a gap that had persisted between them for several days, but it was quickly closed by Meng Huai’s lack of emotional intelligence, leaving Jiang Yan feeling uneasy.
After finishing lunch, Jiang Yan expertly led Meng Huai to Xiang Zuxing’s safe house in City B, a three-story jade craft store styled with ancient aesthetics.
“Yan Jie?”
As they entered the store, Jiang Yan pretended to examine the glass display cases of jade ornaments, and a young man in a suit came down from the second floor. Upon seeing Jiang Yan, he called out joyfully.
He was an elite knight from the Hongtian Entertainment Center, who had witnessed Jiang Yan’s prowess in sweeping through the Black Dragon Association over two months ago.
“Yeah, it’s good to see you again.”
Jiang Yan waved lightly in greeting and pointed to Meng Huai beside her. “Li Huai, he is also sent by Wan Jie.”
As she spoke, Jiang Yan gently nodded towards Meng Huai: “This is a safe point for Brother Xiang of the Alliance of the Hidden. We are preparing for our crossing here.”
“Ha ha, nice to meet you. Back then, Brother Li was in a coma, and it was Yan Jie who took care of him.”
The elite knight from the Bapu surely remembered the black blood family who was rescued by Jiang Yan from the basement. Now, he did not sense any impurities emanating from her, which suggested she had endured a lot to purify herself.
The knight from the Alliance of the Hidden invoked a familiar feeling in Meng Huai, making him sit up straight and nod slightly.
“What’s the current situation? We saw military vehicles of the Shadow Arrow on the expressway in City B.”
Jiang Yan turned to glance out at the street and lowered her voice.
“It’s a bit troublesome; let’s go talk upstairs…”
As he spoke, the elite knight closed the store door, and the three made their way to the top floor.
…
From the elite knight’s account, Jiang Yan learned that the Shadow Arrow’s operational area in the southwestern ground combat zone had shifted from the traditionally challenging Drunk Mountain facing City B to the direction near Old Street in Southern L City.
The reason for this adjustment was that the border conflicts on the Northern Myanmar side had spiraled out of control, and the underground order that had been painstakingly established was showing signs of worsening; each day saw the infiltration of foreign wandering bloodlines and black blood families.
Particularly, ten days ago, an unknown Southeast Asian bloodline force emerged, covertly targeting the Luo family and the Alliance of the Hidden, which had just recovered from Northern Myanmar, ambushing trade routes and resting points with the intention of taking advantage of the chaos to seize control.
In light of this, Xiang Zuxing allocated five elite knights cultivated by the Gao family from his own resources, though this was the limit of his operational capacity; otherwise, the first blame for publicly splitting the Bapu for personal gain would inevitably fall upon him.
To assuage the internal sentiments of the Alliance of the Hidden, Xiang had to personally participate in the joint actions between the Alliance of the Hidden and the Wang family, presenting a posture of still focusing domestically to quell the worries of certain individuals.
As for Guo Hao, he was attacked alongside the Luo family three days ago and is currently severely injured, but the news has been tightly sealed, and no word has spread out. Now, the fifteen elite knights stationed in the Old Street find themselves in a leaderless situation and can only hunker down defensively.
The Luo family has also suffered heavy losses; a knight assigned to Old Street fell just a month into his term, and the Luo baron stationed there fled back to the inner city after being injured.
It must be said that the baron’s influence was somewhat thin around Old Street; unless he had more support behind him or was incredibly ruthless like Zhu Bixian and the others from the Black Dragon Association.
For the Luo family, having lost territories beyond the borders of the West for decades, they felt no substantial psychological burden should they lose control once more; they were merely parting with some wealth. Their mindset, following the Wang family’s significant losses in the south, had reverted to a turtle-like retreat.
Those obvious local bullies were now either paying lip service or quietly standing by, evidently aware that these “outsiders” wouldn’t last long in Old Street.
Now, Xiang Zuxing and the Luo family are left with Old Street, a dimly lit town in Northern Myanmar, while the surrounding areas have long lost their control, and the unreleased business has come to a standstill.
The stationed knights in City B naturally knew little about further ground situations, relying only on the hope that Xiang Zuxing would dispatch reinforcements.
Now, the arrival of Jiang Yan, who is affiliated with the wind signal, comes according to Guo Hao’s private evaluation. She possesses unfathomable strength, at least in Guo Hao’s opinion, he wouldn’t be entirely confident facing her.
A surface-level half baron like Jiang Yan receiving such a high evaluation from Guo Hao leaves the other elite knights of the Bapu already secretly astonished.
Now the border remains under the blockade of the Shadow Arrow; with cooperation from the Luo family still needed, Jiang Yan and Meng Huai might have a chance to escape their predicament, meaning they would have to spend another night in City B.
Several hours later, as the streetlights lit up at night, Jiang Yan and Meng Huai chose to take a walk after dinner — it should be noted that this was a rare occasion where Meng Huai took the initiative to extend an invitation in a shy manner.
Perhaps recalling some of the conversations with Wanyue from two days ago, Jiang Yan found herself somewhat torn when changing outfits, unsure of which dress would be better.
In reality, this was merely a form of self-cultivation regarding her mindset, and it wasn’t truly about discussing feelings with Meng Huai; interactions with him should naturally be more relaxed… Jiang Yan repeatedly reminded herself in her mind, then picked up two pieces of clothing and continued to fall into a state of indecision.
In Province Y, the climate is much more pleasant than in Province S, this is indeed a time of year that is neither too cold nor too hot, marking the season of mixed dressing.
Eventually, carrying her indecisive feelings, Jiang Yan chose a casual light-colored short-sleeve knit top paired with a dark skirt, which was high-end gear she brought from the club’s changing room, and her ponytail transformed into long, flowing hair over her shoulders.
“I remember, last time Xiaodong Jie also wore a similar style and even dyed her nails red, looking particularly coordinated…”
Jiang Yan spun in front of the dressing mirror for several seconds, unexpectedly glancing at her neatly manicured nails while talking to herself.
“No, no, I should not be dwelling on such meaningless adornments…”
Feeling her cheeks burn, Jiang Yan hurriedly brushed away some random thoughts from her mind, lifted her skirt, and began to equip herself with weapons.
…
Walking down the street, Jiang Yan found herself stepping back since Meng Huai was still in his outdoor gear, showing less concern for their walk.
Having spent nearly an hour meticulously coordinating her fresh and fashionable style, it seemed to fulfill none of Meng Huai’s emotional preferences.
I knew my efforts were unnecessary; Wan Jie’s advice might not always be correct, perhaps it was just teasing me… Looking at Meng Huai walking ahead with his gaze straight ahead, Jiang Yan suddenly felt a bit ridiculous.
Stop…
Meng Huai came to a halt, seemingly sensing something, turning his head toward a small shop nearby.
It was a nail salon, with only a youthful girl who appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old keeping watch over it, revealing the boring state of little business.
What’s going on?
Jiang Yan instinctively heightened her vigilance, quickly walking over to Meng Huai’s side and inquiring about the small nail salon.
She should be a blood servant…
Meng Huai stared fixedly at the girl inside the store, his expression growing increasingly serious.
Jiang Yan paused, slowly nodding in understanding. “Yes, she is a wandering blood family, an upper-class blood servant. Surviving by running a small business isn’t easy for a girl who has been a blood servant for several years.”
Meng Huai remained silent, fixated on the girl in the store, his gaze measuring her repeatedly.
He recalled the instructional materials from the Shadow Arrow training center, noting that at least half of the blood servants rarely lived beyond ten years; they either fell prey to black blood families or died due to bloodshed, especially the females.
So, the theoretically long lifespan of blood families is just a cold statistical survival bias.
Meng Huai?
Jiang Yan thought he might be recalling something that triggered him, gently patting his arm.
Suddenly, Meng Huai grasped Jiang Yan’s hand and turned back, smiling faintly. “Let’s help her business.”
Jiang Yan was slightly taken aback, unsure if the Meng Huai before her was possessed by some creature, able to think of such a thing.
This was different from the clumsy embraces she had experienced several times; all the warm feelings condensed in that one hand, gently enveloping hers, slightly cold but very comforting.
Hmm…
Jiang Yan lowered her head slightly, her voice as soft as a whisper.
The young girl at the nail salon initially thought business had arrived and quickly set aside her phone, greeting them with a cheerful smile.
At this close distance, the girl finally saw their appearances. It was one thing to see the handsome knight; accompanying him was a girl with a presence that made one uneasy.
“Brother, Sister, I…”
The girl’s face turned pale, her body trembling, even showing signs of bloodshed due to fear, her eyes beginning to turn red.
“Help me dye my nails; I don’t understand; you can do whatever you think is best.”
Jiang Yan smiled, presenting a kind expression, and after a glance at Meng Huai, she sat down beside the workbench, extending her vacant hand while emanating a calming aura to reassure the girl.
Meng Huai also settled down, and astonishingly, he did not release Jiang Yan’s hand, which she appeared to be okay with.
Dyeing nails is an incredibly time-consuming task; Meng Huai didn’t know how to do it, and Jiang Yan did not speak, allowing the timid girl to work on her nails.
The girl charged a very low fee, only a hundred for the task, but the effect was quite good. But it was indeed tedious. While Meng Huai sat still as a statue, Jiang Yan found it challenging to endure the monotony.
As for her other hand, it was clear Meng Huai had no intention of letting go, so she resigned herself to it.
This act of friendly consumption by assisting a fellow blood family’s business concluded without a word exchanged among the three.
Jiang Yan paid the bill, and Meng Huai pulled out his wallet to give an extra hundred, making Jiang Yan somewhat surprised.
“Thank you, Brother! Thank you, Sister!”
The nameless blood servant girl bowed repeatedly to express her gratitude, too timid to look at Jiang Yan’s face directly.
“If life becomes unmanageable, come to City C and contact this person…”
Before exiting, Jiang Yan took out a piece of paper and a pen, writing down Zhong Jing’s phone number.
Over several hours, Jiang Yan had assessed that the girl had a basic character worth reaching out to for help.
As Meng Huai held Jiang Yan’s hand out the door, the little blood servant clutched the note with tears of excitement almost brimming.
Meng Huai was not entirely indifferent to the suffering of the blood family world; he had just been blinded by hate for too long; in fact, he also had a gentle side.
Walking beside Meng Huai, Jiang Yan felt warmth in the place where they held hands, her heart secretly thinking.
I can sense that her energy holds no ill intent; just like you, she is a very simple and kind girl.
As they walked, Meng Huai suddenly turned to speak, devoid of any particular emotion.
Jiang Yan smiled, remaining silent, her heart inexplicably filled with sweetness.
Indeed, hearing sweet words makes one feel different, especially when they come from Meng Huai, whose tone is usually cold and unyielding; it feels like a heavyweight bomb, making a profound impact.
On the late-night pedestrian street in City B, the crowd surged, but no one knew how many blood families concealed themselves among the pairs of men and women walking hand in hand.
